Education is not a subject on which anybody and everybody should talk.Today, education has become more outward and worldly. Today, there are millions and millions of people who have pursued such worldly education in India. In what way the society is benefited by such people? Everyone is concerned with his own selfish interest. There is none who cares for public interest and welfare. No one is bothered about how society is and in what condition it is, or what difficulties people are undergoing. When they speak in public they give long rhetoric about helping the poor, but when it comes to action, they are nowhere near. You all know in what state the world is today. Wherever you turn, you see sorrow and suffering. Peace and happiness are not to be found anywhere.
Every country claims progress and achievement in different areas. These claims are hollow in nature as peace and happiness cannot be found anywhere. If we enquire into the truth, every country is steeped in difficulties and is in some crisis or the other. No government makes a sincere effort to understand the difficulties faced by poor people. It is very difficult to determine who is poor and who is rich. All are ‘poor’ in one sense. Then who are the rich people? Those who put into practice what they say. It is said,“Manasyekam vachasyekam karmanyekam mahathmanam”. It means that those whose thoughts, words and deeds are in perfect accord are “mahatmas” (great souls). Such people are very rare. In fact, countries like Russia and America, which are considered to be super powers, are causing great harm to the poorer countries. They do not even regret for their mistakes. They are unable to realise how the people of the under-developed and developing countries are suffering. For example, the people in Iraq underwent untold suffering. But, none cared to bother their suffering. No doubt, that in every country, there are rich and poor people. Strangely, it is the rich people who are taken care of and provided with help. No one comes to the rescue of the poor people or provide succour to them. Hence, first and foremost, the poor and the downtrodden should be protected.
Every devotee must cultivate love and compassion. It is said, “Thyagenaike amruthathwamanasuh” (it is only by sacrifice that one can attain immortality). It is only a person with the quality of sacrifice can experience bliss. Those with the ego-centric feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ can never be happy in life. Where there is the feeling of ‘I’ there comes ego. Those who cultivate the feeling of ‘mine’ and ‘my people’ develop attachment. One should never develop the feeling that only my country should prosper. One should develop a broader outlook and pray, “Lokah samasthah sukhino bhavanthu” (May the whole world be happy!).
Those who develop the narrow-minded feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ undergo a lot of suffering. This is due to the secular education that they have acquired. Worldly education does not go beyond one’s own selfish interest. We should love all and serve all. Today the rich have lost the qualities of ‘papa bheeti’ and ‘daiva preeti’ (fear of sin and love for God). If only you cultivate these two qualities, you can achieve anything in life.
We must bring down our selfish interest to a certain extent. One has to gradually give up selfishness. We have to make full use of our education and energies for the benefit of the society. If there are no poor people, you cannot even be sure of your food; for it is they who toil in the fields and factories to produce the grains and goods for the consumption of people in the society. While the rich enjoy the comforts of life, the poor sweat to keep their body and soul together. Every individual in a society has his own rights, the right to live, etc. Hence, we must take care of the poor people also and provide them with certain basic necessities. For utilising their services, we must also serve them in return. Today those who are highly educated and those who are holding positions of power are steeped in utter selfishness. It is only they who exhibit mean mentality.
Today, everyone wishes to fulfil his selfish interests at the cost of others. No one acts with a pure heart and good intention to help others. A human being is expected to have the qualities of Sathya (truth), Dharma (righteousness), Santhi (peace), Prema (love) and Ahimsa (non-violence). Devoid of these qualities, he is not a human being at all. How can a person with demonic qualities be called a human being? Hence, first and foremost one has to cultivate human qualities. No one has a right to enjoy when his fellow-human being is suffering. All are God’s children only. To whomsoever you cause suffering, it will affect you. Hence, you have to conduct your life with devotion to God and love for all human beings.
All should remain united. Where there is unity, there shall be purity. Where there is purity, there is divinity. You all have to lead your lives keeping in view these three aspects of unity, purity and divinity. You should not remain unconcerned with others’ difficulties and suffering. Treat their suffering as your own. The one God dwells in the hearts of all people. “Easwarah sarvabhuthanam”. God is immanent even in ants and mosquitoes. There should be compassion in your heart. But, this has become a rare quality these days. Instead, we find ‘come-fashion’ everywhere. How can then equality prevail in society? Show at least an iota of humanity. He who has such a human quality will become a person with compassionate heart in the real sense.
Lust, anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, etc., are animal qualities. The real wealth of a human being is noble qualities like love, compassion, righteousness, sacrifice and truth. It is only when a person has these human qualities that he can be considered a human being. Unfortunately, today people are human only in form, but qualities are those of animals. What is important is not the form, but qualities.
You cannot be sure when difficulties will confront you. Every action (karma) has its reaction, resound and reflection. If you hurt others, surely it will have its reaction. It is only when you recognise this truth and conduct yourself accordingly that you can be called a true human being. You talk to any student of our institutions, even primary school children will explain to you the human qualities very clearly. The human values have therefore to be cultivated right from childhood. The boys and girls should grow in human values. Even elders can learn from such students.
Now, about Truth. From where did Truth come? It has not sprouted from the earth nor has it descended from the sky. Its origin is not North, South, East or West. Truth is firmly installed in one’s own heart. If you develop your inner vision, you can surely recognise truth there. Where there is truth, there righteousness is. When truth and righteousness go together, love emerges from the heart. From love comes peace. When peace and love go hand in hand, non-violence reigns. We have to understand the inter-relationship between the five human values, namely, Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence. All these human values are embedded in our own inner being.
