Acquiring Wisdom and Our Education
By Krishna Kumar
Yogi
Acquiring
wisdom is a difficult enterprise where one needs to have critical minds and
critical eyes. Does our education facilitate to acquire wisdom? Does our
education aim for that? Does our education focus on quality or quantity? These are
some of the Yakshya questions prevailing in the education system of Nepal. We
need to evaluate whether our education proves to be useful in this light.
Wisdom
keeps us in freedom and helps us to live free life where there are the seeds of
peace, pleasure, prosperity and progress. It is always upright in
direction. In this sense, acquiring
knowledge is different than that of acquiring wisdom. In this connection, we
have two words to analyze namely, study and observation. Study and observation
should go hand in hand as a part of teaching learning activities. Our context,
circumstances, mentality, orientation, situationalities are often found to be
adversary in teaching learning enterprise. Most importantly, we need to take
into account thinking deeply if we are able to distinguish between study and
observation. Problems lie there as well. Study is limited to how to know or
process of gaining knowledge which lacks the strong foundation for preparation
of life. Wisdom lies perhaps on the top most level of hierarchy of teaching
learning activities that provide more than the essentialities for life.
Education
depends solely on teaching learning activities. It is said that education has
to liberalize an individual. Have we ever evaluated or sought answers, why our
education hasn’t been successful to liberate people? This is the foremost
question everyone has to ponder into. It seems bitter the stark reality to
everyone, i.e. students are neither found to be acquiring some basic skills to
run life nor are they prepared in life regarding what is to be done further. In
difficult juncture of life they lack the life skills to save, secure and
protect their future.
Instead,
unfortunately our education has enslaved us. We are one way or other the slaves
of education, educational system because it is guided by conventional culture
and customs, religions and priory knowledge. Sometimes we are the slaves of
emotionality, sentiments and sometimes the social codes and conducts and the society
itself through which students are enslaved. There are many instances be noticed
where educated individuals are the victims of enslavement, servitude, narrow-mindedness
and the like. This enslavement is a true enemy of education and wisdom. The new
ways of servitude are introduced nowadays such as slavery of technology,
political ideology, philosophy, bookish knowledge, old knowledge, culture,
religion, stereotypes, profession, vocation, occupation and so on.
We have ever been chained. We are chained in
every respect whoever we are, whatever we do and so on. The difference is
somebody could be chained by iron or somebody by gold handcuff. Whatever sorts of chain it is, chain is
chain.
Students
are enslaved themselves with the prescribed books, they can’t go beyond them. Students
of technology are chained by technology. Even science students can’t go beyond
their syllabus. The same thing happens for everyone else though they are the
exceptions. Teachers are enslaved by their old knowledge because they are not
free from “the known”. This tendency is
a true enemy to their attainment of wisdom. Parents are enslaved by their
ancestry, their heritages, their culture, their languages and their
legacies. These demarcating lines are
obstacles. We are unfortunate, and coward in this case. We never dare to know
and observe. What is the value of our education, then? What is the function of
education?
In
the name of knowledge, we are knowingly or unknowingly appreciating the
illusory face of knowledge which is terrible and horrible in nature. If we are
not able to distinguish and appreciate the true knowledge, we are no more
successful in our mission. Here Stephen Hawking’s saying is commendable. “The
greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
I think it is better to check ourselves on those very lenses. How much we have
learnt throughout our life is to be testified whether we are still living in
the illusionary face of knowledge. Have we realized the true nature of
knowledge? Have we been able to differentiate between ‘what is true to reality’
or ‘the mirage of knowledge’? Have we ever been able to see the things in and
around us as they are? What about our skills of observing, detecting, seeing
and noticing and analyzing?
Our
goal of education should not be limited to just knowing. It should focus on
understanding and observing. Einstein’s ideas can be meaningful to cite over
here as he states, ‘Every fool knows but the question is to understand.’
Understanding counts much more than anything else in life. The social,
cultural, national, international, spiritual, and emotional and many other
issues have been connected in life which is the parts of understanding. Perhaps
he could have thought understanding means to be practical where one explores
him/herself, discovers him/herself realizing their potentialities. Why these aspects disregarded? With the
passage of time, there are more challenges are added to our education. Since
everywhere the waves of change occur. Our education and education system should
clear the Illusion. Every stockholder should be responsible for that where
students of today should be good man and useful citizens for tomorrow. Education
in general should help making us better, greater, creative and responsible.
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