Education is not just a rat race chasing ranks or chasing an ‘O’ grade.

Education is not just learning to read and write or to mug up lessons

to vomit in the examination hall. Education is not a bunch of
certificates alone or a professional course or an outlet to go abroad
and settle there once and for all.

Education is not simply an aristocratic culture producing countless

English speaking children or a tradition which enforces only sheer
logic to get to know the totality of life.

It has a heart – the heart of culture, the tradition of values, the making
up of an individual, a society, a universal character. Education is an
external suggestion, uplift, an inward awakening and an integration of
various concepts of life. It is the moulding up of a mental framework
to have a creative thinking process. It creates an open mindedness
towards life to accept theories from all diverse angles.

Education is the removal of negative impulses and an import of

positive values. We need them in our life; else, our life would become
so miserable and end in pitch darkness. Such a situation leads us to a
harmful world where guns would answer everything. Peace through
pellets is like a house without any foundation. Bombs can only create
countless tombs. Ignorance can only create a more miserable world
around us.
Thus, education is based on several simple basic truths. Through
proper education we dispel ignorance. From an eternal darkness, we
bring our children to a new and endless horizon. According to
Vivekananda, the essence of education is concentration of mind and
not the collection of facts. With enough power of concentration and
dispassionate outlook, one can collect facts at his own Will. Complete
continence gives great intellectual and spiritual power. Controlled
desire leads to the highest results. It owes to want of continence that
everything is on the brink of ruin in our country. By observance of
strict Brahmacharya, all learning could be mastered in no time. One
acquires an unfailing memory of what one hears or knows but once.
The chaste brain has tremendous energy and gigantic possibilities. It
has enough Will Power. Without chastity there can be no real spiritual
strength. Continence gives wonderful control over mankind. Chastity
in thought, word and deed always and in all conditions is what is
called Brahmacharya. Unchaste imagination is as bad as unchaste
action. What makes the difference between man and man is the
difference in the concentration and nothing else.

Where chastity plays an important role, there is the significance for

morality as well. Without a moral discipline, one cannot hope to be
chaste in his thought, word and deed. This is a universal law.

What is morality? It is that aspect which impels negative thought,

word and deed. It is that aspect which promotes life all around. Moral
discipline alone can promote our life. It alone can give us enough
mental strength. By the observance of a moral code, one doesn’t fall
into a wrong track and land himself into trouble or force the world
unto the tip of sword. By our immoral thought, word and deed, we
make our life a miserable one and drive others to darker situations.

Today, moral discipline is a mistaken identity. We have practically no

idea about it. We define morality from the standpoint of individual
tastes, personal attitude, personal likes and dislikes. This is an
incorrect judgment. Morality, moral discipline is not a relative concept.
It has a universal bearing.

What is this universal bearing? It is a basic fact that man cannot do

away with his individual and social life. Man has an internal and
external life. The quality of his internal life has a direct bearing on his
external life. Internal life bears relation to mental and intellectual
aspects. External life bears relation to our social nature of life. Man
sees the world only through his mind. His judgment about the world
and life comes from his own internal levels and not from any outside
source. This why it is said – ‘as you think, so you become’. If the mind
is impure with arrogance, ignorance, anger, selfishness and with its
own overlapping impressions gathered from previous experiences,
the judgment is also affected by the same degree of impurity and
obscurity. This impurity is removed by the observance of a moral
discipline. Moral discipline is a judgment of a situation from an
impartial angle. Impartiality is possible only from a sense of
detachment. We may detach ourselves from the complexities of our
mental character and analyze a given situation. We would arrive at an
answer and it would have a universal bearing. There is a common
thread running throughout the entire universe. If we can properly
understand this aspect, this is the first step to being impartial and
dispassionate. You may call this common thread as abstract
humanity.

Judgment is more important. We can judge with our head and heart.
Heart is more important because it is the very stream of life. The very
stream of life belongs to the sphere of love, kindness, faith, belief,
trust, co-operation and other subtler aspects which cannot be defined
by a mathematical formula. It is a wordless sphere where our heart
maintains its poise and innocent nature. To have a moral discipline,
the real judgment has to come from the bottom of our heart. For this
purpose, the heart has to be pure beyond all prejudices. What we
miss in our life is this basic fact of innocence. An innocent heart is
quite unconditional in every sense. When our heart gets conditioned
to materialistic thoughts and views, conditioned to love, it is no more
innocent. To that degree, selfishness creeps in. This unnatural degree
of heart brings in all ruins in our life. Only a free heart can design an
unprejudiced and impartial intellectual sphere. This has a long term
bearing.

