Wholesome Education is the need of the hour!

One cannot deny the fact that the kind of education that the man has discovered and followed is nothing but a mere bundle of letters of verifiable knowledge of the universe. It is good for memorizing, recollecting, comprehending, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating. No doubt, it has certainly contributed to the intellectual or physical development of a child who attends a school that follows the present day approach to education.

Have you ever heard of the educated ones - presidents, prime ministers, ministers, governors, lawmakers, law-enforcers, educationists, officials, doctors, scientists, engineers, teachers, lecturers, professors, lawyers, auditors, accountants, technicians, clerks etc., testify like this? :

"I am an educated person and my education has made me know the truth; I have become a transformed individual; I have undergone true spiritual, intellectual, moral, social and physical transformation; I am guided by the truth and able to live a holy life; I am humble; I am not jealous of others; I do not curse others; I don't persecute others; I don't lie; I don't speak ill of others. I obey my elders; I respect others; I don't discriminate people; My eyes are not lustful; I am not greedy; I don't indulge in drugs; I don't indulge in sin and sexual immorality; As a public servant, I don't squander public money; I don't bribe and accept bribes; I don't claim allowances in a dishonest manner; I don't use office properties for my personal use; My thoughts are holy; my actions are holy; I am overcoming the temptations of world, flesh and Satan, by the power of the truth; I continue to strive to be holy; I love others as I love myself; I pray for the well-being of all people of the world; I help the poor and needy; I desire to serve the people selflessly"

As an answer to the above-mentioned question, If you are able to say, “Certainly Yes, I have heard them, many a times speak so and seen them doing so and as an educated person, I myself strive to live a holy life”, then there is no problem, we can continue to follow today's education. If your answer is “No”, then we need to take immediate steps for an alternative approach to education. It is high time for us to introspect and provide true wholesome education to our children. Wholesome education seems to be a mere slogan shouted in the corridors of today's educational world. Those who coined the term, wholesome education deserve our applause and appreciation, but its real essence seems to be missing in the kind of education that is offered under its banner today. Therefore the term wholesome education tended to become a near misnomer.

What is wholesome education in the real sense? Wholesome education does not mean that a child during his or her schooling should be given exposure to different kinds of activities- a bit of thinking and doing (knowledge & skills), a bit of sports and games (physical education) and a bit of tradition, culture and religion (value education).

My understanding of wholesome education is that it caters to the needs of wholesome development or all round development of an individual child. Every human being is an embodiment of the three divinely created living entities- Spirit, Soul and Body. Wholesome education must cater to the development of all these three miraculously interwoven living components in the personality of a child.

Wholesome education molds one spiritually (brings about spiritual development), intellectually (brings about intellectual development), physically (brings about physical development), morally (brings about moral development) and socially (and brings about social development).

The goal of wholesome education is to help the child undergo multidimensional transformation. Present day education aims at achieving physical and intellectual development only while spiritual development, moral development and social development seem to be far from the agenda.

True spiritual development produces true moral and social developments. Without spiritual development, human development would not be wholesome. Spiritual development brings about wholesome development in the personality of a child. A child's physical development is like the root of a fruit-yielding plant. His or her intellectual development is like its shoot and his or her spiritual, moral and social developments are like its fruits. A fruitless plant is sterile and unproductive. Present day education seems to produce only sterile plants. One may ask how this argument can be right, when a doctor who is a product of present day education is able to treat the sick people and train others to become doctors. Here one should understand this truth: a doctor who is a product of present day education may be intellectually and physically productive for he is able to treat sick people and train others to become doctors. He may be a practicing the profession, for he has acquired the knowledge and skills to treat sick people. He may live a successful physical and intellectual life. That does not mean that he is successful in the spiritual, moral and social aspects of his life; A doctor, who has not undergone true spiritual, moral and social development may not be free from the sins of the world; he may be alive physically and intellectually, but spiritually he may be dead.

How can we say that? Do you need evidence? We have heard enough of doctors who are smokers, drug addicts, terrorists, killers, abortionists, paedophiles and rapists and so on. For God's sake, don't misinterpret my words. I don't intend here to tarnish the image of doctors who do life saving services. Evil practices like these are exhibited, irrespective of their professions, by all educated ones, who have not undergone true spiritual, moral and social developments.

There are teachers who are not immune to the sinful practices of the world; we have officials who are not free from corruption; we have engineers but not all of them are constructive builders (remember Osama Bin Laden, the world's once most wanted terrorist and the architect of New York World trade center attack on the 11th September, 2001 was a civil engineer). We have lawyers who are liars. We have judges who mete out injustice. We have heard enough of religious leaders who indulge in sinful practices secretly. Forget not the heartless communalists who flare up communal violence, the cruel criminals, the invisible murderous underworld dons; the illegal mafia, and the ruthless leaders of terrorist outfits. They are all educated products of present day education but still live as slaves and victims of sin. What a deplorable paradox! That is why it is right to say that the products of today's education are physically and intellectually alive but spiritually dead.

