Introduction
We are living in an environment, which consists of many things; Home, School, Work, Media, Cultural background, Religious background, Traditions and beliefs, Social and Political environment. All of these environments create a culture. In this culture now –a- days, what is more important? Is it power? Yes, it seems, because, politicians are giving so much importance to it. If there is nothing in power, why they are investing so much money during elections? This money could have been invested it in a business and could have earned more. If the politicians didn’t have money, how can they spend so much for elections? How can they win? Now the money has become all-important for elections. Yes, Money is more important.
On the other hand, there are many more educators in the world, much more than powerful people, and more than millionaires. And we are all here to get a good education. Is education so important to everybody? Yes it seems. Otherwise why every parent desires to provide good education to his child? Yes, Education is more important than power and wealth. If one has education, he may sit on the two seats of power and wealth at any time.
I have read very recently in a personality development book that A study attributed to Harvard University found that when a person gets a job, 85% of the time it is because of their attitude, and only 15% of the time because of how smart they are and how many facts and figures they know. Attitude is a value. Now –a- days the companies are not looking for the people who by-hearted the content and deliver. They are looking for the people of values. No, Values are more important than Power, Money and Education.
If there are no leaders how the educational opportunities will be created? If there are no educated people, how will the values be taught? If there is no money, how-to thrive in this world? It’s a never ending story. So, let me put this problem to a debate.
Debate starts here. Imagine that there are four people talking about these issues taking and supporting each. And it was imagined that it was conducted in a school campus among children.
Wealth:
The earth is revolving round the sun. All people on earth are revolving round the wealth. To sum it all up, Money is everything and Money creates or destroys anything. Even if you observe the proverb "Health is wealth" carefully, it has given preference to health only when it was compared to wealth.
Education:
I do not agree to wealth's point at all. Money is needed but it is not everything. Education is more important than wealth, as it makes a person broad - minded. It provides us with the skills we require to thrive in this world. And it also plays an important role in shaping an individual's career.
Values:
I do not agree to the point mentioned by Education. Education may be important but values are the most important elements of our life. They guide us how to lead a life in a meaningful and satisfying way. They influence the attitude and behavior of a person. Value creates not only wealth and success but also creates knowledge, joy, fulfillment and opportunities and makes a great life filled with good deeds.
Power:
I am sorry to disagree with you. What you say may sound good but it is not good sense. Can you imagine all these things existing without power? To manage wealth, Education and values in the society and whatever else you need, we definitely need a powerful leader. Can you imagine any thing in this world without a leader? What is the conclusion? If you have power with you, you can create wealth, Educational opportunities, make people follow values and everything.
Education:
How can one earn such qualities without education?
Power:
Why not? Do you know that Akbar did not know how to read and write? Yet he was regarded as one of the best rulers in the world and stood as the icon of Mughal dynasty.
Education:
Who said Akbar was not educated? He was illiterate, I agree. But he was educated to hunt, he was educated to govern, he was educated to fight which made him daring, powerful and a brave warrior. He never hindered the search for knowledge. When he retired every evening, he used to listen to scriptures, epics read by priests. This knowledge made him a Shahenshaw (the king of kings)
Values:
I do not entirely agree with what you say. But, why you are talking only about Akbar rather than any other Mughal emperor? Because Akbar had plenty of good values. When people faced hardships by the high taxes, he kept on changing the system of taxes, making them easier. Remission was given to peasants when the harvest failed or during times of flood or drought. Akbar decreed that Hindus who had been forced to convert to Islam could reconvert to Hinduism without facing the death penalty. Hindus, Jains and other religions and even other countries very well liked Akbar in his days of tolerance. All this was possible because of his good values
Wealth:
What ever you are saying, you are talking about a rich man. If Akbar didn’t have money, would you know about Akbar? Definitely not.
Education:
Why can’t we? Don’t you know about Birbal? He was not a rich man.
Wealth:
Ok. Name one of the soldiers of Akbar other than Bairam khan?
Power:
Ok. Can you name any other rich person during Akbar’s rule? Why do you remember him now? It is just because of his power.
Money:
Let us talk about today’s politics. You are talking about power. What is the most powerful country in this world? It is USA, isn’t it? It is indirectly managed and administered by the richest corporates in the world, though it is one of the biggest democratic countries in the world. Plenty of money is involved in it’s governance. In fact one of the popular sayings in that country is, “The business of the Government is business.”
