There was a scientist named Peare who was experimenting on some insects called dung beetles. These insects are wonderful -- they always follow their leader. As long as the leader continues to crawl along, the others also continue to do so; none stop. They too have this human habit. Several types of insects suffer from many of the human diseases -- like following the leader.
Peare took a round plate and put ten or fifteen insects on it. The insects started going round and round it with their leader. The plate was round, so the path was never ending. Until the insect leader stopped, the other insects could not stop -- and when the followers are continuing to crawl after him, how can the leader stop? It will be embarrassing for him. So the leader keeps going, all the other insects keep going. Alexanders and Napoleons carry on, the followers carry on. If the leader stops, the other insects will call him unsuccessful, making it necessary to choose another leader. If the follower insects stop, the leader calls them cowards!
In the end, the insects started dying of exhaustion, one after the other. They could not understand that there was no end to their journey, because the journey was going round and round.
If we look at man carefully, no one has reached to the end of this journey ever. This only shows that our journey is also going on on some circular path, round and round and round. Still there is always someone ahead of us and someone behind us. That time never comes when one is ahead of all, or is behind all -- and thus the journey continues till one tires and dies. Not only those insects of Peare but man too dies because of a similar exhaustion of a circular journey. The other travelers move you out of the way and continue their journey. But no one looks at the fallen ones closely, to see if he is also traveling to a similar end. Up until today, no man has ever been successful in the journey of competition. He will never be. That journey has no end to it -- it goes on in circles.
But there is another journey of transcending one's own self, always rising higher and beyond one's own self. It has no relationship with anyone else. I call education that which does not teach getting ahead of others, but teaches to go ahead of and transcend one's own self. The day a man is initiated in learning to transcend his own self, completely new doors of happiness open before him, hitherto unknown to him. On the other hand, for the man who is initiated in learning to get ahead of others, new ways to misery, tension, pain and restlessness go on appearing in his life.
