‘Vivekananda’s philosophies & teachings are universal’

A role model for the Indian youth, Swami Vivekananda wanted Ramakrishna Mission institutions to be the role model for man-making and character building. Always believing in the power of the younger generation, the teachings of the visionary will always stay relevant, said Swami Sarvalokananda Maharaj, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narendrapur. On the 161st birth anniversary of Swamiji, which is also the 39th National Youth Day, Swami Sarvalokananda Maharaj tells Millennium Post about Swami Vivekananda being the forever representative of the youth, why libraries can never be replaced and the benefits of the offline mode of education.

Swami Vivekananda is the eternal icon of the youth. How does he continue to be relevant?

He will be relevant forever. Whatever Swamiji said, it is a ‘universal truth’. And, universal truth is always relevant. For example: Always speak the truth. This is an eternal truth. There can never be any change to this statement. Swamiji’s philosophies and teachings are universal. Therefore, he will forever remain the icon of the youth. The life lessons and teachings of Swami Vivekananda always make him the representative of the youth.

The spiritual leader said: “Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.” Today, how much importance is given to character building over academics by educational institutions?

Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur (RKM, Narendrapur) always emphasises character building and man-making. Ramakrishna Mission has always stuck to the ideologies and teachings of Swamiji. We strive to shape the characters of today’s youth and focus on man-making and not money-making. If we don’t build a young nation of characters, then what is the purpose of a school like Ramakrishna Mission? Today, there are innumerable schools with good infrastructure but Ramakrishna Mission has always believed in Swamiji’s teachings on character development among the youth. Swamiji wanted Ramakrishna Mission schools to be role models of man-making and character building. If other schools can also follow in the footsteps of Swamiji, then I would say, it’s a win-win situation for the youth.

Money-making seems to be the driving force today.

Swamiji believed that education doesn’t only mean making money and chasing careers. Of course, to lead your life, you need to build a career and earn money. But that cannot be the sole criterion in life. Today, money rules the world and therefore, education has taken a backseat in most cases. The greed for money and power is the root cause of corruption and dishonesty. In fact, if we take a closer look, educated people are involved in all types of scams and corrupt practices across the world today. Then, where has all the education gone?

Is there a way out?

Yes. It will reach its peak and then eventually, it will subside like all things in the world, including pain. This is the age of corruption. If we go back to history, we will notice nothing stays forever, not even bad news. Today, people are protesting against corruption. With media attention, people around the world are on the roads whenever they feel something is not right.

Swami Vivekananda said: “The libraries are the greatest sages in the world and encyclopedias are the Rishis.” Are libraries losing popularity in a digitised world?

Books can never be replaced. For example, I was with Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan for a long time. So, when ultrasonography was introduced, people said X-Ray will no longer be needed. But ultrasonography could never replace X-Ray. This is the same in the case of libraries. Libraries cannot be replaced. Do you know what the biggest problem with computers, laptops, and smartphones is? Today, gadgets have reduced our brainpower and memory power. The cognitive capacity has reduced due to the continuous use of computers and smartphones. In earlier times, this wasn’t the case. But today, without the help of computers, you are helpless.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has recommended introducing contemporary subjects like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the curriculum. What’s your take on this?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still in the experimental stage. Gradually, we will learn more about AI. Everything has two sides — the good and the bad. How much you will accept the good needs to be seen.

How important is spiritual education in schools?

Earlier, education meant value education. Then, gradually the meaning changed and now, we are back to promoting value-based education. I always believed education means imparting values and igniting spiritual and moral consciousness. Earlier, spirituality wasn’t given so much importance in the corporate sector. That’s not the case anymore. I keep visiting various corporate organisations to deliver speeches on spirituality at the workplace… how the spiritual power of honesty can keep us away from anger, pride, and corruption. Why does corruption take place? There are two things involved – greed and need. We tend to blend both. But if we can segregate need from greed, then we will lead an honest and blissful life. However, in most cases, greed overpowers need and hence we witness such rampant cases of corruption. Why do even the richest people who have earned their wealth get corrupted? Greed fosters corruption.

Do you think Bengali language is losing its popularity to English?

In West Bengal and across India, the proportion of people speaking in English is shrinking. Therefore, students fail to communicate or prosper in the all-India exams. This becomes a major hindrance in the case of placements too. It is important to learn languages. One must learn English, the mother tongue, and Hindi in India. Whether Hindi is a national language, let’s not get into it. But we need to understand that Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country. You might not get the pronunciations of Hindi words right, but at least we all must try to speak the language. Even some Bengalis are not fluent in Hindi, but they understand and speak broken Hindi. In Bengal, I feel there are large segments of students who do not know proper English to even write an application. This is quite serious. It’s the need of the hour to learn languages.

Online learning reached its summit during the pandemic. Physical or online classroom, which one is best suited for students in India?

At Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur, we chose an online mode of education during Covid-19. At that time, we didn’t have a way out. I also delivered lectures online. But there’s no satisfaction like offline mode of interaction and education. You need eye-to-eye contact and interaction when you deliver a lecture or make students understand a particular subject. This is not possible in the case of online education. And how do you conduct practical classes online?