Values:
I beg to differ and will give you an example to back me up. Take December 2013. Arvind Kejriwal has defeated three-time chief minister Sheila Dixit in her constituency of New Delhi. Why did people vote for him? It was just because the values he believed in such as honesty and a corruption free government.
Education:
Do you know why people believed him and what kind of people believed him? He is educated, his party members are educated, and his followers are educated and the place he contested in, Delhi, is filled with highly educated people (86.4%). Later he contested in a less educated area- Varanasi against Narendra Modi. What happened? Though he was a man with values, he lost in the election just because the people in the area he contested in are not much educated (literacy rate 77%).
Power:
Ok. I agree to your point. That was quite all right. But who is the talk of the world? Open Google trends or Google news. For every two hours, nearly 2lakh searches around the world about Narendra Modi. People are searching for his words, decisions, and his biography. Before he was prime minister, he was refused a VISA to visit any country. Every country closed doors to him. But now, every country is standing at the doors waiting for his arrival. Some countries are literally begging him to visit their countries. It is just because of his power.
Values:
The people have believed him because his sheer determination for development of the country, his extreme dedication towards performing duties. People have been fed up with corruption in our government. They are expecting a corruption free government. The values of determination and dedication are necessary to fulfill the desires of any body or any country. Value less leaders cannot take their place in the hearts of the people.
Education:
Of course, I agree to your point. But how many people with only values and without education have been recognized in this world? There are approximately 50 portraits of inspirational people hanging in our school corridors. All of them are educated. Everybody was recognized for their education.
Power:
I do not agree to your point atall. Have you seen the portraits of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Lal Bahadur Sastry and Vikram Sarabhai? All these people were recognized for their power. If Sardar Vallabhai Patel didn’t have power as Home Minister, would he have played a key role in integration of many princely states into the Indian Federation? Lal Bahadur sastry, became a national hero following the victory in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan became very popular during the war and is remembered even today. Was any soldier, who fought in the war of 1965 remembered today?
Vikram Sarabhai, is considered the father of The Indian Space research and Atomic power. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India and successfully established Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Many of the staff supported him in collecting information about the Russian Satellite System, which played a key role in developing our own systems. Has the government recognized any of them? Do you know any of them?
Education:
Vikram Sarabhai received great education. After his intermediate in Gujarat, he moved to England and joined the St. John's College, in Cambridge. He received a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. The great education he received made him a leader
Wealth:
You are missing a point here. Vikram Sarabhai was from an important and rich business family. His father was an affluent industrialist and owned many textiles mills in Gujarat. Without his money, would he have received his education from Cambridge University? Or would he have become the father of India’s Space Programme?
Values:
The role played by money in the education of Vikram Sarabhai is pretty small. Without recognizing the value of money spent by his parents, did he become a graduate of Cambridge University? We can see many students today wasting the money of parents without recognizing the value hidden in it. Money can only buy what money can buy, but not everything. The most precious things in our life cannot be bought by money.
- Money can buy amusements but not happiness.
- Money can buy a bed but not sleep.
- Money can buy Books but not wisdom.
- Money can buy a clock but not more time.
- Money can buy Companions but not friends.
- Money can buy Food but not appetite.
- Money can buy a house but not a home.
- Money can buy Medicine but not health.
Wealth:
All these things are sweet to listen to like music. But open your eyes widely. Look at the world. It is crazy about money. People are working for hours and hours only for money not only to earn their bread and butter but also the other comforts and security. Let’s take Google, which is providing so much information to us. How is it growing? Because of the money invested in it. Because of the money it possesses right now, it has become one of the richest companies in the world.
Power:
Excuse me. Google has not limited itself to provide just information. It is planning to rule the world with its businesses. Google is making smart watches, smart systems in car with 4G technology, health apps which can rate the heart beat and which can display the glucose levels in our blood; which are useful for sugar patients. Not only in your systems, Google wants to be everywhere, why? Because it is craving for power.
Wealth:
To make just health apps Google has invested about 1.8 billion dollars for its research and development. If Google didn’t have money, the scientists would have approached either Samsung or Apple. Why don't you recognize that everything is about money?
Education:
You are accepting now that without Scientists, you mean the people with education, Google could not do its research successfully ----though ----Google is one of the wealthiest and one of the powerful companies. Only the intellectual education leads to success. Only the intellectual education made this world possible to reach the heights what we are now living in. Only the intellectual education made us move in cars and flights. Only the intellectual education helps us get information about the world.
