“Self-directed education " and "un-schooling" are two emerging trends in education, referring to educating at one's own pace and in the order and style that best suits the individual.
“‘Swa’’ refers to the ‘‘individual self’’ and ‘‘adhyaya’ ‘means ‘‘study’’ or simply ‘‘education’’. The literal translation of this word then, is ‘‘self-study’’.
Education is, or should be, a continuous process from birth to death concerned not so much with the acquisition or knowledge as with the expansion of consciousness. Knowledge in itself is a dead end, unless it is brought into functioning relationship with environment, social responsibilities, historical trends, human and world conditions and, above all, with the evolution of consciousness which brings the infinite vastness of an unknown universe within the range of the finite human mind.
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” - Socrates.
“To Educate” means to lead forward. “Forward” is the next stage on the path toward perfection.
Education is the search for our soul. Education is an art, a dance. It requires openness, receptivity, mutuality and dialogue.
How can we educate ourselves?
- Meditation
- Read and Study more deeply.
To formulate such a kind of Education, the following cardinal principles should be kept constantly in mind:
- The New Age Spiritual seeker educates himself, not only in schools, colleges, and universities but also on the crossroads of life, through self- education. Such education creates Positive Value in Human Diversity and cherish every Seeker’s Uniqueness.
- A New Age Spiritual Seeker teaches people how to teach themselves rather than teaching them the subject he has in his mind. This in turn develops every seeker’s latent potentials.
- A New Age Spiritual Seeker inspires people for self-improvement, invites Inquiry, Curiosity, and hunger for Wisdom.
- A New Age Spiritual Seeker inspires inter-dependence in those who come in contact with him. Thereby respecting the autonomy of the Individual by Restoring Freedom and Responsibility.
- A New Age Spiritual Seeker stands for vegetarianism, harmlessness and non-violent communication.
“There are two kinds of intelligence: One acquired as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts from books and from what the teacher says, collecting information from the traditional sciences as well as from the new sciences. With such intelligence you rise in the world. You get ranked ahead or behind others with regards to our competence in retaining information. “
“There is another kind of intelligence, one already completed and preserved inside you. A spring overflowing, a freshness in the center of our soul. This other intelligence does not turn yellow or stagnate. It is fluid, and it doesn’t move from outside to inside through the conduits of plumbing-learning.”
“The second knowing is a fountain-head from within you, moving out.” - RUMI.
In this era of growing soul consciousness, we are awakening to an expanded understanding of our true nature. Responding to this awakening will transform our understanding of the purpose of education. This is not the time for narrowing consciousness by focusing on measurable, objective learning goals within prescriptive curriculums; it is a time to recognize and bring forth the gifts of our deep wisdom sourced from deep within.
It is the calling of great men, not so much to preach new truths, as to rescue from oblivion those old truths which it is our wisdom to remember and our weakness to forget." - Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
"An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and how to avoid them." - Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), The Part and the Whole
