Address at the Parents Day of St. Joseph’s Convent, Jabalpur, Dated 05/10/1985
This is one of our schools with an individuality which has established a reputation of its own. The students and the parents form a happy community here with the teachers, the ideal of an educational institution.
As you all know, we are making a reappraisal of our educational policy. The whole country is now discussing the matter. We want institutions that will help our younger generation find their own individuality and become usaful to society.
Education is not merely making a person literate or handing down some skills It is more than that. It naturally transfers skills that would be useful in life, skills that would help one find one’s way in life. Education becomes meaningful only when it helps develop personality, but this important aspect is now neglected. one’s
You might ask what exactly is personality. It is very difficult to define. What exactly is the character of a rose flower? What makes it different from other flowers ? It is the characteristic beauty and fragrance. What is the characteristic of a mango fruit? It is its deliciousness that differentiates it from other fruit.
If a rose flower is not fragrant, if a rose flower is not beautiful, it ceases to be of interest to you. If a mango is pr delicious, you won’t like it. So is the case with each individual. Each individual has a latent personality, which when developed will emit beauty, bring happiness to the surroundings and not only contribute to one’s own
as the rose brings happiness to those who see and smell it just as the mango gives happiness to those who eat it, so also could a human being bring happiness to himself and the community when his personality is fully developed.
You don’t know the potential of an individual. God creates man with a spark of His own self, which we call the soul, or Atman. It has great potential which can be developed; and, education has to do that. Man has a spiritual personality; a physical personality and an intellectual personality which have to be developed. And, that which contributes to such all round development of the personality is the right kind of education. That is what we want to provide for our youngsters. Unfortunately, there are not many institutions capable of rendering this service.
We have been expanding quantitatively, but that cannot be said of qualitative improvement during these years. There are a few islands of quality here and there and, I am happy to note, that your institution is one of them in the midst of the ocean of quantitative expansion. So let me felicitate the parents, students and the teachers on this occasion and wish them all the best. May the students become better students and future citizens who could be catalytic in the progress and development of our country.