Talk by Anil Kumar to Teachers in Bangalore on “EDUCARE”

[Guest guest]

question for my life on that day. Well, I could not answer it.So I said, “Swami,

what are the dates?”Bhagavan said, “The 28th and 29th.”Then I prayerfully

thought, “This is the best opportunity to get permission for my other personal

work, because Swami-kaaryamu, swakaaryamu, (deeds for Swami, deeds for self)

could be both done at the same time.”I said, “Bhagavan, I have a marriage

function at Guntur on the 27th, which I must attend because my absence would

lead to misunderstanding and displeasure.”Then Bhagavan immediately said, “All

right, all right. It is up to you, Bangaru (Golden One – a term of endearment).

Nee convenience choochuko. Nee anukoolamu chuchuko. Danidemundi. Idi the 28th -

29th.”This happens to be the 28th and 29th. Was He indirectly suggesting that

since the wedding function was on the 27th, what would I be doing on the 28th

and 29th? Well, that’s how I took it.Then I said, “Swami, as the wedding is at

night on

the 27th, I won’t be able to reach the conference on time on the 28th. So I will

leave there (Guntur) on the 28th, and attend the function on the second

day.”“Manchidi, manchidi, nuvvu chuchuko.”The next day, Bhagavan told the

organisers about my commitment on the 27th, but that I would attend the

conference.This is how the Will of Bhagavan brought me here and blessed me with

the opportunity to be in your midst. What greater joy can I expect? Could there

ever be more in one’s own lifetime?THE TOPIC IS: “VISION OF SRI SATHYA SAI

EDUCARE”I have been given the topic “Vision of Sri Sathya Sai Educare”, about

which much has been written. I will limit myself to the topic proper. Having

been a teacher for four decades, I cannot afford to digress, divert or stray

away from the topic given to me.I would, however, like to divide my talk into

three parts. The

first part is the organisational aspect. The second part shows the difference

between education and Educare. And the third part is about the task ahead of

us, and how to go about it. These are the three components in my talk this

morning.THE EDUCATION WING IS THE FRUITION OF THE SERVICE AND SPIRITUAL

WINGSFirst, let me talk to you about the organisational aspect. My friends, all

of you know that there are three wings in Sathya Sai Seva Organisation. The

first wing is the service wing. The service wing is where we render service

with the body. “Bend the body.” Unless we serve humanity, we can never learn to

be humble; we can never experience Divinity. So, the first wing of this

organisation is the service wing, which is service-oriented, service-centred,

and service-based. We call this karma yoga (the path of activity, which

strengthens and purifies devotion to God).The service wing takes us to the next

wing of the organisation, which we call

the spiritual wing. It comprises bhajan mandali (spiritual congregations),

nagarsankirtan (group singing of spiritual songs along the streets early

morning), and all other spiritual activities. They all come under the spiritual

wing, which represents bhakthi yoga (the devotional path of Love for God).Karma

takes you to bhakthi. Bhakthi is meaningless without karma. Karma is aimless

without bhakthi. Karma and bhakthi are the obverse and reverse of the same

coin. They go together. If one does service without bhakthi, it is useless,

mechanical, routine, monotonous, laborious, boring. If there is only

spirituality without the service wing, it is like a platform lecture, only

words, jargon; it is bogus, exhibitionism.So the spiritual wing will have its

foundation in the service wing. The service wing will have its fulfilment in

the spiritual wing. These two will take us to the third wing of the Sai

Organisation, which we call the education wing. This is jnana yoga, the

path of wisdom to God.Jnana yoga is the fruit and essence of the Sathya Sai

Organisation. This education wing is the brilliance, the radiance, the light

and the delight of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation. This wing is the very life

breath of the Sathya Sai Organisation, without which the other two are

lifeless, futile exercises.WE ARE PRIVILEGED TO BE TEACHERSWe are all lucky to

have been involved in the education wing of the Sathya Sai Organisation. We,

the teachers, are privileged to be teachers. First of all, we should feel proud

of our profession. Why? It is because our greatness, our richness, and our

property are not counted in terms of coins and money. Our property is counted

in terms of the appreciation, the adoration, the dedication, the commitment,

and the compliments that we receive from our students that are recorded in the

passbook of our heart, in the bank of our life.After all, every income has an

income tax, but the

income of a teacher cannot be taxed because it is infinite, Amrutasya Puthrah

(child of Immortality). It is akshaya (inexhaustible).Given the chance, I want

to be born again as a teacher. I tell you this because I became a teacher by

choice, not by force. By preference! I became a teacher because I have joy

while teaching. What a thrill we have when we are teachers. We forget all our

family problems.That’s the reason why people of other professions might become

old when they retire; but a teacher is an evergreen hero throughout his

lifetime. (Applause) This is because he moves in the company of youngsters. A

teacher moves in the garden of flowers that blossom with smiles, the smiles of

bubbling faces of students committed to his care.TEACHERS ARE THE NATION’S

BUILDERSWe are very lucky. We should be very grateful to God. We are the

nation’s builders.I can

give you an illustration -- that of King Charles IV of England. He made a royal

visit to a high school in London, England. The name of the headmaster was

Busbee. He was teaching a lesson based on a poem written by William Wordsworth,

“The Cloud”. So beautiful! Wordsworth is speaking of nature. He takes you to a

state of ecstasy!While he was teaching the students, the king passed by on the

veranda. The headmaster did not get up nor lift his cap as a mark of respect to

the royal king. He didn’t do that because he was engrossed, immersed in a total

state of forgetfulness, in total identification with the teaching.After the

bell rang, a few teachers came by and said, “You are going to lose your job.”He

said, “Why?”“You did not salute the royal king, His Majesty! How is it you kept

on teaching?”And the headmaster said, “One king passed by the corridor. There

are forty kings in my classroom. I cannot ignore them.” (Applause)NO

COUNTRY CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT A TEACHERNever underestimate the profession we

belong to. Never underestimate your role. No country can survive without a

teacher. Impossible! A teacher sees the future. A teacher is a man of

vision.Michelangelo was a teacher. He looked at a boulder, a shapeless rock,

and said, “I see an angel in that.”Similarly, a teacher is a ‘Michelangelo’! A

teacher is a sculptor who chisels a rock, his student, into a beautiful idol. A

teacher is a cloud showering the rain of happiness, giving the cool breeze of

bliss to his students.THE ROLE OF A TEACHEROur students speak of us at home.

They tell their father and mother how the teacher dresses, and how the teacher

addresses. I believe every teacher should know how to dress and how to address.

We cannot be ill dressed. We should be well dressed. A well-dressed teacher will

prepare well and his presentation will be given equally well. We should be

presentable to students. The students should be happy to see us. We can’t afford

to be unappealing. No. We’ve got to be the latest.I remember as a student how I

used to note down the colour of the suits of my teacher, including the colour

of the socks he wore. How he inspired me!I met him again yesterday. He is 88

and my suspicions were that I might not see him again. He is almost on his

deathbed! I touched his feet and said, “Dr. Thomas, before I get on to the

dais, I pray to God, then I think of you and then I start speaking. I must have

addressed thousands and thousands of meetings, but you left an indelible mark on

the sands of time in my memory. You inspired me.” That is the role of a

teacher.Well, if I speak more, members of other professions may feel slighted.