Thus, an impartial judgment is born out of our moral discipline. We

see a given situation from a universal angle and arrive at a universal
conclusion. But this requires a marvelous insight into the nature of
man and his situations. Man basically faces the same kind of
situations everywhere because life is a universal phenomenon. The
common mirth and tears of an Australian is not different from an
American. This is the sum and substance of this universality. Human
mind also has many common planes irrespective of caste, creed,
color, religion and nationality. Where human situations are involved,
unless we have a moral discipline, we cannot pass on a correct
solution. Unless we are impartial, our judgment is going to affect one
of the parties. By keeping an impartial judgment, we bring in peace
and harmony to the entire humanity in the long run. Our experience
should tell us to pick up those who are impartial for our very
enrichment of views. All great men are impartial people. Starting from
our saints and Christ, the list runs to Vivekananda and Dr. S
Radhakrishnan and beyond. One should really go through their works
for his own benefit. The school curriculum should include their works
so that the students are initiated into forming lofty thoughts and
impartial views.

The limitations of life are chiefly attributable to our mental situations

rather than the actual physical situations. The narrowness that is
created by our own mind should be overcome. The fallacy that is
created by our own imagination, whims and fancies should be
minimized. By the constant thought of better aspects of life, by the
constant utterance of only good and comforting words, by the
constant rendition a selfless service to humanity, we can keep our
heart very poised and balanced. The moment we begin to see only the
darker aspects of life, the moment we fall into bad and unproductive
thoughts, the moment we begin to use slang words, the moment we
start doing only selfish deeds, our moral discipline is gone to such a
degree. If we promote our mind in this negative direction, it leads to
mental friction and thus affects our judgment. Life is a question of
judgment rather than a conclusion of it. This negative drive takes our
mind to finally get stuck somewhere. Creative levels are lost.

A free mind beyond all prejudices is what is viewed by a moral

education. A free mind takes an impartial view of life from all planes,
from all angles. Such a mind can very well judge what is good and
what is better in the sustenance and promotion of life. Instead of good,
bad and worst, our measuring scale should be good, better and the
best. Life should be continuous journey from lower forms of truth to
higher forms of truth. This is what is called ‘refinement’. This is the
basis of moral education. It leads us to refinement. It is a long journey
in search of values and virtues in life. It is a continuous push in the
positive direction from a lower plane of animal existence to a higher
plane of spiritual experience. It is the lowering of the sexual energy
and transporting it into higher planes of existence. Sexual drive needs
a control and modification for a prosperous and purposeful life.
Today, the addiction to sex has practically shaken the foundations of
our life. Man is different from animals. He can elevate himself to
higher thoughts, words and deeds. This is the kind of moral education
that we have to give to our children. Through this kind of education,
they will come to know about higher planes of existence. Higher plane
of existence means a better life, better mental resources and a better
output in life. This leads to a peaceful existence. Everyone is in
search of peace but he searches it outside his internal parameters.
One has to go beyond mind to attain this state of tranquility.
Optimism in life can bring in peace. Life is an endless river. It has an
endless course. This attitude brings in us a degree of optimism. Life
is an open book.

By getting a moral education, we come to understand the long lasting

values and virtues in life. Then we would come to know about the
mask that we are wearing as to survive in this material world. Our
heart is full of desire which is not controlled or channelized. It can
play havoc in our life. We require a moderation and modification. By
forming a value about life, its various spheres and activities, we can
control our desires to be on the road of progress. Soon we would
come to know that life is more beautiful than we ever thought of. By
keeping the moral sphere intact, we reduce the level of evilness and
thus lessen the burden of our life. Expectations in life can lead us to
unexpected disappointments. Unless we practice openness through a
moral discipline, this level of expectation cannot be reduced.

Today, not only in India but throughout the world, man is more and
more devilish in his approach to life. In a struggle to survive, he
becomes more and more ambitious to reach the highest stations in
life. He leaves his level of desire unchecked, uncontrolled and
untamed. Because of this fact, he entertains immoral means to
achieve his end. This is the whole root of our problem.

