-i-he

4 Function oi Educaiion
J Krishnarnurti

Jioau Krisrrna:nur.i (t895-1g86) was oo*:n aTbleg.r bralunin t *r.

ln Madanapalle, Ananra Pradesh, but eariy in Life, he came under
rh
influence of the Theosophist Movement. ,b,,ie Besani, dre presid.en
of theTheosophicai Society of India, becamehis mentor
and groorne
hirn to be a rnessianic fi.gure, a World Gacher. At -..jee age of 3a
IGishnamur',-i renounced berng a messiah and clisassoclatejfrom, -uh
Theosophicd.I Society. He however cbntinuec to be a thinke
philosopher, speaker and *r:.ter though he ren"ained primarily
a
educationisi and established schools'oaseo on iris ideas. Iie rravelle
worldwide speaking ro large audiences and engaging in dlalogue
wi1
worLd leacers. Although he worked for the betterment
of huma
' society, he refused to be recognised as a guru'.
In this extrac
Kishnarnurti raises.a cruciaI quesrion- Wh.i i, ud..r.arion?

1 I wonder if in,e have ever asked ourseives what educatic

means. wh, do v,,e go to school, *ht do uru iearn vario.
subjects,'why do we pass examinations and compete with ear
.''-oth9r for better grades? Wnat does this so-called educatir
mean, and. .what is it all about? Ttris is reaiiy a very impoita
-.,
- -.-nt:.aq.ti^-. r.r.-,! urriJ €n-: .tr.. .,- -1-, - !
Y:+vr:+Yrr., F:a.i.i^,-!,.: i.Ur *-l-..-
LiIs rrr.rl,-..r.-
St,U-GEir-LS, i-i,ii c]SC iOf thg palen
for the teachers,'and for everyone who loves this earth. W
do we go through the siruggle to be educated? is it rnerely
order tcJ pass some examinations and g.. u job? cr is
it t
function of education to prepire us r.vhile we are young
 The Fu'ec;ion ci Edwcatic:'t 31

-flaving
understand ihe -rivhole prbcess of life? ajob and earning
one's liveiihood is necessaly-but is thar a11? fue we being
'' -" - gijtjLq'Lg-u in;al=.' f+l
or,,anra..rl '\riiii i'v-j! thsf?-Sr:.r.1=,
LrIuL' v*vrJ, li$n.
$rY i.e.-nG+.
av nefeii' a jCb,-aR - --
occupation, life is sonnething extraordinarily wide and
profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm j:r which r've function
aS human beings. If we mereiy prepare ourselves to ealn a
liveiihood, we shail miss the whole point of life; and to '
r:nderstand life is much mole irnportant than mere$ to prepare
for examinatio4s and become very proficient in mathematics,
physics, or what You will

2 So, whether we are teachers or students, is it not important

to ask ourselves why w.e ale educating or being educatea? And
what does lifg mearr? Is not life an uxt aordlnary thing? The
birds, the flowe:s, the floi:rishing trees, tfre"heavens, the Stars,
the rivers And the fish therein-all this is life. Life is the poor
I ana the rich, life is the'constant batttre between groups, races
and nations, liie is meditation; life is what we call religion, and
it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind-the envies, the
ambitions, the passions, the fears, fulfllments and anxieties. Nl
this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ouiselves
to understand only one small corner of it. We pass certain
examinations, find a job, get married, have childfen, and then
become more and more like machines. We remain fearful,
' anxious, frightened of life. So, is it the firrrction of education
to help us understand the whole'pr-ocess of 1if9, or is i! |erely
to prepare us for a vocation, for the best job we can get?
:

3 What is going to happen to ail of us wheri wb grow to lije

rxen and won:en? Have YoU ever asked yourselves'what you
are going to cio wheir you grow upf irt all ilKeiino(
get married; and before you know where yol you-1ill be
=*u
mothers and fathers, and you will then be'tied to 'a job, or to
the kitchen, in which you r.vili gradually wi.ther awa)/. Is that all
 32
-n t.
E:qbrato??s: A S.:iectioit c1! Englis,b 1.,ros,

that youi life is going io be? ltave you-ever askeci yoniseives this
question? Should yor.l not ask it? If 1rcur farnily is weaiihy, ycu
may ha'iz e--f-airj',, gocd pesiiioi: already- assurcci, ybur iathel
may give you a cornfortable job, or you may get richiy roar-ried;
but there also,vou wiil rlecay, deteriorate. Do you see?

