Education, religion and spirituality

M K Bhan
Religion is the quality and discipline of life and this quality and discipline helps in cultivating and acquiring the spirit of cooperation, a coherent vision and right outlook to create a better world for us. Human history and oneness of his existence can’t be perceived in absence of these powerful forces – ‘Education, Religion and Spirituality’. Poverty of the human mind and human perception has blocked our vision to recognize the harmony between spirituality and matter. Different emerging religions and religious groups have always remained a dominating factor for exploiting the communities, regions and nations. Divinity of human beings and the unity of god can never be understood by creating more and more religions and religious institutions. Under the influence of materialistic world we prefer to worship ‘His Creation’ and not ‘Him’. We, so called God fearing people have created chaos and confusion in the name of different Gods’, up-coming new religions and by wrong interpretation of our ancient religious testaments. Education, religion and spirituality are inter-connected powerful forces for removing the darkness, ignorance, illiteracy from this world and not for exploiting and misguiding the energetic youth of 21st century. Education without religion and spirituality and in the similar way spirituality and religion without education are unsustainable.
It is the inter-connectedness of education, religion and spirituality that has always inspired and guided us to remain contended with our existing position and circumstances; one should put forth all his efforts to lift himself higher and higher to attain the cosmic brilliance, purity and enlightenment. Unfortunately, the people are conditioned to use left hand side of their brain like a computer with mechanistic and materialistic attitude, ignoring the power of the right hand side of the brain, which is like an artist- concerned with creativity and spirituality aspects. Everybody tries to become spiritually submissive before examinations to get some help from acquainted divine force; expecting miracles to happen in examination centre and to get their answer scripts filled by some magical pen having spiritual touch. Education, religion and spirituality has nothing to do with these petty fowl practices and personal comforts – ‘It is a burning passion of the melting candle’.  Our minds have been locked by the spiritual bosses of this materialistic world and an average man doesn’t use more than 5-10% of  his hidden potential and passes his life in the predicament of success and failure.  An imbalance in education can’t be restored with intellectual inputs alone, but by higher orbits of social, emotional and spiritual consciousness. I.Q. (intelligence quotient) and E.Q. (emotional quotient) is incomplete without S.Q. (spiritual quotient). A right systematic effort to develop right hand side of brain has to find its roots in our education system. A soulful education can address the existing issues and touch the student’s life forever. We all know that ‘Awakening is life and slumbering is death’.
Increase in heinous crimes, barbaric acts and corrupt practices in school campuses and out of school campuses by the educated community is the result of the  advancement and development of today’s educational arena keeping religion and spiritualism out of its spheres. Molesting of girl students, fracturing arms, burning the feet, thrashing and abusing the innocent kids,  emotional exploitation and many more stories can further be added to this un-exhausted list of educational framework. Here, I want to clear that all the teachers are not alike, there are many rich teachers, some born and a few genius teachers and I am not finding a teacher which is really a ‘Teacher’ as sketched in our ancient scriptures. A big…big question mark has been fixed after this most respected and noble word of the world ‘TEACHER’ by those who are the part of this system. It takes centuries together to regain that faith, bring back the lost glory and honour.
In recent past, mentally challenged girls, teenagers, illiterate innocent girls and women have been raped and molested by educated and serving class people in the trains, public offices, police stations and even sacred places were not spared. Nearly 15,000 women succumb to dowry torture annually and it is surprising that crime rate against women is on increase in advanced states having highest literacy rate.  We have forgotten the true essence of ‘Laxmi Puja’, ‘Durga Puja’, ‘Sarswati Puja’. We are worshipping these goddesses for our wealth, high percentage of success rate, prosperity, selfish motives and securing special favours by offering costly things and black currency notes. We are not considering this aspect that these goddesses are also the symbol of woman’s dignity and honour. ‘Jai Mata Di’, ‘Jai Bharat Maa’, ‘Jai Dharti Maa’ are mere favorite slogans for  all of us and are used for fulfilling the political and religious motives. Blessed were the people, not so educated as us, who selflessly and with clarity of mind, understood the sanctity of worshipping these ‘Mother Goddesses’.
Foundation stones of these monuments, historical heritage sites, well planned houses, ongoing construction works and developmental projects have been laid by slaughtering these lofty and gigantic mountains. These symbols of heaven’s pride have always been tortured, blasted and shattered by human beings. We have underestimated the adverse effects of these shrinking, silent, breathing mountains on the entire globe, ignoring their geographical and environmental journey with human civilization. Ignorance was far better than the awareness of today’s educated community. These mountains were safe in the hands of those primitive and illiterate people, who were ignorant about the interpretation of existing education and educational institutions. Mountains were not just stone mounds for them but living Gods instead-the saviors of life. There is an urgent need to strengthen this age old relationship with these spared meditating mountains. Faith is connected to the mountains-the abode of God, not by accident or any ritual, but by reason and rationale. God has assigned us the duty of safeguarding this earth and His creation in every respect without any discrimination. He never likes that the eternal journey of sacred rivers, meditative mood of sage like forests and soothing silence of spiritual mountains should get disturbed by us. When ‘He’ has fixed every bit of this world in its proper place, then which Right of the Constitution allows us to interfere in his scheme of things. Being the creator of this world, he has no desires and keeps no expectation from us, except love and respect for ‘Nature’ and ‘Mankind’; then why the settled LAWS are being violated in his name and in the name of religion? Educated people have failed to enlighten the dark minds and removing these age-old misconceptions and superstitious views from the society. Now, religion is flourishing as big business centers and spirituality is on sale under different price tags, fixed according to the social status of a person in this competitive market.
Education, religion and spirituality are interwoven institutions based on a deep understanding and respect for the nature and its strength. All these institutions are the centers for transformation and liberation of human beings. But, we are now entering  these institutions just to worship without any reason and logic. study where the flush water make its entry after being flushed out from the toilets and wash-rooms. After paying offerings to the goddess Ganga, the devotees left their marks in the form of plastic bags, bottles, unholy and  other objectionable things on its holy sandy banks which once remained camped with sick people for healing  themselves by taking just a  few drops of ‘Ganga-Jal’. Now, its water is not even suitable for irrigation. We are mercilessly taking clean water from our rivers and in return what we offer them- sewage and industrial waste, still believe that we have rivers to worship- contradicting our religious and spiritual faith with educational advancement.
(The author Director is SGGJ Model Schools, Sunderbani (J&K)

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