6 August 2026
Thursday
The process of education must render the individual a happier and more useful person; it must also make him a better citizen, able and willing to further the progress of the nation to which he belongs. It must give up its present emphasis on the grant of degrees which are serving only as bowls, with which the graduates roam about the country asking for jobs to be deposited in them. Today, we hear a great deal about ‘duty’ and the responsibility to perform the duties concerning each group. This is all to the good. But the connotation of the words is not properly understood. The student thinks that his ‘duty’ is only to be punctual when he attends college or school, and to be attentive during the lectures and other academic exercises. The teachers too consider their duty done when they attend during prescribed hours and perform the assignments allotted to them. This misconception has to be given up. Education has to be welcomed as a sadhana (spiritual discipline) for the establishment of shanti (peace) in the individual heart as well as in society, including the common good of humanity. Education is a spiritual endeavour, over which Goddess Saraswati presides.
From Swami’s discourse of 6 July 1975
Also on words from this discourse: Duty, Devotion and Discipline, 8 August 2026
The process of education must render the individual a happier and more useful person; it must also make him a better citizen, able and willing to further the progress of the nation to which he belongs. It must give up its present emphasis on the grant of degrees which are serving only as bowls, with which the graduates roam about the country asking for jobs to be deposited in them. Today, we hear a great deal about ‘duty’ and the responsibility to perform the duties concerning each group. This is all to the good. But the connotation of the words is not properly understood. The student thinks that his ‘duty’ is only to be punctual when he attends college or school, and to be attentive during the lectures and other academic exercises. The teachers too consider their duty done when they attend during prescribed hours and perform the assignments allotted to them. This misconception has to be given up. Education has to be welcomed as a sadhana (spiritual discipline) for the establishment of shanti (peace) in the individual heart as well as in society, including the common good of humanity. Education is a spiritual endeavour, over which Goddess Saraswati presides.