4 Surely, education has no meaning unless it heips you to

underitand the vast expanse of life w-ith ali.its subtleties, with its
extraordinarv beauty, its sorrows and joys. You may.win degrees,
you may haye a series of leirers after your name and iand a very
good job, but 'rhen what? What is the point of it.ail if in the
process your mind becomes duII, weary- and siupi.d? Sc, while
you are young, must you noi seek to fiird out"w-hat life is aLl
about? Ana is it not the true function of education to cultivate
in you the inteiligence which wiu try to find the answer to ali
these problems? Do you know what inteiligence is? It b the
.\
.,.1I

\-t !
capacity, surely, to think freely, without fear, without a formula,
\L
\P
Y
so that you begin to discover for yourself what is real, what is
:true, but if V"ou are trigntenea' Any
form of alSbition, spr5itual or mundane, breeds a{luily,-lear;
therefore,
@i do-"r h.ip to b@.that is
t"l "ot
ar:ci hence ir:teiligerit'
lg:.,]:1T"?9t'
5 You kncw', it
is realiy very important while i,oq are youn
Jo
Ii.,re in an envirypment in wh&i::hgre is no fear. Most of us, as
We grow olde;, becomJ frishtened.
Lrightened; we are afraid g!s!lg,
.LriuQ oI
---@9
llvtng afraid
of loglg afraid of traaltion, afraia of'rit[iEileiglrbours,
ljgb,
or what the \ry,i&Slh.q:b+-+d afraid ofif,.e-glh.
death. Most of us
_UAI."say, r
have fear in one form or another, and where there is fear there
iS-no:nteiiigenie. And is it not possibie foi ail of ,rr,
b *u *ilil-.
are young, to be in an environrneni where there is no fear but
rather an atmosphere of freedom-ireedom, not,just to clo what
we like, but io und.erstand the r,vhole process oi iiring?
t.
 I
.i
I

r . rv7
Tht !'niicilcn tj Ecrtcati.?7| .iJ-
.1

6 Lfe is rea.l,iy vei-y beaUdjuJ, it is noi this ugl,v thing thar we

ha-ve mace ffin appreciate iis nchn_e_ss, its depth,
*=:**^-**-' "- ''
r-

its extracrdj.n?r.-, inv=jino""

vr4rrvro.. -v1hel]
_*i./ _i:, -o.+1-r :y.gu l1,r._o-_ii__,_qgeif-rsl
eyj*H3g-againstorgarrise{f glf gion,against.ge*gg_,against
the present roiten socie$-so that you as a hurnan being find
lfr.&-..#-

that is educatip lt is very easy to conform io what

. F+F-,,.,...,:i:."|#.,
yol.rr sociely or your parents and teachers telIyou. That is a safe
and
--2-
easy w-ay
-'
' -
of existilg, but that is not iiving, because in it
--_".--r'
L;--,

there is fear, decay, death. &}yu is to S_dggt for yourqelf

what p-1rue,'and ycu can do this only whbn there is freedonn,
\
when there ir co withijl rcqIEE.

7 But you are not encouraged to do this, no one tellg you to

qupgtiqn, to find oylfq yo*urself ryhg!*QggS, because if you
were to rebel vou would become -____ a _=_9_ to aii that
= danqer ____ is false.
:__:l_
,Yor-u parents and society rvant you to live safely, and you also
want to iive safely. L:"rgg"_Aa&],"- generaily mg?p_l*gylng in
iinitation and tfrerefore in fur. Surely, the function of education a d-r*

is to help each one of us to live Without fear, is it

-,..--J freelv and .--

not? Ana to create an almqqplrgre in rruhich th"-g1gfr*g._J.*

-;"*-"*,""4

5equires a great deal of thinkiqg on your peft as w'elI as on the

,-the educator,

8 Do you kngw wLrqt this mgans--what an gllq.ggfary thing

\ .
it would be to# create an atmq"p_bgfg in which there is'no fear?
tI
'.
And we must cieate _it, becauJe we see that th. *SSldj1sgl_SIrI
'-.-"ry*r&
up in _T_+SS_yars; it is gggg[ ly"Ig}lifi.ans who are aiways
seehii:r&ppwer; it is a world of lavryerg, pgiiggmen and solr$i*grs,
of ambilio}:.men and ilo*.n Ji *oitmg'pql+1on and all
s-l-'+j-'- --- -:r'--
i i;5r r.Lrr l5 trgLr -rr- -'- '' -Then
i ihere are the so-caiied sai.nts,
r,u- lglJu€"eJ..r=1,
_Lt