I don’t want to annoy anyone or be a cause for anger. But it shouldn’t matter,

as everyone is also the product of their teachers.THE EDUCATION WING HAS TWO

PARTSThe education wing is an important part of the Sai organisation, where we

teachers have an important role.There are two components in the education

wing.The Study CircleBalvikas (Sai Spiritual Education for young children),

Education in Human Values, and Educare.Having been in the Sathya Sai

Organisation for a quarter of a century in various capacities of the State

Organisation, I am familiar with the organisational hierarchy. Therefore, I am

trying to give you a picture or some idea of the organisation, as well.THE

FIRST PART OF THE EDUCATION WING IS THE STUDY CIRCLEThe education wing has

these two components: the Study Circle, and Balvikas, Education in Human

Values, and Educare.First, what is a Study Circle?Today there is no study.

There is only a circle, that’s all, a circle. So we have to realise that we

cannot afford to have men and women of this country with a circle or a zero in

their minds. No! They should not be empty-headed or dull-headed.The Study

Circle: We sit in a circle and study together. We evolve and progress together.

We investigate together. We explore together. That togetherness is a circle.

Study is learning in-depth.Study and learning are different. Learning is

formal. It is institutional and rather bookish. Learning is time-bound.

Learning is, all in all, a process of reception or receiving some material.

But, study is observation. Study is reflection and reaction. Study is

exploration and enquiry. We study to be steady. Therefore, my friends, the

first part of the education wing is the Study Circle. We have to study

well.KNOWLEDGE IS POWEREvery teacher must necessarily study. If a teacher is to

be respected, the teacher must have adequate material about his subject matter.

That’s the reason why the famous maxim says, “Knowledge is power.” Knowledge is

power. It is more powerful than an atom

bomb, more powerful than a nitrogen bomb. Knowledge is power. That is the

knowledge one should have, adequate knowledge, knowledge-in-depth.TEACHERS NEED

SWADHYAYA AND PRAVACHANASo, the Study Circle is the acquisition of knowledge. We

call this in Sanskrit, swadhyaya. Swadhyay - study. After the study, you

implement -- Balvikas, Education in Human Values and Educare, and that is the

pravachana. Pravachana - teaching. Swadhyaya – study.So, every teacher has two

eyes: Swadhyaya, pravachana. Two ears: Swadhyaya, pravachana. Two hands:

Swadhyaya, pravachana. If a teacher wants to have swadhyaya without pravachana,

he is handicapped or one-sided. If he has swadhyaya and no pravachana, his

classes will be empty. No students will come.So teachers should be equally

empowered by swadhyaya and pravachana - like the two rails of a railway track

running parallel to each other.I will not say anything more about swadhyaya,

the Study Circle,

because that is a little removed from the topic given to me.GRANDPARENTS ARE

BALVIKAS GURUSNow, let me think of these three: Balvikas, Education in Human

Values, and Educare.Am I clear, please? You can ask me to repeat because I am

notorious for speaking very fast.It is Bhagavan who has cut down my speed to a

great extent. He says, “Slow, slow,” and then He will increase His speed,

double, multiple, making me a laughing stock for the audience. Sometimes He

lets me fumble and commit a mistake, to stand corrected very often - much to

the amusement of people, because Bhagavan’s discourses are enlightenment, and

my mistakes are entertainment. That makes it comprehensive and total!But

anyway, I will say a few words about Balvikas. Balvikas consists of children

who love to hear stories. Balvikas does not require Balvikas teachers. Every

grandmother is a Balvikas guru! Every grandfather is a Balvikas guru! They are

better gurus than

all of us put together.We don’t forget the stories told us by our grandparents.

The picture of Bheema (an Army General of ancient times) was given to us by our

grandmother. The idea of Krishna, Rama, Parasurama, Balarama, (Avatars and

Krishna’s brother) -- all these roles were given to us by our grandparents.FIVE

POINTS ABOUT BALVIKASPoint one is that Balvikas are full of stories.Two, the

stories help children to think of the body and the personality behind the

story. They start picturing characters such as Bheema. They don’t visualise

Bheema as a thin patient suffering from tuberculosis. No, Bheema is as big as

ten of us joined together, at least. When you speak of Balarama, they expect

personality. When you speak of Krishna, they expect a peacock feather and a

flute, a smile and a little mischief. Yamadharmaraja (the god of death), who is

He? A dark fellow with a moustache, sitting on the buffalo, ummmm, that’s

it.These are

all the things identified with the picture in their mind. So Balvikas is based

on stories, and in these stories the children try to visualise the different

characters. The children picture the personality by listening to our

stories.Then three, it is conscious -- being conscious of the body. I am

conscious of my dress and hairstyle. I am conscious of my qualification. I am

conscious of my seniority. I am conscious of my height, weight and chest

measurement.And the fourth point, there is “the one you think you are” - the

body, the personality.The fifth point, the children listen to our story in rapt

attention. Suppose you jump from the Ramayana to the Mahabharatha. The child

will tell you to come back to Hanuman (a renowned monkey devotee of Rama).If

you stop the story at one stage on the previous day, the next day the child

will be able to remember exactly what happened. “Start from here; don’t repeat

it again, because I get bored,” he tells me. This

is because children have the power or faculty of 100% concentration.Therefore,

my friends, I will give you these points once again, because teachers are

guilty of repetition. But their guilt is their strength. Yes, it is not a

weakness. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Teacher of teachers, Lord Krishna Himself,

repeats every point in every chapter a hundred thousand times. So the ‘Head of

the Department’, Lord Krishna, the Teacher of teachers Himself, for our own

benefit, wants us to repeat so that we won’t forget or be negligent.These are

the five points concerning Balvikas: The first point is story telling. The

second point is body and personality development. The third thing is the

feeling of being conscious (of the body, status, etc.) The fourth point is

being aware of ‘the one you think you are’, the personality, the body. The

fifth point is that children listen to us in full concentration.BALVIKAS TAKES

YOU TO EDUCATION IN HUMAN

VALUESBalvikas takes us to a higher level. From the primary school, it takes us

to the secondary school. We go a little higher. Here it is “Education in Human

Values - EHV”. EHV is advancement, a gradual transition from the lower to the

higher.But one is complementary to the other, a sequential or corollary.

Neither is contradictory. Please understand this. They are not contradictory;

they are complementary. They don’t compete with each other. There is nothing

complex here, no perplexity or doubt. The process is evolutionary; you evolve.