A human being is God, verily. That is the reason why God is portrayed in human form. If God were to reveal His true identity, He would declare, “I am Brahman”. He would not say “I am so and so”. All the names of individuals are only those given to the human body by their parents. They are not God-given. God has given only one gift, that is Atma. That is, “Mamatma sarvabhuthantharatma” (the one Divine Self permeates all beings). You observe the ants. They move in a line up and down. While doing so, they greet each other happily. If a cow has given birth to a calf, it does not join the flock leaving the young calf alone. The cow recognises the cry of the calf, even from a distance. The calf cries “Amba! Amba! And the mother cow responds. Such is the relationship among animals and even in birds.
In the Ramayana story, a hunter saw two birds happily spending their time in each other’s company, perched on a tree. The hunter shot an arrow and killed the male bird. Unable to bear the separation from her beloved, the female bird also died soon thereafter. Sage Valmiki who witnessed this pathetic scene uttered a sloka, even without knowing it. It came spontaneously from his mouth. That soka (grief) became the inspiration for the great epic Ramayana. Thus, the birds and animals also love each other. How then can a human being lose such a noble quality of love? Today there are many things that a human being can learn from birds, animals and even beasts. But, the human being is least bothered to learn these lessons. I have been teaching many good things since decades; but you don’t listen. Even if you listen, you don’t put them into practice.
If somebody abuses you, you feel sad. Don’t you know that he also feels in the same way when you abuse him? Praise or criticism, treat them all as part of the divine leela. When you develop such a sense of equanimity, you will come up in life. Today, even rich people are crazy for money. But, they do not show the same enthusiasm for God. People have lost self-confidence, totally. “Where is Atma? What is Atma?” People ask hundred and one questions. They do not at all understand that the Atma they were questioning about is very much immanent in them.
People say, “this is my handkerchief”. It means ‘I’ is separate and ‘handkerchief’ is separate. Similarly when you say ‘my body’, you are different from your body. What is this ‘my’? You say ‘this is mine’. But, who are you? You do not know the truth about yourself. When you know yourself, it amounts to knowing everything. If you do not know yourself, you cannot know others. Hence, sit calmly and peacefully in some corner and try to enquire into the nature of your own self. That is real dhyana (meditation). Meditation does not imply contemplating on God. Know about yourself, in the first instance. God is in you, with you, around you, above you and below you. YOU ARE GOD. Whenever someone enquires “Who are you?”, say “I am God”. Don’t say, “I am so and so.” How happy you will feel when you consider yourself as God! Even those who listen to your reply will feel happy.
Education does not mean simply imparting knowledge. We learn many things from the text books. But, we may not be able to understand their real meaning. First and foremost, enquire into yourself “Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Then you will get the real answer. Are you the mind? Or intellect? Or chittha? Or ego? Or body? You are none of these. No doubt the body, mind, intellect, etc., are all gifts of God. You have, of course, to respect them and value them. It is not enough if you read various texts and feel happy and contented that you have gained vast knowledge. Yesterday, one boy came to me and informed, “Swami, I have completed parayana of Sri Shirdi Sai Satcharithra.” When I enquired whether he had read the book fully, he replied that he had completely read the book without leaving a single letter. Then I enquired, “how many teachings of Baba contained in that book are you practising?” He replied, “None, Swami,” Then, what for is this reading? For turning pages? Not at all. There should be a transformation in your heart. Then only your parayana (reading of sacred texts) will be sanctified.
Devotees undertake several kinds of sadhana. But, they are not sadhana in the real sense. If you wish to see ‘reality’, you have to develop an inner vision. If you open your eyes and see the outside world, you will see a number of heads. On the other hand, close your eyes and look into yourself. Then you will see none but yourself. Hence, develop an inner vision. You enquire into yourself “Who am I?” Immediately reply comes from within “I am I”. That is the correct answer. People say “I am so and so; I am an American,” etc. These are not the real answers to the question “Who am I?” These are all outward names for identification in the external world. They are not important. What is important is self-enquiry. Then you will realise the Truth.
Srinivasan(All India President of Sri Sathya Seva Organisations) who spoke earlier eulogised education. What he said related to worldly education. I do not agree. It should relate to you. Then only the concept of ‘I am I” can be realised. Tomorrow, I will provide answers to some of your questions that bother you in your daily life. I am sure very soon you will realise Divinity. I do not wish to speak about modern education. That everybody will do. Reading books and gaining worldly knowledge is not great. This is only bookish knowledge. You must gain knowledge of your own self (inner being). That is real knowledge. That is changeless and eternal. Truth is only one, not two. Truth is God. Righteousness is God. Peace is God. Love is God. Know this. “Love is God; live in love”. If you cultivate such selfless and divine love, you can achieve everything in life.
“God is one; goal is one”. If you develop firm faith in this maxim, you can understand everything. Your experiences and enjoyment in this material world are not important. They are not true. Behind these momentary experiences, there are some eternal values to be cultivated; some human qualities to be developed. These values and qualities have to manifest from within, not in the outside world. That is Educare. Educare means bringing out the latent qualities and values from the core of our inner being. The books you read in the outside world relate to education. But, this is ‘Educare’. What is needed today is ‘Educare’. If people develop ‘Educare’, all will be united.
source : Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Divine discourse at the Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference,July 20,2008
With love and passion,
Amreish Siman
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