Of
all the subjects education is the one with which youth, specially the students
are concerned most. This again is the one subject most neglected by the
national leaders and planners, and therefore it is but natural that the
students should feel neglected. Finally, it is this very subject of education
which has been given the greatest importance by Swami Vivekananda in his
message Whether speaking about national regeneration or social reform, whether
speaking of the uplift of the masses or the women, or about individual growth,
Swamiji lays down this one method, this one practical scheme- that of
education. What is the meaning of education according to Swami Vivekananda and
how students can educate themselves even without external help, is the subject
matter of this brief essay.
What is Education?
“Education is the manifestation of the
potentialities already in man.”[1]
This definition of education given by Swamiji is based upon his most important
philosophical postulate that each soul in its essential nature is divine and
that all power, knowledge and bliss is inherent in every soul. “What a man
‘leans’ is really what he ‘discovers’ by taking the cover off his soul which is
a mine of infinite knowledge.”[2]
The difference between man and man, nay between an amoeba and a Buddha is the
difference of the degree of manifestation of the divinity. The powers of the
soul in amoeba are least manifest while in the Buddha they are fully manifest,
the soul in either case being the same.
This philosophical principle has
important practical implications. It takes away all weakness and dependence
upon others and infuses tremendous self-confidence. So the first lesson the
youth must learn from Swamiji is that they must have great faith in themselves
and never allow any weakening thought to enter their minds. “Have faith that
you are all, my brave lads, born to do great things”[3]
– “Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own
shoulders and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All strength
and succour you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future.”[4]
The potentialities of each soul are
always trying to manifest themselves but they are being hindered by the forces
of nature. “Man is man”, Swamiji says, “so long as he is struggling to rise
above nature, and this nature is both internal and external. It is good and
very grand to conquer external nature but grander still to conquer internal
nature. It is grand and good to know the laws that govern the stars and
planets, it is infinitely grander and better to know the laws that govern the
passions, the feelings, the will of mankind.’[5]
The present day education of physical sciences like physics, chemistry,
biology, electronics etc. teaches the laws of external nature knowing which one
can govern and make use of its various forces. Knowing the laws of electricity,
for example, one can make use of it in lighting ones house, warming a room or
running a radio. But the education of the laws of mind, ego and will constitute
the internal nature is totally neglected in the present system. It is this far
more important aspect of education, which teaches one to control ones turbulent
mind and egocentric strivings, his violent passions and unquenching greed, that
has been emphasized and taught by Swamiji. In the absence of this education the
physical forces of nature are liable to be misused for ulterior motives not
conducive to the welfare of humanity.
Man Making
Education:
What type of education did Swami
Vivekanda want? “The ideal of all
education, all training should be man making”.[6]
“It is man making education all round that we want.”[7]
“ We must have life building, man making, character making, assimilation of
ideas.”[8]
“We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is
increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on ones own
feet.”[9]
It is obvious from the above and many other sayings of Swamiji that he laid the
greatest stress on man making.
Who is a man? According to Sri
Ramakrishna, “Man should possess dignity and alertness. Only he whose spiritual
consciousness is awakened possesses this dignity and alertness, and can be
called a man.”[10]
By spiritual consciousness is meant the consciousness that one is not a
body-mind-complex but in reality is a birthless, deathless, spiritual entity
free from blemishes and imperfections. According to Swami Vivekananda, “The
true man is he who is strong as
strength itself and yet possesses a woman’s heart. You must fee for the
millions of beings around you and yet you must be strong and inflexible. Though
it may seem a little paradoxical you must possess these apparently conflicting
virtues.”[11]
“You must try to combine in your life immense idealism with immense
practicality. You must be prepared to go into deep meditation now and the next
moment you must be ready to go and cultivate the fields. You must be prepared
to explain the intricacies of the shastras now and the next moment to go and
sell the produce of the fields in the market,”[12]
“What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel, gigantic
wills which nothing can resist….. ”[13]
In short an ideal man is he who is conscious of his divine spiritual nature and
has faith in his tremendous potentialities, whose intellect, emotions and
practical skill are fully and harmoniously developed and who has a perfect
control over his mind which he can concentrate at will on any subject and also
withdraw it at will.
