Swami teaches... Faith and dedication - basis of education

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (15 February 2005)

 

Faith and Dedication - Basis of Education

 

There are people who dispute among themselves whether God is Saguna or

Nirguna, (withor without attributes), Saakaara or Niraakaara! (with form or

formless). Are you Saguna or Nirguna? Are you Saakaara or Niraakaara? Of

course you are Saguna and Saakaara, because you are with body. So long as you

feel you are with body, you cannot transcend the Saguna, and realise the

Nirguna. When you liberate yourselves from bondage to this limitation, you

become Nirguna. That happens in a flash. There is no more fear or hate or even

love. All are subsumed into the One without a Second.

If you trust in inert matter, life becomes inert; trust in the active

principle and life is activated. You do not know the gem shining inside you,

the Divinity whose effulgence is your to intellect,whose reflection is the Prema

you evince.

Death stalks you at every step. Before he mauls you mortally, know the Truth

and be blessed. The Name of the Lord is the rifle which guards you against

beasts of prey in the jungle of life.

Nowadays, people laugh at the idea of Naamasmarana and Naamasankeerthana

(rememberingand singing God's holy Names). They ask, what is in a Name? It is

just an assortment of sounds.My words too are assortments of sound, but, when

they enter your hearts, you feel content, youfeel encouraged, is it not? Words

have tremendous power; they can arouse emotions and they cancalm them. They

direct, they infuriate, they reveal, they confuse; they are potent forces that

bringup great reserves of strength and wisdom. Therefore have faith in the Name

and repeat itwhenever you get the chance.

One living without faith in the Divine is like a lifeless corpse. The

following little story illustrates the power of faith. A young boy used to

go from his village to school which was in a nearby town. He had to cross

aforest en route to the town. Generally he used to return home well before

sunset.Once he had to leave the school late in the evening and darkness set in.

The boy was afraid to walk through the forest in darkness and told his mother

that he was afraid to walk in the night without company. His mother said: "Why

are you afraid? Whenever you are in need of company, shout aloud calling your

brother. He will help you." The boy asked her: "Who is my brother?" The

mother replied: "He is none other than LordKrishna.

The boy had full faith in his mother's words. Another day the boy was

returning home from school late at night in the darkness. He shouted: "Anna

Krishna" (Brother Krishna). After a few moments Krishna appeared before the boy

in the form of a lad and told him - "Why do you fear when I am here? I shall

escort you home." He accompanied the boy to the village outskirts and

disappeared.

 

When you have full faith, God will surely help you and make you fearless. You

need not search forGod. It is God who is searching for a real devotee. God has

to act in different ways in different situations. When He takes human form He

has to act as a human.

 

Faith to God (Almighty, Absolute) and dedication are the basis of human

existence and consequently the basis of whatsoever education system connected

with spiritual roots. The Vedhas, Upanishadhs and Shaasthras are like

traffic signs on the road of true education with spiritual signposts; if they

are removed, the journey is rendered slow and difficult, replete with

accidents.

 

It is not enough if a student is endowed with scientific and worldly

knowledge. He should haveessentially moral and spiritual knowledge also. The

aim of education should be to bring about an all-round development of the

personalities of the students. Education should make all virtues emerge and

shine forth in students. Indian culture essentially aims at developing human

beings with such a personality. The Raamaayana, Bhaagavatha and Mahaabhaaratha

are like three important life-breaths for Indian culture.

Education should promote culture. Culture promotes refinement. It is termed

as Samskaara which consists of Sadhguna (good character), Sadhaachaara (good

practices) and Sadbhaavana (good feelings). For a person to be deemed educated,

his behaviour should be good, his actions useful to society and his feelings

should be compassionate and kind. "Sarvabhuutha Hithe Rathah" (One should have

concern for the welfare of all beings). What is education without culture?

It is like a kite cut off from its main thread. It is not possibleto predict

where this kite would land - whether on thorny bushes or on dwelling places. It

isdifficult to predict how such education is going to affect and harm society.

 

It would be wrong to call it education if it merely teaches the meanings of

words. The basic aimof education is to make men of character and virtue.

Education withouthumility, action without discrimination, scholarship without

wisdom, words without truth, friendship without gratitude, music without

melody, politics without morality and integrity can never shine in society.

One's personality blossoms only when one has humility along with knowledge.

Education should inculcate in students the spirit of self-reliance and

self-confidence. The firstthing in life is self-reliance, second is

self-confidence, third is self-sacrifice, fourth is self-realisation.What is it

that made Raama God? It is imbibing of the six qualities, namely character,

compassion, non-violence, control of the mind, control of the senses and fame.

Knowledge without action is useless. Action without knowledge is

foolishness. Aathma-Vidhya (Spiritual knowledge), is the basis of all

education. It is like the ocean while all other types of education are like

rivers which must merge in the ocean. The essence of spiritual education is

faithand dedication. It is the absence of spirituality which is responsible for

all the problems, violence, agitation and strike.

Sai Sankalpam is to bring together once again the Paalakas (Rulers) and the

Pandiths, theguardians of the welfare of the people in the secular and the

spiritual fields. That is why theministers and the legislators are here on this

platform, along with Pandiths and Shaasthris.Without the cooperative functioning

of these two, there can be no progress, no success in theattempt to build up a

new world.

When plans are laid by the rulers for the uplift of the people and for

training the children of theland, I want that the ancient wisdom of this land,

still preserved and practised by these Pandiths,must be consulted. I want that

the knowledge embodied in the Upanishadhs should be handed down to every one.

Bhakthi-directed education must take precedence over the Bhukthi-directed

(enjoyment-directed) schooling that prevails today in most countries of the

world. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 4, "Sai Sankalpam.

Scriptures are like traffic signs," Chapter 15 and "Are words mere sound,"

Chapter 44. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 27, "The power of faith," Chapter 15 and

"Education and culture," Chapter 30).

 

Namaste - Reet