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EDUCARE

Love of one’s own country

Published:Sunday | September 18, 2022 | 12:07 AM

Education must result in humility, which is the best credential for success in life. That yields wealth and, through wealth, one can promote righteousness and engage in charity. This ensures happiness here and hereafter.

Humility cannot come by just reading books. The educational system today does not promote humility, it confers degrees which sometimes swell the heads of recipients. It does not sanctify the person who is educated, it does not promote the nation’s progress. But, really speaking, education has to encourage the exploration of the true needs of the country and the methods by which they can be met.

The youth must dedicate themselves to this work. But what we find is persons who have grown old anxiously trying to squeeze a drop or two of joy from life. After retirement, they still seek jobs. The idea that they should spend the remaining years of their lives in serving their fellow men does not dawn on them.

The uneducated may not be patriotic, but the country is harmed more by the educated! As soon as they get degrees or diplomas, they try to work in foreign countries. Of course, money is desirable, but only as much as is essential. Can not one earn enough in one’s country itself and, at the same time, cannot one serve one’s poor and struggling brothers and sisters?

SERVE OWN PEOPLE

Can anyone be called educated if they don’t have love for the land where they were born and grew up? One must serve not only one’s own people but also the people of other countries. How can a person who has no respect for the land of their birth be respected by any land they attach themselves to?

This distortion is the result of the educational system. The beggar at the door wails “Mother! I am a stranger, give me alms.” He means that he does not belong to the village, that he has no one to support him or feed him. The beggar hopes to get bread or money. The educated person in a strange land hopes to make huge sums of money. They, too, belong to the same profession. Our students should avoid such demeaning temptations. They should not give up their mother country and go overseas. They must not commit the mistake of believing that a person becomes great when he goes overseas and returns. Have faith and love for your home, your village, your motherland. But that does not imply hatred of other countries. On no account should hatred or enmity or intolerance pollute your minds.

Courtesy Sai Institute of Education West Indies, St Michael, Barbados. Visit them at www.siewi.org or https://www.sathyasai.org/about-us/education or email siewibb@saibarbados.org.