To be a real man, therefore, the youth
must first of all make their bodies strong by regular physical exercise,
nutritious diet and continence or Brahmacharya. Next, for the harmonious
development of their personalities, they
must practice what are called ‘the four Yogas’.
When intellectual inquiry is used for
realization of ones divinity, the process is called Jnana Yoga. Intellect is developed by rational thinking and
discrimination based upon scriptural teachings. First the teachings of the
scriptures and great teachers of the world must be heard with reverence (sravana). Next they must be thought over
from various view-points (manana).
Finally by deep concentration, the conclusions thus arrived at by thinking must
be fully assimilated (nididhyasaka).
In schools and colleges students get only limited theoretical knowledge and
much remains to be done by them by way of deep thinking and assimilation of
that knowledge. Also they will have to gain knowledge of other subjects not
covered by their curriculum. Swami Vivekananda was a voracious reader. Apart
from what was being taught in the classes, he used to study such
extra-curricular subjects like history, logic, philosophy, medical science etc.
He would discuss them with his colleagues and by deep contemplation would
arrive at his own unique conclusions which he preached in later life.
Next is the cultivation of the
‘heart’. Every one has the capacity to love, a feel for others. We feel for our
near and dear ones when they suffer. This quality of the heart must be
cultivated and rightly directed towards God and towards the humanity. “Love
never fails”, Swamiji says, “today, or tomorrow or ages after truth will
conquer. Love shall win the victory. Do you love your fellowmen?’[14]
“All expansion is life, all contraction is death. All love is expansion, all
selfishness is contraction. Love is, therefore, the only law of life. He who
loves, lives; he who is selfish is dying.”[15]
Let the youth go to the poor, mix with them, share their joys and sorrows and
thus try to make them their near and dear ones. Thus will their heart expand.
When this love is directed towards it is called Bhakti Yoga, which is cultivated by prayer, worship and singing the
name and glories of the Lord. Youth must try to see God in the poor, the sick,
the miserable and serve them in the spirit of dedication. This is that best way
in which the emotions can be sublimated.
The third thing to be done by the
Youth is to learn the control of mind. Describing the present condition of our
mind Swamiji says, “As soon as I try to calm my thoughts and concentrate my
mind upon any one object of knowledge, thousands of undesired impulses rush
into the brain, thousands of thoughts rush into the mind and disturb it. How to
check it and bring the mind under control is the whole subject of study in Raja Yoga.”[16]
According to Swamiji, the very essence of education is concentration. “If I had
to do my education over again”, he says, “I would develop the power of
concentration and detachment and then with a perfect instrument I could collect
facts at will.”[17]
But the mind cannot be controlled in a day. It requires long continued
practice. Let the students begin the practice of systematic meditation, do it
regularly every day, and gradually they will see results.
It will be noticed that mind gets
easily concentrated on the subjects in which one has interest, but finds it
difficult to do so on other subjects. Therefore, with the power of
concentration, it is equally important to learn the art of detachment, which is
done by the practice of self-surrender. Do all actions but surrender their
fruits to God. This is called Karma Yoga.
Character
Building:
The second important characteristic of
education, according to Swami Vivekananda is that it must be a character building
education. “The character of any man is but the aggregate of tendencies, the
sum total of the bent of his mind.”[18]
“Every work that we do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think
leaves an impression on the mind stuff. Each man’s character is determined by
the sum total of these impressions.”[19]
“When a large number of these impressions is left on the mind they coalesce and
become a habit.”[20]
“Character is repeated habits and repeated habits alone can reform character.”[21]
“All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away. It will not
cause power to return to you. But if restrained, it will result in development
of power. This self control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character
which makes a Christ or a Buddha.”[22]
From the above sayings of Swami Ji, it
is evident that the factors responsible for the formation of character are,
cultivation of good habits by performing noble acts and thinking good thoughts,
strengthening the will and performing all actions without selfish motive. Every
young man can utilize these principles in building his character. He may, for
example, form the habit of getting up early in the morning, of mediating daily
at the fixed hour and place, of doing regular physical exercise and or reading
healthy literature. Let him go on doing good and thinking holy thoughts and
avail every opportunity to help others. Every time we control our extrovert
restless mind, our evil tendency or an urge to enjoy sense pleasures, our will
is strengthened, which goes to build our
character. “When a man has done so much good work and thought so many good
thoughts, there is an irresistible tendency in him to do good. Even if he
wishes to do evil his mind will not allow him to do so.”[23]
When such is the case of a man’s good character is said to be established.’[24]
Assimilation of
ideals:
The third feature of a good education
is that it must teach the student to assimilate ideas. “If you have assimilated
five ideas, and made them your life and character, you have more education than
any man who has got by heart a whole library.”[25]
Let us try to understand this saying of Swami Ji with the help of few examples.
