Swami Vivekananda and Education (22-10-2017)

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Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda is an influential spiritual leader, monk, orator, philosopher, educational thinker, teacher, etc. from India who transmitted the essence of Sanathana Dharma (Hinduism) throughout the world. He was influenced by Brahmo Samaj in his adolescent age. This made him think about vital questions on religion, and God (Inner Broader Self), with the answers of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he became his disciple. And started learning about the inner-self (God) through religion (By believing in his inner-self). He perhaps became well known because of his speech at Chicago world religious conference. He is the philosopher of modern Vedanta, Raja yoga, and Sankaracharya’s Adhvitha doctrine. 

Swami Vivekananda believed that welfare will happen by the people, particularly by the participation of youth in creating a new religion, in which everyone has to believe in themselves and their inner self ultimate power of will, not believing completely in external factors. And also by working for the poor.

Swami Vivekananda started Sri Ramakrishna Mission. It is working on a socio-religious movement for harmony among religions and people.

Major aspects of thought and Practice in Education: 

For Swami Vivekananda Education means “The manifestation of the perfection which is already in humans”. His idea of education is Guru Girah-Vasa, the essence of education is concentration which comes from Brahmacharya. Religion (True eternal principles) is the innermost core of education. Education for all to solve all the social problems.

Swami Vivekananda Ideology: 

The Science of Ideas on education.

1. Philosophy of education:

In this Swami Vivekananda says that all knowledge is inherent and inside the individual, not on outside. Getting education form external factors for external (material) benefits is called wrong education. By that inherent inner self-knowledge, the individual can unveil the soul (inner self) from the social meddles. The soul (inner self) has infinite power of gigantic intellect. We just need to be conscious on that knowledge. For consciousness of that gigantic intellect we need clean the self gradually by purity and selfish-less-ness. For this education, we need to allow individual for self-education, there is no need to force from external factors we need to allow mind for its free growth. We (Adults) should give a positive ideas and to encourage for their self-growth. When we get positive ideas we can see the social problems as our own problems. This positive ideas and action will solve social problems and our own problems also. 

I also believe on Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of education thought. The entire knowledge is within us only and the inner-self has ultimate power. Just we need consciously observe that. Ex. Newton discovered law of gravitation by self only, he only got those thoughts, but the external world suggested him through occasion to study those previous thoughts and to rearrange those thoughts. When he did this he allowed mind for its free growth.

2. The Only method of education:

Concentration is the only method of getting an education, concentration is the essence of education, it helps in focusing, and through concentration we can get better knowledge. We need to put concentration on our inner knowledge instead of outer knowledge. The essence of education is concentration, we need to put concentration on mind, not on facts. The twelve years of unbroken Brahmacharya is necessary for concentration. This makes the transformation of sexual energy into the spiritual energy. This Brahmacharya gives chaste to the brain in thoughts, word and deed.

From concentration we get shradda, and this shradda is basis of all growth and this shradda makes the difference between individual and individual.

Concentration focuses on thought, word and deed, if these all are like light rays, the concentration is like magnifying glass if hold in a proper way, those all light rays (Thought, word and deed) will come together and become a strong ray and gives power to that light ray which becomes fire. Holding the magnifying glasses in a proper way is like following Brahmacharya by that we can make the thought, word and deed in better way for inner-self-knowledge called education.

3. Education for character

“The Character of any man is but the aggregate of his tendencies”. For him education means the value of the thought force. He claims that “We are what our thoughts made us”. Every thought, word and deed leaves impressions to us. Human character is determined by the total sum of these good (Happy) and bad (sad) impressions and that will be the result of action. Sometimes bad (misery) becomes great teacher than good. Character will be formed by the habits, most of the things are result from habit. We mould our destiny through habits. We are doing mistakes because of our weakness and that weakness comes from our ignorance, and that ignorance and negligence comes from ourselves only. So we need to build our character by strengthening our will. For Vivekananda thoughts are primary and words are secondary.