Wholesome education aims at instilling spiritual life in the individual child along with physical and intellectual life. It is engrained in the sacred intention that TRUTH and KNOWLEDGE must be imparted to the child in a wholesome manner without prejudices. The truth and knowledge are inseparable; each one complements the other. Deplorably, man has made constant effort all through the ages, to separate these two sacred foundational pillars of the human life. Present day education, which provides the child with only knowledge, is the result of this separation.

Today's educational approach has deliberately kept the truth out of the reach of the children. This truthless knowledge has misled the mankind to Racism, Casteism, Regionalism, Communalism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Islamism, Secularism, socialism, communism, elitism, imperialism, terrorism, Satanism and so on and so forth, breeding an uncountable number of isms! Alas, the result is a divided and shattered mankind. The only one human community stands divided along the lines of these isms today. What a shameful thing. Are we not the creation of one creator- The God? Are we are not having one similar body? Are we not the children of one heavenly father? Are we not sheltered by one global home- The Earth? Are we not the members of one global family- the human family? Are we not breathing one air? Are we not under the favour of one sun and one moon? Are we not longing for one eternal life in one heaven? Who then divided us? Believe it or not, he is none other than Satan or Devil, the invisible enemy of the mankind and God. The satanic forces are active sowing seed of poison in the hearts of the people to divide and destroy the mankind. Beware of Satanic evil forces. Wholesome education is conceived in the womb of the truth and nurtured in the cradle of knowledge. The essence of wholesome education lies in imparting the knowledge in the divine light of the truth.

The history of the truth cannot be distorted. The truth means God, who manifested in the human form in the first century, as the saviour, Jesus Christ. The Truth existed in the past. The Truth exists in the present and the truth will continue to exist in the future. The truth is timeless. The knowledge means understanding of the Truth. Man derives knowledge only from the universe. Universe is the creation. It is the source of man's knowledge. God is the creator of the universe- both living things and non-living things. Man cannot generate knowledge without the universe. Universe is the manifestation and revelation of the creator. There is no creation without the creator.

Today's education propagates only the universe (the knowledge) and not the creator (the truth). Creator (God) is the messenger. Creation (Universe) is the message. A message without the messenger is anonymous. A message without the messenger's name is not authentic. A message without the messenger's signature is invalid. Message without the messenger is not wholesome. The messenger is the power of the message. Today's education has knowingly or unknowingly abandoned the messenger who is the power. Therefore today's education is powerless. It has zero power to transform the student's life. It produces educated illiterates who are slaves of sin and Satan. Today's education has no power of the truth to save the learners from the slavery of sin and Satan. The truth alone can free the learner from the clutches of the sin and Satan. Do you think wholesome education is a mere doctrine of theology? No, it is a doctrine of truth and knowledge. Religions may talk about God (theology). God never instituted religions. Religions are a man-made set of rules and rituals. These human rules and rituals have no power to transform an individual spiritually. Wholesome education does not suggest that religion should be mixed with education. How can we go after the religions which have failed to achieve spiritual transformation of people all these ages?

Wholesome education does not mean that all people of this world should be made mere God-believers. We all believe in God. Even those who call themselves atheists admit privately of having an inward fear for God. But every believer does not live a godly life. Here lies the problem. The truth, Jesus Christ, the God incarnate alone can solve this problem. Wholesome education relies on the power of the truth. It intends to instil the power of the truth into the child to make him or her renounce sinful practices. Why do we need the power of truth? We cannot deny the fact that man all through these ages has experienced failures in his self-made efforts to live a self-righteous life without the companionship of the truth. His own effort to free himself from the sin has proved futile. Man cannot free himself from the sin because by nature he is sinful. Therefore man needs the power of the truth for his deliverance from the sin.

Wholesome education attempts to enable the child to develop into a transformed wholesome personality. It makes the child physically sound, intellectually sound, spiritually sound, morally sound and socially sound. A wholesome student is guided by the truth. He can live a holy life, with the help of the power of the truth. Wholesome education will produce a holy generation, which will be free from sin, discrimination, murder, violence, rape, terrorism, drug addiction and sexual immorality and so on. In such a generation, true holiness, true peace, true love and true happiness will prevail and they will be holy and Holy God will dwell in them. What a great blessing!

How can we accomplish wholesome education?

*Lawmakers, Law-enforcers, Educational planners, Curriculum developers, Educationist, Teachers and Parents must honestly admit that present day education has failed quite miserably to contribute to the spiritual, moral and social development of the child; therefore the educated society is not free from the slavery of the sin and Satan. As a result, superstition, immorality, hatred, discrimination, murder, violence, terrorism, corruption, greed, lustfulness, ungodliness and so on abounds in the society.

*We must know that religions cannot facilitate transformation in the lives of individuals.

*We must realize that the truth (God) alone has the power to transform an individual in a wholesome manner.

*We must seek the truth, find the truth and embrace the truth who came down from the heaven as the saviour of the mankind.

*We must live and walk in the truth.

*We must teach the truth and the knowledge to our children in a wholesome manner.

From the Desk of the Trustee-Secretary