That’s all. Simply, Balvikas takes you to a higher level, to ‘Education in

Human Values.’EDUCATION IN HUMAN VALUES IS THE STUDY OF VALUESWhat is this all

about? At this level, a boy is in high school. You don’t need to describe Rama

in full. You don’t have to tell a boy from the 10th or 12th class that Hanuman

has a tail because the child has this already identified by now.So this is

what happens at the EHV level: No more stories. We now teach values. Rama means

Truth. Rama means Dharma (Right Conduct). Krishna means Prema (Love), Shanti

(Peace), Harischandra, an emperor who could have avoided terrible disasters by

lying but refused to, means Truth, Sathya. So they learn to value things not by

the personality, not by the role, not by the body, but by the values each

character represents.So, Education in Human Values corresponds to the butter in

curds and whey. If the curd is Balvikas, the butter is Education in Human

Values. I think I am clear.Then, they study the values a lot. And now, they

begin to feel the values in themselves. Rama stands for Truth. OK. ‘Do I speak

truth?’ That is the question. They begin to find the values within, and the

extent to which they are present.EDUCATION IN HUMAN VALUES IS AT THE LEVEL OF

THE MINDThis stage is called ‘conscience.’ ‘To what extent is my conscience

speaking? To what

extent does my conscience follow the dictates of the stories narrated earlier?

To what extent is my conscience satisfied with the value you have spoken about,

with the values that are true until now?’So, this is becoming aware of the

conscience. It is at the level of the mind, not the level of the body, as

thinking is immediate. If you say, “Rama”, that is enough. They think of the

difficulties He had. They go on thinking of the values He possessed and the

challenges He faced. That is mental or psychological, in the mind.CONCENTRATION

IS BALVIKAS,CONTEMPLATION IS EDUCATION IN HUMAN VALUESThen comes the second

stage. Once we teach them, they think of the story, and they think of the

value. ‘You taught me about Rama; so do you speak truthfully? I heard about

Rama, is there Truth in me? Is there Truth in you? How untruthful you are! How

bogus he is!’

They begin to evaluate. They begin to ruminate and to reflect. They begin to

ponder over those values given to them. This is contemplation.Concentration is

Balvikas.Contemplation is Education in Human Values.The body is Balvikas; the

mind is Human Values.Consciousness is Balvikas; the conscience is Human

Values.Stories are the course content of Balvikas.Values are the theme in

Education in Human Values.Concentration is Balvikas’ effective implement for

learning.Contemplation is the objective in Education in Human Values.So, that’s

how you go beyond meditating on the stories to the values. Try to contemplate or

reflect upon the conscience. This then takes you to a higher level, to the next

stage, Educare, which is ‘university education’.Primary school education –

BalvikasHigh school education - Education in Human ValuesCollegiate career -

EducareEDUCARE DEALS WITH THE SPIRITWhat is Educare

all about? It has nothing to do with the body, as in Balvikas. It has nothing to

do with the mind, as in the Education in Human Values. It deals with the spirit

or Atma or soul.The body is Balvikas.The mind is Education in Human Values.The

spirit or Atma is Educare.In Balvikas, we speak of Ramayana, Mahabharatha and

Bhagavatha, all religious stories. In Education in Human Values we speak of the

values or philosophy. So, religion is Balvikas, philosophy is Education in Human

Values, and spirituality is Educare.There is a difference between religion,

philosophy and spirituality. They are three levels of comprehension, three

levels of experience and practice. Religion (Balvikas) takes you to philosophy;

philosophy (Education in Human Values) takes you to spirituality (Educare).So,

Educare deals with the spirit, soul or Atma. It has nothing to do with the

Balvikas’ body ‘conscious’, or the ‘conscience’ of Education in Human Values.

Educare deals

with ‘consciousness’. Therefore, we go to the third level -

spirituality.CONSCIENCE IS LIMITED, CONSCIOUSNESS IS UNIVERSALWhat is the

difference between conscience and consciousness? Conscience is limited;

consciousness is universal. Air in a balloon is conscience; air around it is

consciousness, both being the same. The air in the tyre and the air around it

are different only because of the name and form given by the tyre; the air

around the tyre is beyond name and form, though the same air. So, collectively

speaking, universally speaking, from a cosmic point of view, it is

‘consciousness’. When speaking from an individual point of view, it is called

‘conscience’.So, Balvikas is conscious; Education in Human Values is

conscience; and Educare is consciousness. Am I clear, please?EDUCARE REQUIRES

MEDITATIONEducare also takes you to another level of approaching God. It is

quite logical to fly by plane across the

sky. I cannot imagine flying on my bicycle. No, I require a plane! But then I

cannot expect to fly in an aeroplane on the ocean; I need a ship there.So,

Educare requires the third level, meditation. Meditation is not time-bound,

where a person sits straight, bolting the door from inside, and not allowing

anybody in between 5.00 AM and 6.00 AM, considering himself ‘religious’.

Meditation is not limited to space and time. Meditation is not sitting

straight. You had better do that for a straight spinal column. If you are not

straightforward, at least your spinal column will be straight! Meditation is

not a physical exercise.MEDITATION IS ANNIHILATION OF THE MINDSo, my friends,

what is the meaning of meditation? There is only one definition. I am never too

tired, my friends, to repeat any number of times on different platforms, at

different places, to varied groups of audiences, the beautiful definitions of

Baba. No man could ever give these

definitions, at any period of time.Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the ‘latest’

Avatar (Incarnation of God), believe me or not. He gives you the technological,

scientific, radical, human, logical, rational approach to present-day problems

that go straight to your heart.What does He say about meditation? Meditation is

withdrawal of the mind, a thoughtless state. Withdrawal of the mind,

annihilation of the mind, or absence of the mind is meditation.So if I say, “I

meditate every day”, nonsense! It is anything but meditation. “My meditation

times are at 4AM and 5PM.” This means he has no knowledge of the definition of

meditation, as meditation is beyond time and space. It is the withdrawal of the

mind, the annihilation of the mind, manolaya or manonaashana, a thoughtless

state, sankalpa shoonya.Sathya Sankalpamulachetha Sadhuvu AgunuSakala Sankalpa

Shoonyude ShanthinonduSathyamaina Maata Sai MaataDushta Sankalpamulachetha

Dukhithudu

AgunuSakala Sankalpa Shoonyude.The thoughtless state is Divinity because it is

the thought that makes “a heaven out of hell and hell out of heaven”, as Milton

said.Mana Eva Mokshanaam Kaaranam Bandha Mokshayoh.THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE MIND IS

THE ONLY WAY TO EXPERIENCE CONSCIOUSNESSWhen you are above the mind, there is

neither good nor bad. There is neither success nor failure. There is neither

profit nor loss. You are neither a woman nor a man. You are beingness. That’s

all.Therefore, when we go to the level of meditation, when we transcend all

these limitations, when we withdraw our mind, you will feel Atma, Parabrahman,

spirit, soul, or consciousness.Once you experience consciousness, you are not

different from others; you are not separate from others. You are not a VIP, no.

Who is a VIP in spirituality? Can there be a VIP in front of God? Impossible!

Can there be a smaller wave and greater wave, a smaller bubble

and larger bubble in the ocean? After all, they are all H2O, water, only.

