Page #1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
लसी प्रज्ञा TULSI PRAJÑA
Vishva Bharati Institute Research Journal
मूल्यपरक शिक्षा विशेषांक VALUE EDUCATION NUMBER
VOLUME XIX O NUMBER ONE O JANUARY-MARCH 1993
Kireet Joshi: Value Education for Secular Society Ramjee Singh: Value Education: The Gandhian Perspective S.P. Banerjee: Value in the Tradition of Indian Thinking and Values Relevant to Our Contemporary Needs R.P. Sharma: Social Ethos and Education: Search For Basic Premises B.S. Dagaur: On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education A.P. Sharma: Developing Awareness in Teachers towards Values Indu Dave: Development of Self-Understanding through Guidance , R.P. Singh: Values for Education S.R. Bhatta: Moral Values and Education Mulkraj Chilana: Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers O V.K. Sabharwal: Heightening Teachers Awareness About their Profession T.R. Bhatia: The Science of Meditation Q A.N. Pandeya Self Understanding and Work Ethics Pada 17 : Fru frent of you getah 377ET Çoc a रामशकल पाण्डेय : मूल्य एवं शिक्षा - एक विश्लेषण
Sain education temelinci
de ton Private & Personal Use Only
Page #2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
जैन विश्व भारती संस्थान (मान्य विश्वविद्यालय )
लाडनूं- ३४१३०६ ( राजस्थान )
नाणस्स सारं आयारो :
" ज्ञान का सार है आचार"- यही जैन विश्व भारती संस्थान का बोध वाक्य है । स्वामी विवेकानन्द एवं महात्मा गांधी ने भी शिक्षा का लक्ष्य "चरित्र निर्माण' ही बताया है । दुर्भाग्य से विभिन्न शिक्षा आयोगों एवं भारतीय संसद की एतद् विषयक समिति की अनुशंसाओं के बावजूद हम इस दिशा में अभी तक निष्क्रिय रहें हैं । फलस्वरूप शिक्षा समस्याओं के समाधान प्रस्तुत करने के बदले स्वयं एक समस्या बन गई है । राष्ट्रीय जीवन में नैतिकता का चतुर्दिक अवमूल्यन हमारे अस्तित्व के लिए सबसे बड़ा संकट है क्योंकि नैतिकता ही राष्ट्रीय जीवन की प्रतिरक्षा है । इसी को ध्यान में रखकर जैन विश्व भारती संस्थान इसे नैतिक एवं आध्यातिमक शिक्षा का एक राष्ट्रीय एवं अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय केन्द्र के रूप में विकसित करना चाहता है ।
आचार्य देवो भव् !
भारतीय सांस्कृतिक परम्परा में शिक्षा को सर्वोच्च स्थान दिया गया है । प्राचीन काल में ऋषिगण ही "गुरूकूल पद्धति' से शिक्षा-व्यवस्था का संचालन करते थे । आधुनिक युग में भी स्वामी दयानन्द ने गुरूकुल कांगड़ी, श्री अरविन्द ने आश्रम पद्धति, रवीन्द्रनाथ ने शांतिनिकेतन एवं महात्मा गांधी ने गुजरात विद्यापीठ जैसी संस्थाओं का निर्माण किया । आचार्य तुलसी ने भी इसी महान परम्परा के अनुसार १९७० में जैन विश्वभारती की स्थापना की जिसे १९९१ में भारत सरकार एवं विश्वविद्यालय अनुदान आयोग्य ने मान्य विश्वविद्यालय घोषित कर दिया ।
ऐसे तो देश में लगभग १८२ विश्वविद्यालय हैं लेकिन जैन विश्वभारती अपने आप में एक नवीन विश्वविद्यालय है जहां शिक्षा केवल परीक्षा और डिग्री के लिए नहीं बल्कि मुख्यतः जीवन-निर्माण के लिए है ।
णमो अरहंताणं, णमो सिद्धाणं :
जैन धर्म भारत का अत्यन्त प्राचीन धर्म है । भगवान ऋषभदेव के नामों का वेद में भी उल्लेख है । जो भी हो महावीर एवं बुद्ध तो समकालीन थे ही । विभिन्न धार्मिक एवं सांस्कृतिक सम्प्रदायों के अपने-अपने विश्वविद्यालय बने । तक्षशिला, विक्रमशिला, नालन्दा, उदन्ती आदि अनेकों विद्यापीठ बने किन्तु जैन समाज अपनी
(शेष पृष्ठ १४७ पर)
Page #3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
तुलसी प्रज्ञा TULSI PRAJNĀ
अनुसंधान - त्रैमासिकी Research Quarterly
JAIN VISHVA BHARATI INSTITUTE RESEARCH JOURNAL
Volume XIX
Number One
January - March, 1993
Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, (Deemed University), Ladnun - 341 306 INDIA
Page #4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
संरक्षक . डॉ० रामजी सिंह, कुलपति
सम्पादक मंडल (१) डॉ० दशरथ सिंह - अहिंसा और शांति शोध विभाग (२) डॉ० देवनारायण शर्मा - प्राकृत भाषा और साहित्य विभाग (३) डॉ० के. कुमार - जीवन विज्ञान और प्रेक्षाध्यान विभाग (४) डॉ० राय अश्विनी कुमार - जैन विद्या विभाग
प्रबंध सम्पादक डॉ० परमेश्वर सोलंकी
PATRON Dr. Ramjee Singh, Vice-chancellor
EDITORIAL BOARD Dr. Dashrath Singh: Deptt. of Non-Violence & Peace Research. Dr. Devanarain Sharma : Deptt. of Prakrit Language & Literature Dr. K.Kumar:
Deptt. of Jeevan Vigyan & Preksha Meditation. Dr. Rai Ashwini Kumar : Deptt. of Jainology.
(4)
MANAGING EDITOR Dr. Parmeshwar Solanki
Note : The views expressed and the facts stated in this journal are those of the
writers. It is not necessary that the editors and the Institute agree with them. The decision of the editors about the selection of manuscripts for publication shall be final.
Page #5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
(1) Value Education For Secular Society
Kireet Joshi
Contents
(2) Value Education: The Gandhian Persepctive Ramjee Singh
(3) Values in The Tradition of Indian Thinking and Values Relevant To Our Contemporary Needs
S.P. Banerjee
(4) Social Ethos and Education: Search For Basic Premises. R.P. Sharma
(5) On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education B.S. Dagaur
(6) Moral Values and Education
S.R. Bhatta
(7) Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values. A.P. Sharma
(8) Development of Self-understanding Through Guidance. Indu Dave
(9) Values for Education
R.P. Singh
(10) Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers. Mulkraj Chilana
(11) Heightening Teachers Awareness about their Profession V.K. Sabbharwal
(12) The Science of Meditation
T.R. Bhatia
(13) Self-understanding and Work Ethics A.N. Pandeya
(14) मूल्य शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि शिवरतन थानवी
( 15 ) मूल्य शिक्षा एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण रामशकल पांडेय
1
7
19
28
36
50
58
70
77
90
100
114
131
139
Page #6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
CONTRIBUTORS
(1) Sri. Kireet Joshi,
Chairman, Value Education Centre, Ex Member Secretary, I.C.P.R., : Veda Vidya Partishthan. Former Secretary, H.R.D. (G.0.1.) Delhi. Vice-Chancellor, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute Deemed University, Ladnun.
(2) Dr. Ramjee Singh,
(3), Dr. S.P. Banerjee
Acharya Bragendra Nath Seal Professor of Mental & Moral Philosophy, University of Calcutta.
Educationist
(4) Prof. R.P. Sharma (5) Dr. B.S. Dagaur
Head, Deptt. of Education, M.D. University, Rohtak
(6) Prof. A.P. Sharma Principal, B.Ed. College, Jawahar
Vidyapeeth, Kaore, Udaipur (7) Dr. Mrs. Indu Dave Retired Professor of Education, Vidya
Bhawan Udaipur. (8) Prof. R.P. Singh
Former Professor of Education, N.C.E.R.T.
Delhi. (9) Prof. S.R. Bhatta · Professor of Philosophy, University of Delhi (10) Dr. Mulkraj Chilana Professor of Education, N.C.E.R.T, Delhi, (11) Dr. Virendra K. Sabharwal Professor, Deptt. of Education, University of
Delhi. (12) Dr. T.R. Bhatia
Reader of Education, N.C.E.R.T., Delhi (13) Prof. A.N. Pandeya Consultant, School of Social Sciences, Indira
Gandhi National Open University, Delhi. (14) Shevratan Thanvi Formerly Editor, Naya Shikshak and Shivira,
Jodhpur. (15) Dr. Ram Shakal Pandey Professor & Head, Deptt. of Education,
University of Allahabad.
Page #7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJÑA
Value Education for Secular Society
Kireet Joshi
The subject that is chosen for discussion is of great significance. For the theme of Value Education has now come to the fore, and in conceiving the contents of Value Education, we need to examine the social context of which secularism is today an important and major clement.
1
At the outset, however, we may observe that secularism is ridden with ambiguities in our Indian situation; it is thus left to every one to interpret it in any way one thinks best. There is a view of secularism, which consists of equality before law irrespective of caste, religion or race. But this view often tends to become tainted in actual situations where there are unreasonable demands coming from religious groups, which insist on special provisions which tend to mitigate the idea of equality before law. There is also the idea of secularism which advocates that the state funds should not be utilised for the promotion of any religion. In practice. very often, this rule is emploved even where there is a question of the promotion, not of any religion, but of ethical and spiritual values. There is a tolerant view of secularism, which aims at equal respect for all religions. Here, again, it has become difficult to create an ethos where equal respect for all religions could be practised, and no significant efforts have been made to create a climate where secularism understood in this sense can flourish. There is also a synthetic view of secularism. which aims at bringing about unity of religions on the basis of the unity of moral and spiritual values. This is an excellent idea, but here, again, no significant effort has been made to actualise this view in practice. A very powerful interpretation of secularism is the materialistic view which denies any justification for religion as such. This view tends to get an upper hand since it can be more convincingly made out that materialism is incontrovertibly secular. The net effect is that our country has tended to promote confused thought on this vital subject, and people are afraid to think on this subject with clarity and boldness. There is also a tendency to shut the doors even of those tendencies in religions and in spiritual planes which lie above religions, which, if consciously acknowledged and promoted, would heal the divisions of religions, bring about greater understanding among them, and, eventually enable us to cultivate the scientific body of spiritual knowledge. What we need today is a positive recognition of spirituality as distinct from religion; we need also to recognise that there exists a scientific body of spiritual knowledge, and that this needs to be promoted by the state. We
January-March 1993
Page #8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Value Education for Secular Society
may also note that this becomes all the more necessary when we find that the true truths that lie behind democracy and socialism can be integrated and expressed effectively only when the ultimate spiritual aims are recognised and promoted.
In sum, the urgent need of India is to evolve a clear concept of secularism on the basis of a recognised body of spiritual knowledge which embraces all domains of human life, physical, emotional. vital, dynamic, intellectual, ethical and aesthetic.
Having said this, let us observe that secularism, in spite of its ambiguities, has several clear and distinguished features. It stands for life, it affirms ideals of growth, and it aims at the maximum possible perfection of life; it stands for liberty. it affirms the individuality of individuals, and it aims at ever-growing being and becoming; it questions dogmatism, ignorance and superstition, it affirms the ideal of truth, science and scientific temper, and it aims at progressive and comprehensive knowledge: finally, it combats authority and privileges of the select few, it affirms the right of the weak and the oppressed, it aims at universal emancipation.
Secularism is wedded to the conception of the right of all individuals as members of the society to full life and the full development of which they are individually capable. The master potency of this conception is so great that it is no longer possible to accept the theory that the many must necessarily remain for ever on the lower ranges of life and only a few climb into the free air and light. It is impossible for us to accept as an ideal any arrangement by which certain classes of society should arrogate development and full social fruition to themselves, while assigning a bare and barren function of service alone to others. Full development of all is the mark of secularism.
The second master idea that secularism would affirm is that the individual is not merely a social unit, but he is a soul, a being, who has to fulfil his or her own individual truth and law as well as his or her natural or his or her assigned part in the truth and law of the collective existence. It is for this reason that secularism insists on individual freedom, on individual initiative, individual thought, individual will, individual consciousness.
Application of these two conceptions has led to momentous experiments in democracy, socialism and democratic socialism. These experiments have not been entirely successful. It has been found that when liberty is assured, equality has suffered, and when equality is sought to be assured, liberty gets strangulated. In fact, democracy puts forward a trinity of values, liberty, equality and fraternity, and it appears now that the key to the fulfilment of the democratic ideal will depend upon the extent to which the value of fraternity will be applied to the disbalancements which are created in experiments of liberty and equality. A serious issue for secularism is to fathom deep into the heart of fraternity and to create conditions January March 1993
Page #9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSĪPRAJNA
3
for the realisation of the spirit and practice of universal brotherhood. As we said earlier, secularism affirms individualism. But at an early stage of the development of individualism, it was realised that the unrestrained use of individual judgement without an objective criterion of truth would mean a perilous experiment. A search was, therefore, instituted to discover a general standard of truth and also for some principle of social order. This search resulted in an answer provided by the discovery of physical science. This answer was two-fold: (1) Physics demonstrated a truth of things which depended upon no doubtful scripture or fallible authority, since that truth was written on the open book of nature which everybody can read, provided he had the patience to observe and intellectual honesty to judge; (2) Science provided a norm of knowledge and principles of verification to which all can freely and most rationally subscribed. This answer was the culminating point of the 19th century in Europe, which was preceded by two centuries of preparation. During these two centuries, the method of scientific induction was evolved, and a new scientific outlook on the world was developed. What we call today scientific temper is the result of this great endeavour. Since then, there is a widespread acceptance of the attitude which maintains that statements of facts should be based on observation, and not on unsupported authority.
It must, however, be observed that the victory of the physical science was largely due to its application, its technique and technology. Beginning with the discovery of gun powder and mariner's compass to the discoveries of electricity and telegraphy, and atomic power, we have a long story of mixed colours of good and evil, and we have today increasing number of sensitive and refined thinkers who have even come to equate science and technology with domination and violence. Some of them have fixed their attention on the way in which development is projected in India and elsewhere, and they have brought out quite vividly the peril of plunder, propaganda and violence to which masses of people are being subjected in the name of science and development. Promises of science have come to be questioned and there are increasing trends of thought which advocate limits to growth and the use of technology to control technology. The idea of the "small is beautiful" has achieved a wide appeal. There is a growing awareness that all is not well with science and technology, that things cannot be allowed unchecked and unchallenged, and that fundamental issues of humanity's future need to be considered without any dogmatism, even if it implies questioning science itself.
We need, however, to draw up a more balanced evaluation of contribution of science, particularly when scientific progress has a great role to play in determining the directions of value education. Let us, first, underline that science has affirmed the virtues of impartiality, of ever-widening quest of knowledge. It has fought against ignorance and superstition, and it has enhanced the cause of education. Science has enlarged for good the intellectual horizons of the human race, and raised, sharpened and intensified powerfully the general intellectual capacity of mankind. In its dispassionate movement, science pursues truth for the
January-March 1993
Page #10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Value Education for Secular Society
sake of truth and knowledge for the sake of knowledge. This is the highest right of the intellectual faculty of humanity, and in this dispassionate functioning, there is perfect purity and satisfaction.
On the other hand, when science tries to apply its discoveries and functions to life, it becomes the play thing of forces over which it has little control. This is the reason why the balance sheet of science is a mixed one. While, on the one hand, science has made discoveries which have promoted practical humanitarianism, it has, on the other hand, supplied monstrous weapons to egoism and mutual destruction; while, on the one hand, it has made a gigantic efficiency of organisation utilisable for economic and social amelioration of nations. It has, on the other hand, placed the same efficiency of organisation in the hands of national rivalries for mutual aggression, ruin and slaughter; while, on the one hand, it has given rise to a large rationalistic altruism, it has, on the other hand, justified monstrous egoism, vitalism, vulgar will to power and success, while on the one hand, it has drawn mankind together and given it a new hope, it has, on the other hand, crushed it with the burden of commercialism.
Science does not have within itself any inherent leverage by which it can prevent its exploitation by human impulses and passions, and since it can produce great results, its explication for evil can also be great. The modern civilisation, which is science-based, has to deal with an extremely difficult issue that it has created, namely, that of the emergence of dominant economic barbarism. This barbarism impels humanity to sink in mud of desire and hunger on a massive scale. It makes satisfaction of wants and desires and accumulation of possessions its standard and aim. It has conceived of the ideal individual in the image not of the cultured or noble or thoughtful or moral, or spiritual person, but of the successful person. It puts forward the opulent plutocrat and successful mammoth capitalist as images of achievement and fulfilment. It is this barbarism which assigns to them the actual power to rule the society. It prescribed pursuit of vital success, comfort, enjoyment for their own sake. It subordinates all other pursuits; it looks upon beauty as nuisance, art and poetry a frivolity or means of advertisement. Social respectability is its idea of morality; it uses politics as a door for markets and exploitation
It is now increasingly recognised that the development of science should be supplemented by enormous development of human goodness. Bertrand Russell has pointed out that there are two ancient evils that science, unwisely used, may intensify: they are tyranny and war. In an important study of the theme of science and values, Bertrand Russell declared:
"There are certain things that our age needs, and certain things that it should avoid. It needs compassion and a wish that mankind should be happy; it needs the desire for knowledge and the determination to eschew pleasant myths; it needs
January March 1993
Page #11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNĀ
5
above all courageous hope and the impulse to creativeness. The things that it must avoid, and that have brought it to the brink of catastrophe, are cruelty, envy, greed, competitiveness, search for irrational subjective certainty, and what Freudians call the death wish..... The root of the matter is very simple and old fashioned thing
the thing I mean - please forgive me for mentioning it.- is love - Christian love, or compassion. If you feel this, you have a motive for existence, a guide in action, a reason for courage, an imperative necessity for intellectual honesty."
We thus see that the central issue of our age is the growth of love, of compassion. of fraternity. This is the conclusion that is reinforced when we consider the issues of human unity and those of development. Global unity if necessitated by a number of factors, - the growth of science which is universal in character, powerful means of communication and prospects of enormous economies if regions and continents can unite. But even when there are increasing reductions of armaments, there is a fear in mankind; for there are still enough nuclear warheads which can destroy the world several times over. Hence, there is a continuing need to build the defences of peace in the minds and hearts of men. Again, at a time when the world is shrinking, the gulf between the rich and the poor is widening. The sharp disparities of development and asymmetrical relations among nations are impelling disadvantaged countries to seek unattainable goals. The resulting vicious circle of dilemmas and predicaments can be broken, it seems, only if it is realised that development like peace is indivisible and that not by competition and exploitation. but by mutual help and cooperation can the goals of development be realised. Development of peace and development of cooperation seem to be indispensable for the modern society's future growth and advancement.
It is clear that if democracy and secularism are to survive, if science is to be utilised for stabilising society, if world unity is to be achieved, and if development of all nations is to be secured, we have to work vigorously on human beings. It is evident that present structures of society and human nature as they are today are incapable of taking us to the road to fulfilment. And it seems obvious that the systems and structures cannot be changed if human nature cannot be changed. And when we speak of the change of human nature, we speak of radical operations of the maladies of human nature. We need to create human beings who will feel spontaneous brotherhood with all; we need human beings who will effortlessly extend cooperation in tasks of development; we need human beings who will have peace with themselves so that they will radiate peace in their environment.
This goal that we need to seek is to be viewed in the context in which we find an irresistible drive towards totality and all comprehensiveness. The wheels of the world are spinning so fast today that we are all obliged to overpass our limitations continuously and interminably. We are proceeding towards the future where a
January-March 1993
Page #12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Value Education for Secular Society
peculiar combination of wide comprehensiveness and effective specialisation will become imperative; they will have to be fused together.
6
This is further reinforced by the human crisis created by the need of the development of new faculties of consciousness.
All this explains why we need value education and why we need integral education. In recent trends of thought, we have been presented with the ideal of learning to be and learning to become. It is only when there is a right balance of the development of all our faculties that we can reach and attain the state of selfpossession and self-mastery. We can then experience our true being and discover the secret of our perpetual being. We need to emphasis, therefore, the education of all our parts of being, physical, vital, rational, aesthetic, moral and spiritual. And the development of faculties and capacities of these parts of the being is closely connected with the question of the values that they seek. Values are the ultimate ends that personality seeks to embody, express and fulfil. Corresponding to each capacity, there are specific values. Our physical being seeks the value of health and strength; our vital being seeks the value of harmony and heroism; our rational faculty seeks the value of truth and universality; our moral will seeks the good and the right; our aesthetic sensitivity seeks the value of beauty and joy; and our spiritual faculties seek experiences and realisations of inalienable fraternity, unity and oneness. Integral education, therefore, is the same as integral value education.
This, we may say, is the broad framework of the theme of value education, and we stand in the need of clarifying and discussing implications of this framework. Much work has been done during the last three decades and more. But the issues are difficult. They involve questions of goals of education, contents of education. methods of education. They relate to the goals of society also, and therefore, the climate of the life at home, life in institutions, and life in general. There are also issues connected with parents and teachers, question as to how we look upon the child, how the entire society gets involved in the process of learning and teaching. There is also the issue of developing secular society into learning society. It is for this reason that we need to think more and more rigorously, and to be engaged in the process of value education.
January-March 1993
Page #13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TU L SI PRAJA
Value Education : The Gandhian Perspective
Ramjee Singh
1.1 When somebody asked Gandhi - "What is your goal in education ?", he replied: "Character-building"? To develop courage, strength, virtue and ability to forget oneself towards great aims is more important than literacy. Academic learning is only a means to this greater end. Literacy is neither the end nor even the beginning of education. Mohamed was an unlettered prophet. Kabir had not even touched pen and paper. On the contrary, most learned persons like Rāvana, Duryodhana and others have practised worst crimes against humanity. "That knowledge which purifies the mind and heart is alone true knowledge, all else is only negation of knowledge”. - says Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa. According to Vivekananda "education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making, assimilation of ideas." Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, observes. "To say good words. give wise advice to a child has very little effect, if one does not show by one's living example the truth of what one teaches." So Dewey laments: "The schools are doing nothing or next to nothing, for character-training." He believes that nothing so touches the Foundation of our educational thought as a discussion of the moral principles in education. What we need in education is a genuine faith in the existence of moral principles which are capable of effective application. Even according to the Great Greeks, who were the first Europeans to treat education as a science, the aim of education was the "development in the body and in the soul all perfection which it is possible for them to attain," (Plato) or (Aristotle) "to develop children as imperfect beings into perfect beings (Aristotle)". According to Seneca, the object of education is "inward development”. Taking all these important ones and on the basis of his own experience, Gandhi wants to bolster up the claims of education as only literary training, because it does not add an inch to one's moral height and charact
1. Gandhi, M.K., Remakers of India, Carton Washburne, 1932, p.104. 2. Vivekananda, Swami, Education, Conmission: R.K. Mission Vidyalaya, 1967, 3. Dewey, J., Moral Principles in Educations, New York: The Wisdom Literary, Introduction, p.3.
January-March 1993
Page #14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
8 Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective building is independent of literary training."?4 "The most important human endeavour” says Einstein “is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life." Unfortunately, our so-called education does not provide us with the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong and bridge the gap between property and practice. Hence, our educational process keeps thinking on the abstract level on the ivory-tower untouched by the reality of life. To subscribe to an ideal, however lofty it might be, merely at the intellectual level is hypocrisy and self-deception. "True wisdom” Buddha says, “is obtained by practice only.” Hence, the aim of education, according to Gandhi, is human transformation rather than simply to acquire information. 1.2 Today, there is progressive erosion of values and the resultant pollution of public life. This crises of values is a highly dangerous development. What is needed is to restore the moral and spiritual foundations of our teaching profession and of our younger generation. It is only through the educational processes that people can realise that exploitation, violence and hatred cannot sustain our social stability and peace. 1.3 During the Hindu and Muslim periods, the teaching of religion was an essential part of education. It was assumed that education should not stop w development and intellectual powers but must provide the student, for the regulation of his personal and social life, a code of behaviour based on fundamental principles of ethics and religion. Dr. Alexander Dutt giving evidence before the British House of Lords on 3.6.1953 wanted Christianity to be taught in educational institutions, however, Lord William Bentick adhered to the British Policy of religious neutrality. In the Education Commission of 1882. recommendations were made "to prepare a moral text book, based upon the fundamental principles of natural religion, and arrange a series of lectures on the duties of a man and a citizen. However, Mr. K.T. Telang thought that either we must teach principles common to all religions under the name of Natural Religion or we must teach principles of each religions creeds to the students where parents adopt that creed. Govt. thought that it was doubtful that such a moral text book could be introduced without raising a vareity of burning questions, and a text book of
4. Gandhi, M.K. Young India, 1.6.1921. 5. Einstein, A., The Human Side, ed. Helen Dukas & Banest Hoffmann, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979, p.95. 6. Challenge of Education: A Policy Perspective, New Delhi: Ministry of Education, Govt of India, 1985, 1.24, p. 10 See National Policy on Education 1986, 8.4 7. Despatch of 1854 and 1858. Lord Bentick's reply to the welcome address by the Christian Mission. January-March 1993
Page #15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TU L SĨ PRAJ [A morality, sufficiently vague, colourless may not be accepted by all. The Indian University Commission of 1902 considered the inadequacy of a purely secular education but decided that “it is neither practicable nor expedient to make provision for a faculty of Theology." The Calcutta University Commission (1917-1918) did not consider the problem of moral and religious education in view of the problem in a country where religions seemed to be source of strife and disunion. The Central Advisory Board (1944-46), however, recognised the importance of ethical and religious institutions and appointed a Special Committee under the Chairmanship of Rt. Rer. G.D. Barne, the Bishop of Lahore, to examine its desirability. The Committee resolved that "while they recognise the fundamental importance of spiritual and moral institutions in the building of character, the provision for such teaching, except in so far as it can be provided in the normal course of secular instruction, should be the responsibility of the home and the community to which the people belongs." There were some differences in the Committee, however they agreed at some common points. Spiritual and moral teachings common to all religions should be an integral part ofthe curriculum. There should be agreed syllabus on spiritual and moral learning. State should not incur expenditure on religious education and so on. 1.4 After independence and enactment of the Constitution, any educational policy is bound by its provisions. While Article 19 guarantees “equal right to progress, practice and propagate religion”; Article 21 ensures that no person may be "compelled to pay any taxes nor the promotion of any particular religion;" Article 22(1) clears that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds provided it is a minority institution. Article 22(2) further tightens: "no person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious institution or to attend any religious worship...” However, there is a conscience clause: "religious instruction may be imparted to all as a rule except to those who object”. (Art. 22). Dr. Ambedkar, while speaking in the Constituent Assembly said, "A dogma is quite different from study.” The American and the Australian constitutions do not like to make any law for establishing any religion or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. Perhaps, this precaution has been taken to safeguard the abuse of religion. But we must remember that there is a deeply religious strain in our history. Hence the Indian view of religion is not inconsistent with the principles of our Constitution. Here religion is not a creed but realisation, spiritual training, and spiritual enlightenment. Today, truly religious man is the enemy of the established order, not its spokesman. He is a revolutionary who is opposed to every kind of stagnation and pardoning. In a sense religion is the most secular of all pursuits. It starts where
8. Govt. Resolution No. 10/309 dated 2.10.1884 9. Report of the Religious Education Committee of the C.A.B.E. in India, 1945, Govt. of India, Pamphlet No. 33.
January March 1993
Page #16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
10
Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective
man is and goes with him wherever he is and whatever he does. The indian view of religion is universalistic: "God is One; Human nature is One and salvation is One." India has been a meeting place of the great religions and respect for all religions is ingrained in the very blood of Indian culture.
1.5 Hence the Report of the University Education Commission (Dec., 1948-Aug., 1949) under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan stresses the need for religious instruction. "Morality without religion is not enough. Great virtues of loyalty, courage, discipline and self-sacrifice may be used for good and bad means. These are essential for a successful citizen as well as for a successful villain."10 To be secular is not to be religiously illiterate." Its recommendations were for starting work with a few minutes of silent meditation, teaching of the lives of the great religious teachers in the Ist year of Degree Course, some selection of a universal character from the scriptures in the 2nd year and central problems of philosophy and religion in the 3rd year. It was admitted that the attempt to make students moral and religious by the teaching of moral and religious text-books is purile. To construct the intellect is not to improve the heart. The best method of suggestion, is by personal example, daily life and work and books read from day to day. We should not prescribe books which feel an obligation to prove that their religion is true and it alone is true. What is called religious instruction must bring awareness of the great historic insights. 13
13
1.6 Report of the Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), ADMITS THAT "the whole purpose of education is not fulfilled unless certain definite moral principles were inculcated in the minds of the youth of the country". In view of the provisions of the constitution of the Secular State, the Commission recommends that religious instruction cannot be given in schools except on a voluntary basis and outside the regular school hours."
14
1.7 The Committee on Religious and Moral Education of Central Advisory Board of Education constituted in 1959 under the Chairmanship of Sri Prakash disagreed with the earlier CABE Committee of 1946 that religious education should be the business of home and the community of the student concerned. It considered teaching of moral and spiritual values as desirable as well as feasible from the elementary to the university stage. The recomendation was almost similar to that of University Education Commission, 1949.
10. Report of the University Education Commission, Govt. of India, 1948-49, Vol. I. Cha. IV, page 26
11. Ibid., Para 29.
12. General Education in a Free Society, p. 206
13. Report of the University Education Commission. Para, 33
14. Report of the Secondary Education Commission, 1952-53, Govt. of India, Ch. VIII. 3.
15. Report of the Committee on Religious and Moral Instruction, New Delhi Govt. of India, Ministry of Education, 1960
January-March 1993
Page #17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNĀ
.11 1.8 The Education Commission (1964-66) pointed out the need of appreciation of moral and spiritual values and recommended to adopt active measure to give value orientation to education and suggested both direct and indirect measures for moral education. The expanding knowledge and the growing power which it places at the disposal of modern society, must, therefore, be combined with the strengthening and deepening of the sense of social responsibility and a keener appreciation of moral and spiritual values. 16 It distinguished between religious education and education about religions and observed that in a multi-religious democratic State, it is necessary to promote a tolerant study of all religions so that its citizens can understand each other better and live amiably together.!? 1.9 National Policy of Education 1986 emphasises the need of value education because of growing erosion of essential values, also because in our culturally plural society, education should foster universal and eternal values, Value education should lay emphasis on heritage. national goals and universal perceptions. 18 1.10 Report of the Committee for the Review of National Policy on Education 1986 in its final report also felt the need “to assert the almost complete erosion of social spiritual values that we have inherited from our past, but when applied to real life, they come closer to the values of modern science and democracy. For a brighter India of tomorrow we need a new culture which combines the best in both science and spirituality.”
1.11 Both the NCERT and the UGC want to integrate value education in all subjects rather than treat it as a separate subject. A working Group on Valueoriented Education was first set up in 1984 and was reorganised in the context of implementation of NPE-1986. Association of Indian Universities has also appointed a Committee on human values and we have recommendations of A.I.U. National Seminar on Educations and Human Values. (11 point recommendation), So we have the recommendations (5 point) of the U.G.C. Working Group etc.
1.12 The document of the National Policy on Education 1967 emphasised "the cultivation of moral and social values. The educational system must produce youngmen and women of character and ability committed to national service and development.”:20
16. Report of the Education Commission (1964-66), New Delhi Govt. of India, 1966, p.19 17. Ibid, p.20 18. National Policy on Education, 1986 New Delhi: Govt of India, May 1986 - 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, p.21 19. Towards an Enlightened and Humane Society, New Delhi Govt. of India, 1990, Vol. I. Preface-II 20. National Policvon Education 1967, New Delhi: Govt. of India, Ministry of Education, 1968, Para-3, p.2
January-March 1993
Page #18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
12
Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective
1.13 The Report of the Committee of the Members of Parliament on National Policy of Education 1967 emphasised to strengthen National unity, promote social integration, accelerate economic growth and generate moral, social and spiritual values. "21 1.14 The abortive Draft of National Policy on Education 1979 during the Janata regime emphasising Gandhian ideas and experiements had advocated the need of moral education as forming part of the content through inter-related curricular and co-curricular programmes in all subjects and should be the responsibility of all teachers and the entire institution."22 Justice V.M. Tarkunde's document “Education for our People” suggests that we should recognise the significance of "social objectives.... and values of truth, equality, freedom, justice and dignity of the individual."23 2.1 To me, the cause of the growing alienation of our educational, system with moral and spiritual values despite recommendations of the various education Commissions, lies in the “politicking of education" and lack of political will,of the leadership. It is also due to the so-called wrong emphasis on distorted secularism. The framers of the Constitution perhaps failed to take note of the fact that religion is inseparable from life in India. Indian culture is deeply rooted in religious and spiritual values. Those who feel that morality can take the place of religion, donot realize insufficiency of this stand. Apart from question of metaethics as to why should we become moral, we know that great moral values of courage, self sacrifice, loyalty may be displayed for good or bad means. Hence morality can stand, safely only on the footboard of religious and spiritual values. 2.2 'Secularism 24 inserted in the Preamule of the constitution, should never mean “no to religion” but simply that there is no “State religion” and the State must not be partial to any one religion. It should be noted that except in the Preamble and that too inserted during the emergency period in India, the word 'secularism' no where occurs in the whole body of the constitution. Hence secularism in the Indian context means Sarva-dharma-Samabhava which Gandhi had preached and practised as a sacred vow of his life. The National Education Conference organised by A-I. Nai Talim Samiti also recommends inculcation of ethical, moral and human values and proper understanding of the essential unity and equal respect for all religions." 2.3 If we had introduced a reverent study of the essentials of all religions, it would have been uniquely rewarding today and much of the virus of religious fundamentalism would have been wiped out among the younger generation. This spirit of
21. Report of the Committee of the Members of Parliament on N.P.E. 1967, New Delhi: Ministry of Education, Para-2, p.1 24. Forty-Second Amendment Act (of the Constitution of India) 1976. 25. National Education Conference: Consensus on Action Programme, Wardha, 1977, Para 2, p.5
January-March 1993
Page #19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJÑA
13 religious and cultural synthesis is rooted in our tradition and culture. The famous traveller Itsing says that the University of Nalanda was the meeting ground of the different sects and creeds with their possible and impossible doctrines". Harsh Charita of Vāņa Bhatra refers to Divakarmitra's hermitage of crowds of students belonging to different creeds - Hindus, Buddhist, Jainas, Lokayatas etc. During mediaval times, in Emperor Akbar's royal court, there used to be free, fair and friendly discussion among the followers of the different religions. In the modern times, there have been serious and saner attempts to show the fundamental unity among all religions, whether it be Theosophists or Raja Ram Mohan Roy (Universal Religion), Vivekanand (Universal Religion in place of Personal religion), Tagore (Religion of Man) and Gandhi (Sarva-dharma-Samabhāva). In a multi-religious and multi-cultural society such as ours, it is imperative to promote tolerant study of all religions. We have to keep in mind the words of poet Iqbal: Religions do not teach us to quarrel. (Majhab nahi sikhata apas me bair rakhna).
2.4 The 19th Century liberal point of view concerning the imparting of religious education has lost sight and weight. At first it was considered that religions would stand in the way of the intellectual development of the child but now it has been admitted that religious education cannot be dispensed with. “If national education was devoid of this element, there would be no appreciation of moral values or moulding of character of human lives"26- observed Maulana Azad, then Minister of Education addressing C.A.E.B. meeting. He was correct to assert that millions of Indians are not prepared to see that their children are brought up inanirreligious atmosphere. Now if Govt. does not undertake this responsibility, people will provide privately which will be much more injurious. The Emotional Integration Committee headed by Dr. Sampurna Nand has explicity recommended that "education will be incomplete if students are not helped to appreciate spiritual values, which the various religions present to the people.”27 Sir Michael Sadler, a British educationist, also upholds the value of moral instruction "which aims definitely at frunishing ideas which may help in giving a right direction to conduct."28 Pericle's, dictum is revealing. “A citizen who plays no part in public affairs is not "quiet” but “useless”. The end of moral education being good conduct, its sphere is essentially voluntary action. Hence moral education is concerned with the proper development of the will and its training so as to produce what Kant called a good-will, a fixed disposition to do what is right. Moral teaching, to have the best effect, should be informal in character. “To know is not necessarily to do", and moral instruction is useless without moral activity"
26. Proceedings of the 14th Meeting of the CABE, Govt. of India, New Delhi, Pamphlet No. 51 27. Report of the Committee on Emotional Integration, 1961, Delhi' Publications Division, 1962, Para 11.3.5. 28. Sadler, Michael, “Introduction to Moral Instruction and Training in Schools” quoted, John Mac Gunn's The Making of Character, Cambridge University Press, 1908
January March 1993
Page #20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
14.
Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective
3.1 There is a dilemma: If Gandhi regarded "Character-building" as the goal of education, why is it so that the Wardha Education Conference on Basic Education in 1937 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Zakir Hussain did not contain any reference to moral and religious education.29 Gandhiji clarified his position to a delegation led by Hindustani Talimi Sangh in June 1938 as follows: "We have left out the teachings of religion from the Wardha Scheme of education because we are afraid that religions as they are taught and practised today lead to conflict rather than unity.30 But he held that "truths that are common to all religions can be taught to all children."" Gandhi did not believe in State religion though the whole community might have one religion. He was therefore also opposed to State aid, partly or wholly, to religious bodies. But "this does not mean that the State schools should not give ethical teaching. The fundamental ethics were common to all religions."32 He was of the view that State can concern or cope itself with religious instruction. It should be the sole business of religious associations. We should not mix up religion and ethics. According to him fundamental ethics is common to all religions. Hence teaching of fundamental ethics is undoubtedly the function of the State.33
3.2 When Gandhi uses religion here, he has not in mind fundamental ethics but what goes by the name of denominationalism. It is right when he says that we have suffered enough from State-aided religion and a State Church.34 Religion is a personal matter and if we succeeded in confining it to the personal plane, all would be well in our political life. 35
3.3 Gandhi tried to universalize religion by introducing two concepts (1) Sarvadharma-Samabhava and (2) the concept of Ethical Religion. If the religious leaders accept this proposition, there will be no difficulty in accepting even religious instruction as necessary part of education. If religion is identified with ethics for practical educational purposes, it becomes universally acceptable. Then the general feeling that moral values seem not only dim and distant, but are beyond human solution.
3.4 No doubt education is expanding at a rapid pace but it is becoming increasingly, and painfully, apparent that knowledge without development of character and sense of values can be of little avail and meaning. 36 Education without a sense of commitment to the people without the faith that "man exists,
29. Educational Reconstruction, Wardha: Hindustani Talimi Sangh,
30. Ibid., p.147
31. Ibid., p.147
32. Harijan, 16.3.1947
33. Harijan, 23.3.1947 34. Ibid.
35. Harijan, 31.8.1947
36. Kothari, D.S., Education and Formation of Character, Acharya Kula Sovenir, Paunar 1980, p.95
January-March 1993
Page #21
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TU L SĨ PRA JỮA
15 for the sake of other man” - can only widen further the desperate gap between the rich and the poor, the few and the vast many. Knowledge and character constitute the core of all progress and well-being. 37 Dr. Kothari finds a moral component in knowledge as reflected in Gandhi's “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”, e to know, to comprehend a moral truth for which one is willing to suffer. Physical education like health care of yoga is an essential complement of moral education. Similarly, a moral component is basic to workexperience, which brings the pupil in direct contact with the community and its problems, particularly of the disadvantaged. Similarly, there is strong moral component in Science education. Science is a powerful force in liberating ourselves from fanaticism, superstition, fatalism, and passive resignation. It promotes, as perhaps nothing else does, tolerance and respect for the views of others, and it strengthens the faith that with determination and hard work man can shape largely his future. Modern Science by revealing the marvellous harmony and sublimity of Nature, and the oneness of all living creatures can effectively reinforce our faith in Ahimsa.38 There is also educational significance of character formation. “A cowardly teacher would never succeed in making his boys valiant, and a stranger to self-restraint could never attract his pupils to the value of selfrestraint."39 He believed that all training without the culture of the spirit was of no use, and might be even harmful."*0 To develop the spirit is to build character and to enable one to work towards a knowledge of God and self-realization. And Gandhi regarded that this was an essential part of the training of the young. He was confident that moral training could be given to all alike, no matter how different their ages and their up-bringing. *! 3.5 In short, culture of heart and development of character was the uppermost in the mind of the Mahatma. Character is above intellectual knowledge. An ounce of virtue is worth tons of high scientific knowledge and skill. He agrees with Vivekananda that the "end of all education and all training, should be manmaking”.42 Education is not the amount of information that is put into our being and runs riot there, undigested all our lives. We must have life-building, charactermaking assimilation of ideas. If education were identical with information, the libraries would be the great sages in the world and encyclopaedias the Rishis."43 The first object of education ought to be to impress on the mind of every child the sanctity of his duty to humanity. “As the soul is the immotal part of man, as morality takes precedence of the intellect in all systems of conduct, we must place
37. Ibid. 38. Ibid., p. 96. 39. Gandhi, M.K., An Autobiography, Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1927, 2nd ed. p. 283. 40. Ibid., p. 282. 41. Ibid., p. 279. 42. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Mayavati, Almorah, 1962, Vol. II., p. 13. 43. Ibid., vol. II, p.302
January-March 1993
Page #22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
16
Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective
the gradual evolution of the sense of duty to mankind as the primary object of a healthy educational system.”44 We may have the most intellectual people the world ever saw and yet we may not come to God at all. On the other hand, irreligious men have been produced from the most intellectual training. Hence intellectual education without taking care of morality“makes men ten times more selfish”. 4S Infusion of piety and religiousness was regarded as the chief aim of education in Ancient India.^6 The formation of character by the proper development of the moral feeling was the second aim of education.47 3.6 However, constant hammering on secularism and modernity have turned the springs of the heart into a commercial account book. The present intense individualism forbids the new generation to look beyond his own self. That is why the attempts of all present-day social reformers are doomed to fail. We forget that science without spirituality is a demon and spirituality without science is like a defenceless woman. Hence Pt. Nehru also had to admit that “Life with science only as its guide and without a spiritual basis is very likely to lead to a disaster for humanity.”48 The Science-based industrialization of the west was brought about at no small cost to human spirit. We can harness science to support rather than weaken our basic commitment to cultural and spiritual values.49 Today, man's knowledge and mastery of outer space and this space within his skull are out of balance.50 The present Western materialism is driving scientific research to the discovery of more and more facts about the external and psysico-chemical world." But it is “Only one aspect of truth.” The other aspect must be sought by an inward journey or exploration. Unless this is done, our emotions and feelings are not linked with the welfare of the society and then the educational enterprise will be socially irrelevant. Bertrand Russell aptly says in Wisdom of the West, “We cannot give scientific justification for the goals that we might pursue, or for the ethical principles that we adopt. No scientific reason can be given why it is bad to inflict wanton cruelty on one's fellows."52 There are two kinds of reality or existence - the existence of my consciousness and the reality or existence of
44. Har Dayal, L., Thoughts on Education, New Delhi: Vivek Swadhyaya Mandal, 1969pp. 1-2 45. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 1962, vol. I. p. 412 46. Altekar, A.S., Education in Ancient India, Benaras: Nandkishore and Bros. 1951, pp 8-9 47. Ibid., p. 11 48. His message to the Seminar on "Science and Spirituality”, Patna, Dec. 1962. 49. Report of the Education Commission, 1964-66, p.21 50. Ibid. 1 p. 22 51: Johnson, Raynor C., Scientific Approach to Reality, Pattikalyana: Gram Bhawan, 1965, p. 22 52. Quoted by D.S. Kothari in Some Thoughts on Science and Religion, New Delhi: R.K. Jain Charitable Trust, 1977, p.3 53. Cyril Hinsaelwood's Presidential Address to the Royal Society of London, 1962 Jamiary March 1993
Page #23
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSĪPRAJNA
17
everything else. "To deny the reality of the inner world is a flat negation of all that is immediate in existence, to minimise its significance is to depreciate the very purpose of living, and to explain it away as a product of natural selection is a plain fallacy."" Although in the popular view, Science refers to the knowledge of the outer world and spirituality to the knowledge of man's spirit or self, in fact, knowledge is one and individual. Science has to be understood in its original meaning of "knowledge", and as such must include both knowledge of the outer world and of man's own nature. Hence, it is necessary to have the integral study of Man.
