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Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Education: Transforming ignorance into enlightenment In 1978, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi spoke at the World Assembly on the 'Role of Education in Making the Nation Invincible’ in Seelisberg, Switzerland. The main points from this talk presented below are included in the pocket-sized, four-volume set of books entitled Maharishi Speaks to Students: Mastery Over Natural Law, which can be obtained from Maharishi University of Management Press. ‘The education of each new generation always starts on the basis of all previous knowledge and scientific achievements,’ Maharishi said. ‘We want the students of the coming years to build upon a collective consciousness that has already imbibed the complete knowledge of full human potential offered by the Absolute Theory of Education.’ The knowledge that Maharishi is offering in his Absolute Theory of Education integrates direct personal experience, Vedic wisdom, and modern science. This knowledge is reawakening the full value of the ancient textbook of consciousness, the Veda, and it offers great promise for the future of science and education. All leading educators commonly agree that the study of the Self will be more and more at the centre of education. The programme Maharishi has developed is the model of what education everywhere will soon be. This reliable system for gaining complete knowledge provides a practical programme to raise world consciousness. As world consciousness grows in coherence, deeper levels of knowledge unfold and the unfoldment of great knowledge in turn gives rise to a higher level of world consciousness. The Absolute Theory of Education offers a programme to unfold the infinite potential of mankind and bring invincibility to the nation. ‘What has been lacking in education and society is success,’ Maharishi said. ‘Education everywhere has been a failure, producing an understanding that life is a struggle and to err is human. ‘Education should make life blossom in its full dignity so that one does not make mistakes or create problems for oneself or society. However, no such system of education today creates such an educated man. ‘We want to offer to the world invincible education, an education that can never fail.’ Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation technique is the practical aspect of the Absolute Theory of Education. It is a natural procedure that leads a man to enlightenment through the process of transcending, in which the mind experiences progressively finer levels of thought until the finest level of thought is transcended and pure awareness is gained. In this process of forgetting everything, one is left by oneself. ‘The Absolute Theory of Education can transform an ignorant man into a fully enlightened man, blossoming in his infinite creativity,’ Maharishi said. ‘In the past, education focused only on learning without regard for the learner, the student. The Absolute Theory of Education expands the consciousness of the knower and enables him to grasp a great range of knowledge. ‘The Absolute Theory of Education starts with whatever ability the student has and allows him to experience his own unbounded awareness, which is a field of all possibilities. This creates a fertile ground for learning. ‘The Absolute Theory of Education is a never-failing principle of bringing enlightenment to every man. The nature of life is to evolve, and if a system of education is in accordance with the nature of life, it will allow everyone to evolve without loss of time and energy.’ This theme of education can provide every man with the fruit of all knowledge, which is the ability to be familiar with everything. In this state one lives wholeness, unity of life. ‘An enlightened man radiates a beautiful influence of harmony and coherence so that all disharmonies and problems in the environment disappear,’ said Maharishi. ‘New values are dawning in the Age of Enlightenment [the dawning Heaven on Earth]. The principles on which life and living have been based so far must be replaced by more natural and comprehensive principles. ‘Both the most ancient system of knowledge, through subjective evaluation of consciousness, and the most modern system of gaining knowledge, through experimentation and discovery of natural laws by different sciences, now meet on the level of experience. This totality of knowledge is offered by the Absolute Theory of Education,’ Maharishi concluded.
Copyright © 2008 Global Good News(sm) Service
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