In English
WELL-WISHERS of Youth! Instructors of Youth! Young men of the College! When you look deep into the theory and practice of modern educational institutions and compare them with what we know of the theory and practice in ancient Indian-educational institutions, you will be shocked at the vast difference in the two systems. The ancient schools aimed at self-knowledge first and knowledge of the objective world as a corollary. Truly, that is the sign of the educated man - his awareness of his own reality. How can a person be termed educated, when he does not distinguish between the really real and the relatively real in himself as well as in the outer world? Among the educated, we do not find signs of self-knowledge; nor do we see another quality that we expect every human being to have, namely, the quality of mercy, of sympathy or compassion. The 'un-educated' have this quality, more than the 'educated!' 'Education' seems to harden hearts and squeeze out the feelings of pity and piety. Many species of animals are soft, and tender in their habits and nature. The deer, the elephant, the cow, the horse - these live on Sathwik (pure)food and behave in a Sathwik manner; so, they are adored and even worshiped by man. Tigers, bears, hyaenas and other wild animals are feared by man and driven by him into the dark recesses of forests. The wonder is that the wildness, the cruelty and the terror-inflicting attributes of these beasts are developed, and exhibited by man himself! Man prides himself as the crown of creation; he declares that he has in him the spark of the Divine. But, he ignores it or suppresses it and revels in displaying the qualities of the ferocious beasts of the jungle.