3.7 Gandhi's concept of education is the integral study of man, which can be supported by a synthesis of science and spirituality. Though the question of religious education is very difficult, yet we cannot do without it." "India will never be Godless. Rank athiesm cannot flourish in this land. (But) our religious teachers are hyprocritical and selfish, they will have to be approached."" True religious teaching is not matter of literature. The essence of religion is a sound character, faith in God and the conviction that the soul is other than the body. This essential religion can only be learnt from the company of goodmen." My only plan for religious teaching, therefore, is to choose goodman as teachers." - says Vinoba. 55
4.1 Education was very close to the heart of Gandhi because he knew that it is the most powerful instrument of human and social transformation. However, he had revolutionary ideas about educational goals and methods. Firstly, to him literacy is not the whole of education. Literary training by itself adds not an inch to moral height and character-building is independent of literary training." Learning without courage is like a waxen statue beautiful to look at but bound to melt at the least touch of a hot substance.57
56
4.2 Mere intellectual knowledge is only one aspect of education. "It ignores the culture of the heart and the hand, and confines itself simply to the head".58 For example, education of heart cannot be imparted through books. It can only be done through the living touch of the teacher.
4.3 The other aspect is the education of the hand. The introduction of manual training as envisaged by Gandhi will have a double purpose. It will pay for the education of our children and will teach them an occupation on which they can fall back in after-life. 59 But most important factor is that work-experience has also a moral context because it joins the student with the community.
54. Gandhi, M.K., Hind Swaraj, Ahmedabad, Navajivan, 1958, p. 92
55. Bhave, V., Thoughts on Education, Varanasi: Sarva Seva Prakashan, 1964, 2nd ed. p. 125.
56. Gandhi, M.K., Young India, 1.6.24
57. Ibid., 12.7.28
58. Ibid., 1.9.1921 59. Ibid.
January-March 1993
Page #24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
18 Value Education for the Gandhian Perspective 4.4 Individual development is not like a water-tight compartment. It goes on with development of society. Hence, individualistic values of education is a wrong and wornout conception. Today, the Educational Policies and even the U.G.C. recognise extension as an integral function which means application of knowledge to real life. The University system has to discharge adequately the responsibilities to the entire educational system and to the society as a whole. Exposure of students to extension activities and through them to the open challenges of community development work will provide necessary sinews and social intelligence to emphasise, elevate and enthuse the community towards hard work, self-reliance for solving problems.61 The University, in turn will also receive a very useful feedback from the extension work which could provide an ins necessary social reality. If the education is not to be allowed to be elitist and antipeople, the University system must be forged with rural economies. 4.5 Like forging education with community developement, we cannot forget the value of cultivating peace in education. “Peace-education has a tremendous relevance in the present global crisis."64 We have to find out an alternative to war and violence. Peace-Research' or Peace-Education is not a fad, it is a necessity for the very preservation of the present civilization. Today, we face the choice of rolling down a nuclear abyss to ruin and annihilation or of raising himself to new heights of glory and fulfilment yet unimagined."We have choice between atom and ahimsa, between co-existence and non-existence. 4.6 Lastly, Gandhi wanted synthesis of Science and spirituality to be adopted as a value of education. We have been living in an age of tension. Hence unless we develop an attitude of a sense of duty without attachment (Anasakti), we cannot keep our peace of mind and poise. Similarly, our modern culture has made us a slave of consumerism, extravagance and unending wants. Hence, we need an education which will train us to control our desires and practise simple life. Desires are endless, hence we should learn to control them.
60. B.S. Nagarajan, R. Dhandapani, N. Narayanswamy (ed.) Linking extension with University Curriculum, Gandhigram. G.R.I., 1984, p. VI 61. Subramanian, R., Universities and Villages, Gandhigram 1978, pp. 1-2 62. Devendra Kumar, Universities and the Community, Gandhigram 1989, p.1 63. Agrawal, M.K. Gandhi Marg (Peace Education Number), July-Aug. 84, p. 1 64. Report of the Education Commission, 1964-66, p.22
January-March 1993
Page #25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TUL SĨ PRA J&A
19
Values in the tradition of Indian thinking
and Values relevant to our contemporary needs
S.P.Banerjee
Every community or country tries to reassess its value-frame periodically in its attempt to sustain itself, if possible, with dignity. The need of such reappraisal is felt more acutely in the periods of crisis, supposed or genuine. There is a widespread feeling in our contemporary society that the present state of affairs in our society is far from normal and symptoms of a disease are manifesting themselves through degeneration and decadence in all fields of our social and cultural life. The political arena shows shameless corruption and gross violation of minimum norms of decency and decorum in almost all places, high and low, and academic field is showing signs of utter frustration as shown through rampant malpractices in examination and careless teaching; the religious attitude is becoming more and more fundamentalist and intolerant and above all, there is lack of mutual trust and respect. Consumerism in the economic field, gross hedonism in moral life and cynicism and scepticism about the political authority or any sort of value-structure are resulting in ultimate frustration and despair and most serious of all, in failing out of the vitality of the nation as expressed through a lack of innovativeness and creativity.
To the discerning section of the society this is high time that we take a close look at our cultural roots and find out if the ills stem out therefrom. Fortunately or unfortunately our country has a cultural heritage which is at least five thousand years old and quite a few of its elements have been widely appreciated and acclaimed. But that should not lead us to complacence and need not blind us to the dead log in our cultural heritage which is irrelevant to the needs of our society today. It is, therefore, proper that we reassess our cultural heritage in order to determine what is to be retained, what is to be rejected and what is to be modified and readjusted to the conditions of a free, multilingual, multireligious society with inevitable ethnic pluralism. A very significant historical reality to which we must pay our serious attention is the comprehensive attack on our cultural moorings by the colonizers of the recent past who planned to throw the community totally out of its keel in order to implant new, alien structures to facilitate and retain their
January-March 1993
Page #26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
20
Value in the Tradition of Indian thinking & Values Relevant
political and financial stranglehold on the country. However, it will againbe going to the other extreme if one thinks that whatever has come from the foreign colonizers who ruled the country immediately before our achievement of political freedom, is all bad and injurious to our culture. What is being suggested is that the concerted effort of the foreign rulers to denigrate our cultural moorings including all the important institutions like family, education, religion and policy had devising effect on these institutions and our present ills might have some of the causes in this phenomenon. And before this, the loss of political independence since around 1000 A.D. with the advent of the Muslim invasion with its strong unilinear culture and did also affect the character of the practice born out of the traditional culture.
II Thereis a common belief, reinforced by eminent writers like S.Radhakrishnan, that Indian tradition is out and out spiritual in nature. Indian tradition is disrespectful of material progress and affluence and all that matters is progress in the realm of consciousness and spirit and not in physical and the surrounding material/natural environment. This monolithic view of Indian Cultural tradition is not correct. There are, as is evident from a general look at Indian cultural history, at least two clear trends in our cultural tradition, e.g. atmavādi (spiritualistic) and anātmavādi or svabhávavādi (materialistic). The conception of the ultimate values or summum bonum of life does also bear out this contention. Four puruşarthas or basic values are mentioned - artha, kāma, dharma and mokşa. It depends on the nature of the philosophical system as to how these values are ordered and priority accorded to them. As for example, in a common sense naturalistic trend of thinking (lokayata) artha and kama will have preference to or desired of others while in a system like Advaita Vedānta moksa certainly is the highest value. But other values are not totally rejected or ignored. For the practical life of a man they also have their respective roles to play. And this sense of balancing of harmony (Samanvaya) is one of the cardinal values in the Indian tradition. Harmony does imply a gradation a hierarchy. A good harmonious life requires all aspects of life to be kept together. In the upanişadic thinking also one finds this hierarchical ordering, not rejection, of the need of all of the stages in man's march towards his goal even in spiritualism e.g. as in the acceptance of annamaya (material) pranamaya (vital), manomaya (physical) vijnanamaya (intellectual) an anandamaya (blissfül) stage. Sri Aurobindo, the great sage and savant of modern India, very aptly remarks: “A true happiness in this world is the right terrestrial aim of man, and true happiness lies in the finding and maintenance of a natural harmony of spirit, mind and body. A culture is to be valued to the extent to which it has discovered the right key of this harmony and organised its expressive motives and movements. And a civilization must be judged by the manner in which all its principles, ideas, forms, ways of living work to bring that harmony out, manage its rhythmic play and secure its continuance or the development of its motives”. January-March 1993
Page #27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNĀ
21
The concept of harmony implies a very important value almost as its logical corollary, i.e., tolerance. There is no exact Sanskrit synonym for this English word, but the suggestion and its bearing is clearly manifest even in the life of an ordinary Indian of yesterdays. It does not connote the dictionary meaning of the term 'tolerance' which has a negative sense tolerating the intolerable. In the Indian traditional context it would rather signify the healthy attitude of mutual trust and respect and sincere attempt to understand the other's point of view without giving up ones own justified conviction. But there would also be readiness not only to tolerate but also to accept the others point of view if it is rationally superior and is of higher moral virtue. Tolerance would rather mean to give up any claim of exclusive truth or superiority for ones own religion or point of view and accept that other views/religious can be equally true or valid. This mental makeup may be the proper background of the modern fashionable concept of secularism - acceptance of all positive religious values as equally good and not rejection of all of them simply because they are enshrined in different religions. Though it sounds quite impractical, we find in Sri Ramakrishna's teaching a grand example of this sort of acceptance..
-
A very important puruṣartha is dharma. It connotes different things but the English term 'religion' should not be taken as the synonym of dharma. The word 'dharma' comes from the root dhr. (dhr + man) which means that which holds something up. Dharma etymologically implies the nature of something, e.g., it is the dharma or nature of water to flow downwards. But dharma also means duty. In the Mahabharata, specially in the Gita, we come across different uses of the term dharma in one of which it comes nearest to the English term religion as in 'Sarvadharman parityajya mamekam Saranam vraja Dharma may function as a natural or descriptive concept oras a moral or prescriptive concept (the way things are and the way they ought to be). It is thus easy to confuse between the two uses - descriptive and prescriptive - that which happens to be the way of something and、 that which is commendable. According to some, this confusion is at the root for justifying caste system in its present form. The system if justified on the ground that it is a part of the varnasrama dharma, the implication being that the inequalities inherent in the hierarchical system ought to be there (dharma in the prescriptive sense) for no better reason than that they happen to be there (dharma in the prescriptive sense) for no better reason than that they happen to be there (dharma as natural). However, it has to be mentioned in this context that in the Hindu tradition the moral use of the term 'dharma' is a derivative of its natural use, and ultimately something ought to be so because that will be the fulfilment of its nature. One point should be noted in passing, though we may have some discussion later on this subject, that there is general misunderstanding about varnasrama dharma as varna is usually understood as a synonym for jati (caste). It is not so. Varna is a functional distinction as distinguished from jati. It is based on the recognition of, what is described in present day fashionable phrase,
January-March 1993
Page #28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
22 Value in the Tradition of Indian thinking & Values Relevant difference in aptitudes and innate capacity to do some sort of work rather than the other.
In sástras and purānas a number of dharmas has been mentioned. Svadharma, paradharma, yugadharma, etc. are well-known. Ahimsā (non-violence), Satya (truth) aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts) etc. have been mentioned as dharma in the sāstras. These are cardinal values/virtues for any human community.
Be that as it may, it may be noted that a comprehensive and balanced outlook about human life has permeated the traditional Hindu thinking. Hinduism does not discourage earning money. There are hundreds of titisatākas, the Itihasapuranas, frutis which urge man to work hard and become prosperous. It has even been said that without money dharma is not possible. Udyama, sahasa and yatna are encouraged for becoming prosperous. But what is not approved of is prosperity without proper effort for acquiring it or amassing too much of wealth, by depriving others. Money has great value but only as a means and not as an end in itself. It is a means to promoting moral life through its proper utilization in charity and sharing with others. Accumulation of wealth without limit and continued effort to multiply it is called avarice (lobha) and in Hindu ethics this is most despicable. This is a hindrance to man's proper activity - trying to realize himself through contemplation. Restraint and proper control of all avenues of enjoyment to live a balanced life directed towards achieving the highest goal in freedom or ananda has been the basic tenet in the Hindu ethos. Life must be full and of quality. The atmavadi tradition would prescribe for it a march in the depth of consciousness (this is proper yoga) to arouse oneself to his/her fullness. The Mahābhārata specifically mentions that the greatest ideal for a human being is to be a selffulfilled man of poise, of wisdom, of contentment and composure, cultured and restrained. The Māhābhārat mentions the good and learned Brāhmana who lived. by unchhavrtti (sila on natural bounty of the Indian forests) with his family in Kurukshetra, who in his poverty, contentment, independence and spirit of sacrifice was even greater than the great virtuous emperor Yudhisthira. The virtuous butcher of Mithila, the upright shopkeeper Tulādhara of Benares, though poor and of low profession, were great people who could teach the Brahmanas about Brahman. The harmonious character with piety and contentment was adored as the shining jewel. The basic attitude is relativistic - accommodative - rather than of exclusiveness as in either - or attitude. It is an attitude of all plus - not rejecting or having outside any positive moral value received from any quarters.
It is never claimed that ancient Hindu attitude was an epitome of all positive values in its best. But it is difficult, if not otherwise motivated, to miss the lofty, open minded attitude, respectful of all other views, when there was no direct challenge to this and an attempt to utilize this broadness to wipe it out of existence. The multi-dimensional concept of dharma if not anything else, at least stands for a broad humanistic stand on the life of the individual in its private and social aspects. It pleads for a sense of charitable balance and open-mindedness in all aspects of life.
January-March 1993
Page #29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNĀ
III
The description given above is of a period of at least one thousand years from now - when the śastric injunctions were the highest. We have a vivid, detailed discussion of all these things in the dharma sastras, Mahābhārata and specially Kautilya's Arthasastra. Arthasastra shows that despite the somewhat loose pluralistic social structure of the Hindu culture - and its decentralized functioning, a well-planned and highly efficient central apparatus could be devised to see to the smooth functioning of this structure. It did not interfere with the basic varṇāśrama dharma and the centralised governmental powers to deal with anything contrary to the political authority. There are also reasons to believe that ownership of land in ancient times was communal of which practice the jajmani idea that even when one owned land one was obliged to give various shares of the produce of the land to the people who worked on it and even allocate some land to them, for an example. So, it appears that the fashionable cliche of modern times - socialism and social justice were not only known but were also actually practised in the society. Inroads were made first around 1000 A.D. by the Islamic invasion and settlement. Islamic assumptions were absolutistic which found Hindu culture with its relativistic pluralistic-polytheistic religious and social practices a sources of great irritation and so tried to break them down. Sir Henry Maine points out that even Hindu law was not recognized by Islam for which it was mandatory to introduce Islamic law within its dominions. As Maine says, the government of the day behaved as if the laws did not exist. And this was a great change from the rude shock to the Hindu assumption that the dharma of the government was to protect and further the righteous social order instituted by the sacred Hindu law. So, the atmosphere was unfavourable, if not hostile, to the growth and sustenance of Hindu culture. Signs of decadence were visible and in its attempt to survive the culture further tightened up its own laws within its own communities and in the process became static and conservative. The Varnasrama was converted to the jati system with despicable results and abominable practice of untouchability. It is anybody's guess as to whether the relativistic-accommodative spirit would have changed into its opposite if there was no take over by the Islam. But the fact remains that in its attempt to survive Hindu ethos underwent a radical change for the worse - from openness to narrowness, from accommodation to rejection, from catholicism to conservation. Wrong application of certain moral values made them offensive and the original practice of hierarchy based on quality and action turned into a rigid caste system with oppressive practices on the so-called Sudras. The Hindu society also failed to absorb the tribals into its folds which resulted either in their being converted to muslims or later, in a large number during the British days, into christians.
23
The worst attack came from the Britishers. While Islam was generally intolerant of Hindu laws, practices and culture, it somehow was integrated in the cultural milieu creating a new sort of composite culture. But the Britishers were alien in all senses of the term and tried not only to impose their own culture but tried to do so only after branding the existing rich culture as barbarous and
January-March 1993
Page #30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
24 Value in the Tradition of Indian thinking & Values Relevant primitive and destroying it to its core and marrow. The foreign rulers not only spread an image of superman about themselves but took all pains to prove the inferiority of the traditional culture and establish in converting many Hindus to christianity but also to culturally alienate the English-educated elite to subvert Indian culture through their westernized mentality.
Swami Vivekananda, an English-educated Indian, was one of the few pioneers who fathomed the depth of the danger and a life-long teacher tried to uphold the superiority of the traditional culture in eloquent and argumentative way. He gave a new focus and direction to the Advaita Vedānta, usually scoffed off as totally inapplicable to worldly affairs, in a strongly action-oriented pattern for the benefit of the man in the street in his ordinary way of living. He tried his best to generate a new hope through reasserting our faith in our humanistic, noble culture and resurgence of patriotism. This was a direct confrontation between the culture of the conqueror and that of the conquered. Sir John Woodroffe, a sincere admirer of Indian tradition and culture, sensed a peril Indian culture was running in the broad perspective of the conflict between European and Asiatic cultures and expressed his deep concern for the preservation of Indian culture as its destruction, in his estimate, would be a disaster for the entire human community. Another great personality to visualize the impending danger attempted to be created through the lure of material prosperity and Macaulization of the indigenous system of education was Sri Aurobindo, the great revolutionary turned a Yogi in the wider and deeper interest of the country for spiritual revitalization. He warned about seven decades ago that 'material comfort, material progress and material efficiency' become the 'gods of worship'. He observed that the cultural dominative of the alien colonizers did tend not only to dominate but also to ruin the rich cultural heritage of India. Sri Aurobindo writes:3 "Already she (India) has been largely affected by European culture and the peril is far from over, on the contrary it will be greater, more insistent, more imperatively violent in the immediate future". How much true is it today. In my own experience I have come to see, while touring the length and breadth of the country along with the National Commission on Teachers (1983), that "English-medium Schools” have mushroomed even in remote villages and even the poor, the simple tribal tries to send his ward to these or missionary schools in the hope of securing a white-collar job for his wards when grown up. This tendency exposes the cultural confusion that exists in the mind of the “educated” power-elite which has not been able to get over the colonial hang over. Almost in every educational cupboard Macaulay's ghosts are discovered. The elite has tried to pass it off as a conflict between “tradition and modernity” and squarely places the blame on the “illiterate” mass of common people. But the reality is that the common man is ready to accept the benefit of all scientific and technological innovations provided in his native wisdom he is convinced of its efficacy. But it is the elite who suffers from the conflict as he cannot totally get rid of the cultural moorings nor can he avoid the effects of his education. For him “modernization” is a synonym for “westernization", a senseless aping of the western culture. “Modernity" can never be achieved by trying to ape or graft January March 1993
Page #31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNA
25
another alien life-style on our own. It has to well up from our own cultural moorings and traditions. Nobody can jump out of his skin however profitable it might be to do so. The material affluence of the western society need not drive us off our rails as material prosperity is not the last word in human civilization. We do certainly need new techniques and science to harness nature and produce more for our bio-physical existence. But that cannot be the sole aim of the human
munity. Modernity has to come from within, integrated with our life-style and with our humanistic cultural parameters. Creation of "scientific temperament" is certainly very necessary as it implies freedom from superstition and readiness to accept facts as they are. While accepting this attitude judiciously and opening ourselves up to the advanced world", we need not give up our relativisticpluralistic-synthetic outlook and choose the analytic-abstract and exclusive attitude of European culture. Rationality is very valuable but not at the cost of reasonableness. Material progress is certainly necessary, food has to be found for the millions of our countrymen, but the solution of the problem does not need throwing our humanistic foundation overboard. Our resurgent march in science and technology, medicine and other practical sciences can be most meaningful it can be integrated with our broad cultural framework. The framework, of course, needs reassessment to identify what is living and relevant to our present needs and. what has become totally irrelevant with the passage of time. The height of progress that was achieved in Astronomy. Geometry, Ayurveda, Satyavidyā and such other sciences can be integrated with the new developments in this fields in modern times. While we have to worship science and technology, we need not make a fetish of them and give up our spiritual grounding in the hope of attaining material affluence.
We may now clearly state the points made above. We have noted that the traditional Indian culture which is at least 5000 years old has many laudable features in it. It is broadly humanistic, catholic and accommodative. One of its basic elements is an attempt at harmony (samanvaya) which results in tolerance in the positive sense of the term. Dharma in its multidimensionaluse characterizes the tradition. Though the tradition is not averse to artha and kāma (it rather encourages their proper and judicious role), it directs itself to a higher level of spiritual ideal in which alone man finds his fulfilment.
However, we have also to note that some of the important aspects have become quite irrelevant or repugnant and therefore, discardable. As the original ideal of Varnāsrama dharma has been lost and it has degenerated into rigid caste system, it is better for us the sooner it is totally rejected. So also is the case with the barbarous practice of untouchability. It is obnoxious and cruel and cannot be accommodated within the broad humanistic perspective of our culture. While spiritual base of our culture has to retained, the practice need not be totally antimaterialistic and body-despising. The robust, health outlook of a full life and life of quality has to be rejuvinated. The concept of social justice and fairness which was not absent in the tradition has to be reinforced. Our newly acquired form of
January-March 1993
Page #32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
26
Value in the Tradition of Indian thinking & Values Relevant
polity - the democratic structure of the society - has to be solidly founded. There
inherent values/virtues in the democratic form of government, e.g., liberty, equability justice and fairness, equality before the law which are to be properly inculcated to build up a proper egalitarian society. Of course, these values were not unknown to our tradition. The Gupta period and Asoka's rule can exemplify the existence of these values and their implementation in practice. One virtue which appears most important today is the revival of respect for our tradition and deep love for our motherland. Both have started disappearing, paradoxically enough, after the achievement of our political freedom. Our deepest crisis lies in this gradual feeding out of love and respect for our humanistic tradition, its resurgent power and genuine cosmopolitanism arising out of patriotism. As Sri Aurobindo says: "Either India will be rationalised and industralized out of all recognition and she will be the leader in a new world-phase, aid by her example and cultural infiltration the new tendencies of the West and spiritualise the human race. That is the one radical and poignant question at issue."!
As we have noted above, a “rational" attitude is certainly constitutive of the scientific temperament. But if it is bereft of the human qualities, it becomes mechanical and dehumanizing. So we would rather prefer“reasonable” outlook - rationality plus humaneness - rather than a rigid, analytic, abstract, exclusive and mechanical atmosphere of rationality.
India is at cross-roads today. She has to decide upon her course of action in accordance with the value-structure she chooses. If the rationalistic-atomistic model of European culture with its triumphant march to material progress through tremendous progress in science and technology is our choice, we have to initiate whole-heartedly a fundamental chance in our culture totally removed from, if not opposed to our spiritualistic-organic-synthetic cultural frame-work. But is it possible or desirable? Should we substitute reasonableness for rationality, accommodation for exclusion, spiritualism for materialism? And why, after all. should we try to jump out of our skin?
If the warnings of our greatest teachers and transvaluers of values like Swami Vivekananda, Şri Aurobindo, Rabindranath and Gandhiji are to be heeded, India will commit suicide if she tries to change her cultural mooring and foundation. While we must be open to receive all information and knowledge for the material betterment and prosperity of our country, we need not abandon our synthetichumanistic-spiritualistic attitude and feel apologetic for our lack of material affluence. We must remember that: “There is behind our imperfect cultural figures a permanent spirit to'which we must cling and which will remain permanent even hereafter; there are certain fundamental motives or essential ideaforces which cannot be thrown aside, because they are part of the vital principle of our being and of the aim of Nature in us, our Svadharma”. We have also to remember that along with this permanent nature, Svadharma, there is also the law of mutation as contained in Yugadharma- which is possible only on the background of Svadharma. Becoming needs being on which it rests. Sri Aurobindo,
January-March 1993
Page #33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
the seer, has the vision. "The race must obey this double principle of persistence and mutation or bear the penalty of a decay and deterioration that may taint even its living centre.
996
The crying need of the hour is taking recourse to the basic cultural framework of harmoniously synthesising the spiritual grounding with the material needs/ scientific attitude, persistence with dynamism. A community need not become an exclusive worshipper of material progress for affluence. The Indian cultural traditional has withstood the ravages of time not certainly through a materialistic world view. A proper synthesis between spiritualism and materialism is possible and India's genius can achieve it as prophesied by the great modern seer Sri Aurobindo.
The greatest single factor other than the sincere political will to rejuvenate the country and preserve its democratic egalitarian structure is education. Education is nothing if it is not value-education. Through the system itself, through the example of the teacher some basic human values, e.g., fellow-feeling, sharing with others, discerning of the right and wrong and practising the right, not encroaching upon others' rights, spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding can be generated. The ultimate goal is achievement of human freedom, political, economic and cultural, which manifests itself in creativity.
It is not a little interesting to note that Karl Max, advocating and upholding the theory of dialectical materialism, has in the end of the journey through violent revolution, reached a fully spiritualistic conception of man - man free from alicnation and contradiction - returning to him through creativity - actualizing all his potentialities and becoming a Complete Man. Interestingly again, Rabindranath, through a completely different route, e.g., that of the Indian tradition, reaches the same man, creative and always "exceeding himself" through the "surplus" in him and becoming the Universal Man. So the ideal is there and it is beaconing us to proper action.
27
Whatever the challenges of the present times, our motherland with its tradition and readjustment of the traditional values to the contemporary needs will be able to face up to them and retain its own perspective. Darkness is the deepest just before the dawn. And that glorious dawn has been signalled by our greatest modern teachers and revolutionaries like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Rabindranath and Gandhi.
1.
Sri Aurobindo - The Foundations of Indian Culture, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Fifth Impression, 1985, p.2
2. Quoted by William Adam in his Law and Custom of Slavery in British India. Sri Aurobindo - The Foundations of Indian Culture, p.6.
3.
4. Ibid, p.11
5. Ibid, p.32.
6. Ibid, pp.32-33.
Notes and References
January-March 1993
Page #34
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
28
TULSI PRAJÑA
Social Ethos and Education: Search for Basic Premises
R.P.Sharma
Einstein, once opening a famous lecture said, “If you wish to learn from the theoretical physicist any thing about the method he uses, I would give you the following piece of advice Don't listen to his words, examine his achievements.” This piece of advice loses none of its excellent qualities when extended to education – including that of teachers and teacher educators. In fact its significance becomes all the more articulate as well as pertinent in the case of teacher education as and when we search for the basic premises and extended parameters of this field of study. Not that teacher education has not been partaking of the lessings vouchsafed by the present civilisation, what is poignant about the situation is that more than any other profession education has not acquired the place of honour it deseives. This situation is a consequence of certain reasons which are conspicuously present in the field even today.
Going into the etiology of the marginalisation to which education in general and teacher education in particular have been subjected in all the practical affairs of human being what one cannot miss finding, is the glaring omission of concern for all those sensitivities which characterise our existence today. Freedom, choice, self responsibility, sympathy, commitment to values that transcend the 'narrow domestic walls' and are held high for their intrinsicality, have lost their value at the rialto. It was this value-shift, more than any other development that Martin Buber had in mind when he made that passionate comment, “Education has lost the paradise of instinctiveness and works at the plough for its bread and butter.”
What is startling, if not shocking, for all of us engaged in humanistic pursuit of the genre that education and other social sciences belong to, is the barbed comment that (juxtaposed to practical disciplines and others with consumer values) social sciences seem to be 'swimming in wordy vacuity'. To be fair to all those who launch this critical assault on the nature and value of subjects like education, one has little option but to acknowledge that the positive sciences have acquired laudably elaborate repertoire of intellectual instrumentalities and that their contribution to advancement of knowledge and modes of living is compelling and convincing, besides being all-pervasive.
January-March 1993
Page #35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Social Ethos and Education: Search for Basic Premises
29 However, without meaning to fault positive sciences for their achievement what is crucial is that for man at large science has become a frame for the problems and issues which do not fall into its ambit. Hum not thrive on judgement of facts only and it needs no authority to attest that our lives are made richer by our choice of values we cherish. Making empirical-logical proofs as the source of knowledge may make for a sound epistemology but would end up with a suspect, rather anaemic axiology and inane ontology. Science for all purposes, unabashedly excels in projecting its image of imperson arrogate and assign questions of human values (and of ultimate nature) to science is a poor attempt at spanning the value interregnum that exists between two valued ventures of humanity on march. The twain could meet only when we reclaim or even reconstruct a climate which presupposes an ethos that generates greater respect for man as subject and not a mere entity, reduced to an object governable by natural laws, formulated by man. To press the point further, for instance objectively, which is a necessary condition for ascertaining the facts, now passes for a creed dispensing with the 'freedom of will' and intuitive expression. This proselytising posture of positive sciences has heightened the crisis in the affairs of men which by any yard stick are not confined to factual knowledge only. Our preoccupation with issues that are quite remote from active human concern has resulted in the neglect of the problems that are seminal for disciplines dealing with human sensitivities - say, the problem of values in education. This is a crucial point and therefore needs a thorough consideration.
Education for all its content, intents and purposes, is a social endeavour. It operates in a social milieu. Even while narrowing its focus on the development of certain acquisitions and skills, on the part of its beneficiaries, it can ill-afford to ignore the cultural context. The culture lends character to this deliberate human endeavour is as much evident in operation that are social as also the ones belonging to an individual, Robinson Crusoes not withstanding. However, without, by any means, belittling the achievement of science - it is an indispensable part of human history and its glorious achievements, what seems to be crucial for us is the fresh point we have reached with regard to our choice of a philosophy of life and value system which would make our lives more meaningful and purposeful. Living in a state of suspended animation we are, in the words of Mathew Arnold, "Wandering between two worlds, one dead and the other powerless to be born."
The situation mentioned above appears all the more precarious when perceived from the point of view of education. For that matter the so-called advance in education, in the absence of consolidated gains that are human and human is nothing short of riding a tiger. This is bound to happen where change proxys for progress. To say that every phase of progress involves change is an analytical proposition: it does not extend the case of human progress, which necessarily has to be a judgement of value. It has to spell out every phase of change in terms of its desirability and not in the usage of the desired, the later one leading us to the well-known naturalistic fallacy. To derive a judgement of value from the
January-March 1993
Page #36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
30
TULSI PRAJŇA factual judgement, is a bad logic and that is what is buttressing the course and direction of education today the world over. The issue at stake is as to what should be the overriding concern of education from amongst the choices available. Who should be the presiding deity? There is a bewildering array of typologies of values to choose from. However the question is not merely to pick up one such prescription and follow it in toto. What we need is to visualise education in its entirety — wherein philosophy provides vision, sociology, the setting and psychology, the drive and personality. While all these dimensions need to be studied time and again, the present endeavour intends to probe the premises that should provide bases for the value studies and orientation in education. These premises are to be found in the social ethos of the peopie as would impinge on all, in every time and clime.
At this juncture some analysis of the term Ethos of a people would be helpful. This social idiom quite simply connote ‘moral habitudes of thought and action of different people and times, the German word that approximates this meaning. is called sitten. However, the term Ethos (of a people) has Greck origin and is constituted by definite rules and precepts. Then Ten Commandments of the Jews. the “Dashakam Dharma Lakshanam" (the ten characteristic constituents of dharmas) held in ancient India and similar codes of conduct enunciated by different social groups form an important element of the Ethos of the respective people of those times. But these definite commands and precepts form only one part of the social Ethos -- which also consists in 'recognised habits of action and standards of judgement' defying a precise formulation. For Mackenzie (A Manual of Ethics) the Ethos of a people, constitutes the atmosphere in which the best members of a race habitually live ... it constitutes the universe of their moral activities.'
For us, responding to the issues concerning the axiological bases of education · it is imperative to explore and bring to light all those facets of thought and habitude which remain implicit or for that matter. get sidelined in the presence of some newfangled assertions. Besides, these are those formidable assumptions which with the passage of time are conveniently forgotten. The trite comment by R.L.Hemm “Too often adults know the answer but they have forgotten the question” is a fair description of our attitude to the problem of values in education --- the numerous seminars and the resultant publications have yet to provide us with a framework or a package which would guide our practices in education.
An exhaustive treatment of all the elements that constitute an ethos of a people would be unquestionably beyond the scope of this write-up. However, I would like to formulate in philosophical terms some significant thought constructs which provide terrafirma for reconstruction of a value system which should dissolve the epochal crisis we have been thrown into.
Lest I should be guilty of missing the obvious, let me for a while examine the place of culture in this context. The term culture like education is a complex January-March 1993
Page #37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Social Ethos and Education: Search for Basic Premises
31
concept and admits more of confusion than clarity in its ambit. For instance, Mathew Arnold defines culture as 'the best that has been thought and spoken in the past'. Newsman's definition of culture' as the 'pursuit of perfection also underlines 'the values and 'excellence'. There are quite a few others who try to write 'footnotes' to what Plato had maintained about culture for his Guardians - all talking in terms of 'standards' of behaviour.
We also have an interpretation of culture which is contrary to what has been stated earlier. The sociologists and anthropologists view culture as a way of life? including all types of behaviour which the human beings exhibit in conformity with the social institutions and other human groups. “Culture” as defined by Taylor, “is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art morals, law custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." Such socio-anthropological descriptions of culture bring in the total heritage borne by a society, the funded capital of humanity.
Not that one would be happy to have a simplicistic doctrinaire definition of culture in the context of present day affairs (education in particular), there is an acute need to place the basic social premises in unequivocal terms for education to erect its super structure. Moreover, the pitch is queered by the placation of 'subcultures and even composite culture', which more often than not portray a political stance rather than a coherent social expression. To me the ancient Indian usage 'Sanskriti', meaning Samvak Samskaras (“appropriate dispositions' could just be close enough to connote the Sanskrit word and not an equivalent), would be far more convincing and satisfying an expression for serving as one of the contextual premises.
However, as stated earlier, the present attempt does not purport to minimise much less ignore the claims of "culture in providing the social parameters of education. Opting for Ethos of the people nevertheless provides an open and freer back-drop to situate education in. Qualifying this position, it can be stated that the term 'Ethos transcends the bounds of time in the sense it would embrace the present day habitude along with the traditional wisdom. Moreover, it (Ethos) can be drawn upon freely from the philosophical wisdom along with the sociopsychologial considerations of the present that confronts us.
It would be in the fitness of things to reformulate, howsoever brief it may be, the axiological contribution of some of the formidable philosophical positions of the past and the present - an exercise quite often scoffed at by those who want to have ready reckoners for all our ailments.
What follows, is a short specification of a few representative movements in the history of thought. The account is neither definitive nor exhaustive. The axiological import of these positions is supposed to be provocative as well as indicative of their place in the social ethos.
January-March 1993
Page #38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
32
TULSI PRAJNA
To begin with, the ancient Indian-thought comprised of Astika (orthodox) and most of the Nāstika (heterodox) traditions has treated human life as sacrosanct, not a 'bleak phenomenon' but a meeting ground of the divinity and humanity. Its emphasis on values of self-consciousness, self-realisation and freewill have erroneously led a few thinkers - Albert Schweitzer for instance, to devalue it by dubbing it as 'other worldly?, 'world-negating shorn of ethical content' etc.
That these charges are illfounded becomes evident on close scrutiny of ancient religio-philosophical literature. The Vedas have served as a watershed for various stream of Vedāntic tradition to flow and replenish the world of thought as well as action. The idea of rita forcefully articulates the Vedic conception of cosmic order. From this cosmicorder, there emerges Dharma which denotes the moral order and forms the basis of social organisation. Primarily metaphysical the Upanishads also serve as repository of ethical ideals espoused by the Six schools of Thought. with pronounced specificity. For instance, the Yamas and the Niyamas of SamkhyaYoga, not only provide a preparatory code of conduct for the seeker but at the same time underline the synergistic complementarity of the two sets of value — Yamas for social morality and Niyamas for personal observances. In the same vein, Pūrva Mimāmsā, meticulously identifics and analyses 'actions' (Karmas) which would form the moral quotient of man. The Sadhana Chatushtaya belongs to the same genre.
The moral imperatives of the Gita. the quitnessence of ancient Indian wisdom are universally acknowledged as the finest expressions of human endeavour in the field of moral excellence. The idea of Lokasangraha and Niḥshreyasa, the ideals of Bodhisava in Buddhism (overriding the concept of Arhat) together with the pursuit of eight-fold path, the ‘resolute will for right action with Ahimsa as the pivot of Jainism, are only a sample of the ethical tenor and tone of ancient Indian philosophies which undoubtedly make a formidable contribution to our social ethos.
The ethical dispensation of the ancient Greek thinkers is no less compelling. the pedantic sophistry of the pre-Socratic thinkers notwithstanding. While Socrates' life and death were his message, Plato, his disciple, lent his felicity to the concepts of knowledge as virtue' and absolute goodness. In the same lineage Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics advocated moderation of human pursuits and behaviour. The Hedonists based their behaviour on the pursuit of pleasure. For the Stoics it was the attainment of personal salvation, guarantee by an attitude of indifference to the external influences that supported the conviction that good and evil depend upon ourselves.
Christian Ethics in all its phases of development, from pastoral to the protestant one, including, the Calvinists, has emphasised morally correct behaviour. While the earlier phases focussed more on the observance of the Decalogue (the
January-March 1993
Page #39
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Social Ethos and Education: Search for Basic Premises
33 Ten Commandentments and ritualistic practices) Christian Ethics recorded shifts in its main thrust as it came under the influence of Neo-Platonism (St. Augustine) and the latter responding to Aristotle's world view (St. Thomas).
For Thomas Aquinas (Thomism) human life has to follow the ideals in accordance with the will of God (anthropomorphic). Being on a probation, man should rationally pursue what is moral. Love, compassion and charity, though common with Buddhism and Sikkhism and certain sects of Hinduism have acquired an appeal associated with Christianity.
Moving along the chariot - wheels of time, Spinoza's conception of Ethics makes a distinguished contribution. For him, as a relativist, nothing is good or bad in itself but is only so in relation of someone. Pleasures are not worth acquiring for their own sake, but only as means in making human life more happy. As a rationalist he recognised determinism in the affairs of the world. The utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill is well articulated in the principle of utility and the Hedonistic Calculus. Kant and Hegel occupy important niche in the history of ethical thinking. Kant's Categorical Imperative reverberates the strains of the Gita while Hegel's metaphysics paves the way for idealistic axiology, as it leads us on to a spiritual journey in a dialectical way.
Philosophy is perennial and its abiding spirit is reflected in comparatively modern thought forms which contribute to social ethos in no uncertain measure. It may be added here that many of the so-called western philosophies are not solidly intrenched in metaphysics: these have emerged as a response to the prevailing socio-economic changes that have been engulfing the world together with the onslaught of rationalistic supremacy in the affairs of men.
Marxism, as Historical Humanism and Economic Determinism assumed economic relationship to be the main arbiter of human situation which is to be viewed in collectivity and not in individuality. The cry for human freedom is to be interpreted only in the context of exploitation of man by man - a muffled protest (?) against dehumanization brought in by excessive industrialisation.
The existential response to the tyranny of rationalism is as shrill as it is varied. Defying any generic formulations the existentialists do share a common base in clamouring for 'existence before essence'. a passionate pursuit of a self-certifying personal freedom authenticated by one's own experience and self-responsibility that refuses to be stampeded into collectivity, though a few of them (Martin Buber) are not averse to divinity.
Nearer home, Gandhism has left its own indelible mark on what should be the pole-star for human existence. He could not visualise an ethical position as divorced from religion. For him faith in humanity presupposes faith in divinity. His exhortations - Truth is God lends spiritual dimension to his other humanistic pronouncements. (Here humanism stands for a philosophy which considers man
January-Alarch 1993
Page #40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
3+
TULSĪ PRAJÑA as the measure of human affairs). Gandhism did espouse pragmatism but of a different genre, distancing itself from the instrumentalism of Pierce, James and John Dewey.
In conclusion it is submitted that what has been attempted is more of dipping a stick' here and there, without fathoming the fuller profundity of import of the selectively mentioned thought forms. All along, the guiding principle followed here is the conviction that all these positions have infused some strength and effected expansion of the social ethos cutting across all barriers of time and place.
In this age, it is imperative for educationists and educators, the world over. to make full use of the heritage of mankind — the kaleidoscope of the world views (available in the form of various philosophies) to arrive at a framework for seasoning knowledge with virtue, that is, building inspiring edifices for qualitative existence. Setting aside the strident dogmas and troubled lovalties, it is in the region of possibility, that mankind achieves an integrated view of reality catapulting man to higher levels of consciousness as visualised by the visionary Sri Aurobindo.
The good and the virtuous, need no ruberic under which they have to function. For putting persons in search of truth is far more engaging and ennobling them putting them in possession of the same.
REFERENCES
Agrawal, M.M. (1991). Consciousness and the Integrated Being: Sartre and Krishnamurti. I.1.A.S., Shimla, National Publishing House. Camerchero, V (ed.) (1970). Values in Conflict. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts. Dewey, J. (1946). Problems of Men. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc. Mackenzie, J.S. (1975) (Reprint). 4 Manual of Ethics. University Tutorial Press, London Mascranahas, M. et al (ed) (1989). Value Education in Schools and Other Essays. Ronark Publishers, N.Delhi. Maslow, A (ed) (1959). New Knowledge in Human Values. Harper and Brothes, New York. Moore, C.A. (ed) (1976). The Indian Mind. East-West Center Press. Honolulu. Pandeya, R.C. and Bhatt, S.R. (ed) (1989) (Reissued). Knowledge, Culture and Value. Motilal Banarsidas, N.Delhi. Ranganathananda, S. (1986). Eternal Values For A changing Society. Vol.III. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, Bombay.
January March 1993
Page #41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Social Ethos and Education: Search for Basic Premises
35
Scheffler, I. (1985). Of Human Potential. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. Schofied. H. (1982). The Philosophy of Education, George Allen & Unwin, London. Titus, H.H.(1968). Living Issues in Philosophy Eurasia Publishing House, N.Delhi. Szylewiez, A.(Translator) (1983). Man and Value. Philosophia Verlag GmbH, Munchen, Germany. Unger. P.(1990). Identity, Consciousness and Value. Oxford University Press. New York
January-March 1993
Page #42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
36
TULSI PRAJÑA On the Nature of Moral Consciousness
and Moral Education
B.S. Dagaur
Moral development of child over the ages has been considered as an integral part of education. Without inclusion ofthis essential component of education, it cannot serve any useful purpose to mankind, rather it ceases to be termed as education, as such, for education connotes education of the whole man - an initiation into something worthwhile. Development of congnitive abilities and the skills to manipulate the physical environment are essential and important for utilisation of the physical resources to the benefit of the man, but, without proper development of moral aspect in him. development of these abilities etc. may lead to exploitation of man by man. Such an educated person (if he, at all, be called so) may be worse than even animals. Development of intelligence bereft of morality in him can be chaotic and ultimately may be self-defeating.
