The Joy of Learning

A girl ran to her mother in the kitchen who is chopping vegetables. She sportively picked up a coriander leaf and asked her mother, how this thing is prepared? The mother told her that this thing is called as ‘Coriander’ it is not made my dear, it is grown in fields. The girl asked how it is grown. The mother explained her in a simple way telling her that the seeds are sown in soil, watered and kept in sunlight then coriander is grown so that we can cut the leaves and make delicious dish. The girl was amazed and with excitement she asked her mother Mommy, Can I grow Coriander? The mother was so delighted for the curiosity of the daughter, she gave few coriander seeds. The girl ran into the garden and looked for a small pot. She found one which she filled with soil then sown the seeds, pour some water and sat in front of the pot waiting for the coriander to grow. The mom wondered what the girl was doing, she searched everywhere in the house and found the girl sitting in the garden in front of a pot. The girl told her mother what she has done and announced that she will sit there waiting for the coriander to grow. The mother explained that by tomorrow the sprout will come up, convinced her and took her inside. The girl started playing but the coriander thing occupied her mind. From time to time she would go and check eagerly waiting for the sprout to show up. Next day morning she woke up and ran straight to the garden to see but there was no change on the surface of the pot. She complained to her mother, became upset and all day she checked the pot time and again. The next day she ran again to the garden and to her amazement she saw something in the pot, she watched them closely, then touched those with her cute little fingers and shouted with excitement. She started jumping all around shouting with excitement and happiness.

This little girl first knew what it was? Then she knew how it comes? Then, she experimented and succeeded. She not only has knowledge but also had a beautiful experience. After that experience she enjoyed the satisfaction of achievement, a wonderful feeling of learning. Her learning is complete when she saw the coriander seed germinate not when she knew from her mother about it. That my friend……is the Joy of Learning!

We were all like that little girl in our childhood, with extremely high power to learn. This power to learn is a unique quality that humans have. In Sanskrit, it is called as ‘Grahana Sakti’ meaning power to learn. This power will create a ‘desire to learn’, it makes us question and learn, observe and learn and experiment and learn. These are the learning methodologies which were quite natural to us. We questioned, Why?  How did that happen? Does that always happen? Is that a good thing? What if I did that? Can I do it? Why not?, and learnt from our parents & other elders about  so many things. We learnt by observing behavior from our social environments and developed a personality, what we are today. We learnt walk and talk through a repeated process of trail & error experimentation. We have all experienced this joy of learning since our childhood days.

This desire to learn is the exact same thing which made adults learn so many unwanted things which later killed the joy of learning. As children we were ready to admit if we don’t know something and we were not afraid of making mistakes. These two good qualities were completely lost. We learnt being shy to ask a question, we learnt the “I know’ attitude, we learnt procrastination, we also learnt how to get distracted by other external influences and so on and so forth. The power of ego started playing dominant role, with this the desire to learn got replaced by several other desires and learning became a last priority. Adding to this, adults association with learning has been profoundly clouded by negative memories from the school days. So, attending a training program or reading a book or attending a seminar/lecture are all labelled as boring. As adults we have the capacity to unlearn all our negative beliefs and attributes. We have the power and potential to learn anything we wished. But our curiosity which ignited the spark in us in childhood was lost. We must reignite that spark of curiosity. The desire to learn must be nurtured.

The thing that we didn’t know yesterday, if was known today, it would change our level of knowledge, and it would change our understanding. That learning, however minor it may be, has to be embraced and appreciated. The habit of learning has to be cultivated with conscious and sincere effort.

The Joy of learning is a gift to the mankind. Learning is a miracle because our perception or understanding or idea of a thing is changing so drastically just with minor information. Before knowing it we were something but after that knowledge sits in our heads, we become better. Learning is definitely making us better. The process of learning is shaping us continuously. This is the joy in learning. Because it is unleashing our true potential, changing our future and creating great opportunities while we were watching it happen. Isn’t that a miracle? Wasn’t that the joy of learning?

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The Four Tools: Taught by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11^th President of India, the leader behind the development of India’s Missile System, the leader who expanded the India’s Space Programme, the teacher who ignited the minds of over 19 million youth, the writer who authored as many as seventeen books that inspired the youth and a great human being who will continue to inspire millions of people, the great teacher and leader, the most revered figure and is most adored by everyone. He was the recipient of three of India’s highest civilian awards – Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.

He delivered several speeches addressing the youth. In one such speech he gave ‘Four Tools’ that are most essential to become unique and successful person. He disclosed them to the students but I strongly believe that they are not just meant for the students but are meant for everyone whose ambition is to become successful.

The four tools the ‘Teacher’ mentioned could seem to be very simple but, they are very powerful tools. A man with abundant experience and success in life stressed the importance of these tools. We must listen to the voice of those who are wise and great because that voice comes not from the edge of the tongue but from the depth of their heart that filled profound experiences and great satisfaction of accomplishment.

Through the rest of the article you would find me addressing Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as ‘Teacher’ because I believe that it is very much pertinent.

#Tool 1 – Set Goals

The teacher said that every one of us should ‘set goals’. Not just some small goals but set bigger goals. He said that setting small goals is a crime. He meant that we should dream the impossible if we want to become unique and successful. When the Teacher was ten years old, he was inspired by his science teacher and he ‘set his goal’ that he wanted to fly. This was not achieved because he could not clear the physical exam to become a pilot. But after becoming the President of India, when the Chief of Air Marshall came up to him he mentioned about his dream that was not fulfilled. The air chief asked him to go through the training and later he finally succeeded in flying for 30 minutes. This way he made his bigger goal achievable. Observe that a goal when was set it will drive you till you achieve it. So, the teacher inspires us to set goals that are bigger.

#Tool 2 – Acquire Knowledge Continuously

The teacher is asking us to make learning a continuous process in our lives. Setting goals alone will not help, we must also have profound knowledge on what we wanted to achieve. In one of his famous quotes he said, “Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge and knowledge makes you great”. So, the second tool insists us to acquire knowledge incessantly by all means.

#Tool 3 – Hard work with Dedication

The teacher is asking us to do hard work with dedication. His life presents us enough proof to make us believe that hard work pays. He said that “efforts never die” and there is no end to working. The teacher had to sell newspapers for supporting his family, he had to face several adversities, several failures but regardless of all these hardships he did not quit working hard with love and passion. Working and working hard with dedication are two different things. In dedication there is love and passion. Everyone works for a living but a person whose heart is filled with an ambition works with love & passion. That person never even complains about the hard work but embraces the opportunities that come along.

#Tool 4 – Perseverance

The teacher compels us to move forward in our journey dealing with difficult situations and hardships. He talked very intricately about the importance of ‘Perseverance’. His life, again, illustrates the importance of this tool. In his autobiography ‘Wings of Fire’ the teacher told several difficult situations that tried to break his willpower. In one of his quotes he said “Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough”. He also said that ‘man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.’

Perseverance is most important tool among the other three because if you quit in the mid-way all your efforts, hard work will become a vain attempt. The teacher stated that if you fail, never give up because FAIL means ‘First Attempt in Learning’.

The above mentioned four tools are from the life and achievements of the great teacher. They could not be wrong unless we go wrong in understanding & endeavors.

“I have taken ‘The Teacher’ to number of my training sessions where he inspired and motivated my participants with his four tools”. May his inspiration shine through the eyes of every human being striving with determination for success and bliss!

R.S.S. Phani Madhav

madhav.r@nslsugars.com