I also believe our character is made up of our some good and bad thoughts. Every thought leaves impression on us. And our character is determined by our impressions. 

4. Development of personality:

We are living in world which is the one of the main influence on our personality. Personal magnetism of the human is what impress you always, impressions comes from the personality (the real human). 

Science of yoga will discovers the laws that develops our personality. This science of education is one of the practical thing (this is the secret of education) which has universal application. These (Science of Yoga) laws are behind the physical laws. Development of personality will comes from the source (Power in the fine) not form the product (Coarse). This fine itself will be in the under control. Controlling of our fine movements and thoughts. The development of personality need to be done in a very natural way. We should not hasten the human personality, but the circumstances only can hasten human beings in a wonderful way. If we hasten our growth and development we become perfect. This is our greater part of our life. 

I believe that fine strength is very much powerful than coarse. Nature is fine source and object is coarse, by using coarse only we trouble the nature, it will bare very silently, when nature will coarse us, then no one can control that damage. 

5. The Teacher and the taught: 

The teacher have to be a Tyagi. S/he should be the living example of greatest teaching. “Without personal life of the teacher, there would be no education”. The teacher have to say freely without any expectations. Speech and act both are necessary for a teacher. The only medium of transmitting spiritual force is possible through love only, it need to be motive of the teacher with sin-less-ness. 

It is not easy to be the student because they need to be give up all of gain, they need hard practice of self-control over internal and external senses to produce a mighty will and for this the students must have endurance and need also to bare all misery and evil without any hurt in a Self-Poised way. 

The students must need to have extreme desire to be free. They need think beyond body (stomach-food & sex). This emancipation process will make him/her realize the ocean of life is very much more beyond that.

6. Religious Education:

Religion means the true eternal principles. Upanishads is having the mines of strength with these eternal principles to invigorate (energize) the whole world. We need to build our life with eternal principles in a great deal of self-service with strict observance of Brahmacharya and to imitate the greatest sadana. The New religion says “Love yourself and believe yourself”. It means love for everything and believing on everything, for you all are one {Adhvitha}. This is having infinite strength of goodness which is eternal and pure. This religious education makes us fearless with the realization. This makes in realizing the spirit (that we are) without any fear birth and death.

We need believe on our self, not on others completely. Logically also this will be fine because no one will not be with us all the time. 

7. The end and the means:

“Life is to pay attention to the means of work as to its end”. Which means with the means the end must come, but we should stop the mean till end. We need to think about only means not on end, if starts expecting from it (End) may causes failure and misery. The secret of happiness is to work without any expectations. For this we need to be unattached to end and attached to the means. It can be overcome by practice of the means.

If I want to make a good film for award, after realizing that movie I get very bad response I feel very sad, but if I focus completely on movie making, if I get award I feel happy, otherwise I get a satisfaction of making good movie. 

Practices on education:

Swami Vivekananda started Sri Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, and started extensive working for tribal welfare on elementary and higher education; and also on culture, health care etc. under this Sri Krishna mission they are some schools. 

Based on my passive observation in Ramakrishna math school (In Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh). I want to say their practices on education.

Sri Ramakrishna mission is mainly following the principle of Karma Yoga. Karma yoga means they need do all works (Spiritual, Social, Economic, Political, etc.) without any expectations from these things. Here in schools they are taking the children the rural tribal people and giving the primary education in that Ramakrishna Math itself it is a residential school for primary children. They are following state syllabus. They are making the children to balance their social life along with spiritual life.

For self-reflection (realization) there are conducting meditation in schools. And for skepticism there (teachers/Swamiji’s) are taking sathsangas for children. 

Methodological part (Phenomenology and Hermeneutics):

Methodological part: Skepticism, self-reflection and community. 

Skepticism: Skepticism is to pretend to doubt everything, the more you question, the more you learn. 

Self-reflection: Self-reflection means understanding our life (experiences) consciously. By this we can get entity. Through this self-reflection we can help us and community with concern and care.