Moral consciousness, like 'intelligence and 'drive' is a natural endowment which requires an appropriate environment for its full flowering in human personality. It is inborn but not in the sense that man is good by nature as Rousseau and other romantic naturalists assertd. Man, in fact, is born with two kinds of forces; one that lead to self-preservation like aggression, anger, jealousy, fear, sex and the like, and the other, that leads to social preservation e.g. love, affection, sympathy, compassion, empathy. In Freudian terminology the former tendencies ------------- arc id-related and the latter are super-ego related, where ego strikes a balance between the two. Total education of man, thus, implies a balanced development of the three kinds of attributes that constitute human personality, viz. the intelligence, the social aspects in man, and the individual aspects in him. Moral education is inseparably linked with what is social in man. Morality has no meaning and relevance without the social context; and the social cohesion cannot be obtained if the individual members stop behaving morally. But before we can answer the vital question, how to behave morally?, we need to understand
ature and separate it from traditional misconceptions, of relating it to religion, to character-training, to indoctrination etc.
MORAL EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Since ages the question of moral education has been linked with religion so strongly that for settlement of any issue concerning moral behaviour people prefer to take the final verdict from the religious Gurus. They alone are considered as
January-March 1993
Page #43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education
37
the final authority in deciding whether a particular act is moral or orthervise. This is a truism not only in India, where people look forward to Vedas or Quran Shraif or Guru Granth Sahib and other scriptures or the preachings of Buddha or Jaina etc., for clarifing the confusions over moral issues, but also for the West, where Church and its officals consider such issues their sole prerogative; and without their opinion no proper discussion of moral judgement is considered worthwhile and final. The question to be considered is whether morals and moral education derive their sustenance from religion or the same can be considered independent of them? Analysis relating to this issue can take us ahead in delineating the concept more fully and shed all ambiguities on moral questions.
Some denominational schools in India follow this tradition even to-day of linking moral education with religious education. They have a daily act of worship and in the Zero period some religious anecdote is related from which they derive some morals. Some of these impart direct religious instructions relating to their religious beliefs. They call it “Dharma Shiksha” by which they mean religious education, nevertheless word “Dharma" has got much wide and secular connatation. In Purva Mimansa Dharma is defined as that which inspires you. So if Dharma is taken in its real connotation, its meaning is most secular and humanistic is far above the teachings of any particular religion. In its true spirit, therefore, Dharma Shiksha is moral education but unfortunately it is taken as asser pronouncement of a particular religion. Such a connotation of Dharma involves us into difficulties. India, as a nation, has accepted secular democracy as a way of life and system of government. Such a notion of moral education with its inseparable links and indentity with particular religion cannot take education of its future citizens any longer on a right path. The parents face a conflict, which is difficult for them to resolve. The conflict with most parents is whether to send their wards in a or not denominational school which is founded in the name of religious faith different from their own, but, at the same time, has a good academic reputation. Moreover, it is situated in the vicinity from their place of residence. They are afraid that their wards may be indoctrinated in a different religious faith. Ours is a multi-ethnic society practising diverse religious creeds. And, if the schools start giving religious instruction or knowledge, it is difficult to retain the "oneness” of the society. Schools are meant to discharge entirely different functions than to impart religious education. Religion is a purely personal concern of a individual, whereas, school, as an organ to the total society, is meant to develop in its members the intellectual, social, moral and other capabilities, skills and attitudes. Development of moral aspects of his personality are very vital to his "educatedness”. Under such a situation distinction between moral education and religious education becomes essential to show that the linkage between the two is only contingent; only that distinction can take us out of the imbroglio we find ourselves into
To attempt a distinction between moral education and religion, we say to
January-March 1993
Page #44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
38
TULSI PRAJÑA ourselves that it is possible to live without a religion but it is unthinkable to live without any set of moral values to guide our behaviour or our human choices except at the level of animal existence. Such an idea casts greatest doubt on the validity of any linking of morality with religion. It is probably for this reason that these days we talk of “secular morality", an approach to morals that is independent of all religions. And perhaps this is the only approach one can adopt to the problem of morals. So there is no logical connection between morality and religion, and even if there is any, it is only contingent.
If, on the other hand, we wish to link morality with religion we may involve ourselves into a situation which is positively detcrimental to the concept of education itself. A morality derived from or linked with religions must essentially be authoritarian. Such principles are recommended by the god-heads. This is true of any religious mode of ethics no matter what religion it emanates from. But if We accept a particular code of conduct not because that they are recommended by god-head but for reasons other than these, then our morality is not a religious one. For example, if I believe on other grounds. that I should keep my promise or should follow the path of duty and speak the truth, then this is not a religious morality. On the other hand, if I believe because it is written in Vedas or I am demanded of such belief by some Sankaracharya or any other religious Guru, then I am accepting that the only reason for acting in this way is that it is required of me by an authority, and I have to do so because I have faith in that creed and consequently in the Guru, and hence his right to make commands on me I recognise. Any morality that is based on religion, is, therefore, authoritarian.
So linking of morality with religion is unacceptable. It is unacceptable because it denies the individual the right to choose the principles of morality and behave according to his own thinking. Such a proposition is unacceptable also because it puts a dead end to any evolution or growth of moral knowledge or understanding. No body then can think even that moral knowledge like all other kinds of knowledge will grow and change. But it is tacitly accepted that our oral understanding must be such as to enable us to adjust to changing social circumstances, to meet new moral problems, and to modify our principles to deal with them. And such a situation is inconceivable with a morality that is based on authority. For example to-day there is a common social problem of birth control. To the question of use of contraceptives or adoption of abortion as means to birth control, religion is ambivalent. This is a moral problem, solution for which is based on man's thinking. Otherwise the problem of over population will devour us all. If population is allowed to increase as it does, we shall be deprived of even the basic needs required for mere existence. In such a situation no religion, no morality worth the name will stand. Man will be compelled even to commit the heinous crimes in order to save its life. So we have to leave such questions to judgement of the individuals. This is to imply that religion can provide no firm basis for moral decision.
January March 1993
Page #45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education
39
Downey and Kelly (1982) conclude that "a proper morality has to be seen as independent of religion. If there is a connection it is not that morality is dependent on religious beliefs, it is much more likely that man's religious beliefs are a result of moral awareness. As Kant said, "belief in god is grounded in the moral consciousness, rather than the moral law of belief in God." So we should examine any question of morality independently of religion. on grounds that make it universally acceptable. Now we should attempt to understand what moral education is.
IMPORTANCE OF MORAL EDUCATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
Moral education has been viewed from the earliest times to date as one of the most important aims of education. All those who are concerned with the education of the child consider moral upbringing as a central feature of the educational practice without question.
All theorists and other thinkers in education have been quite clear on this point. If we have a look at the ancient Indian education we find that for moral upbringing and discipline of the child special provisions were made in schools. In Buddhist and Jain philosophies of education there used to be two distinct types of teachers: one "Upadhyayas" and the other "Acharyas". While the "Upadhyaya's" main responsibility was towards intellectual development of the child, the "Acharyas" were concerned with proper moral development and discipline.
In the West too we find that the thinkers like Socrates and Plato were deeply concerned with moral upliftment of child. To Socrates virtue was knowledge of the good. According to Plato the role of education was to help people to acquire the kind of knowledge that would bring virtue and wisdom. All other forms of activities were regarded as means to this end. The consummation of knowledge was in the supreme form of "Beauty" "Truth" and 'Goodness. And exactly similar concept of education of man can be discerned in ancient Indian philosophy of education, according to which the ultimate goal of education was "Satyam" "Shivam" "Sundaram". Not only, therefore, was morality seen as the central feature of education, "goodness" was also regarded as the focal point of all human knowledge. Development of virtues, and, especially, the moral values, have remained the main concern of education for the Roman and Judaeic traditions. Roman Quintilian's main concern was with education in rhetoric, the education of the orator. The primary aim of this training in rhetoric was the production of the good man rather merely the good politician or a lawyer. A good orator was expected to be a man of integrity. Not only that they required in him a consummate talent in speaking but also all the virtuous endowments of minds. Similar was the case with Judaeic tradition.
January-March 1993
Page #46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
40
TULSI PRAJÑA Christianity which emerged as result of the fusion of the Roman and Judaeic traditions regarded character training as the primary task of education. Most of the educational thinkers in christian traditions, therefore, viewed moral education as the hub of any activity that could well be described as educational. In fact, the term "Humanities” which designates one of the curricula, indicates that in educational process and practice as well, relations between man and man were considered central and most essential.
According to Comenius, curriculam should include all those subjects which can make a man wise, virtuous, and pious. Similarly Locke asserts that it is virtue alone which can be considered as the most important aims of education. Rousseau. Pestalozzi, Herbart and Froebel, the great educators of their times, sounded similar tone of humanism in educational pracice. In fact, Herbart goes to the extent of summing up the whole task of education in the concept of morality, whereas Froebel considers that the child is in possession of innate goodness, and the main function of education is to draw it out or to develop it to the full (Rusk 1957).
Recent trends in moral education: In the recent years there is still greater revival of moral education for giving it its due importance in the curriculum of the child. The morality that is being stressed now a days is a morality is secular kind. As we have already seen that morality cannot be, and, therefore, should not be linked too closely with religion. We find that to day there is a growing tendency to reject religion, and if morality is linked with religion it may suggest a rejection of morality as well.
Moreover, today the concept of morality itself has undergone a kind of transformation. In earlier thcories moral precepts were seen as objectively valid and, therefore, it was sensible to talk of moral knowledge or knowledge of the "good". This results in morality as a kind of character training. Under such a theory the base of morality was fixed and objective. It is a view, therefore, which leads us to the notion that the morally educated person is one who has recognised the truth of certain particular moral values, and he acts on them irrespective of the conditions. It is nothing but moral instruction. The purpose of education would be to instil these values in pupil. Such a veiw of morality is authoritarian and hence not different from religious morality which we have already rejected as outmoded.
In the recent years John Dewey whose ideas were, no doubt, influenced by Rousseau and other theorists of the nineteenth century, gave a changed attitude towards morality. For Dewey the central concern for education was life or living itself, which implies the development of thinking and other abilities which enable him to control the aspects of his environment to make living purposeful and effective. Environment, as we know, constantly changes and therefore the prime need for man is to adapt to these changing aspects to suit his needs and purposes of life. The traditional theory of morality according to which moral precepts or
January March 1993
Page #47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education
41
concepts are fixed, unchanging and objective does not seem to be adequate in the light of changing and evolving nature of reality. In addition, there are certain other contributory factors which offer different perspective on our main question of "what moral education is". First of these is the fact of social change. The society to-day is dramatically changed due to the advancement of technology. These technological changes raise certain moral questions for which traditions can provide no readymade answers. To-day organs can be, and are being, transplanted from one body to another, birth can be aborted, and conception can be prevented by the use of technology. Conception or child's birth was considered to be a god's wish and man was supposed to have no control over this and such other issues. Technological developments have presented us with the moral questions of various sorts. Abortion for example was traditionally considered to be a sin but now it has even attained legal sanction.
The issue indicated above can be considered from different angles depending upon the totality of the social situation; and therefore it is difficult to give a fixed answer to these. And moreoever, many societies to-day are multi-ethnic which have their varying moral codes. They are in a way pluralist societies which differ markedly on the question of value. As a result, people have started thinking seriously that no fixed and final and universal answers can be offered to moral issues. A particular moral issue can be dealt with only specifically giving appropriate consideration to the spatio-temporal context in which it appears as an issue. And therefore, we should not prepare children by offering them set answers to problem we face at a particular point of time. In fact, the moral turmoil and confusion that we face to-day is the result of attempts to moral upbringing based on the theory of set and universal answers to problems. We must try to understand that what we call good is not an objectively perceptible quality of things or situation. When we train people for right answers to the problems it will not be helpful to them to decide their cause of action or conduct in a different situation or when new problems arise. What we need to do is to learn to think for ourselves to adapt, and to be fully autonomous beings.
In addition to the facility of change in social life brought about as a result of technological revolution there are other good reasons why we should not upbring children in accordance with the objective theory of morality. One of such reasons is grounded in man's ontological freedom. Man's freedom of thought, his right to his own beliefs cannot be denied. No matter how disagreeable they may be to others, because it is fundamental to democratic way of life. The concept of moral freedom entails the notion of man as an active agent responsible for his own destiny and for his actions and behaviour.
Such a notion of man's freedom is central to existentialist philosophy which believes in individual autonomy. If acting on such choices tends to lead unjustifiably to harm others or a loss of freedom to others then his freedom of action must be
January-March 1993
Page #48
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
+2
TULSĪ PRAJÑA curtailed, since it is basically against the concept of autonomy. If I want my ontological freedom. I. as homosapien, cannot choose to deprive others of theirs, and this constitutes the basis of morality. I have every right to add to my growth,
ch enables me to attain more freedom, but that I should not do at the cost of others or by curtailing others' freedom. This is in my opinion the essence of concept of equality, equity or justice. If we take such a view of man's situation the authoriatarian concept of morality automatically stands rejected. And this is such a general principle that by following it one will always be right even if one ceases to have faith in any religion. A man's values must be his own; one is not free if he acts on the values that are imposed from without. This is the second major reason why moral education cannot be taken in terms of telling children what to do or what not to do.
So it is clear now that our question of what moral education is, is to be a response to constantly changing demand fo society and suited to the concept of a man as a free and active bcing. We must recognise this as a demand for freedom and autonomy of the individual and a respect for the freedom and autonomy of others. So if we believe that we should live in a society comprising free and autonomous individuals, we feel an increased need of moral cducation. In this process of analysis we have also come to recognise that it must enable people to have their own moral thinking, rather encouraging them to conform to externally imposed moral code.
The Concept of Moral Education
In the earlier section of this paper, we have seen that morality is not a matter of instructions in certain moral tenets, nor, it is a matter of getting to know certain moral values which are objective, fixed and unquestionable. It is rather a process of learning to think for oneself on moral issues, of becoming morally autonomous. What is further needed is to clearly analyse the connotation of the terms of moral education and distinguish it from moral instruction, or moral knowledge. The implication of this analysis may take us further in understanding the basic concept of moral education. Before we can go any further in this analysis, we should try to know the real connotation of the term education.
To describe the acts of teaching we have been using terms like instruction, training, conditioning or indoctrination and some times education. But each of these term is used in a specific context and we simply cannot use these interchangeably. That means each of these has a definite and specific meaning. Whenever a person uses a particular term, he uses it with some definite criteria in mind. In order to attempt to discover the semantic differences between these terms we must think of the situations and contexts in which they are appropriately used, and then should clearly draw the criteria from those.
Jantiary-March 1993
Page #49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education
43
R.S.Peters (1965, 1966) uses the term education in a wider context and distinguishes it from other processes like training or instruction or even indoctrination etc. According to analysis made by him education is concerned with developing of autonomy of the individual, whereas the other processes do not have any such aim. When we wish to train or instruct somebody we simply do not have any consideration of individuals's autonomy in view. And in some situations considerations of autonomy may just be irrelevant and inappropriate, asin training some one in driving a car. The processes of conditioning and indoctrination are still more irrelevant to the concept of autonomy. In these processes there is a deliberate attempt to stifle the individual's autonomy. A man indoctrinated or conditioned in some respects stops thinking for himself in that area. When people. for example. are indoctrinaled into a particular social or political system they blindly accept these. Attempts so made are deliberate in nature which aim at discouraging and preventing people to question the validity of these systems.
In the process of education, however, what is important is the development not only of knowledge but also of understanding - a kind of cognitive perspective" and also the development of critical awareness. To be educated, therefore, means not only the acquisition of autonomy but also the capacity to use that autonomy effectively. Further, one can become capable of using the autonomy effectively only when one has obtained sufficient awareness and depth of understanding on the subject. Mere acquisition or providing of freedom of thought does not qualify a person to be called educated unless one is adequately informed also on the subject. So education implies an attempt not only to develop in pupil the ability to form their own opinion but also to improve the quality of those, o
The direct implication of this analysis on the issue of moral choices is that we should develop in people greatest possible knowledge and understanding which can enable them to reach autonomous moral choices in a particular situation. The job of moral education, therefore, is to teach pupil how to think instead of what to think of moral issues. In this process he should promote discussions assuming for himself a neutral position and should not thrust upon them one's own views. But at the same time, as a leader of the group he should consider his responsibility to promote the quality and standards of discussion on such issues.
In order that children may develop in them moral autonomy, what Kohlberg (1996) calls the "self accepted moral principles" we should keep in mind the manner in which children come to hold their moral beliefs. Piaget, Kohlberg and other congnitive developmental theorists, on the basis of their empirical findings have revealed that children must pass through certain stages of such development before they reach the final stage of moral autonomy. These theorists have suggested that to begin with, in the early childhood the children are in state of **anomy" in which the follow no rules. They pass to the state of “heteronomy".
January March 1993
Page #50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
++
TULSI PRAJŇA
where they think rules emanate from people in power or in authority, like the parents or teachers. After this comes the stage of socionomy or conventional morality in which the rules seem to be based upon social utility. Then comes the last stages (which is rarely reached) of full moral autonomy or self accepted principles, such principles, as Kant stated - in the form of his categorical imperatives.
But we should not forget that if moral education is concerned with the manner in which we come to hold our moral beliefs, critical reflection on these states is cssential. In addition, we can think of certain criteria which concern the quality of peoples thinking in this area. Such criteria may be logical coherence, respect for truth, and breadth of relevant knowledge and understanding. We very well recognise that we do not give proper cognisance to an individuals opinions unless we are convinced that he has given proper thought to the mattter and knows what he is talking about. Another feature of education to which R.S.Peters draws our attention is that the activities they are engaged in have intrinsic values, that is, they an worthy of being pursued for their own sake. Whereas in the case of other activities, training or instruction, this is not the case. For example, we can train somebody to drive a car without any concern for the question whether he values them or not. On the other hand it is illogical to speak of man as educated and at the same time asserting that he places no value at all on any of the knowledge and understanding that he acquired while becoming cduated.
In the light of analysis of the concept of education it becomes obvious that while educating students in morality the teacher should ensure that the students develop an attitude of worthwhileness of moral behaviour.
Secondly, an autonomous moral thinking cannot be carrried out purely at intellectual level, because if we do not consider other people or relations, we are missing something very vital in moral decisions. Could we dispense with the element of emotions or human relations, then probably computer would have been the best instrument. Moral decisions, indeed, involve both "head and heart". It is not a matter purely of cognition, it essentially involves emotions too, in the sense that we must develop in us the capacity to look into other people's heart and empathetically see through into how do others feel. It involves what Downey and Kelly named as “Caring" dimension.
Now an important point emerges that needs to be examined. The point is what counts as moral 'action'. The significant point in this is of “intentionality". It has two aspects, First, an action cannot be called moral or immoral unless we establish that the individual has so acted of his own free will. It must be an act that the individual is in full sense responsible for it. If on the other hand an individual has to do an act because he is so directed by forces bevond his control, and had it been
January March 1993
Page #51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
On the Nature of Moral Consciousness and Moral Education
45
left to his free will he would not have performed it. The individual in such a case cannot be held responsible for the act. Hence such an act shall not be termed moral immoral.
This leads to our second point of consideration in this regard. When the question of praise or blame comes for some act, we have to see the notice with which the act is performed. Two further points need to be considered in this regard. These can be put as: Did the agent perform the act because he thinks it is right? or did he perform it because it would bring advantages? It is not the action as such that we weigh while making a moral judgement, rather the "will" with which it is performed. Kant exactly meant the same when he said. "Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or out of it, which can be called good without qualification, except the good will." If any act is performed with a good will' it will be unconditioned good irrespective of consequences or results such act brings. Such action will be free from any flaw. In any court of justice we find these two rules being followed before deliveing any judgment; that is whether the act is done with full freedom, and what was the intention or motive of the agent while performing the act. If the act is done under coercion or there was some kind of external compulsion, the individual cannot be held responsible for it; the individual is not criminally culpable.
Similarly if the intention was good but somehow the consequences of the act were not good. the agent is not culpable. Kant further clarifies what he calls the categorical imperative by using two terms. "Action for the sake of duty" and "action done in accordance with duty". Moral goodness can only be assigned to the former and not to the latter. A grocer for example reduces the prices of his goods and claims that he does so, so that the commodities may reach to the poor. In this case, if he has done so with the intention that his sales could be boosted then he has done so "in accordance with duty" and has no moral goodness. He did so to accrue more advantages; Similarly a politician announces certain benefits to the masses with the intention that they may vote for him and bring him again to power.
Another such example may be of a doctor who gives an advertisement in the newspaper to hold a free eye operation camp. No doubt the action as such is certainly not bad but the real moral worth depends upon the intention for holding this camp. Some people do so only for the sake of being known to the public as a (say) good eye surgeon in order that he may earn name. The free eye camp may only serve as a bait, so that in future their clinic could florish. What is crucial to moral behaviour is that it should be motivated by the desire to do what is right and not for the sake of expediency.
The distinction we are referring to here is between action performed from a sense and conviction of right, and action performed out of considerations of pure
January-March 1993
Page #52
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
76
TU L sĩ PRAJ [A expediency. A person who is not capable of reaching his autonomous moral decisions or reaches these without thought or considerations of the factors that determine the particular situation, will not be described as morally educated person.
In the first place a morally educated person should possess sufficient factual knowledge relevant to the issue. A.J.Aver (196+) calls the "non-moral" facts of the case. The relevance of such awareness is not that one can logically deduce the ultimate choices or decision from the factual premise, rather is enables one to understand the likely consequences of certain alternative course of action. It helps the morally educated person in reaching his conclusions. If he lacks proper scientific knowledge. he may base his choices on misinformation or ignorance. So the morally educated person should be fully accurately informed of possible nonmoral facts of each situation, only then can one make right moral choices.
Thena morally educated person needs to possess knowledgeand understanding of the feelings of others. But it is not sufficient that he understands such feelings only at cognitive level. as facts only. The understanding of the feelings of others has several features which need to be made more explicit. Firstly, that there should be an emotional commitment to man. Then we should accept the significance fo the feelings of others, that is, to realize that others' feelings are as important as ours. Heis emotionally rather than merely cognitively, directed towards the fights. interests and feelings of others. There is another way in which feelings and emotions enter into our moral decision making. Our moral behaviour is influenced by our own feelings and emotions even more than by a consideration of those of others. It is because moral decisions cannot be carried out merely by an understanding. This aspect of human behaviour has been considered as of vital significance since the time of Aristotle.
There is no denying the fact that emotions play a significant role in moral development of man. It is essential to understand that we should develop a proper perspective on emotional dimension and understand it clearly that emotions are not to be considered as merely an unpleasant reminder of human infirmity. As Aristotle and other philosophers thought, it must be seen as playing an essential role in the development of morality. It is not undesirable and unfortunate exchessence. As has been said earlier that computers cannot behave morally for they lack the ability to respond emotionally. It is the emotional response that constitutes his humanity, and enables one to live as moral being.
January-March 1993
Page #53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Moral values and Education
Moral Values and Education
S.R.Bhatt
The quest after values and the attainment thereof constitute the very core of human life. There is an innate necessity in man, caused by his finitude and imperfection, to participate in the process of value-realisation. That is why consciously or unconsciously value-concepts, value discriminations and value judgements feature prominently in his life.
The nature of man is such as to urge him to participate in the fulness of life. to be receptive of the significant and to lie open to whatever has meaning and value. But the question is, how can he know what is valuable in life and how can be realise the same? Any process of value-realisation presupposes knowledge, will, effort and appropriate resources. And it is not an easy task, though not an impossible one. to acquire all the four. That is why, more often than not, value-aspirations and value-pursuits remain mere utopian dreams. This is the travesty of human life that he is mostly ignorant of this summum bonum and even if he may know what he ought to aspire for, he is circumscribed and handicapped in realising the same.
The present day world is passing through value-crisis which has pervaded all the spheres of value-realisation. This is more alarming in the moral sphere. A deeper penetration into the problem may reveal the fact that the present day tendency of value-nogativism is a resultant phenomenon of the loss of faith in the moral order. The inevitable consequence of such a circumstance has been the disappearance of moral virtues and spread of vices. In order to resolve the valuecrisis both prevention and cure are to be employed simultaneously. For this purpose the system of education, which is the most important and foundation at sphere of value-realisation, needs to be given serious and meaningful attention.
A psychological analysis of the pathological cases of norm-violation may bring home to us as to why vice is due to. There seems to be four main types of factors which occasion vice, viz; badness, madness, rashness and folly. We may explain each of these as follows:
January-March 1993
Page #54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJŇA
(i) In some individuals vices are innate and intrinsic. They possess some such
psycho-ontological qualities of 'tamas' that they cannot do otherwise except evil. Like Nero they may rejoice in doing evil or, like Duryodhana they may possess the ability to recognise evil as evil and yet may not desist from doing it. They may know the good and yet may lack the will to do it.
(ii) In some cases man's evil decds result from some sort of mental disease. Such
people are not bad but only mad. They do not have the discriminating capacity and the power to foresee the consequences.
(iii) Some people who are neither bad nor mad, tend to do evil not voluntarily, but
because they are compelled to do so by the circumstances.
(iv) But in the most cases evil is due to ignorance or folly. Socrates has rightly
opined that virtue is knowledge and vice is ignorance. The Upanisads also aver the same. 'Avidyaya mrtyumtirtva vidyaya amrtmasnule". The evil doer does not know the evilness of his act, otherwise he would not have acted that way. So it is the lack of knowledge, and not voluntary sinfulness that issues in bad conduct.
The ratio ofthe first group is quite negiligible and these people can be checked only by constant vigilance and can be detered by strict punishment. It is difficult to reform them through education or legislation. Those who fall under the second group should be sent to reformatories and treated psychologically. The people coming under the third category can be brought on the track by proper training and by improving their lot. The fourth group, which, as we have said, is the largest one, definitely requires a moral and spiritual training. The last three groups provide the rationale for moral and spiritual instruction.
Here, it may be argued that the sinner knows that it is bad to commit sin and yet he does it. So it is not ignorance but wilfulness which is the cause of evil. But in such a view the connotation of knowledge is misconceived. By knowledge we do not mean mere intellectual awareness. It stands for wisdom which consists in a practical sense of values. This is the purport of the poet saint Kabirdas when he laments, "pothi padhi padhi jaga mua pandita bhaya na koya". So a true knowledge must tell upon one's behaviour. There is no gap between genuine knowing and its doing. When the Gita declares that 'yagah karmasu kausalam', or, the Mahabharata asserts that 'yah kriyavan sa panditah', it is contended that there should be a conjunction of true knowledge and good will. One who knows the good cannot stop exercising it. When Duryodhana boasted that he knows the Dharma his knowldge was only superficial and not genuine. To know the good and not to act upto it is a psychological impossibility. A true knowledge of the good must stir the whole being of man. It must be noetic or illuminating. This is what January-March 1993
Page #55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Moral values and Education
49
the Jaina thinkers have declared when they said that samyakjnana inevitably leads to samyak caritra. Socrates and Jesus Christ also meant the same when they said that the sinner does not really know what the good is.
From the above it is evident that wisdom or true knowledge is not devoid of action, that it consists in a practical sense of values, and that virtue being knowledge can be taught and acquired. What is needed is to train the individual in a proper way to know the good and to act upto it. And here comes the role of education. This is what is called the educational theory of goodness.
The Indian seers were all the while conscious of this fact that a man devoid of wisdom can never be noble. "Dhiya vihino nahi yati dhanyatam'. So the task of education must be to inculcate in him wisdom or a practical sense of values. The words samskara. samskrti, dvija, sattva-samshuddhi, visuddhatna. nididhyasan cic./used for education which was imparted in those days. The famous convocation address in the Taittiriya Upanisad starts with “Satyam Vada,” “Dharmam cara” etc. All this emphasises that wisdom can be acquired by him alone who has moral and spiritual qualifications. At present under the western influencewe concentrate only on the measures (pramanas) of knowledge and do not take into consideration the most significant part played by the measures of knowledge (pramatr). The various instruments of knowledge like sound sense organs, sharp intellect. adequate methodology. etc. do play their role in the acquisition of knowledge, but more important is the knower sho uses these instruments. The moral and spiritual character of the knower influences his capacity of acquiring the truth. The fivefold gradation of knowledge in the Jain epistemology, the sadhana calustaya of the Advaita Vedanta, the sadhana saptaka of Ramanuja's philosophy etc. all evince the more certain is knowledge.
The upshot of the above consideration is that the prime need of the day is a re-orientation of our nature of education. Instead of being mere job-oriented let it also be character-oriented. If our system of education fails to turn over a man into a nan it has outlived its utility and is more than a dead weight.
January-March 1993
Page #56
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
50
TULSĪPRAI NÀ
Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values
A.P.Sharma
INTRODUCTORY
A teacher of any category, primarily is a human being who has his needs, likes and dislikes, prejudices, opinions and beliefs. Therefore, it is imperative to look into some of those aspects of a teacher, which affect his various roles relating to values.
'
In the last forty five years, since the country has gained its independence, there is a general belief that education has stepped down from its coveted heights to a much lower level, especially in respect of human values. There has been tremendous growth in anti-social values and youth in general has started leaning towards vandalism, which not only includes destroying public property but also tends to give teasing, shirking responsibility and involvement in unlawful activities which are detrimental to public peace and conducive to anti-nationalism.
There have been long debates on these issues including on how to implement values, but all invain. It has also been tried to determine as who is responsible to debase the solid foundation of the age-old value system which had been so deeply rooted in the Indian cultural soil. The National policy on Education (1986) has reflected a great deal about the deterioration of human values and after many long debates which ran for months and in which often mid night oil was burnt, no concrete solutions have been discovered. Although the National Policy has suggested many ways to strengthen values among our children, students and youths, but even after six years of enactment of the National Policy not much has been gained in that direction. The problem is there where it was and it is a matter of great concern for all of us that value pollution is a fact and it has been affecting our national life to a great extent.
Primary Schooling - A Stage of Great Importance
Who is really responsible to such a dismal situation in respect of values? Who should be held responsible? It is so easy to shift the responsibility to others, buy why not face the truth. In my own opinion it is the teacher himself who is mainly
January-March 1993
Page #57
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values
51 responsible for such a fall in our value system. Not one kind of teacher - the primary, secondary, college or university teacher - all kinds of teachers. But primarily it is the elementary school teacher who can be held responsible for value erosion to a great extent. The situation is so dismal and alarming that if matters continue going further in the direction in which they are going now, there is going to be a steep fall from which we shall never recover. It is quite unfortunate that on the part of teachers no serious efforts are being made to recover from the fathomless bottom. Their failure to conceive the value aspect in life and work, and running after things which were their last concern in the past, is so alarming. The race is on and as a result the net output is the production of types rather than the authentic persons. Consequently, there is a crisis of confidence through-out the nation. How to stop it is a matter of great conern for all of us, for without that our freedom. happiness and progress are at stake.
During the third century B.C.Plato considered both, the primary and secondary education to be of great importance. Therefore, in his Republic he laid down schemes (curricular activitics which would not only lead to physical growth but shape the soul as well. In his scheme of Early Education which was meant for the primary stage, he listed two kinds of activities for the children - music and dancing, which would take care of the physical as well as moral growth. Do our primary school teachers keep in view these two aspects of child's growth in their minds? Are they really aware of the dismal situation which is rampant throughout the country? Have they ever tried to give a serious thought to this kind of problem?
It seems to me that if the teachers are unaware of the situation and do not know how to inculcate values, it is quite likely that they themselves are not aware of, about their own activities, output and even thinking, which is mainly responsible for shaping their personality. In this respect a few important pre-requisites leading to self-awareness are discussed below, so that the teachers may look into themselves and understand themselves better than those who do not know them at all.
Pre-requisites to Self-awareness
Every teacher must know his pupils well. For that he first needs to know himself quite thoroughly. Unless the teacher develops self-awareness, he will neither know himself nor his pupils. Therefore, let us try to understand the meaning of self-awareness. The simple meaning given to the term is to have the knowledge about oneself. But is it so simple to have all the knowledge about oneself? People normally go on reacting from the outer surface of their minds or consciousness and never try to understand themselves distinctly. It happens because they never try to know the causes of their reactions — hate, love, anger, dislike, etc. Krishnamurti remarks that ‘in order to know oneself — to be aware of what is in our consciousness from day to day, from moment to moment, when faced with a life's challenge, is by itself, kowledge, complete, infinite, timeless.
January-March 1993
Page #58
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
52
TULSIPRAINĀ
According to him self-knowledge is action, immediate, powerful, concrete, the only action which can bring us out of our state of confusion. It is as urgent, real and practical as leaping into a life boat at the time of shipwreck.'!
Krishnamurti, by virtue of his self-knowledge, leads us into a sphere in which there are no words, and thoughts become silent. With this we need to strengthen in us a state of mind which is keen observation and intense awareness, yet impartial, disinterested and simple, in the manner of a store-keeper looking after the registering of a swift coming and going of goods. He remakrs:
“Who can enlighten us about the secret meaning of a reaction. a fleeting emotion or the half-thoughts which, at all times of the day, under the pressure of life, constitute at once our substance and the key to ourselves? Who can decipher our inward book, the
words of which ever chase time, if not ourselves"?? Therefore, if we wish to know ourselves as we are, says Krishnamurti. "it can only be through our contacts, our exchanges, our conflicts. But if we isolate ourselves to meditate on self-knoweldge, we separate ourselves in fact from what. by making us react, would reveal to us our true nature'.:. Thus, one of the simplest procedures to know-oneself, to be aware about oneself, is to look into oneself silently and observe intensely, impartially, disinterestedly in the manner of the. storekeeper. referred to here above. It is the first step to become self-aware by the teacher.
Krishnamurti suggests some other procedures which can immediately lead us to self-awareness. He reflects :
"It is not a technique that you develop. cultivate and increase through time, through constantly sharpening. This awareness of oneself can be tested, surely, in the action of relationship; it can be tested in the way we talk, the way we behave. Watch yourself without any identification, without any comparison, without any condemnation; just watch, and you will see an extraordinary thing taking place. You not only put an end to an activity which is unconsciousness - because most of our activities are unconscious - you not only bring that to an end, but, further. you are aware of the motives of that action, without inquiry without digging into it."(")
Watching oneself without any indentification, comparison and condemnation would lead one to the state of self-awareness. And when once a person is aware, he can see the whole process of his thinking and action. Just being aware without any sense of justification -- which may appear rather negative but it is not negative. On the contrary, it has the quality of Passivity, which is direct action in which one will discover everything so clearly. To clarify this idea of passivity, Krishnamurti says:
January-March 1993
Page #59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values
53 "After all, if you want to understand something, you have to be in a passive mood, do you not? You cannot keep on thinking about it, speculating about it or questioning. You have to be sensitive enough to receive the content of it".()
Therefore, the teacher has to be sensitive like a photographic plate so that he can clearly know himself and his pupils as well. As soon as the teacher develops sensitivity, the process of self-understanding begins and he starts understanding not only the superficial layers of consciousness but the deeper as well, which are much more important and difficult to know. It is the deeper-laver of the consciousness in which our motives, intentions, confused demands, anxieties, fears and all appetites are hidden. Therefore, it is so important to develop sensitivity so that the inner self could be understood. The following is the Chant representing the process of self-awareness as preceived by Krishnamurthi :
"Silent Observation without Idnetification Comparison Condemnation
Sensitivity
Or
SELF-AWARENESS”
The state of self-awareness is the state of all bliss in which the mind is totally alert, (), and passively disinterested, devoid of identification, comparison and condemnation. In this state the teacher is surely implict with all kinds of values as his vision is unhindered with any motives or desires. It is the state of freedom in which there is no prejudice, desire or anxiety. Neither there is any kind of covetousness which is detrimental to possess a clear vision. Understanding the Pupil
If once the teacher is able to develop passive sensitivity or self-awareness, it would be easier for him to understand his pupils. The pupil comes from entirely different family background which crystallized with different kinds of prejudices and complexes. Unless the teacher has a clear and a free perception, he cannot understnad his pupil. And without that understading he cannot exert adequate influence on him to mould him in the right direction,
What is happening today is that both the teacher and the pupil are pulling cach other apart in different directions. Asa result, every kind of deterioration in respect of values is perceptible. Therefore, in order to arrest that degeneration and deterioration, the teacher needs to be very alert and positive in his thinking so that he can perceive things as they are. Only then he can determine a wholesome direction for his pupils. Children at the primary stage of schooling are like fragile material which need
January-March 1993
Page #60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
54
TULSI PRAJÑA not be loosely handled. They earnestly need care, love, and attention. They are very sensitive and unless the teacher himself is very sensitive, he can neither take responsibility nor understand them.
When the teacher has reached that stage that he can understand his pupil well and can take care of them, his next attention should be to know what are his responsibilities towards his work so that the process of pupils' wholesome growth may go on smoothly.
Awareness towards Il'ork
Comparatively, a teacher at the primary school has more responsibility and is required to play a subtler role than the teacher at the secondary stage as his clientale is maturer in comparison with that of the primary school teahers. Thercfore, in discharging his role adequately, the primary school teacher inust be aware of those personal and professional qualities which are good for a balanced growth of his pupil. No one else can do a better job at this stage of schooling than the teacher who is self-aware for he is passively sensitive, unprejudiced and full of love for the pupil. Some of value-oriented roles which he should perform. are listed below: ()
(a) Personal Qualities
· The teacher should have the following personal qualities: 1. discipline 2. cleanliness 3. optimism 7. sweet tongue 5. attractive personality 6. pleasing manners & behaviour 7. tolerance 8. secular outlook 9. alertness 10. punctuality 11. regularity 12. love 13. nationalist outlook (b) Professional Qualities 1. have sufficient knowledge of child psychology. 2. develop effective teaching methods, 3. satisfy students' inquisitiveness towards knowledge,
January-March 1993
Page #61
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Developing Awareness in Teachers. Towards Values
55 t. be academically sound to solve students' problems, 5. promote moral values by his personal examples, 6. be dedicated to his profession, 7. understand pupil's family background, 8. promote free thinking to develop creativity, 9. promote citizen qualities, 10. develop awareness towards environment, 11. keep regular contact with the parents. Awareness towards the Society
Though social values are rapidly changing, there are values which are fixed and have been influencing our lives all the time. Therefore, all teachers in light of the changing social values and the static values as well, must preserve the cultural heritage of this august country which has always been considered rich in terms of art and culture. in comparison with the other countries of the world. Although we do not have any fixed Cardinal Values as are in vogue in the African countries (R), we have deep rooted cherished cultural values which have always influenced the lives of common men in this country. We do respect our elders, parents and teachers as well. We do believe in the dignity of the individual and cherish to develop good citizens through our social and educational institutions. But in the past two decades a great deterioration in those social norms has been witnessed. The teacher must be aware of the cause of this social degeneration and exert great influence on his pupil to arrest this fall. Therefore, in order to preserve the old heritage it would be imperative for the elementary school teachers to encourage the parents to work closely with them. Ways of establishing this relationship are: 'through a parent-teacher association, regular visits to school by the parents and utilization of the parents' services as voluntary assistance to the primary/elementary teachers. In fact parents can be of immense help to the classroom teacher because they possess practical knowledge of the child's behaviour pattern outside the school environment. Such a cooperation between the parents and the teachers is in the interest of the children as well as the community as the parents also serve as community public relations personnel of the school.().
The procedure
A chart has already been projected in this article under the second subheading. 'Pre-requisites to Self-awareness', which indicates the possible ways which may lead one to attain self-awareness. And once, if the teacher is able to know-himself, he would not have much difficulty in identifying his duties and responsibilities towards his pupil, work and society. Still some procedure need to be adopted by him to be more effective in his various roles he is expected to
January-March 1993
Page #62
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
56
TULSI PRAJNA discharge. For example, at the primary level, the teacher may adopt either - playway, role-playing or programmed learning techniques, but he must possess love and provide ample freedom to his pupil so that they may learn willingly. The primary or elementary school teacher's role is slightly more difficult in comparison with that of the other teachers because his pupil are at a tender age. Therefore, besides possessing genuine love he ought to have a lot of patience and tolerance for them if he wants to be effective and successful. The more authentic person he is, the more effective he would be in playing his various roles.
. After all quality of education depends largely upon the quality of teachers. Therefore, there is a pressing need that more effective teachers should be distinguished from the less effective ones. (10) And only those who are effective, and authentic. need to be employed at the primary level of teaching. There personal and professional qualities listed in this article are pre-requisites to make a teacher successful and effective. And if time to time work-shops and in-scrvice short courses are oganised by the State Education Department(s) and the NCERT. importance of those qualities can be discussed (discourse method) and highlighted. The importance of the teacher's role in relation to his pupil, work, and society can be emphasised and doubts can be dispelled through the question and answer techniques too in a free and homogenious environment, which at times is missing in workshops and in-service courses.
A teacher who possesses self-awareness, is bound to possess freedom, love tolerance and courage. And with these personal qualities he can clearly perceive, not only lis pupils' needs, but also his responsibilities towards his work and the society. Such a teacher will surely reflect values in his conduct and will always be aware of his duties towards his country.
Education is a powerful instrument for social. political, economic and moral development of a country but this development cannot take place without an cffective teacher as it is through him only that educational experience is conducted and brought home to the pupil.
REFERENCES
1. Carlo Suares (Tr), Krishnamurti and the Unity of Nan, Bombay: Chetana, Ist
Ed., 1950, PP. 7-8. 2. Suares. Krishnamurti and Unity of Man, P.12 3. Suares, Krishnamurti and Unity of Man, PP. 12-14. 4. J.Krishnamurti. The First and Last Freedom, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd.,
1954, p.95 5. The First and Last Freedom, P.95.
January-March 1993
Page #63
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
1
Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values
6. Rajneesh, The Rajneesh Bible, Vol.II,Boulder, Colorodo,
Rajneesh Publication, Inc., U.S.A., 1984, P.718.
7. Source: Interviews of 78 Primary School teachers randomly selected both at rural and urban areas in Udaipur Division, Rajasthan.
57
8. A Philosophy for Nigerian Education: Report of the National Curriculum Conference, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria, Sept., 1969, PP.20-28. There are Seven Cardinal Values prevalent in African Countries. Some of them are: Respect for elders; respect for teachers: respect for parents; respect for religion and religious books; respect for the dignity of the individual: etc.
9. Fafunwa, A.Babus, New Perspectives in African Education, London: Macmillan, 1967, P.28.
Swami Purushotam, 'Teacher Effectiveness in Relation to Intelligence, Emotional Maturity & Self-Concept', The Educational Review, Vol. XCVIIIN-4. 1992, PP-67-71.
January-March 1993
Page #64
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
58
TULSĪ PRAINĀ
Development of Self-Understanding
Through Guidance
Indu Dave
THE CLARION CALL
The pursuit of Happiness has been an eternal quest of human beings since times immemorial. Translated into experiential terms, Happiness may be seen as a state of harmonious adjustment within and without the individual. Lack of harmony at any point results in conflict which is painful. In accordance with natural human urges, the individual strives to get rid of pain and to achieve happiness. Under normal situations, the individual tends to ride through the waves of this Pain-Pleasure Tide on his own in various aspects of his life. At times, however, emergent storms appear to block his forvard journey. He may lose sight of paths amongst disturbing environmental forces; he may also lack insight into the nature of his own SELF controlling or overcoming these forces. On such occasions, he needs assistance, which may relieve him of the painful states of helplessness, conflict or tension.
A classical picture of a psychophysical wreck under such conditions may be seen in the person of Arjun, who on the Karmabhumi of Kurukshetra left his bow and arrow and sat on the hind-seat of his chariot. He said to Lord Krihsna that he was highly confused and his bow was falling down from his hand. Overt physical symptoms indicate the torture of his mind when he says.
