In plain words
Where there is right education, refinement comes of itself; where there is refinement, that itself is birth; where there is right education, happiness is gained; through happiness alone does Śānti arise; where there is right education, good company comes; where there is good company, that itself is Śānti; where there is right education, birth is fulfilled; through birth fulfilled, Mukti comes. Only when one studies the learning that is true and eternal does one, in the ocean of worldly life that has no substance, without sinking and rising again, soon attain Mokṣa; so come, set out for learning such as this.
“Vidyā dadāti vinayaṃ.” Education is the giver of humility. Humility is not merely bowing the head. True humility is a steadiness of mind free of Ahaṅkāra and of show. Neither teachers nor parents are able to teach such sacred humility to children. What is the reason? It is because they have not been able to gain such humility themselves that they cannot teach it to children. Whatever kind of water is in the water tank, that same water comes through the taps too. Teachers and parents today, too, are unable to fill the tanks of their hearts with sacred feelings. How can such people teach children the principle of humility?
When fire is tended properly, it gives us light and warmth. But when fire is neglected, ash covers it and hides it. In every human being the sacred fire of Jñāna lies hidden. That is the good mind. But today, because the ash of worldly desires covers it, we cannot see the fire of Jñāna. Blow away the ash, and the fire is seen. “Adhyātma vidyā vidyānāṃ,” said Kṛṣṇa. “Among the forms of learning, I am spiritual learning,” He said. Many great souls who experienced such spiritual truth, delighted in it and handed it on to the world were born as sons of this land of Bhārata. But people today have forgotten the way of such ideal men.
It is the sculptor who shapes stone into form, language that shapes feeling into form, and character that shapes a man into a noble one. In the same way, it is the teacher who shapes boys and girls into examples for others. Those who are blind, those who are ignorant, say, “A man who cannot make a living becomes a schoolmaster.” But the teacher is the one who teaches how to live. The guru is the virtuous one who teaches good conduct well, lays out the road ahead clearly, fosters evenness and affection, and shows the good path.
But today we think of gurus as some petty employees and look on them with neglect. Teachers are the ones who lay the royal road of human life. Teachers are the ones who make humanness blossom. Teachers are the ones who give the nation divine lights. Teachers are great embodiments of the ideal, lights of the ideal. Only when the lamps called teachers burn without ceasing can the lamps called students be lit. So, teachers! You will have to strive without ceasing to hand on your divine thoughts and your exemplary sayings to the children.
Teachers are like a guide post. Only when they stand as they should will they have given the travellers, the boys and girls, a divine life and a long life as well. Along with this physical life, the spiritual life that is its ground is also vital for us. The responsibility of teaching such spiritual truth to students and shaping them into ideal persons lies not only with teachers but also with parents and with the government.
Students must above all have three qualities. 1. Sarvaloka hite rataḥ. That is, those who are educated must have a nature that seeks the welfare of the world. 2. Sarve jñāna tato rataḥ. That is, one must be someone who delights in every kind of knowledge. 3. Sarve samuditā guṇaiḥ.