The Function Of Education J Krishnamurti 22h1e

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Function oi Educaiion J Krishnarnurti

Jioau Krisrrna:nur.i (t895-1g86) was oo*:n aTbleg.r bralunin t ln Madanapalle, Ananra Pradesh, but eariy in Life, he came under

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rh influence of the Theosophist Movement. ,b,,ie Besani, dre presid.en of theTheosophicai Society of India, becamehis mentor and groorne hirn to be a rnessianic fi.gure, a World Gacher. At -..jee age of 3a IGishnamur',-i renounced berng a messiah and clisassoclatejfrom, -uh Theosophicd.I Society. He however cbntinuec to be a thinke philosopher, speaker and *r:.ter though he ren"ained primarily a educationisi and established schools'oaseo on iris ideas. Iie rravelle worldwide speaking ro large audiences and engaging in dlalogue wi1 worLd leacers. Although he worked for the betterment of huma ' society, he refused to be recognised as a guru'. In this extrac

Kishnarnurti

raises.a cruciaI

quesrion- Wh.i i, ud..r.arion?

1 I wonder if in,e have ever asked ourseives what educatic means. wh, do v,,e go to school, *ht do uru iearn vario. subjects,'why do we examinations and compete with ear .''-oth9r for better grades? Wnat does this so-called educatir mean, and. .what is it all about? Ttris is reaiiy a very impoita -., - -.-nt:.aq.ti^-. .tr.. .,- -1-, - ! r.r.-,! urriJ €n-: i.Ur *-l-..LiIs rrr.rl,-..r.St,U-GEir-LS, i-i,ii Y:+vr:+Yrr., F:a.i.i^,-!,.: c]SC iOf thg palen for the teachers,'and for everyone who loves this earth. W do we go through the siruggle to be educated? is it rnerely order tcJ some examinations and g.. u job? cr is it t function of education to prepire us r.vhile we are young

The Fu'ec;ion ci Edwcatic:'t 31

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-flaving ajob and earning understand ihe -rivhole prbcess of life? one's liveiihood is necessaly-but is thar a11? fue we being li$n. or,,anra..rl '\riiii nefeii' a jCb,-aR - -- gijtjLq'Lg-u av in;al=.' f+l $rY i.e.-nG+. v*vrJ, LrIuL' i'v-j! thsf?-Sr:.r.1=, occupation, life is sonnething extraordinarily wide and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm j:r which r've function

human beings. If we mereiy prepare ourselves to ealn a liveiihood, we shail miss the whole point of life; and to ' aS

r:nderstand life is much mole irnportant than mere$ to prepare for examinatio4s and become very proficient in mathematics, physics, or what You

will

we are teachers or students, is it not important to ask ourselves why w.e ale educating or being educatea? And what does lifg mearr? Is not life an uxt aordlnary thing? The birds, the flowe:s, the floi:rishing trees, tfre"heavens, the Stars, the rivers And the fish therein-all this is life. Life is the poor I ana the rich, life is the'constant batttre between groups, races and nations, liie is meditation; life is what we call religion, and it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind-the envies, the ambitions, the ions, the fears, fulfllments and anxieties. Nl this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ouiselves to understand only one small corner of it. We certain examinations, find a job, get married, have childfen, and then become more and more like machines. We remain fearful, anxious, frightened of life. So, is it the firrrction of education

2 So, whether

'

to help us understand the whole'pr-ocess of 1if9, or is i! |erely to prepare us for a vocation, for the best job we can get? :

3 What is going to happen to ail of us wheri wb grow to lije

rxen and won:en? Have YoU ever asked yourselves'what you are going to cio wheir you grow upf irt all ilKeiino( you-1ill be get married; and before you know where yol =*u mothers and fathers, and you will then be'tied to 'a job, or to the kitchen, in which you r.vili gradually wi.ther awa)/. Is that all

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S.:iectioit

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Englis,b 1.,ros,

that youi life is going io be? ltave you-ever askeci yoniseives this question? Should yor.l not ask it? If 1rcur farnily is weaiihy, ycu may ha'iz e--f-airj',, gocd pesiiioi: already- assurcci, ybur iathel may give you a cornfortable job, or you may get richiy roar-ried; but there also,vou wiil rlecay, deteriorate. Do you see?