CHHET, Hoa ufquia i
वेपुयश्च शरीरे में, रोमहर्षस्य जायते ।।" In this non-functional state of mindand body, he is given guidance for understanding of his true SELF in its real ENVIRONMENT. And this DIVINE GUIDANCE towards Self-Understanding is initiated with the Eternal. Teacher's CRAION CALL:
"क्लैव्यं मास्म गम: पाथ न एतत् त्वयि उपपधते ।
छुद्रं हृदय दौर्बल्यं, त्यक्त्वा उत्तिष्ठ परंतप ।।'' Perhaps Arjun's image on the Karmabhumi of Kurukshetra may reflect the January March 1993
Page #65
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance
confusions and tensions fo the present-day teacher on his Karmabhumi in today's value-starved, morally-polluted, mentally-vitiated, dehumanized society. No wonder that the individual engaged in the most revered profession in the Indian Culture and the most basic vocation in all walks of work, generally appears to be least inclined to be in it, or is simply driven to work in it! - only to fulfil basic necessities of living! And it is the Challenge of Teacher-Educators today to rebuild the person of this broken teacher by reshaping his broken limbs and relieving them with the soothing balm of a realistic Self-Understanding, by instiling the juices of professional loyalty in his dried heart, and by filling the Bliss-giving Nectar of Faith in his starved spirit. The Teacher-Educator today needs to play the role of Karma Yogi Krishna who enlightened the darkened path of Arjun's Workfield and who "awakened" the worker not only towards the knowledge of his own SELF, but also threw light on profession of conducting a just warfare against the contaminating forces which had darkened it by engulfing it into polluting elements. The Teacher-Educator today needs to rise to this CLARION CALL,
In the present paper this issue will be briefly considered in the context of three relevant queries:
WHO?
It is the Teacher-Educator who will have to take the initiative in breaking the Chakravyuha of Corruption in Society, Pollution in Profession, and Frustration amongst Workers/co-workers.
HOW?
Start by Self-Understanding-Turn the Torch Inside: And assist the teacher to understand himself and his profession in a realistic manner.
WHERE?
Teacher-education programmes will be the appropriate place to start. Programmes of guided Self-Understanding need to be integrated into the teachereducation programmes.
59
Attempt will be made to have a practical approach in this paper. Only some workable plans and result-oriented aproposals will be suggested.
The presentation of matter will be organised under the following two broad headings:
I.
Conceptual Clarifications
II. Some Practical Suggestions
1.
2.
Vision of an Ideal Teacher
Functional guidelines for assisting the teacher understand himself realistically.
January-March 1993
Page #66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
60
1. Self-Understanding:
TULSI PRAJNĀ
CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS
It is not the lengthly labrynth of linguistic elaborations which can clarify the comprehensive import of even small words. Prem (4) is only two and a half letter word, and so is Aatma (3). But the challenge lies in understanding the limitless significance of such two and a half letter words! The word "Atma" or SELF, carries connotations of the immeasurable depths of oceans, unscalable heights of Heaven and incomprehensible expanse of the Cosmos. The state of Selfunderstanding as visualized by saints, philosophers, or even concretized by scientists and psychololgists, may be seen as one of the highest achievements of mankind. The process leading to the attainment of this coveted state is equally challenging, and demands dedication, devotion, and determination from the Sadhak. Realization of this celestial aim. however, fills the individual with an indescribable sense of bliss.
January-March 1993
पोथी पढ़ पढ़ जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय । ढाई अक्षर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय ।।
In this eternal quest of such a bliss, man has progressively formulated several knowledge-fields for understanding his SELF. Today he is surrounded by a host of such Disciplines like Philosophy. Psychology, Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Sociology, Anthropology, and even Astronomy, Physical, Natural and Social Sciences. All the fund of knowledge contained within these disciplines. however. has not been separately adequate in his pursuit. At times, it has perhaps made the individual's requisite understanding of his SELF even more perplexing for him; his fragmented approach may have only confused him. One modern scholar, Ralph Linton, has rightly indicated this situation by observing that perhaps today we may need to develop New Discipline integrating knowledge-items from all these fields in order to comprehensively understand the SELF. It would be a global approach with an inter-disciplinary effort to accomplish this Herculian task. In just one section of this small paper, therefore, I do not profess to present such an ideal conceptual clarification of this most comprehensively meangingful term. With trepidation and utmost humility. I only propose to attempt a few general clarifications of the term, a brief reference to the vital relation of Guidance to Selfunderstanding, and the implicit integrality of both these processes in our teachereducation programmes.
(a) General Clarifications:
Attaining the state of Self-Understanding may be viewed as a Sadhana being blessed with the rays of light illuminating the dark chamber of ignorance. To start such a Sadhana, the requisite mental state is that of Consciousness. Generally, an individual's consciousness tends to function with respect to others. He tends
Page #67
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
61
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance to see outside himself, with the result that his Consciousness becomes reactionary. Instead of living the creative life of active consciousness, the individual tends to degenerate into the comparatively mechanical behaviour of reactionary consciousness. Thus, he drifts into being influenced by others' behaviour toward him rather than rising into analysing his own behaviour. The wisdom of Selfrealized Souls in this respect has been aptly epitomized in just three words -LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF. Indian philosophy has always emphasized AtmaVishleshan or Atmabodh. Jain Philosophers have suggested the specific technique of Prekshadhyan for the purpose of systematically looking at oneself, starting right from the body and then proceeding higher. Perhaps Jesus Christ had reflected this state of Self-understanding when he could project it into understanding the cruel behaviour of others, by saying "O God! forgive them because they know not what they are doing". Yogeshwar Krishna had to exhibit his own Virat Swaroop with his self-understanding.
Psychologists have tried to explain this phenomenon in a more concrete manner. Says Lindgren with reference to self-understanding in teachers “The human being whom the teacher is closest to is himself.... It is one thing to study a catalogue of the devious ways in which people avoid anxiety and responsibility through the little psychological tricks they play on themselves. It is another to discover the same interesting quirks in our own behaviour... There is a feeling of acceptance and respect for others that comes with Self-understanding."
An individual launching on this path of Self-understanding may initially need a jerk to awaken him from his slumber. He needs Guidance to arouse Selfawareness in him. Or, if some Self-awareness has started sprouting in him, he may need a helping hand to guide him towards goal of Self-understanding. (6) Relation with Guidance:
Such a jerk, or helping hand to the needy individual who may be insensitive towards the dynamcis of his own behaviour, has to come from a Wise Guide. The role of a Guru the teacher, in awakening the pupil and leading him towards the light of knowledge is too well expounded in our culture to be repeated before this august group. The need for guidance/assistance in a journey from immaturity to maturity is the law of life. The functioning of this law can be observed in the developmental activities of all living organisms - even with respect to their existence and maintenance needs. For attaining the highest goal of humann life, viz., Self-Realisation, Self-Understanding, is absolutely necessary. The essential role of such Guidance in Sadhna in any aspect of life has been adequately propouned in our culture in the saying. Without the guidance of Guru, - who should be a personification of Knowledge, it is not possible to achieve Self
H.C.Lindgren: Education Psychology in the Classroom; “Psychology of the Teacher": Johan Wiley & Sons Inc.N.Y.P.527
January-March 1993
Page #68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSĪPRAJNA
Understanding. Tulsidas also says in the very preliminary prayers prior to launching on the Mahakavya Ram Charit Manas:
62
The more technical and scientific aspect of Guidance will be expounded under its conceptual clarification at the proper place.
बन्दे बोधमयं नित्यं गुरूं शंकर रूपिणम् । यश्राश्रितो हि वक्रोपि चन्द्रः सर्वत्र वन्धते ।।
(c) Implicit Integrality in Teacher-education Programmes:
Self-understanding as well as Guidance are among the most fundamental terms prevalent in Teacher-education Programmes. In Philosophy as well as Philosophy of Education, the concept of Self-understanding is epitomized in the age-old maxim "Know Thyself". Particualrly in Indian Philosophy, the very term used for Philosophy, viz. Darhsan carries the connotation of realistically looking at oneself., as one looks into a mirror, to get a true picture of his individual Self.
Psychology, which is the Science of Behaviour, underlines the significance of the SELF, and a need for its correct understanding in many ways. The very inception of the concept of SELF in a baby, its gradual development in the child's SELF-STRUCTURE, and its systematic integration in every aspect of his Personality's functioning, have been elaborated by phenomenological psychologists like Arthur Combs, Donald Snygg and others. Maslow's Hierarchy of Values, culminating in Self-Actualization is really the counterpart of the ultimate philosophical goal of Self-Realisation. The very nature of an individual's Self-Concept is central to the functioning and adjustment of an individual's personality.
Guidance and Counselling, which comprises a further specification of philosophical objectives, and systematic specification of psychological techniques, re-emphasizes the values of a realistic understanding of the Self, a vigilant consciousness of its dynamics, and a positive acceptance of related facts, thus enabling an individual for effective functioning in various life-situations.
The implicit integrality of the concepts of Self-understanding and guidance in other significant items related to the Teacher-Education Programmes, such as, Methodology of Teaching, Teaching Practice, etc., will be detailed in the last section to this Paper.
(2) Guidance:
Existence of the phenomenon of Guidance since the inception of life on earth, its close relation with Self-understanding, and the philosophical value for the need of a Wise Guide to lead an individual from darkness to Light have been observed in general terms in previous sections. In the present age of tehnological develop
January-March 1993
Page #69
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
63
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance ment, this implicit process of human life has rejuvinated itself in the form of Scientific Discipline, - dealing with all types of behavioural dynamics. It has also flowered integrally into the entire educational world.
No wonder that the initial stage of its emergency in a scientific form, it was engulfed by some narrow conceptions like imparting of career information only; or, in the over-enthusiasm of novice Psychologists to project in a spectacular technical form, appeared to be becoming synonymous with Psychological Testing, or, in an irrational haste to dub it on unprepared schools was only misrepresented as a mere frill to regular school activities, or, worst still, was immaturely handled as uprooted alien plant to adorn an Indian flowerpot! Unfortunately, after decades of its inception in India, these intitially erronesous moves have adversely affected the correct understanding of this technical field permeating the entire behaviour of individual and all disciplines related to his behavioural dynamics. Even in purely scientific terms, the technical role of Guidance in the process of Selfunderstanding cannot be overemphasized. In fact, Guidance starts as an asistance to the individual towards Self-Understanding, and systematically proceeds towards the higher goal of Self-Guidance. It is basically an Expert's Scientific Assistance to a needy Individual, ultimately aiming at enabling him to independently take discreet and responsible decisions in various Life-Situations. Initially, the process starts with arousing in the individual an awareness of the need for Self-understanding, and proceeds with assisting the individual to attain a Realistic Self-understanding in terms of knowledge of one's potentialities as well as limitations. The individual is helped to develop a Freedom of Mind with the Courage of Conviction - to be able to continually do Self-Evaluation on the path of Self-Understandings, ultimately leading to Self-Actualisation,
Guidance is also not only for the maladjusted, as is often orroneously conceived. It is in fact a continual assistance to all individuals, because each single individual possesses some unique potentialities for further development while treading the multifacet path of life.
An individual's life is not segmented into isolated sections of Home, Work, or Soceity. His Personality is an interrelated, integrated Entity wherein different dimensions of living are in dynamic interaction with one another. Hence the functional nature of Guidance and Counselling should be narrowly compartmentalized by prefixes like “Educational”, “Vocational”, “Personal” etc. The process of Guidance, with a global approach of Totally towards the “integrated" Personality, aims at the Life-adjustment of the Individual.
The most apt way of summerizing the Relation of Guidance to SelfWUnderstanding would be that Guidance is the technical means and the SELFUNDERSTANDING is its means. They are related in the relation of means and end.
January-March 1993..
Page #70
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
64
(1) Vision of an Ideal Teacher Today:
The vision of an Ideal Teacher Today needs to be one of the most logical starting points of our Teacher-Education Programmes. A visualization of our desired "Final Product" should form the basis for developing the TeachingLearning Experiences in our Teacher-Education Programmes. This approach will only be analogous to our own processes (in a Teachers' College) of guiding the Student-Teacher to visualize the "Expected Behavioural Changes" in the school pupil's Person, while preparing lesson-plans.
""
TULSĪPRAJNA
In the context of the Indian Scene, let us start with pinpointing the significance of the very term used for a Teacher in the Indian Culture. Even literally speaking, the term GURU means "HEAVY". The teacher, in our culture, is conceived of as being heavy-heavy in terms of Knowledge, Values, and Working Ability. He is expected to possess the capability of shouldering the heavy responsibilities of one of the most dignified professions. The magnanimity attached to this profession in the Indian Culture is vividly represented in the primarily bewildered expression of the pupil when he sees his GURU and GOD simultaneously standing in front of him. His confusion, as WHO should be respected first by touching the feet, is reflected in the line. गुरू गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, | Instantaneously however, he appears to realize the role of his GURU and says. बलिहारी गुरु आपकी, गोविन्द दियो बताय The great Indian Philosopher-Educator-Politician, Radhakrishnan, has summarily explained the concept of a GURU in just one life- अंधकार निरोधिता गुरू इत्यमिधीयते 1
17
III PRACTIAL SUGGESTIONS
44
"
i.e., one who is capable of dispelling the pupil's ignorance in various aspects of life can be termed as GURU. The great Educator Tagore, therefore, has beautifully emphasised the need for a teacher to keep the flame of his own "Lamp" eternally burning if he purports to light the pupil's "Lamp"!
Without turning the light of Knowldge at his own SELF, how can the teacher light the lamps of Knowldege-Seekers - his Puipls? The Nityam Bodhmayam Guru, i.e., the Teacher who is always full of Knowledge, helps the pupil in selfunderstanding along with imparting to him subject-matter knowledge in which he is expected to possess soundness. It may be emphasised here that for a person who is teacher by professon, constant pursuit of knowledge for this soundness is not only Swantaha Sukhaya i.e. for one's own happiness! The teacher also needs the professional skills to tailor this knowledge according to pupils' needs, and effectively communicate it to them. In this process, he also, directly or indirectly, communicates to the pupil his character-traits, life-values, and behavioural modes. It is therefore, absolutely essential for him to have attained the highest point in the hierarchy of values, viz., Self-Realisation. This value can be achieved only after having obtained Self-Understanding.
January-March 1993
Page #71
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
65
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance · The real Challenge of a Teacher Today, however, is that he is expected to have attained all these qualities and values under the existing societal conditions, which do not appear to be very favourable for the development of such ideal traits. Under the present circumstances, therefore, there is an additional need for him to have the Courage of Conviction to be able to face current oddities in his world of work, a Staunch Will to overcome emergent hurldles, a very strong Faith in his roles and responsibilities, and above all, an Unfailing Loyalty towards his Profession. From this point of view, the image of an Ideal Teacher Today may be a little different from the Ideal Guru during our ancient Value-oriented Society. Perhaps his task will also be much more challenging than the Gurus who did not have to struggle for basic necessities of life and whose, Gurukuls commanded a respectable position in the entire society! Today's Teacher, therefore, needs much more personal stamina, an unbending will to act, perhaps a fighting spirit to combact and conquer, and an unusual discretionary ability to sift the desirable from the undesirable through a host of stimulants present in today's complicated world. A fundamental trait, however, can enable him to confidently stand like a rock amidst storms, and that trait is a Fearless Freedom of Mind. In Guru Rabindranath's immortal words. "Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high; where knowledge is free, ... Today's teacher needs to keep awake into that the heaven of freedom!
Last but not the least important - one more quality I would like to add to my vision of an Ideal Teacher, and in my view, that is an eternally valuable quality in a teacher, irrespective of historical age-differences, or geographical local variations. It is the LOVE for PUPIL ivhich can continually inspire a teacher to confidently move forward.
One of the prime responsibilities of a teacher is to assist the pupil with his own Self-understanding. In order to fulfil this responsibility, he should first understand himself. He needs to clearly envisage his own roles and responsibilities - eternal as well as emergent. In the context of this understanding he has to be assisted by the teacher-educator to develop the desired qualities and qualifications. (2) Some Practical Suggestions for Developing Self-Understanding in Teacher
Trainees Through Guidance in our Teacher Education Programmes. (a) Initial Guidance for Self-Understanding:
There is a probability that today's pupil teacher may enter the teachertraining institute with some negative attitudes, such as “forced to be becoming a teacher", "driven by necessity to enter this job", "formal acquisition of a requisite qualification" or for girls“ a Second string to the bow".
An initial Guidance Approach for inculcating the seeds of Self-Understanding at this preliminary stage may be to organise some informal brain-storming sessions-preferably in small groups, wherein participants may be encouraged to
January-March 1993
Page #72
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
66
TULSĪ PRAJŇA express freely thçir views about issues such as(i) Why did they decide to enter this profession? (ii) What are their expectations from the teacher-education programme? (iii) How do they view their future in society?
Such sessions may also serve as Pre-Evaluation Exercises for teachereducators with respect to the teacher-education programmes. Data gathered in this informal manner may well be supplemented with and validated against (if possible) simple teacher-made Guidance Tools to assess the entrants' interests. attitudes, personality traits, etc. A discussion of data obtained in this manner, with students-teacher will help them in gaining insight into their own ȘELF, It may be a good idea also to have a similar Post Evaluation of our Teacher-Education Programmes. (6) Supplementing this Initial Self-Understanding With Some Curricular
Topics:
(i) Psychology of the Teacher:
Preliminary Self-Awareness awakened through the above mentioned informal processes may be flowered further by logially nourishing it with more scientifically imparted knowledge about Psychology of the Teacher in terms of his professional behaviour-dynamics and his job-responsibilities. Image of an Ideal Teacher Today may also be visualized with some ideas about his desirable Personality Traits, the Magnitude of his job, his Self-oriented and Psychologically-oriented Roles - in addition to the routine instructional roles, Present-day Challenges, the Integrative as well as Non-Integrative aspects of his professional work etc. The Teaching Approach of this topic, viz. Psychology of the Teacher, should aim at the development of Self-analysis, Self-understanding and Insight into the Teaching Profession. (iii) Philosophy of Education
Values related to the job of a teacher will naturally come up in this course. Again, the picture of an “Ideal Guru" in terms of his professional soundness, personal qualities and character-traits can be logically visualized in context of “Idealism of the Indian Philosophy approach. In tutorials and small-group sessions, students' reactions to this ideal may be freely elicited. They may be further encouraged to examine this ideal image in today's context; suggestions may be invited regarding the teachers' initiatives (possible) to ameliorate the situation. Trainees may be expected to receive systematic guidance towards Selfanalysis and Self-understanding in such thought-provoking sessions. (iii) Psychology of Teaching & Learning:
Through the analysis of teaching-learning behaviour in abroad manner at this
January-March 1993
Page #73
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance
67 preliminary stage, the teacher-educator, in this topic, may not only form a logical base for the teaching of more technical items like learning theories, factors affecting learning etc., but may also skilfully generate the spark of Self-understanding in the pupil-teacher with respect to his job-tasks. Appropriate questions at crucial stages may elicit some initial rays of the developmental light of Selfunderstanding within the pupil-teacher. (iv) Teaching Practice
Teaching Practice is perhaps that damaged backbone of our teacher-education programme which has today become the weakest link among the several linkactivities in our teacher-education programmes. Also, it is a painful reality that during this activity, we are not only arresting the needed development of Selfunderstanding among our pupil-teachers, but are also projecting a rather distorted Self-Image of a "Backbone-broken teacher” in his mind! With mechanical lesson-plans, routine supervision remarks, indiscreet use of teaching aids, and formal khanapurtis upto the Final Practical Examinations, we have perhaps made a mockery of our Teaching-Practice Experiences given to prospective teachers:
Perhaps it is here that the Teacher Educator himself need to do a lot of Self analysis before he can guide his pupil towards the coveted goal of SelfUnderstanding. (v) Methodology of Teaching School Subjects . It may be recalled at this stage that Pracice in Teaching is closely related to the Paper on “Methodology of Teaching School Subject". An initial analytic move for the teacher-educator, therefore, may be to start wtih examining his teaching of this paper - from the point of view of developing Self-Understanding among the teacher-pupils. Social history of human development indicates that man, in the continual process of increasing his knowledge about himself in relation to his world, has systematically explored the contents which are found organized in several subject-fields. Hence, every teaching subject has its own value for Self-understanding as well as Self-development. Value of a school subject also forms a teaching item in all Methodology Papers. The Teachereduator may make a more conscious effort to communicate effectively these value of pupil teachers. At this point, I would also like specifically to bring about the potential of teaching a subject not only from the point of view of content matter and related values but also with the aim of developing Self-Understnading among school pupils.
Before our trainees - who will be by now, equipped with knowledge of learning theories as well as several teaching strategies - to go in classrooms for actual teaching practice, the teacher-educators, in their Demonstration Lessons, need to bring out skilfully this potential of teaching a subject to school pupils. While
January-March 1993
Page #74
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNA
teaching of subjects like Sciences, Mathematics can stimulate the mental abilities of pupils like thinking, understanding, reasoning etc., in terms of the cognitive potential of the pupil, teaching of fields like Art and Literature can release tremendous treasures through which the starved affective aspect of the young student may be devotedly nourished. Teaching of Poetry wherein the pupil needs to be assisted for experiencing the poet's feelings or that of a song where the languages of Swaras and Tal can bring to life the composer's emotions, are very potential tools in the teacher's hands to develop his as well as pupil's SELF. (c) Co-Curricular Activities:
68
Co-curricular activities of an institution are indeed a very rich integral part of its total educational programme. Co-curricular items in a teacher-education college also provide ample opportunities for the teacher-educator not only to better understand their teacher pupils, but they also generate those golden periods in which teacher-pupils may be given guidance for Self-understanding in a personal as well as interesting manner. Colleges may plan thier own cocurricular activities according to their convenience and provisions. Here I would like to give only a couple of examples of co-curricular activities which are generally prevalent in standard teacher-training institutions.
(i) Morning Assemblies:
In general, this most potential programme of Self-analysts, and Self-understanding has unfortunately ended up by becoming only another routine practice in our colleges. It rejuvenation, with appropriate prayers, precious moments of silent meditation, and brief reflections over words of wisdom may work wonders in leading pupils towards our cherished goals of Self-understanding. Ironically, all the items mentioned above are still there in morning Assembly. It is, however the approach and attitudes with which all these items are as if "ticked off" in compliance wtih the chalked out "daily routine".
(ii) Cultural Programmes
In this august assembly, I need not dwell upon the value of "cultural Programmes" for self-understanding and Self-development. Unfortunately, however, the "cultural" element in them has deteriorated to the level of only "entertainment", and our so-called "cultural programmes" are nothing more than low-level "entertainment programme" and are often "done away with" as another routine activity outlined in the year's calendar. If pursued in their true spirit according to Indian culture, the Sadhna (Practice) of Dance, Drama and Music are those transcendental experiences which can elevate the very personality of an individual. They can lead the individual to even higher levels than Selfunderstanding. In Bharatnatya Shastra they have been considered the steps towards Siddhi; (realisation) and by dedicating oneself to their pursuit, the individual can rise from (human realisation) to the heights of (divine realisation).
January-March 1993
Page #75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Development of Self-Understanding Through Guidance
69 We do realise that a teacher's college is not the temple where the Sadhna (practice) of these items, as I have narrated above, can be pursued. What I wish to emphasize is the spirit and approach with which these activities are organized in a Teachers' College. Unfortunately, this spirit is sadly absent even in the "cultural programmes" of our schools today-where it has become only a talentexploitation device. (iii) Camps
Short camps, of about four to five days' duration have now become a standard practice in most teacher-education colleges. There is no doubt that the cooperative and community life-experiences during this period provide for ample opportunities to analyse onself in terms of one's sensitivity, honesty, integrity etc. Here I wish to specifically emphasize two daily programmes generally prevalent during camp life in all teachers' colleges. These can contribute immensely to Selfunderstanding, if carried out with proper Guidance.
Potentialities of the routine “Morning Assembly" as stated above, can be better explored and utilized during Camp Life when there is much more time for this programme. As the venue of Morning Assembly will be an open place, situated amongst the soothing surroundings of Mother Nature, the gifts and blessings fo “Soorya-Darshan" with silent meditation can work miracles towards the development of Self-Understanding amongst participants.
One more such programme is prevalent is some institutions, and is called "Sandhya-Vela” (“Evening Time"), which is generally linked with the sunset. This programme is of a longer duration than the Morning Assembly. In addition to various aspects of its organisation - which may be individually discussed with interested participants of this workshop - I would like to stress in this group some inherent elements of this programme which definitely promotes Self-understanding among the participants. Complete Silence, Sunset View, and Soft Music are some of these elements. A group of about three hundred people slowly walking to th Sunset point in complete Silence. Sitting into "tanavakuketa Maun" i.e., relaxed position and in complete silence on an elevated spot, devotedly looking at the deepening and drowning glory of the Sun, and having every limb vibrating with the “Mridu Sargeet Tarangas" (Soft Musical Waves) willing the environment is indeed such a relaxing, quietening, elevating celestial experience which can only be internalized - not described. This experience is akin to What Tulsidas has narrated in five very meaningful words:"Gira Anayan, a Nayan Binu Vani” meaning thereby that such expereince is indescripable as speech has no eyes and eyes, no speech.
January-March 1993
Page #76
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNĀ
Values for Education
R.P.Singh
VALUES ARE NORMS for living-whether social or individual. Noone - not even a thief or a dacoit can possibly live without values. The choice among values could be between good values or bad values. The goodness or badness of values can be adjudged only against the social acceptance. Since societies are rarely uniform, the values would also differ accordingly. The question of values, crises is as old as human race itself. Socrates was asked 'How come the good always suffer and the bad prosper'. The whole story of job in Bible, though put differently, is a description of values - the ultimate values of choice between the Evil and Good. Suffering is supposed to accompany choice of a good value. Therefore, almost all religions promise that those who shall suffer on earth shall be duly compensated in Heaven and others penalised. Therefore, in religions it has been thought possible that a bad man shall enjoy but this enjoyment is limited to his life span for eternally he shall be penalized and made to suffer. For those who do not believe in life hereafter or have no concept of Hell or Heaven, this life itself is the ultimate truth. Pleasures are philosophically defended and advocated. Pain is philosophically recognised and, therefore, has to be avoided. Lord Budha's theory of Dependent Origination - that there is pain in life, this pain is possible to be overcome and has to be overcome, that death is not the only means of cessation of pain - but a deliberate choice has to be made to avoid sufferings - is but a manifestation of the human desire to find a solution to the realities of life.
The Saitan in Bible, Hell in Islam or Hinduism are added as elements of fear so that Man may not go astray from the socially accepted norms. Social myths have their own degrees of importance. It is difficult to appreciate truth unless we know it in simple terms. Language of these myths is therefore deliberately made symbolic. Symbols clarify the hidden meanings-through they also confuse. One has sometimes to go beyond these symbols to derive the real meanings.
Society adopts certain norms of behaviour because it wished to survive and perpetuate. In case of deviations from these norms, social disapproval can be expressed in the form of social ostracization. But their deviations from the norms are quite common and then each society keeps on reminding its members problems arising out ot these deviations. Indeed, each society has found for itself that these norms have to be so designed that all aspects of human life are adequately covered.
January-March 1993
Page #77
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Values for Education
Therefore, we have both typologies of norms and their gradations made available to us. For convenience of the implementation and execution of these norms, each society has its own functioning.
Let us first have the typologies of the norms/values. 1. Scientific/secular values for those societies where religion interferes with
intellectual and social development. In fact the history of these values itself is relatively recent. After a long, strenuous effort we now have a recognisable body of scientific values. For example, various traits of these values are: objectivity, rationality, integrity, impartiality, and excellence in academic matters.
Spiritual/Moral/Religious values are the second important category. Though religions have generally been intolerant of each other and causes of dissen sions, they also have their attributes; brotherhood, tolerance, accommodation, compassion, firmness of principles and conscience. If, on the one hand, a religion can help an individual to derive some solace in life during times of adversity, it can help maintain a socially cohesive life on the other.
3. Political values: Human history is replete with examples of a variety of
political viewpoints. Therefore, each political system has different sets of values. For example, in a dictatorship, the cherished values are: conformism, obedience, humility, etc. In a democracy, the values would be equality, freedom of speech and thought and similar other things. In primitive societies we see total participation of communities and conformism to the words of kings or priests. In most cases the temporal and religious positions are interchangeable. In modern theocracies, we can find these combinations made legal through dictates. However, democratic values with attributes like
equality before law, freedom of expression, etc. come on top in this category. 4. Aesthetic values: For social life, intellectual pursuits have tremendous
relevance. The aesthetic or cultural values like arts, drama, music, dance, etc. are extensions of these inherent values.
Aesthetic values have also a long history of struggle. It is not possible to describe their struggle separately, but by and large these values have not been universally similar. For example, music and dance are not acceptable in several religions, Arts are symbolic in nature, therefore a few societies censor them. In totalitarian societies, art forms are used as media of protest, therefore they are closely watched. In other societies, arts are used to reflect either the reality or the ideal and, therefore, they make the difference clear between what is desirable and
January-March 1993
Page #78
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
72
TULSĪ PRAIÑĀ what is not. Pursuit of arts, a value by itself, has no relationship with any particular art form.
It should be interesting to analyse a few of those values which concern all of us. We, a section of people in India, believe that Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha describe our important values of human life. These values may easily be regarded as eternal values. Each lise derives its sustenance from some form of dharma, must have some economic activity to earn one's livelihood, indulge in sex to procreate life and aim at salvation eventually. In brief, the human cycle consists of these four basic values, or socially acceptable norms of behaviour. A deviant in each case would create a problem and thus result in social disequilibrium. Consequently, disapproval must accompany approval. Before we analyse these four aspects of human life and their relative importance, let me also talk of the other values too: Truth, Beauty and Goodness, i.e., Satya, Shiva and Sundaram. These are commonly believed to be the eternal values.
We should therefore, devote a little time on these values. Dharma is generally believed to mean more than a mere religion. It covers the entire gamut of human life. So what one lives by is one's Dharma. For example, the Dharma of a king is to rule or govern, the Dharma of a student is to study, of the policeman to enforce law, etc. etc. Each individual has his Dharma. This Dharma is inviolable. We could think of a Dharma which a wine-seller has or a jeweller has. They have a
. A wine-seller's Dharma is to sell wines whether or not his action may lead to someone's physical decay or destruction. Involved here is the other aspect of Dharma too. Wine-selling is an economic activity (artha), therefore it cannot be condemned. People drink wines. They must get the wines in their unadulterated form What is condemned is not the act of wine-selling but its excessive consumption. If the wine-seller, in order to promote his economic activity, does not induce anyone to consume more, I don't think he is exceeding the limits of his Dharma. The onus of drinking in excess or moderation lies on the consumer because the seller does not determine the quantity or the measure of its demand. In brief, everyone who performs one's job in moderation and with social stability in view is in fact acting according to the Dharma of his job.
The problem or value of artha also stands partially defined. Artha is necessary for social, individual and economic survival. The point to remember is that excess of involvement in artha is not approvable. A businessman must earn money. His business should thrive. But the business cannot thrive if one thought that it was one's job to sell the goods to those too who have no means to buy them. But changing in excess of the set norms is not approvable. Not paying taxes is not approvable. In brief, all economic activities have their own sets of norms and one is advised not to violate these.
Similarly, Kama or Sex is an approved activity with or without marriage in all societies. Marriage became necessary to regulate sexual life and also to bestow
January-March 1993
Page #79
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Values for Education
73 proprietorial rights on individuals. Its moral aspect is perhaps the strongest defence in its favour. But women have suffered in this game because of both historical and biological reasons. Be that as it may, non-indulgence in sex or prudery areas much socially disapproved as over-indulgence. A kind of means has to be the governing factor in one's sexual life. Interestingly, societies regard sex as a matter of public concern and morality; therefore, natural and unnatural acts are also defined.
Moksha or Nirvana is the ultimate goal of human life. All religions have added this goal to one's life as a necessary regulatory feature. Without Nirvana we shall lose the entire perspective to human existence. Why do we live? has no meaning if we do not know where is one destined to go. All journeys must terminate somwhere and at a certain point of view. Therefore, we must know both the process and its product. Nirvana also has a salutary effect on our behvaiour, It controls excesses and deviations. It is a solemn promise for those who have qualified for it through their modernisation, observance of social norms, and performance of all necessary obligations.
If the entire gamut of human life, controlled and regulated as it is, has to confirm to a defined pattern, all values stand automatically achieved. But the problem arises because we are not quite sure what exactly these values mean, how can they help an individual, and what really happens if we fail to be governed by them. We have so far failed even to define as simple a thing as Truth or Duty. We are not sure whether Truth is relative or eternal. Similarly, we cannot define one's duty also. No single value could stand the test of time or space. In fact, this is one good reason why we say that values are relative. They have no independent existence beyond Time and Space. The reference points are situations. The ‘ideal construct' of values flounders on the rock of relativity.
Interesting as it is to know that there is a typology of values and there is a possibility to establish a hierarchy among them but the values themselves become commonplace as soon as we start examining them. Let us take an example. To kill a human being is not socially apporoved. Indeed, it is a cognizable offence under the penal code. But in times of war when human groups are behaving like enemies, killing of a soldier/human being is regarded as a heroic act. The act of killing, therefore, in one situation is not desirable, in the other it is more than welcome. Therefore, the objective reality of killing changes colours/values according to situations. Wartime values are supposedly different from peace time values. What therefore makes the difference is not the killing but the situation of war or peace.
Similarly, telling the truth (apart from determining the nature of Truth) is extremely difficult to decide as a desirable or socially undesirable action. The fact of telling the Truth is generally regarded as a good or a desirable value. But is that so? For example, iconoclastic activity is permitted by a religion but the idol worship itself is a greatly cherished value in another. Therefore, the breaking of
January March 1993
Page #80
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
74
TULSI PRAJÑ‚Ā.
an idol may be commanded by one religion, but it does not get the same sanction by another sect or religion. Could a deity be represented in the form of an idol? - may be a difficult question to answer in two different situations. So what is true for one may be untrue for another.
We are not quite sure even about the nature of Truth itself. What is the ground on which we regard something true or untrue. Perhaps a proof of evidence is necessary. The proof of what is seen as true stands disproved the moment we see a stick in the water. A straight stick becomes bent if it is put in a glass of water. What then is the truth - the bent or the straight stick? Perhaps in each situation in the truth is an objective reality. Therefore, even an experimental or scientific truth may not always be the real Truth. In India, therefore according to different philosophies the nature of perceiving Truth varies. For example, the Charavakas hold that what is pratyaksha is the only evidence of Truth. For the Vaiseshika and Buddhist both Pratyaksha and Inference (or anuman) are two types of evidences. Like that, Vedanta believes that there are six forms of evidences including Sabda, Upmana, Arthapatti, Anupalabdhi and Sambhava. The Pauranikas have seven including aitihya (or a succession of rumours) as a form of evidence. If a succession of rumours or even Sabda (i.e., spoken word of an authority) is an evidence could be regarded as evidence of truth then Truth becomes subjective and even heresay. We must remember that Truth is being modified to conform to a belief of an authority. The controversy regarding Sati being defended by a Sankaracharya is one such form of evidence which it is difficult to agree with on rational grounds. The knowledge or Truth here is no longer an objective reality but a perception of variant of knowledge/Truth. If Truth is itself a subjective interpretation of an evidence, this Truth is 'indefensible' as an objective reality. Hindus have always believed that Truth is a self-luminous objective reality and is not amenable to evidential modification. Therefore, we reach the position of an impasse. In order to resolve this problem we have only one suggestion. Evidence and the judgement over an evidence should be left to the individual to resolve. The absolute Truth is the Transcendental Truth, and may be appreciated by a handful of people alone. Truth, like Divinity, is within the reach of a Sadhaka only. Therefore what is mundane is only an appearance or an approximation of Truth.
Faced with the problem of what is one's duty in times of adversity, the contingency plan alone is helpful. For example, if a group of bandits attacks a householder, what should he do if he also has a strong conviction about his property or children. Should be stand the ground and get killed in process of defending his attachments or should be run and save his life but risk the lives of his family members and even the looting away of his property? We know from experience that people react differently in different situations. Therefore, a duty is also definable in terms of situations and individuals. We cannot say for sure that Duty is universally definable in a uniform manner. Irrespective of the situations. If one attempted a definition of Duty it would be more Sabda (word) as Sanat
January-March 1993
Page #81
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Values for Education
75
Kumar tells Narada about learning. The theoretical construct of Duty could be an ideal but surely it would be beyond the capabilities of an individual to achieve. A construct may be a theory but putting it into practice may not be possible for everyone. Thereafter, we have to say that the ideal is desirable but not achievable.
Given the circumstances, can we attempt a regrouping of values hierarchically? We already know that there are several categories of values. But do they have a hierarchy of desirability? Perhaps yes. There is a hierarchy in the form of priorities, i.e., a few values come on top and others at the bottom. But how do we place them in this manner? Are there any criteria? Once again the answer is yes. The criteria could be: (1) The values which are generally accepted without any severe modification, (2) The ones which benefit the majority irrespective of caste, class or status.
Be that as it may, we may place the values in the following order:
1. Spiritual/moral/religious values
2. Aesthetic values
3.
Secular values
4. Political values
i
The relative importance of these values has its own rationale. A social being must find a ground for survival. If man does not live by bread alone, if one has to find a purpose in life and also standards to judge his actions, the first category of values are the only such values. The aesthetic values help one to extend one's cultural and inner appreciation of truth, beauty. To my mind the secular values are a modern compromise between materialism, atheism and theism. Therefore, as sugh it is an improvement over the intractable grounds between religious/spiritual/ moral and the non-theistic viewpoints. Secular values, like many other present day refreshing alternatives, are a national compromise. Political values come at the end of this classification because they concern the external arrangement of societies. However, they could also assume importance if one's survival with dignity was jeopardised. Revolutions are the results of such a collective concern for one's dignity as a human being while under threat. In such cases the political values acquire a pre-eminent position and reach the top.
Perhaps a word may be said about such values as human values, eternal values and such other categories. The problem one faces here is difficult if not exactly insurmountable. These two are in fact not separate categories though they are presented as such. Human and eternal values could also be spiritual values seen from a given point of view. There is of course no possibility of saying human as opposed to inhuman or subhuman values. Similarly, 'eternal' does not stand in position to transitory (or time-frame) values. In a book titled 'Of Human Values' by Folix Kuznetsov (Moscow 1980) the author writes (p.8-9):
January-March 1993
Page #82
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
76
TULSI PRAJ ÑĀ "Our society has reached a stage of maturity when it is clear that the lofty and eternal values, the questions of spirit and morality, such as meaning of life, search of that meaning, spirituality, honour, truth, compassion, firmness of principle and conscience, are our own values, that is, of real, i.e., socialist, communist, humanism which our system and way of life assert. The failure of abstract humanism lies not in its preaching of the vast importance for mankind of truth, goodness and conscience, categories that have great relevance for all of us, but in an idealistic interpretation of these values that removes them from social context and its impotence to change the world and men for the better." .
Let me close the paper by stating that all values appear to be subjective; amenable to interpretation in terms of Space and Time. It would be difficult to say the last word in this regard. One must go on with the quest - a quest regarding the values that one's society should uphold.
January-March 1993
Page #83
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
77
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
(Institutional Modes for Self-Education)
Chilana Mulk Raj
INTRODUCTION
Education undoubtedly is the key to national development and social reconstruction. Realization of this fact necessitates appropriate consideration for generation of such values as can promote quality education. An important area in this regard is the education of teachers. It is widely accepted that pre-service and in-service education of teachers are tivo vital components of teacher preparation. It is also an acknowldged fact that no pre-service teacher education programme can provide a fully accomplished teacher. So continued in-service teacher education is a necessity for maintaining standards in education. This is the reason why the National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 envisages over-hauling of teacher education as the first step for achieving quality in education. It emphasises the need to realise the significance of teacher education as a continuous process so that teachers may meet the challenges of major thrusts envisaged in the policy. The strategies for implementation of the NPE, as visualised in the programme of Action, contain a variety of measures for promoting teacher's growth and development. A comprehensive provision for training of teac] important programmes recommended by the NPE and POA. A number of agencies are already engaged in imparting training to the practising teachers. The new initiatives in teacher education include District Institutes of Education and Training, Upgraded Colleges of Teacher Education and Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education. All these instituttions constitute the external agencies. They are conducting programmes in a centralised manner. Obviously, such an approach will not be able to meet the growing demands of thousands of teachers working in our shools. With a view to reach all schools and all teachers, it is necessary to evolve new structures which are not to be substitutes for above-stated external agencies, but they should prove to be supplementary to already existing structure of in-service education and training (INSET) of teachers. One such new structure has been designated as 'School-Based In-service Education and Training (SBINSET). It underlines the institutionalised modes for self-education of teachers.
January-March 1993
Page #84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
78
TULSI PRAJÑA
CONCEPT Responsibility for in-service training is too 'important to be left floating uneasily between educational administrators and the specialized agencies of teacher education. In-Service education of teachers is a form of professional adult education and hence it should be organised at the place of work, i.e., at the school itself. In fact, this is an on-the spot education of teachers. It should aim at the professional growth and personal development of teachers through individual initiative and cooperative efforts. For this, there is evidently a need to develop a considered planofinnovations and coresponding strategies for in-service education to update the competence of practising teachers.
The school-based in-service education of teachers provides us with such a strategy. It is integrated with the total school programme and activities. It presupposes a dynamic leadership role on the part of the headmaster and optimum utilization of existing resources in the school and outside. Through regarding and revitalizing teaching techniques, school-based structure of in-service education bridges the gap between theory and practice. It is assumed that the practising teachers in the school-setting are the best possible resources for in-service or further education of teachers.
RATIONALE
The present age is an age of knowledge explosion because of unprecedented advancement in science and technology resulting in a fast changing society in every way. The teacher, in order to do his job well, must change accordingly and thus rise to the occasion in the realizing the national goals of education. The teacher can remain static or ignorant at his or her own peril. Tomorrow's schools cannot be run on yesterday's ideas and principles. Accordingly, a new programme has to be designed to deliver the package of new knowledge, innovative practices and modern techniques to teachers at their work places, i.e., schools. Making schools as the base and starting point. for their in-service education is the fundamental idea on which the programme of SBINSET is based. - Through the approach of SBINET, the important objective of universalization of in-service teacher-education can be achieved within available resources. Also, the constraints and limitations ofthe conventional structure of in-service education can be overcome through this new approach. Most of the schools are understaffed and therefore, they find it difficult to release teachers for 'off-premise' in-service preparation. Organization of in-service' of 'recurrent' education of teachers in some distant and unfamiliar institutions causes hardship and inconveniences to majority of teachers. Integrating training with teaching in the schools would not deprive the schools of the presence of teachers and, at the same time, it would generate in them a sense of obligation towards each other's professional growth by making the best use of the available resources.
January-March 1993
Page #85
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
School-based INSET is the right approach to promote teacher development from the grassroot. Instead of relying only on the guidance and help of external INSET agencies, SBINSET envisages a self-dependent, self-motivated, selfsufficient and self-inspired programme of faculty improvement. This is on-the-job training to develop teacher talent for self-satisfaction as well as to meet the institutional requirements. Since the programme originates from the day-to-day school life, it may prove to be a commendable attempt to bridge the gap between theory and pracice of education. Above all, it is not a programme coming from above or prescribed by persons on the top. It is an attempt to decentralise planning, implementation and evaluation of the whole programme of teacher development. The use of a popular phrase the SBINSET may be described as "the programme of growth of the teachers, by the teachers and for the teachers".
ASSUMPTIONS
79
The basic assumptions behind the SBINSET programme for teachers may be listed as follows:
(1) Education is the most significant and potent activity to bring about the desired change in a society.
(2) Teachers have the capability to develop their personal and professional capabilities in the school and in the community.
(3) School is the most appropriate and important institution for educational change.
