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Education from within—a boon to all students In the following excerpt from Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi speaks of the latent potential within all students which, though not unfolded by current systems of education, is easily developed through the study of the Absolute, the Self of everyone, experienced directly through the practice of the Transcendental Meditation Technique. Maharishi writes: ‘Education aims at culturing the mind of a man to enable him to accomplish all he would like to accomplish in the great field of life. Education should necessarily enable a man to make use of his full potential in the field of his body, mind, and spirit. But it should also develop in him the ability to make the best use of his personality, surroundings, and circumstances so that he may accomplish the maximum in life for himself and for all others. There are tremendous possibilities latent in these fields which are never fathomed nor unfolded by students during their student life, which is the most precious time for building up the career of a man. ‘When one travels in the world and meets people of different nations, one finds that the public opinion in almost every country is set against the prevailing system of education. In no country of the world are people really satisfied with the existing system of education. There may not be many who could satisfactorily point out what the ideal system of education ought to be and indicate what is lacking in the present curriculum of the schools, colleges, and universities. Nevertheless, it is evident that dissatisfaction with the existing curricula prevails everywhere. ‘What is lacking is the completeness of the system of education which will give fullness to a curriculum through which students coming out of the educational institutions will be fully developed and completely responsible citizens of their countries, well-grown in the fuller values of life, developed in higher consciousness and understanding. ‘The subjects taught should be such that they bring home to the students the full scope of life. Whatever subject they choose should contain within it the view of a full life, a complete perspective of the full values of life and living. ‘In the present, with the advent of new inventions in all the fields of learning, a great number of subjects are creeping into the field of education. The field of specialization becomes one branch of learning in itself. Whatever precise specialization is taught to the students, along with knowledge of that subject, they should also receive the vision of the full value of life. ‘Obviously each branch of learning ranges from the most elementary to the most advanced study of a particular subject. But no subject of study and no branch of learning has yet reached the pinnacle of investigation in that subject. Every branch of learning presents great findings to a point, but the possibility of still greater findings lies in store for investigation by the oncoming generations. Therefore the highest peak of study of any subject is beyond the present-day sphere of knowledge. This leaves every branch of learning in a very unfinished state. ‘However, with the study of the Absolute [the Self of everyone, pure, Transcendental Consciousness experienced during the practice of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Technique] in the higher courses of every branch of study, it seems that a student, along with gaining advanced knowledge of that subject, will also have an idea of the extreme limit of that subject. This is because the study eventually will touch the horizon of the Absolute. 'The study of the eternal Absolute, therefore, seems to be highly significant. It should be an accompaniment of the study of each branch of learning. The student will thereby find the extent to which life goes. As it is, the study of any branch of learning is limited only to the gross levels of that subject. Therefore, it is for the experts in the field of education to consider introducing the study of the Absolute along with the higher study of every branch of learning. This should at least be included in the curriculum of adult students in the colleges and universities. ‘The study of the Absolute will reveal to the students the great and hidden values of life lying beyond the obvious phenomenal phase of existence and will bring to them a deeper sense of existence, a broader vision of life and the unfathomable field of wisdom. It also will reveal to them the possibilities of living values of life much greater and higher than those found on the level of relative existence [the changing field of outer life]. 'If the technique of Transcendental Meditation is practiced, along with the study of the Absolute, the purpose of education would really be served. The system of education would thus be complete in the true sense of the word.’ Editor’s note: Maharishi’s continuing thoughts on Education, as written in Science of Being and Art of Living, will be presented in the upcoming Excellence in Action article, ‘How to truly satisfy the thirst for knowledge’. © Copyright 2011 Global Good News®
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