4

Surely, education has no meaning unless it heips you to underitand the vast expanse of life w-ith ali.its subtleties, with its extraordinarv beauty, its sorrows and joys. You may.win degrees, you may haye a series of leirers after your name and iand a very good job, but 'rhen what? What is the point of it.ail if in the process your

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mind becomes duII, weary- and siupi.d? Sc, while you are young, must you noi seek to fiird out"w-hat life is aLl about? Ana is it not the true function of education to cultivate in you the inteiligence which wiu try to find the answer to ali these problems? Do you know what inteiligence is? It b the capacity, surely, to think freely, without fear, without a formula, so that you begin to discover for yourself what is real, what is :true, but if V"ou are

trigntenea'

Any form of alSbition, spr5itual or mundane, breeds a{luily,-lear; therefore, do-"r h.ip to [email protected] is @i "ot ar:ci hence ir:teiligerit'

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You kncw',

it

is realiy very important while i,oq are youn Jo Ii.,re in an envirypment in wh&i::hgre is no fear. Most of us, as We grow olde;, becomJ frishtened. Lrightened; we are afraid .LriuQ oI llvtng afraid g!s!lg, ---@9 of loglg afraid of traaltion, afraia of'rit[iEileiglrbours,

ljgb,

or what the \ry,i&Slh.q:b+-+d

afraid ofif,.e-glh. death. Most of us r have fear in one form or another, and where there is fear there iS-no:nteiiigenie. And is it not possibie foi ail of ,rr, *u are young, to be in an environrneni where there is no fear but rather an atmosphere of freedom-ireedom, not,just to clo what we like, but io und.erstand the r,vhole process oi iiring? b

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r rv7 Tht !'niicilcn tj Ecrtcati.?7| .iJ.1

6 Lfe is rea.l,iy vei-y beaUdjuJ, it is noi this ugl,v thing thar we ha-ve mace

its

ffin

appreciate iis nchn_e_ss, its depth, r*=:**^-**-' "- '' -v1hel] inv=jino"" extracrdj.n?r.-, vr4rrvro.. _*i./ _i:, :y.gu l1,r._o-_ii__,_qgeif-rsl -o.+1-r

eyj*H3g-againstorgarrise{f glf gion,against.ge*gg_,against the present roiten socie$-so that you as a hurnan being find lfr.&-..#-

that is educatip . F+F-,,.,...,:i:."|#.,

lt

is very easy

to conform io what

yol.rr sociely or your parents and teachers telIyou. That is a safe and easy w-ay of existilg, but that is not iiving, because in it ' --_".--r' --2-'

L;--,

there is fear, decay, death. &}yu is to S_dggt for yourqelf what p-1rue,'and ycu can do this only whbn there is freedonn, when there ir co withijl rcqIEE.

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7 But you are not encouraged to do this, no one tellg you to qupgtiqn, to find oylfq yo*urself ryhg!*QggS, because if you were to rebel vou would become _=_9_ to aii that ____ is false. -____ a :__:l_ = danqer ,Yor-u parents and society rvant you to live safely, and you also want to iive safely. L:"rgg"_Aa&],"- generaily mg?p_l*gylng in iinitation and tfrerefore in fur. Surely, the function of education is to help each one of us to live Without fear, is it -,..--J freelv and .-not? Ana to create an almqqplrgre in rruhich th"-g1gfr*g._J.* 5equires a great deal of thinkiqg on your peft as w'elI as on the ,-the educator, a

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8 Do you kngw wLrqt this mgans--what an gllq.ggfary thing \ '.

