Protecting one's Motherland is a noble duty. It is the primary duty of each student. The student cannot claim to have learned much unless he is able to discover and discharge what his duty is and what his immediate role should be when circumstances call for such decisions. The educated man and the student undergoing education must both cultivate simplicity; they must discard ostentation. If they are addicted to ostentation, they lose their genuine nature or individuality. Students must note this point well. Whether a person is a master of all sciences or famous as a great intellectual, he is certain to be counted out of scholars and pundits if he has no humility and discipline in his dealings with others. Such persons will not be honoured by society. They may win respect for some time but that attitude will decline pretty soon. Such respect does not bring credit to the recipient. Artlessness and simplicity alone earn honour. They render the honour enjoyable. Insane parade of scholarship brings in only spurts of reputation and ridicule. When one gives up ostentation, one can get permanent respect from people. Real education imparts a spirit of renunciation, a dislike for ostentation and the yearning for serving others.

Some persons develop swollen heads as soon as they acquire a little knowledge. They pretend to be experts in every field and boast the whole day about their attainments. They strut about as if they know everything. "The leaf-plate on which a full lunch has been served will lie low on the floor. The leaf-plate on which nothing is placed will hop high with every gust of wind." Thus says the proverb. So too, the person who has much scholarship and many skills in him will lead an unassuming life. But he who has not derived genuine education and the strength it can confer lives in pomp and pride. He struggles much to hide his defects from being known to others. And, in the end, the struggles do not succeed. He meets with double ruin - he does not experience Ananda nor does he impart Ananda to others. He becomes the target of ridicule.

Therefore, do not allow the desire for ostentation to enter the mind; do not allow egotism to approach you. Be humble and be loyal to high ideals. Then only can you serve the cause of world peace and prosperity. "Sreyaasthe Viswasreyah." It is only when the individual succeeds in being good that the world too can become good. One who is eager to be a real student must place before himself the ideal of world peace and prosperity. He has to be unpretentious. He must vow to be of service to others. This is the essence of true education or Vidya.