Amma Says

On Education

"The modern educational system lies like a heavy, overloaded sack on the student's shoulders, and the parents often make it worse. During the examination time, the students are under great pressure. They are not relaxed at all. Teach them the art of relaxation, how to be at ease. If they don't feel relaxed, how can they learn? Without relaxation, no real learning is possible. This is the first lesson that clearly needs to be understood. It's very important that parents should understand this before they ask their children to do something. Amma suggests that they practise it in their own lives. For, unless they themselves experience the importance of relaxation, they wouldn't know how important it is for their children. Spiritual practices such as meditation, repetition of a mantra and singing bhajans are different methods which are meant to relax the mind so that you can always be open like a freshly blossomed flower."

"Only through relaxed study can knowledge be retained. Learning that is done under stress and strain cannot be successful. In fact, it is relaxation that provides the clarity of vision and the energy necessary to learn and retain any real knowledge. . . .Only someone who has gathered knowledge with a peaceful mind can really put that knowledge into practice and become a master in his or her field."

"Children, if you want to learn your lessons well, relaxation is the best method. It will keep your intellect clear, your memory power will increase tremendously and you will not exhaust your energy by repeating a lesson a hundred times in order to memorise it. When you are deeply relaxed, you need only read the lesson once and you will know it forever."

On Training Children

"Up to the age of five, children should be given a great deal of love. From the age of five to fifteen, they should be brought up with strict discipline, especially with regards to their studies. Love without discipline will only spoil them. After the age of fifteen, they should be given as much love as possible, otherwise they may go astray"

"A child's mental maturity depends on the training given to him by the grown-ups around him. The parents and other elders at home should pay close attention té the child's education. Those who are educated should help the child with his lessons as much as possible. Don't leave the whole responsibility to the teachers. If your child has school friends living in the neighbourhood, you can invite them and teach them all together. That is what good neighbours should do."

"Children should be brought up with an understanding of their culture, and they should be taught to be proud of it. They should be given names that reflect their culture, and that remind us of God and the spiritual masters. Fill the children with impressions of God from an early age, by telling them stories about God and the Saints. At one time in India, everyone was taught Sanskrit, the language of the scriptures, from a very early age. This helped them to absorb the seeds of spirituality early in life. Even those who did not learn the scriptures formally were able to lIve their lives based on spiritual principles because they associated with those who had been taught the scriptures."