Fundamental Revolution

How many are there who live in the present moment? I call one who lives in the present moment youthful. One who has attained to the ability to live in the present moment has a young mind; it is neither old nor childish. But what happens mostly is that people directly move from childhood to old age; very few attain to youth. One does not necessarily pass through youthfulness. However, the interesting thing is that one who really becomes youthful does not become old, because one who knows the secret of being a youth does not need to become old. The body will become old, it will age and pass away, but the mind will remain constantly young and sharp.

So the first thing I would say to you is not to think of yourself as young just because your age is between that of a child and of old people. Just because of your age you do not become a youth.

Being a youth is a very deep happening. I shall tell you a few things in that connection. I am told you are students. That too I don’t see, because if there were students in the world, there would be a lot of knowledge; students go on increasing but not knowledge. Ignorance is increasing.

Students are increasing, universities are increasing, but the world is becoming worse and worse. If knowledge was increasing, then the world would really be better. It would be really surprising if someone took me to a garden and said,”I have grown so many plants and flowers. Flowers go on blossoming, but there is also an increasing stink, instead of any fragrance.” We would have to ask then,”How are these flowers and plants grown that the stink is increasing?”

Universities are increasing and books are increasing. I am told there are five thousand books published every week in the world. Books and students go on increasing in quantity, education is increasing, but the world is becoming worse. In this world if wars are becoming more violent, hatred is becoming more widespread, jealousy and envy are on the increase, there must be something basically wrong. For this situation the responsibility really rests on those who are connected with Education – the teacher and the students.

During the last five thousand years there have been many revolutions – economic and political but so far there has been no fundamental revolution in education. It is worth deliberating on now whether there is any possibility of a revolution in man’s culture without any revolution in education.

It is not possible, because education creates a structure of your mind from which it becomes almost impossible for you to be free. A student is studying for fifteen to twenty years, during which time the structure of his mind will be fixed. Afterwards it is very difficult to be free from that structure unless a person is adventurous and courageous.

Revolution In Education

Osho