Therefore my friends, understanding that meditation is the withdrawal of the

mind is the only way to experience consciousness.EXAMPLES OF BHAGAVAN’S LOVE

AND COMPASSIONWe must establish a relationship with everybody. If I cannot

effectively communicate with everybody, if I cannot learn how to be happy with

everybody, if I cannot smile with everybody, if I cannot share joy with

everybody, what is the purpose of human life? It is not worth the salt. We

should be able to mingle with everybody, even more so in a spiritual

organisation. After all, we all belong to one world.Let us look at the way

Bhagavan speaks of the two dogs, Jack and Jill, and of His classmates, Suresh

and Ramesh, from long ago. Or, the way He says “Thank you!” to a buffalo in

Madanapalle that fetched water every day. Thank you to a buffalo! Most fellows

don’t do that.See the way He loves

flowers: When I was standing close to Him for a personal photograph, He said,

“Just go a little behind. Let the flowers also appear in the photograph. They

are more beautiful than you!”Look at the way He loves the plants and the trees.

When an innocent child starts picking and pinching the leaves, He chides him. He

warns the child’s father, “Don’t let your son do that!”“Why, Bhagavan?”He tells

him, “Leaves have consciousness. Trees have consciousness.”A few years ago, the

Brindavan boys staged an item for the Sports Meet where they had a display of

stunts on the backs of horses. These horses were running very fast. It all

looked very nice. Suddenly Bhagavan said, “Stop it!” Why? He saw the horses

were sweating heavily. “How can you do that sort of thing? Letting those horses

sweat like that? Stop it!”That is consciousness. Being with the leaf, being with

the flower, being with a bee, being with a horse, being with a buffalo, finding

kinship is

consciousness. That is consciousness. Some people say, “I cannot mingle with

just anybody; I go with my group.” They are just in a circus, in a cage. No,

no. I should be able to be friendly with everybody.EDUCARE IS BEING LOVE ON TWO

FEETFriendliness and loveliness are features of the Divine. After all, you may

have one friend or two friends or three friends, but you can be friendly with

everybody. Friendliness is Educare. You can love one or two. You can be a lover

to one or two. But also Love is yourself, for you are verily Love. You are the

embodiment of Love. You are the personification of Love. You are Love on two

feet. That is Educare. Educare is not being a lover, but being Love

itself.Educare is the study of the spirit. This means the acquisition of

awareness of consciousness, acquired through meditation. It is consciousness

that is beyond the body, the mind, space and time. That’s who you really

are.BHAGAVAN’S DIVINE

PLANBalvikas is ‘the one you think you are’. Education in Human Values is ‘the

one others think you are’, while Educare is ‘the one you really are’.Conscious

– Balvikas.Contemplation – Education in Human Values.Meditation – Educare.Body

– Balvikas.Mind – Education in Human Values.The spirit or soul –

Educare.Conscious, contemplation, meditation is Educare. Stories, values, your

true Self, the Atma, and identification with that, is Educare. Educare - what a

wonderful plan! Bhagavan’s Divine Plan!THE EDUCATION WING HAS NO TIME OR SPACE

LIMITATIONSHe wants you to grow from one level to another: From conscious to

conscience to consciousness; from the body to the mind to the spirit; from

concentration to contemplation to meditation. What a wonderful Divine guidance

it is! (Applause) This shows an evolutionary process, a continuous journey to

eternity. It is not a time-bound plan.So, the

education wing has no retirement. The education wing has no limitation. It has

no limitation of strength, space, classes, bell or anything whatsoever.

Classroom teaching requires a bell. Balvikas can be anywhere, be it on a

platform or at the airport, on the road or under the tree, down the valley, up

a hill or in the deep sea.The education wing has swadhyaya, the Study Circle,

which requires self-study. Then it takes you to pravachana, the teaching.

Balvikas. Education in Human Values, and Educare - all come under the education

wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation.THE THREE STAGES OF EDUCATION

WINGBalvikas introduces religion through stories, and thinking of the body of

which we are conscious. What is the first state? ‘The one you think you are’.

Balvikas takes you to religion. There are different physical bodies in

religion. Rama was very tall. Yama Dharmaraja (the god of death) was very fat,

and most disturbing, even in a dream.

Krishna stands for beauty, mischief, and for being a great statesman, oftentimes

the politician. So the body, Krishna’s smiling face, and so forth, is nothing

but being ‘conscious’.Ajaanubahum Aravindadalaayathaksham.That is the body.

That is nothing but the conscious state, ‘the one you think you are’. That

takes you to different stories and that requires concentration.The second stage

is Education in Human Values. Education in Human Values does not speak of

religion. It speaks of the philosophy of religion. It makes you think of the

mind and not of the body. It is not at the physical level. Nor is it at the

material or mundane level. It is the psychological domain, the psychic domain.

So it is the mind.That takes you to understanding the conscience and the

individual soul through values. What values do you have? Truth, Right Conduct,

Peace, Love -- Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema. You ruminate, ponder and think

over these values. This is what we call

contemplation.Educare is not about religion; religion is Balvikas. Educare is

not philosophy; that is Education in Human Values. Educare is spirituality.

Educare is the underlying current. What is it all about?It is all about Atma,

not about the body, as in Balvikas; not about the mind, as in Education in

Human Values. It is Atma, your real core, which is nothing but consciousness,

which you experience through the process of meditation.Atma, at the individual

level, is the conscience. Atma, at the universal level, is consciousness. The

air in the balloon is conscience; the air around it is consciousness. The Kolar

gold mine is consciousness; the gold earring is conscience. Am I clear? That’s

it.Therefore, the Educare that speaks of the Atma at the individual level is

conscience; at the universal, cosmic level, it is consciousness. This can be

experienced and felt through the process of meditation.Having concentrated

fully at the Balvikas

level, we try to contemplate on the values at the Education in Human Values

level. Then, by the process of meditation, we know what Educare is. This

finally represents the ‘one you really are.’The one you think you are –

Balvikas.The one others think you are – Education in Human Values.The one you

really are – Educare.That’s it. That is the first part of the talk. With your

permission, I move on to the second part.THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDUCARE AND

