EK CUP CHAI

This one is a bit preachy, so be prepared please!

I was just wondering what to write on and suddenly read a blog which states that the biggest problem of our era is Illiteracy! As soon as I read that a film scene came to my mind. An inspector asks IG of Police what should be done to clear mafia in Mumbai! The IG says the problem is with the education system and it is only educating the masses that will bring the change. (later in the movie it is seen that the IG is transferred).

May be the IG character in the movie is correct. But, how far is he correct. And what should be done so that by the time everyone is educated, someone doesn’t kill someone else! Is there any solution. Nope. This again reminds me of another scene from the Matrix. A ‘program’, in the shape of human, says that human beings are like virus which uses all the resources and dies!

Though my springing back and forth between movies disturb you, question is why is any human being looking to kill other human beings, just for the sake of an imagined opinion! True we don’t really KILL people! But more or less there are people who kill a personality! How? In Small incidents where we say, “you are such a useless fellow” or say “he’s a freak”!

And for any kind of killing, many people say Illiteracy and lack of education is one of the major reasons. I disagree.

Well hundreds of religions educate the followers that their version of God is the ever pervading, and people who don’t worship HIM they will go to hell. Yet these followers coexist with people of other religions – Isn’t this education system a failure, because it cannot make other religion people see their version of God?

Some people think this coexistence as a failure and try to force other people into their religion – What do we call them – Terrorists or Fundamentalists! Are they correct?

If education given by a religion itself is so contradictory, then what kind of education have we had!

Look at India – for almost 60 years now we have had education and yet, India is a highly corrupt nation! Look at the US – every other marriage, that is 50% of marriage are broken and more are bound to be broken – And this as a result of education, with a history of around 200-300 years! Is our education correct? What importance does education, and literacy have then. Is it only education that is the problem?

I think the biggest problem of humans is not education, but in the attitude of wanting to be someone else – as a child you want to be ‘Abraham Lincoln’/’Rajiv Gandhi’, as a student you want to be an ‘engineer’, as a man/woman you want to be ‘help’ to your family with your money and fame! Always being someone else… always!

Can we be ourselves at any point of time? Can we travel along with a new person, without asking him/her what he does to eat?