In the 28th velvi discourse, Gurumahan talks on 'Why Character Must Come Before Knowledge?'
We must bring a great change to this world. What kind of change is it? A change of yuga.
Will this change of era come? It is already coming. You will certainly see it for yourselves in the coming days.
That is why you must practise meditation for sometime. When I say “some,” I mean just 10 to 20 minutes.
In this Velvi, let us look within and understand the experiences you are having at a global level. What has everyone been experiencing? A good feeling. A feeling of the Divine and a feeling of life itself.
What are you? Are you this body? No. You are the life within.
Even before you took this body, you existed as life. At that time, this body did not exist. But everything is already within this life. Everything is there.
Think about how everything is now available in a mobile phone. It has a camera to take photographs and videos. It shows the time. When you go somewhere, it has a map to guide you. Do you need an address? You do not have to write it down and carry it with you. You can store it in the phone and use it whenever you need it.
In the coming era, robots are also being created to function like human beings and form a new kind of society. Some people do not even have citizenship, but a robot has already been given citizenship. Think about that.
What will a robot do? We put information into it, and it acts according to that information. It can answer the questions we ask.
But what will it not have? Will it have emotions? It will not have emotions.
Can it understand the relationship between a man and a woman? It cannot. What does the brain know? What does the heart know? The brain knows how to function. What does this hand know? It knows the work it is meant to do. In the same way, the brain performs the function it is meant to perform.
Just as we use the brain to use the body, we also use the mind.
The body is used for physical growth. The heart and mind are used for emotional and mental growth. The brain is used for the growth of knowledge.
In the future, the growth of knowledge will become greater than physical growth and mental growth.
As knowledge grows, people will have more and more knowledge. But what will that knowledge contain? The desire to succeed, the desire to move ahead, the desire to become the one who wins, whoever they may be.
What will be missing there? Good mental development.
That is why today, in our children's schools, we give them a great deal of knowledge, but we do not give them enough education to develop good character and values.
We may say, “This boy is very intelligent.” He has knowledge, but he may not have a good heart.
Even to steal, a person needs intelligence. But what is missing? The mental development that tells him, “Should I steal?”
That is why, in the future, education must change.
Today, children have every opportunity to gain knowledge even without a teacher being physically present. All the resources they need for intellectual development are already available.
But before this knowledge grows, we must give them values.
Knowledge without values will only lead humanity towards destruction.
Let me give you an example. Suppose we give someone a knife or a gun. It is better to first teach them the values of how to use the knife and whom it should be used against before giving it to them.
In the same way, when we give someone a gun, we must first teach them when it should be used, where it should be used, and for what purpose it should be used. Only then can the power of that weapon be directed towards constructive purposes.
The same applies to today's scientific and technological development.
Let us take North Korea as an example. Today, North Korea creates fear around the world.
In reality, North Korea may not intend to frighten the entire world. Its attempt is directed towards one particular country. Which country is that? The United States.
Its message is, “We are not inferior to the United States.”
When North and South Korea were divided, South Korea came under the influence of the United States, while North Korea came under the influence of China and Russia. Because of this, North Korea continues to oppose the United States.
Although it is a small country, its development in knowledge and technology is highly advanced.
People there regard their leader almost like God and follow whatever he says. But can that leader even meet the people's basic daily needs? Can he provide them with food?
Even when knowledge and technology develop greatly, look at the suffering of the people.
That is why knowledge without values is not beneficial to human society.
In the coming era, when a child reaches five years of age, we must first develop the mind.
What does that mean? We must teach discipline first.
The first stage of yoga education itself is discipline.
Yama and Niyama.
Self-discipline and social discipline.
It is because education without discipline and values that unnecessary and harmful situations are going to arise in this world.
Let Wisdom Flourish!
Let Peace Prevail!
Let us protect Mother earth!
Let us protect the Universe!
Santhosam
https://universalpeacefoundation.org
