On Education-15:

Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability – Cicero

‘Concentrate on Education’ : Swaraj Paul

Chairman of the Caparo group of companies, Lord Swaraj Paul, said on Saturday (Sep.22, 2007) that if India wanted to become a developed country it should concentrate on education. Without the desired development in this field, no country could attain the standards of a developed country.

“I am of the opinion that politics and business should be kept away from the field of education,” he told reporters.

He formally inaugurated the Punjab Technical University-Caparo School of Excellence for Manufacturing and Material Technology at Jalandhar, Punjab. He said the school was a unique gift to the city. The school was thrown open to the students on August 14.

The school is his first initiative towards fostering entrepreneurship in India by catalysing, accelerating and supporting the growth of manufacturing and materials technology.

In the UK, 50% of the total population acquire higher education, which was the largest percentage in this category, he said. However, in India’s case the situation was bad as not more than 30% of children do not even get primary education.

The former President, APJ Abdul Kalam, is to be conferred with a honorary degree by Wolverhampton University in the UK next month, he said.

Lord Paul, who is also the Chancellor of the University, said Mr.Kalam would visit London on October 22 for receiving the honour. He said Mr.Kalam had also agreed to deliver lectures at the Caparo School here.

Excerpt from PTI/The Hindu, Chennai, of Sep.23, 2007.

Grateful thanks to PTI and The Hindu.

Words of Wisdom-7:

Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts – Henry B.Adams

Sathya Sai Baba – Peace through Education in Human Values

Sathya Sai Baba – Peace through Education in Human Values

Indian Ideal of Education – Article from Sanathana Sarathi

Indian Ideal of Education – Article from Sanathana Sarathi

Sathya Sai Baba – Self-confidence, Self-realisation, education

Sathya Sai Baba – Self-confidence, Self-realisation, education

Words of Wisdom-5:

“I touch the future. I teach.” – Christa McAuliffe

Robert Frost on Education:

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” – Robert Frost

Words of Wisdom-4:

Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man – Swami Vivekananda

Words of Wisdom-3: "The Drawbacks of Mere Book-Learning"

Modern education is highly advanced…. Yet, the day to day problems in the society have not diminished. Miseries of the masses are piling up. Hypocrisy, corruption, beastliness and such vices are eating into the human race. It is totally disheartening to notice the educated and the executive class falling prey to darker vices. These hard facts force us to stop and think a while. Yes, education centred on mere book-learning and bread-winning cannot be the panacea. – Srimat Swami Purushottamanandaji Maharaj

Words of Wisdom-2: "Secular Knowledge devoid of Spiritual Values"

Mere secular knowledge devoid of deep roots in moral and spiritual values would lead to the creation of lop-sided individuals who are clever and skillful – ‘rich’ in technology but poor in humanity. (Atmavikas: A Self-Development Journal for Class IX, published by Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, Price Rs.70/-)

Tirukkural on Education-1:

” Lore worth learning, learn flawlessly

Live by that learning thoroughly.” (Tr. by Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati : Pub. by Shree Shenbhaga Pathippagam, Chennai)

“Acquire a sound knowledge of things that should be learnt, and then act accordingly.” (Tr. by C.Rajagopalachari)(Pub. by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai-400 007)

Words of Wisdom-1:

Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library – Swami Vivekananda

Self-Education and Self-Perfection

Man’s creative potentials are unlimited and inexhaustible. One never comes anywhere near the peak of one’s capacities and one’s brain usually performs up to a negligible fraction of its potential. While nature has generously provided each person with colossal credit, we draw from it less and less, being too lazy for the kind of intellectual gymnastics that can propel our capacities to the level of true talents and geniuses… No person is without talent. A person’s education is said to have achieved its goal if the person in question has matured enough to have the strength and will to carry on educating himself for the rest of his life and to know to do so. Self-education is strenuous and requires continuous self-perfection. For genuine self-perfection, there must be a specific goal that a person sets for himself. The more lofty and noble the goal is the greater service it does to the individual and the society.(From ‘Realize Your Potential’ by V.Pekelis: Published Mir Publishers, Moscow)

Life is a Learning Experience

Sri Ramakrishna held learning as a continuing process. One can discover nuggets of wisdom ANYTIME in life. There is no reason that one should stop or suspend learning new things in life. He said, “As long as I live, so long do I learn.”

….Most of us associate the process of learning with formal education – going to a school or college, attending classes, appearing in examinations, and obtaining a certificate to that effect. Learning thus comes to an end.

… But life is designed differently. It is meant to make us grow; to make us wiser. Never was it designed to stagnate… life itself is a teacher. As someone said, “Life is a tough teacher; it gives examinations first, and lessions AFTERWARDS.”

There is an inherent urge in all human beings to know, to evolve, to enjoy the bliss of fulfilment. ‘The goal of mankind is knwoledge,’ said Swami Vivekananda. ‘Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowlege. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for. After a time man finds that it is not happiness, but knowledge, towards which he is going. (For the full article: The Vedanta Kesari, January 2007 (Editorial: ‘As long as I live…’)