Values:
You are absolutely right. But you should recognize one more point here. Intellectual education influences the head -----and ----- values based education influences the heart. In fact, education, which does not soften the heart, can be dangerous. If we want to build character in our schools, offices, homes and society, we must achieve a minimum level of moral and ethical literacy. Education that builds fundamental traits of character--such as honesty, compassion, courage, persistence and responsibility--is absolutely essential. We don't need more academic education; we need more values education.
A person can and will be successful with or without formal education if they have the 5Cs:
Character
Commitment
Conviction
Courtesy
Courage
Wealth:
Money is used to make our life easy, enjoyable, and comfortable and make us optimistic because we can do what we want. Imagine your life without money. Imagine a parent without money, his kids want to go to the Zoo, what will he do? He has moral values but he doesn't have Money, what will he do? One of his family members is ill, how will he treat him?
Education:
If the person has a formal education, he will definitely get a beautiful job, which can fulfill the daily needs of his family. And he can meet all the needs of the family. It is only lack of education; People are unable to meet their needs. It is only because of lack of education; People are fighting in the world. Last year, On Mallala's 16th birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. In her speech she said “I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.” Why was she so particular about the education of terrorists’ children? She is hoping that at least, they would stop this blood spilled in her country and in the world. Education makes the people look at the world in a broader way. It shatters the narrow walls of bigotry in the human minds and hearts.
Power:
Mallala has such a great ambition to provide education for everybody. Why did she stop and was just limited to speech but not implementing education in her country? It is just because she has no power. If such ambitious people like her had power, At least, all children in her country would be educated and the country would take its first steps towards children education and first step to stop violence. Power is the ultimate thing. It can create or destroy anything.
Wealth:
Whether it is either to provide education or to manage power, you need money for everything. Let us talk about fee reimbursement scheme in AP? It was just money, Rs. 35000 crores which had made nearly 50 lakh poor people as engineers. It is just for money provided by the government more than 400 new engineering colleges have been constructed in the past 7 years in AP and Telangana. It is just for because of this money spent that the engineering students have got good jobs and are making a good life for their families. What ever you are talking, whether it is value, education, or power, those are all like rivers. But Wealth is sea. All the rivers should come and join the sea.
Values:
If the person who has wealth has no values, the result of earning wealth or managing wealth ends up as greed. Greedy doctors do unnecessary procedures and surgery. Lawyers bend the truth. Accountants and Secretaries often falsify reports. Money is just a necessity but not everything or as you are saying. It is not a destination like sea. Money is not the payoff for every kind of work. Parents bring up the children with no paycheck in mind. It is the values like love, compassion and responsibility that make the parents bring up their children.
Education:
Today, about 61 million primary school aged children are out of school. About 40 million of these children live in poor and conflict-afflicted countries. An estimated 250 million children cannot read, write, or count well. If every child in the world received a primary education then in the next decade an estimated 7 million cases of HIV could be avoided. For every year of additional education of these children it would help increase a person's average earnings by 10%. It plays a crucial role in a country’s economic growth. Education promotes peace. Every year that a male is educated contributes to a 20% smaller likelihood of him engaging in violent activity. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, 40% of the decrease in malnutrition between 1970 and 1995 was the result of better farming practices stemming from increased education. Education helps break the cycle of poverty and promotes sustainable development in emerging nations.
Power:
That was a fantastic statistical report. But how all things summed up by you can be managed with out a proper leader or Leadership. It is not possible at all. Effective leadership helps our nation and our world through times of need. It makes a business organization successful. It enables a non-profit organization to fulfill its mission. The effective leadership of parents enables children to grow strong and healthy and become productive adults. The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way.
Wealth:
I do appreciate the statistical report given by Education and the leadership qualities mentioned by Power. But how can you provide education to so many poor people of poor countries with out money? Let me tell you one thing. Warren Buffet has donated about 62 billion dollars to Melinda gates foundation. Bill Gates has donated 28 billion dollars to the same foundation. The value of the foundation is more than 200 billion dollars now. It took 3 million dollars to the foundation to arrange teaching resources in just three kinds of schools, which consist of nearly 2 lakh students.By this theory, practically, to educate all the illiterate 250 million children in the world until in another 10 years, It takes nearly 200 billion dollars. That means if the foundation just involves in educating poor irrespective of involving in global health, global development, global policy and advocacy and US development program, the foundation will become penniless in 12 years only leaving education to the world. What have you understood from this? The Goddess Saraswathi will not bless us without Lakshmi.