History of the nations teaches us that internal conflicts, indulgence in
sense-enjoyment and neglect of the masses lead to down fall of great empires. A
student of history may be able to describe in detail the rise and fall of
nations, but if continues to quarrel with his brothers, becomes a slave to
sense-pleasures and does not pay heed to the suffering masses around him, he
merely stuffed his brain with undigested information but has not assimilated in
his life the lessons of history. Another student may secure highest marks in
Civics and Social Sciences and yet may be most anti-social in his behaviour and
dealings with others. Knowing full well that uncleanliness predisposes to
diseases, he may continue to throw refuse on the streets instead dumping at the
allotted place, and thus in actual practice encourage spread of diseases. A
third student may stand first in Science and yet may have the most unscientific
approach towards life problems. Now take the contrary example of Sri
Ramakrishna. He was almost illiterate and uneducated in the usual sense. But he
had assimilated in his life the noble ideals like truth, self control and
renunciation to such an extent that even his limbs would recoil if he tried to
do anything contrary to them. That is why school teachers and university professors,
great scholars and famous orators used to sit at his feet like ignorant babies.
It is evident that the present day
University education does not encourage assimilation of ideas. It only aims at
producing graduates and may be rightly called a ‘decree oriented education’. At
the most it may be a job oriented education aiming at teaching certain skills
by which students may earn their livelihood. Although in recent years the
Government is trying to make education socially oriented by introducing
National Service Scheme (N.S.S) for students at the College level, the
educational system of the country still falls too short of the ideal, and there
remains much to be done by students by way of self-education. Swami Vivekananda’s
scheme of comprehensive man-making education provides the guidelines according
to which students can educate themselves and build a noble character. Finally
let it be remembered that education is life long process not confirmed to the
four walls of a school or college and coming to an end at a particular age. “As
long as I live, so long do I learn”, says Sri Ramakrishna. For an alert
student, life, from the first day to last, is a book; the world, a school;
every object from a tiny blade of grass to a lofty mountain, from a lowly ant
to a holy saint, a teacher; and education, a never ending process of unfoldment
of knowledge, potentially present within every soul.
[1] The
complete works of Swami Vivekananda: Mayavati Memorial edition, published by
Advaita Ashrama, Vol. IV, P. 358 (1955).
[2] Complete
works Vol. I, P. 28. (1957)
[3] Thus
spoke Vivekananda Ramakrishna Math, Madras
[4] Thus
Spoke Vivekananda, p. 7.
[5] Thus
Spoke Vivekananda p. 9-10
[6] Complete
Works, II, 15. (1963)
[7] Complete
Works, III, 224. (1955)
[8] Complete
Works, III, III, 302. (1955)
[9] Complete
Works, V, 342. (1959)
[10] The
Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by “M”, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras
[11]
Complete Works III, 447. (1955)
[12]
Complete Works III, 447. (1955)
[13] Thus
Spoke Vivekananda. P, 10.
[14]
Thoughts of Power, Ramakrishna Math, Madras
[15]
Thoughts of Power p. 15,
[16]
Complete Works, II, 391. (1963)
[17]
Complete Works VI, 38-39. (1956)
[18]
Complete Works, I, 27. (1957)
[19]
Complete Works I, 54. (1957)
[20]
Complete Works I, 207. (1957)
[21]
Complete Works, I, 208. (1957)
[22]
Complete Works, I, 33. (1957)
[23]
Complete Works, I, 54. (1957)
[24]
Complete Works, I, 55. (1957)
[25]
Complete Works, III, 302. (1955)
