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This famous oft-repeated Sanskrit verse plainly means: Education gives humility, humility yields worthiness (deserving) which in turn enables one to earn money; using money when one performs one’s Dharma, one enjoys supreme joy. What is the logical sequence of the things that we attain through education?
It is true, only fools and shallow people feel proud of their learning. Once there was raised a question:
Newton always felt that he was like a boy gathering pebbles on the sea-shore of knowledge. “Many are the pebbles on the shore, how many more in the sea?” he wondered. Any person, who with even a little sense, but full of love for knowledge, delves to any small depth of any subject is certain to realize the stark
task, still he is doing it. Further he has said that no one can be absolutely free from actions. Even the most astute sanyasin, who has renounced every thing has to perform some actions however few they may be, for staying alive and for his spiritual pursuits.
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa says that it is true that we are and we have to be in this world. But worldliness should not be in us. He gives an excellent analogy to explain his point: the boat should be on water, but water should not be in the boat.
fact that what one can know in one’s lifetime is very little compared to the huge body of knowledge. Such realization does lead one to the feeling of humbleness about the amount of knowledge one has or one can acquire. It is in this sense that true education results in humility.
A proud and arrogant man is prone to lose and fail because of his own ego and folly, however capable he is. But a humble man effaces his ego and sets aside his pride and applies himself solely and wholly to the work on hand. Then he is sure to succeed. Thus a man of humility is a man of capability and deserving. Being so, he gets umpteen opportunities of earning money. Thus capability and deserving lead to earning a lot on money.
It has to be realized here that merely by possessing a lot of money one cannot be happy. It is rightly said: “One can buy a book, not knowledge; one can buy a bed, not sleep; one can buy food, not appetite” and so on. Especially in modern times, when money is treated as the ultimate thing, most people adopt the policy of “Take the cash in hand and waive the rest”, we see scores of people, wallowing in wealth, but terribly grief-stricken and leading horribly miserable lives. So, mere wealth does not ensure perfect happiness.
What then is the remedy?Using the money, the man has to perform his dharma. Very often the word ‘Dharma’ is translated into English as “Duty”. The word ‘Duty’ has a very narrow implication. It can, by no means, imply what all ‘Dharma’ means. According to traditional Indian thought, the word includes all the duties, obligations and commitments which every man has to perform at the levels of individual, family, society, religion, and God.
One of the basic tenets of ancient Indian philosophy is that everything belongs to God- (God is all-pervasive) Nothing, in fact, belongs to us. The wealth we are supposed to have acquired is left with us by God in good faith, only to be used to discharge or fulfil our Dharma. We have to act only as trustees of God’s wealth that is withusanduseitforgeneralwelfare.Onlywhenwefulfilthissacred responsibility of Dharma we get real mental peace or sukham.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ~ William Butler Yeats ~