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it would be to# create an atmq"p_bgfg in which there is'no fear? And we must cieate _it, becauJe we see that th. *SSldj1sgl_SIrI '-.-"ry*r& up in _T_+SS_yars; it is gggg[ ly"Ig}lifi.ans who are aiways seehii:r&ppwer; it is a world of lavryerg, pgiiggmen and solr$i*grs, of ambilio}:.men and ilo*.n Ji *oitmg'pql+1on and all s-l-'+j-'-rr- -'--- -:r'-'' -Then i i;5r r.Lrr l5 trgLr r,ui ihere are the so-caiied sai.nts, lglJu€"eJ..r=1, &u r.l$ o*€$Us wi'ul:i their followers, they aisolwant pgler, pojilion, here or{-n-the next llfe. It is Lqgg_y_pfld, completely confused, in rvhich the cgP,ilg*ist is fighiing the cagitaiist, the _Lt

34

A

Expiorations:

Selecticn

q!"gilth fu:

sociaiisi is resisilng both, and everybody is ag-1Pli.:"9!?eb-o'dyl

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n? --.c^ -l^^^ ^ p.ostliqlr-qissry ".f r^'rnrxror-sr #fficri"s i9 *r1yg al a 1+i Plil., l ^^..i*ian

comfort. Ttie world is tom by conflictrirg peliefs, by reIegld .iiii tsltinctjons, by r"p-"ti". n"'.i .1 9s, b-y every-form ol

stuiiflitv I

"fficS]g$yIand this is tr" *gg*Jggilu*klta !li*i*lo . You ar e esc-pl+tags d i-q.lii.

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eiilc-ared_:9-

t

ilin,oi[;i'C,jt

"ipJe.lfl-"e

ditastrqpl-societv, vour P{enp-Y1}i-Lo} to

you als--o*gant {o--!hat, and

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to help :19: to re function of education rherely..*.'.-#.#r.#". the pltte- o! qe"-;g".SPA *+?I glge!- or is il-tg

conform to 9i93leg eiv€ vou freedo;;;omplete free-qgqr i9-gg--*g P;')-;*!4"--# r ,.r . -c--^r^- -Arr7 different soc&C a neySy-g$d? We want to h.?-ve this*fresdorl, but now, otherwise we may aU p-e $estrolied' that We must.r6t. qpn-ei.tely an alnee-Pffi-"9f"frggd9tr so f:+-q:e$ vo9599[es w]:at t: grt' so that you

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q*JiGind for so i"" UIo*u int3rygglrt, lha'. you are able to faee-lha"wsrJd and urylgggggd it,"Rot just cge!: oeepry. psychologicaily, you ar-e in

so that iq-wardlY,

co3*g:Y:lu

because

it

is

ylo qe jt.STt^*t l-Wp"^*"t dgqgvsr*utuat*rs some tradition' who iollows...--T--T .pSorms, *do theffi true, not r"-"'r € llit ;ly wLren you ut. .ot stantly in'quiring, ionstantly

only those

observing, const""U, learning, that yoq find the

truth,--*G-.-o-d,

:u ca!*ot ingire, *qp;gy.1]g-q::L:eg-Wgi be So tlie funcdon .of education' are afraid. if vou lwafe; d.eepl.r *r -r3*-_"-_;**:_*"* :_. r- -?d.* 'n: ,*.ffi"to eiadicate, i"y-gl*iy as well as outwardly, this fe3i that destroys hurnan thought, human:g3rqg"ship and !-o-5' "-

from

This Maner of Culntre

The -t-unction oi

Eclucaiili.t

35

Glossary

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r.{!!yn

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.

refi.tn

- -d'--'

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uocation

career, occupation

5

wither

shrink, fade promised a general rule that is often unthinkingly

assured, A

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Iol-lowed .t

TnunAane 6

reuolution

7

imitation

I

,cornrTt.unxst

iapialist socielist

duIl, ordinary upnsing, upheaval copy someone who believes in communisi:r, a. social and political system based on the sharing of wealth someone who owns and controls much wealth someone who believes in socialism, a system in which the production and distribution

of wealth is controlied by a community eradicate

remove completely

Comprehension and lnterpretation

In paragraphs L, 2 and 3 Krishnamurti

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6

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raises a lot

of questions. -

What are the answers that are implieci? Do you agree? From paragraph 4 onwaids, IGishnamr:rii expresses his owri ideas. FIow does he present the ,eal wor1d?. Comrnent. IGisnnamuu's method is one of argument and persuasion. Discuss how content becomes effectlve because of style. What is the function of ed.ucation accordin! to Krishnamuti? \Aihy is it mpcrtan+. r.o gror:t' up rn a:] envrronnnent.withor.rr. fea.? How can truth, God or love be attained?

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