________________
100
BHARATIYA ASMITA PART II radical and uncompromising as Yoga itself. It would He must know that all are equal spiritually and he not do merely to prescribe a few graded books on must not merely exercise tolerance, but have a global morality of spirituality and to allot a certain fixed comprehension and understanding. quantum of hours to the study of these books. Spiri- He must not have any sense of essential superiority tuality is a living process and spiritual or true education over his students nor preference nor attachment whatis a process of kindling lights which cannot be done soever for one or another. except by the Light that can kindle. Again, spiritual
Whatever subject he teaches, he should enter into values are central and supreme values and they must
the very heart of it, and in doing so, he must go therefore govern and penetrate as such all the values and aspects of education.
beyond the level where thinking proceeds by words,
and enter into a plane where thinking proceeds by pure In practical terms, this would mean the dynamic conception and ideation; and finally, he must enter Presence and Influence of the Teacher or teachers who into the consciousness where khowledge is acquired have unveiled the inner Light and who in their own expressed through direct experience. consciousness comprehend the underlying spiritual truth and unity in the various branches of knowledge.
The teacher in fact must be a yogi in order to dis
charge his responsibilities. And the greatest Master is Moreover, life itself is the great teacher of life; and, much less a Teacher than a Presence pouring the divine therefore, unless spiritual values are the very atmosphere consciousness and its constituting light and power and and life-breath of the educational environment, they purity and bliss into all who are receptive around him. cannot be truly cr effectively brought home to the He does not arrogate to himself Guruhood in a humastudents.
nly vain and self-exalting spirit. In the words of Sri
Aurobindo, "His work, if he has one, is a trust from These conditions can be realised only in the Ashram system which not only admits the young ones for their
above, he himself a channel, a, vessel or a representati
ve. He is a man helping his brothers, a child leading basic or higher education, but creates a spiritual life and atmosphere through an advanced
children, a Light kindling other lights, an awakened
training and research in spiritual values, in which the students can
Soul awakening souls, at highest a Power or presence
of the Divine calling to him other powers of the actively participate, and, even in a real sense, can
Divine." contribute to the spiritual progress of their teachers. It is recogoised that it is exter mely difficult to
(V) The pursuit of the spiritual values is in fact the fulfil these conditions; but it is equally true that there
pursuit and cultivation of the truths and powers of two is no other way.
overruling aspects of personality, viz., what we have
c.lled the psychic and spiritual. (iv) The role that the teacher has to play in this conception of education demands of him certain special The psychic being is the real individual, the real qualities. The function of th: teacher is to enable and person behind all personalities; it is the integrating cento help the student to educate himself, to develop his ter which, little by little, projects itself into the body, own intellectual, moral, aesthetic and practical capacities 1.fe and mind, in proportion to their right development, and to grow freely as an organic being, not to be knea- and suffuses them with its light and purity and establided and pressured into form like an inert plastic material. shes by its progressive governance a harmony of the
different parts of the being. It is that which knows its The teacher must have complete self-control not
real mission as an individual expression in the totality only to the extent of showing no anger but to that of
of all the ind viduals in the world a mission that is remaining absolutely quiet and undisturbed under all circumstances.
un que to itself. Its goal is a higher realisation upon
carth and its law of action is that of mutuality and In the matter of self-confidence he must also have
unity and utter dependence on the Supreme. the sense of the relativity of his importance. Above all, the teccher must have the knowledge that he himself
While the psychic is the inmost and deepest being inust progress if he wants his students to progress,
in us, the spiritual is the higher and transcendental. must not renain satisfied with what he is or with
While the psychic life is the life immortal, endless space what he needs.
ever progressive change, unbroken continuity in the
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
