Bud to Blossom: Blooming Creativity
Modern education is a complete failure – because you have got only the technique, you have marvellous scientists, marvellous physicists, mathematicians, bridge builders, space conquerors, and then what? Are you experiencing life?
-J.Krishnamurti, Talk 3, Rajghat, 06 February 1949
This statement of Krishnamurti, made over 70 years ago, is starkly reflected, more than ever, in education today.
Education is assumed to mean the school, college, university system. But this system only encourages accumulation of information – most of it irrelevant since the information is not the result of investigation and understanding but mere rote study. As a result, the primary objective of this system, which is to provide skills and techniques for livelihood, falls far short of meeting this objective, especially in the fast changing environment of the world.
More serious, little attention is given to learning to meet life. Instead, individuality and identity are emphasized out of proportion leading to increased level of conflicts and discord in relationships.
Inevitably, this has its impact on the sense of security that a human requires. Coming out of the education systems, its products are more insecure than ever before and are unable to even think about livelihood skills that are outside the ambit of employment.
The education system has successfully turned out mindless workers incapable of thinking for themselves.
The core intent of education is to encourage the unique, vital and invaluable qualities that every human being is born with – attention, involvement, creativity, initiative, feeling, sensitivity and compassion. Yet, this receives little attention from the education system.
The system can be changed, deficiencies can be corrected, education can be made meaningful, valuable and of incalculable benefit.
That requires, first, a vision of education that is holistic and whose sole objective is the flowering of the human being.
What is holistic and creative? What are the factors that encourage involvement, attention, creativity and a questioning, investigative mind without the prodding of the teacher? How is the student to understand the importance of vocation and not the profession that he needs to fit in.
Above all, can a vision of holistic living and education come about without inward inquiry and observation of one’s own motives that initiate all thought and activity?
Bud To Blossom: Blooming Creativity In Life And Education explores these questions beginning from J.Krishnamurti’s talks and writings on these questions.