Chapter 11
Education institutions
Modelled on Religious places
Kandasamy initiates a discussion with me saying Education system in our country, compares one-to-one with Religion.
Me: Kandasamy, I know that your understanding of religion is absolutely good. But your comparison of education with religion, rather, surprises me.
K: There is nothing to be surprised at all sir. There are quite a few things in common.
Neither Education system nor the Religion are unimportant to the society.
Both were there is some form or the other for unknown time in the history. Even before the time of Jesus Christ, there was an education movement called Sophy. Alexander’s Guru and one of the great philosopher and Botanist, Aristotle was heading an Education movement in Greece for quite some time.
Changes to names and forms are not uncommon. That is true with the education system too.
Me: I am afraid that, you have more than that and your mischievous smile reveals them all.
K: Educated people, likes of you, always look down Religion as an institution for poor and brainless entities.
Me: Well, It is not exactly that. We too visit temple and pray God.
There are two ways to live. One by knowledge and the other is through Faith.
K: Religion is based on rules and rituals.
There are instructions to be followed. No questions asked.
It is possible that the process called Thinking, based on logic and reasoning would fail in most places.
The path of Knowledge is quite the opposite.
You don’t accept any statements or suggestions without examining them. Testing the information with Logic and reasoning is the first step.
Me: Education is something to do with knowledge. But you said, that our education system compares with Religion. Is there not a contradiction?
K: There is no contradiction in most education systems. It is sad that it is true. Now I will ask some questions for you to answer. Youo will discover it yourself. Let me start, now.
Why do people go to temple?
Me: It is quite simple. Typically we go to temple when we are unable to solve our problems with our learnings. We are troubled by the bitter past, troublesome present and unknown future.
We take to faith route to secure a bright and happy future for ourselves.
K: Then.
Me: We.. oo to temple, to offer our prayers to God. Pay some fees to Poojari or priest over there. Poojaris are trained to communicate with God.
K: Then, what happens?
Me: Poojari takes some personal data from us. Tell some long prayers to the deity which we do not understand.
K: Then, what happens?
Me: Then the Priest give some portion of fruits that we offered to God. It is known as PRASAD. The holy food. We eat it anc ome back assured that the God would take care of our future.
K: How sure you are that the God understood what the Priest told before it?
Me: It is a faith. You have to believe. .
K: Is there a proof that every prayer was answered favorably by God.
Me: It is a faith. This is a practice for several hundred years now. So you have to trust it. You need to believe and not test it.
K: Why do send Children to Education
Me: To ensure a good future. Yes, I see one common aspect here.
K: You would find much more. What happens in the class rooms.
Me: A teacher, a trained person tell something to the students
K: Do you believe that all the students understand all that the teacher tell before them?
Me: Probably not.
K: Why then the teachers do what Priests do in the temple?
Me: It is the way that was followed for century or more now, So it should be trusted.
K: Don’t you a second point that compare? Now tell me if every one going to temple receives the benefit of praying?
Me: Probably not. Some might benefit some times, in some way.
K: Good. Tell me sir, if every one who gets into Education systems becomes an engineer, doctor, Scientist, professor or a Software engineer.?
Me: Certainly not. May be one percent of them might benefit with such returns on their investment of time, money and efforts. Another five percent might benefit marginally.
K: This being the fact, why people send their children for education and spend huge money?
Me: A hope.
K: Like the one you get after coming out of the temple after elaborate prayers,
Me: Yes. We get that kind of hope Immediately after we get an application form by Paying Rs 2000, standing in a queue for two days for admission to LKG for our children.
K: Is that not a hope after a successful ritual?
Me: You got it right.I can see much more now.
1. No one thinks in both Religion and Education systems. They implement faithfully what was told to them.
2. Both temple and education institutes are not held responsible if our prayers education did not yield a desired result.
3. Like temple giving Prasad, Education system gives degree certificates which is no more holier than the prasad we get.
One good thing about religion and ritual is that the fee is less. We spend very little time. The time money and effort is negligible compared to our Education system which is also run in the same lines as Religious institutions.
K: You have missed out something serious.
Me: In third world countries like India, the economically poor and socially backward people are made to believe that Education is a panacea for all their ills. They try imitating middle class.
K: It is because, middle class is clinging to Education for survival as most of them are unfit for struggle through physical effort and do not match in wit with rich.
Me: Poor targeting middle class as their growth path is perfectly right. Education is one requirement for all the white collar jobs.But there are not so many jobs that the number of aspirants.
In the rat race to white collar jobs, poor are the major loosers as they are ill equipped to compete for the few positions.
Then what should be done?
K: I have several question on our education system..
If my discussions with several people in the education system is a fair sample of what the people in education system had to say, we go nowhere from here.
Me: But, we will tell all that we discovered through our four years of researching.
K: Yes sir. We will do so.
Me: I recall that there were some brilliant students among us during the high school days. Invariably they are the toppers in the class. They were a class apart from the rest of the students. On examination day, they stand before the road side Ganesh temple and pray for a while.
During my school days, average students like me, would feel that these boys (some girls) are naturally brilliant and that they don’t need the favour of Lord Ganesh for clearing the examination or high score. There are those high scoring students claiming that, even though they had prepared well for the examination, their personal god playing an important role in their performance in the examination hall.
If some one believe it, it is true. That is why prayers, religion, God are considered part of faith..
Kandasamy : I also believe that miracles can happen with pure faith. I have met such individuals and heard of miracles that they could perform. Later in my life I could relate such miracles to Alternate less Desire and I had my own share of it twice.
I have heard some one on a spiritual path suggesting me that, out of the four Spiritual ¨by-lanes that join the SPIRITUAL HIGHWAY the fastest track is path of faith or pathof love and also known as BAKTHI MARGA.
K: During the next meeting, we are going to discuss something controvertial.
Me :I don’t think that we ever discussed any time non-controvertial topics. I guess, it is about education, right?
It is not that all the controversial topics are unknown to others.
In fact many are aware all. about such topics. They do not want to be branded Controversial person or a rebel within the community.
After all, we have no such compulsions in our circle. Any one see value in our views can share it with others.
Bringing changes and become a part of the change. Make every one’s life good. Otherwise. some day in the near future, changes would come like a deluge. Those who opposed or feared will be washed away.
K: It is true. Most educated are hypocrite too.
However, nothing matters to us. We will tell others what we learnt. There our responsibility ends.