I have spent a significant part of my life working in the field of education with a single-minded goal – help children actualise their innate potential. And education is the most powerful vehicle for doing this.

For me, the first purpose of education is to empower young people to actualise their potential as human beings so that they are equipped to “lead out”. Self-actualisation is the expression of human qualities of independence, autonomy, ability to form deep friendships, a ‘philosophical’ sense of humour, tendency to resist outside pressures, and a general transcendence of the environment, rather than a simple ‘coping’ with it. It is that burning need to Carpe Diem or ’seize the day’ and realise that sense of vibrancy, integrity and passion that life offers. It is that drive to make the most of our lives – to utilise fully our physical, mental and spiritual capacities.

Secondly, the true purpose of education goes far beyond what can be achieved within the four walls of a classroom. John Martyn, the headmaster of the Doon School in Dehradun used to say, “If education is preparation for life, the first thing it should teach you is that life is worth living.”

The purpose of education is to give you a purpose in life that makes life worth living. This could be the pursuit of an exciting profession, an engrossing hobby, or opportunities to serve and help others.

What else differentiates people who have been through a good education? It is the quality of choices that they make through their lives.

We are constantly making choices from an early age, whether big or small. We shape our lives with the choices we make. Through these choices we create our own possibilities.

If your education has not given you the power to make high-level decisions, then I believe you haven’t really had an education, regardless of how well you might have done in your board exams or of the honours you might have graduated with.

The fourth goal of education is to teach us how we can live in coherence with nature. From time immemorial we have been taught to lead lives that is in competition with nature.

Living in coherence with nature doesn’t mean living the life of an ascetic up in the mountains but living a life in harmony with nature. We must realise that we need nature to actualise our dreams but we also need to approach nature with a sense of responsibility, and be aware of the impact that our actions have on it. In going about our daily lives each one of us contributes to greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat and what we buy and throw away, all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for our future generations. Small changes in our everyday lives can make a big difference. Walking or biking instead of driving a car, teleconferencing for meetings instead of flying will help control carbon emissions. Planting trees, saving paper by reading online and not printing out documents and buying locally produced vegetables too will help save our climate.

The final purpose of education is to teach us how to be good human beings. According to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, a good education system is as much about ‘gaining knowledge as it is about developing basic human qualities.’ I strongly believe that one cannot be a good scientist, a good businessman or indeed a good politician, unless one is a good human being. My grandfather always said that the essence of good education is whether it makes you a good human being and to do so you must learn to look beyond yourself.

Our education needs to incorporate all these goals. And in doing so, we must develop and celebrate our uniqueness or what makes us the persons we are.

Arun Kapur, Director, Vasant Valley School