Page 124 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

Peace through Education

that they are enabled to behave in the same manner as they
did earlier, in childhood—but consciously, and by using their
will power.

Tolstoy and others have written numerous works of fiction.
But fiction can only be a source of entertainment and not a
tool for the conscious training of the human mind. For the
conscious training of readers, it is necessary to write such
books as will address their reason and logic. That is, such books
have to be based on historical facts, with reference to scientific
knowledge, and must give examples of the experiences of real
life non-fictitious personalities.

Building a peaceful society requires the re-engineering of the
mind. This task can be carried out only through education—
more through informal education than formal education.

Fiction caters to a person’s sense of enjoyment; it does
not address his reason. That is why when we say something
through the medium of fiction, it yields no fruitful result; it
fails to bring about any actual change in a person’s life.
Man’s greatest faculty is his ability to think rationally. It
is said that man is a thinking animal. Reading fiction can be a
source of enjoyment, but if we want to bring about a revolution
in a person’s life, we shall have to state our facts on the basis
of established knowledge and rational analysis. This is the
only way to bring about a revolution in a person’s thinking.
Nothing less than an intellectual revolution can effect any real
beneficial change in human life.
Building a peaceful society requires the re-engineering of
the mind. This task can be carried out only through education—
more through informal education than formal education. By
informal education, I mean gaining knowledge through the
media, literature, seminars and conferences, dialogue and
discussion, and so on.
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