YOUTH AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION: HIGHER THAN WHAT?

                                     

Today one of the most intriguing questions for both students and their parents is deciding upon the right career option.  Probably all of us have gone through the same dilemma after passing class 10^th, 12th exams or during graduation. Career options for students who are pursuing professional courses/ degrees, are not clear. High scoring students have a vague understanding as to go for either Engineering or Medical (that too mostly based on peer or parental pressure). However, what is meant by IT, Mechanical, Production, Electronics, Biomedical… this information is largely superficial and choice instinctive. Few years back IT was first choice, and then recently it was Civil. For the remaining youths, a lot of thought goes into choosing the right option. Unfortunately pure Science is still not the first choice, Commerce and Arts are often chosen out of compulsion. Civil service exams are not yet an option for majority except in few pockets of the nation. There is this confusion because a lot depends on perceived utility of an option. Market value of a course is perceived (often wrongly) by youths and their parents and that is the deciding factor.

The  top (so perceived) paying career options such as MBA, Software, Chartered Accountancy, Journalism, Medical, Advertising, PR and architecture, also have in reality strong alternates like aviation, physical education & sports, law, fashion designing, Creative arts, research & development and administrative services. An annexure attached with this article gives list of several career options.  The issue is mainly about knowing aptitude, liking, and the innate program of a youth and then choosing the fitting career option for it. That will make the choice of higher education better, really higher. There are examples of students choosing study of butterflies, making innovative music instrument, or making of an android application as his / her hobby, passion and then turning it in a lucrative career. Well, the stories of Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and many more like Amar Chitra Katha are not just stories.

While discussing the choices for those scoring higher in 10^th and 12^th, we must not overlook that such questions are actually relevant to a very small percentage of the total young population.  Majority of them are not able to cross class seven, some more fail at SSC, then again more at HSC. ‘There are 220 million children who go to school in India. Of these only around 12%    students reach university. A large part of the 18-24 years age group in India has never been able to reach college. Comparing India to countries with similar income levels – India does not under perform in primary education but has a comparative deficit in secondary education. Vocational Education is presently offered at Grade 11, 12th – however students reaching this Grade aspire for higher education. Since the present system does not allow vertical mobility, skills obtained are lost.  Enrollment in 11th & 12th Grade of vocational education is only 3% of students at upper secondary level. About 6800 schools enroll 400,000 students in vocational education schemes utilizing only 40% of the available student capacity in these schools.’ From Need for Vocationalisation of Education in India: Ms. Swati Mujumdar, http://www.indiaeducationreview.com/article/need-vocationalisation-education-india

While we boast of India as having demographic advantage due to its largest % of young population, we must accept that our education system has failed to give meaningful education opportunities to majority of them.

This is similar to a farmer going for only cash crops like sugarcane (if not opium) for the high returns, neglecting rice, jawar and pulses. Shopkeeper selling only cakes, burgers and pastries, not bothering about selling of medicines, bread and salt. Utilitarianism is the dominating current in the society, Affulenza is the name of this epidemic and with its priests like industrialism, consumerism and reductionism, education (whether higher or lower) is bound to become a commodity for sale.

Swami Vivekananda defined education as manifestation of perfection already in human being. The first thing to be learned by a teacher as well as student is that nothing can be taught. We can only facilitate, help to bring out and blossom the innate perfection. Each has a peculiar nature, which with proper nurture and supporting culture can allow the individual and then the group of individuals to grow higher and higher. Education is not just accumulation of information, which remain unused and gets rotten for the rest of life. We must have few life building, character making assimilation of ideas. A man with such few assimilated ideas is more educated for most learned people according to Vivekananda. And above all, education, especially higher education, must be for bringing Light to others. According to him, ‘So long as millions die in hunger, I call him a traitor who having been educated at their expenses does not pay the least heed to them.’ 

University education should universalize our mind. It must give holistic development of Body, Life, Mind, and Spirit. Higher education should in its true sense make a youth what ancient Indian scriptures described… Youth is he who is full of energy, well built in physique, with razor sharp intellect, knower of scriptures, who is possessing wealth of the entire earth, and yet having no passion, is devoid of any wants. He is the one who dares to meet death, to solve the mystery of immortality.