Relation between these Vivekananda Ideology on education & phenomenological aspects of education thoughts and practices.

For Vivekananda education means the manifestation of the perfection which is already in humans.

Education means the learning Knowledge which is within us, and that knowledge will unveil us to discover our inner-self and that inner self has infinite power, which helps our microcosm to immerse in the macrocosm. Our microcosm restricts our self to our body only for stomach (food) & sex; and that macrocosm goes very much more beyond body which is already behind us. 

This happen through the self-education only. Self-education means knowing about self psychologically not physically. I am giving the example of my-self only. 

My Parents named me as “Bharghava Shyam”. I feel I am Bharghava Shyam & I use to pretend like a Bharghava Shyam. But in reality Bharghava Shyam is not me. It’s just a name/label of this body. By seeing my appearance (body) and by hearing my name, it is very much rigorous to define me. If you and I need to know me. First we both need to observe my experiences/interactions with others. Then only it will be comparatively easy to define me. And we need name/label & body (physical features) for our social purposes. If I/you want to study me, my name and body are required, but my interactions and experiences are much more important to study me. Studying me is about my past, present & beyond this (future) also. And every person will get different experiences and interactions with/from others, it can be easily distinguished between people. It is unique to everyone. 

Name and appearance is also required for social purposes because we are living in a complex society, without my body and name how you know me, it is also important, but my experiences are very much important. But there is no need of name for our psychological purposes; we need to accept sociologically, not compulsory to accept psychologically.

This happens by the Skepticism, which is to pretend to doubt everything, the more you question, the more you learn about our self. From the process of skepticism self-realization (entity) will come and that helps community. 

We can care and concern about community through loving yourself. It means love for everything, for you all are one including you (Adhvitha principle). 

If you feel all are one, this makes an organic relationship between you and all instead of the mechanical relationship, in organic relation if problem hurts you, you try to solve that problem carefully, because you are only there in other also. 

Organic relationship is important because we feel the value of the existing things (psychologically), this make us to save and utilize in way that can be helpful to you and others. If we know value of this body (life), then we use to think about what we need to do & how we need to do. This makes us to help the community (masses and women).

In his (Vivekananda’s) life he bothered about women, working class and tribal people a lot, this might made him to start Sri Ramakrishna mission.

(In mechanical life if we lose anything, nothing will not affect us {but we feel affected} e.g. If lost I lost my phone, my life may not become reverse, but I feel disturbed/reverse, but nothing is might be there & when I get new phone I will forget about old phone after some time. But in organic life if we lose something that affect us a lot e.g. If I lose my hands I feel disturbed/reversed, If I get artificial hand also I feel I really lack something).

For this all process of self-education there is only one method of learning that can be done through concentration. It is not easy to get concentration for that we need to follow the unbroken Brah2macharya for twelve years, by this Brahmacharya we get shradda on our thoughts, words and action. With this we can immerse our microcosm into the vast macrocosm.

Conclusion: The Process

Swami Vivekananda Ideology on education is telling about loving self, because you are all one. Ramakrishna schools is trying to teach to the children this self-education by making them to meditate, attending spiritual discourses along with formal education. They are trying make them as Karma yogis. They are making them to live the society to solve the community problems. 

In schools they are implementing Swami Vivekananda’s and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ideologies on education. They are trying to make children to help others by their self-education.  

For me following and implementing the Vivekananda’s ideology on education can be a long process (It is every difficult to get rid from expectations) but first I need to constantly aware on myself. His ideology is saying more about source (inner self) than product (body).

We are trying to cut the roots and expecting fruits from a tree. So we need to take care the source then only we can get fruits from the tree.

We are living in a very complex society, it’s difficult to realize and implement this, because most of the people are thinking about instant thing than original things. Instant things might be based on momentary satisfactions but it create permanent problems.

But I feel direction is very much important as the speed, so it’s better to into a good direction with a controlled speed.