“We want education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s feet.”
— Swami Vivekananda
The conventional educational system, while having its benefits, is not man-making, but based on negation, Swamiji says. The first thing a child learns is that his father is a fool; the second thing he learns is that his grandfather is a lunatic; the third is that his teachers are hypocrites, and the fourth is that all sacred books are full of lies.
Is it any surprise that rather than producing original thinkers – the raison d’etre of education – it produces frightened, broken, and lifeless people who don’t explore anything remotely close to their potential?
Is it any surprise that despite the vast amounts of information in the world, there is still a deluge of oppression, helplessness, and misery?
Education is not the amount of information that runs riot undigested in your brain. “The ass carrying its load of sandalwood knows its weight and not the value of sandalwood,” Swamiji writes.
True education builds character and life. It trains us to act and think like lions, not lambs. It inspires us to rise above our shortcomings and solve our own problems rather than depending on others.
True education makes us ātmanirbhar (self-reliant).