&u r.l$ o*€$Us wi'ul:i their followers, they aisolwant pgler,

pojilion, here or{-n-the next llfe. It is Lqgg_y_pfld, completely
confused, in rvhich the cgP,ilg*ist is fighiing the cagitaiist, the
34 Expiorations: A Selecticn q!"gilth fu:

sociaiisi is resisilng both, and everybody is ag-1Pli.:"9!?eb-o'dyl

dF
J****":- ^ p.ostliqlr-qissry
--.c^ -l^^^ ".f r^'rnrxror-sr
n?
#fficri"s i9 *r1yg al a 1+i Plil., l ^^..i*ian
comfort. Ttie world is tom by conflictrirg peliefs, by reIegld
.iiii tsltinctjons, by r"p-"ti". n"'.i .1 9s, b-y every-form ol
"fficS]g$yIand this is tr" *gg*Jggilu*klta
stuiiflitv
I

!li*i*lo . You ar e esc-pl+tags d i-q.lii.

-J
eiilc-ared_:9- "ipJe.lfl-"e
t ilin,oi[;i'C,jt ditastrqpl-societv, vour P{enp-Y1}i-Lo} to
{o--!hat, and
you als--o*gant .!.9 .iiJ"*t
to help :19: to
re function of education rherely..*.'.-#.#r.#".
conform to the pltte- o! qe"-;g".SPA *+?I glge!- or is il-tg
eiv€ vou freedo;;;omplete free-qgqr i9-gg--*g
P;')-;*!4"--# r
9i93leg
,.r . -c--^r^-
- -Arr7
different soc&C a neySy-g$d? We want to h.?-ve this*fresdorl,
but now, otherwise we may aU p-e $estrolied'
";;-a#i"a*",
We must.r6t. qpn-ei.tely an alnee-Pffi-"9f"frggd9tr so
that
you q*JiGind f:+-q:e$ for vo9599[es w]:at t: grt' so that
i"" UIo*u int3rygglrt, lha'. you are able to faee-lha"wsrJd
so
so that iq-wardlY,
and urylgggggd it,"Rot just cge!:
oeepry. psychologicaily, you ar-e in co3*g:Y:lu because it is

only those ylo qe jt.STt^*t l-Wp"^*"t dgqgvsr*utuat*rs

true, not theffi *do .pSorms, some tradition'
who iollows...--T--T
€ r"-- "'r
llit ;ly wLren you ut. .ot stantly in'quiring, ionstantly
observing, const""U, learning, that yoq find the truth,--*G-.-o-d,

:u ca!*ot ingire, *qp;gy.1]g-q::L:eg-Wgi be

d.eepl.r lwafe; if vou are afraid. So tlie funcdon .of education'
- - -r3*-_"-_;**:_*"* :_. *r

,*.ffi"to eiadicate, i"y-gl*iy as well as outwardly, this fe3i

"- r- -?d.* 'n:

that destroys hurnan thought, human:g3rqg"ship and !-o-5'

from This Maner of Culntre

 The -t-unction oi Eclucaiili.t 35

Glossary

..1 t-. I
r.{!!yn .. .. . . refi.tn
- -d'--' "

Z uocation career, occupation

5 wither shrink, fade
assured, promised
A
r0rmu,kl a general rule that is often unthinkingly .;
|::
Iol-lowed
.t
TnunAane duIl, ordinary .,]

6 reuolution upnsing, upheaval

7 imitation copy
I ,cornrTt.unxst someone who believes in communisi:r,
a. social and political system based on the

sharing of wealth
iapialist someone who owns and controls much
wealth
socielist someone who believes in socialism, a system
in which the production and distribution
of wealth is controlied by a community

eradicate remove completely

Comprehension and lnterpretation

1 In paragraphs L, 2 and 3 Krishnamurti raises a lot of questions.

-
What are the answers that are implieci? Do you agree?
Z From paragraph 4 onwaids, IGishnamr:rii expresses his owri ideas.
-
FIow does he present the ,eal wor1d?. Comrnent.
J- IGisnnamuu's method is one of argument and persuasion. Discuss
how content becomes effectlve because of style.
: What is the function of ed.ucation accordin! to Krishnamuti?
q \Aihy is it mpcrtan+. r.o gror:t' up rn a:] envrronnnent.withor.rr. fea.?
6 How can truth, God or love be attained?