Imagination or Knowledge?

Albert Einstein, winner of the Nobel Prize and declared ‘Man of the Twentieth Century’, lauded in his lifetime as the greatest living scientist, also had his emotions.

He said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge defines everything we know and understand, while imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.”

He was refused admission in Switzerland’s famous Federal Institute of Technology. He was sent out of class during his school days with the accusation “your mere presence causes indiscipline.” He suffered at the hands of an education system that not only refused to recognize his talent, but actually ridiculed him.

But Einstein did give a glimpse of his thoughts when he said, “If I were a young man again and had to decide how to make a living, I would not try to become a scientist or scholar or teacher. I would rather choose to be a plumber or peddler, in the hope of finding the modest degree of independence still available under present circumstances.”

In the twenty-first century there are so many wonderful opportunities for the Indian youth. Let us proud to be Indians in this age and era when India is emerging as a super-power. Let us not suppress or narrow down the wide opportunities that await the enthusiastic and talented youngsters.