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This day, the country is facing ruin because this ideal has been neglected. Vidya has been grossly circumscribed and the educational system is polluting the social organism with narrowness and crookedness. So, marked changes have to be made in the system. At present we have mere book learning. But what is learnt from books has to be confirmed and corrected by practising it in social living. Then only can the knowledge of the kinship between man and man be gained. Thereby learning is transformed into Vidya. Vidya cannot be acquired by merely mastering reading, writing and arithmetic. Each student must, after intelligent inquiry, decide for his guidance during every occasion which goal is best and which action is best suited to realise it. Both the goal and the action must serve the needs of society and help it to progress. People should not be involved in injustice, violence, and immorality. Nor should they deem their own gain as primary. Students have to pay great attention to another important quality - cleanliness, both outer and inner. When either of these is absent, that person becomes useless for any task. The clothes he wears, the books he reads and the environment around him must be clean. This is the outer cleanliness. That is to say, every material object one has to deal with for living has to be kept clean. The teeth and eyes, the food and drink, all should be free from dirt. One can be healthy as a result of all this. The body has to be scrubbed and washed every day or else layers of dust will cause itching and boils will emerge. They may develop causing infection to others. And one's condition will be rendered miserable. One may possess only one or two sets of clothing. But care should be taken to wash them before wearing. They should not gather dirt. The books used for study should not be thrown as one pleases. Scribbling
on the pages must be avoided. Paper should be preserved clean and spotless.
Those who see them must appreciate the care taken by the student to keep
things clean. The room where he resides must be free from stink. The student
must be able to draw on himself the love of all. The room where the student
resides and the adjacent area must be kept clean. And inside the room
no indecent picture should be hung on the walls. Only pictures that inspire
great thoughts and high ideals should be visible to the eye. |