Authorities at Sudhir Memorial Institute, one of the best schools in howrah, believes that in today’s modern world, students should be imbibed in the ancient wisdom of India in order to succeed in today’s world of rat race. Hence, the following is some of that vast sea of wisdom that has been passed down by our ancestors-
In the Katha Upanishad it is mentioned that- One who is in possession of supreme knowledge through the process of concentration of mind, must have his senses under control, like the spirited steeds controlled by a charioteer. Starting from the Vedic age downwards through our history the central conception of Indian education system has been that of a source of illumination which gives us a correct lead in the life’s various spheres. According to one of the ancient sages knowledge is but the third eye of man, which guides him to gain insight into all affairs and in the process teaches him how to act. The classical Indian tradition clearly states that “Sa vidya ya vimuktaye” meaning that which liberates us is education. Now this is a wisdom that is definitely applicable irrespective of our age & place.
The configuration of all the ideals, practices, and conduct in this ancient tradition is called Dharma i.e. religion, virtue or duty. From the beginning ancient Indians came under the influence of their religious ideas, & started to conceive of their country as less of a geographical and material than a cultural or a spiritual possession. They identified the country with their culture. To put it simply-The Country was their Culture and the Culture their Country i.e. the true Country of the Spirit is not bounded within physical boundaries. Therefore one can say that India was the first country to rise out of the conception of an extra-territorial nationality and became the natural destination of different races with its own ethno-psychic endowment. They carried the social reality for Indians not geographical or ethnically, but in a cultural way. As ideals and ways of life receive acquiescence country & patriotism expands with it. Starting from the dawn of its history India- the Country of the Spirit has expanded in extending circles & known by different names- Brahmarshidesa, Brahmavarta, Aryavarta, Bharatvarsha, or Jambudvipa, Suvarnabhumi and even a Greater India which is beyond the natural geographical boundaries.
Learning in India throughout the ages were prized and pursued not for its own sake, but as the means of self-realization i.e. as means to the highest end of life- mukti or to put it simply emancipation. Ancient Indian education is actually the outcome of the Indian theory of knowledge, which is considered to be part of the corresponding scheme of life and values. It literally takes full account of the fact that Life includes Death with the two forming the entire truth in it. This sense of perspective and proportion of the material, the moral, the physical, the spiritual, the perishable and the permanent interests and values of life are completely explained with their difference. Due to this Indians are the most impressed and affected by the fact of death as a central fact of life. To put all of this in a single line-An individual’s supreme duty is thus to achieve his or her expansion into the Absolute with self-fulfilment, as he or she is a potential God with a spark of the Divine. Only education can aid in this process of self-fulfilment. Hence education is not in the mere acquisition of objective knowledge.
