"Education is the manifestation of perfection already in men." - by Swami Vivekananda.
How true the saying is! Yet, I am not in full synchronisation with the opening phrase "Education is the manifestation ..." - what I presently understand is more along the tunes of the initial wordings slightly rearranged - "Education leads to the manifestation of ...". The rest fully agrees with my present understanding.
However, my conclusion to the same opinion has been arrived at via different means. Through a hypothesis of genetic engineering (a premature understanding of GE, I acknowledge, and possibly more based on belief rather than scientific facts), neural networks, and the 'evolution' of these happening through maybe a million years. And through personal experiences of the process of learning and comprehensions, which always, with time, seems to be leading to forever changing assimilations of the same matter.
At this point, let me acknowledge, that not having gone through any other texts/explanations on Swami Vivekananda's views on the matters of the quote, what I'm expressing here might not be in line with Swamij's views. Instead, they reflect just my current thoughts on the subjects.
First, I'll say a few words on my present take on 'knowledge' and the means to attain it.
The knowledge we seek, of understanding the world around us, and why things - including our own selves and minds - are the way they are, is so complicated and intricate that it is impossible to grasp by a human mind in a lifetime, even if one lives for a thousand years. Attempts to master this through rationalised and institutionalised process is juvenile. Yet nature has assimilated this knowledge in our biological constitution through the millions of years of evolution. Even if we are not consciously aware, it is present within our neural and genetic setup.
True understanding of anything can never be arrived at through rational thinking, because no matter how deep you understand, there will always be a level of understanding deeper than your present one. (And as long as your mind is open and receptive, and have not turned stale, you will keep learning and your philosophies changing.) Also, there will always be the open question of why you are thinking the way you are thinking, which in itself, is what we call, in terms of computer science, an open loop of infinite recursion.
Instinct, however, is far more potent, arising from subconscious depths of understandings fortified by evolution through the ages. It is not the intellect, but instinct, which is the true enabler of progress of human civilisation. In very simple to understand words, let us consider the process of new inventions. No rationally engineered thought process, i.e., intellect, would ever justify pursual for something completely unfathomable and unknown, a pursual in complete darkness without having the slightest clue if something would turn up or not. Yet, men's instincts have led them on, and the one such pursual which yields fruit justifies the other thousand which fail. Also, many of what we learn of the world around us happen through sudden realisations originating from depths of instincts, only stimulated or awakened by some external stimulus.
Coming back to education system, the whole purpose of any education system, for me, should be not to 'teach' an individual anything, but to equip him with the foundation and tools such that he/she is actually able to learn when the true learning starts, or catches him unawares. True learning happens only through an individual's own assimilation of any matter or experience, using his very own instincts, aided with rational tools, to arrive at his own conclusions (*1). Our present day education system, unfortunately, has got very diluted and does very little towards this holistic objective. An education system should seek to equip the individual's mind to learn, and more importantly, to unlearn when faced with a new experience or understanding. Education should seek to make the mind forever open and receptive, and instil courage and faith in one's own self, such that an individual can accept what both his own mind and instincts are telling him anew, and can discard what hitherto had been believed in, even at the great cost of a shattered belief system resulting in being exposed and defenceless. Education is to equip an individual for this forever voyage of discovery, of a series of understandings and comprehensions awakened within him, by his own instincts, only aided by external stimulus.
(This writing is promoted from my paper journal. Originally written on 06-Apr-2017.)
P.S.:
1. "True learning happens only through an individual's own assimilation of any matter or experience, using his very own instincts, aided with rational tools, to arrive at his own conclusions." - Meaning, same experiences will lead to different conclusions in different beings. Though seemingly contradicting 'scientific' thought process, it has no contradictions when we do away with some approximations, and seek a more empirical formula.
How true the saying is! Yet, I am not in full synchronisation with the opening phrase "Education is the manifestation ..." - what I presently understand is more along the tunes of the initial wordings slightly rearranged - "Education leads to the manifestation of ...". The rest fully agrees with my present understanding.
However, my conclusion to the same opinion has been arrived at via different means. Through a hypothesis of genetic engineering (a premature understanding of GE, I acknowledge, and possibly more based on belief rather than scientific facts), neural networks, and the 'evolution' of these happening through maybe a million years. And through personal experiences of the process of learning and comprehensions, which always, with time, seems to be leading to forever changing assimilations of the same matter.
At this point, let me acknowledge, that not having gone through any other texts/explanations on Swami Vivekananda's views on the matters of the quote, what I'm expressing here might not be in line with Swamij's views. Instead, they reflect just my current thoughts on the subjects.
First, I'll say a few words on my present take on 'knowledge' and the means to attain it.
The knowledge we seek, of understanding the world around us, and why things - including our own selves and minds - are the way they are, is so complicated and intricate that it is impossible to grasp by a human mind in a lifetime, even if one lives for a thousand years. Attempts to master this through rationalised and institutionalised process is juvenile. Yet nature has assimilated this knowledge in our biological constitution through the millions of years of evolution. Even if we are not consciously aware, it is present within our neural and genetic setup.
True understanding of anything can never be arrived at through rational thinking, because no matter how deep you understand, there will always be a level of understanding deeper than your present one. (And as long as your mind is open and receptive, and have not turned stale, you will keep learning and your philosophies changing.) Also, there will always be the open question of why you are thinking the way you are thinking, which in itself, is what we call, in terms of computer science, an open loop of infinite recursion.
Instinct, however, is far more potent, arising from subconscious depths of understandings fortified by evolution through the ages. It is not the intellect, but instinct, which is the true enabler of progress of human civilisation. In very simple to understand words, let us consider the process of new inventions. No rationally engineered thought process, i.e., intellect, would ever justify pursual for something completely unfathomable and unknown, a pursual in complete darkness without having the slightest clue if something would turn up or not. Yet, men's instincts have led them on, and the one such pursual which yields fruit justifies the other thousand which fail. Also, many of what we learn of the world around us happen through sudden realisations originating from depths of instincts, only stimulated or awakened by some external stimulus.
Coming back to education system, the whole purpose of any education system, for me, should be not to 'teach' an individual anything, but to equip him with the foundation and tools such that he/she is actually able to learn when the true learning starts, or catches him unawares. True learning happens only through an individual's own assimilation of any matter or experience, using his very own instincts, aided with rational tools, to arrive at his own conclusions (*1). Our present day education system, unfortunately, has got very diluted and does very little towards this holistic objective. An education system should seek to equip the individual's mind to learn, and more importantly, to unlearn when faced with a new experience or understanding. Education should seek to make the mind forever open and receptive, and instil courage and faith in one's own self, such that an individual can accept what both his own mind and instincts are telling him anew, and can discard what hitherto had been believed in, even at the great cost of a shattered belief system resulting in being exposed and defenceless. Education is to equip an individual for this forever voyage of discovery, of a series of understandings and comprehensions awakened within him, by his own instincts, only aided by external stimulus.
(This writing is promoted from my paper journal. Originally written on 06-Apr-2017.)
P.S.:
1. "True learning happens only through an individual's own assimilation of any matter or experience, using his very own instincts, aided with rational tools, to arrive at his own conclusions." - Meaning, same experiences will lead to different conclusions in different beings. Though seemingly contradicting 'scientific' thought process, it has no contradictions when we do away with some approximations, and seek a more empirical formula.
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