The purpose of education is to culture the mind of a man so that he can accomplish all his aims in life. Education, to justify itself, should enable a man to use the full potential of his body, mind and spirit.

It should also develop in him the ability to make the best use of his personality, surroundings and circumstances so that he may accomplish the maximum in life for himself and for others. There are tremendous latent possibilities which are never unfolded by young people during their student life, the most precious time for laying the foundations of their careers.

When one travels and meets people of different nations one finds that public opinion in almost every country is dissatisfied with the prevailing system of education. In no country of the world are people really satisfied with it. There may not be many who can point out exactly what the system of education needs and indicate what is lacking in the present curricula of schools, colleges and universities. Nevertheless, it is evident that there is dissatisfaction everywhere with existing curricula. Not only are the masses dissatisfied, but eminent authorities on education also speak of its deficiencies.

What is lacking is a complete system of education which will give depth to a curriculum and enable students to become responsible citizens, fully grown in all the values of life, established in higher consciousness and understanding.

Subjects should be taught in such a way as to bring home to students the full scope of life. Whatever subject they choose should be so presented as to give them a complete panorama of full values of living. At the present time, with the advent of new ideas in all fields of learning, more and more subjects are being added to the curricula, and each specialized subject becomes a new branch of learning in itself.

Obviously each branch of learning ranges from the most elementary to the most advanced study of its particular subject. But no branch of learning has yet reached the peak of knowledge in its own field. Every branch of learning presents great findings, but still greater findings lie in store for coming generations. The highest knowledge of any subject is beyond the present range of study. So every branch of learning is in a very incomplete state. It is necessary that the wisdom of the Absolute [pure consciousness] should supplement every branch of learning.

Study of the Absolute will reveal to students the great and hidden values of life which lie beyond the obvious, phenomenal phase of existence. It will give them a deeper sense of existence, a broader vision of life and insight into the unfathomable ocean of wisdom. It will also reveal to them the possibilities of attaining values in life much greater and higher than those found on the level of relative existence. If the technique of Transcendental Meditation were practiced, together with the study of the Absolute, the purpose of education in the true sense of the word would really be served.

Enterprising students in many countries are already finding this out for themselves by practicing Transcendental Meditation. But they and their fellow students, who far outnumber them and who as yet do not know of this technique, would be helped inestimably if the education authorities all over the world would introduce this practical study of the Absolute into the curricula of all colleges and universities.

Present systems of education only give students superficial knowledge. There is nothing in education today to develop the inner values of mind, body and spirit. Whatever education is received is simply on the surface level. In every subject certain information is given about that subject, and if a student is able to remember the information he passes the course. The current system of education only prepares the student for a career geared primarily to earning a living.

Information about the inner world of the mind and spirit is unobtainable. It is surprising how the inner aspects of life, which form the very basis of all outer life and existence, have been ignored for so long all over the world. It is now time that, together with the outer nature of the different branches of learning, education in the inner spheres of life should be provided for students. Without knowledge of the Absolute and without the practice of Transcendental Meditation to unfold mental faculties, education remains incomplete. This generation of students is kept without contact with the inner values of life and the permanent basis of existence solely because of ignorance of this system of Transcendental Meditation on the part of those who organize the present curricula in each country.

When the student is given only superficial education in his subject he has no basis from which to fathom that subject in any real depth. How much of the world could be physically investigated and known through examination of phenomena? The universe is so vast and creation so unlimited that it is not possible to analyze and dissect everything in the entire creation.

This is why the present system of education fails to quench the thirst for knowledge. It excites the thirst but does not have the means to satisfy it.

It is almost always true that as a man studies in any field he finds a greater field of the unknown lying ahead. However much is known about a subject, more advanced study can eventually only reveal to the student a far greater range of knowledge which is yet unknown and to which he has no access. Present systems of education help more to expose the ignorance of a subject than to provide knowledge of it. This will always remain the case so long as they are based only on information.

The only way to advance from this deplorable state is to find the means of culturing the mind from within to make it strong, so that when a subject is studied on the informatory level one is also able to explore its deeper regions. If this inner culture were provided for the student of any branch of learning together with his usual course of education, this would be supplemented by a development of the mind and of all the mental faculties from within.

A really well educated man would be the product of such a system. This would be an education which would leave no door of knowledge closed to the mind and which would enable every student to command a full knowledge of his subject. Then the citizens of the world would really derive benefit from what we call education.

Such a system would not merely create the ability to maintain life by means of a job, but would reveal to the growing man the real significance of his inner life. He would develop a bold character and shine in his career. Every man would be profusely equipped to gain great knowledge of any subject.

The provision of a wide variety of subjects does no more than enable the student to choose one of them. But every man has such tremendous mental faculties latent within him that if he could develop them properly during his student career every citizen of the world would be a highly developed personality, using his full potentialities for the good of himself and others.

Without a technique for unfolding mental faculties the genius present within man is only wasted. We have seen that during the inward course of meditation the conscious capacity of the mind is developed to its fullest extent. On coming out of meditation the inner potentialities of man, the spiritual nature of Transcendental Conscious-ness, emerge to be lived in the midst of all the relative values of the world’s forms and phenomena.

This system, which is an easy approach to mental development, to the unfolding of all latent potentialities and a direct way to fathom the spiritual values of inner life and to glorify material values by the light of the inner self, is a simple and direct technique of education from within. It should be placed in the curricula for students, at least in the colleges and universities, so that a new humanity may arise, developed in fullness of personality, free from shortcomings and from ignorance of the inner values of life.

This is the need of every country. Any country into which it is introduced will soon gain great advantages over other nations. Its citizens will be far more capable in all fields of thought, speech and action, because they will be using their full potential. Such a country will have better businessmen, technologists, statesmen, scientists, sociologists, better people in every field of life. Its people will be more integrated in their personalities, happier and more peaceful.

The system is there; it has been tried and its value proved in every part of the world. Whether it is adopted may not rest entirely with the education authorities. It is more than likely that a demand for it will come from the students themselves, since many of them are already practicing it with outstanding success.