Under The Shade of The Pen.

The emptiness that we feel in our lives, the ebb and flow of temporary satisfaction that we get from our routine, and the conformationally biased understanding of reality all propose the same thing that we do not know anything for real. The constant mugging up of the facts, is not even information in its definitive sense. That is just data, unprocessed, meaningless, raw data. The human brain is a far better judge of this concept. We tend to realize this fact, quite early, during our student years, that we don't even know the reason why we are studying the things that, we are studying. We just fall in like sheep, while consciously being painfully aware of our 'sheepness', and still follow a specific protocol of actions, this flawed society has imposed upon us.

We are far better than this, and we have had proofs of it. People letting go of conventional education turning out to be absolute masterpieces of their time. They made this world a better place than when they found it. This happens when the uninitiated becomes the initiated and starts asking questions. And these questions should be answered with care and further questions should be appreciated, because there should always be questions. Questions empower and solidify our perception of truth, and further embellish it. And therefore making questioning, the first step of learning. Because that brings us to the edge of our understanding. So then we know what we know and what we don't know. Though, education systems today, make us memorize the trivial facts, rather than concepts. Students in big cities, for example, when in their 8th Standard learn trigonometry. But they do not know its application, they whine and complain, that they are learning something which is of little practical value, but forcefully do it anyway for marks. It is in the 11th Standard, they learn about its applications in calculus and The Parallax Method, used to measure distances between very far objects, like stars from the nearby systems. But till they learn all that, they simply, without interest and without enthusiasm, study something they don't want to, for four years. This lack of knowledge, results in students relating this discomfort with schools and learning itself. So, either they rebel and get bad grades, or behave like a trained animal and sideline their real interests, in favour of good marks. But all this crushes their originality. A wonderful singer is sent to Karate classes. A good footballer is sent to learn the Piano. And the students are always kept under the constant pressure, of studies. And this is not even the worst part of it.

The ultimate, terrifying, completely lost in meaning and monstrous aspect of the education system we have today, is the Exams. Children undergo symptoms of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder in just under a year. All their playing is culled. All their favourites, are held hostage, against good marks. And the student undergoes tremendous mental pressure about their performance in exams. And all this is done, sadly, by their dear own, beloved parents and teachers. This is not educational in any way. A single set system is used to judge all the students of different individualities, different backgrounds, and different flow of thoughts. The result of this; the powerless child is forced to give up its own identity, because now he is judged, by how much he conforms to the pressures of the society.

There is a way out, and the way is such that it does not have a single side effect. And after its successful application to the society, we will see, not an army of robots, aspiring to work under someone else, who didn't even finish college, but an entire country of young people, bent on turning this world into a better place. And the answer is holistic education, also better known as 'Gurukul' education. The teaching methods are altered, and radically different from what we have today, but it holds a golden promise of not turning the future of this country into mindless bots. The word, does feel orthodox, and unintelligent, and also makes us imagine a small hut in the jungle, with bald teachers, teaching bald students. If that is the case, then probably a bit of research is warranted from the reader's part. A technologically advanced building, full of facilities and staff, all having the single aim of acquainting students with knowledge. Where an exam are unique for each student, and without schedules, without teachers forcing the students to get better grades. There will be no grades. There will only be,  either the student knows, or rarely, that he does not know. An institution dedicated to knowledge, sustained by the society itself, without interference of the Government.

By the way, this has already begun. There is already a large number of such institutions, and the number is growing exponentially. Sooner, rather than later, it will become mainstream. And the new parents will have a juxtaposed choice, either to put their child in a Gurukul, or their grandchild.