EDUCATIONThe second part is the difference between Educare and education. This

is very necessary to know because of the way Educare has been understood up to

now. The way Educare has been transmitted is not to my satisfaction in any

way.God simplifies, while man complicates! When God puts it in such simple

terms, we are capable of manipulating it and making it so complicated that it

makes the other person disgusted, vexed, and indifferent. So that’s not my job

now. Our job

is to know how simple it is.EDUCATION HAS PERPETRATED CRIMERecently, Bhagavan

gave a talk to teachers from Zambia and Thailand. The theme of His talk

happened to be Educare. A few points that I am going to share with you are

based on the Divine talk given to the teachers.Before taking leave of Him, I

showed Him these slides enthusiastically, and said, “Chaala bagundayya.”“Swami,

naaku siggesthondi. Meeru aa maata annoddu. Yenduku bavundadu? Ivanni mee

matalu. Naa maatalu antha bavundavani naaku thelusu. Ivanni meevi mathrame,

Swami.”“Yemantha thelikaga cheppasthunnave.”“Meerantha thelikaga chepparu

kanuka.”So this is what it is.Chaduvulanniyu chaduva tharka vaadambe kaani

poorna gyaanamu yepudu ponda ledu.Education will help you to argue and to put

across your viewpoint with the needed skill to convince the other man. It is an

excellent art of manipulation, to make the other man forget his own

question.What is it that education has done today? To quote Bhagavan, “Where

there are a number of educational institutes, there are numbers of courts, a

number of advocates, a number of prisons, a number of thefts, a number of bank

robberies, kidnappings, and what not! So, that is the outcome of

education.”TECHNOLOGY MEANS “TAKE KNOWLEDGE”Some time back, Bhagavan granted an

interview to a group of people and asked them, “What is that you are

doing?”“Swami, we are students of M.Tech.”“What does that mean?”They said,

“Master of Technology”. Oho!“Who is a Master?” They had no answer. He asked the

professor himself, “Who is a Master?”He said, “Whoever mastered the

subject.”Bhagavan said, “Certainly not!”Then Bhagavan said, “A Master is not

the Master of the subject. A Master is not the one who has gone deep into the

content of the course. A Master is the one who

is the Master of his senses.”Everybody was taken by surprise, with their mouths

wide open, because no one had thought of it that way.Then He came to the second

part of it. “What is technology?”One student said, “Swami, applied science is

technology.”Then Swami said, “If it is applied science, why should there be a

word like ‘technology’?” Finished!He asked another professor, “What is

technology?”He said, “Science in application is technology.”“You are totally

wrong.”Then, what is technology? Each one started giving his interpretation and

definition.Bhagavan said, “No, no, no, no. Having been educated, having learned

all knowledge, having taken possession of the skills and talents, you should go

to society and tell everybody, ‘Take knowledge, take knowledge’. That is

‘tech-nology’!”“Or else, it is ‘trick knowledge’, to learn more

tricks. Life is full of tricks. So, it is not ‘trick knowledge’. It is ‘take

knowledge’. ‘Take my knowledge.’”“Your knowledge should be beneficial to your

fellow men. Having been born in society, having grown and been brought up in

society, having acquired your knowledge in society, you have to express your

gratitude by appearing in front of society and telling them, ‘Take knowledge.’

That is the true technology,” He said.EDUCATION IS FROM THE TEACHER - EDUCARE

IS FROM GODSo my friends, if we question ourselves about today’s education, we

will be convinced why Bhagavan wants Educare today. Now we have Educare to care

for ourselves, and Educare to care for society. We have Educare to know our real

identity, true nature and knowledge of the Self. Educare is care of the Self;

the Supreme Self is Educare.So, knowledge is what is given to you by your

teacher. A teacher is a transmitter. Who is a teacher? A teacher is a

transmitter of

information from one generation to another generation. He is only a carrier, a

transmitter. That’s all.Education is obtained with the help of a teacher, but

Educare is not like that, Educare requires a Master. Who is the Master? God is

the only Master. Why? He has mastered all the senses.We are only ‘misters’. We

are Mr. So-and-So, Mr. So-and-So. The Master is God. Sage Dakshinamurthy. Yes.

Adi Sankara. They are Divine Masters.That is the reason why my good friend, Mr.

Narasimha Murthy, is very careful to address Bhagavan as ‘Divine Master’. In

every talk he says “Divine Master” because the Divine is the only Master. The

Master is the Divine.So, while education is received from a teacher, Educare is

from the Master.EDUCATION GIVES KNOWLEDGE, EDUCARE GIVES WISDOMSecondly,

education gives you knowledge. Knowledge of what? It gives you facts and

figures, but knowledge of what? It gives you knowledge of everything that is

happening and has happened. It gives knowledge of facts and figures, whereas

Educare gives you wisdom.Educare gives you wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom are

different. A knowledgeable man differs from a wise man. A knowledgeable man has

a lot of information – a fund of information, information gathered from books,

from all the book shelves available.TEACHER IS MADE BUT MASTER IS BORNBut what

has Baba said? “A person who is surrounded by books is comparable to a man

surrounded by bottles of tablets and capsules.” If a man is surrounded by

bottles of capsules, syrup, liquids and tablets, he is a patient. Similarly,

the man surrounded by books is a confused man. If you ask him one question, he

will give ten answers, none of which will satisfy you.So, teachers are

qualified to confuse you, but a Master is not ‘qualified’ at all. A Master is

born with mastery. A Master is born a Master. A teacher is made. Talents are

born. A singer is born. A

painter is born. A sculptor is born. A poet is born. A Master is born. But a

teacher is made. He becomes a teacher once he has attained a B.Ed. With a

M.Ed., he becomes a teacher in the college of education. With a Ph.D., he can

teach in a university. A teacher is made.EDUCATION GIVES INFORMATION, EDUCARE

BRINGS TRANSFORMATIONDuring education, we receive information - information

about all fields of knowledge: physical sciences, science and technology, the

humanities, medicine, and engineering. That is education - a fund of

information.Educare is not merely information. Educare is information leading

to transformation. Educare brings about transformation, while education only

gives you information.In education, you get all the information through the

senses - all that I see, all that I hear, all that I touch. These senses are

the windows of knowledge, the gateways of knowledge, in that they receive

information -- all that is seen, all

that is heard, all that is touched. The senses are the gateways of knowledge.

This is education.But Educare is not this sort of knowledge. It is the wisdom

you are born with. You are born with Prajnanam Brahma. You are born with the

awareness, Prajnanam Brahma. Tat Twam Asi - That thou art. You are not ‘going

to become’. If you are ‘going to become’, you may lose it later; if you are

‘going to become’, then you ‘are not’ now.So, this Educare is not concerned

with past or future. Educare is right here and now. Educare is here and now. It

is not of the past. Knowledge is of the past. Knowledge is about debt because it

is of the past. Knowledge is borrowed, whereas wisdom is not borrowed. It is

one’s own intuition.You receive education via the senses. You receive wisdom

via intuition. Intuition is wisdom, while the senses merely transfer

knowledge.What is intuition? We all have intuition. We are all intuitive. Some

people call intuition the ‘inner voice’.

Some people call it ‘conscience’.DISCOVERIES MADE THROUGH INTUITIONTuition is

education. Intuition is Educare. And what is this intuition? Here is a simple

example. A person walking by saw an apple falling onto the ground. Because his

intuition awakened, he just postulated a discovery. He formulated the theory of

gravitational force. The law of gravitational force was not a discovery made in

the laboratory. It was not anything to do with equipment such as a burette, a

pipette, scales, a thermometer or a barometer, a telescope or a stethoscope. No

scope whatsoever was involved. Intuition alone was responsible for the law of

gravitational force. The law came from within.A boy went to offer his prayers

in a synagogue. He knelt and started praying. Suddenly he heard a sound

trrr…trrrrr. He opened his eyes and saw a lamp swinging from side to side. He

started counting how many times it moved to this end, and how many times it

moved to that end.

That led to the discovery of watches, clocks. That boy was Galileo. His

intuition led to the creation of time pieces. So watches and clocks were not

discovered in any laboratory, factory, national defence lab, or international

lab. Intuition alone was responsible.A person was taking a bath in a tub.

