Swami Tejomayananda

The words education and knowledge have many meanings — their literal meaning, a general meaning as understood by common people and the interpretation given in the scriptures. Generally, education is understood as schooling. Learning of the three R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) is understood as basic education.

And as the child goes from lower grades to higher grades, s/he chooses his field, and studies more and more in a particular subject. The parents always say, “We are giving them the best education”, but we seldom say we are giving them the best knowledge!
Education, as it is imparted in schools and colleges, is collection of data, whereas knowledge is discovery of truth. We can teach a child to read and write, but we cannot give him/her knowledge, perception or insight into the true nature of a thing. It is s/he who has to realise it for himself or herself. For instance, we can teach a child grammar, but we cannot impart to him/her a comprehensive understanding of the language itself. Many of us know what nouns and adjectives are; yet we use them incorrectly. On the other hand, some of the greatest poets who have not even had a formal education, have flawless and immortal compositions.
When we use our sense organs to collect information, or our intellect to analyse a thing, we gain partial knowledge. Even a specialist knows more and more about less and less. It is always advisable to have a holistic approach with regard to any subject. Only then is education, which leads to knowledge, gets completed and has truly served its purpose.
At present, education serves only as a means to get a degree so that it helps one to find a good job and earn one’s livelihood. It is merely job-oriented.
On completion of university education, the graduate is awarded a certificate, not any guarantee of job. If we are able to get jobs without a degree, education would be of no use. Our educational system prepares us only for one aspect of life, but it does not prepare the person to live life completely.
The typical student today rarely thinks about the real goal of life. S/he merely thinks about achieving professional or material goals, such as, becoming a doctor and acquiring name, fame and wealth. Neither has s/he any guidance, nor an ideal to follow. The duty of educational institutions is to guide and prepare the student for life as a whole. They must show him/her higher goals that s/he can strive for. If we are able to set a higher goal for ourselves, we strive to attain it, even though we may not actually be able to accomplish it. But when there is no ideal, there is no progress or development.
For example, when we set the goal of feeding others before feeding ourselves, then we will strive to do just that. If we lower our ideal, we not only eat our own food but the food of others as well. We see that as our ideal falls, so does our behaviour.
Our ideals and goals guide our thoughts and actions. Education should play a role in determining our ideals. However, these goals are not articulated in our universities. For many, the knowledge they acquire is merely in their heads; and for some, it remains in the book — the book that is locked in a library with the key in the pocket of the librarian who has gone on a holiday! So, their knowledge is also on a holiday! There are people who are walking encyclopedias or talking libraries, but with no real knowledge or understanding. Someone once said to Swami Chinmayananda, “I have gone through the Bhagavad Gita several times, but nothing has happened”. To this Swamiji replied, “You have gone through the Bhagavad Gita, but has the Bhagavad Gita gone through you?”
The true purpose of education is to lead a person to knowledge by which he can discover the truth for himself or herself and to train him/her to see life in its totality — to face it in its completeness.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com.
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.