(4) Teacher's involvement and participation must be sought in planning and implementation of any programme of in-serive education and training for their benefit.
(5) Individual schools have their unique needs and problems which demand distinct solutions and programmes of in-service education.
(6) Each school has the capacity to improve and develop even within the existing resources in men and material.
(7) The SBINSET programme is not an isolated activity; instead it is to be taken as supplementary and complementary to the efforts already being done in the field of in-service education of teachers.
OBJECTIVES
Development of teacher competency and professional growth forms the basic objective of all in-service education programmes. SBINSET, being one of the modes cannot be entirely different in its aims from other agencies. However, the
January-March 1993
Page #86
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
80
| TU L sĩ PRAJ & A
SBINSET addresses itself especially to the institutional needs. Some of the objectives of SBINSET can be related to the immediate problems and requirements of school, while long-term objectives may also be in focus. The objectives of SBINSET given below are only suggestive, never prescriptive. (1) To help teachers to identify and to solve day-to-day problems faced in their
schools. (2) To help teachers to identify and solve problems of children. (3) To enable the teachers to make optimum utilisation of the existing resources
of the institution for its overall improvement. (+) To make teachers more receptive and responsive to the learning, peeds of
pupils. (5) To help teachers to develop instructional material for the subject which they
teach.
(6) To help teachers to adopt various teaching-learning techniques to make
teaching enjoyable, meaningful and effective. (7) To develop a team spirit among the teachers through mutual discussions and
effective decisions.
(8) To supplement the subject knowledge with proper enrichment programmes
so as to enable teachers to meet the requirements of curricular changes. (9) To develop and implement innovative programmes in School Education. (10) To promote a sense of responsibility and self-criticism among teachers. (11)To stimulate teachers to undertake activities for self-improvement. (12)To develop problem-solving attitude among teachers. (13) To develop leadership qualities among teachers. (14) To create an awareness among the heads of schools for the urgent need for
continuous professional growth of teachers. (15) To help headmasters in discharging their duties more efficiently and in a
better way.
(16) To help the schools become change-prone.
(17) To create and develop in teachers a faith in and respect for work. . (18) To convert each shool into a training centre so that it becomes a real place for
the professional growth of all teachers.
January March 1993
Page #87
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
ACTIVITIES
School activities form the most crucial part of a SBINSET Programme for teachers. It is through activities alone that we could give a practical shape to the programme and thus hope to achieve the visualized objectives of the scheme..
The quality and number of activities may differ from institution to institution but the fact remains that most of the activities are common to all schools. Teaching in the classroom, conduct of examinations, maintaining discipline, assigning home work to children, holding morning assemblies, organising functions are examples of such common activities.
Each activity, should primarily have education and development of the child as its main concern and focus. Again each activity, in principle, should lead to the personal and professional growth of the teacher also so as to enable him to discharge his duties in an increasingly better way. To what extent both things happen would determine the quality of education being imparted in a particular institution.
The success of a SBINSET programme would lie in encouraging professionally growing through each activity they undertake.
All routine school activities could be classified into two broad categories; one, which could influence the teacher's growth directly and the other which would help him to grow indirectly. Talks to teachers by experts is just one example of a direct activity; whereas all activities for children are indirect activities for the professional growth of teachers. Both types of activities are important in their own ways.
(a) Indirect Activities
Keeping in view the philosophy of SBINSET, the indirect activities occupy a very important place. Each activity has the potential to make teachers grow.
Take for example the main activity of school, i.e., teaching in the classroom. It could be done in a routine, mechanical, dull and drab way. It could also be done in a way which would thrill and benefit both the teacher and the taught. The approach of SBINSET would-aim at developing such abilities, skills and attitudes in the teacher as would help him to follow the desired approach in teaching. To cite another example, mock-parliament as a school acivity would be best utilised if the teacher-incharge works hard to make it really successful. For this, he will have to study much and consult experts in the field. The teacher will have to make himself clear about the meaning of concepts like 'Zero Hour', 'Table of the House', etc. He must also be well conversant with the latest events and developments, both domestic and foreign, which concern the country most so that he could prepare ‘questions'and answers'. All this is bound to result in the professional development
January-March 1993
Page #88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
82
TULSĪ PRAJNA of the teacher. Given below is a suggested list of school activities which could profitably be utilised indirectly for teacher's own development. (i) Curriculum : 1. Preparing Teaching Aids in different subjects for all classes.
2. Collection, preparation and proper use of improvised apparatus. 3. Building up a mini educational museum in the school. 4. Making the library more functional. 5. Better planning & use of home work for children. 6. Developing subject corner rooms. 7. Using the practice of subject-heads. 8. Staff meetings. 9. Preparation of scrap books by students. 10. Quiz contests in different subjects and areas. 11. Book Exhibitions. 12. Preparation of bibliography on different topics. 13. Teaching children such things as use of an encyclopedia, dictionary or
any other reference book. 14. Telling students about different parts of a book, such as, foreword,
preface, contents, chapters, subject-index, author-index, bibliography
etc. 15. Extension anecdotes from the lives of great men of the world for the
benefit and inspiration of children. 17. Story telling by students and teachers. 18. Creative writing by students and teachers. 19. Working for better handwriting of children. 20. Increasing vocabulary, both passive & active by students and teachers. 21. Narrating memorable and inspriting experiences of their professional
careers by teachers. 22. Learning from students and eliciting from the suggestions for better
teaching
January-March 1993
Page #89
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
83
23. Learning from children especially those who are bright and talented and eliciting from the suggestions and ideas for school improvement.
24. Correction of written work, evaluation of answer books, remedial teaching and supplementary help in other curricular activities by bright children.
25. Subject-exhibitions.
(ii) Co-curricular Activities
1. Organising debates, declamation contests, extempore speech contest,
etc.
2. Organising contest etc.
3. Organising recitation contests in poetry.
4. Holding morning assemblies.
5. Organising dance, drama, skit, etc.
6. Exhibition on different ideas & themes.
7. Mock-Parliament.
8. Students' council.
9. Helping students to develop hobbies, like stamp collecting, coil collecting, photography, gardening, reading, writing, social service, music, dance, art painting, increasing general knowledge etc.
10. Participation in professional activities of teacher, associations.
11. Professional forum for headmasters.
12. Formation of clubs and societies.
13. Physical education programme for better health and efficiency.
14. Sports and games for all.
15. Sports and games for excellence in the field.
16. The school'magazine.
17. The school News Letter.
18. Educational trips and excursions by students and teachers.
19. Working on projects like: 'Know your community', 'know your district', 'know your state', and 'know your country.'
January-March 1993
Page #90
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
84
TULSI PRAJŇA 20. Working on the project “Know other countries”. 21. Working on themes like: communal harmony, national integration, and
international understanding. 22. Visits to places of educational and historical interest. 23. Company of and interaction with elevated souls. 24. Camp life and community living. 25. Intimate, knowledge of every student, his case history, strong points,
limitations, etc.
26. Having a pesonal experience of living in an institution (educational or
some other) which is known for its inspiring educational and uplifting
atmosphere. 27. Study of some model institutions.. 28. Observing effective teachers at work and in general life. 29. Science fairs. 30. Educational melas. 31. General knowledge competitions for students at different levels.
32. Role-pla;ing by students. (iii) Community-Based Activities
1. Local survey's by students and teachers. 2: Establishing community centres in schools or outsides. 3. Educating Community' through media. 4. Preparation of materials of the benefit of children. 5. Parent-Teacher Association. 6. Organising Parent's Day in School. 7. Visits to parents at their residence and also at their places of work. 8. Participation in adult education programmes. 9. Putting the concept of school complex in action 10. Looking for plus points in everybody around and making it as hobby and
an approach to life.
January-March 1993
Page #91
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
85
Paluing Professional Growth by Teachers 11. Village or locality adoption. 12. Parent Education Programmes. 13. Social Service activities. 14. Educational programmes of drop-outs and out-of-school youth in the
community. 15. Child care & nutrition talks. (b) Direct Activities
As defined earlier, direct activities are those which have direct influence on teachers, professional growth.
A suggestive list of such activities is given below: 1. Talks for teachers by experts on subject matter. 2. Talks for teachers by experts on pedagogy. 3. Self-introspection and assessment by teachers. + Self-improvement activities. 5. Undertaking innovative activities and projects. 6. Preparation of teaching aids by teachers. 7. Preparation of improvised apparatus by teachers. 8. Active involvement and participation of teachers in institutional planning. 9. Preparation of learning and instructional materials by teachers. 10. Self-study for personal and professional growth. 11. Action research by teachers. 12. Model lessons by teachers and for teachers. 13. Recommending new books for addition to the school library. 14. Organising educational meetings, conferencés, refresher workshops,
symposia, etc. in the school. 15. Making use of orientation programmes, refresher courses, and other
programmes of in-service education and training of teachers conducted
by the external agencies. 16. Preparing the school-calendar.
January-March 1993
Page #92
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
86
TULSĪPRAJNA
17. Wriring articles for school magazine.
18. Contributing articles and research papers to general and professional publications.
19. Adequate preparation for class teaching.
20. Collecting sayings of great men.
21. Developing note book for ready reference for "Thought for Today"
22. Thoughtful study of literature on value education in schools and giving a practical shape to some ideas in the school.
ENVIRONMENT
SBINSET is designed to adjust to any type of environment existing in a school. In fact, the programme accepts the local environment as it is and induces professionalism into it by introducing a teaching learning culture. However, proper professional attitude among teachers and headmasters will contribute to conducive school climate for the SBINSET programme. Whereas in a school with good traditions, the programme may find its way quickly; in others, the process of initiation and guidance would demand proper motivational techniques.
The school climate must be democratic. The school administration should encourage democratic functioning in decision making and free interaction among teachers and an exceptionally good and competent headmaster will add to a good school environment. The school administration can generate the same by appreciating the initiatives taken by teachers and rewarding the same. Sponsoring the teachers for external INSET programmes will further increase the competence of teachers for organising better SBINSET programes. Their involvement in the school planning is another important activity which would promote proper school environment.
In a school where the staff problems are sorted out in a humanistic way, school climate tends to be conducive. The school environment should also help teachers in experimentation. It should be flexible enough to accommodate and encourage initiative to teachers. Free thinking and democratic attitude should always be promoted in the school. It will go a long way to make the atmosphere thus created in the school to make SBINSET programme a success.
FACILITIES
SBINSET programme may be implemented under any condition and circumstances. An essential requirement in this regard is the willingness on the part of teachers. However, providing adequate physical facilities like a good staffroom, a well-equipped library and laboratory will improve the functioning of SBINSET. Availability of references books, educational journals and magazines,
January-March 1993
Page #93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Valuing Professional Growth by Teachers
87 gadgets like tape-recorders, overheadprojectors may also increase the effectiveness of SBINSET.
Access to the University departments, district, state and national level institutions and organisations, experts in the various fields, opportunity to meet teachers from other schools and other agencies like the press, productivity councils could also play an effective role in helping teachers to be aware of the recent trends and developments and thus enrich them professionally.
IMPLEMENTATION It need not be over-emphasised that the ultimate succes of a SBINSET programme would mainly lie in its effective implementation. This would require a thoughtful planning, participatory organisation, efficient execution, objective evaluation, proper follow-up and co-operative efforts by all agencies at all levels.
Planning of the programme would require identification of the areas for improvement and determining of the priorities therein for implementation. Talents and interests of teachers will have to be given due consideration during planning. The existing resources of the school should also be kept in mind to make the plan realistic and practical. It would be most desirable if every teacher could be actively involved at this stage. The head of an institution would do well to fix responsibilities of the teachers according to their talent and interests so as to ensure their willing cooperation. A conducive school environment would go a long way in making the SBINSET programme a real success. The success, however, should be subjected to a systematic evaluation. It could be done through an analysis of the impressions and reactions of both teachers and taught. Objective methods will have to be used to know the real impact of different activities on the learning of students which ultimately is the goal of all efforts. Since SBINSET is going to be a on-going programme and an integral part of the school system, it would be essential that arrangements are made to keep a proper follow-up of all that is done under the scheme for further improvement.
The agencies involved in this project will be NCERT, SCERT, NIEPA, Colleges of Education, Extension Services Departments and In-sevice Training Centres. All these agencies will have to take the desired initiative and prepare a programme of action in collaboration with each other. Here again, it will have to be ensured that the field workers, teachers, heads of institutions, managements, parents are actively involved in formulating programmes and schemes for the inservice of education and training of teachers.
HEADMASTER
Institution are known by the Heads they keep. Therefore, as is the Headmaster, so is the School. Since the head of an institution is going to be the key person in
January-March 1993
Page #94
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
88
TULSI PRAJÑA making the SBINSET programme a success, it is extremely important that the school headmaster should have immense faith in the need for having an effective programmes for continuous professional growth of not only the faculty but also of his own self. Effective implementation of the scheme would greatly depend upon his competence, dynamism, resourcefulness, initiative and other leadership qualities. He should be well aware of the needs of the school and of the society. He should have deep understanding of the psychology of all students, teachers, parents and other concerned with the school. He should dully understand the psychology of human relations so that he is able to make the best possible use of the available resources and the strong points of his colleagues. For all this, he will have to set an example before others and equip himselfwith such knowledge, skills and other abilities that enable him to discharge his duties to the best of his capabilities. It would be most fruitful, if under SBINSET programmes adequate services are also provided in the form of orientation courses, refresher courses and courses in management and administration for the benefit of headmasters. All the above is also applicable for the headmistress of a school.
EXPERIMENTATION
To study the effectiveness of SBINSET, a pilot experimental study can be undertaken to study the change in attitudes and skills of teachers through the SBINSET Project and its activities. The sample may include ten schools. For the pre-test, tools to be used may include attitudes Scale (F 16 or any such scale), questionnaire, observation schedule, check list, rating the Pupils and assessments by the heads and supervisors on skills in teaching.
Activities in the executive of project may include model lessons, arranging lectures by experts, presentation of films/audio cassettes, slide shows, demonstrations by expert teachers, preparing years' Plan, Content analysis of syllabus, testing for content knowledge and Visits to different schools, etc. Result will be tested by Statistical Methods to draw the conclusion.
EVALUATION
Evaluation should be taken as an integral part and an on-going process of the SBINSET Programme. Implementation of the Plan should be put to evaluative tests at all stages of its completion. As stated earlier also, we could make use of instruments, like, observation schedules, interviews, questionnaires, opinionnaires, check-lists, attitude scales, and other tests to know the effects of the implemented programme. We should study its effects on students, teachers, and also the overall school improvement. Achievement of students in the academic and cocurricular fields, drop-outs rate, extent of wastage, personal and professional development of teachers, etc. could be used as helpful guides for evaluation.
Jantiary-March 1993
Page #95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
89
Valuing Professional Growth by. Teachers
FOLLOWUP
The programme of SBINSET makes it imperative on all external agencies and schools itself to have a systematic follow-up of all the schemes, programmes and activities they do to implement the programme. Full use must be made of all the resources to go ahead for realising basic objectives of the scheme. Results of evaluation should be well availed of for making any plans for the future.
The School-Based In-service Education and Training of Teachers seems to be hopeful answer to many of the challenges inherent in imparting in-service education to teachers. Through this scheme, we hope to meet successfully the nagging questions of cost. relevance, feasibility and applicability in the search for the continuing education of teachers in a vast and developing country like ours. The National Policy of Education (1986) refers to the necessity of introducing discipline into the educational system by emphasizing “here and now” and in what exists". The SBINSET programme is in our hands to make the system work. Let us hope that teachers will rise to the occasion.
January March 1993
Page #96
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
90
TUL SĨ PRA J NA
Heightening Teachers’ Awareness
about their Profession
Virinder K.Sabharwal
During my visit to Kedar Nath this year, I happened to strike acquaintance with a group of three sober-looking, middle aged men. They were well-informed and quite articulate. Two of them were visiting Kedar Nath for the first time; the third one had been there earlier too, about twelve years ago. They were a closeknit group though temperamentally quite different from one another. One of them looked sullen and ill-at ease most of the time. Inquiries revealed that he did not believe in God and had not stirred out of Delhi for the past two decades. This time, the other ttvo friends finally managed to prevail upon him and "forced him to undertake this trip to such forbidding and ominous mountains”. The other person looked like a professional wrestler; he was of a visible heavy build and could waddle with effort. Most of time, he was lost in his own thoughts. The third was of medium build but was the most valuable. He was the one who could humour his companions, keep them together and moving insipid of the difficult ascent. I was able to join the group because of his bonhomie. When asked, I told them much about myself but I couldn't elicit much from them about who and what they were. All that I could learn about them was that the trio was from Delhi and had known each other quite intimately for about 22 years. They travelled in the same bus with us from Gauri Kund to Badri Narain, Whenever I asked them about who and what they were, they shifted the topic. They left for Delhi the next day. At the bus stop at Badri Narain, I took my friend aside and asked who and what they were. It was only then that he informed me that they were teachers from the senior secondary schools of Delhi,
I am often reminded of another friend who is quite fond of visiting places. He tells us proudly, "whenever I check in at a hotel and am asked to provide information about my occupation, invariably my answer is 'Sales executive'. You know if I tell them that I am a school teacher, it won't have the desired impact”!
The point I am trying to make through both these anecdotes is that most male teachers suffer from a guilt complex about their profession. They would be happy to pass for anyone except what they really are. Why this lack of pride in our
January-March 1993
Page #97
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
. 91
Heightening Teachers' Awareness about their Profession profession? Most female teachers, on the other hand, do not seem to suffer from such guilt-complex; the few who do not suffer as much from it as male teachers.
Normally when I encounter such listless teachers who are oblivious to the significance of the teaching profession and the service it renders to the society as well as its individual members, I recommend them Gilbert Highet's (1976) “The Immortal Profession” which is sub-titled “The joys of teaching and learning". Yuri Azarov's (1988) “Teaching: Calling and Skills” is another favourite of mine. Amrik Singh's (1991) On Being a Teacher, though it deals with college and university level teaching, can be called the Indian contribution to the treasuretrove. I recollect with pleasure“Good Morning, Miss Dove!" a book I read twentyfive years ago; I must confess that when I finish its last page and laid it down, I was a transformed person. Its effect has been lasting on me.
There are many other books and articles in which teaching has been eulogised in the highest terms. On the other hand, teaching has been ridiculed a great deal by many. In every society there are jokes, sometimes quite bawdy, about teachers. Recently an English monthly magazine with the largest circulation in the world carried this quip: "There are three sexes : male, female and teachers”!
Notwithstanding such levity, even if occasional, it must be remembered the great teachers have been great men of history. Of course, I do not mean by 'teacher here a person who has undergone formal training and who has been examined and certified to be competent to teach. Here I refer to that calling of the spirit for which certain temperament is ideally suited and the persons who respond to this calling of the spirit denying to themselves most of the material considerations. Bude was one such teacher, Gandhi too was a teacher and, of course, Adi Shankracharya was a teacher par excellence. These certainly were no small men preoccupied with small things in their lives. In the West Socrates. Aristotle and Plato set standards that have inspited generations of men and women from civilizations other than the one to which they belonged.
I do not even for a moment think that all teachers can attain the same heights that were scaled by these great teachers of the past, recent or remote. The teachers of today should dispassionately analyse the nature of their calling and the role that it plays in contemporary society. I would like to open my argument with a quotation from Amy Lowell on the nature of teaching
“Teaching is like droppingideas into the letter box of the human sub-conscious. You know when they are posted but you never know when they will be received or in what form”.
Lowell uses a very apt metaphor to describe the essence of the teaching process. Teaching is an intensely human business. If we were to think of the
January-March 1993
Page #98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSI PRAJNA
teachers who have affected us the most, who have inspired us, we would find that each one of them had some particularly human qualities, not necessarily assets like warmth and humour, but small indications of human frailty; each of these had a love of learning and immense love for his/her pupils, each one of them seemed human enough to be trusted, emulated or followed.
According to Highet, teaching is essentially an affair of the heart because
"Teaching is not like including a chemical reaction: is much more like painting a picture or making a piece of music, or on a lower level like planting a garden or writing a friendly letter. You must throw your heart into it - you must realize that is cannot all be done by formulas. or you will spoil your work, and your pupils and yourself."
92
Most teachers feel that on the one hand. Gilbert Highet holds up the ideal of eating grass and growing far to which teachers are expected to conform and on the other hand it is forgotten that teachers are just as human as everybody else; they have a family to maintain, children to be educated and a minimum standard of living to attain life. Teachers expect to receive a salary not less than that received by persons of equivalent intelligence and qualifications engaged in other professions or occupations. It is a truism that our society does not value teachers in positions of great responsibility-financially or in terms of social prestige. The Principal of a senior secondary school with upto 3000 students on rolls is paid much less than what a moderately successful businesssman earns. This Principal guides a team of 30-70 teachers. postgraduates as well as graduates. He functions as the leader of the team. If we compare his salary with that of other team leaders, e.g., a company director, a high ranking civil servant, a medical specialist or a successful lawyer. the teacher is in a vastly inferior position. Besides, the teaching profession is not associated with the 'extras' that sweeten the salaries of other profession. So far as the social status is concerned, most middle class families, if given a chance. do not want their sons to become teachers, even when they want their daughters to become teachers, it is because of the myth that it is a relatively soft job with lots of free time to attend to the family. These are the ground realities and how one wishes these were otherwise. To the question "Are we as a nation investing enough on our teachers"? the answer is an emphatic 'No'. And yet the importance of a good teacher remains undisputed. I am reminded of the comment of a British headmaster:
"I must insist that one good teacher (that rare thing!) is worth ten good syllabuses. And if thousand of pages have been devoted to this subject for every ten on syllabuses so much the better for this way lies salvation".
But then teaching has more than material side to it. And it must be January-March 1993
Page #99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
93
Heightening Teachers' Awareness about their Profession acknowledged that all good teachers have dwelt mostly on the psycho-social aspects of teaching than on the material returns on it. Good teaching is basically a function of a peculiar temperament: a temperament that considers service to human beings above other things, a temperament that enjoys the pleasures of intellect for more than those of the body; and above all a temperament that looks upon learning as an infinite process, most expansive and deeper than the unfathomable oceans. Good teachers do not expect to be paid adequately for their labour, not because they abhor to be paid but because they know that the type of service rendered by them can never be paid for adequately. They are selfless persons who give out of themselves far more than they ever expect to get back. It is because some people know that some one should take up this job in which joy comes more in giving than in receiving that they become teachers. The peculiarities and idiosycracies of human nature are strange indeed. Just as many would go to any (yes, any) length to enjoy more to earn more, to get richer, quite a few would go the other way, to any length, to serve their fellow-beings and to share with them. At one extreme, we have Andrei Chikatilo, Billa and Natwarlal and the other, we have a few like St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. Exceptional teachers may come from the upper extreme but most teachers come from the upper-half of the continuum. We know that people do not and would not pay as much and as readily for developing their potentialities as they would for deliverance from physical dangers or maladies. Highet rightly believes that teachers' contribution lies in this area, the area of developing potentialities :
"It is our task to show them (i.e., the people) what they scarcely realize; their enormous potentialities, intellectual, aesthetic, spiritual and those of their children. That is our task. To accomplish it even in part will be our best reward” (Highet, 1976, 56)-italics mine.
Christensen (1984, XIV) too exalts over the joy of our profession when he say's,
“Welcome to a joyous profesion. Teaching is the greatest of all vocations, for it keeps one well-anchored to the world of youth, growth, ideas, search and learning.... The opportunity to open minds, to develop lines of reasoning, to debate points of view provides one with the opportunity to be an everyday alchemist”.
When we remember that these words were written by Highet as well as Christensen not at the beginning but at the fag end of their careers, we can easily appreciate that both these great teachers were conscious of and had experienced the hazards as well as rewards of the profession. -
It would be wrong for any one of us, as novices often do, it arrive at the conclusion that teaching is all fun sans drudgery. The other extreme that it is sheer drudgery and no fun would be equally wrong. To highlight just one hazard of
January-March 1993
Page #100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
94
TULSI PRAJŇA teaching, I may mention that teachers always work against the tide. People do not want to think, teachers always insist that they should think for themselves. We know that thinking can yield extraordinary pleasure but we also know that this pleasure is uncommon and so hard to achieve and appreciate.
In spite of these rosy and soul-lifting vistas, teaching if full of tensions - tensions related to pupil-teacher relationship tension because of anxiety about students' performance especially when this is linked with job security and career advancement, tensions related to maintenance of discipline inside the class and the school, tension generated by galloping inflation and erosion of the purchasing power of the Indian rupee; and lastly tensions resulting from inherent uncertainty about the essence of good teaching. “A teachers' world is a world full of cobwebs of anxiety and tension” some would say because isolation in the classroom and
of legitimate social status (Teachers are too often taken for granted by all sections of society, even by fellow teachers) have made the teaching profession a breeding ground for neurosis. Rusk's famous description of the teacher as "an adult among children and a child among adults” has been taken literally. Selfengrossed teachers have made naivite in worldly wisdom almost a virtue and a hall mark of teachers. "Teachers and priests remain poor and aren't expected to : acquire wealth" wrote Highet (1976,56) and the society often tries to ensure this for both these professions concerned with the minds and the souls of people.
And yet, the good teacher revolts against the profession he belongs to Paradoxically, a good teacher refuses to belong to the type, he prizes to be an individual and be treated as an individual. Even though he prepares his students in society, he would teach himself how to live in and enjoy solitude. There is an inherent contradiction in most of things that a good teacher does because he is a good teacher and those that he should do as a functionary of system and also an individual member of the society. A teacher is expected to be fascinated by the difficult and yet some how transform it into facile without dilating its challenge to the intellect. Earlier I mentioned the inherent uncertainty associated with a teacher's job. An engineer can master his job in five to ten years; a surgeon may do the same after his twentieth operation but what about the teacher? Each batch of students offers him new insights into the human psyche. The changing social context, the technological progress, the rising revolution of expectations, the urge to master knowledge or skills rapidly, though only superficially - all these have increased the lag between what the formal system of education offers and what is expected of it. Teachers are expected to bridge this gap and the amazing thing is some are indeed able to achieve the seemingly impossible. Many teachers feel that the present generation of children is too smart for them. This generation is in a hurry to achieve the unheard of and to outperform earlier generations. But why forget that every young generation stands on the shoulders of the preceding generation; nature has designed them to look taller than their parent generation.
January-March 1993
Page #101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
95
Heightening Teachers' Awareness about their Profession This is how we must have appeared to our parent generation. Life does not terry like a dog on leash; it always moves ten steps ahead of its owner, sniffing right or left as if in search of a new find, an unknown nugget. Some may say that since nature favoursthe new generation in unseen ways, couldn't teachers be dispensable? I would say that teaching does make a difference. It induces students to demand more of themselves, leads them to discover new ways of solving problems and awakens unsuspected talents. It can inspire them to become more caring, thoughtful and creative. But teaching can do all this only if it is done well. Poor teaching makes its own kind of difference; it stifles, deadens and destroys whatever curiosity and enthusiasm students may bring to their studies. And its damage can be almost permanent. Thus good teachers shall ever remain indispensable; they cannot be replaced or displaced by any machine, not even by a computer network.
To the question "what should be the philosophy of a good teacher"? it is not easy to give a definitive answer. The teacher is an individual and hence a member of a social era, at the same time, the teacher is the herald of change. His philosophy should be philosophy of the age. Scientific humanism is the philosophy of the present age. “It is humanistic in that it is mainly concerned with man and his welfare as an end in itself; and it is scientific to the extent that its humanistic content remains defined-and thereby enriched-by the continuing new contributions of science to the field of knowledge about man and the world” (Faure et al, 1972, XXVI).
The changes in agrarian or feudalistic society that have ushered in the industrialised urban society have now changed the character of education and also the role of the teacher. The authoritarian delivery mode has now been replaced by a more sympathetic, more humanistic role. Teachers now base their teaching style on learners' needs, motivation, their cognitive maturity as well as levels of aspiration. Teaching is now being perceived as a facilitative activity. It has now been recognised that human personality is many-sided and every person is made up of simultaneous existence of several types of human beings within him. For example, according to Erike Landau (1970) each person consists of Homo Feber who looks for concretization, Homo Sapiens who searches for abstraction, Homo Politician who strives for freedom, his own as well that of his society, and Homo Religious who believes in fate in determinism. Very often, their relationships may be antagonistic to each other. Awareness of such a complex structure of human personality increase the challenge of the teacher's task, but then the rewards of facilitating the education of the complete man also increase correspondingly. The basic purpose of education remains even today the development of the complete human being. Additional awareness of the fact that human beings are biologically incomplete, unfinished organisms has transformed the concept of education from mere transmission and reception of Ķnowledge to that of an unending process of completion and learning. Man has ultimately to take responsibility for his own
January-March 1993
Page #102
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
96
TU L SĨ PRAI NA learning and teachers play a crucial role in this enabling process. Human beings have to go on learning in order to survive and evolve. In order that this may take place early as well as effectively, the focus should shift from traditional pedagogic principle of teaching to the “mathetic" principle of learning. In short, the process of education must proceed from the learner.
This emphasis on the education has a familiar ring because this is the essence of humanistic education. Incidently "humanistic education is a
incidently "humanistic education” is a blanket term: it means many things to most people. Many criteria havebeen proposed for assessing whether or not a particular variety of education should be called 'humanistic' or otherwise Kirschenbaum (1975) has proposed as many as eight criteria of humanistic education. These can be summarised as under:
1. Humanistic education is based on humanistic content curricula which help
students deal more effectively with issues in their lives.
2. Humanistic education is based on humanistic process curricula which help
students acquire process or skills to guide their lives especially in regard to issues like 'identity, power' and 'connectedness'.
3. Humanistic education takes place through humanistic group structures, i.e.,
learning environments which are open rather than pre-structured, where teacher functions as a facilitator of learning instead of an authoritarian dispenser of more or less infallible knowledge.
4. Humanistic education encourages students to set goals for themselves and to
take personal decisions to achieve them.
5. - Humanistic education is based on curricula determined by students' felt
concerns and interests.
6. Unlike traditional education, humanistic education is not concerned merely with the learner's brain, it educates the whole person-body, mind and emotions.
7. Humanistic education has self-evaluation rather than teacher-controlled evaluations as its major characteristic.
8. In humanistic education, the teacher is supportive rather than critical of learners' performance and effort.
. Obviously, no educational process has all these eight characteristic because Krischenbaums' criteria describe the ideal humanistic education. In a way, these criteria indicate the directions in which the present day education should move in
January March 1993
Page #103
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Heightening Teachers' Awareness about their Profession
97
order to deserve the title of humanistic education. Kirschenbaum's eight criteria collectively describe and define the essence of humanistic education. As stated earlier, humanistic education starts from the learner; the learner is ever the focus; the centre of gravity of entire process. The concept of learner is not derived from studies of animals, like rats, cats and pigeons. Human beings are different from lower-order animals. Similarities between a human being and a dog or a pigeon are essentially superficial. According to Maslow, the prime reality for a humanistic teacher is human experience itself and it is from the human experience, needs, goals and values (Maslow, 1967). Human beings act not merely because of their biological needs; in fact the humane behaviour of human beings can be understood, only in terms of their higher needs of competence, recognition, belongingness and self-actualisation. To quote Maslow,
"It looks as if there were a single ultimate value for mankind, a far goal toward which all men strive. This is called variously by different authors self-actualization, self-realization, integration, psychological health, individuation, autonomy creativity, productivity, but they all agree that this amounts to realizing the potentialities of the person, that is to say, becoming fully human, everything that the person can become -"(1959, 123)
The humanistic teacher looks upon this sacred task of helping each individual student become fully human as the all-embracing goal for which he works This goal represents the central value of his creed and conduct as a teacher. All other values attend upon this value as worthy courtiers serving their noble sovereign. The humanistic teacher does not serve as a social engineer, as a powerful practitioner of technology of behaviour for whom the concept of autonomous man is a myth and all values are mere contingencies which can be used personal reinforces for initiating and sustaining a particular behaviour. To teachers whose creed is rooted in behaviourism, "the evolution of a culture is a gigantic exercise in self-control." If use of behaviour technology in classroom or in social life hurts human vanity or leads to a sense of helplessness, how does it matter for him? After
all,
"No theory changes what it is a theory about; He remains what he has always been. And a new theory may change what can be done with its subject matter. A scientific view of man offers exciting possibilities. We have not yet seen what man can make of man". (Skinner, 1971, 210).
To go by a scientific view of human beings is to deny the legitimacy of their essential nature. Scientific view may be helpful in mechanical matters; to extend
January-March 1993
Page #104
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
98
TULSĪ PRAJÑA it to the life of human beings is to reveal one's distorted vision of human nature. Scientific view informs us not to believe in miracles. But the truth is that a human mind which refuses to believe in miracles is itself the greatest of all miracles. Let us briefly examine how far scientific view of human life can help human beings. Science tells us that the planet we live on is a single star born through a tremendous boom (whose echoes reverberate even today in the cosmos) amid one galaxy among many. Science tells us that like the external universe, we too are governed byinternal forces not subject to our will, our life is helplessly governed by chemical molecules. Our emotions, including love are the result ofbio-chemical imbalances. Scientific view has deprived us of values, purpose, even meaning in life. Peck rightly remarks in anguish "Oh what possible significance could we be, as individuals, or even as a race, buffetted about by internal chemical and psychological forces we do not understad, invisible in a universe whose dimensions are so large that even our science cannot measure?" (Peck. 1990 332-333)
This is not a vision that can be the heartthrob of the teaching process because a teacher is not an eyeless guide lost in the Sahara. The teacher eye is focussed on a vision of human life, of human potentialities. And the human nature is his best all because
“The human being has within him a pressure (among other pressures) toward unity of personality, toward spontaneous expression, toward full individuality and indentity, toward seeing the truth rather than being blind, toward being creative, toward being good, and a lot else... The human being is so constructed that he presses toward fuller and fuller being - toward what most people would call good values, toward serenity, kindness, courage, knowledge, honesty, love, unselfishness and goodness” (Maslow, 1959, 126).
And these precisely are the values which mark out man from members of other species; and about these scientific view of human nature has little to describe, hardly any explanation to offer!"
If the humanistic teacher is not moved by scientific view of man and human life, he is also not inspired by his role as a counsellor seeking to cure deep-seated neurosis and complexes. This is certainly not what teaching is concerned with. The abnormal and its diagnosis and treatment call for an altogether different type of expertise, a teacher's task deals with the normal and his joy comes from sharing the normal, sustaining the normal and finally promoting the normal.
Thus we find that teaching is no longer autocratic. Students cannot be expected to do things just because we want them to, for our sake. Love and concern
January-March 1993
Page #105
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Heightening Teachers' Awareness about their Profession
99
have proved far more effective even where lashes failed. Incidentally, all great teachers were diligent practitioners of humanistic education. Maria Montessori, Froebal, Konstantin Ushinsky, Anton Makarenko, Vasily Sukhomlinsky, Gandhi, Vonoba Bhave, Gijubhai - were all great teachers because of their concern for children and also because helping children develop their potential was for each one of them nothing short of visitation of grace.
Even today, we do not know what is the secret of effective teaching. May be creativity, may be intuition, may be talent, may be what the students offer and how a teacher responds to it, or may be all these factors collectively are responsible for the inspiring act of teaching. The secret of effective teaching is unfathomable, it remains mysterious in spite of all that we know about teaching, the teacher and the students. I believe good teaching is like a performing art. Just as a master artist is inspired by responsive audience to scale greater heights and thereby performat his best, the teacher too can be inspired to soar above his usual level of teaching by his responsive students. After all teaching is an orchestrated communication among human beings; one can witness the act but not see its roots which lie deep in the mysterious recesses of human personality. One could possibly conclude on a positive not that if taken seriously, no job is as appallingly demanding or as fully rewarding as that of committed teacher.
REFERENCES
Azarov, Yuri 1988. Teaching : Calling and skills. Moscow, Progress Publishers. Christensen, M 1984. In Margaret M. Gullelte (ed.) The Art and Craft of Teaching
Harvard Univ.Press. Faure, Edgar et al 1972. Learning to be. Paris. Unesco Highet, G. 1976. The Immortal Profession. New York: Weybright & Talley. Kirsihebaum, H.1975. What is Humanistic Education? In T.B.Roberts (ed.) Four
Psychologies Applied to Education. Cambridge, Mass : Sehenkman. Landau, Erika 1970. Toward a new technology of education paper presented at
the International Future Research Conference, Tokyo. Malow, A. (ed.) 1959. New Knowledge in Human Values. New York : Harper. Maslow, A. 1967. Some Educational Implications of the Humanistic Psychologies.
Harvard Education Review, 1968, 38,4,685-696. Peck, M.Scott 1990. The Road Less Travelled. Harmondsworth, Arrow Books. Singh, Amrik (ed.)1991. On being a Teacher. New Delhi : OUP. Skinner, B.F. 1971. Beyond Freedom and Dignity. Harmondsworth Penguin.
January-March 1993
Page #106
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
100
TULSI PRAJÑA
The Science of Meditation
T.R. Bhatia
THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The art of meditation is as old as hills. References of meditation are found in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita and the Puranas. But the oldest systematic Treatise on the subject is Patanjali's Yoga Darshana. Patanjali's work is exceedingly brief as it is aphoristic. Yet it contains the practical wisdom and the essence of all the systems. However, the word 'Sutra' has wrongly translated as aphorism, since aphorism suggests a very pithy sentence of very general application. But sutra is thread, suggesting thereby a close-knit chain of consecutive argument. Taken out of context a sutra will almost be meaningless.
Further adaptations of Patanjali's system are found in Buddha's Anapansati, Zen and Satori. Anapansati is from the Sanskrit word which means 'concentration of mind on inhalation and exhalation of breath?. Buddha propounded this wonderful technique to induce relaxation. Zen is from the Sanskrit word Jnana, meaning true knowledge. Satori is from the word Smadhi. Tantriks and Jains developed the technique of Mantra Shastra to a great perfection.
Traditionally, India has been quite rich in the promotions of mental sciences. But in the West, too, there have been persons who have shown interest in meditation and relaxation responses, though they could not develop a system like Patanjali, Jains, Buddha or Tantriks. For example, a fourteenth century Christian treatise entitled 'The Cloud of Unknowing' discusses how to attain the altered state of consciousness which is required to attain alleged union with God (Progoff, 1969). The anonymous author of this book recommends to the meditator to choose any word like God, Love or one, etc. and repeat it necessantly. However, it does not develop the theme further.
Another Christian work 'The Third Spiritual Alphabet' by Osuna, written in the 10th century deals with meditation in a bit more detailed way and recommends very strongly that the prayerful meditation should be taught to every person, for it is a refuge to which one can retreat when faced with stressful situations. But both of these books are more religious and less scientific, though it is impossible to take out ‘faith' from meditation. Meditation without faith is a dry exercise of nerves. January-March 1993
Page #107
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
101 Reason being in every action the best friend is not to be avoided. But the balance has to be struck between faith and intellect. Sri Krishan Prem writes: “Weakness of faith combines with strength of intellect are apt to lead to the error of
ss." "Strength of faith combined with weakness of intellect are apt to lead to the error or narrow-minded dogmatism (The Yoga of Bhagavat Gita, XVII).
The famous fifteenth century Christian mystic Saints John and Terese developed steps for meditation. It is said that whenever in fear, Saint Paul used to utter his own name and get rid of that fear. Further, Christian meditation and mysticism was well developed within the Byzantine Church and known as Hesychasm (Norvich and Sitwell 1966).
In Judaism, similar practices leading to this altered state of consciousness date back to the time of the second temple in the second century B.C. and are found in one of the earliest forms of Jewish mysticism known as 'Markabalism' (Scholem, 1967). In the thirteenth century A.D., the works of Rabbi Abulafia were published and his ideas became a major part of Jewish Kabbalistic mysticism (Scholem, 1967). Scholem compares Abulfia's approach with that of mysticism Yoga.
Such practices of Christianity and Judaism are also found in Islamic mysticism or Sufism (Trimingham 1971). Sufism developed as a reaction against the external rationalization of Islam and made use of intuitive and emotional faculties which are claimed to be dormant until they are utilized through training under the guidance of a competent teacher. The method of employing these faculties is known as “Dhikr`. It is a crude form of meditation where the meditators uttered a secret holy sound known as 'WIRD'.
Shintoism and Taoism are important religions of Japan and China. Fujisawa (1959) noted, “It is interesting that this grand ritual characteristic of Shintoism is doubtlessly the same process as Yoga..." Taosim, one of the traditional religions of China, employs concentration on nothingness to achieve absolute tranquility (Chang, 1963).
Similar meditational practices are found almost in every culture of man. Shamenism is a form of ecstatic mysticism and is practised in the tribal religions of North and South America, Indonesia, Oceania, Africa, Siberia and Japan. Music, especially the drum plays an important role in Shamanistic trances (Segal, 1971). Many less traditional religious practices are flourishing in the United States and Europe - Subub, Nichiron, Sho Shu, Hare Krishna, Scientology, Black Muslimism, Meher Baba, and the Association for Research and Enlightenment in USA are some of the outstanding examples (Needleman, 1970). Of course, Transcendental Meditation (TM) Centres of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are the most advanced in the West.
January March 1993
Page #108
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
102
TULSI PRAJÑA The main aim of all these isms and techniques is to achieve an altered state of consciousness full of ecstasy by transcending the individualized personal ego. However, some of them employ crude methods like taking certain intoxicating drugs and tortuing the body. At least one thing is certain, that mạn has been in search of an altered state of consciousness since time immemorial because he has not been feeling satisfied with the consciousness in which he lives.
What is Meditation?
Meditation can better be understood by its process than by its definition, Yet, an attempt shall be made to define it. But before that there is a particular philosophy behind the process of meditation which can briefly be put as under:
i "Just as the modern scientists have discerned and taught that all matter is ultimately one and eternal, definitely related throughout the whole wide Universe; just as they have discerned and taught that all force is one and eternal, so coordinates throughout the whole universe that whateveraffects any atom measurably affects the whole boundless realm of matter and force, to the most distant star or nabula on the dim confines of space; so the ancient sages of India had discerned and taught that all consciousness is one, immortal, indivisible and infinite. Consciousness knows not multiplicity. All our misery is due to the development ofindividualized consciousness into such a hard rock that it refuses to communicate with the Universal Consciousnes. True happiness can never visit the hardened lower self. Sri Aurobindo says, "When we have passed beyond enjoying, we shall have bliss. Desire was the helper, desire is the bar. When we have passed beyond individualizing, we shall be real persons. Ego was the helper, ego is the bar". Meditation is the process to metamorphose the lower self into the higher self, not · by the extinction of the lower self but by extending its frontiers to the Higher Self,
like when we develop a single storey house into a multi-storey one. The lower self like the lower storey provides a base to the upper storey. This is the process of carrying out the spiritual man out of the physico-socio-emotion-intellectual man. The lower self does not fade away but enlarges to touch higher vistas. This process cannot be conducted harmlessly and gradually till the element of love - an unconditional love for all, is not there; for we all are basically one, the children of one Father. Only love can sustain this process of transformation of physical man into a spiritual man. This birth and growth of the spiritual man, and his entery into his immortal heritage may be regarded either as the culmination of the natural process of evolution and involution, or in Vedantic language, it may be looked at as the restoration of pure spiritual consciousness to its pristine and essential form. This spiritual impulse is an evolutionary imperative in man which, whenever curbed or repressed, causes wars, destruction, suicides, crime, neurosis, psychosis and all other distorted and maladaptive forms of behaviour. It was not the matter which suddenly decided to develop a part of itself into consciousness, but it is the
January-March1993
Page #109
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
103 consciousness that'has created matter, mind being an intermediary stage between utter and pure consciousness on the one hand and matter-cum-energy on the other. Mind does not exist in time and space. Time and space exist in mind.