Suddenly he noticed that some water spilled out of the tub. He came up with the

law of density. This was Archimedes.On his way to church, a pastor noticed a

number of plants of the same variety with flowers of different colours. The

plants were the same, but the colours were different. Some were white; some

were bright. Some were blue; some were pink. Different colours, but they were

all the same type of plant. They were all garden peas, but they were of

different colours. The pastor was none other than John Mendon, who formulated

the theory of inheritance. This is another instance of a discovery not taking

place in the laboratory. It was the result of the awakening of

intuition.Suppose you are trying to make a decision as to whether to go or not

to go to Puttaparthi. The inner voice tells you, “Go now!” That is

intuition.INTUITION GOES AFTER CONVICTION, MIND GOES AFTER CONVENIENCESome

people ask me the question: “Sir, how to know the difference between the

directives or the dictates of the mind, as opposed to the dictates of intuition

or conscience. How to distinguish and differentiate between the two? Is it the

mind that dictates to me or is it the intuition that wants me to do that. How

to differentiate?”My answer is this. It is very simple. Mind tells you that

which you find to be convenient. ‘Let me go to Holiday Inn this evening, or why

not go to some theatre, or why not watch some interesting TV serial, this being

Sunday?’ That is the prompting of the mind. That is psychological.‘Nothing

doing. You go to do service.’ That is intuition. Intuition goes after

conviction, mind goes after

convenience.Mind speaks of those things that constitute unfulfilled desires. The

mind goes on dreaming about some desires which are not fulfilled. The mind goes

on reminding you about them. ‘What was lost to you earlier, have now. You

missed that picture then, now it is released. Why don’t you go?’WHILE MIND IS

HUMAN, INTUITION IS DIVINESo, mind is something like a computer. It is

something like a tape recorder. You can rewind or go fast forward. But

intuition has got nothing to do with rewinding or going fast forward. It is

directive, commanding, demanding, challenging and uncompromising.Commanding,

demanding, uncompromising are the terms of the inner voice. While mind is

human, the intuition is Divine. While mind is physical, worldly, mundane,

intuition is spiritual. Intuition is totally spiritual and Divine.Therefore,

education speaks of the mind. It is the mind that registers all the classroom

lectures. It is the mind that

registers all the quotations from famous books. Mind makes me a scholar. Mind

makes me a goonda.Mind has got both positive and negative aspects. At its best,

it will make you a scholar. But intuition makes you a wise man or a man of

wisdom.Who is a wise man? A wise man is one who knows the eternal, not just

this moment.Chaduvulanniyu chaduva ksheenudu avagunambu maana ledu.A mean man

would not be able to give up his mean habits in spite of the acquisition of

knowledge.Chaduvulanniyu chaduvi chavanga netiki? Chavu leni chaduvu

chaduvavalayuEarn the knowledge to be immortal or deathless. That is

Educare.EDUCATION IS EXPLANATION, EDUCARE IS EXCLAMATIONEducation is a matter

of questioning. Why this? Why not that? Why? How? What? These are the questions

one asks while undertaking education. Education is a question. Question leads to

investigation. Investigation leads to observation. Observation leads to

formulation. Formulation ends up in a theory. That is education.But, Educare is

not a question. It is a quest. Educare is a quest, while education is a

question. Quest is different from question. Quest is a search. Quest is an

enquiry. Quest involves turning inward. Quest requires one to go beyond the

senses. Quest aims to take you to your reality; to make you know your true

identity.One poses a question only to find an answer, suitable or unsuitable. I

think I am clear. And education is a question that is solved. Every question has

got a solution. So, question solved is education.But Educare is a quest which is

not solved; rather it is a quest wherein you are dissolved. Why and how? You can

no more say what you are. You are dissolved. You have become a drop in the

ocean. A river that has merged into the ocean has no claim or identity

whatsoever. An ornament melted into gold loses its name and form. That is the

meaning of quest. The individual gets

dissolved.Education is full of explanation. The more and more you explain, the

more and more educated you are. Education is explanation, but Educare is

exclamation. When you see the Taj Mahal, you are filled with awe and wonder.

You are filled with wonder, awe, inspiration, admiration and adoration. That is

the exclamation one experiences through Educare.Framing your ideas is

explanation. So, education is explanation, while Educare is exclamation. In

education, there is argument and counter-argument; thesis and anti-thesis;

Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism; Lamarckism and Neo-Lamarckism; Bernoulli’s

hypothesis; and Avogadro’s hypothesis. Dalton’s atomic theory provided further

contradiction; thesis and antithesis; argument and counter-argument.SYNTHESIS

IS THE QUINTESSENCE OF EDUCARESo, thesis, anti-thesis is just a game in

education. But, synthesis is the quintessence of Educare. Synthesis,

togetherness, grouping, unity, harmony is

Educare. Disharmony, specialisation, diversification is education.

Centralisation is Educare. To centre is Educare, while to remain on the

periphery is education. I think I am clear.Centre is one; periphery is

everywhere. We are studying about that centre in Educare. Education has taken

us to specialisation and super-specialisation.I’ll give you a small anecdote.

One gentleman in Bombay had some tooth problem. His age was about 40.Yes. This

gentleman had some tooth problem on the right side of the upper jaw. He went to

a dentist and said, “Doctor saab, this is my problem.”The doctor said, “Sorry

sir, I am a specialist in the lower jaw. Better you go to another doctor.”So he

went to another doctor and said, “Sir, I understand you are a specialist in the

upper jaw. My problem is on the right side.”The doctor said, “I am an expert of

the left side. Better you go to some other man.”So he went to another doctor,

“Sir, are you a

specialist for the left side? Please let me know.”This doctor said, “There are

different types of teeth - canines, molars and incisors. Which type of tooth is

the problem? I don’t know because I am a specialist. Go next door.”In the end,

the fellow lost his teeth due to lack of care.Educare makes you complacent,

gratified, satisfied, contented, happy, and blissful. No more bonds or desires

because you are at the very centre of your life. You are at the very centre of

life. You are not dancing around the periphery. You are not galloping near the

periphery. You are at the very centre. That is Educare.BECOMING IS EDUCATION,

BEING IS EDUCARESo, education, with its super-specialisation, leads to

confusion, whereas Educare leads to gratification. Education leads to more and

more desire. Desirelessness is the result of Educare. Education makes us

selfish. Selflessness is the result of Educare.My friends, if I want to become

a

doctor, an engineer or a pilot I must undergo the required education. Education

is for becoming (something). Becoming is education. You need education in order

to become something.But Educare is not about becoming. It leads to being. Being

is Educare. Becoming is education. Syntheses is Educare. Its anti-thesis is

education. Transformation is Educare. Information is education. Mind is

education. Heart is Educare. Knowledge is education. Wisdom is Educare.

Education is given by a teacher. Educare is transmitted by a Master.You receive

education by observation of the outer world. Yes, you have to observe. You

observe any scientist. He observes his own recordings. He performs an

experiment and makes his own recordings. Education is external, taking place in

the laboratory or in the classroom; whereas Educare is within you. Education is

pravritti, while Educare is nivritti. Pravritti is external knowledge, outward

knowledge. Nivritti is inward wisdom.So, nivritti

is beyond the senses while pravritti is below the senses. And then, pravritti

speaks of ‘this’. This is an auditorium. This is a screen. This is a mike. This

is an atom. This is a molecule. This is an electron. So, education speaks of

‘this’, while Educare speaks of ‘that’. Twam – education - this. Tat – Educare

-thatSo there’s a wide gulf of difference between Educare and education.

