Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all - Aristotle
We live in a pluralistic and multicultural society. We come from different religious, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We have different belief systems, customs and traditions. We take pride in our inherited histories and ancestral glories. Though different in many ways yet we meet at a common platform to express our inner longing– thirst for Peace and Harmony. Desire for peace and harmony is deeply ingrained in us. Aspiration for a world of beauty and goodness, serenity and tranquillity is what everyone yearns for.
Sadly, we are far from the ideal. We are faced with dichotomy and contradiction, polarity and incongruity, ambiguity and obscurity of every sort. If on one side there is thirst for peace and harmony on the other there is craze for violence, hatred and killing. If people of goodwill sow the seeds of harmony on one side, lethal weapons, bombs are on the other. If striving for unity and concord is aspired on one side, fad for destruction with no remorse on the other. What has gone wrong or who has gone wrong? Who can set it right or what can be set right?
In my humble view, a teacher in a classroom can make things happen differently. It requires the education of the heart. It requires the acuity of reality from the perspective of the heart with a good blend of reason. Our education system has unfortunately developed merely reason and not intuition. Both need to be integrated if education has to be complete and holistic. This concept is certainly not new; the cultivation of heart and moral character has been in consonance with the traditions of ancient Indian education. What is said goes well with what Dr Radha Kumud Mukherji had pointed out, “The mere intellectual development without the development of character, learning without piety, proficiency in the sacred lore with a deficiency in the practices it implies, will defeat the very end of studentship.”
Dear Educators, your world is your classroom; your students are a bundle of goodness and innocence. They are unopened buds waiting to be bloomed. They are like sponge ready to absorb what you give. See them as unlimited potentials in your hands desiring to be touched and formed by you. At this juncture, I invite you to pay heed to the education of the heart. If you strike their inner chord at the right time, things will begin to change; the differences will melt, the dissimilarities will disappear, the commonalities will merge. If you direct them to be promoters of peace, the builders of our nation are guaranteed. If you touch their inner core, the possibilities of creating a world of peace and harmony are assured. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation and the great Prophet of Non-Violence whose birthday we celebrate on 2nd October had said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world, we shall begin with children.” If we do what he had envisaged, our tribute to this great soul will surpass anyone else’s.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is raised to the sainthood on 4th September, an acclaimed saint by the world had said, “Peace begins with a smile. If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace but love and compassion.” Shall we listen to this saintly voice and take the mission of moulding the supple minds and tender hearts into promoters of peace in this violence-ridden world? Shall we as partners of BES rise to meet the need of the hour and pledge to make our children Peace lovers, Peace makers and Peace restorers?
Sr Mariette BS
Secretary, BES Mangalore