Modern India has advanced in her science and technological front but
has fallen into her pits in the moral front. Our style of living doesn’t
promote any value in life. Day by day we are mentally and physically
becoming weaker and weaker. We are prone to stress and strain. Our
mind is not at all clear in its judgment. Life to us has become a
nightmare. We talk about life having become so fast and
uncontrollable. It is our own mind which is preparing our own coffin.
Isn’t true that we are trying to catch up with the society despite our
individual limitations? Isn’t true that our level of expectation in life
has gone up in a geometric progression? Mental capacity gives a
clear thought, degree of grasping power, the amount of Will Power
and dynamism to work relentlessly. Moral capacity gives us a clear
picture of relative planes of truth. Physical capacity gives an index to
one’s dreams becoming a reality by putting physical efforts. Financial
capacity gives a cut off line up to which one can materially advance.
By getting a clear picture of relative planes of truth, relative planes of
values, one can balance these various forces to our own benefit in life.
Money is important in life but we should also know that it cannot give
back certain lost situations. From such observations we should
evaluate life. It requires a moral discipline. An immoral man would
give more weight to materialistic view than spiritualistic views. This is
indeed a wrong stand. It would hinder our overall progress. We may
become less and less realistic and more and more artificial. We may
become less imaginative and creative. We would end as simple
imitators. Currents of life would close in. It was only through original
and creative people that life has ever progressed on earth. Imitators
have always fallen on their way.

Our Modern India is producing more and more imitators due to her
Western influence. We have nothing to give to the world in the form of
knowledge, wisdom or spiritualism. Look at our great ancestors. They
gave light and wisdom to the entire world once upon a time. The
whole world was at our door step in seeking knowledge and wisdom
of the Oriental East. It had a beauty of its own. It had a strength of its
own.

Today, we have lost our identity. Thus, in Modern India, Moral

Education gains its own relevance. We have fallen into many bad
cults due to the influence of mass media. Media is often commercial
and profit motive. So, it will incorporate techniques for its own
survival. This is different from real moral life. We should know how to
draw a line. We can’t leave our senses unbridled to the open threats
of mass media.

Power politics is another area where we require moral education. It is

once again the desire to be in power that is creating all sorts of
problems in Modern India. This desire has to be controlled through a
sense of moral education. Through moral education, we come to
know who we are, what we are and what we are up to. Such an insight
would produce less criminals in all areas of life.
Knowledge is an idea that is very much within us. The moment
ignorance is dispelled by an external suggestion or by self awareness
of the fact, knowledge is born within. Our education should create
more and more self awareness than a bundle of info-tech. More than
the facts, we should know to evaluate life from diverse angles. Human
problems be studied from the stand point of his nature, in relation to
relative amount of truth, and beyond all prejudices like caste, creed,
color, place and politics. The training for such an insight is defined by
a Moral Education.

Morality is a measurement using which we measure the stability of an

individual, society and a nation as a whole under adverse conditions.
Without a foundation, no building can ever survive the test of time.
Without moral principles humanity also cannot really survive. Why
should our prejudices be reflected in our thought, word and deed? If it
is due to ignorance, it can be dispelled by giving proper moral
education. If it is due to a purposeful intention, no remedial measure
is really possible. Where do we stand at the moment?

Out of moral principles, a better civic sense is born. We discern better

of our duties and responsibilities. As an individual, we are better
disposed of with our family and society. We have many roles in life to
play and if we are morally sound, we know how to play them well. We
would never trespass our limits. We will show enough sincerity and
honesty in our work and in our relationship with others. A morally
sound person is a totally dependable person anywhere and at anytime.
He ever will command respect. If we are morally not sound, how can
we solve social problems like rape, woman trade, alcoholism, bribe,
communal riots and things of this kind? No discussion will ever turn
to be fruitful and totally effective unless we are morally sound. We see
that the Modern India is producing more rapists, persons engaged in
women trade, persons addicted to alcoholism, persons who entertain
bribe and persons who don’t care to respect to follow men of wisdom
due to their thick egotism. This totally careless attitude towards life
and its values drives us to a state of recklessness, to a state of utter
confusion and stress. Can’t we save ourselves and mankind from a
total perish? Can’t we give our fellow beings less pain and tears
through a better moral conduct? No pain goes unanswered. It returns
as a curse over the entire mankind.

Thus, Moral Education in Modern India becomes very important in the

present state of affairs. It is a total personality mould. It gives enough
mental strength to face life with better prospective, better choices and
lasting solutions.

Education is not a bundle of facts but a system to know one’s own

heart. By knowing it, one not only can rise to the highest altitudes of
life, but can show others the summit as well.

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