Balvikas is one shore of the river and Educare is the other shore. The bridge

between the two shores is EHV.BALVIKAS, EHV AND EDUCARE ARE ALL IMPORTANTFrom

Iha to Para, from padartha to parartha, from grantha to gandha, saugandha --

This is essence. Educare is about essence. Balavikas is about existence. One is

about existence, while the other is about essence. The bridge of EHV takes you

from one shore to the other.“Sir, I want to be on this shore.”“Alright.”“I want

to stay there on the bridge.”“Useless. You should go across to

the other shore.”All three are important. One is a corollary to the

other.Balvikas is the sugarcane; EHV is the juice; and Educare is the sugar.

You can’t expect to have the sugar without the juice. There’s no juice without

the sugarcane. All the three are required.What a beautiful example Bhagavan

gave to those boys, the teachers from Zambia!He said, “A-B-C are necessary.

Twenty-six letters are in the English alphabet. There are fifty-two letters in

the Telugu language. The letters are few, but thousands and thousands of pages

of volumes have been written with these few letters.”So, letters are the

balvikas, words are EHV, and sentences are Educare. A-B-C-D are letters. Love

and God are words. ‘God is Love,’ ‘Love is God,’ and ‘Live in Love,’ are

sentences. Would you say, “I don’t want words” or “I want to stay with words

only?” Can you say, “I want only sentences?” All the three are necessary.THE

WHOLE UNIVERSE IS ESSENTIALLY

DIVINEEducare begins right from birth. You are born with Educare. Education

speaks of the outer world, pravritti, outer marga, while Educare speaks of

nivritti, inward marga. Education is a question solved, while Educare is a

quest, an enquiry through which you are dissolved. Education is explanation,

while Educare is exclamation. Education speaks of this twam, while Educare

speaks of that -- tat.Education is about life manifest. Electricity manifests

as heat, as light, as sound. The mike, the generator, a bulb, a heater and a

fridge are all gadgets or instruments through which the inner electricity

manifests. Am I clear?So, life manifests. Why do I say that life manifests?

Because Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagat. The whole universe is essentially Divine.

Divinity manifested in many forms. As sister Kamala Padmanabhan was explaining

a couple of minutes ago, this is Vishwa Virat Swarupa.So the point is that all

this external phenomena is cosmic

form. Someone asked Swami, “I want your Vishwa Virat Swarupa.”Arey, auditorium,

Vishwa virat swarupam. Meerantha ade!Isa vasyamidam sarvamYat kincha jagatyam

jagatTena tyaktena bhunjithaMa grdhah kasya sviddhanam.Vasudeva sarvamithi.

Life is creation as manifest form. Educare is the underlying electricity which

is neither heat, nor cold, nor anything else. It is nirguna -attributeless,

formless - nirakara, blemishless - anindya.So, nirakara, nirguna, anindya,

amartya, immortal. That principle of life unmanifest or the creator is Educare.

Life manifesting is education. Thesis and anti-thesis are education. Synthesis,

unity, and harmony are Educare.EDUCATION IS KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED THROUGH THE

SENSESAs I said earlier, the senses are the gateways. The senses represent the

conscious mind. Through the senses, you get information. That information is

stored in the form of knowledge, all bookish knowledge, all

superficial knowledge, that you acquired by making some effort -- six years of

schooling, three years of graduate studies, and two years of post-graduate

studies. Strenuous, laborious effort is required to acquire knowledge through

books and teachers. Effort is required to become a doctor or engineer.After

that, what happens to you? Pride, ego, pomp arise. You feel you can no longer

mix with everybody.A SPIRITUAL PERSON IS THE BEST COMMUNICATORMy friends, a

spiritual man is the best communicator. He is able to mix with everybody, no

matter whether the other person is educated or not. Here is Bhagavan who talks

to a gardener, a lorry driver, or a primary school boy in the same manner as to

Dr. Gokak and Kaamavadhani. That is the quality of a spiritual man.The best

communicator is a religious man. The best communicator is a spiritual Master.

The best communicator is the Divine Master Himself. Education only makes us

full of pride, ego

and pomp.“Do you know I am a Ph.D.?”“Why should I know that you are a Ph.D.?”“Do

you know I am so-and-so?”This identity is full of pride and ego. The senses

receive information, which boils down to knowledge. Through effort we become

something, and end up in pride and pomp. That’s the process.EDUCARE IS

TRANSCENDENTAL, EXPERIENTIAL WISDOMIn Educare, it is different. It is

transcendental. It is beyond the senses because it deals with the inner world.

The inner world is infinite. The inner world is reality. The inner world is

your very being. The inner world is your true Self. Educare deals with the

consciousness, the awareness, the awakeness, the experiential, experimental,

existential wisdom that is your very being. It is experiential, existential

awareness. Educare is transcendental, being beyond the senses.Through Educare,

you don’t get any information. You get yourself transformed. You come to know

that the

other fellow is not the ‘other’. ‘Other’ is non-existent in Educare. There is no

‘other’. You are everything, everyone.Ekoham Bahushyam.You manifested into me.

There is no other. This is transformation. To feel that you and I are here is

information. To feel that you and I are one, that there is no other, is

transformation.Ekamevaat Dwitiyam Brahma.Only one -- not two. That is

transformation. With this insight, what do you get? Wisdom. With wisdom, what

do you get? Transformation. Practical knowledge is unlike bookish knowledge. It

is unlike superficial knowledge. At best you can call this discriminating,

practical knowledge as wisdom.EDUCARE IS REALISATION WHICH IS ALREADY

THEREInformation requires effort. You have to study day and night. You have to

go to teachers, and do experiments in the laboratory until late in the night.

Acquisition of information requires effort.Educare involves the realisation of

that

which is already there. To know that there is a pen here, I don’t need to make

an effort. I don’t need to go to Chikpet or Majestic Circle. I don’t need any

communication. Not necessary. It is already there.Tat Twam Asi – “You are That.

You are That.”So, some fellow will come and say, “Arey, there is pen there.”“Oh,

I see…”The fellow who comes and tells you that there is a pen there is the

Master. The one who knows that the pen is already there is one of

Educare.Educare is realisation of that which is already in existence. That’s

what I mean by realisation. Education is becoming, while Educare is being.While

pride, ego and pomp are off-shoots of education, humility and awareness develop

with Educare. While education is given by a teacher, Educare is given by a

Master.EDUCATION IS VIA COMMUNICATION, EDUCARE IS SILENTOral, verbal

communication is necessary in education. But Educare is silent. Educare is

inspiration from within. Educare is inspiration, illumination, radiation,

expressionless expression, effortless effort, soundless sound.Mouna vyakhya

prakatitha Brahma,Mouna vyakhya prakatitha Brahma.Soundless sound.Somebody

asked Ramana Maharishi, “Swami, what shall I do to attain nirvana?”He said,

“Don’t do. Don’t do anything.”It is not that easy not to do anything. The mind

goes on thinking about everybody and everything. I think I am locked up in my

room engrossed in meditation. I think I am alone. No, no, no, no. You are not

alone. You are in a crowd because you think of your college; you think of the

mandir; you think of Majestic Circle, the bus stand and Rajajinagar. Though you

are alone, in fact, you are in a crowd. I think I am clear.You are alone

physically, but you are in a crowd mentally. It is useless. On the other hand,

you may be in a crowd, but yet all alone, by yourself. You can be in a crowd,

but yet, all alone.

