We are here to critically understand the relevance of the educational system of ancient India in modern times. He has the ethics of modern education that has helped to understand Indian society. Do we want to go back to being original thinkers or to remain in the current system that breeds mediocrity? India needs to think carefully how much the foreign education system has helped it. The time has come to return to a high level of education that will produce thinkers.
The foundation of Indian education has been learning and understanding. It became just memorizing after countless invasions. India was the most prosperous nation in the world in ancient times. He believed in the exploitation of natural resources just what was needed. The excessive exploitation of natural resources was not done or encouraged. In India, people worship nature: plants, wind, fire, water, sun, etc. This shows the respect he gave to all living plants and animals on Earth. In the Hindu religion it is said that overexploitation of the sea should be avoided and this is known as “samudramanthan”. Giving education was considered noble work, a solemn duty of the teacher, and he should not expect remuneration from the students. A teacher used to be dedicated and took teaching as a mission.
Academics also helped reform societies. Let us remember the contribution of the great professor of economics from the universities of Takshashila and Nalanda; Chankaya, who realized that for the economic development of the region it was necessary to make an undivided nation: India. He helped Chandragupta establish the Mauryan Empire that ruled the entire subcontinent and beyond. This empire in recent times gave the system that gave us the ethical standards that the Indians value even now. The standards of education were high and people came from far away lands to study all streams of subjects here in India. Indians also worship the goddess of education “Saraswati”. Even today it is celebrated with great fanfare.
Hindus have a role where the child is introduced to learning and that is the culture of India. Indian society is based on education. People in education are given the highest position in the society called Brahmins. In ancient times, one had to work very hard to become a Brahmin. In those days it was not by birth. One had to take up that profession, then only he could become a Brahmin. The Brahmin could not take money to give education. Education in ancient India was free for all. The kingdom would finance education. India is a country that has a low level of literacy but a high level of education. People know life, nature, plants and their importance, etc.
The Indian educational system was based on the principle of total development; mind and emotions. The Indian system placed great emphasis on the development of the ethical sole and thus introduced the brahmacharya system. During this period, a student is supposed to learn only. The Indian system emphasized learning by doing. In fact, it was based on religious practices and religious acts. One must appreciate that religion in those days was just a way of life, therefore there was no conflict with education. One had to follow a strict way of life that one has yet to follow. Athavaveda, an ancient book, talks in detail about the educational part; the system and the methods to be followed.
However, it had some flaws. Education was restricted to those who deserve it and was not available to everyone. Second, it was centered on the guru (teacher), that is, for everything, one had to depend on the guru and his knowledge was considered perfect. Buddhism democratized education by allowing everyone to study. This helped spread education and institutionalize education through the formation of universities. Buddhism did not deviate from the Hindu system of imparting education, but was broad-based. Here again the educators and students had to be religious people and had to follow strict rules. Even here he was not completely devoid of the old Guru System. Even Buddha said “Buddham saranam gachchami” (Come to Buddha for enlightenment). Of course, in ancient times, the great saints investigated for themselves and developed a body of knowledge that contrasted with what the Buddha said. However, he challenged the system of concentration of knowledge in few hands. This might have diluted the quality of knowledge, but it improved the understanding of the general people in India.
This also developed a bond between the people of India that holds this country together. This is the secret of unity in the diversity of India. A diverse country became a population with the same life principle that is achieving mokshya (eternal happiness).
The Indians always attached great importance to education that would improve the ethical standard of the population. The resilience of the ancient Indian educational system was proven time and again. From the early stages of the foreign invasion, India lost all its material wealth, but not the Indian spirit and the superiority of our (Arian) culture and beliefs. This was made possible by the founding of the Indian educational system. Others speak of ethics, but Indians practice through education.
The objectives of the Indian system, as I believe, were:
1. The direct aim was to make all students in a position to become useful members of society, so that they could faithfully follow the duties of all other Ashrams in life.
2. The objective was to form a strong and good character through moral values.
3. The Indian educational system made a distinction between mere scholarship and total education.
4. The goal of the system was the development of the total personality.
5. Then there was the inculcation of civic and social duties. India in ancient times was a society governed mainly by social laws that gave us our strength. It is the only society where the social system of doing business was so strong and independent that we survived despite foreign invasion and domination.
6. Indian education promoted social efficiency and happiness. We all know in our ancient books that there are examples of people helping society.
7. The ancient educational system taught the preservation of national heritage and culture, so we still have a different culture from all other societies. This continues to be our strength and one day we will be able to restore our national pride. This has given us unbroken continuity since ancient times. It is the strength of our ancient education that we survive as a nation.
So the question is where did we go wrong? Our educational system was encased in a shell because it had to be protected from foreign influence. This violent slaughter of our culture by foreign invaders made us extremely introverted. The openness of our society was lost and formal education became the domain of a few. This destroyed the ability of our academy to expand knowledge. The burning of our established education centers scared people. The masses lost the desire to learn because they did not value local knowledge. People moved away from the formal learning process and this gave way to all sorts of crude practices in our society. Indian society lost the basic ability to acquire and use knowledge. The body of knowledge became strange, which was a rare commodity that only the wealthy could afford. British rule took advantage of this void and introduced a system that suited the needs of the Empire. The system did not incentivize beyond copying. This practice is still prevalent in the Indian educational system. Discourages children from having their own independent opinion on an issue.
We stopped learning and all of our ancient texts were considered part of religion. We must redesign our educational system incorporating the core spirit of our old proven system with new knowledge. We must reintroduce the concept of self-control that has existed in our society. This can make our people appreciate the need for ethical standards. Yes, let’s go back to the relationship that existed between education and society defined by our old proven system. The quality of some of the books written 2,500 years ago or more is so high that people today cannot write. That was the level of our original research why and when we lost that ability is cause for concern even now. We must revive that and rebuild the educational system in India as we want it; total development. Copying the west has not helped and will not help in the future, this must be recognized once and for all. We believe in the ethical values of society and that they cannot be compromised at any cost. Society has lost thousands of years and let us not waste any more time searching for the right education for India.
Dr. Aloke Chakravartty
Dean
School of Management
Brainware
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