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Gandhi's Views On Education The ancient aphorism "Education is that which liberates", is as true as it was before. Education here does not mean mere spiritual knowledge, nor does liberation signify spiritual liberation after death. Knowledge includes all training that is useful for the service of mankind and liberation means freedom of all manner of servitude is of two kinds: slavery to domination from outside and to one's own artificial needs. The knowledge acquired in the pursuit of this ideal alone contributed true study. Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind. Inquisitiveness should be tempered by humility and respectful regard for the teacher. It must not degenerate into impudence. The latter is the enemy of the receptivity of mind. There can be no knowledge without humility and the will to learn. education must be of a new type for the sake of the creation of the new world. Everyone of us has good inherent in the soul it needs to be drawn out by the teachers, and only those teachers can perform this sacred function whose own character is unsullied, who are always ready to learn and to grow from perfection to perfection.
Useful manual labour, intelligently
performed is the means par excellence for developing the intellect...... Craft, Art, Health and education should all be integrated into one scheme. Nai Talim is a beautiful blend of all the four and covers the whole education of the individual from the time of conception to the moment of death...... Instead of regarding craft & industry as different from education. I will regard the former as the medium for the latter. Our system of education leads to the development of the mind, body and soul. The ordinary system cares only for the mind. The teachers earn what they take. It stands for the art of living. Therefore, both the teacher and the learning. It enriches life from the commencement. It makes the nation independent of the search for employment. It is popularly and correctly described as education through handicrafts . This is part of the truth. The root of this new education goes much deeper. It lies in the application of the truth and love in every variety of human activity, weather in individual life or a corporate one. The notion of education through handicrafts rises from the contemplation of truth and love permeating life's activities. Love requires that true education should be easily accessible to all, and should be of use to every villager in his daily life. such education is not derived from nor does it depend upon books. It has no relation to sectional religion. If it can be called religious, it is universal religion from which all select ional religions are derived. Therefore it is learned from the book of life which costs nothing and which cannot be taken away from one by any force on earth. I hold that the largest time is devoted of our time is devoted to labour for earning our bread, our children must from their infancy be taught the dignity of such labour. Our children should not be taught as to despise labour. There is no reason why a peasants son after having gone to school should become useless as he does become, as an agricultural labourer.
This article is taken from the
book "The Selected Works Of Gandhi" |
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Copyright 2004 Mani Bhavan