Education is for life…!Not merely for a living….

Living is a common feature for all creatures on earth. A small herb or shrub to a great elephant all lives. But  L I F E is something more than that. Man is called the “Crown of creation”, meaning the most developed creation of God. How is man superior to all other beings in creation?
            Man is the only being on earth who has the power to think and reason at an intellectual and philosophical level. All other  beings live mainly by instinct. The number of human beings who occupy this planet is tiny when compared to the population of other beings. But man has succeeded in ruling every other creature in the world. When we think how we got all these virtues we would ultimately get the answer as “Education”. Generally all human beings in this world needs education to safeguard themselves and lead a happy life. Whatever profession it may be, one need education to shine in that field. An educated person would always do the best in whatever field he enters.
Education is the discipline for the adventure of life, the acquisition of the art of the utilization of knowledge. It makes a man civilized and  make out  a decent living. But is this all the purpose of education???
When asked for the aim in life, almost all of us would reply as “To get higher education , get a good job, earn a lot of money, to get married, have children, own a house , get a car, make my children educated. And one fine day get retired from the job and live comfortably on the pension.”
If it is only earn, eat , have children and die, what’s the real worth of human life??? And what is the purpose of your education???? Friends our life doesn’t end with education and living. If we are all born only for that what is the difference between an animal and a human life??? Are  not the animals doing that  without an expensive education? Are not the birds doing that without schooling? Are not the fish doing the same without high salaries?
Life and Death  are common to all human beings. Of course we should earn and live well. But we should also have high ideals. It is fine to have money and position but it is worthwhile only if used in the service of others.
The role of education does not ends wit living. Education is not only the bookish knowledge that we acquire in schools and colleges. But a real knowledge of men, society and a worldly knowledge.  The purpose of education is to make man pure, to love and to serve more and more. Move closer  to God and find a life with happiness forever. Again happiness does not alone lies in the material comforts that we accumulate. The happy man is the one who has free affections and wide interests; who secures his happiness through these affection to many others. The education we acquire should help others and ourselves.
Friends we are grownups. Enough to think for ourselves. What ever career we take up in our life, let it be for our life and not merely for a living. This precious human life is god’s gift to us. Did we ask to be born as human beings? We should always remember that we have gained this great gift of the human body and mind to do something special. Of course one should have family ,have to eat , sleep , earn and enjoy the material comforts. But one’s entire life should not be spent merely in these pursuits. We should think more and more of the whole world as our family !!!

The Real Enemy is the Enemy within Us

 “Every man is the architect of his own future” quotes Sallust and hence every man has the capacity to design himself.  A man’s life is just like cooking a dish.  If the ingredients are mixed in a correct proportion they give a real taste.   But on the other hand if they exceed the limit they do not serve the purpose. Similarly the emotions and reactions of man mixed in a right proportion make a good combination.

    Man has three great enemies.  They are lust, anger and greed.  These lead to the destruction of man’s spiritual nature.  Animals have lust, but it is limited by natures call.  Animals have greed.  They have great urge to eat out of hunger.  As soon as their hunger is satisfied, they are not concerned with accumulation like men.  Animals have anger.  But it is limited in its scope.  That angry feeling is roused only when they are hungry.  But in man, it is all-consuming and vindictive.  Man indulges in these lower urges without any restrictions.  And so paves way for his ruin.  Man has the capacity to control, regulate and ultimately overcome these passions.
     Anger is momentary madness, so control your passion or it will control you.  An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes.  An Angry person is tempted to commit mistakes easily and at a bigger level it leads to great disasters like war.  If you find yourself using anger as a general pattern of behavior, remember that anger will generally leave you feeling foolish and sorry in the end.  Just as a spark of fire destroys a whole forest a man’s anger destroys his friends, relations, and surroundings. The world of today has achieved much, but for all its declared love for humanity, it has based itself far more on hatred and violence than on the virtues that make man human.  War is the negation of truth and humanity war may be unavoidable sometimes but its progeny are terrible to contemplate.  Not mere killing, for man must die, but the deliberate and persistent propagation of hatred and falsehood which gradually become the normal habit of the people.  Hence anger of a man puts the world into bier.   Hence man should control his anger or it may lead to vast destructions.
     Suppose you have a quick temper, when something ignites it, hold a picture in your mind of yourself, calmly extinguishing it. If you can’t extinguish it, you may at least delay it, which is often the best cure for anger.
   Why not take this as a Resolution for this New Year. Lets control our anger and make a peaceful world. Lets make it a better place to live in for you and for me and for rest of the creations.