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Ashwattha

 Words of Sri Aurobindo

In the words of Sri Aurobindo, `The task we set before ourselves is not mechanical but moral and spiritual. We aim not at the alteration of form of government but at the building of a nation. Of that task, politics is a part but only a part. We aim not at the but alteration of a form of a government   but at the building of a nation. Of this task, politics is a part but only a part.’`Either India will be rationalized and industrialized and  she will be no longer India or else she will be leader in a new world  phase aid by her example and cultural infiltration the new tendencies of the west and spiritualize the human race.’

‘ First therefore become Indians, recover the patrimony of your forefathers, re cover the Aryan thought, Aryan discipline, Aryan character and Aryan life. Recover Vedanta, the Gita, the yoga. Recover them not only in intellect and sentiments but in your lives. Live them and then you will be great and strong, mighty, invincible and fearless..neither death or life will have any terrors for you. Difficulty and impossibility will vanish  from your vocabulary. For it is in the spirit that the strength is eternal. You must win back your inner Swaraj before you can win back your outer kingdom. There the Mother dwells and waits for worship that she may give strength…Believe in Her, lose your wills in Hers, egoism in Hers, selfishness in Hers.. recover the source of strength in yourself and all else will be added to you.’

‘India must stand in the forefront of the world and solve the political, social, economical, moral problems which Europe has failed to solve, yet the pursuit of which and feverish passage from experiment to experiment it calls her progress.’   

‘For us Sanatana Dharma is Nationalism: Rise of India means rise of Sanatana Dharma.  There is a mighty law of life, great principle of human evolution, a body of spiritual knowledge and experience of which India is always destined to be guardian, exemplar and missionary. To understand the heart of this dharma, to experience it as a truth, to express and execute it in life, to feel the high emotions to which it raises your mind, to express and execute it in your life, is what we understand by Karmayoga.’

‘India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word. She lives and still has something to do for herself and for the human people. And that something which now must seek to awaken is not the docile pupil of this west, doomed to repeat the occident’s cycle of success and failure but still the ancient immemorable Shakti lifting Her high towards the supreme source of Light and Strength and turning aside to discover new meaning and vaster form of our own dharma.’

Why it is said that history is always full of events which were unexpected. because we see persons. Events but not the underlying current. The wave behind the in the individual particles which suddenly come on the and then drop down in the abysmal depths Immense and inscrutable processes of the world all perfect within themselves within, in a deep and august silence , covered by a noisy and misleading surface of sound the stir of innumerable waves above the fathomless, resistless mass of oceans waters below Man sees waves thousand voices , nine out of ten times they misjudge. ‘ Therefore though the picture may not be clear, it is sufficient to give atleast minimum number of points which will  help the eventual self revealing of the entire picture.

The gentle dew 

It is needless to repeat that India has a rich and long cultural history: a history of more than five  thousand years cannot be an accident or joke.  However, the most striking feature of this culture is  that it is still a living factor in the life of the 1/7^th of the race. Its continuity of expression and consistency in experience is unparalleled. Swami Vivekananda said: Sect after sect arose in India and seemed to shake the religion of Vedas from its very foundation, but like waters of seashore in a tremendous earthquake, it receded only for a while and when tumult of rush was over, they were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated in the immense body of the Mother faith. No doubt Spirituality is the mission to be accomplished, destiny to be fulfilled, the message to be delivered. But the most unique part of this culture was bringing this spirituality down to the masses.

The age of creation lasted from the beginning of the century to 12-13^th century AD. However, when the creativity was exhausted, scientific spirit no longer continued, art became imitative and repetitive, and religion became ritualistic. ‘Creation is the only sign of life and great creation is a sign of great life.’ (Sri Aurobindo) therefore the lifeless situation, this internal weakness resulted in conquests by foreign invade If we look at Northeast many notable things van be found. Shiva and Shakti are main deities and Natha cult was part of the Shaiva cult. rs. Muslim invaders then penetrated India. Ahoms invaded Assam, but Ahoms prevented Muslim conquest of Assam. Ahoms, again like Shaka and Huna, were mesmerized by the  spirit of Indian culture and gradually merged in the mainstream.  During that wonderful age of creation, currents of spiritual thoughts flew in each other and this happened in all parts of India without an exception. 

 

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