ON EDUCATION

To love to learn is the most precious gift that one can give to a child: to love to learn always and everywhere, so that all circumstances, all happenings in life may be constantly renewed opportunities for learning more and always more. 

Two things need to be done. Children must be taught: 

a. Not to tell a lie, whatever the consequences;

b. To control violence, rage, anger. 

If these two things can be done, they can be led towards super humanity.... - The Mother. 

The vast body of work left behind by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo can sometimes appear abstract and intimidating. One unifying theme that runs through their work, however, is actually a very simple one. It is a logical extension of the idea of progress, which has been with us since the Enlightenment. Their work, therefore, is immensely practical. One area where this is evident is in the field of education. It will be interesting therefore (especially in the age of burned-out, stressed out 3^rd graders), to examine what the Mother has said about education, and perhaps take a long, hard look at our own values in light of her guidance.

 According to the Mother, instilling a love to learn ‘is the most precious gift that one can give to a child, because the love to learn nurtures a willingness to be challenged, to embrace new opportunities, and to accept change. Without the love of learning, therefore, there can be no real progress. 

Most kids today don’t seem to enjoy learning. Some assign the blame to schools, but the problem is somewhat larger. The real problem is our collective embrace of utilitarianism, which the Mother describes as a worldview in which monetary considerations are the basis for all our actions. It’s no surprise that children internalize the values of the adult world, and turn education into a quest for the diplomas, certificates, and titles which will enable them to find good positions and earn a lot of money. Education becomes a narrow quest for social acceptance, not a life-long pursuit to ‘learn for the sake of knowledge, to study in order to know the secrets of Nature and life, to educate oneself in order to grow in consciousness…’ Education no longer liberates, but enslaves. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. All that is needed for education to be a catalyst for real progress is a bit of freedom. But where is the room for this freedom in a rigid education system that sometimes appears designed to produce robots, rather than well-rounded human beings? It’s a common question, but it is a self-serving one, because it ignores the extent to which society’s values shape the character of the schools to which we send our children. Schools are the way they are because parents embrace the utilitarian view that the function of schools and universities is to provide training for the corporate workforce, rather than to encourage students to begin a lifelong quest for perfection. A simple change in values is all that is needed for education to serve its true purpose: to help us become aware of ourselves, and our place in the world to come, by giving us the freedom to pursue our own path.  

-          Aditya Ranganath 

All quotes are from All India Magazine June 2001 - The Right Object of Education