You can be left to yourself. You can be alone; but aloneness is different from

loneliness.DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDUCARE AND EDUCATIONYama Dharmaraja told

Nachiketha, “I will give you all education.”The boy said, “Nothing doing, my

lord. Teach me Educare.”“No, no. I will give you all the property of this

world.”“Nothing doing, my lord. Please teach me Educare.”Yama Dharmaraja was

prepared to give education, but Nachiketha wanted Educare, which came in the

form of Nachikethopakhyana of Upanishadic literature.Adi Sankara had one

disciple, Padmapaada. While Adi Sankara was teaching everything to his

disciples, Padmapaada did not receive any formal, verbal information from his

teacher.When he was drying all the clothes, all of a sudden clouds appeared,

followed by a terrific rain. The clothes were driven out by the raging waves,

the frowning clouds, and the thunder. Immediately Padmapaada started leaping

around

in order to collect all the clothes. Wherever he jumped, there appeared a lotus

flower so that he would not drown in the torrent. Guru Sankara taught

Padmapaada everything in this way via silent communion.While the rest of the

disciples had communication, Padmapaada received information through communion,

by He who is the co-composer of Bhaja Govindam with Adi Sankara.That is, in

brief my friends, the differences between Educare and education. I must have

taken more time than necessary. I am always guilty of that, but my audience has

been very good to bear with me. I want to make a final comment on, “The future

plan of action”.GIVE UP COMPARISON AND COMPETITIONFirstly, I spoke about an

organisation topography; secondly, about the difference between education and

Educare. Now, thirdly, here is a plan of action. With no malice, with no

hatred, I just make certain statements out of my three decades of association

with the Sai

Organisation and its institutions, for the collective benefit.First point I want

to make is -- give up comparison and competition in order to be better off in

life. Comparison and competition are like cancer and kidney failure. That is

enough to transport us to the other planet! Let us not compare ourselves with

others. Let us not compete with each other. The tendency to compare and compete

is just the opposite of spirituality. This is the first point that I wish to

make.ORGANISATION TOPOLOGYThe second point is -- let us all work together.Mata

Pita Guru Daivamu Mari Anthayu Nene.He is our Father. He tells devotees from

other states that they are brothers and sisters. We are one family.How to go

about Educare? Point 1: I want one person to be in-charge at the district level

to monitor Educare, in order to oversee how it is going on.Then there should be

one person at the state level, to collect the data

pertaining to all the details of what is going on everywhere. He should be able

to tell every person what is happening in the neighbouring district. He should

be able to be the contact person between the state president, state mahila

convenor, and the rest of the people. Without designation, he discharges his

duty.TO BE ORDINARY IS EXTRAORDINARINESSPeople without designation do a lot. My

friends, bear in mind, the most precious things in this world are ordinary. The

most precious things in the world are ordinary, yet we want to be

extraordinary. That is the tragedy. There is nothing extraordinary in being

extraordinary. To be ordinary is extraordinary. To be ordinary constitutes

extraordinariness.Clouds are ordinary. Rain is ordinary. Sunlight is ordinary.

Moonlight is ordinary. Mountain tops are ordinary. Greenery, the slopes, the

forests, the harvests are ordinary. Yet a simple human being, whose life is so

short, wants to be extraordinary.

An impossible quest!Somebody asked Abdul Kalam, “What are your views? What is

your message on this day, your birthday?”Kalam’s reply was, “In the light

years, in the infinity of time, what am I, after all, with this short life?

That is my message to you.”It is a paradox if, in the name of spirituality, we

want to become extraordinary, something special. It constitutes a life of

paradox. It is a life of polarities, opposites. This life of paradoxical

opposites is diabolical. The polarities will never come together. So let’s be

ordinary.EACH ONE, TEACH ONESo, let there be a man in each state to know about

all that is happening, with the aim to utilise this information to improve,

rather than to compete; to know, not to compare. I know in the state of

Maharashtra, there is fantastic work going on. I know, in Delhi, in the

international building that Swami inaugurated, wonderful work is going on.Each

one of us should teach

one. We grow together. We learn together. Man is not isolated. Man lives in

society. He has to grow along with the society. The Sathya Sai family is one

society. We grow together. We learn from each other. (Applause) That is the

secret of success. Let’s know what is happening in other states.LET US ALL WORK

TOGETHERMany distinguished personalities visit Prashanti Nilayam. One of them is

Jhum Sai. Some of you could arrange an appointment with him and learn from him.

There are some great people who come to Prashanti Nilayam. People from

Karnataka, even if in Prashanti Nilayam as a sevadal, should seek an

appointment with such people.Don’t say you don’t belong to EHV. This hand

belongs to me; this leg belongs to me; this eye belongs to me. All belong to

me. If I say this leg is Subba Rao, this hand is Venkateshwara Rao, you will

think that I am from a lunatic asylum.We have no authority to say that Balvikas

has nothing to do with the

youth wing, and that the youth wing has nothing to do with the elders’ wing.

What is youth? And what is old? We are immortal. We are ageless and timeless.

So differentiation and distinction is a tragedy and a curse to any developing,

growing organisation.Let us know what is happening internationally. Let’s keep

the doors of our mind wide open so that the breeze of knowledge will flow

freely among us. And then, let us assess and evaluate at each moment how near

are we to the goal. How near are we to the target? What additional steps do we

need to take? Let there be a quarterly review of our progress.CONCLUSIONThese

are the thoughts that are uppermost in my mind, and that I wanted to share with

you. If you feel that it’s an extra indulgence, if you fell that I spoke from a

place of arrogance, I stand guilty. I beg to be excused. Since I feel that I am

a member of the Sai family, interested in the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, and,

having given

my life to the organisation, I feel that I have got every right to speak about

it. (Applause) It is in this context that I dare to touch upon these ideas.My

sincere thanks to Kamala Padmanabhan and Madam Sucharitha for their kindness in

inviting me to this place, and Mr. Vinayak who made all transport arrangements

and who has taken care of me from breakfast until I depart. He is a good man.

He is a role model from whom we can learn much. I also thank my good friend,

Sri Narasimha Murthy. I am also so glad to see some of the old faces here with

whom I mingled for six years when I was on this campus.I conclude, praying that

Bhagavan’s choicest blessings be showered on each and every one of you in this

happy new year of 2003.Anil Kumar concluded his talk by singing the bhajan,

“Bhajamana Narayana Narayana Narayana”.JAI BOLO BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA JI

KI!! JAI

With Sai love, ''

Source: http://www.freewebs.com/sairama/anilkumar/educare.htm