By Praghosa Das ACBSP NYC
I offer this in response to the recent articles on “education” submitted by both HG Urmila Dasi and HG Karuna Purna Dasi.
While both articles have much merit, they appear to fall a little shore short in directly addressing the actual purpose of education ie.- equipping a young man or woman – with the means to know WHAT they can offer the “market” that will allow them to meet the basic needs of the family that nearly 99% of all men and women will generate as well as WHY one approach to this is preferable over all other methods available to them.
Unless one lives in a manner consistent with absolute self sufficiency in the essentials – one will need to “trade” within the “market” which is supplied through an effective system of “divided labor”that allows for the specialization of skills needed for the production of all the essentials needed. However – the production of necessities is only one side of the coin in this system. Whatever is produced must arrive within reach of the market – and another set of skills that are needed for this aspect of meeting the needs of society – has historically generated a vibrant mercantile class that concerns itself with the delivery of production to the demanding market. These two aspects then – constitute the skilled and unskilled pool of labor – essentially selling the time available to them – to the managers of production and the mercantile class absorbing all the costs and risks associated with moving the production of the above mentioned laborer class – into the waiting hands of the market. This is the simplest way to describe the activities of the Sudra and Vaisya class in all societies.
Basic education then constitutes preparing a young adult with the means to participate in the division of labor in at the very least – these two aspects as skilled or unskilled Sudras or as members of the Mercantile or Vaisya class – selling the results of the sudra’s time invested in production.
Higher Education deals with first establishing WHY one method of meeting our needs as individuals and then as a society – are both spiritually and then materially – preferable in the objective sense – and secondly – HOW to ensure that the most preferable/simple means of meeting our necessities recieves the full encouragement and protection of the State. This is the simplest way to describe the activities of the Brahmana and Ksatriya Class.
Education needs to be established in such a way that young men and women – born within the advanced environment of Krsna Consciouisness – can easily discern WHAT they are most capable of doing that will allow them to meet the legitimate demands of the “market” and exactly WHY their chosen contribution to this market is preferable – both “objectively” speaking from the the perpsective of Krsna Consciousness and subjectively speaking – from the perspective of their acting upon their own unique inclination to work under the influence of one of the 4 Varnas so described above.
In this sense then – it is highly valuable to consider both the individual inclination of the student towards working in a particular way and the genuine “needs” of society as opposed to artificial demands that then create labor that appears to meet a need but in truth – only serves to provide something desired. The two are not synonomous. Needs and Desires are not the same. We need oxygen. We desire ice cream. We need food grains and fruits. We desire alcohol. We need a loving and affectionate spouse. We desire sexual gratfication. Women need basic clothing. Women desire Veronica’s Secrets! On a grand scale – a Nation needs to be able to defend itself. It desires to be capable of conquering and subjugating another. Such a list is literally endless.
Educating our young men and women – demands that we provide them the means to fully grasp what should and should not be done; basic Bhagavad Gita. It likewise needs to assist them in finding their proper place – in doing this. This will be most desireable for them personally – and for society as a whole.
The educational system of the Karmi society – the society of fruitive working men and women – cannot possibly provide a young man or woman – born within the sacred ambiance of respect and admiration for the purpose of life as it is proscribed by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad Gita – the fully balanced understanding of the above described system. The materialistic society – itself completely misled by the moneyed elite – are so indebted to the moneymakers – that they are obliged to produce and sell to one another, an endless supply of the “less than necessary” for the sole purpose of liqudating their individual and collective obligations to pay back the money “loaned” into the aggregate pool of demand on the part of the market. This is mathematically impossible – yet the whole world spins on as if it either is in fact possible, or as if it does not really matter! This is a fools paradise that only serves to drive the world’s populace deeper in debt and thus more removed from acknowledging the connection between their actions – and the suffering of others. THIS, more than any other – stands as the overwhelming reason for why we must commit to creating the most spiritually, and thus materially, effective educational system for all young men and women born to parents who have been awakened to their Krsna Consciousness.
Education is rooted in the Latin word educere which means “to draw forth”So the education of young men and women born either with the seed of Krsna Consciousness already planted – or planted later by fortune’s favor in some way – need to be shown the means to determine WHY the set of goals set for us by Lord Krsna and the means He provided for attaining them are preferable – to anything we or others could provide – and WHAT they can do exactly – to make that a practical reality. This is easily “drawn forth” from the teachings of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in the objective sense. It is likewise easy enough also, in the subjective sense, when the student is provided the correct environment to carefully take in the these teachings of Srila Prabhuapda, alongside the basic information that will allow him to fully participate in the market in one of the four specialized ways – ie – as laborer, merchant, protector or teacher. If this is the root of our educational endeavor – then it is sure to be successful. Praghosa Das NYC