Frnd 1: yaar office aane ka man nahi karta
frnd 2: kyun be.... kaam nahi hai kya?
frnd1: abe yaar kaam to bahut hai... bas office tak aana and phir ghar jaane mein bahut takleef hoti hai..
frnd2: Abe to ek bike kyun nahi le leta?
frnd 1: haan yaar, ab necessary ho gaya hai..
Frnd 1 to me: chal be bike kharid lete hain.
me: na be.. bike wike nahi lene waala mein...
frnd1: kyun?... abhi nahi lega to kab lega bike?
me: nahin lunga bike.
frnd1: kyun?
me: I have a green India Policy.
Frnd2( laughing ): Green what?
frnd1: abe ek machar agar kam padega to pollution kam nahi ho jaaega
frnd2: ( Mockingly ).. abe ye sab kitaabi baatein hia... not practical...
Me: Thts what the point is ..... its what I have learned and I am trying to apply it in my life to reduce my Carbon foot print.
Frnd1: abe tere kam karne se kuch badal thodi jaaega..
Me: Its about principals sir... plus this application of my knowledge makes me different from an uneducated arrogant man.
Frnd2: Education my foot.... I don't feel that education has made any great impact in my life... any Uneducated guy who knows how to read and write.. with proper training would be able to do the work I do. I do not feel any different from an uneducated person. I thnk education is not even required.
Frnd1 and me: nahi be. aisa nahi hai. Education is needed to develop ones logic.
Frnd1 continuing: also It helps us develop a thought process behind our actions , increases our reasoning power, and grasping power as well.. It helps us in analysing the information flowing around us every second.
Frnd2: agreed there.... but still what I have learned I need not apply for my living.
Also, if education helped us increase our logic and reasoning, why are so many people 'EDUCATED" people caught doing immoral acts? Is it that education makes people immoral and selfish?
Me: No its not that. We shud not blame the education system for the acts of the individual. People are not immoral by nature, siituation makes them that way.
frnd1: No. There is no relation between Knowledge and Morality. And Frnd2 is rite ina way when he says that education can be the cause of immorality in the society.
At this point I had to leave the discussion as I had a bus to catch. But the points raised here remained with me and I was consumed in thought.Is it really that Education is the cause behind immorality/ selfishness / greed. Their logic was perfect. But something really is wrong if this were true.
Moving ahead, first let me tell what education really is. According to wikipedia " Education or teaching in the broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. "
In my opinion education is the single most important institution developed by mankind. And like all other social institution it is just a tool for an individuals development. One doesn't burn the farm to kill the rodent. Similarly we cannot remove an institution as important as Education because a particular individual has failed to apply his/her learnings.
But whats more troubling here is the fact that society as a whole has been living in an Anthropocentric dellusion. It is an observable fact that human activities have had an adverse effect on the ecosystem. But instead of arresting that problem, and finding a solution to that, we along with our honourable leaders are busy debating as to how deep is the impact. We know that arctic ice along with mountain glaciers will melt away. But instead of worrying about that, we are debating if they will dissapear in 2035 or 2050 ( This is if we survive 2012 ).
The people indulging in these debates are not ignorant. They are highly qualified people. But then, why this sort of inaction. Isn't this inaction immoral or unethecal keeping in mind that we still have to pass on the lantern of knowledge to next generation.
Frnd1 had said that there is no relation between Knowledge and Morality/Ethics.
I do not agree there. It is the fruit of knowledge that enables us to define what is moral and what is not. Without knowledge ther is no question of good or bad at a micro ( Earth) level. ( At macro level (Universe) the distinction of events and thngs as good or bad is redundant. we have to accept that they are... )
So knowledge ( which comes thru education ) is the foundation of morality. but what is missing in us is the structure above ground. This moral structure can only be created thru application of knowledge.
Now, The fundamental question that arises is that why are we not able to apply ourselves to create a moralistic heaven on earth?
The answer is instinct. Morality subdues the instinct. Morality which calls for greater good opposes the Instinct which says that there is no greater good, Just take the one which is best for you.
From the day we are born this epic struggle begins. On closer inspection of our younger years will tell us for who we really are, and when I say we I mean each and every one of us.
Do you know what are the two things that a new born can do without assistance from any one. It can suck milk from mothers breast and then shit on himself.
And maybe thats what we are doing instinctively these days. We are sucking our mother earth dry and are shitting on ourselves only............
I just hope we can learn to apply knowledge.
As far as question of me buying a bike is considered, may be instinct for individual gratification will overcome moral common sense some day.... but not this day........
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