“Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life.”

“Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making and character-making assimilation of ideas.” said Swami Vivekananda.

Today I am reminded again and again of his wise words after looking first-hand how students are led to believe that by developing the ability to gather, store, and retrieve vast information, they stand educated. They are directed at being what is no better than my computer harddisk, a mere storehouse and regurgitator of information.

Swami Vivekananda once said, “Excess of knowledge and power, without holiness, makes human beings devils.”

The key traits of “life-building, man-making and character-making assimilation of ideas” are missing from today’s education system. They form the foundation of a society and a country.

As a humble step towards achieving the goal of exposing and sensitizing our children to the educational vision of national heritage, Ramakrishna Mission has undertaken a project ‘Be and Make – Education for manifesting Perfection’.
The concept is to reach school children with a series of books which will be books with a difference. The main aim of these books will be to help our children to imbibe certain fundamental values and internalize them in their daily life and
interpersonal interaction.

We intend to bring out these books at two levels: one, value education text books and two, diary-cum-personal journals. While the text books would expose the children with the philosophy and sublimity of value education ideas, the diary-cum-personal journals would form in them healthy habits calculated to develop introspection, capacity of self-evaluation, etc.

— Ramakrishna Mission Brochure on Value Education Project

Presently, the following books / diaries cum personal journals are available for sale:

These books are available at the sales section of Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math. They are also available at the branch centres of Ramakrishna Mission all over India.
These books can also be ordered by post. A discount of 30% will be given to bulk orders exceeding 50 copies (packing and forwarding charges will be extra).
For placing orders please write to :
Co-ordinator, Value Education Cell
Ramakrishna Mission (Head Quarters)
P. O. Belur Math,
Dist Howrah, West Bengal : 711 202
Orders can also be placed by e-mail at rkmhqvep@yahoo.co.in .

Orders for only retail sales can be sent by money order as well. Please indicate your
requirement clearly and mention your complete postal address and send the money
order to:
The Monk in-charge,
P cum P unit,
Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha,
P.O. Belur Math,
Dist. Howrah, West Bengal : 711 202

Note: I am not associated with Ramakrishna Mission in any way nor do I stand to benefit from the sale of books. I feel their effort is what India and the world needs at this time and worth highlighting and supporting in any way I can. While I have not reviewed their books I am fairly confident about their quality having read several books from them before.