Values:
What ever the money calculations that you said were amazing. But, have you observed one thing here? Why did Warren Buffet and Bill Gates give away their money? They firmly believed in the value of philanthropy.Bill Gates was consistently ranked as the wealthiest of all in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people for 13 consecutive years. It was not the thing that gave him ultimate satisfaction to his life. It was then, when he and his wife Melinda Gates established the foundation, he is satisfied as a human being. One of the famous quotes said by Warren Buffet is “Price is what you pay, Value is what you get.” What has he given importance to? Is it money or Value?
Wealth:
I agree to your point that values are important. But money is more important. Let me give you one example. Ravuri Bharadwaja, who wrote 37 volumes of short stories, 17 novels, 6 short novels for children, 5 compilations of short stories for children, 3 collection of essays and biographies and 8 plays and Gnanpith award recipient in 2012 died last year in abject poverty. If you see his history, he left two wonderful jobs for his beliefs and values. When he was hungry, he had to write utter trash to feed him and his family. When he was ill, the values he believed in did not cure him. When he was hungry, the values he believed in did not feed him. It was money which fed him and it was money which cured him.
Values:
I disagree to the point mentioned by Wealth. Why don’t we see the positive point of him? Ravuri Bharadwaja did not live his entire life unethically. Only for a few days, to feed his family, he did that. Every white colour has its black spots hidden in it. Later, he wrote a number of novels of social responsibility to his credit. The Jnanpith award presented for his novel “Pakudu Rallu” is about the dark shades of the movie world. He was a man of hope. It was his values made him achieve Jnanpith award.
Power:
I agree to your point. But you should observe one more point here. Before 2012, I mean before he received Jnanpith award, the novel, Pakudu Rallu, was available just for Rs.60. Now after being recognized by the people of power, after being given the award, the novel’s price now in the market is Rs. 400. What should we understand from it? It is not only being in power will be given importance, but also being recognized by the people of power will be given prominence. That’s the power of power.
Conclusion.
Thank you participants for thrilling and enlightening the reader with several thoughts. That was a phenomenal discussion that we have heard or read.Let me recapitulate the salient points. The point mentioned by Values “Money can buy what money can buy but not every thing” Saying this, She has given some examples such as Money can buy a bed but not sleep and Money can buy companions but not friends. That was the saying of the day. And sure, we can not buy everything with money.Wealth, In support of itself contradicting the point mentioned in support of Education, showed its sense of humor saying “Goddess Saraswathi will not bless with out Lakshmi.” And, in support of wealth, the statistical report given by it. “The entire money of Bill &Melinda Gates foundation has to be spent to educate the entire world to the minimum level. And the foundation will be left penniless leaving just education to the world” It’s absolutely true.
Education, in support of itself contradicting the people of wealth recalled the speech of Mallala and said “Why was she so particular about the education of terrorists’ children? She is hoping that at least, they would stop this blood spilled in her country and in the world. Education makes the people look at the world in a broader way. It shatters the narrow walls of bigotry in the human minds and hearts.” And in the statistical report given by Education,
It was said, “If every child in the world received a primary education then in the next decade, the average earnings of a person will get increased which plays crucial role in country’s economic growth. More than 7 million HIV cases would be avoided and the world peace will be promoted.” All these point have strongly supported in the discussion that education is the primary necessary element of the world.
In support of power, It was said, “Narendra Modi was rejected a VISA before he was prime minister and when he becomes prime minister, Every country is standing at the doors waiting for his arrival” There was beautiful logic in its point of view. It was also mentioned by power, “Effective leadership helps our nation and our world through times of need. It makes a business organization successful. It enables a non-profit organization to fulfill its mission. The effective leadership of parents enables children to grow strong and healthy and become productive adults. The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way.” It’s absolutely true. Without a leader, we cannot even imagine our home. So Power is important.
Each point has got its priority, nothing can be avoided. If they all combine together, imagine “a new world flourishes with wealthy education filled with values guided and governed by a powerful leader” What else do we want, It is more than we need. The discussion can be summed up stating that all these values are needed in judicious amounts for a human to live happily.
Sources:
You can win by Shiv Khera
list25.com
wikipedia.org
gatesfoundation.org
Many books and articles that I read in past (My memory)
