Real Education

Once there was a boat, sailing in the middle of the ocean. On the boat, were a philosopher, a scientist, a mathematician, and the boatman. The philosopher turned to the boatman and asked, " Do you know the nuances of Vedanta? Do you know the theories of Plato and Aristotle?" "No," replied the boatman. "I have never studied those things. I only know to take God's name in the morning when I wake up and at night before I sleep, and to try to keep Him with me all day long." The philosopher looked at him with disdain. 'Well, then at least 30% of your life has been in vain."

Next, the scientist asked the boatman, "Do you know Einstein's Theory of relativity? Do you know Newton's laws?" The boatman looked out at the reflection of the moon on the water. The light seemed to dance playfully off of the waves, touching first here, then there. He gently shook his head in response to the scientist's question. "No," he said. "I am not learned in that way. I have only learned to be kind, to give more than I receive, to be humble and pious." "Well," the scientist exclaimed. "Then at least 40% of your life has been in vain.

The mathematician then turned to the boatman. 'You must at least know calculus? You must know how to compute advanced equations?" The boatman dosed his eyes and entered a meditative trance. "No, he said softly, a smile creeping across his sun-weathered face. "I do not know those things." "Then, your life has been at least 50% in vain!" The mathematician retorted.

The four sat in silence for awhile, when suddenly the waves began to rise up furiously; the sky turned dark, obscuring the blanket of stars. The boat - thin and wooden - began to rock back and forth, up and down, with each thrust of the waves. The boatman fought diligently, using every muscle in his body, every skill he had to regain control over his boat. But, the storm was winning the fight, and with each surge of the waves, the boatman became more and more convinced that the boat could not withstand this beating. As a wave lifted the boat high into the air, the boatman asked his passengers, "Do you know how to swim?" "NO!!!" they all cried at once. The wave dropped the boat, upside down, back in the raging water. The boatman watched sadly as the scientist, the philosopher and the mathematician drowned. "Well, " he whispered "I think lOO% of your lives have been in vain."

In this life, there are so many things to learn, so many things people say are important. Education is, of course, quite important. A doctor can not operate if she doesn't know where the organs are, or how to sew a wound back up again. A scientist can not perform experiments unless he knows which chemicals to use, and how much of each. An architect can not design buildings without knowing what foundations and support are necessary.

However, in the big picture, these are not the lessons or the education that truly liberate us. It is not this knowledge that saves us from drowning in the ocean. Only the knowledge of God can do that. Only love for Him, devotion to Him, and a life-vest inflated by Him can protect us in the raging sea of this world. For, many times in life, we feel like we are drowning. Many times we feel like we have swallowed so much water we can't breathe. It may seem as though our legs can not possibly tread water for another minute.

At times like this we tend to turn to what we already know - more education, the acquisition of more possessions, the fulfillment of more sense pleasures. However, perhaps it is these that have caused our boat to capsize in the first place. Perhaps the ominous waves of the ocean are actually made up of our insatiable desires, of our purely academic educations, of our disregard for the Supreme Power behind and within everything.

Instead of making ourselves heavier and heavier, in which case we will surely drown, we must turn to the light, ever-present life vest around our bodies. It is knowledge of God, of how to truly live that will save us. The boatman knew how to see the stars; he knew how to watch God play in the light; he knew how to remain calm and serene even when challenged and insulted. He knew how to really swim.