Why Universal Consciousness broke up into plurality? Why atomised and individualized consciousness strive to break the bonds and again merge into the Universal Consciousness? None knows. This is the ‘Lila' of God or the way of the nature. None could comment upon it as beautifully as Swami Vivekananda (1965) who said, “Nature's task is done, this unselfish task which our sweet nurse Nature had imposed upon herself. As it were, she gently took the self-forgetting soul by the hand, and showed him all the experiences in the universe, all manifestations, bringing him higher and higher through various bodies, till his glory came back the same way she came, for others who also have lost their way in the trackless desert of life. And thus is she working, without beginning and without end. And thus through pleasure and pain, through good and eveil, the infinite river of soul is flowing into the ocean of perfection, of self-realization”,
In the light of the above pilosophical standpoint, a definition of meditation can be attempted. Krishnamurti (1970). in a lucid definition of meditation, comments on both awareness and thought sensation:
“Meditation is to be aware of thought, of feeling, never to correct it, never to say it is right or wrong, never to justify it, but just to watch it and move with it... to see the movement of every thought, to understand it, to be aware of it, is to come to that silence which is meditation, in which the observer' neveris (pp. 125-126)... it is only when you can look without the movement of thought which is memory... it is only that you can break through your conditioning (p. 163)".
The above definition is beautiful, speaks of the bye-products of meditation but is not operational. Mahesh Yogi (1966) gives a behavioural and clear definition
as:
"Meditation is turning the attention inwards towards the sublest levels of a thought until the mind transcends the experience of the subtlest state of the thought and arrives at the source of the thought. This expands the conscious mind and at the same time brings it into contact with the Creative Intelligence that gives rise to every thought".
The pure consciousness which is universal is that source of creative intelligence since it creates mind and matter both. Mahesh Yogi's definition points the way the meditator goes on.
January-March 1993
Page #110
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSIPRAJNA
Meditation is the science of development of mind or consciousness
Under the influence of behaviourism and strict experimentation, psychology has been limited to remain a 'science of behaviour' only. It does not recognize that the cause of behaviour lies in the mind and the cause of mind lies in the pure Consciousness. A scientific study of meditation should revive the interest of the psychologists in the mind and the consciousness the areas in which the psychologists were interested to begin with.
What is not Meditation?
104
The science of meditation has been misunderstood and also misrepresented in certain quarters. The purpose of meditation is attaining a state of mind known as Yoga which has been defined in Patanjala Darshana (42) as ‘a state attained by gaining complete mastery over the mind and emotions'. This leads to a cessation of the whirl or gyration in the mind. The mind is no longer out of the control of its master, but becomes one-pointed and integrated as well as flexible and pliable. The individual does not run like a hackney-carriage horse with an invisible rider at its back who pulls the reins in directions not known to him, but he begins to feel control over his psychophysical organism. The individual is filled with a strange sense of contentment and self-sufficiency. There is no scope left for 'mood' or 'boredom' to visit the mind. Many fears and anxieties go as he feels himself as a part of a 'larger whole'. Some euphoric ecstasy dawns on the mind which not drug can produce. The knotted mass of tensions, intrigues, malice, hatred, jealously and fears begin to open up gradually and gradually. This is, at least, what the Science of Meditation' promises, if properly performed, for it expands the frontiers of individualized consciousness.
But meditation is not just a replica for a euphoric drug or a tranquilizer. If that was so, synthetic smile or medicated peace should have been preferable to the serenity and peace which are the hall-marks of a stable and equi poised mind promised by meditation. There are a number of studies now to show positive effect of meditation on blood pressure or other aspects of physical well-being. Whereas there is no reason to doubt these findings, it is emphasized that meditation is not all about that. Its aim is much higher, though many such psychosomatic ailments are cured on the way to the last stage of meditation, that is, 'Samadhi'. After all the somatic symptoms, like, blood pressure, urticaria, hypertension, or migraine, are but the visible upshots of the psychological complexes deep down. When meditation resolves the complexes, the roots dry up. the visible flowers and leaves automatically wither away.
-
Patanjali holds that the five great obstacles or miseries shall be overcome while on the way to the final stage of meditation, i.e., Samadhi. They are ignorance
January-March 1993
Page #111
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
105
or illusion, rock like egoism, attachment, aversion and the desire to cling to life somehow, or the fear of death. In fact these five obstacles are sufficient to understand the cause of most of our psychological and organic disorders. But meditation is meant just not for overcoming these. This will be under-rating the purpose of meditation which is to help an individual to expand his vistas of consciousness, his area of awareness and activity, and to make himself creative in the true sense. Commercialization of this science is likely to take place in world full of tension and anxiety, moral confusion and spiritual disorientation, discontentment and blood pressure, psychophysical stress and strain born out of spiralling individualism and cut-throat competition. It can be mentioned with certainty that exigencies of the situation which might have compelled out saints, sages and rishis to develop the 'Science of Meditation', could not have been to control blood pressure; or to earn more, or to increase the sex strength. Their simple motive was to know more, and more about 'self and finally to liberate oneself from the thraldom of senses and the compulsive routine of the dual throng of pain and pleasure. To achieve tranquility and to facilitate the process of motivation, even some drugs were recommended. If a state of superconsciousness is created by drugs, it is never integrated with the consciousness and launches the ego into sensational fantasies and disorted perceptions; tending to create addiction and craving for the drugs rather than the creative transformation. No wonder that quite few meditators from such centres turn insane. Others are disillusioned. India has discovered her genius recently in many things, one of them being meditation. Let over-enthusiasm about it not distort the science.
There are at least two misunderstandings about meditation. One is that meditation is a consciously designed process to opiate the masses and to stop the wheel of revolution by pacifying the fervency. The critics should understand that the purpose of meditation is not to produce insensibility, not irrationality. It includes reason as well as transcends it. A Yogi is not passive but highly active. However, his centre of activity may not be rooted in his ego but in the Higher Self, the Atman, which is the substratum of total existence. In the Gita, Lord Krishna exhorts Arjuna to be a Yogi first, be rooted in the Atman and fight the battle later.
The other misunderstanding is more interesting. The critics argue that all creativity emerges from basic psychological disturbance. “There must be chaos within to give birth to a dancing star". If meditation removes disturbance and chaos, it cuts at the root of creativity. But this sort of logic is fallacious. At least scientific creativity never emerges from disturbance of mind. Creative scientists have been known to be emotionally poised and stable. Temperamentally they are meditative. However, some creatives in the field of poetry, music, dance, drama,sculptory and painting do show some symptoms of emotional disturbance. Still, there are many artists like Tagore and writers like Munshi Prem Chand who were emotionally quite stable. The "Unstable Creative artists, like Van Gagh are
January-March 1993
Page #112
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
106
TULSĪPRAJNA
not creative due to unstability but are creative inspite of that. Rather creativity in their case works like a Psycho-therapy to overcome their psychological disturbance. Van Gagh, for example, danced on the razoredge of sanity and insanity all his life. Whenever the urge to paint arose, in him the insanity subsided. Meditation may discourage profane and desecrated type of creativity which takes place at a very low psychic level of person's complexes, mostly sexual in nature. Meditation should encourage higher order creativity. At least Orme-Johnson et al (1977) and MacCallum (1974) do say, as a result of experimentation with meditation, that meditation increases creativity.
Nothing but dangerous mediumistic psychism or neurotic dissociation of personality can result from the practice of meditation without proper qualifications. Forcible opening of a bud will not produce a blossom and it is only when the disciple is "Yogarudh", is firmly established in Path, that the serenity of meditation can be a means of further advance. Literature is replete with warnings that those who seek after strange experiences or psychic powers and other cheap things had for better leave the whole thing alone or they will wreck their lives, and perhaps those of other as well.
F
Practice of Meditation-Preliminaries
Gita gives some teachings about the technique to be pursued. Essentially the method consists of gaining such control over the mind-processes that they can be stilled at will, thus enabling the consciousness to perceive the Truth like a calm lake reflecting the eternal stars above.
The process varies with each disciple and must be learned from the Guru. It is true that there are books which apparently give full instructions about the practice, but their apparent fullness is misleading. It is easier to become an artist by the study of a manual of oil-paining than to become a Yogi by the study of books on meditation whether those books were written yesterday or whether they were written five thousand years ago. (Sri Krishan Prem)
The few notes which are given below are intended merely to help the reader and by no means as a sufficient guide to practise.
The first necessity is a quiet place in which he may practise meditation undisturbed by friends and visitors, whose presence would be apt to agitate, the disciple's mind with thoughts of what so-and-so is thinking of him. The place should be pure, that is to say that, it should be free from any features likely to give rise to aesthetic irritation or distraction. Certain natural surroundings exert a calming influence on the mind.
January-March 1993
Page #113
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
107 The directions about the seat (asana) are of an entirely practical nature. The seat should not be high that there is risk of falling if Trance supervenes, nor so low that there is a danger from poisonous insects. The seat should be soft enough to give ease of the body.
It is important to instruct the disciple to make his mind calm and free from hope and greed, that is to say, from that attitude of wishing to grasp things to and for oneself which is characteristic of the lower mind. Before practising meditation proper the Buddhists remove the five “Hindrances”, namely, sensual passion, illwill, sloth and torpor, worry and perplexity from the mind.
The next point is the posture (also called asana). The postures used in this Yoga have nothing to do with bringing pressure to bear on centres in the body, whether nervous or occult”. The essential is, as Patanjali said, that it should be steady and pleasant. By pleasant, however, it is not meant that it should be an armchair sort of attitude, as that would be more conducive to sleep than to meditation. It must be one which can be maintained for a long stretch without sensations of crampor fatigue and at the same time it should be one which is conducive to mental alertness. The spine should be kept straight.
The next point is the direction of the gaze. A wandering gaze means a wondering mind, and therefore the eyes are to be kept fixed in one direction. In practice it has been found that the best way to do, this is to direct the eyes along with line of nose and then to half-close the eyelids, the gaze be fixed between the eve-brows (Ajna Centre).
The breathing is to be kept regular and smooth, as there is a vital connection between the flow of thoughts and the rhythem of the breath. Because breath comes out of the heart, unrhythmical breathing comes from the hearts unrest. Therefore, one must breath in and out quite softly so that it remains inaudible to the ear.
The heart of Yoga is more difficult and is what cannot be taught in words. It is the "checking of all the modifications of the mind”, the “holding of the heart to the centre of the midst of conditions”, the “making of the mind one-pointed" and its direcion towards Him, the Atman, the Light that streams in of itselfbetween the eyebrows". This is the essential thing, it produces the detachment from the desire, nature and the union with Him that gives enlightenment. All that exists within the One, and what we see as a world depends upon the point of view from which we see; that which we see is one. As the Maitri Upanishad puts it: “Thought is verily the world and therefore should be purified with care. As one's thought is, so one becomes this is the eternal mystery". Mind is the mirror though which we see the world and this mirror must be kept clean.
January-March 1993
Page #114
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
TULSĪPRAJNA
The inner world of sex phantasy is as important as the outer one of procreation. Without control of sex, in both its inner and outer manifestations, it is safer to play with dynamite than to pracice the Yoga of meditation (Sri Krishan Prem).
108
Purity of aspiration and the proximity or guidance of a realized Guru are the safeguards on this path. The true meditation comes when the disciple is able to surrender himself to and identify himself with the Atman, which is present as the unchanging witness of every thought and every sensation.
Research Studies
Various research studies have been conducted to measure blood pressure. blood chemistry, skin resistance, heart beat and EEG. A number of scientists are now engaged in studying the physiology and psychology of meditation at many places in the world. Some of the findings of these researches are as follows:
The brain generates tiny amounts of electricity, of the order of a thousandth or even millionth of a volt. This electrical activity of the brain is recovered by EEG in the form of graphs. Such brainwaves have been classified into four distinct categories:
Beta Waves
13-30 cycles per second. The accompanying state of consciousness is tense, awake and active.
Alpha Waves
13-18 cycles per second. The accompanying state of consciousness is relaxed but awake like an idling engine ready to run; more prominent when eyes closed.
Theta Waves
5-7 cycles per second. The accompanying state of consciousness is that of early sleep, hypnosis, dreams.
Delta Waves
0.5-5 cycles per second. The accompanying state of consciousness is that of deep sleep.
There are also some other inconsistent waves. One such wave is Kappa rhythm at 10 cycles per second and originates from temporal foci. There is some
January-March 1993
Page #115
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
109
evidence to show that Kappa rhythm is especially marked during meditation. But its significance has not been fully established yet. One finding is almost certain that meditation increases the amptitude of alpha activity thereby inducing relaxation with full alertness.
From the above findings one can ask, "Does meditation lead to a 4th state of consciousness? Sufficient theoretical literature already exists to prove that Samadhi, the acme of meditation, is Turiya Avastha (the 4th state of consciousness). James Ataraxia, Jung's disinterested objectivity, Krishnamoorti's choiceless awareness, Zero entropy. Yoganidra and Satori all indicate the same fourth state of consciousness. If we study the various states of consciousness on the two variables of physical rest and psychological alertness, we get the following table:
Physically Rested
psychologically
Alert
Yes
2.
No
3.
Samadhi
(Alpha Waves)
These four states of consciousness have already been mentioned in Indian Philosophy as Jagrit (Awake), Sushupt (Sleep), Swapna (Dream) and Samadhi.
+.
Deep sleep (Delta Waves)
However, it will still be early to be sure of the existence of the 4th state of consciousness.
Some other findings of the same authors regarding the physiological effects of meditation are:
Awake
(Beta Waves)
1. Meditation decreases oxygen consumption producing a state known as hypometabolism (Its psychological correlate should be a peaceful state of mind).
Dream
(Theta Waves)
Meditation tends to normalize both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Its psychological correlate should be emotional poise and stability). One should not be subject to reactive depression or excitement.
Meditation decreases average heart beat rate (Its psychological correlate should be controlled excitement).
Meditation decreases lactate level in the blood. (Since lactates cause physical
January-March 1993
Page #116
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
110
TULSI PRAJÑA fatigue, its psychological correlate should be control of ergic tension, neurasthenia and anxiety.
5. Meditation increases skin resistance nearly five-fold. (Since fall in skin
resistance cause allergies, like simple asthma or urticaria and rashes, it :: psychological correlate should be lessened sensitivity to the evnironment).
6. As given earlier, mind-body is a single entity. A disorder may originate in the
mind and effect the body as urticaria, migraine etc. (such disorders are known as psychosomatic). A disorder may originate in the body and effect the mind as continuous dyspepsia causes pessimistic attitudes.
7. Many research/experimental studies have been conducted to show the effect
of meditation on biochemistry of reduced stress, coherence of brain waves, physiological rest maintained during the activity, increased automic stability, effective interaction with the environment, prevention of alcohol and cigarettes abuse, relief from insomnia, normalization of weight, beneficial effects on bronchial asthma, increased tolerance for physical activity in heart patients (angina pectoris), increase in self actualization, decrease in aggression, depression and neuroticism, increased creativity, higher states of consciousness, EEG, Coherence and experience of siddhis, etc.
: Functions of Meditation
-
Meditation cannot be simply taken as a physiological exercise engineered through verbal commands of a psychologist. It performs certain other functions too, in addition to its well-recognized function of slowing down the breathing and pulse rate, decreasing blood pressure and blood lactates, increasing skin resistance and producing electrical rhythms of the brain on an unusual pattern different from the three known states of consciousness pointing towards the possibility of the fourth state of consciousness. Meditation can be viewed to have at least three functions:
i
Meditation as a tranquilizer of body and mind and a powerful therapy for psychosomatics.
ii. Meditation as an unfolder of the unconsciousness.
iii. Meditation as precursor of higher mental activities.
Unfortunately concentration of mind' and its natural culmination into meditation are two such topics which have found no place in psychology texts so far. This may be due to lack of reflection and research in this area but the
January-March 1993
Page #117
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
111
philosophy of behaviourism which dominates the horizon of psychology is positively responsible for this lapse. The objection sometimes raised by psychoanalysts that meditation is tantamount to suppression is misunderstanding. On the contrary, the mind is made acquainted with 'self". As a matter of fact, the process of meditation resembles the analytical method of free-association. Watching one's thoughts leads to intimate knowledge of the mind, and to a progressive awakening of what remains generally unperceived. Simultaneously, the mental activity is slowed down. The more the conscious layers are exposed to the light of discrimination, the more the chances of diving down into the recesses of unconscious. Therefore, it is meditation which leads to the unfolding of the layers of the unconscious.
But this will be a myopic view of the function of meditation, if the higher functions of meditation are not considered. According to Patajali's Yoga Sastra, concentration is the process of stengthening 'I-consciousness'. This is known as Dharma with intense concentration, progressing from stage to stage, the doors of meditation automatically open. Meditation is the transcendence and dissolution of 'I-consciousness'. Meditation is not self-hypnosis. It is that fourth state of consciousness which scientists have recorded on EEG with subjects under deep meditation. Yogis, in scientific studies on meditation, report increase in efficiency, creativity, bliss, and control over many psychological abnormalities. However, there is no empirical study for studying the effect of meditation on integration of personality. Also, there is not much well-investigated literature on the nature, attributes, and correlates of the fourth state of consciousness, the breeding ground for spiritual development. But whatever scanty literature is available, reveals unmistakably that meditation leads to a personality full of love, compassion, ecstacy, rhythm and balance (Gopi Krishan, 1971).
Effects of meditation are both preventive or prophelectic (as it increases the resilence power) and is curative.
The system of meditation which will produce the power of concentrating the mind of anything is indispensable. The ancient Hindus have prized meditation as Valueless. Meditation, which is a non-cerebral movement of human consciousness is harmony with the rhythm of life, within, without, and around, that 'seedless trance' of Patanjili, that 'Choiceless Awareness' of Krishnamurti, that 'Disinterested Objectively' of Jung, that 'Ataraxia of James, that 'Creative Intelligence' by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and that 'Moments of Illumination' by Pal Brunton, has been eulogized in 'Chhandogya Upanishad' thus:
"Meditation, assuredly is more than thought. The earth meditates, as it were. The atmosphere meditates, as it were. The heaven meditates, as it were. The waters meditates, as it were. The mountains meditate, as it were. God and men meditate,
January-March 1993
Page #118
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
112
TULSĪPRAJNA
as it were. Therefore, whoever among men, here attains greatnesss, he has obtained it, as it were, as a share of reward of meditation".
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Akhilananda, Swami : Hindu Psychology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London,
1948.
Alaxander, F.: Psychosomatic Medicine: Its Principles and applications, W.W.Norton & Co., New York. 1950 P.29.
Aurobindo Sri: The synthesis of Yoga; Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondichery, 1953. Beson, H. & Wallace, R.K. Decreased drug abuse with Transcendental Meditation: A Study of 1862 subjects; Drug abuse: Proceedings of the International Conference Philadelphia, 1972. 369-376.
Bhatia, T.R. "An Experimental Study of the Effect of Reciprocal Inhibition Therapy on Anxiety in Adolescents". Unpublished Thesis (PH.D). University of Delhi, 1977.
Brunton P : The Spiritual Crisis of Man B.I.Publication. Bombay, Calcutta,
Delhi, Madras. 1975,
China, G.S. & Singh, B.: What Science says about Transcendental Meditation, Science today July 1975, Pp. 39.46.
Datey, K.K.Deshmukh, S.N.Dalvi, C.P. & Vinekar, S.L. Shavasana, A Yogic Exercise in the Management of Hypertension, Angiology, 20, 1969. Pp.325-329.
Gopi Krishna: Kundalini, The Evolutionary Energy in Man, Shanbala Publication,
Berkley, 1971.
Gopi Krishna : The Dawn of a New Science. Kundalini Research and Publication Trust, New Delhi. 1978.
Gopi Krishna : Kundalini, The Secret of Yoga. Kundalini Rsearch and Publication Trust, New Delhi. 1978.
Gopi Krishna: Kundalini, the Biological Basis of Religion and Genius. Kundalini Research and Publication Trust, New Delhi. 1978.
Jacobson, E. Modern Treatment of Tense Patients; Springfield, 111. Charles
C.Thomas. 1970.
Jacobs, Hans: Western Psychotherapy and Hindu Sadhana. George Allen and Ur. win. London. 1961.
Johnston, Charles: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Watkins, London, 1912. Krishna Prem, Sri: Imitation into Yoga: B.I.Publications, New Delhi, 1976. Krishan Prem, Sri Yoga of the Bhagvad Gita, The New Order Book Co., Ahmedabad-38006, 1982.
Krishan Prem, Sri Yoga of Kathoupanishad, The New Order Book Co., Ahmedabad 380006, 1982.
Krishan Prem Sri: Man, the Measure of All Things, The Theosophical Publishing House Wheaton, Ill., U.S.A. 1969.
January-March 1993
Page #119
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
The Science of Meditation
113
Orme, Johnson, D.W. et. al : Higher states of Consciousness, EEC Coherence,
Creativity and the Experiences of the Sidhis; MERU Press Publication
No. G 1356, 1977. Osuna, Fray Franciso De: The Third Spiritual Alphabet, London, Benziger, 1931. Patanjal Yoga Darshana, Gita Press Gorakhpur, 1960. Progoff, Ira (Ed. and Trans.). The Cloud of Unknowing; New York., Jullian Press,
1969. Satya Nand Swami : Bhakti Prakash, Shri Ram Sharnam, New Delhi 1969. Scholem, G.G. : Jewish Mysticism : Schocken Books, 1967. Seeman, W.et. al. : The influence of Transcedental Meditation on a measure of
self-actualization : Journal of Counselling Psychology; 19, No.3, 1972
Pp.184-187. Thakur, Vimala : Meditation - A Way of Life : The New Order Book Co.,
Ahmedabad-6, 1972. Trimingham, J.S. : Sufi Orders in Islam; Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971. Vivekananda Swami: The Complete Works Vol.I Advait Ashram, Calcutta. 1965,
P.304. Wallace, R.K. : The Physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation : A fourth
major state of consciousness. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Physiology,
University of California, U.S.A. 1970. Wallace, R.K. and Bonson, H: The Physiology of Meditation. Scientific American,
226, No.s, 1972. Pp. 84-90. Wolpe, J : Psychotherapy by Receiprocal Inhibition, Stanford University Press,
Standford, California, 1963. Woodroff, John : Shakti and Shakta. Luzac & Co., London, 1920.
January-March 1993
Page #120
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
114
TU L SĨ PRAJ NA
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
A.N. Pandeya
1.
Introduction : The Problem
(1.1) We propose to discuss the two issues of self-understanding and workethics', in their mutual relashionship, for teachers working in our schools, as well as thier trainers.
We must, first locate these issues in the real context and situation, within which our school-teachers and their trainers have to function. There are three inter-locking areas that define this context and situation (1) The first, and perhaps the most important, is the organised schools that are the primary institutions of our education system It is common knowledge that our schools as the primary institutions of our educational system have to work under double pressure. First, high expectations from them on the part of students, their parents, the employing organisations, and finally our society and government - which are the primary funding agency. The second pressure is much more acute, since it is widely experienced by the teachers themselves as a serious obstacle to their effective performance as good teachers. I am referring to inadequacy of resources and facilities of essential and basic kind - which cripples all their aspirations and efforts to be a good teacher and to achieve excellence in their job and career. (2) The second area which impinges on the context and situation of our teachers and trainers, is the social world outside the educational institutions - namely, the family, the community and the wider sphere of economic organizations and political institutions. Sociologists describe this wide and complex area as the
social system'. (3) The third area, which defines the general spirit and awareness of our contact and situation, is the most difficult to present and grasp concretely, yet is the most vital of the three. It is the area usually described as the field of 'culture' -- an area in which we cultivate our sensibility and taste; our imagination and dreams; our inner landscape of private and personal consciousness, will and spirit; our enduring interests and ideals; our organised and methodical effort to assimilate and advance the intellectual and thinking heritage available to each one of us in the mainstreams of science, philosophy and religious/spiritual visions and perspectives; our spiring to realize our creative potentialities through purposive, persistent and satisfying action, practice and reflection, our search for those deep
January-March 1993
Page #121
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
115 meanings, goals and ends, which in the last analysis define our efforts to realize ourselves, 'Self-understanding' is an issue that relates to this third realm; and 'work-ethics' is, I would suggest, its principal means or instrument. It is important to recall here the initial point that the three areas that define our context and situation are inter-locking; i.e., they influence each other, determine each other on the one hand; and each of these three areas on the other hand, also pulls. usin different, even opposite, directions, by making contrary, opposite, contradictory demands.
(1.2) Our discussion of the two issues of 'self-understanding' and 'workethics' will focus on the three cultures which are currently prevailing and operating in our Republic today. For the sake of simplification, we shall give them broad labels, which are currently in circulation in the discourse that deals with the realm of culture in the field of contemporary thought. Professor Ernest Gellner of Cambridge University, U.K., recently suggested these labels as (i) fundamentalists, (ii) Enlightened Puritans, and (iii) Relativists (Times Literary Supplement, July 31, 1992). He was primarily preoccupied with the situation in the U.K. and Europe; we are primarily concurred with the situation in our Republic; but the labels, are equally meaningful, here as there.
(1.3) Our points of departure is placed around 1890-93 — that involves an overview ofa full 100 years, a period which haswitnessed three major developments. 1890 marks the publication of the two volume principles of Psychology by Prof. William James of Harward University, (in 1892 an abridged Text book was issued). In 1893, Swami Vivekananda visited Chicago to address the World Conference of Religions, and later met Prof. William James at Harward, with profound impact on the latter. In 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi went to South Africa, as an unknown Indian, to emerge as the Mahatma of Satyagraha, first in South Africa and later in India, till India recovered its independence in 1947. In short, our overview will deal with (i) developments and discoveries in the field of psychology, the social and human sciences (ii) the public domain of society, economy and polity; and (iii) the domain of experiements and discoveries relating to Truth, in the area of the human spirit - which the issues of 'self-understanding' and 'work-ethics'ultimately relate. It should be obvious that our treatment would be highly selective and illustrative, exemplifying how to go about thinking these issues - where each one of us has the obligation to reach his own 'personal knowledge and personal discovery' - an obligation as we wish to argue in this discussion constitutes the primary 'work-ethics of any one engaged in the educational process.
(1.4) Finally, our total presentation has a unifying thread (Sutra). This thread is provided by Truth (Satya) The three tables marking the three streams in the modern cultural situation represent three attitudes to Truth, none of which
January-March 1993
Page #122
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
116
TULSI PRAJNĀ being in a position to secure a really convincing ascendancy over the others. Likewise, our overview of the three major domains of (1) science (ii) the public sphere of human life and personal efforts to discover Truth in regard to Man or his spirit, through experiments and devoted practice in our every-day life relate to quest after Truth in the modern era. Here also no single way to Truth is in a position to secure a really convincing ascendancy over the others When it comes to search for Truth, and the means, methods or ways to it, in so far as our 'self is concerned, we are faced with basis choices, which, in the end must be exercised by the individuals himself. Reflection, discussion and dialogues are only preparatory steps - whose purpose is to ensure that the ultiamte choice shall be guided by the available resources of insight, reflection and understanding which the contemporary situation has generated.
2. Overview - 1890-1992 : Self in Psychology
(2.1) In selecting Prof. William James as the exemplar case in the field of Psychology of self-understanding, we also wish to highlight the wide range of his interdisciplinary education, minds and intellectual interests. He was trained in physiology; he wrote the first classic in the field of psychology (1890/1892). the relevance of which is far more central today than ever before; he, as Professor of Philosophy, was the author of three seminal works - Lectures on Pragmatism, A plenalist Universe and The Varicties of Religious Experience, which inaugurated the new phase of philosophical thought being made available to the general public, influencing its general temper, imagination and others. And, finally, through the co-operation and writings of his trained and fellow philosopher - Prof.John Dewy -, he led to a revolutionary transformation in the fields of education, public policy and democratic action to transform the human conditions towards a more humane order.
(2.2) William James introduced the 'self into psychology in 1890, which was in his days, a bold and revolutionary step in the field. By 1910, ‘self was expelled from psychology under banner of behaviourism, and it was only in the early fifties that it was re-introduced in psychology by Prof.Allport in 1943 as 'Ego' (Self) - Between 1910 and 1943, ‘self" however continued to a central issue in sociology, and since 1943, largely under sociological and anthropological influence, it has re-entered the field of social psychology. In between 1910-43, it also suffered a major de-valuation in Freud's psycho-analysis, and during the past
ecades, it has experienced a progressive 're-valuation' and upgrading in contemporary psychiatic theory and practice. The field of developed in the Western World on both sides of the Atlantic, has reflected its changing fortunes, through the arrival of the 'child and its identity development' as a major focus, as for example John Dewey earlier, and Prof. Erik, H.Erikson since 1950, when he published 'childhood and society'. His later seminal work
January-March 1993
Page #123
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
117
'Gandhi's Truth' (1976) illustrates the new area called 'psycho-history', to which we will return later.
(2.3) To James, human consciousness is a process, an ongoing stream of thought and subjective life. Its main quality is the awareness man can have of himself. Thus, a person appears in two-ways: 'partly known, partly knower; partly object and partly subject'; He emphasised two points. First, there are two parts the objective and the subjective. He called the known, 'objective' part the 'me' and the knowing 'subjective' part the 'I'. The 'me' is everything a person has knoweldge and awreness of. It consists of three parts: (i) the material me (the body, and everything related to physical existence, such as clothes, houses, possessions etc.); (ii) the social me (the part of one's self that is recognised by others and upon which they base thier image of me); and finally (iii) the spiritual me (the state of my consciousness and all its latent energies. In this aspect, he remarked; 'Every actually existing consciousness seems itself at any rate to be a fighter for ends' (Principles of Psychology, Vol I 1890, p. 141) In other words, self is primarily oriented to future. In Vol II (p.287jf) Williams James asks the question 'under what circumstances do we think things real?, in one of the most remarkable chapters of the work, he starts from this question to develop his theory of various orders of reality, and psychology of belief. The whole distinction between real and unreal, the whole psychology of belief, unbelief and doubt, is, always according to William James grounded on two mental facts: first that we are liable to think differently of the same object; and secondly that when we have done so, we can choose which way of thinking to adhere to and which to disregard. Consequently, there exist several orders of reality, each with its own special and separate style of existence, called by him sub-universes'. Among these 'sub-universes' there is, for example the world of senses as experienced by common sense; which is regarded by most of us as paramount reality; the world of 'science'; the world of 'idels of the tribe', the super-natural worlds; and finally, the numerous worlds of invidual opinions.
(2.4) The second point which James emphasises is that the two parts - the 'I' and the 'Me' are not separate but simply aspects of one person. Thus in 1892 text-book he says:
"the total self of we must have two aspects discriminated in it, of which for shortness we may call me Me and the other I, and that there is 'the identity of I and Me, even in their very act of discrimination". (p.176)
·
Here William James makes the servival suggestion that the self as known, i.e, the Me, grows out of the recognition that man receive, from other man. He quotes in this context John Locke, the Guru for U.S.A. since 1776, to the effect:
January-March 1993
Page #124
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
118
TU L SĨ P RA J [A
"He must be a strange and unusual constitution who can content himself to live in constant disgrace and disrepute with his own particular society .... nobody that has the least thought or sense of a man about him can live in society under constant dislike and ill-opinion of his familiars and those he converses with”. (p. 295)
William James also had the insight to see that different man respond differntly to the same person; accordingly, there must be as many social selves as there are different groups of men whose opinions one cares for. He, therefore, anticipates what was half - a century later developed in social psychology as reference group analysis', (which we shall take up below), when he argues that it is a man's image in the eyes of his own 'set' which exalts or condemns him as he confirms to or fails, to the requirements imposed by this set. Professor John Dewey develops this Jamesian insight further, when he demonstrates how through the language and communication ofthis 'set', the 'self", of the individual and meanings of his action arise. He, like James, maintains that because of language the individual is compelled to take the standpoint of other individuals and to live out his life from a standpoint common to them as co-operative participants in a joint enterprise. Again, like James, he indicates that because of multiple membership, the individual may be divided within himself, have conflicting selves, or be even disintegrated (Experience and Nature, Chicago, 1925, chapt.5).
(2.5) Finally, we shall note William James as he infers with the enlarged and deepened dimensions of the problems of 'self in his 1902 lectures entitled 'The Varieties of Religions Experience' (1960, Collin Books edition for citation). Here, James deepens his conception of the individual Self (Meh 9), in two dimensions. Our "consciousness' whose total areas he had analysed in his Principles of Psychology (1890), were also accompained the by “Pinge' areas of relative in attention. Now, he declares (p. 191) the most important discovery in Psychology since 1986, to the effect :
“In certain subjects at least, there is not only the consciousness of the ordinary field, with its usual centre and margin, but an addition thereto in the shape of memories, thought and feelings which are extramarginal and outside the primary consciousness altogether. Ist yet moral he classed as conscious/acts of some sort... This discovery has revealed to us an entirely unsuspected peculiarity in the constitution of human nature; James called it subliminal consciousness, referring to the researches of Binct, Janct, Brauer, Freud, Mason, Prina and others (p. 193). This basic category enabled him to handle psychologically a wide range of religious experiences, including mysticism, to illustrate which William James, among other sources quotes from Swami Vivekanand (and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa). His conclusions (chap. 20) are significant.
January-March 1993
Page #125
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
119
Self-understanding and Work-ethics (1) That the visible world is part of a more spiritual universe from which it draws its significance;
(2) That union or harmonious relation with that higher universe is our true end;
(3) That prayer or inner communication with the spiriti thereof.,. is a process wherein work is really done, and spiritual energy flows in and produces effects, psychological or maternal, within the phenomenal world;
Religion includes also the following psychological characteristics:
(4) A new zest which adds itself like a gift to life, and takes the form either of lyrical enchantment or of appeal to earnestness and heroism.
(5) An assurance of safety and a temper of peace, and, in relation to others, a preponderance of loving affections". (p.377) (2.6) The final question : how does all this relate to the impersonality of the scientific attitude, as cultivated by a scientists of nature, right from the beginning of he scientific revolution with copernicus? William James characterised it to be a certain magnanimity of temper, which he pronounced to be 'shallow' (p.386). “The reason is that. so long as we deal with the cosmic and the general, we deal only with the symbols of reality, but as soon as we deal with private and personal phenomena as such, we deal with realities in the completest sense of the term' (p. 386; italians in the original) 'A conscious field plus its object as felt or thought of plus an attitude towards the object plus the sense of a self to whom the attitude belongs - such a concrete bit of personal experience may be a small bit, but it is a solid bit as long as it lasts.. It is a full fact, even though it be an insignificant fact, it is of the Kind to which all realities whatsoever must belong. That unsharable feeling which each one of us has of the pinch of his individual destiny as he privately feels it rolling out on fortunes' wheel may be disparaged for its egotism, may be sneered at as unscientific, but it is the one thing that fills up the measure of our concrete actuality, and any would be existent that should lack such a feeling, or its analogue, would be a piece of reality only half made up.
“If this be true, it would be absurd for science to say that the egotistic element of experience should be suppressed .... Religion makes no such blunder The individuals's religion may be egotistic, and those private realities which it keeps in touch with may be narrow enough; but at any rate, it always remains infinitely less hollow and abstract, so far as it goes, than a science which prides itself on taking no account of anything private at all.
"I think, therefore, that however particular questions connected with our individual destinies may be answered, it is only by acknowledging them as ge questions, and living in the sphere of thought which they open up, that we become profound. But to live thus is to be religious .. By being religious we establish ourselves in possession of ultimate reality at the only points at which reality is given us to guard ....
January-March 1993
Page #126
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
120
TULSI PRAJŇA "Individuality is founded in feeling, and the recesses of feeling, the darker, blinder strata of character, are the only places in the world in which we catch real fact in the making, and directly perceive how events happen, and how work is actually done ....
“The whole drift of my education goes to persuade me that the world of our present consciousness is only one out of many worlds of consciousness that exist, and that those other worlds must contain experiences which have a meaning for our life also; and although in the main their experiences and those of this world keep discrete, y'et the two become continuous at certain points, and higher energies filter in ...
"I can, of course, put myself into the sectarian scientist's attitude, and imagine vividly that the world of sensations and of scientific laws and objects may be all .... Humbing is humbing, even though it bear the scientific name, and the total expression of human experience, as I view it objectively, invincibly unges me beyond the narrow 'scientific' bounds. Assuredly, the real world is of a different temperament - more inticately built than physical science allows” (pp 393-402extracts)
(2.7) Before we conclude this over-view centered on William James, it would be useful for us to note that the major issues raised by him are of direct relevance to us, a century after they were raised, not only in the limited domain of the science of psychology, but the larger area of society (including economy and polity), culture and the ultimate domain of the human spirit, where we search for our deepest being and reality (through religion, morality and metaphysical beliefs. These would be traced, succesively, in sections that follow.
3. Self in the Social Science :
(3.1) William James, through his insightful analysis of the (1) I' - ME' structure of the human self (2) the sub-luminal/conscious levels of our selfunderstanding, and the (3) multiple sub-universes and corresponding plurality of identities within our personality, set before the newer social sciences their basic problematique and agendas, which continues to occupy them even today. Once again, our presentation would be selective and illustrative, while we trace the developments around the three major themes, listed above, which provide the point of departure. We shall being together the major insights contributed by history, sociology and anthropology, besides drawing upon social thought and internal criticism.
(3.2) The new discipline of modern history is the oldest member of the modern social and human sciences. It was inaugurated by the Italian scholar and
January-March 1993
Page #127
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
121
philosopical mind - GIAMBATTISTA VICO (1668-1744), through his work SCIEŽANUOVA (The New Science, Erytraus by Professors Bergin and Fisch, Cornell University Press, 1948), which appeared in 1725 in its first edition, in 1730 as revised second edition, and reprinted with additions in 1744, the year of his death. This new science is History - in its modern career.
(3.3) Like William James, who emphasised the primary of our individual consciousnes (including will, feelings and imagination) and actual experience and conduct over the claims of abstract natural science form of mathematics and experiment to be the sole source of knowledge of reality, Vico proclaimed the centrality of self-knowledge in distinction power mathematical deduction and reasoning on the one hand, and our knowledge of external nature, based on perception and observation on the other hand. He distinguished between 'outer and "inner'knowledge, which later on during the early decades of the 20th century was called by German philosophers of science as NATURWISSENSCHAFT and GEISTEWISSENSCHAFT to discribe the qualitative differences of the nature of knowledge in the natural and human sciences. 'Self-knowledge' for View was neither like mathematical nor like natural sciences. Self-knowledge is knowledge
activities of which we, the knowing subjects, are ourselves the authors, endowed with motives, purposes and a continuous social life which we understand, as it were, from inside .... In short, we judge human activity in terms of purposes, motives, acts of will, decisions, doubts, hesitations, thoughts, hopes, tears, desires and so forth.” (Isaiah Berlin : Vico and Herder, London, 1980, p. 22). 'Selfknowledge' has been neglected because men find it very difficult to think of anything in other ihan bodily terms. “The human mind is naturally inclined to see itself externally in the body, and only with great difficulty does it come to understand itself by means of reflection” (New Science, 256) So he declared that we can truly know only what we create, and he applied this insight to human history, concieved as a collective social experience extended through time, as a ceaseless employment of historically changing conceptions. interpretations mythical, symbolic, logical, empirical, social consciousness of man through its historical ephocs can be understood as modes of self-knowledge. So his famous passage in the New Science :
“In the night thick darkness enveloping the earlier antiquites, so remote from oneselves there shines the eternal and never failing light of a truth beyong all question : that the world of civil society has certainly been made by men, and that its principles are, therefore, to be found within the modifications of our own human mind : (331) For Vico such knowledge is the result of a human capacity for imaginative understanding, which enables us to concieve the modifcations of the human mind, through its history.
(3.4) The central idea at the heart of Vico's thought is that, in the individual and society alike, phases follow each other in the pursuit of an intelligible purpose
January-March 1993
Page #128
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
122
TULSI PRAJÑA
- man's effort to understand himself and his world, and to realize his capacities in it. Man's nature can best be understood in the historical flux itself - of what comes into being, at what times, in what fashions' (New Science, 147). In Vico's conception of history, as Prof.Bertin puts it, all that can be gathered about the past and present of the moral, religious, aesthetic outlook of human groups, or their social, economic, linguistic habits as they gradually alter and grow; in short, all that comparative mythology, jurisprudence, anthropology, ehtrology, sociology and the other sciences of man duly came to investigate, falls into this provience." (p.37). .
(3.5) We shall focus, in particular, on the major problem of this new history - the emergence of modern (Europen) civilization, specially its consequences for self-understanding and work-ethics. In this task, we propose to rely on the insights provided by three outstanding historians (1) Prof.Jacob Burchardt (1818-1897) through his work “The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy' (Germaned published in 1860, Eng. Trans, Colophan edition 1975), (2)Prof. Robert MANDROU (University of Paris), through his work ‘From Humanism to Science 1480-1700 (Pelican, 1978, Fr. original 1973); and (3) Prof.Fernand BRAUDEL of Paris, through his work 'Civilization and Capitalism' 3 Vols (London, Collins 198183) the three founding fathers of sociology - Karl Marx, Emile durkheim and Max Waber, in their ways, are historically illuminated minds, grappling with the nature of modern civilization and its discontents, which are our problems historically since 1775, when the East India Company made Calcutta its headquarters
(3.6) The modern phạse of the European civilization is conventionally dated with the rise of the Renaissance in Italy, and the scientific revolution initiated by the great astronomer Copernicus (born 1473). Prof. Burckhardt's stud the Renaissance as the period of the discovery of the individual, the human being (DIE ENTDECKUNG DES MENSCHEN), the awakening of the self (DAS ERWACHENDER PERSONLICHKEIT) and the development of the individual (DIE ENT WICHLUNG DES INDIVIDUUMS). These are the momentous steps toward the modern form of consciousness. The individual sees himself apart from primordial, hierarchical collective groups, he sees himself as such and defines a self-interest that is different from all the social grouping to which he continues to belong. He devotes himself to perfecting his Self, as a celebrity or genius, it is an era of self-improvement, led by the desire for well-rounded achievement in physical, mental and artistic spheres - which are facets to the self. The discovery of man is equal to the growth of a self awareness and self-reflection, as manifested in the literature and arts of the period. The epitome of this awakening of selfanalysis is the writing of auto-biographics. The 'cult of celebrity' or the modern idea of fame arives. So too the desire for novelty and innovation. The reductive and absurdum of the search for fame is the crime committed to imprint one's name and memory on the public. These are astonishing anticipations by Burckhardt of the
January-March 1993
Page #129
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
123
contempory condition of the affluent societies on the two sides of the atlantic. Secondly, he discovers the construction of the state, which is described as a 'Work of Art' along with the new consciousness that permits such a deliberte construction of institutions. This gave rise to the problem of legitunacy of 'constructed' institutions. Three solutions were attempted - (1) repeated reformulation of the constitution, (2) dominance of a single individual by cunning and force, and (3) elimination of potential opposition - all based on the spirit of tradition calculation'. Burchardt himself felt that the problem of legitunacy will remain unresolved. At the heart of all versions of the modern civilization lurks this unresolved problem of inner legitimacy. Thirdly, he notes that new emerged from institutional gaps and the failures of the existing social order. In this transition, human beings failed to understand their own epoch; archaic features not only persist, but actually come to the forefront, acquiring a new meaning. He cites the example of Renaissance obsession with astrology, which he regards as one of the paradoxical symptoms of emerging modernity. Equally revealing is his discovery that social institutions tend to collapse into 'familism', on a reliance on own relatives, drawn from the extended family - there followed a prolonged period of amoral familism, as old and new institutions collapsed together. Today the mafia has adopted family and pseudo family structures in Italy, as also the U.S.A. of 'God-fathers'. The underworld of organized crime, thus, emerges as a concurrent stream of European civilization in its modern avatar'. Burchardt notes that cime is not a matter of individual pathology, but an integral element of certain social structures of the modern civilization, which are tied to excessive individualism, which was also a condition of the greatness of its artists. As he puts it : “The sight of victorious egoism in others drives him to defend his own right by his own arm' (p. 442). Once 'self-interest' is adopted as a moral measure, all such dark forces find a free play. Finally, if modernity itself is contant transition, then no alternative measure of morality is feasible. The death of God leads to the death of the Self in human individuals. Some scholars have recently called Burchardt as the first existentialist of European civilization, since he refers to that emigmatic mixture of conscience and egoism which often survives in modern man after he has best, whether by his own fault or not, faith, hope and love’. (p.428).
