TRUE EDUCATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1931, 25 January 1919, Page 1

TRUE EDUCATION.

CHILD WELFARE. (From “Theosophy in Australia,” January.l*l) 1919.) The real education of the child is not the process miscalled education, which consists of cramming a certain amount of information into every child, irrespective of temperament or capacity, which very few assimilate,, and still less transmute into knowledge. Before you can educate you must know what it is you are going to educate. Mhat is a childi A liny spark of divine love dropped into a body, and which, like its Creator, manifests in a three-fold manner: hirst, there is the physical nature, (hen there is the emotional nature, the likes and , dislikes, affection and aversion, which will afterwards develop into virtues and passions; (here is also the intellectual nature of the child. The Great Teacher taught this great truth, as He did so many other great truths, in a sentence: “The Kingdom of Ileaveu is like (lie leaven that a woman hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leaven.' 1 That is why llm spark of Divine love is placed in a body, so I hat the spirit may rule Jlis vehicles and become the Pertecl Man. Jl is in (lie training of the emotions of your children that you can best help (hem to become noble. A certain holy man in India, a rcchise, lived in the jungle beside a stream of water. To him there came a young man who wished to become 'bis desciple. lint Dio holy man bade him begone: again lie came and I proffered bis reipiesl, and. again was turned away. He came a third time, whereupon (lie holy man -mixed him by the hair and held him under the water until life win- almost gone. After some lime tin 1 would-hc dcsciplc recovered, and the holy man asked him what most lie desired when he was under the water, and was answered, “Air.” “But did you iiol want wealth, or power, or happiness !" “Xo; only air. All. .-aid the holy one, “when you crave for God as you craved lor air, come, to mo and he my desciple. 1 would that every mother in this land craved the welfare of her child lih° Dial man craved for ail 1 . Get into your minds the divine origin of I lie child, and then from his earliest days leach him to he worthy of it: make it a part ot his daily experience that he is expected io do noble work sonic day. and that in preparation he has now got (o he gentle, kind, and nnsellish. helpful and loving to all God’s creatures. As ho grows older, teach him the inner'meaning of life’s fundamental truths, taking, for example, the words: “That is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” This is much too weighty for a little chap, so instead you tell him tho story ot Alladin and his wonderful lamp. The story, briefly, is that one day, in the long, long ago, in the mysterious Fast, a hoy was playing in the streets of Bagdad, when a stranger came to him claiming to he a connection of his, who required his services, for which he should lie richly rewarded. So Aladdin was shown the entrance to a cavern deep in the earth, into which he was to descend and bring lo the surface a lamp that he would find therein. He descended into the darkness, and presently he distinguished trees hearing wonderful fruit, the fruit being magnificent and costly jewels. He collected some of them, and then secured Die lump. While in possession of the lamp a very powerful genii appears, who declared himself the slave of the possessor of the lamp. Alladin

returned to -the surfnee, presented some of the precious jewels to the king 1 , who gave him :i princess for his wife, and a palace to live in, and so ho lived happily until one day, through carelessness, lie lost the lamp, and with it his palace, his princess, and his happiness. However, after great suffering and trial, he regained the lain]), and lived happily ever after.” Now, toll him the inner meaning; how that, in the East, very great truths are often hidden in parables and stories; and this one I ells Ihe story of the man or hoy who went deep down into his own nature to find Ihe light that lightolh every man —the light of his own divinity. In In's search many wonderful fruits were seen, fruits of coiK|ues(s won and virtues attained. These fruits

are offered to the King, and all happiness seems to How towards the compteror. Ho sees in every commonplace person a glorious spiritual being, and where he is every hovel becomes a palace. After a lime, through carelessness, lie loses his lamp, and then the great genii forsakes him —he is no longer powerful, his possessions take wings, he becomes as poor as before he found the light, with only the memory of what had been. He retraces Ins steps, remedies his faults, and, gradually, after stress and pain, he once more regains his lost power and happiness. There are. other stories in the' Arabian Nights and other books I bat. will guide (lie desires of our little ones towards goodness. There is the slory of the “Old Man of the Sea,’’ who lived on an island, am! induced shipwrecked sailors to lift him to their shoulders to help him to show where assistance could be obtained. Once liriuly seated on the unfortuiiale .man’s shoulders, he never relimpiished Ids hold uulil his hearer fell exhausted and dying. Tliis illustrates Hio force of habi! that once allowed to get a linn hold can rarely he loosed, and this warning- to the little elmp not to let the old man get on his shoulders might often lead him away from undesirable habits.

Latterly then; has been a tendency all over I ho world (awards cooperation and condonation. parlicu-j lai'ly among workers, (o enable them (o obtain a fairer ]>ro portiotr oi' the results oi: their labour, to improve their conditions and live in a reasoiiahlc degree 01. comfort, and rightly so. But how have these results been obtained.' Primarily through the eduealion ol: the masses. Xow, if there is any progress made by humanity, and the unproved eondilioiis ol; to-day are an evidence ol it, it follows that the children (if to-day will be greater men and women than their parents, for one reason, that they have gTeatcr intellectual and educational advantages lhan their parents could have. Therefore it behoves parents to realise that Hod has entrusted to their care beings who are to carry civilisation to a far higher state of perfection, and help to build the new social order of whose coming we now are able to sec the beginning, and having realised this great responsibility, to treat their children, not; as chattels and servers, but as great ones, who are entrusted to their care for a great purpose. Be assured that this attitude towards your children will have mighty and far-reaching clients and henelits. ‘‘lnasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of (hose My little ones, ye did it unto Me."