Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya

"Education should be man-making", said Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th century. But these days it is hard to find such education in any country. What we consider as education today is nothing but imparting knowledge, skills, and abilities to make a living. Academic degrees have lost their value as a sign of intellectual maturity and wisdom. Often, they serve as licenses to earn money. In this process students and young people are getting confused and lost. They are facing crossroads at every turn of their lives and find no clues or help with which way to turn. Added to this, right from the elementary school until they leave the universities, they are expected to just imbibe "information", with no coaching or help in navigating through the complexities of their lives. The result is that even the most highly educated youth often get lost in this world. This book results from my life-long efforts to learn about life, and pass on whatever I learned to others, especially the younger generations, so they can be benefited. They are often under the impression that times have changed and so they must change the way they think and act. That is not always true. Certain things about life do not change with time. One of them is Sanathana Dharma or the eternal principles governing the humans and their destiny. The Sanathana Dharma is based on five pillars - Satya (Truth), Dharma (Right Conduct), Santhi (Peace), Prema (Love), and Ahimsa (Non-violence). The other thing that does not change with time is Swadharma or one's duty based on one's inherent nature and propensities. Whatever unrest, and chaos we are witnessing today in the world, be it at the individual or family or community or national or international level, it can be traced to the fall of humanity from these two great principles. If the world has to change and humanity has to survive, there is no way other than individual transformation by moving from darkness to light (Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya). And darkness vanishes automatically when we light up a lamp in our hearts.