(3.7) The issue of 'self-interest' and 'excessive individualism' leading to crime and a moral behaviour was explicity and openly acknowledged by thinkers in the eighteenth century England who tried to comprehend the working and consequences of the new economy that was rapidly acquiring a dominant position in the public domain. Earlier, in the 17th century, John Locke, a contemporary of Sir Isac Newton, had prepared the ground for emancipating economics from politics, by proposing the creation of 'representative government' with strictly limited functions of protecting the “life and property of citizens, who were expected to exercise their liberties and pursue happiness. The task outstanding now was to liberate economics from morality. In this context, we take note of
January-March 1993
Page #130
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
124
TU L SI PRAJ NA Mandevill, whose 'Fable of the Bees: Private Vius, Publick Benefits', remains to this day, since its publication in 1723 (Kaye's critical edition 1924, Oxford 2 Vols), deeply disturbing.. He argued that ‘Fraud, Luxury and Pride' are the causes of prosperity and greatness, with the disappearance of vice, arrive sloth, poverty and boredom. “Morals have been resolved into the merely social; the individual as a product of social and economic forces," - as Prof. Tufts puts it in his study of British Ethics of the Eighteenth Century (1904). Mandeville's concluding sentence is worth noting :
“I flatter myself to have demonstrated that, neither the friendly Qualities and kind Affections that are natural to Man, nor the real Virtues he is capable of acquiring by Reason and Self-denial, are the Foundations of Society; but that what we call Evil in this World, Moral as well as Natural, is the grand Principle that makes us sociable creatures, the solid basis, the life and support of all trades and employments without exception" (p.369).
Adam Smith, father of classical Economic theory, Guru of free market civilization of the U.S.A., since its independence, and now also the Guru of exsocialist countries of Europe, and the Socialist Republic of China under Deng's leadership, was the another of 'An Inquiring into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) and an earlier, lesser known work. 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments economic activity is the one activity of man in which there is no need for anything but self-love or self-interest. Only by pursuing their particular interests men unwittingly work for the common good. This is where Adam Smith’s famous 'Invisible Hand couses into play. It is as if God told us ‘Don't be afraid, my child, of apparently trespassing against my commands. I have so arranged everything that you are justified in neglecting morality in this particular case'. Released from moral obligation, the uncompromising seeker of self-interest, however, suffered another dismemberment - forced by increasing division of labour, leading the individual to the loss of a rounded personality (the Renaisance ideal), since he is now condemned to perform, endlessly fragmented repetitive work in the factory system as well as all other specialized occupations and professions. Self, thus, ends up as a mere cog in a gigantic economic machine that is the Common-wealth of Nations, the disaster is total.
(3.9) Divsion of labour, resulting in fragmentation of the individual's self, thus, becomes the central agenda of the social and human sciences, since the down of the 19th century, right up to the present, when the 20th century is about to close. It is the issue that baffles and exesperates the three founding fathers of the modern sociology (the phrase 'sociology was coined by August Comte in the 18305)- Karl Max, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber (the last two living to see World - War I. While Karl Marx did in 1883), and their present-day follows. The Marxian contribution is the concept of alienation of man; Durkheim contributed the
January March 1993
Page #131
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
125
concept of 'Anonic'; while Max Weber gave us the 'disenchanted world' - an 'iron-cage' from which the spirit has flown away: We shall present and elucidate these key categories of sociological thought.
(3.10) The concept of 'alienation' was first introduced in modern thought by the German philosopher Hegel, in his first major work 'The Phenomenology of Spirit' published in 1807 (Eng Tr.A. V.Miller, Cerdon Press, Oxford 1979) who used this expression to analyse the inner meaning of modern culture as 'selfalienated spirit', since wealth and power - both egotistic - were the living forces behind all 'cultural' chatter and postures. Ludwig Feurbach used ‘alienation' to. bring out the inner meaning of religious consciousness in his work 'The Essence of Christianity' published in Germany in 1841. He, together with Hegel, is the founder of what is today known as philosophical anthropology (Science of man). Religion is man's earliest and also indirect from of self-knowledge ... every advance in religion is therefore a deeper self-knowledge - provided we free it from all alienations and illusions.. Thus purified it is the self-knowledge of man and the .scientific analysis takes the form of psychology and anthropology. In this new discipline, his greatest discovery - hailed by Martin Buber as 'the copernican Revolution of modern thought - was the thesis that man is a being who depends on his fellow-men for his self-understanding. 'I' cannot exist without 'Thou', 'IThou' relatioship renders life meaningful as well as understandable. Karl Marx introduced the category of 'alienation' in the economic sphere, and argued that division of labour, and conflict of class interest, alienates every man, starting from the labourer to the capitalist and his theorists and de-humanises' them uniformally. Modern civilization, in all its aspects destroys all possibilities of self-discovery through creative activity in human relationship within a human community (Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts - 1844). The question is: how is man to himself?
(3.11) Emile Durkheim, analysing the inner tensions for modern capitalist civilization, introduced the concept of 'anomie' to describe the condition of the egoist members of the modern industrial order, where industrial and commercial life escapes all regulation. 'One no longer knows what is possible and what is not, what is just and what is unjust; which claims and hopes are legitimate and which are beyond the limit.... The state of lawlessness or of anomy is therefore reinforced by the fact that passions are less disciplined at the every moment when they need to be more firmly held in duck' (Le Suicide, Paris 1960 p.223). This concept was revived and put in circulation half-a century later by Prof. R.K.Merton, who defind it to mean 'a breakdown in the cultural structure, occurring particularly when there is acute disjunction between the cultural norms and goals and the socially structured capacities of members of the group to act in accord with them... there is a strain toward the break-down of the norms, towards normelessness : (Social Theory & Social structure. N.Y. 1957/PP. 136-9) Modern civilization, then, has
January-March 1993
Page #132
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
126
TULSI PRAJÑA
both 'alienation' and 'anomy' as in-built features, rendering self-fulfilment and self-understanding deeply problematic.,
(3.12) Max Weber, the German socilogist of Heideberg, presents a view of the internal landscape of this modern (European) civilization, from the prospective of ethic and spirit, in his insightful book "The Protestant Ethik and the Spirit of Capitalism' (1920, 1906) (Eng tr. Parsons, N.Y. 1958). He knew the fundamental relationship between religious ethics (Protestant) and the economic and social sphere in its formative years in Western Europe and the New World during the 17th & 18th centuries, giving visling to the capitalist civilization, with its rationality, science, law, bureaucracy and expanding wealth & power and cultural expression. His conclusion is profoundly pessimistic about the future of spirit and ethics in this civilized order. This is how he puts it
"One of the fundamental elements of the spirit of modern capitalism, and not only of that of all modern culture : rational conduct on the basis of the idea of calling, was born - that is what this discussion has sought to demonstrate - from the spirit of Chrisitian asceticism .... Limitation & specialised work, with a renunciation of the Fanstian universality of man which it involves, is a condition of any valuable work in the modern world, hence deeds and renunciation inevitably condition each other today .... a departure from the age of full and beautiful humanity, which can no more be repeated in the course of our cultural development than can the flower of the Athenian culture of antiquity ...
For when asceticism was carried out of the monastic cells into everyday life, and began to dominate the worldly morality, it did its part in building the tremendous cosmos of the modern economic order. This order is now bound to the technical and economic conditions of machine production which today determine the lives of all the individuals who are born into this mechanism, not only those directly concerned with economic acquisition, with irresistable force ... In Baxfer's view the care for the external goods should only be on the shoulders of the saint like a light clock, which can be thrown aside at any ntoment : But fate decreed that the clock should become an iron cage. Today the spirit of religious asceticism - whether, finally who knows? - has escaped from the cage ... No one knows who will live in this cage in the future, ... For the last stage of this cultural development, it might well be truly said, "Specialists with spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved. (pp.180-182).
(3.13) It is but appropriate if we recall Mahatma Gandhi's critique of this civilization, developed in Hind Swaraj, around the same time (1908), as Max Weber wrote the above conclusion.
January-March 1993
Page #133
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Work-ethics
127
4. Work - ethics
(4.1) In the light of the background sketched so far, relating to the rise of modern society, economy, culture and the over-all ethos of contemporary civilization in the developed world, it should be perfectly clear by now that the search for fashioning and developing a meaningfullyorganised and stable ‘self" is challenging task, requiring all our resources of inner energy, feelings, emotions, knowledge and action after due deliberation in the ever-changing situations of our personal life, where we are confronted with new challenges and unforeseen hurdless. We have also argued that the search for the proper ethic to face tasks of personal and public life is firmly grounded in the quality of self-understanding, and strength of character that mark us as an individual. We are, thus, all set to draw the relevant conclusions regarding work-ethics which are both possible and practically feasible for teachers in our educational system, at the school and college levels
(4.2) The modern educational system, any where in the world today, including India, is a cross-rod where all the interests and ideals of the society and state as a whole, meet in an uneasy, conflicting, dominating manner, subjecting it to contrary pressures all the time. Education can never be neutral in these ongoing contests and controversies of the times knowledge is power, as Lord Bacon declared in 1620; the state, is today, more than ever before, interested in a regime of truth and knowledge which will be supportive of its continued hold on political power. The economy is today directly interested in ensuring production of trained professionals, which are employable by corporations and enterprises to maximise their profitiability. The deprived, the oppressed, the wretched of society are vitally interested in seeking widest possible entry into the educational system, to move upwards and share in power as the only way of ending oppression over them by the more fortunate, privileged and fattened upper classes of society. The idealists, moralists, believers and men of faith are no less interested in devi an educational system which will produce saints, moral beings and 'mahatmas to regenerate society, which will then, proceed to usher in a civilization of allrounded perfection of humanity at large. In such a setting how is the teacher to chart his work-ethics, and what motivations could sustain him in his endeavour to act always in accordance with the demands and obligations of the work-ethic? How does he respond to the continuing clash of the three cultures of truth - relativişim, fundamentalism and enlightenment puritanism? And above all, what ideals and values shall he seek to transmit; if any such transmission is possible, to the tender, restless, bewildered younger flock of students under his care in the class-room? Is there any proportion between what is expected of him, and what, under the given constraints, is feasible practically?
(4.3) The history of the educational system must be recalled at this stage, as a guide to uderstand its present-day working. Since 1775, it has developed under
January-March 1993
Page #134
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
128
TULSI PRAJŇA three-fold pressures, here in our own country, as in the West, in a nearly parallel pattern. The first pressure was to supply 'babus' to perform administrative functions of the government, which remains the largest single employer, with guarantees of security, promotion and emoluments. The second pressure was ecohomic and vocational - to produce skilled workers for the job-market of modern economy - technicians, engineers, professionals, experts in managment and industrial administration. The third pressure was to generate new knowledge, leading to new technologies- the ultimate resources of national sovereignty, power and wealth. As to culture and ideals, ethics and values, it was widely assumed that the educational system is there only to help the students assimilate the internalise what the state of culture and spirit of civilization generated as the heritage of the nation. It is, therefore, not at all surprising that our educational system is under the control of a Ministry of Human Resources, an expression which is derived from the discourse of economic resources, of human beings as the primary 'capital' to be developed and exploited in full. The very language of 'values', we must recall, is directly derived from economics, and till the last decades of the 19th century, there was no discourse of human values, absolute or relative, universal or local.
(4.4) It should not, therefore, come to us as a surprise that the first explorations into the meaning of work, work culture and work ethics were carried out in the context of economic, industrial enterprises, from about 1920 onwards, first in the U.S.A., and now throughout the developed world. In our own country, we are largely faced with the problem of selective transfer, careful adaptation of this pool of wisdom, to ensure that the graft shall strike roots in our indigenous soil and climate, cultural heritage and civilizational spirit.
(4.5) To raise the relevant questions in the logical sequence, we shall first consider the issue - what is the meaning of 'work' for the teacher? If teaching is no longer a calling or an ethical duty, but is a job, a piece of paid work, what meaning can it have for any teacher? The five options are as follows :
(1)
lam w
(2)
I am working for money to obtain a comfortable life. to create or express something unique or to gain new knowledge or skill, to provide a service or product that helps others people, for the sense of achievements, including the recognition, reward, or advancement that may go with it. for development of inner peace and self-fulfilment, and to be in harmony with what I do.
(5)
Of course, in most cases, there is a mixture of many of the listed options. What would be the mixture or the broad spectrum of choices of meaning will largely
January March 1993
Page #135
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
Self-understanding and Wor-ethics
129 depend on our ‘self and how we propose to enhance its basic thrust and mode of fulfilment.
(4.6) What kind of work-culture is available to our teachers? Work-culture refers to the following :
(a) (b)
the culture of the group with which one works regulations, administrative style of its office-bearers, opportunity for creative initiatives, general attitude of other groups to work within the school system. Physical facilities for effective work. Tradition of excellence and achievement developed by the school over years of dedicated performance. Its prestige and standing in the community:
(d)
(e)
(4.7) What kind of work-involvement is displayed by teachers? It depends on (a) whether the job is involving or non-involving; important or unimportant, motivating or unmotivating; trivial or fundamental; rewarding or unrewarding; essential or non-essential. Accordingly one may be identified with the work, attached or detached to it, bored or excited by it; integrated or non-integrated with it, satisfied or dissatisfied by it.
. (4.8) What kind of importance does work have in the overall context of the individual's life and various interestings? It could be ranging from a central place to the other extreme of an unavoidable drudgery or burden.
(4.9) We are now in a position to answer the question relating to the ethic of the teacher. Teaching, under this perspective, is more than a job or merely paid-work It carries with itself the challenge and the exitement of pursuing a deeply held commitment to one's own self as well as to the wide society. It is as elevating, liberating and fulfilling, as any of the human endeavours in a monastry ashram, temple, or field of acrifice for a cause. It can be a creative act of daily fulfilment, as one communicates successfully to the younger minds, information, attitude, excitement, sensibility, reflectness, and the reasonable temper for handling issues of public and private life. The teacher, in this work-ethics, becomes, an examplar, living and visible, of all that he considers worthy of transmission and emulation. In this role, he is the Guru, whose status is equivalent to that of God,
In this ethics; dedicated performace is its own reward; it is the path of selfless action and the path of knowledge in one. And as the another of the Mahabharata declared at the dawn of our civilizational phase, it is an ethics that can, and must be, pursued, in the daily context of our every-day life, with such resources as fall
January-March 1993
Page #136
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
130
TULSI PRAJÑA to our lot, with such materials as we are privileged to shape and mould, to help him develop into a liberated, free fearless actor in life; as he enters adult responsibilities and challenges.
(4.10) Ideals, when combined with interests, generate dedicated, sustained action, releasing unsuspecting inner energies. The general goal has been clearly articulated in our civilization, right from its early down, streching into the present. This work-ethic is summed up in the three aspirations of our being - lead me from darkness to light, from the wrong to the right path; from death to continued being:
“तमसो मा ज्योर्तिगमय । असतो मा सदगमय । मृत्योमा अमृतम गमय ।'
Admittedly, it is a difficult and daunting path. But it is there. Understanding the issue in its total context is half the battle; and our discussion is a contribution to that end.
January March 1993
Page #137
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
मूल्य शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि
131
मूल्य-शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि*
शिवरतन थानवी
जीवन में मान-मूल्य-मर्यादा का अपना विशिष्ट स्थान है । स्वार्थपूर्ति में बाधा के भय से इनके अर्थ-प्राय: विकृत हो जाते हैं । सभी मूल्य एक से नहीं होते । कुछ मूल्य स्थायी रहते हैं, सार्वकालिक और सार्वभौम होते हैं, जबकि कुछ मूल्य समय के साथ बदलते भी है। सनातन और शाश्वत मूल्यों को भी नयी प्रगति की रोशनी में समझना जरूरी होता है । सत्यं वद धर्मचर या सत्यं शिवं सुन्दर कहने मात्र से काम नहीं चलता है । सत्य, प्रेम, अहिंसा की बात बहुत बार कही है । धर्ममय आचरण के लिए भी अनेक ग्रंथ रचे गए, अनेक सम्प्रदाय स्थापित हए, किन्तु आँखें अभी तक नहीं खुली । ढाई आखर प्रेम का अभी भी बहुत दूर है । जो मूल्य कभी मनुष्य को ऊंचा उठाते हैं वे ही मूल्य कभी संकीर्ण दृष्टि से उत्पन्न व्याख्याओं के कारण विग्रह
और विनाश का कारण बनते हैं । अतएव मूल्यों के प्रति हर व्यक्ति को, शिक्षक और माता-पिता को और पूरे समाज को भी जागृत रहना चाहिए।
शिक्षा में भविष्योन्मुखी चिन्तन की दृष्टि से दो दस्तावेज बहुत महत्वपूर्ण हैं । एक तो प्रो. टॉर्स्टन हुसैन द्वारा तैयार किया गया 'ईस्वी सन् दो हजार में शिक्षा और दूसरा यूनेस्को के अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा आयोग के अध्यक्ष प्रो. एडगर फोर द्वारा प्रस्तुत प्रतिवेदन लर्निग टुवी'२ इन दोनों में इस तथ्य पर बल दिया गया है कि उपलब्ध अनुसंघ न, अध्ययन आदि के संकेतों से पता चलता है कि कल का समाज संदा सीखने को उत्सुक समाज (लर्निग सोसायटी) होगा-सतत शिक्षा प्राप्त करेगा, जीवन भर-और कल के लिए जो शिक्षा होनी है उसकी प्राथमिकताएं वे नहीं रहेंगी जो आज हैं । सामाजिक-राजनैतिक मूल्यों का हमें विज्ञान व प्रौद्योगिकी के विकास की रोशनी में वापस अवलोकन करते रहना चाहिए और देखना चाहिए कि कल के मूल्यों की प्राथमिकताएं क्या रहेंगी । परिवर्तन लाना है तो परिवर्तन की तैयारी करनी पड़ेगी, जड़ मूल्यों की पहचान भी करनी पड़ेगी और चेतना के लिए, वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि के लिए, उन सभी मूल्यों से लड़ना पड़ेगा जो प्रगति के पांवों में बेड़ियां बनकर बैठे हुए हैं और पीछे खींचते हैं । उनसे पहले मुक्त होना होगा ।
श्रद्धा, विश्वास, उपासना, पूजा कोई बुरा नहीं है किंतु विवेक को काम में लिए
*राजस्थान बोर्ड शिक्षण पत्रिका से साक्षभार
जनवरी-मार्च 1993
Page #138
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
132
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
बिना आंख मूंदकर श्रद्धा करना, विश्वास करना, उपासना करना या पूजा करना किसी शिक्षित व्यक्ति का लक्षण नहीं है । यह हमें अपने विद्यार्थियों को सिखाना है और अभ्यास कराना है । तर्क और विवेक से तथ्यों की छानबीन करना सिखाना चाहिए । संदेह करना सिखाना चाहिए । धर्मग्रन्थों में लिखा होने से ही कोई तथ्य सत्य नहीं हो जाता। तथ्य की बजाय कपोल कल्पित बातें भी बहुत हैं शास्त्र - पुराणों में और मिथ्या विश्वासों को जन्म देने वाली भी अनेक बातें हैं । उनसे कदम-कदम पर लड़ना होगा । ईरान में प्रगति की लहर थी तब मुसलमान औरतें मर्दों के साथ कदम मिलाकर चल सकती थीं, पर्दा करके चलने की जरूरत नहीं थी । लेकिन यदि सामाजिक प्रगति नारी की स्वतंत्रता और वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि पर कट्टरपन हावी हो जाये तो नारी फिर कैद होने लगेगी। भारत में पाखंडी पंडितों का वर्चस्व आ गया तो औरतों को जिंदा जलाने का क्रम फिर शुरू 'हो सकता है 'सती' के नाम पर । योरोप में कभी पोप का इतना वर्चस्व था कि गेलीलियों के वैज्ञानिक सत्य को देखना पाप माना गया क्योंकि बाइबिल में जो लिखा था उसके खिलाफ कह रहा था गेलीलियो । वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि के लिए, समाज में खुलेपन के लिए, सामाजिक आर्थिक समता के लिए नारी और हरिजन सभी वर्गों की स्वतन्त्रता के लिए नये मूल्यों की स्थापना कैसे होती है और अतीत के गौरवपूर्ण मूल्यों का नये
समन्वय कैसे होता है इस पर विचार की दृष्टि, शक्ति और सामर्थ्य हमारी शिक्षा प्रणाली को देनी होगी । आज जो निर्णय लेते हैं उन पर आने वाले कल की छाप होनी चाहिए ।
1
एक स्वस्थ व्यक्तित्व के लिए एक स्वस्थ और संतुलित जीवन दर्शन होना जरूरी है। यह जीवन दर्शन व्यक्तियों की रूचियों में, रूझान में और कार्य व्यवहार में अभिव्यक्त होता है । जिस जीवन के मूल में कोई मूल्य नहीं है वहां कोई स्थिरता नहीं होगी । वह अनेक विकारों से ग्रस्त होगा । खड़े होने को पैर चाहिए । मेज, कुर्सी के भी पैर होते हैं । अच्छी शिक्षा हो तो व्यक्ति को मूल्यों का अच्छा आधार मिलेगा । ज्ञान-विज्ञान का भी आधार होता है किन्तु मूल्यों का आधार उनमें भी आगे है । ज्ञान - विज्ञान में भी मूल्य अपनी विशेष भूमिका रखते हैं । मनुष्य के स्वभाव में यदि मूल्यों का पर्याप्त समावेश हुआ है तो वह मौलिक होगा, सृजनशील होगा, अन्यथा जैसा कि डॉ. नन्दकिशोर आचार्य ने कहा है, व्यक्ति हो या समाज, वह अविचारित अनुकरण में ही अपना विस्तार देखेगा और मौलिकता खोकर मात्र 'अनुवाद' हो जायेगा 13 परम्परा से प्राप्त श्रेष्ठ मूल्यों के संस्कार देना और नये मूल्यों के संस्कार ग्रहण करने की दृष्टि व सामर्थ्य खुद भी प्राप्त करना और बच्चों को भी देना हर शिक्षक और मां-बाप का एक और उत्तरदायित्व है । उनमें यह चेतना होनी चाहिए कि वे नई-नई विधियां ढूंढे, अपना स्वयं का व्यवहार बदलें और शिक्षण सामग्री में सुधार करें
1
जनवरी - मार्च 1993
Page #139
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
133
मूल्य शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि
किन मूल्यों पर बल दें ? कबीर के लिए तो 'ढाई आखर प्रेम का' ही काफी था । कोई असहमत नहीं होगा । मूल तो यही हैं । महात्मा गांधी ने सत्य, प्रेम, अहिंसा का शिक्षण सर्वोपरि माना । यों तो वे भी सत्य और प्रेम इन दोनों को ही काफी मानते थे । वे जानते थे कि जहां प्रेम होगा वहां हिंसा नहीं होगी । किन्तु मोह को जब आदमी प्रेम मान बैठे तो हिंसा हो सकती है । इसलिए उन्होंने अहिंसा भी जोड़ा । मोह और प्रेम की व्याख्या करते हुए ओशो रजनीश कहते हैं- "प्रेमी को मनुष्य हमेशा पागल कहता रहा है और प्रेम को हमेशा अंधा कहता रहा है । ठीक शब्द 'मोह' है । मोह अंधा है ।... हम प्रेम को ही मोह और मोह को ही प्रेम कहते रहते हैं । जिनके जीवन में मोह है उनके जीवन में प्रेम नहीं हो सकता । 4
जहां प्रेम होगा वहां कठोरता नहीं होगी, शोषण नहीं होगा, अन्याय व अत्याचार नहीं होगा, और हिंसा भी नहीं होगी । जहां प्रेम होगा वहां भीतर सुख होगा, शांति होगी, चेतना होगी और रस होगा । रजनीश ने कहा है- " जब तुम रसपूर्ण होते हो तो तुम्हारे कृत्यों में भी रस बहता है । फिर तो तुम जो करते हो उसमें भी सुगन्ध आ जाती है 15
सत्य बहुत कठोर है । यथार्थ का सामना करना बहुत मुश्किल होता है । इसलिए शास्त्रों ने सत्य में प्रेम के समावेश का उपदेश दिया । कहा- - सत्यं ब्रूयात्
ब्रूयात् प्रियं
मा ब्रूयात् सत्यमप्रियम् ।
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयोदेष धर्म सनातनः ।। "
मनुष्य को सत्य बोलना चाहिए और प्रिय बोलना चाहिए । उसमें भी सत्य ऐस हों जो अप्रिय न हो और प्रिय ऐसा हो जो असत्य न हो । यहीं सनातन धर्म है अर्थात् श्रेष्ठ मूल्य है- सार्वभौम एवं सार्वकालिक महत्व का मूल्य है । मूल्य मन, वचन, तीनों में उपस्थित रहते हैं। तीनों का नियंत्रण नियमन आवश्यक है । वाणी का नियंत्रण उच्च कोटि की साधना है । गीता में कहा है
कर्म
अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत् । स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैन वाम्डयं तप उच्यते 117
वाणी की साधना के लिए श्रेष्ठ ग्रंथों का बार-बार अध्ययन और अभ्यास आवश्यक है । स्वाध्याय और अभ्यास भी वाणी का तप है और ऐसी बात बोलना भी तप है जो उद्वेग करने वाली न हो, सत्य हो, प्रिय हो और हितकारी हो ।
योगदर्शन के अष्टांग योग में यम-नियमादि आठ अंगों का वर्णन किया गया है । अहिंसा, सत्य, अस्तेय ( चोरी न करना), ब्रह्मचर्य और अपरिग्रह ये पांच यम हैं और शौच ( शुद्धता), सन्तोष, तप, स्वाध्याय तथा ईश्वर प्राणिधान ये पांच नियम हैं ।
जनवरी - मार्च 1993
Page #140
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
134
तुलसी प्रज्ञा यम-नियम को आप तब के जीवन के बुनियादी मूल्य कह सकते हैं । जो इनकी पालना करेगा वह असामाजिक कभी नहीं होगा ऐसा विश्वास करके बनाने वालों ने नियम बनाये थे ये मूल्य । भागवत् में बारह यम और बारह नियम दिए हैं । यम हैं-अहिंसा, सत्य, चोरी न करना, अनासक्ति, लज्जा, असंचय, आस्तिकता, ब्रह्मचर्य, मौन, स्थिरता, क्षमा और अभय । नियम हैं-शौच, जप, तप, दम, हवन, श्रद्धा, अतिथि सेवा, भगवत-सेवा, तीर्थयात्रा, परोपकार, सन्तोष और गुरू-सेवा । - यम-नियम में जैसे अन्तर आया वैसे जीवन मूल्यों में बाद में भी अन्तर आता रहा है । राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 1986 ने कहा कि उन सार्वभौम शाश्वत मूल्यों का विकास होना चाहिए “जो हमें एकता की ओर ले जा सके । इन मूल्यों से धार्मिक अन्धविश्वास, कट्टरता, असहिष्णुता, हिंसा और भाग्यवाद का अन्त करने में सहायता मिलनी चाहिए ।"10 सौन्दर्य, सामंजस्य और परिष्कार के प्रति संवेदनशीलता के विकास पर भी नीति में निर्देश है ।11 हर मनुष्य के विचार और जीवन का हिस्सा बनाने के लिए राष्ट्रीय मूल्यों पर बल देने का भी निर्देश है जैसे-समान सांस्कृतिक धरोहर, लोकतंत्र, धर्मनिरपेक्षता, स्त्री-पुरूषों के बीच समानता, पर्यावरण का संरक्षण, सामाजिक समता, सीमित परिवार का महत्व और वैज्ञानिक तरीके के अमल की जरूरत 112 नीति में यह भी कहा गया है कि शिक्षा ऐसी हो जो दृष्टि को प्रखर करे, संवेदनशीलता लाए, समझ और चिन्तन में स्वतन्त्रता लाए ताकि आने वाली पीढ़ियां नए विचारों को सतत सृजनशीलता के साथ आत्मसात् कर सके ।13
राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति की समीक्षा के लिए बनी राममूर्ति समिति ने जो आधारभूत मूल्य उल्लेख योग्य माने हैं, वे हैं - प्रजातंत्र, धर्मनिरपेक्षता, समाजवाद, वैज्ञानिक स्वभाव, लिंग के आधार पर समानता, ईमानदारी, निष्ठा, साहस, न्याय (निष्पक्षता), सभी प्रकार के जीवधारियों, विभिन्न संस्कृतियों एवं भाषाओं (जनजाति भाषाओं समेत), के प्रति सम्मान आदि जो देश की एकता व अखण्डता के लिए अत्यन्त आवश्यक है ।
प्रो. रणजीतसिंह कूमट ने जो सार्वभौम शाश्वत मूल्य विशेष उल्लेखनीय माने हैं वे हैं-"ईमानदारी, सत्यनिष्ठा, सहिष्णुता, उदारता, स्वानुशासन, सेवा और बलिदान आदि ।।15 जैसा कि राष्ट्रीय शैक्षिक अनुसन्धान और प्रशिक्षण परिशद् ने अपने प्राथमिक व माध्यमिक शिक्षा के राष्ट्रीय पाठ्यक्रम में माना है एवं अर्थ में पूरी शिक्षा ही मूल्यों की शिक्षा है ।16 शिक्षक और माता पिता को यह ध्यान देना है कि विद्यार्थी परम्परा से प्राप्त मूल्यों का मूल्यांकन करने में समर्थ हो और जैसा कि ऊपर राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति ने अपेक्षा की है नये विचारों को सतत सृजनशीलता के साथ आत्मसात् कर सके । किन मूल्यों का नैरन्तर्य बनाए रखना है और किन मूल्यों में परिवर्तन-परिवर्द्धन करना है यह तय करना सीखें । जनवरी-मार्च 1993
Page #141
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
135
मूल्य शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि भगवान रामचन्द्र जब शबरी से मिले तब 'जाति' पांति कुल धर्म बड़ाई,' धन बल परिजन गुन चतुराई, आदि कुछ नहीं देखा, केवल एक ही बात देखी 'मानॐ एक भगति कर नाता' । केवल भक्ति का संबंध देखा । आदमी में इतनी सामर्थ्य होनी चाहिए कि रिश्तों को देख सके । प्रसंग और सापेक्षिकता के आधार पर व्यक्ति और परिस्थिति का मूल्यांकन कर सके । देश के लाखों साधु-सन्तों ने सूफियों ने, बाउलों ने, जोगियों ने- मात्र प्रेम-भक्ति के नाते को आधार बनाकर 'जाति-पांति कुल धर्म बड़ाई' की अभिजात परम्परा के समानान्तर एक नई परम्परा कायम कर दी । प्रो. सी. पी. स्नो ने इंग्लैंड में 'यू' और 'नॉन यू' संस्कृतियों की जो उपस्थिति बताई थी वैसा ही कुछ इधर भी था। हमारे 'नॉन यू' ने संत कवियों और साधुओं के अनपढ़ गंवारू भजनों के सहारे पंडितों के यम-नियम ताक में रखकर एक नया मूल्य खड़ा कर दिया 'भक्ति', जिसके आगे पांच-पांच या बारह - बारह यम-नियम के मूल्य फीके पड़ गए । या यों कहें के उन्होंने पंडितों का आल- जाल तोड़ कर शास्त्रों-पुराणों का सीधा सार खींच लिया और सामान्य जन की सरल सुबोध भाषा में मनोहर ढंग से रख दिया ।
1
यों मूल्यों का संघर्ष हर युग में होता रहा है । महाभारत के नराधमता और नरोत्तमता के जीवन मूल्यों में टकराव है । महामुनि व्यास ने 'धर्ममय' और 'मन्युमय' महावृक्षों के प्रतीक द्वारा बताया है कि सारा मानव-समाज दो जीवन - दर्शन एवं मूल्यों व पद्धतियों वाले मनुष्यों में बंटा हुआ रहता है । प्रो. डी. डी. हर्ष ने लिखा है कि महामुनि व्या "के अनुसार "जीवन में दो मूल प्रकार के मनुष्य हैं और दो ही प्रधान जीवन पद्धतियां हैं । मनुष्य या तो 'धर्ममय' है या 'मन्युमय'; और मानव जीवन के मूल्य इन्हीं दो प्रकार की दृष्टियों से प्रादुर्भूत मूल्य हैं जिनमें मेल कम और संघर्ष ज्यादा है । 17 पहले के प्रतीक हैं युधिष्ठिर - युधिष्ठिरो धर्ममयो महाद्रुमः, और दूसरे के प्रतीक हैं दुर्योधन- दुर्योधनो मन्युमयो महाद्रुमः । मन्युमय महाविटप मानव का अधम रूप है जिसका मूल है अविवेक- 'अमनीषि' धृतराष्ट्र । धर्ममय महावृक्ष मानव का उत्तम रूप है जिसका मूल है अव्यय बीज रूप में स्वयं नारायण - अर्थात् कृष्ण, साक्षात् ब्रह्म । श्रेष्ठ मूल्यों के प्रति अगाध निष्ठा होती है तब नर नरोत्तम भी हो जाता है और नारायण भी ।
1
मूल्यों के ये महाभारत इसी संघर्ष की परिणति हैं । महाभारत भीतर भी होता है और बाहर भी । भीतर की वृत्तियों को मनुष्य जीत सके तो बाहर का महाभारत रूक सकता है । ये देवासुर संग्राम, ये महायुद्ध, ये विश्वयुद्ध, ये पारमाणविक भीषण नरसंहार, सभी रूक सकते हैं । मूलवृत्तियां तो वही हैं । काम, क्रोध, मद, लोभ के ही कई रूप कष्ट देते हैं । संकीर्णता, अतिवाद और कट्टरता को जन्म देते हैं । परिप्रेक्ष्य और परिवेश के परिवर्तन के कारण दुनिया की समस्याओं का जो रूप भी बदलेंगे, व्याख्याएं भी बदलेंगी और प्राथमिकताएं भी बदलेंगी । सन् 60 व 70 के बीच अमेरिका में नैतिक मूल्यों से तात्पर्य मुख्यतया जिन शर्तों से था वे थीं - 1. सच बोलो, 2. अपना ऋण अदा
जनवरी - मार्च 1993
Page #142
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
136
तुलसी प्रज्ञा करो, 3. मां-बाप का मान करो और 4. अपनी ओर से किसी को कोई पीड़ा मत पहुंचाओ ।18 ये चार शर्ते जो व्यक्ति पूरी कर देता था उसका नैतिक स्तर संतोषजनक मान लिया जाता था। कोई करता तो ? यथार्थवाद उधर इतना चला कि मामूली नैतिक मानदण्ड भी दुर्लभ हो गए । यह उसकी प्रतिक्रिया थी । मूल्यों का ह्रास पराकाष्ठा पर पहुंच गया तो लोग नैतिकता मांगने लगे ।
पुराने और नये मूल्यों का यह अन्तर उपदेशों से नहीं सिखाया जा सकता । प्रार्थना में प्रवचन करा कर कर्त्तव्यमुक्त हो जाने की प्रवृत्ति बहुत सतही है । नैतिक शिक्षा या धार्मिक शिक्षा या मूल्यों की शिक्षा के 'पाठ' बना देना भी काफी नहीं है । शिक्षा के लिए वातावरण चाहिए, अनुभव चाहिए। कृष्णकुमार कहते हैं 'पाठ' का दर्शन बच्चे को अनुभव की आजादी नहीं देता । हमें अनुभव का शैक्षिक मूल्य स्वीकार करना चाहिए19 बच्चे को तैरने में आनन्द आता है, प्रकृति सुन्दर लगती है, सच्चाई अच्छी लगती है, नहाना व साफ रहना भी अच्छा लग सकता है किन्तु यदि आपने सिद्धांत सिखाने या लैसन' देने जैसी बात शुरू कर दी तो जैसा कि जॉन होल्ट ने कहा है इन सबसे "बच्चे को स्थायी रूप से नफरत हो जाएगी ।।20 रोहित धनकर कहते हैं कि तैयार माल के रूप में इनको अन्तरित नहीं किया जा सकता बल्कि शैक्षिक प्रक्रिया में भाग लेकर ही इनका विकास किया जा सकता है । हम यह तो सुझाव दे सकते हैं कि प्रकृति सुन्दर है, सच्चाई जानने की कोशिश करना एक अच्छा अनुभव है, या किसी काम को अच्छी तरह करने में या साफ रहने में भी अपना एक अलग आनन्द है, लेकिन 'ब्रह्म सत्य' के रूप में कोई कट्टर राय तो हम कभी नहीं देंगे । धार्मिक या राजनीतिक प्रसंग में तो शिक्षक यह कभी नहीं कहेगा कि यह सही है या वह गलत है ।21 दयालचन्द्र सोनी पुराने संस्कारों के प्रति अपराध भावना पैदा करने के पक्ष में नहीं हैं । यदि हमें परिवर्तनकारी शक्तियों का साथ देना है और स्थापित मूल्यों को दूर करना है अर्थात पहले से पड़े हुए गहरे संस्कारों को हटाना है तो उनका सुझाव है कि पुराने संस्कारों के प्रति उपेक्षा वृत्ति पैदा करें तथा नये संस्कारों का निर्माण समानान्तर रूप से नये सिरे से शुरू करें ।22 शिक्षा की प्रक्रिया महत्वपूर्ण है । 'पाठ' या उपदेश अरूचि उत्पन्न करेंगे । विषय शिक्षण के दौरान और खासतौर से साहित्य के माध्यम से, नाटक और कविता के माध्यम से, मूल्यों की समझ ज्यादा प्रभावकारी तरीके से विकसित की जा सकती
शिक्षा स्वयं एक मूल्य है । शिक्षा की स्वतंत्रता उससे भी बड़ा मूल्य है । गिजुभाई ने शैक्षिक अनुभव और शिक्षा प्रक्रिया की स्वतंत्रता के विषय में कहा था-"मनुष्य को अपना परम लक्ष्य प्राप्त करने की स्वतंत्रता दी जानी चाहिए । बंधन में बंधा हुआ मनुष्य चल नही सकता । आज का मनुष्य तरह-तरह के परंपरा-प्राप्त उत्तराधिकारों से बंधा हुआ तो है ही । इन बंधनों के ऊपर हम अपनी पसंद के सामाजिक, नैतिक, जनवरी-मार्च 1993
Page #143
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
मूल्य शिक्षा की एक शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि
137 धार्मिक, व्यावहारिक नियमों के और ऐसे अन्य बंधन डाल कर उसे और भी बांध देते हैं और फिर उसे 'सच्चा इंसान' बनाने के लिए शिक्षा का प्रबंध करके मुस्कराते हैं। ऐसा करके हम उसे स्वत्व से, स्वदेश से, स्वानुभव से बहुत दूर ले गए हैं ।''23 ____ बंद समाज के मूल्य दूसरे होंगे और खुले समाज के मूल्य दूसरे होंगे । बंद समाज हमें बर्बर युग में पुन: ले जाएगा और खुला समाज हमें किसी एक मूल्य की कोठरी में कैद नहीं करेगा । आग्रह बुरा है । अतिरेक गलत है । दबाव से, जोर जबरदस्ती से, मूल्यों की शिक्षा नहीं होगी । स्वच्छता और पवित्रता को ही लें । कौम बुरा कहेगा इन्हें ? किन्तु इनका अतिरेक आपको दूसरों से अलग कर देगा । दूसरों को गंदा या अस्पृश्य कहते-कहते आप स्वयं गंदे और अस्पृश्य हो जाएंगे । अफ्रीका के अनेक देशों में सफाई या स्वच्छता नाम का शब्द ही एलर्जी पैदा कर देता है । नाइजीरिया के प्रसिद्ध उपन्यासकार चिनुआ एचेबे ने अपने लेख 'उपन्यासकार एक शिक्षक' में हैरानी प्रकट की है कि स्वच्छता को देवत्व में बदलने की बातें किसी को क्यों सूझ जाती हैं जबकि बाद के कई मुद्दे सामने हैं । प्रो. एचेवे लिखते हैं-"अलग-अलग समाजों की खास जरूरतों का महत्व मुझे तब पता चला जब हाल ही में एक अंग्रेजी पॉप गीत मैंने सुना । शायद उसका शीर्षक था “मैं नहीं नहाया हफ्ते भर से' । एक पल को मुझे हैरानी हुई कि किसी को ऐसी बातें कैसे सूझ जाती हैं जबकि काम के कई मुद्दे सामने हैं । बाद में मुझे कौंधा के यह गायक उसी संस्कृति से जुड़ा है जो आत्मसंतुष्टि के युग में यह कहकर निंदित हो चुकी है कि धर्मपरायणता के बराबर है स्वच्छता । इस प्रकार मैं इसे नये दृष्टिकोण से देख सका - प्रतिशोध का दिव्य प्रशासक । हालांकि मैं यहां साफ कह देना चाहता हूं कि उसकी इन मान्यताओं की हमारे समाज को जरूरत नहीं है क्योंकि हमने स्वच्छता को देवत्व में बदलने का पाप नहीं किया है ।।24।
भारत का दलित समाज स्वच्छता और पवित्रता के इतने कड़वे आचमन ले चुका है कि उसके बीच भी इस मूल्य की वैसी ही प्रतिक्रिया हो तो आश्चर्य नहीं । बहुत समय नहीं हुआ जब इसी स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी भारत भूमि में हमें नाई का स्पर्श हो जाने पर दूर खड़ा कर पानी के छींटों से शुद्ध किया जाता था और हरिजन का स्पर्श हो जाने पर तो दूर खड़ा करके बिना छुए ऊपर से बाल्टी उंडेल कर आपादमस्तक स्नान कराया जाता था । मूल दृष्टि में इस कृत्य को कोई कितना ही वैज्ञानिक सिद्ध करने का प्रयत्न क्यों न करे आज के समाज में यह मूल्य स्वीकार्य नहीं है । मूल्यों की शिक्षा को भी शैक्षिक आधार दृष्टि चाहिए । ___ स्पष्ट है कि आप भविष्योन्मुखी दृष्टि रखेंगे, पुराने मूल्यों का पुनरावलोकन करते रहेंगे और प्रसंग से कष्ट कर, युग-संदर्भो की अपेक्षा करके किसी मूल्य की शिक्षा का प्रयत्न नहीं करेंगे ।
जनवरी-मार्च 1993
Page #144
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
138
संदर्भ
1. टॉर्स्टन हुसैन, एज्यूकेशन इन द ईयर 2000, नया शिक्षक / टीचर टुडे, जुलाई-सितं. 1972, 2. एडगर फोर; लर्निंग टु बी- द वर्ल्ड ओंब - एज्यूकेशन टुडे एण्ड टुमॉरो; यूनेस्को-हैरप स्टर्लिंग, पैरिस लंदन दिल्ली, 1972
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
3
नन्दकिशोर आचार्य; सृजनशीलता की परंपरा सही शिक्षा है; जनसत्ता, 20 फर., 1991
4. ओशो रजनीश, गीता अध्याय 1 व 2 पर प्रवचन स. 17, अहमदाबाद 7 दिसं.- 1970, रजनीश मेडिटेशन सेंटर, नई दिल्ली ।
5. ओशो रजनीश, क्या ध्यान स्वार्थ है ? 1 जून 1977 रजनीश आश्रम, पुणे; सी.बी. एस. कैसेट सं. 29551, बम्बई, 1989
6. मनुस्मृति 4 / 138
7. गीता 17/15
8. योगदर्शन एवं 2/30 एवं 2/32
9. भागवत कथा (संक्षिप्त हिन्दी अनुवाद), सूरजमल मोहता, सस्ता साहित्य मंडल, दिल्ली, 1977, पृ. 451
10. राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 1986 ( हिन्दी संस्करण) भारत सरकार, अनु. 8.5
11. वही 8. 2
12. वही 3.4
13. वही 2.2 और 1.14
14. आचार्य राममूर्ति, प्रबुद्ध और मानवीय समाज की ओर, राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 1986, की समीक्षा समिति की रिपोर्ट ( अन्तिम रिपोर्ट), 26 दिसं. 1990, खण्ड 1 ( 12.4).
