Most youth today in India believe in the future that their parents and society have built for them. They are truly convinced that this is the beautiful dream that has been chosen for them and will bring them immense happiness. Whether this dream will give them freedom or long-term slavery, only time can tell. “Study hard and you’ll get into a premier institute, get into a premier institute and you’ll end up in a good job that sets you free!” This has been etched in our brains since birth and that’s perhaps what we will do for 1/4th of our lives, without questioning or bothering to see a reason.
Somehow we have trusted the society, despite growing evidence of flaws in them like inequality, greed, the pride over accumulation, the so-called nationalism, and propaganda of culture that people do not understand where it stems from. Yet with education, suddenly everyone seems to agree. This either means that the system is so complex that nobody understands, or it is so simple or linear that nobody has given extra thought to it.
Let’s try to understand this from one perspective. One is born into this world, (not a society or a culture) which means that we are free to make a choice about what society or culture we want to believe in or where we want to live based on our conscious or as the world makes sense to us. And it is expected that whichever society or group that we become a part of, there’s something we need to contribute to the overall prosperity and give back to what we have taken. Therefore, one is given the responsibility of uplifting the society that he belongs to or chooses to belong to.
Education plays a vital role in our contribution to the society.
But the real question is, how can we master all this knowledge with so little time on this planet? Education plays a vital role. One needs to read so that we can gain infinite knowledge from books written by great visionaries and reformers. Writing is equally important in order to propagate the knowledge that we have accumulated. We need to comprehend and add to what’s happening around us, question, think, and create, and this adds more value to the overall society. So, the most knowledgeable people in society decide to teach the generation and share their ‘wisdom’ before they die so that this shared wisdom can be built upon and the next generation doesn’t have to start from scratch or re-invent. Just imagine, if knowledge had not been shared or cumulated, we still would have been celebrating the invention of the wheel or fire every generation!
Furthermore, a system was developed to help us reflect on our true thoughts, (now called ‘individualism’) so that our potential and efforts could contribute to the positive growth of society. However, some intellectuals (industrialists) had their own version of uplifting society. Thus, started a long capitalist economy by educating the youth to work for them. Like we see in the wars, soldiers were trained to fight not knowing why and how it adds meaning to their life, or aptly not having time to comprehend. The first generation did it, followed by the second and third and the cycle continued. Truth wrapped in lies — a better society, a better world that doesn’t seem to be a reality any sooner.
The top 10 billionaires accumulate 49% of the world’s wealth. Few men created a world within a world, and a race to reach the top of the corporate ladder faster started.The education system also became a part of it, as it is run by a generation that also was a part of the race. This cycle will continue until the true purpose of education is understood and the chain is broken!
Truth wrapped in lies — a better society, a better world that doesn’t seem to be a reality any sooner.