There are many people in our society who are always curious to elucidate the importance of education. Specially, if you are sitting in a gathering where a person who has wasted his time in unnecessary stuffs, advises the youth to focus on education. And those who call themselves educationalists, sell the name of education like a shopkeeper sells his goods.
Since my childhood, I have been told that without education one cannot survive in this advanced world. And there is no place for uneducated people in this world. So I also started my struggle to get education.
But I always wonder what is the meaning and purpose of education. Whenever I interact with people who talk about education I always ask them why do we get education and what is the real purpose of getting education. After asking this question I get some amazing replies. Some people say that we get education so that we could live a prosperous life. So I ask them that a robber robs only to live a prosperous life then what is the difference between a robber and an educated person. Some people say that education is necessary to get an employment. So I ask them that a tailor, a cobbler, a barber learn their proficiency to get an employment then where the difference lies?
Whenever we talk about the purpose of education, we get these types of strange answers. When we ask children and adolescents that why they are getting education, mostly they reply that because they want to become doctor, lawyer and scientists etc. So it means the purpose of education is to become something and to lead a prosperous life?
But the great saints like Rumi, shams Tabriz, buddha etc regarded the worldly desires and materialistic phenomena as useless.
One day while I was reading a book I went through a qoutation of Socrates. ‘Education is what remains with you when you forget everything that you learn.'
Then I started interpretation of this saying of Socrates. It is a fact that whatever we learn, we forget with the passage of time. While we are studying in university, we forget almost everything that we had learnt in school. Even the names of subjects and chapters. So, what remains with us after forgetting all the things which once we had learnt?
Then I got my answer that after forgetting everything what remains with us are our thoughts, character and our unconscious motives that drive our behavior.
Then I came to a conclusion that we only have degrees and proficiency but no education at all. I do not want to hurt the sentiments of educated people but why after achieving a 16 and 18 years of education and degree, we are not able to transform ourselves. Why we aren’t able to build a great character and critical thinking approach.
After studying for so many years if we lack morality, we do not behave appropriately, trying to snatch the rights of others and even the life, honor and wealth of other people are in danger due to us but after completing studies and after getting good positions when we start anti-social activities then do we have the right to call ourselves as educated?
The people who were living centuries ago were far better from us. We have become self centered. They were illiterate but hospitable, they were illiterate but had great moral values. They even used to feel the pain for animals but today’s educated people have become the reason why the humanity is in pain. Neither our neighbors are safe nor other humans and species.
One day while I was in a gathering where people were discussing the. Problems of the world. That everyday the world is heading towards destruction. So I asked someone who was sitting there that how can we make the world a peaceful place to live!
He replied, “when the literate people will become educated. “
The purpose of this article is not to hurt the sentiments of anyone. I just want to show the mirror to the society and myself. Because if we will not recognize the evil in us than how will we reform ourselves?
One day, someome asked Socrates that how Socrates is different from the people of his time? He replied, “they know that they are educated and I know that I am ignorant. ‘
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