Quotes Tagged "mind"

Our great mistake in education is, as it seems to me, the worship of book-learning–the confusion of instruction and education. We strain the memory instead of cultivating the mind. The children in our elementary schools are wearied by the mechanical act of writing, and the interminable intricacies of spelling; they are oppressed by columns of dates, by lists of kings and places, which convey no definite idea to their minds, and have no near relation to their daily wants and occupations; while in our public schools the same unfortunate results are produced by the weary monotony of Latin and Greek grammar. We ought to follow exactly the opposite course with children–to give them a wholesome variety of mental food, and endeavor to cultivate their tastes, rather than to fill their minds with dry facts. The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn. What does it matter if the pupil know a little more or a little less? A boy who leaves school knowing much, but hating his lessons, will soon have forgotten almost all he ever learned; while another who had acquired a thirst for knowledge, even if he had learned little, would soon teach himself more than the first ever knew.

...I sense that stepping into the light is also a powerful metaphor for consciousness, for the birth of the knowing mind, for the simple and yet momentous coming of the sense of self into the world of the mental.

As long as reading is for us the instigator whose magic keys have opened the door to those dwelling-places deep within us that we would not have known how to enter, its role in our lives is salutary. It becomes dangerous, on the other hand, when, instead of awakening us to the personal life of the mind, reading tends to take its place, when the truth no longer appears to us as an ideal which we can realize only by the intimate progress of our own thought and the efforts of our heart, but as something material, deposited between the leaves of books like a honey fully prepared by others and which we need only take the trouble to reach down from the shelves of libraries and then sample passively in a perfect repose of mind and body.

The meditative mind sees disagreeable or agreeable things with equanimity, patience, and good-will. Transcendent knowledge is seeing reality in utter simplicity. (146)

There are no limitations to the mind except those that we acknowledge.

The less you know, the more you will be known The less you want, the more you will have The less you are, the more you will be

Oho, now I know what you are. You are an advocate of Useful Knowledge.... Well, allow me to introduce myself to you as an advocate of Ornamental Knowledge. You like the mind to be a neat machine, equipped to work efficiently, if narrowly, and with no extra bits or useless parts. I like the mind to be a dustbin of scraps of brilliant fabric, odd gems, worthless but fascinating curiosities, tinsel, quaint bits of carving, and a reasonable amount of healthy dirt. Shake the machine and it goes out of order; shake the dustbin and it adjusts itself beautifully to its new position.

Mathematical Knowledge adds a manly Vigour to the Mind, frees it from Prejudice, Credulity, and Superstition.

We must not attach knowledge to the mind, we have to incorporate it there.

Mind of a loving heart is the fountain of knowledge.

We, as human beings, are landed with memories which have fallibilities, frailties, and imperfections - but also great flexibility and creativity. Confusion over sources or indifference to them can be a paradoxical strength: if we could tag the sources of all our knowledge, we would be overwhelmed with often irrelevant information. Indifference to source allows us to assimilate what we read, what we are told, what others say and think and write and paint, as intensely and richly as if they were primary experiences. It allows us to see and hear with other eyes and ears, to enter into other minds, to assimilate the art and science and religion of the whole culture, to enter into and contribute to the common mind, the general commonwealth of knowledge. Memory arises not only from experience but from the intercourse of many minds.

To understand why my health was failing, I applied astronomical knowledge to my mind and body.

Self-knowledge, which comes from within, gradually change our beliefs and drops those beliefs which are false and stupid. After being cleared off all the dirt acquired by us in the form of second-hand knowledge in our early age, we can directly see the reality, through our own eyes, through our own heart and mind, as our mind gets unconditioned. It is this mind that is rightly compared to God, as such a consciousness is pure, having been cured of all ignorance and darkness and we come close to our true self—Atman or soul.

Our Souls are invaluable source of knowledge because it is only by their study that the mind is filled with best thoughts. Best thoughts help us in leading a supreme life. This is the sure way for growth of the mind and also to acquire eternal happiness and knowledge.

Removing misunderstandings from the mind is also a part of intellectual development!

Education is not the acquisition of degrees. It is the broadening of one's mind. It is the process of undertaking and imparting true knowledge. It is the awakening of one's consciousness towards the Universe within us and the Universe around us.

Buried deep within each of us is a question we’ve come to understand. The truth is we’re just not strong enough to act on it right now, but understanding what the question is that’s half the battle. Living without denial allows for freedom of the heart and mind.

The eyes will be of no use if the mind of a man is totally blind.

The insane human mind is the greatest scientific instrument known to mankind.

Mathematics is the study of the mind-world interactions defined by models of intelligibility and knowledge.