Real education

The purpose of education is to make us wiser. Accumulation of information and knowledge is a very small part of it. Real education guides us about "how to live life?". Real education has the following three limbs:

• To realize the fixations of our mind (conscious and unconscious);
• To explore how these fixations may be converted into new possibilities; and
• To help a person live life with these possibilities.

Each of these three limbs can change the entire direction of our life. Unfortunately, the present education system does not take into account any of these. The entire education system revolves around the gathering of information and knowledge and uses the same to get better pay packages. The industry also likes to hire those who can meet its targets. Nobody in this system has any concern for the growth of human beings.

 If the purpose of life is to eat well, have fun, marry a person, have kids, grow them up, and die, then this education system is the best. Fortunately, life is not that limited. It is full of possibilities and many people in the past have demonstrated that.

If we read history, we would soon notice different types of people. There were people like Hitler who wasted their entire life running after a fixation. On the other hand, we also see people like Leonardo da Vinci, who explored a wide variety of subjects including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, etc. His contribution to the society helped bring renaissance in Europe. Many such scientists as Galileo Galilei, Neuton, and Einstein changed the direction of the science of the day with their efforts. Not only scientists, but many social reformers such as Ravindra Nath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. have changed contemporary society. We also see a lot of people spending their entire lives in routine.

 Coming back to the 3 limbs of real education, most people waste their lives either in routine or running after the fixations. The reason is quite simple. Though they get an education aimed at the accumulation of information and knowledge, they remain deprived of real education throughout their life. Real education changes the aim of our life. It changes our orientation from fear to faith. It widens our "center of existence". It removes ignorance and takes us closer to reality. 

 The first limb of real education is "To realize the fixations of our mind (conscious and unconscious)". Generally, as we grow up, we start identifying with the thought process of our society. This is a natural process of learning for all human beings. We have "mirror neurons" that mirror whatever is happening around us. That is how we learn to walk and talk. We learn the language being spoken around us. So the same kid will learn Chinese if he is brought up in China and the same kid will learn Hindi if he is brought up in Delhi. On the one hand, this mirroring helps us learn, on the other hand, it also restricts our worldview. 

 All these learnings have their functional value. They help us survive in society. However, the problem arises when we lose awareness of the context of the learning and start considering it to be absolute. For example, each society values certain types of food (like veg or non-veg), ways of living, customs, rituals, and traditions to suit their eco-system. Taking liquor may be quite a normally accepted thing in Europe, while it may be taboo in a traditional Indian family. Both are relative and contextual. The problem arises when we lose awareness of the context and consider it to be absolute.

 Our conscious and unconscious minds create a "Perceived self" based on conditioning by society. It develops certain likes and dislikes and based on them, it defines its aim in life, the dos and don'ts. This "Perceived self" becomes the center of our lives and loses touch with reality. The brain makes its own stories and starts believing them to be real. In effect, we start operating in a very narrow band of reality, considering that to be the entire reality. Under the command of such strong emotions hovering around the "Perceived self", the rational mind also serves it with logic to support its worldview. 

 In Mahabharata, everyone had his own logic to support his worldview. For example, Dhritrastra had a deep desire to be the king since contemporary society considered it to be the right of the elder son to be king. But since he was blind since childhood, he could not become king and his younger brother became. His emotional mind made stories and the reason supplied all the logic to the story. He felt that great injustice had been done to him and his kids and that's why he found the battle of Kurushetra to be completely justified. That is how Duryodhana's rational mind fed logic to the deep desire of his emotional mind to be the king of Hastinapur. Karna was the son of Kunti before marriage and therefore was never given the status of a prince. He was born and brought up by a servant. Since he possessed the skills and strength of a warrior and contemporary society didn't recognize him as a warrior, his emotional mind had a deep desire to be a warrior. When Duryodhana supported him, his emotional mind felt deeply obliged and took a decision to fight in support of Duryodhana, knowing very well that Duryodhana denied the justified rights of Pandavas. His rational mind had to supply the logic in support of the decision taken by the emotional mind. 

We are conscious of a very small part of this emotional mind. Most of the likes and dislikes operate through the unconscious mind that is stored deep down. We are not aware of how our decisions are impacted by this unconscious. For example, the conscious mind of Karna may be taking the decision to support Duryodhana to pay back his obligations, but deep down there may be a deep desire in the unconscious to demonstrate his capacity to fight as a warrior.  

 Thus our mind is fixated on certain ideas, beliefs, and desires, based on life experiences. These fixations make our lives limited. Unless we work on these fixations, we keep operating within the narrow band of possibilities. The first step is to be aware of our own fixations. That's not easy because these fixations are part and parcel of our being and our rational mind justifies them all the time. The rational mind, like a faithful minister, gives all the logic to justify these fixations. That's what happened with Dhritrastra, Duryodhana, and Karna. That's what happened with Bhishma. Despite knowing very well that the battle of Kurukshetra will not be good for Hastinapur, and knowing very well that Duryodhana is not justified, his rational mind provided sufficient logic to support the decision of the emotional mind to be on the side of the king of Hastinapur. That's why it's almost impossible to be aware of one's own fixations. The rational mind hardly allows us to see them as fixations.

 To be aware of these fixations, one needs exposure to different worldviews. Reading books written by authors who have been able to break free of these fixations helps a lot. It gives a different perspective to the mind. It's like a lost child being reminded of the home by someone from the home. Discussions with the people who are working on their own fixations also help. Slowly and gradually the rational mind starts coming out of the limitations imposed on it by the "perceived self". Real education has to aim at providing the following exposure:

1. Opportunities to be aware of one's own fixations
2. Being aware of the limitations of reason or logic
3. Being aware of the self-defense mechanism of these fixations

As we educate ourselves to understand our fixations, we understand how they are making our lives limited. This gives us the courage and enthusiasm to work on these fixations. Real education empowers us to be aware of the limitations of reason. It makes us see clearly the falsity of these logics and how biased these are. We also become aware of the defense mechanism of the "perceived self". As we grow aware of these, we also become aware of the infinite possibilities.

 In fact, that's the second limb of real education- "To explore how these fixations may be converted into new possibilities". Real education guides us to infinite possibilities. It attacks the artificial divisions created by the mind, based on its conditioning, into good and bad, desirable and undesirable. We realize that all these possibilities always exist. It is our own mind that filters them out and we are not able to see them. The almighty has blessed us with the potential to express ourselves in so many different forms. Before I started exploring astrology, I was never aware of my ability to read horoscopes. Before I started to write on Quora and these blogs, I was never aware of my ability to write. As we become aware of our "perceived self" centered around fears and insecurities, we start turning towards the world of possibilities with faith in the consciousness. Real education helps a person explore these possibilities rather than just supporting the pursuits of a fixated self. 

 The third limb of real education is "To help a person live life with these possibilities". That's not an easy task at all. Most of the world is moving in a particular direction. People are fixated on their desires and ideas to the extent of madness. It's not easy to survive in this world full of such madness. The mad world may drive the warriors like Arjuna also mad. We need a teacher like Krishna who tells Arjuna, how to live life with "consciousness as its center". Real education will be incomplete until and unless we live life accordingly as a Yogi, fighting the battle like Arjuna under the guidance of Krishna, unaffected by the most difficult circumstances, with the aim as clear as the "eye of the fish",  free of all the falsities of perceived self, and most importantly living life as an agent of the divine ready to leave it the moment the Master so wishes.