Are You Educated?

“ Oh my son is studying in Berkeley, you know . He is such a hardworking boy. He studied day and night to get into that university” a neighbour  said proudly to my mother, who in turn listened with awe and showered her appreciation on the “Berkeley boy”.  “ He is coming back tomorrow after two long years” the  mother hushed excitedly. The next day, we ran into “Berkeley boy” who had come along with his family for dinner to a famous restaurant in the city. The waiter, after greeting them politely, started to pour drinks for each one of them. Accidently, his hand slipped and few drops of orange juice stained the expensive suit of the “ Berkeley boy”.  Oh Gosh ! I could see the anger in his face so clearly, in spite of him sitting in the other corner of the room and I immediately felt sorry for the poor waiter, whose profuse apologies went unheard.  The entire restaurant fell silent and everyone could hear the waiter being verbally thrashed. I was stunned to hear his language. I don’t think  even the street sweepers in the city will use such gross words!

 A few weeks later, I heard of another true story which happened in Los Angeles. A man named Karthik Rajaram shot his wife and three children and then committed suicide as he had incurred huge financial debts.  It clearly shows how mentally weak and unstable a human being could become. Later, I learnt that he was an alumini of the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), the best engineering school in India!

These  incidents made me think about the real purpose of education. I do not know about other countries but atleast in India, the true purpose of education is completely lost and forgotten by many. The purpose of education is not only to impart knowledge but to develop the mind of an individual and make him refined, mature, mentally stable and a responsible person  in the society. The more educated you are, the humbler you should be. But, sadly it is the other way round for most of the people. When I see highly educated people behaving in a crude way as in the first incident or mentally weak as in the second case, I wonder as to what education has  done to them.  Education has played no role in moulding their mindset. It has merely enhanced their intelligence. The “ Berkeley boy” maybe one of the most brilliant people in his field, but ultimately he is not going to be respected or looked upon by his colleagues or friends.  There is absolutely no use of brilliance without humility. After all when people  tell “ Hey , the guy there, is highly intelligent you know. He studies in Berkeley. But he has got an ego as big as the size of Texas”, then the entire charm of him studying in a prestigious institution is lost!

The second incident shook me even more.  The Indian Institute of Technology is known for its rigorous academic standards. Obvioulsy, the students studying there will have to undergo strenous schedules to compete among each other. Apart from intellegence, it requires enormous mental strength and courage to study in such a top notch university. I wonder how such a person could become so mentally weak as to commit suicide! It totally defies logic.  The mental stress that education gives you at times, is to make you more stronger but the effect is proved to be contrary. I personally feel that the entire purpose of him studying in IIT is lost. 

According to me, education has to serve the above mentioned two purposes apart from it’s primary purpose of imparting knowledge.  By  this, I do not mean the bookish sort of knowledge. Students must be taught that when a person gets down from a moving bus or car, he tends to move until the inertial force in the opposite direction  impedes his motion, instead of teaching that the inertial force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration acting in the opposite direction of motion. This kind or practical teaching should be encouraged in schools rather than mugging up all the formulaes and equations.

Only when all the above mentioned criterias are satisfied, a person is considered to be truly and completely educated.

Ask yourself-  Are you educated?