Values are more important than knowledge, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji

Most of the people across the world today feel that education in moral and human values is very essential if we wish to have a better society. Similarly, it is also being amply emphasised that every profession must have a code of conduct which people in that profession must follow. However, there are some differences among the people in regard to impartation of education in values. Like, some people feel that values should not be taught as a separate subject as school going children already have a heavy load of books that they carry and education in values, as a separate subject, would add to this load and make the burden unbearable. So, they suggest that almost every subject, which the students presently study, must have a value-orientation, which means that every subject must talk of some values that are derived from it or that are basic or related to it besides talking about its main subject-matter. This, they opine, should be done in a subtle and indirect way because this way has been found to be more effective.

To counter this, there is another group who says that ‘who said that education in values must be given in the form of a book only?’ They feel that much part of it could be given orally. If education in values is taught as a separate subject through stories, poems, dramas, sayings, songs, and more, then this subject would be the most popular of all, particularly if it is given in the form of visuals and is enacted on the stage. Besides these groups, there is another group as well which talks of value-based education, but it seems to be not very clear about what exactly it wants. They ask, ‘what does the phrase ‘value-based’ mean? Does it mean that values should form the very basis of education or that every subject, which we teach, must bring out certain values also. If it has the former meaning, then it implies that education without values has no basis. Since this second meaning seems to be absurd, one can infer that this term ‘value-based’ is used to put great emphasis on this aspect of education. This term is meant to convey that if education does not impart values, then it is not education; it is, perhaps, mere information. In that sense, it does not talk of the methodology; it does not say whether there should be only value-orientation of every subject or teaching values should form a separate subject.

Above all these, there is another category of people who would ask for both the methods. They suggest that, if possible, there should be value-orientation of every subject and there should be a separate subject also by that name. One thing that is common to all the kinds of opinion leaders is that they feel that the process of degeneration in values has become very rapid. However, it seems that even though they all feel seriously concerned with the need to stem the rot and to restore the morals to their former heights, they do not think that it is necessary to set a time-schedule for that purpose. This nullifies much of their effort on value-education because it is human nature that if goal and time-limits are not set, then the man becomes sluggish. Moreover, if we allow our efforts for a global moral transformation to go on as a process at any place without giving it a sense of urgency, then before we turn the tables, the tables will turn on us.

The speed at which people are destroying the environment and disrupting the ecological system, the rate at which the population is growing, the amounts of money which are being spent to prepare and store weapons of mass-destruction, these and other signs clearly warn humankind that if it does not take any speedy action to restore the values, known as the spirit of world-brotherhood, love, co-operation, non-violence, and more, then our very survival would be endangered. Hence, the damage caused by rapid degeneration in values must be controlled in time. Else, our present artificial civilisation will, like many of its predecessors, be washed away. Time, in this regard, is a crucial factor. The process of moral regeneration cannot be allowed to be delayed anymore for that would be too late. We must, therefore, set a period of time within which we should be able to reverse the tide or save whatever we can.