 Vedic Education is to open one's awareness to unboundedness in order to raise the individual to the height of supreme happiness, the field of all possibilities. This puts an end to suffering, which results from a limited vision of life.
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Fulfilling the ancient and modern ideals of education through Maharishi's Science of Creative Intelligence The foundation of education in the Age of Enlightenment is 'higher education for higher consciousness' to open the door of all possibilities for everyone. Through Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Programme, one develops the ability to think and act from Transcendental Consciousness, unbounded awareness, which is the home of all the Laws of Nature, the field of all possibilities. In this powerful and comprehensive talk given in Seelisberg, Switzerland, in July 1977, Maharishi said that since unbounded awareness is the home of all the Laws of Nature, 'any thought from this level will be evolutionary, life-supporting, and enriching to the environment. 'Unbounded awareness is the field of infinite correlation, the very basic ground of all life, which connects everything with everything else,' Maharishi said. 'When this field is enlivened through the Transcendental Meditation Technique, an evolutionary influence is enlivened in the whole creation and all differences in the environment are harmonized.' Consciousness, the field of the knower, is the common basis of all disciplines because all knowledge is gained on the level of consciousness or intelligence. 'Education until now has lacked the knowledge of the knower in its infinity capacity, but now with the introduction of the Transcendental Meditation Programme into education, the full value of consciousness, unbounded awareness, will make the study of every discipline complete and fulfilling,' Maharishi said. Education should create in the student the most settled state of awareness, the simplest form of awareness, the field of all possibilities. Established in this state, one gains the ability to accomplish anything. This is the ancient Vedic theme of education. Maharishi continued, 'The Upanishads [one aspect of the Vedic Literature] reveal that there are two fields of knowledge: knowledge of the relative field of life and knowledge of the transcendental field. Knowledge of the Transcendent is supreme because it liberates one from boundaries and is capable of bestowing all possibilities. 'Awareness is the basis of knowledge. In the Vedic Tradition there are four levels of awareness on which knowledge is gained: senses, mind, finest senses, and Transcendental Consciousness. In order to gain knowledge of any desired level one must take one's awareness to that level. Knowledge of the Transcendent can only be gained by opening one's awareness to Transcendental Consciousness. 'What is important in the field of education is the value of discrimination, the intellect. The supreme value of the intellect is gained when awareness transcends the field of distinction and experiences the unified field of consciousness in which the intellect is fully awake in itself. In this state the intellect is able to distinguish the two values of knower and known within one unified wholeness of consciousness,' Maharishi said. 'The knowledge of Para, Transcendental Consciousness, is the foundation of education, because knowledge of the Absolute is basic to the knowledge of any field of the relative. The whole Vedic Literature sings the glory of Para, which is pure knowledge, the pure potentiality of all possibilities.' Maharishi explained that there is one verse in the Rk Veda which says, 'Richo Ak-kshare Parame Vyoman'—'In the transcendental immortal field of Akshara, all the expressions of perfect knowledge, the hymns of the Veda, are structured.' From that value of consciousness, the impulses of Creative Intelligence come out to express the totality of knowledge on which education must be based. 'By establishing Para, the Absolute, in one's awareness,' Maharishi continued, 'the awareness becomes so unbounded that perception and action are no longer able to localize one's awareness. In this state every action becomes a means of enjoying one's own unboundedness.' Transcendental Meditation brings the mind to unbounded awareness, and the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Programme cultures the ability to act in the field of Para. Acting from the level of Para, unbounded awareness, one enlivens all possibilities in one's own awareness and becomes capable of achieving anything. 'Every word is the expression of Para,' Maharishi said. 'When an individual is educated to project speech from the level of Para, the total value of possibilities lying within the range of each word will be actualized. 'Speech from the level of Para, the field of infinite correlation, enjoys a frictionless flow that conveys the totality of the speaker's intention and is received by the listener without distortion. 'The key to develop successful leadership in the student is to enliven Para in his awareness. Every educated man should be the leader of his community, the leader of Nature, the master of creation. All the Laws of Nature follow the thought, speech, and action of such an enlightened individual. 'It is the flow of speech from the teacher to the student that cultures the student and instills knowledge in him. When the teacher is functioning from the level of infinite correlation, he possesses that skill of speech whereby his expressions convey the totality of his intention. 'In education, the ''principle of the highest first'' is to deliver unbounded awareness to the student to unfold in him the knowledge that his speech is rooted in the unboundedness of the whole cosmos, the field of Para. 'The Upanishads [another aspect of the Vedic Literature] describes the Atma, the Self, as infinite silence, non-dual, pure potentiality, the field of unboundedness, Transcendental Consciousness. This field of Para, the Self, is the foundation of all knowledge. 'The theme of Vedic Education is to open one's awareness to the unbounded value of Para in order to raise the suffering individual to the height of supreme happiness, the field of all possibilities. This is the means to put an end of all suffering, which results from a limited vision of life.' The technique of Transcendental Meditation requires nothing other than the mind itself in order to establish the awareness in the field of all possibilities. The natural tendency of the mind to settle down to its infinite potential is the foundation of education. 'An enlightened teacher makes the knowledge a living reality in the daily life of his students,' said Maharishi. 'No matter what a teacher teaches, he guides the student to live the knowledge in all activity and behaviour. 'Comprehensive education based on Para expands the foundations of education to encompass the whole society and environment. Such an education includes all values: the student, the teacher, the relationship of the teacher and student, and the relationship of the student with his environment. . . . ' Maharishi explained, 'The foundation of action lies in the settled state of consciousness from where activity begins, and that settled state of consciousness can act within itself because it is conscious of itself. The whole foundation of education, therefore, lies in the Self. 'The foundation of education lies in the ability of the Transcendent to function within itself, and this is the field of all possibilities, the home of all the Laws of Nature, the field of infinite correlation. As the value of the Self is unfolded more and more, one enlivens the foundation of education, the field of knowledge, within oneself. By completely enlivening the field of all knowledge, one gains proficiency in all fields of action. © Copyright 2008 Global Good News®
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