15. रणजीतसिंह कूमट; शिक्षा की गुणात्मक अभिवृद्धि के कुछ आयाम, शिविरा पत्रिका, मई-जून
1987, ч. 536.
16. नेशनल कराक्यूलम फॉर प्राइ. एण्ड सैक. एज्यूकेशन - ए फ्रेमवर्क (1.3.7), दिसं. 1985, राष्ट्रीय शैक्षिक अनुसन्धान और प्रशिक्षण परिषद्, नई दिल्ली
17. डी. डी. हर्ष महरभारत का अर्थ वाग्देवी प्रकाशन, बीकानेर, 1989, पृ. 38.
18. एलैन ब्लूम; द क्लोजिंग ऑब् अमेरिकन माइण्ड पैंग्विन, लंदन, 1988, पृ. 325.
19. कृष्णकुमार; राज समाज और शिक्षा; मैक्मिलन, दिल्ली, 1978 ( नया संस्करण:राजकमल, दिल्ली, 1991), J. 78.
20. जॉन होल्ट; सीखने को पूरा संसार खुला है; शिविरा पत्रिका, अप्रैल 1989, पृ. 482 21. रोहित धनकर; आचार्य राममूर्ति समिति रिपोर्ट (देखें ऊपर सं. 14 ) पृ. 170; और दिगंतर एन इंट्रोडक्शन, दिगंतर, ग्राम-टोडी रामजनपुरा, डाकघर जगतपुरा, तहसील सांगानेर, (जिला जयपुर
1)
22. दयालचन्द्र सोनी; अनौपचारिक शिक्षा का सही स्वरूप; मू/ 10 राजपाल एज्यूकेशन ट्रस्ट, सरस्वती विहार, दिल्ली, 110032; 1988, पृ. 338
23. गिजुभाई; बालशिक्षण - जैसा मैं समझ पाया (गिजुभाई ग्रंथमाला - 8); मोण्टिसरी बाल
1991, पृ. 125 जनवरी - मार्च 1993
:.-- मार्च,
राजदेसर (चूरू) 331802,1988; 135
24. चिनुआ एचेबे (अनुवाद अनूप सेठी); उपन्यासकार एक शिक्षक; पहल ( संख्या 41 ), जन. --
- शिक्षण समिति,
Page #145
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
139
मूल्य एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण
डा. रामशकल पाण्डेय
मूल्य की अवधारणा
____ मूल्य, अभिवृत्तियाँ तथा आदर्श हमारे व्यवहार को निर्देशित तथा नियंत्रित करते हैं । मूल्यों से अभिप्रेरणा को दिशा मिलती है । हमारे व्यवहार का नियन्त्रण करने में मूल्यों की महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिका होती है । ये अभिप्रेरणा को शक्ति देते हैं, आवश्यकताओं की सम्पुष्टि के स्वरूप को निर्धारित करते हैं एवं उद्देश्यों की प्राप्ति के साधनों के चयन में निर्णय लेने में निर्णायक का कार्य करते हैं । हम सहयोग करेंगे अथवा असहयोग, सहनशील होंगे अथवा असहनशील, उदार- हृदय होंगे अथवा संकीर्ण हृदय, आत्मविश्वासी होंगे अथवा भयभीत यह हमारे विचारों पर ही निर्भर नहीं करता । यह हमारे मूल्यों द्वाग, हमारे स्थायी भावों तथा अर्जित परिमार्जित मूलप्रवृत्तियों के द्वारा निश्चित होता है ।
जीवन और संसार को हम जिस अर्थ के सन्दर्भ में समझने की चेष्टा करते हैं उस अर्थ को सामान्य रुप से मूल्य कहा जाता है। कुछ दार्शनिक मूल्यों को वस्तुनिष्ठ अर्थात् विषय पर आधारित मानते हैं तो कुछ अन्य विचारक इन्हें व्यक्तिनिष्ठ अर्थात व्यक्ति के अनुभव पर आधारित मानते हैं । मूल्यों का वर्गीकरण ज्ञानशास्त्रीय वर्गीकरण से भिन्न है अतः मूल्य शास्त्र में वस्तुनिष्ठता का तात्पर्य "देश व काल में अस्तित्व" से नहीं लगाया जा सकता।
__ मूल्यों की व्यक्तिनिष्ठ विचारधाराएं पदार्थों का मूल्यांकन मनुष्यों की व्यक्तिगत सन्तुष्टि के सन्दर्भ में करती हैं जबकि वस्तुनिष्ठ विचारधाराएं मानवीय सन्तुष्टि का ध्यान रखते हुए भी कुछ वस्तुनिष्ठ सिद्धान्तों पर विश्वास रखती हैं और उन सिद्धान्तों के अनुसार ही मूल्य शास्त्र के सिद्धान्त स्थिर करती हैं । ध्यान से देखने पर पता चलता है कि मूल्यों को व्यक्तिगत सन्तुष्टि पर आधारित कर देना मूल्यों के मूल्य को ही समाप्त कर देना है। इसीलिए शिक्षा की दृष्टि से इन व्यक्तिनिष्ठ विचारधाराओं का अधिक महत्त्व नहीं है ।
मूल्य एक न होकर अनेक होते हैं । भौतिक एवं आध्यात्मिक मूल्यों के रूप में भी उनका वर्गीकरण किया जाता है । नैतिक, आर्थिक आदि दृष्टियों से भी मूल्यों की श्रेणियां बनाई जाती हैं किन्तु ये वर्गीकरण सुविधा की दृष्टि से ही हैं।
. जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #146
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
140
मूल्य एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण
क्या मूल्यों की शिक्षा संभव है?
कुछ विचारक यह मानते हैं कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा दी जा सकती है जबकि अन्य विचारक मूल्यों की शिक्षा को असम्भव मानते हैं । सुकरात का कहना था कि "ज्ञान ही सद्गुण है" अर्थात् यदि उचित मूल्यों की जानकारी बालकों को दे दी जाए तो बालकों में निःसन्देह सद्गुण आ जाएगा । सुकरात का यह विश्वास था कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा देकर व्यक्ति को उत्तम बनाया जा सकता है । ईसाई धर्म में यह माना जाता है कि बालक का जन्म पाप के परिणामस्वरूप हुआ है । मूल पाप के सिद्धान्त समर्थक ईसाई विचारकों की दृष्टि में मूल्यों की शिक्षा देना तालाब में जौ बोने के समान है। वे यह मानते हैं कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा से व्यक्ति में सदगुण आने की सम्भावना नहीं है।
___ जो विद्वान यह मानते हैं कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा नहीं दी जा सकती वे सुकरात के इन कथन को असत्य मानते हैं कि "ज्ञान ही सदगुण है.।" उनका कहना है कि सत्य, ईमानदारी, अस्तेय, धैर्य, इन्द्रियनिग्रह, क्षमा, पवित्रता, अक्रोध आदि नैतिक मूल्यों का केवल ज्ञान ही व्यक्ति को सत्यवादी, ईमानदार, धीर, क्षमाशील अथवा पवित्र नहीं बना सकता । छठी कक्षा का विद्यार्थी भी यह बात अच्छी तरह जानता है कि "सत्य बोलना चाहिए।" किन्तु यह आवश्यक नहीं कि इस जानकारी के कारण वह सत्य बोलता ही हो । सत्य बोलने एवं सत्य पर आचरण करने के लिए समस्त जीवन तपस्या करनी पड़ती है। महात्मा गांधी ने अपने पूरे जीवन को ही सत्य के प्रयोग में समर्पित कर दिया था और वे आजन्म इस पर आचरण करने . को प्रयत्नशील रहे । जहां तक जानकारी का प्रश्न है, “सत्य बोलना चाहिए" जैसे प्रत्यय का ज्ञान एक बालक को भी हो सकता है।
___ भारतीय वाङ्मय में एक प्रसंग आता है । गुरु द्रोणाचार्य कौरवों एवं पाण्डवों को विद्याभ्यास करा रहे थे। पहले दिन गुरुदेव ने पाठ पढ़ाया, "क्रोध नहीं करना चाहिए" और आदेश दिया कि इस पाठ को याद करके आना है । दूसरे दिन गुरुदेव ने बारी-बारी से सबसे पूछा और सबने उत्तर दिया कि उन्हें पाठ याद हो गया । जब युधिष्ठिर की बारी आई तो युधिष्ठिर ने स्पष्ट कहा कि उन्हें पाठ याद नहीं हुआ । अन्य भाइयों को अग्रिम पाठ पढ़ाया गया किन्तु युधिष्ठिर ने अगला पाठ नहीं पढ़ा । दूसरे दिन भी गुरुदेव के पूछने पर उन्होंने बताया कि अभी उन्हें पाठ याद नहीं हुआ । इसी प्रकार कई दिन बीत गये और युधिष्ठिर यही कहते रहे कि उन्हें पाठ याद नही । इस पर एक दिन द्रोणाचार्य को क्रोध आ गया और वे युधिष्ठिर को दण्ड देने लगे। युधिष्ठिर शान्त भाव से खड़े रहे और दण्ड सहते गए । अन्त में गुरुदेव ने पुनः कहा "बता, अभी याद हुआ या नहीं?" युधिष्ठिर ने उसी शान्त भाव से उत्तर दिया "गुरुदेव, मैं प्रतिदिन इस पाठ को याद करता रहा किन्तु यदा-कदा अपने भृत्यों पर, भाइयों पर अथवा अन्य पारिवारिक जनों पर क्रोध आ ही जाता था। अब मुझे ऐसा लग रहा है कि यह पाठ लगभग याद हो गया है । भविष्य में पुनः अवसर आने पर यदि बिलकुल क्रोध न आया तो कहूंगा जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #147
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
141
कि मुझे पाठ अच्छी तरह याद हो गया ।" इस प्रसंग का रहस्य यही है कि मूल्यों की जानकारी कौरवों एवं पाण्डवों को दे दी गई थी किन्तु उस जानकारी का प्रभाव सब पर नहीं पड़ा था । महाभारत में दुर्योधन एक स्थल पर कहता है, “नानामि धर्म न च मे प्रवृत्तिः । जानाम्यधर्म न च मे निवृत्तिः । इससे भी यही निष्कर्ष निकलता है कि मात्र मूल्यों का ज्ञान ही मनुष्य में परिवर्तन नहीं ला सकता ।
अब यदि हम यह मान लें कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा नहीं दी जा सकती तो हमें शिक्षा की इतनी बड़ी व्यवस्था की अनावश्यकता प्रतीत होने लगेगी । कोई भी माता-पिता यह नहीं चाहेगा कि उसके बच्चे शिक्षालयों में सब कुछ तो सीखें किन्तु नैतिक मूल्य सीखें ही नहीं। इसके विपरीत शिक्षित- अशिक्षित, सभी प्रकार के माता-पिता की यह आकांक्षा होती है कि उसके बच्चे विद्यालयों में अच्छी बातें ही सीखें। इन लोगों के मन में शिक्षा शब्द का अभिप्राय ही नैतिकतापूर्ण होता है। वे शिक्षा को एक नैतिक प्रत्यय ही मानते हैं। औपचारिक शिक्षा की योजना के पीछे समाज की यही मंशा दिखाई पड़ती है कि उसके अपने भावी सदस्य समाज की मान्यताओं में दीक्षित हो जाएं । राज्य औपचारिक शिक्षालयों को इसी आशा से सहायता देता है कि इनसे निकले हुए नवयुवक नैतिकता के गुणों से विभूषित होंगे और वे राज्य के सुयोग्य नागरिक बनेंगे । यह भावना सुकरात की धारणा से मिलती - जुलती है।
शिक्षक की दृष्टि से यदि हम इस राय को मान लेते हैं कि मूल्यों की शिक्षा नहीं दी जा सकती तो हम अपने विषयों को पढ़ाते हुए भी छात्र के व्यक्तित्व पर कोई प्रभाव नहीं डाल सकते । “मूल्यों की शिक्षा सम्भव है।" यदि इस प्रत्यय पर हम विश्वास करते हैं तो यह विश्वास हमें प्रेरणा देता है । हमारा कार्य सोद्देश्य हो जाता है । हममें नई स्फूर्ति एवं नई चेतना का संचार हो जाता है । हम अपने कार्यों को जीवन के सन्दर्भ में देखने लगते हैं । प्रतिदिन की क्रियाओं को व्यापक पृष्ठभूमि मिल जाती है और कक्षा में किसी घंटी में पढ़ाए गए पाठ को एक नया अर्थ मिल जाता है। हम बालकों के व्यक्तित्व में परिवर्तन लाने की ओर उन्मुख हो जाते हैं । शिक्षक छात्रों का कल्याण तभी कर सकता है जब वह इस विश्वास से काम करे कि शिक्षा बालक के मार्ग को प्रशस्त करने में समर्थ है। मूल्य और समाज
मूल्य का विकास समाज में होता है । सामाजिक सम्पर्क के परिणामस्वरूप हममें नैतिक मूल्यों का विकास होता है । हम कुछ मूल्यों को प्राथमिकता देते हैं व कुछ अन्य मूल्यों को त्यागते हैं । मानव आचरण केवल विचारों द्वारा ही नहीं होता अपितु भावों द्वारा भी होता है । सिद्धान्तों को भावों द्वारा शक्ति मिलती है । स्थायी भावों के आधार पर ही हम मूल्यों का चयन करते हैं | और उच्च मूल्यों के निरन्तर चुनाव करने से यह हमारा स्वभाव बन जाता है | शिक्षा का उद्देश्य उच्च मूल्यों के विकास के द्वारा चरित्र का निर्माण करना है।
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #148
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
मूल्य एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण
मूल्य समाज को व्यवस्था देते हैं तथा व्यक्ति के व्यवहार की दिशा को आधार देते हैं । जिस समाज में मूल्य निर्धारित व द्वन्द्व रहित होते हैं, प्रत्येक सदस्य की भूमिका निश्चित होती है, वहां मूल्यों के विषय में निर्णय लेने की अथवा उनके प्रशिक्षण एवं विकास करने का प्रश्न नहीं उठता किन्तु एक जनतांत्रिक राज्य में जहां व्यक्तिगत चुनाव, व्यक्ति के विचारों का महत्त्व होता है वहां मूल्यों में द्वन्द्व की सम्भावना बन जाती है। मूल्यों के चुनाव के विकल्पों की सम्भावना बन जाने से उनके निर्णय व निश्चय की समस्या जटिल हो जाती है । कुछ मूल्यों के लाभ हानि से अधिक के निर्णय समस्या, मूल्यों व निश्चय करने की होती है ।
142
आज हमारा विकासशील देश तीवग्रति से औद्योगिक विकास की ओर बढ़ रहा है । इस वैज्ञानिक युग में पुराने मूल्यों से उद्देश्यों की प्राप्ति नहीं हो रही है । उनमें आस्था कम हो रही है किन्तु दूसरी ओर नवीन मूल्यों को भी स्थायित्व नहीं मिल पा रहा है । एक ओर हम पुराने मूल्यों में आस्था (विश्वास) बनाये रखने का प्रयत्न कर रहे हैं और दूसरी ओर नवीन मूल्यों का आकर्षण भी हमारे सामने है किन्तु उनको अपनाने में एक भय एवं शंका है । सार्वभौम शाश्वत मूल्यों के त्याग से उत्पन्न आत्मग्लानि की चिन्ता के कारण शारीरिक तथा मानसिक रोग ( रक्तचाप हृदयरोग श्वासरोग ) अनिश्चितता की स्थिति में सांवेगिक निर्णय लेने के परिणामस्वरूप अपचारी व्यवहार बढ़ता जा रहा है जिसकी चरम परिणति मानसिक रोगों अथवा हिंसा तथा आत्मघात में भी अधिकाधिक हो रही है । नवीन मूल्यों में भी अनिश्चतता की स्थिति से मूल्य हमें वह शक्ति दे पाने में असमर्थ हो रहे हैं जिससे स्वस्थ, सम्पूर्ण व्यक्तित्व का निर्माण हो सके । तीव्रगति से होने वाले सामाजिक, आर्थिक और औद्योगिक परिवर्तन से मानव व्यक्तित्व संकट में पड़ गया है । टाफलर न इसे “भविष्य आघात " की संज्ञा दी है ।
इस समस्या के प्रति हम सचेत हैं, ऐसा नहीं है । स्वतन्त्रता प्राप्ति के समय से ही हम इस समस्या का समाधान खोज रहे हैं जिसका प्रमाण १६४८ के बाद के सभी शिक्षा आयोगों में नैतिक शिक्षा तथा मूल्यों की समस्या की चर्चा है | इससे शिक्षा तथा विद्यालय की भूमिका भी सर्वमान्य तथा स्वतः सिद्ध होती है । विद्यालय की भूमिका
विद्यालय के अधिकांश क्रिया-कलाप प्रत्यक्ष अथवा अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से मूल्यों की शिक्षा का कार्य करते रहते हैं । हम विद्यालय में नैतिक, सामाजिक, राष्ट्रीय यहां तक कि अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय मूल्यों की शिक्षा देते हैं । जनतांत्रिक एवं मानवीय मूल्यों में आस्था का उत्कृष्ट कला की संस्तुति विद्यालय की शिक्षा का एक अंग है । विषयों के संज्ञानात्मक शिक्षण में भी शिक्षक के व्यक्तित्व तथा व्यवहार का और सहपाठियों के व्यवहार एवं विद्यालय के क्रिया कलापों का प्रभाव छात्र के मूल्यों पर पड़ता है किन्तु यह सभी प्रभाव वांछनीय हो यह आवश्यक नहीं ! इसी कारण वांछनीय मानवीय मूल्यों के विकास के लिये मूल्य परक शिक्षा की आवश्यकता है । मूल्यों की शिक्षा, जनतन्त्र में विद्यालय के सबसे महत्त्वपूर्ण उत्तरदायित्वों में से है ।
जनवरी - मार्च 1993
.
Page #149
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
143
मूल्यों की समस्या में मूल्यों के भाव अथवा अभाव का प्रश्न कदापि नहीं है । समस्या मूल्यों के ज्ञान अज्ञान की नही है समस्या है मानवीय मूल्यों को अपनाने की तथा अवांछनीय मूल्यों को त्यागने की एवं उचित मूल्यों के आधार पर निर्णय लेने की।
इसके लिये प्रथम आवश्यकता है विकल्पों का होना तथा चुनाव की स्वतन्त्रता जिसका अभाव एक जनतान्त्रिक देश में नहीं होता है । किन्तु सही मूल्यों के चुनाव में विवेक युक्त निर्णय तथा संकल्प शक्ति की दृढ़ता का होना आवश्यक है जिसका विकास सम्पूर्ण व्यक्तित्व को प्रभावित करता है। सामाजिक सांस्कृतिक व राष्ट्रीय मूल्यों को आत्मसात करने से सिद्धान्त बनते हैं तथा व्यक्तित्व का निर्माण होता है | एक संगठित व्यक्तित्व अपनी आवश्यकताओं की पूर्ति के लिए समाज द्वारा स्वीकृत अनुमोदित मूल्यों के अनुसार ही उद्देश्यपूर्ण व्यवहार करते हैं । व्यक्तिगत उद्दश्यों में निहित मूल्य समायोजन तथा उचित व्यवहार के लिये आधार शक्ति व प्रेरणा देते हैं।
मूल्यों में स्थायित्व न होने से और सिद्धान्त न बन पाने से व्यक्तित्व संगठित नहीं हो पाता है। हम अनिश्चय की अवस्था में या तो बाह्य सुझावों व दबाव के प्रति संवेदनशील होकर अथवा आन्तरिक संवेगों व मूल प्रवृत्तियों के आवेश में अकस्मात, असंगत तथा असामाजिक व्यवहार करते हैं | हमारे व्यवहार में स्थायित्व लाने के लिये भी मूल्यों का समुचित प्रशिक्षण देना विद्यालय का कर्तव्य है ।
हमारे व्यक्तित्व का गुण और हमारे व्यवहार का स्तर हमारे मूल्यों पर निर्भर करता है । मूल्य हमें उद्देश्य, सिद्धान्त तथा लक्ष्य निर्णय की शक्ति देकर हमारे व्यवहार को क्रियान्वित करते हैं । ये मूल्य जन्मजात नहीं होते हैं वे समाज में रहकर सीखे व अर्जित किये जाते हैं । सामाजिक अन्तः क्रिया से मूल्य अर्जित किये जाते हैं तथा उनके विकास में परिवार, विद्यालय, मित्र-मण्डली, तथा समाज की भूमिका होती है । तादात्य अनुकरण सुझाव आदि के द्वारा मूल्यों का विकास होता है। मूल्यों का प्रशिक्षण
मूल्यों का प्रशिक्षण तथा विकास सरल कार्य नहीं। लिप्पिट के अनुसार एक बम्ब का विस्फोट करना सरल है किन्तु पूर्वाग्रह का दूर करना कठिन है । यह सत्य है क्योंकि मूल्य शून्य में विकसित नहीं होते हैं । वे व्यक्ति के सम्पूर्ण व्यक्तित्व में ओतप्रोत होते हैं । अतः मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण के लिये हमें सम्पूर्ण व्यक्तित्व को उसके सामाजिक परिप्रेक्ष्य में जानना समझना आवश्यक है। व्यक्ति के “स्वप्रत्यय"का उनमें प्रमुख स्थान होता है | नवीन तथा वांछित मूल्यों का विकास तभी संभव है जब तक व्यक्ति के "स्व" को आघात लगाए बिना उसका प्रशिक्षण दें ।
इस सन्दर्भ में सामाजिक पृष्ठभूमि पर भी विचार करना आवश्यक होता है। मूल्य प्रायः सामाजिक परिप्रेक्ष्य में ही विकसित किये जा सकते हैं । शिक्षा के अनिवार्य तथा सार्वभौमीकरण करने के प्रयासों से यह पृष्ठभूमि अधिकाधिक असमान विविध
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
144
मूल्य एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण
प्रकार की होती जा रही हैं। उन्हीं मूल्यों को सिखाना सरल तथा सफल होता है जो व्यक्ति के घनिष्ट अथवा सम्मानित व्यक्तियों द्वारा अनुमोदित होते हैं, जिनके स्नेह तथा भावनाओं का स्थान व्यक्ति के हृदय में होता है, अपने पर्यावरण में आवश्यकताओं की पूर्ति तथा स्नेह के अनुमोदन के लिये जिन पर हम निर्भर हैं।
उनके स्वीकृत मूल्यों को विकसित करना सरल होता है यदि मूल्य हमारी भावनाओं को ठेस पहुंचाते हैं तब भी उनका प्रशिक्षण कठिन होता है । इसी कारण अभी तक के मूल्य स्थापित करने के प्रयास विफल हो रहे हैं।
मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण का उद्देश्य व लक्ष्य उनमें आमूल परिवर्तन नहीं होना चाहिए । जिस समाज का छात्र सदस्य है उसी की पृष्ठभूमि पर उसके अनुभवों के आधार पर मूल्यों की शिक्षा देना सम्भव है । मूल्यों को हम परिमार्जित व परिष्कृत परिवर्तित कर सकते हैं उनमें आमूल परिवर्तन न तो सम्भव है और न वांछनीय । अधिनियम के सिद्धान्तों व नियमों का प्रयोग करके भी हम किसी व्यक्तित्व को पूर्णरूपेण नहीं बदल सकते हैं केवल अस्थाई परिवर्तन ही ला सकते हैं क्योंकि विद्यालय में सिखाये मूल्यों का परिवार तथा निकट पर्यावरण से पुष्टीकरण नहीं हो पाता है।
प्रत्येक व्यक्ति का अपने समुदाय व समाज से तादाम्य अधिक प्रकृष्ट होता है और अध्यापक के उसके विपरीत किये प्रयास विफल हो जाते हैं। इसी कारण बहुत से मूल्यों को अध्यापक कुछ सीमा तक ही परिवर्तित कर सकता है । समुदाय, समाज तथा परिवार का प्रभाव अध्यापक के प्रभाव व प्रयत्नों का प्रतिरोध भी कर सकता है | इसके लिये छात्र के सहयोगी समाज को भी प्रभावित, प्रशिक्षित करना आवश्यक है।
नवीन मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण में प्रायः छात्र के प्रतिरोध को सावधानीपूर्वक दूर करना चाहिए। इसके लिये आवश्यक है कि हम बालक को उसी रूप में स्वीकार करें, जैसा कि वह अपने पर्यावरण में है। यदि हम प्रतिरोध से उसका विरोध करेंगे तो उसके पूर्वाग्रह और भी दृढ़ होते जायेंगे । उसे पूर्वाग्रह से मुक्त करना आवश्यक है तभी वह अवांछित मूल्यों को यथार्थ के परिप्रेक्ष्य में वस्तुनिष्ठ दृष्टि से देख सकने के लिए प्रस्तुत होगा। विपक्षी विचार को अभिव्यक्त कर सकने के अवसर देना भी कम महत्त्वपूर्ण नहीं होता ।
मूल्य- प्रशिक्षण के प्रयास तभी सफल हो सकते हैं जब उसमें संज्ञान के साथ भावपक्ष को भी यथोचित महत्त्व दिया जाये । संज्ञान व भावना दोनों को ही मूल्य प्रशिक्षण में स्थान मिलना चाहिए । मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण में भावनाओं को प्रभावित करना आवश्यक है । उपयुक्त मूल्यों को उपयुक्त संवेगों से सम्बन्धित करना चाहिए। तिरंगे झण्डे के प्रति सम्मान शब्दों, उपदेशों से नहीं, प्रतिदिन सम्मान देने की कसमें खाने से उत्पन्न नहीं किया जा सकता है । कक्षा में सफाई का निरीक्षण करके
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #151
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
तुलसी प्रज्ञा
145
सफाई के मूल्य सिखाना विफल होगा उसके लिये संवेगात्मक स्थिति उत्पन्न करके उसकी भावनाओं को भी प्रभावित करना चाहिए । दीन- दुखियों पर दया करने का मूल्य हम दुःखियों के प्रत्यक्ष दर्शन करवाकर उनके भावों को जागृत करके ही विकसित कर सकते हैं। तभी पुष्टीकरण तथा अभ्यास के नियम भी सफल हो सकते हैं।
बार-बार टोकने वाला नैतिक वातावरण भी छात्रों में विरोधी प्रतिक्रिया उत्पन्न करता है। वह उन्हें व्यवहार बदलने का अवसर दिये बिना उनकी आत्मा को कोसेगा । क्योंकि शिक्षक के द्वारा प्रस्तुत मूल्यों का छात्र के सैद्धान्तिक मूल्यों के ज्ञान से विरोध नहीं होता है । वे उसके स्वयं के मूल्यों के ज्ञान से तो मेल खाते हैं किन्तु उनके व्यवहारिक पक्ष में जीवन में सही नहीं उतरते हैं क्योंकि उनके समाज में उनका उसके उपयुक्त उदाहरणों से पुष्टीकरण नहीं हो पाता है। हम मूल्यों के ज्ञानपक्ष तथा मौखिक उपदेशों पर ही बल देते हैं । उसके भावपक्ष तथा व्यावहारिक रूप की महत्ता को मूल्य प्रशिक्षण में उपयुक्त स्थान नहीं देते हैं ।
मानवीय मूल्य के स्वरूप तथा उनके प्रशिक्षण के विषय में मतैक्य है । उनके प्रशिक्षण का उत्तरदायित्व शिक्षा का है यह भी सर्वमान्य है किन्तु उसे कैसे कार्यान्वित किया जाये यही हमारी समस्या है।
मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण में बालकों के मूल्यों के सामान्य विकास को भी जानना आवश्यक है । मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण में यह जानना आवश्यक है कि छात्र उसे विकसित करने योग्य है अथवा नहीं । मूल्यों के प्रशिक्षण में सीखने के अन्य क्षेत्रों की भांति ही सीखने की तत्परता का नियम भी महत्त्वपूर्ण होता है । इसमें विकास की परिपक्वता का स्तर तथा पूर्वानुभव दोनों सम्मिलित होते हैं। प्राथमिक कक्षाओं की अपेक्षा जनतांत्रिक मूल्यों की संस्तुति माध्यमिक कक्षाओं में करना उचित होगा । पूर्ण किशोरावस्था में विवाह तथा यौन नैतिकता की बात उतनी प्रभावशाली नहीं हो सकती जितनी युवावस्था में ।
- विभिन्न विकास की अवस्थाओं में बालक जिससे तादातम्य करता है उसी के अनुसार प्रशिक्षण सामग्री का भी निर्माण करना आवश्यक है | शैशवावस्था एवं बाल्यावस्था में जानवरों तथा परियों आदि कल्पित अमानवीय पात्रों से तादात्म्य करने की स्वाभाविक प्रवृत्ति के कारण ही पंचतन्त्र की कहानियां मूल्य प्रशिक्षण में अधिक उपयुक्त रही हैं तथा पश्चात् की आयु में किशोरावस्था और युवावस्था में सम आयु के वीरों की जीवनियां अधिक प्रभावशाली हो सकती हैं। उस समय भावों के साथ- साथ नैतिक निर्णय के तर्क का भी विकास करना सम्भव होता है । अतः नैतिक प्रशिक्षण में दर्शन द्वारा दिये गये तथा समाजशास्त्र द्वारा अनुमोदित मानवीय मूल्यों का मनोवैज्ञानिक विधि के द्वारा सफलतापूर्वक प्रशिक्षण किया जा सकता है।
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #152
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
146
मूल्य एवं शिक्षा : एक विश्लेषण
सन्दर्भ- ग्रन्थ
१. कोठारी, डी.एस. -एजूकेशन एण्ड ह्यूमन वैल्यूज, टीचर टुडे, जुलाई -सितम्बर, १६८५.
२. गुप्ता, नत्थलाल- मूल्य परक शिक्षा : सिद्धान्त, प्रयोग एवं प्रविधि, कृष्ठा ब्रदर्स, अजमेर, १६८७.
३. पाण्डेय एवं मिश्र मूल्य -शिक्षण, विनोद पुस्तक मन्दिर, आगरा, १६६१ ४. पाण्डेय, रामशकल - शिक्षा -दर्शन, विनोद पुस्तक मन्दिर, आगरा, १६६०.
५. पाण्ड्या , शकुन्तला -जीवन मूल्य, राजस्थान राज्य शैक्षिक अनुस्थान एवं प्रशिक्षण संस्थान, उपपयुर, १६८६.
६. पाण्डेय, गोविन्द चन्द्र- मूल्यमीमांसा, राजस्थान हिन्दी ग्रन्थ अकादमी, जयपुर, १६८५.
७. माथुर, तेजबहादुर- मूल्यों को सीखना सिखाना, क्षेत्रीय शिक्षा महाविद्यालय, अजमेर, १९६१
८. ओड, एल.के. प्राबलम्स ऑफ मॉरल सोशलाइजेशन, राजस्थान बोर्ड जर्नल ऑफ एजुकेशन, सितम्बर, १६८८.
६. सहेला, एस.पी. ह्यूमन वेल्यूज एण्ड एजुकेशन स्टलिंग पब्लिशर्स, प्रा.लि.
१६८६.
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #153
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
जैन विश्व भारती संस्थान - एक परिचय
147 अर्तमुखता के कारण अध्यात्म-साधना में ही केन्द्रित रहा । आचार्य तुलसी को ही यह श्रेय है कि इन्होंने प्रथम जैन विश्वविद्यालय की स्थापना की जो सम्पूर्ण संसार में शान्ति एवं अहिंसा का केन्द्र बन रहा है । भारतमाता ग्रामवासिनी :
आधुनिक सभ्यता तथा उसके महानगरों को ही आज शिक्षा एवं संस्कृति का केन्द्र बनाया जाता है । लेकिन आचार्य तुलसी ने राजस्थान की एक मरूभूमि में एक छोटी सी जगह लाडनं (दिल्ली से ३८० किलोमीटर पश्चिम और जयपुर से २०० किलोमीटर उत्तर-पश्चिम) में विश्वविद्यालय की स्थापना कर विकास एवं प्रगति की भ्रांत अवधारणाओं को भी चुनौती दी है । फिर हमारा राष्ट्र तो गांवों का है । जिस तरह गांधीजी ने ग्रामीण विश्वविद्यालय की कल्पना की थी, रवीन्द्रनाथ ने तपोवन की छाया में शांतिनिकेतन का निर्माण किया, उसी तरह आचार्य तलसी ने भी जैन विश्वभारती को भारत की आत्मा यानी छोटे से गांव में स्थापित किया । यह भह सौभाग्य है कि लाडनूं आचार्यश्री की जन्मभूमि एवं कर्म-भूमि भी है । यह विश्वभारती उनकी मानस सन्तान है । वे इसके नैतिक एवं आध्यात्मिक निर्देशक या अनुशास्ता भी है जिसे भारत सरकार ने भी मान्य कर लिया है । विश्वविद्यालय के विविध अंग : शिक्षण, शोध एवं प्रशिक्षण तथा प्रसार-कार्य (क) शिक्षण-अध्ययन : अपने लक्ष्यों की प्राप्ति के लिए अभी स्नातकोतर कक्षा तक चार विषयों में वर्ग चलते हैं । १. प्राकृत भाषा एवं साहित्य २. जैन विद्या (जैन दर्शन, जैनाचार, जैन साधना आदि) ३. अहिंसा एवं शांति शास्त्र ४. जीवन-विज्ञान एवं प्रेक्षा-ध्यान । प्रत्येक विषय में एक आचार्य, दो उपाचार्य एवं तीन व्याख्याताओं की आवश्यकता होती है । देश विदेश में जिज्ञास विद्यार्थियों का अभिनन्दन है । लाडनं से बाहर के विद्यार्थियों को हमने प्रोत्साहन स्वरूप ५०० रूपये प्रतिमाह की छात्रवृति देने का निर्णय लिया है। स्थानीय लाडनूं के विद्यार्थियों को ३०० रूपये प्रतिमाह देने की व्यवस्था है । (ख) शोध कार्य : यों तो हर विभाग में दो चार कनीय एवं वरीय शोध विद्यार्थी रहते हैं किंतु यहां तो साधुओं, साध्वियों एवं भ्रमण समणियों के द्वारा आचार्य तुलसी एवं युवाचार्य महाप्रज्ञ के निर्देशन में इस युग में आगम-संपादन का सबसे बड़ा सारस्वत-यज्ञ चल रहा है । सभी आगमों की व्याख्या, चूर्णि, संस्कृत छाया एवं हिन्दी अनुवाद के साथ संपादन को देखकर प्रसिद्ध जर्मन भारतीय विद्या के मनीषी प्रो. राथ के अनुसार इसके पीछे कोई देव-शक्ति है । आगम-कोष का महतर कार्य चल रहा है । इसके साथ अन्य दुर्लभ ग्रंथों का पुन: मुद्रण एवं सम्पादन भी होता है । कनीय शोधकर्ता को १५०० रूपये एवं
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #154
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
148
तुलसी प्रज्ञा वरीय को २५०० रूपये प्रतिमाह दिये जाने का प्रावधान है । अनेकांत शोधपीठ में शोधकार्य संचालित होते हैं ।
प्रकाशन : सम्पूर्ण आगमों के साथ यहीं से लगभग २०० ग्रंथ प्रकाशित किये जा चुके हैं । आगम शब्दकोष छप रहा है ।
शोध-पत्रिका : यों तो यहां ४-५ पत्रिकाएं हैं किंतु तुलसी-प्रज्ञा नामक जैन विश्वभारती त्रैमासिक-शोध-पत्रिका महत्व की है । वर्द्धमान ग्रंथागार : हमारे केन्द्रीय पुस्तकालय में लगभग २५००० से अधिक बहुमूल्य पुस्तकें और लगभग ५००० दुर्लभ प्राचीन ग्रंथों की पांडुलिपियां हैं । हम शीध्र ही पुस्तकालय के कम्प्यूटरीकरण की योजना बना रहे हैं । कई दर्जन पत्र-पत्रिकाएं भी आती हैं ।
प्रशिक्षण : जीवन-विज्ञान एवं प्रेक्षा-ध्यान का प्रशिक्षण हमारे पाठ्यक्रम का अनिवार्य अंग है अत: उसके लिए आवश्यक प्रयोगशाला एवं ध्यान-केन्द्र बनाये गये हैं । प्रशिक्षण का सारा कार्य तुलसी अध्यात्म नीडम में होता है । अभी तक देश एवं विदेशों में छोटे-बड़े ५०० शिविर आयोजित किये गये हैं । विदेशों में जीवन-विज्ञान के शिविर काफी लोकप्रिय सिद्ध हुए हैं । (ग) लोक शिक्षण (प्रसार-कार्य) : जैनविश्व भारती विद्यालय समाज से सदा जुड़ा रहने में अपनी सार्थकता मानता है । इसीलिए जीवन-विज्ञान एवं प्रेक्षा-ध्यान का प्रचार प्रसार इसका अनिवार्य अंग है ताकि संतुलित मानव व्यक्तित्व के निर्माण से एक अहिंसक समाज-व्यवस्था का निर्माण हो सके । इस दिशा में अनेकों कार्य किये जा रहे हैं ।
मुक्त एवं पत्राचार पाठ्यक्रम : हमने पिछले वर्ष से हिन्दी, अंग्रेजी, प्राकृत, जैन विद्या जीवन विज्ञान, अर्थशास्त्र एवं राजनीति शास्त्र में बी. ए. स्तर का पत्राचार एवं मुक्त पाठ्यक्रम चलाना शुरू किया है एवं इसके लिए एक स्वतंत्र निदेशालय की भी स्थापना की गई है । हमारा यह उद्धेश्य है कि हम अपने विषयों एवं विश्वविद्यालयों की सेवा अधिकाधिक लोगों के पास पहुंचायें । वर्तमान सत्र से पर्यावरण, प्रबन्धन, जनसम्पर्क एवं पुस्तकालय विज्ञान में भी स्नातक स्तर पर मुक्त पाठ्यक्रम प्रारंभ किये जाने की योजना है ।
मूल्य-शिक्षा या नैतिक-आध्यात्मिक : शिक्षा के केन्द्र के रूप में जैन विश्व भारती को विकसित करने की योजना है । इस पत्रिका का वर्तमान अंक मूल्य शिक्षा विषयक परिसंवाद में प्रस्तुत लेखों पर ही आधारित है । लाडनूं को इसका प्रयोग क्षेत्र बनाने का विचार चल रहा है । इसी लक्ष्य को ध्यान में रखकर हम लोग जीवन-विज्ञान के प्रचार-प्रसार में प्रयत्नशील हैं ।
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #155
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________
जैन विश्व भारती संस्थान - एक परिचय
149 श्रमण-संकाय : इस संकाय के द्वारा श्रमण संस्कृति के विद्यार्थियों की परीक्षा के लिए पाठ्यक्रम निर्धारण एवं आयोजन में सहयोग दिया जाता है जिससे प्रतिवर्ष ७००० छात्र-छात्राओं को जैन विद्या एवं अहिंसा-विज्ञान से परिचय भी मिलता है एवं उन्हें प्रमाण-पत्र दिये जाते हैं । ___ अमृत-वाणी : इस विभाग में आचार्य श्री एवं युवाचार्य श्री के दिव्य प्रवचनों एवं वंदना एवं संगीत के कार्यक्रमों के संगीत कैसेट एवं वीडियो फिल्म का निर्माण होता है। इसकी प्रयोगशाला है, इसका अपना उपकरण है जिसके द्वारा लगभग ३००० प्रवचन कैसेट एवं ३०० वीडियो फिल्म बन गये हैं इससे संत साहित्य एवं स्वस्थ संगीत के प्रचार में सहायता मिलती है । ____ अन्तराष्ट्रीय शान्ति सम्मेलन : संयुक्तराष्ट्र संघ, युनेस्को, संयुक्तराष्ट्र संघ का शांति विश्वविद्यालय, अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय शान्ति कार्यालय, जेनेवा आदि के सहयोग से लाडनूं एवं अन्य स्थानों पर अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय शान्ति सम्मेलन आयोजित किये जाते है जिसमें ४०० से भी ज्यादा लोगों ने भाग लिया है ।
साम्प्रदायिक सद्भाव के लिए प्रयास : साम्प्रदायिक सद्भाव एवं राष्ट्रीय अखंडता हमारा व्रत जैसा है । आचार्य श्री तुलसी राष्ट्रीय एकता परिषद् के माननीय सदस्य भी
प्रौढ़ शिक्षा : विश्वविद्यालय के द्वारा संचालित हमारी प्रौढ़ शिक्षा योजना के लिए हमें भारत सरकार से भी प्रशस्ति मिली है । हमने लाडनूं तहसील में ३०० केन्द्र बनाये
अणुव्रत एवं अणुव्रत-शिक्षक-संसद : अणुव्रत के नैतिक जीवन मूल्य केवल हमारे आदर्श ही नहीं, हमारे संस्थान की नियमावली में ग्रथित हमारी आचार-संहिता भी है। फिर हमने प्रारम्भ में अपने लिये जो न्यूनतम आचार-संहिता बनायी है, उनमें व्यसन-मुक्ति, समय बद्धता, अहिंसात्मक प्रतिरोध की मान्यता एवं सीधे-सादे श्वेत परिधान निहित है जिसके कारण हम लगभग १ लाख शिक्षक बन्धुओं से जुड़ गये हैं।
अहिंसा-वाहिनी या शांति-सेना : यहां अहिंसा की प्रतिध्वनि हो और शांति की शक्ति विकसित हो इसके लिए हम सैन्य विज्ञान या एन. सी. सी. आदि के विकल्प के रूप में अहिंसा-वाहिनी या शांति-सेना के गठन की योजना करेंगे जिन्हें अहिंसात्मक प्रतिरोध के प्रशिक्षण दिये जायेंगे । भविष्य की योजनाएँ : शीध्र ही आगम अध्ययन, पर्यावरण, कम्प्युटर विज्ञान एवं पारिस्थैतिकी का अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय शोध केन्द्र स्थापित किया जायेगा ।
जनवरी-मार्च 1993
जनवरी- मार्च 1993
Page #156
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Registration Nos. Postal Department : NUR - 80 Registrar of News Papers for India : 28340/75 Vol. XIX No-1 TULSI PRAJNA 1993 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Most of the articles published in this volume were presented in the Seminar on "Value Education" jointly organised by N.C.E.R.T. New Delhi and Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Deemed University, Ladnun from 27th Nov. to 1st Dec. 1992. Our special thanks are due to NCERT New Delhi. Special Issue Price Rs. 30/ Annual Rs. 60/ Life Member Rs. 600/ Per copy 20/ Published by Dr. Parmeshwar Solanki for J.V.B.I., Ladnun-341 306 and Printed by Public Printing (Delhi) Service, C-80, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi - 110 020. * Phones : 6410155, 6811431, 6811935 www.jainelib)