NCIC
Issue 3
March 2013
…True realisation of knowledge, already in the soul - A Swami Vivakeananda View
Education, according to Swami Vivekananda, is defined as “the manifestation of the perfection already in man.”
Swamiji was a simple statesman with
magnificent visions to alleviate social
crises - one of which was a collapse in
the education system. He believed
that every child had the potential to
realise the inner knowledge once the
veil of ignorance was torn apart. Under the umbrella of Vedic understanding of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa,
Narendranath Dutta (Swami’s initial
name) dwelled into the Gita, Upanishad and other classic and morallyenriched stories where he began his
spiritual education. He realised the
value of involving religion to make
education more self-sustaining and one
that will stimulate the brain in positive
ways. Later in his life, he realised that
society was choosing modern and
mechanised alternatives, leaving behind the sentimental and deep-seated
values of the rich heritage. Hence, he
revolted against the imposition of the
British system of education in India and
enticed the people by educating them
about the importance of incorporating
the rich culture of India in our education system. His philosophy that education is an ingredient in man-making
and that it allows a people to stand
independent and strong, stood the test
of time. As such, this paper seeks to
examine and expound Vivekananda’s
views on education with reference to
the basis, Vedanta (supreme wisdom).
Our education system is spiraling into
depression, farther away from the
ideal set by Swami Vivekananda,
thereby leaving his standard as a figment of our imagination. Today’s scholastic protocols are a far cry from
Swamiji’s criteria and methods of enlightening oneself. He said, “Education
is not the amount of information you
put into your brain and runs riot there,
undigested all your life. We must have
life-building, man-making, charactermaking assimilation of ideas.” Swamiji
emphasised on the ability to concentrate, put theories into context and
apply them in real-life situations and
to internalise all concepts without forcing mind-boggling information into
one’s brain. Without regard to these
wise words, the classroom today mostly relies on rattling off a series of ideas with little or no discussion and
thereby limits new ideologies from a
fear of being wrong. As a 1st year
medical student, I can relate to the
need to compress text books into one’s
brain as this seems to be one of the
very few methods in acquiring grades
and being considered as ‘intelligent.’
In essence, the education system itself
places the target or ultimate goal
elsewhere, rendering the students and
teachers with misplaced priorities and
a loss of purpose. In