Learning is an art, in order to learn we need a mind that is available for learning .If mind is elsewhere we cannot learn a mind should be present, it should know what is happening right now .Learning requires two aspects first the mind should be available that is it should be vigilant over the things that is happening around .The second aspect of learning is the language.
Here if the language of the message, what is to be learned, is not understood, then also onecannot learn. Even if the language is understood, if one is not prepared for the type ofknowledge that is given, then also one cannot learn. The language may be understood, but the arguments and various implications may not be understood at all.
Therefore, you cannot learn if the one who teaches does not have the language and the method toCommunicate. You get bored because you cannot learn. And if the teacher has something to convey and has the means of communication, he can reach you, but if youare not reachable because your mind is elsewhere, there cannot be any learning.
Therefore, it takes two to learn. The one who teaches should know what he teaches. If he is confused and not sure, then there is nothing he can give. He will only duck under big words. He cannotconvey, being unsure of himself. Or, he may be sure, but he has no means or nomethod of communication. Or the methods are not proper. If the teacher cannot hold
the minds of the listeners in his or her hands then you cannot learn.
You must beexperiencing this in school. Some teachers are capable of making you understand andothers are not. Therefore, it definitely takes two to learn. The teacher must be able tocommunicate and the student should be alert enough to receive.
Unfolding is different from lecturing. When I lecture, you may or may not follow me.
If I am going to unfold, I make sure that you see what I see. This is called unfolding.
A story of Unfolding
A sculptor and his friend were walking together. On the way side there was a rock. The sculptor stopped and was admiring the rock, telling his friend “Look at this beautiful rock.” The friend replied, “What is there in the rock? It is like any other rock. I don’t see any beauty in it.”
The sculptor asked the friend to help him take the rock to his studio where he works.
Together they engaged a truck and had it delivered to the studio, the friend left.
After Three months the friend came to visit and went into the studio. Right in front was an exquisitely sculptured statue of Krishna with a gesture of a flute in his hands.
The friend happened to be a great devotee of Lord Krishna and was struck by the beauty of statue he went near it and was filled with approbation.
The sculptor was standing behind the door unnoticed with a small chisel and hammer. When the friend saw the sculptor he said “Did you create this idol of Krishna?”“No,” said the sculptor. “I didn’t create Krishna, I didn’t shape Krishna, I only unfolded Krishna’. Understand the difference? “I didn’t shape a Krishna as you would shape a form of Krishna out of wax.”
What does it mean? ‘This is the Krishna you helped me bring from the wayside.” “No,” said the friend, “We brought only a rock.” The sculptor replied, “No I didn’t bring a rock. I brought Krishna.When I saw the rock, I didn’t see just a rock, but Krishna lying there.”
In the sculptor’s vision Krishna was already there. It was seen by the eye of a sculptor. When he brought the rock to the studio it was Krishna that he brought and not a rock.
All he did was to reveal in the rock what he saw in his mind. He went on unfolding that Krishna by chipping off the portions of rock that were covering Krishna to the naked eyes. He went on comparing the Krishna visualized by his mind and the Krishna seen by the eyes.
Even though Krishna is ready now, still he is not happy with the lips and nose. With the chisel he continues to unfold. He is not creating but unfolding Krishna. Chipping off the portions that hide Krishna is called unfolding.In the same way, knowledge is something that is unfolded. There is something that the teacher sees. What he has to do is make you see too.
If the teacher has a vision and has something to convey then that is unfolded. Chip by chip he removes things that cover. If there is doubt, it is removed. If there is vagueness, it is removed. If there is error it is removed. Then what is inside is conveyed. Therefore, knowledge is always unfolded by one person to another. In this, the sculptor and the teacher are identical. The
Sculptor unfolds and the teacher also unfolds.
The only difference is that the sculptor is not in the unenviable position in which the teacher happens to be. The stone doesn’t run away when the sculptor sculpts. Even if it is shaky he can make it firm, so that where the chisel is placed is where the hammering takes place; where it is placed therethe effect is seen. But here, even though the teacher sculpts, if the mind is elsewhere, then he is sculpting in space. So you have to place yourself, your mind, where it needs to be.
When the teaching takes place, your mind has got to stay there. Only then can the sculpting can take place.
Be alert and aware about things that is happening around, if we live in the present our life will be more beautiful, learning is a wonderful experience that each one of us get so live your life intelligently and make maximum utilization of the resources that is available ,so enjoy learning.