Question: How necessary is a formal education?

Sri Chinmoy: It entirely depends on the individual. It is true that most human beings must have a formal education. Otherwise, they will not be of much use to society. If you don't get a formal education, you will act not only like a fool but also like an animal.

But again, one does not have to go to school in order to get formal education. India's Rabindranath Tagore and George Bernard Shaw of the West — to name just two — are among those who did not go to so-called high schools and colleges to get a formal education. But they did get education, a broad formal education. For formal education does not mean schooling. Formal education means learning the knowledge that is necessary in order to conquer the world. In order to have a strong footing in the world, it is quite necessary for a human being to have formal education.