There is a wise sloka in Sanskrit about how we learn. Let me give a rough translation: “Our learning is partly from our teacher, partly from our own effort, partly from our companions and partly from the passage of time.” True, isn’t it?
How educated are you?
The answer is not found in your certificates or the names of the institutions where you studied. A much better check on your level of education is how you handle life—responsibilities, relationships, challenges, let-downs.
What is the use of having a Master’s degree or a Ph. D. if I cannot relate lovingly, build up people, handle the responsibilities entrusted to me and face the ups and downs of life with confidence and serenity?
Once a colleague and friend of mine at Madras University, who used to take students for exposure camps as part of the anthropology programme, told me what he learnt from so-called illiterate people. In our villages, there are many people who know the plants and herbs around and their medical properties. They can treat various diseases by using leaves and roots and fruits. And yet, officially, they are categorized as “illiterate.” They possess much more useful knowledge than our graduates and post-graduates.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
