Education from the Gandhian Point of View

INTRODUCTION

The Gandhian conception of education is a very important topic to be analyzed and followed as well. The meaning of ‗education‘ is emancipation of individuals but the Gandhian perspective of education is a political system which is based on the consideration of understanding the elements of goodness that is present essentially in every man, which makes him aware of the fact that not just physical sanitation but mental and spiritual sanitation is needed in his pursuit of achieving the higher ideals of life. Education is inevitable for the attainment of the goal of peace which can only be achieved through morality and ethics. Ethics and morality are the essential and integral parts of human kind through which a man can realize his best in terms of body, mind and spirit. All his thoughts, actions and speeches are based on these two notions. From the ethical perspective, education is to be considered as a means of attainment of liberation. It helps to achieve the path of the peace. Peace is the state in which violent thoughts do not exist. In his daily practice, Gandhi right from his earlier stage considered non-violence, as an important and vital component of education. Education is interconnected from ethics, morality and spiritualism. According to Gandhi, Morality and ethics always be considered as an important part of education and to be followed by students. The implication of these rules can develop right thinking, self-control, service to the society, mutual respect and constant awareness for their responsibilities and duties. The goal of education is not only to produce good individual but also one must understand one‘s own duties and responsibilities in the society one lives. The notion of education for Gandhi is very much similar to Hindu concept of Varnashram Dharma. By understanding his or her duties, this will develop the spirit of social consciousness and mindfulness. Then, all the activities of such persons will have a social content mutual respect and co-operation for each other. Education is discipline for Gandhi. Thus, there is a great necessity to think of education, the way Gandhi has determined. In order to attain the ideal of holistic health and sanitation one has to first become educated in the way as Gandhi has prescribed. According to Gandhi, the state has to prepare the individuals for the ‗village-republic‘ or for making possible the emergence of an ideal government. To attain such ideal of ‗village-republic‘ one has to be educated in such a manner so that, the goal is reached conveniently.

According to Gandhi, the goal of education should be moral education or character building and the cultivation of a conviction that one should forget everything that is selfish when working towards great aims. Gandhi‘s view on education is not just imparting instructions but it is a holistic sanitation, i.e., cleanliness of the thought process and bodily cravings and spiritual clinging that are hindrances in the path of their growth. A proper education can be attained by giving proper training to a child and not just stuffing their minds with all kinds of information, without ever thinking of stimulating and developing them. According to Gandhi, a child must be given education in accordance of their capacity of learning and interest to enhance the skills they are born with. Education will bear its fruit only when implied in right direction. Gandhi does not agree with the type of education prevalent in present times. According to him merely imparting instructions is not education. Education not just means being a literate. The aim of education should be to bring out the best from the inherent capacities of every individual and this can be done only by doing manual work. basic education according Gandhi has far reaching consequences. The notion of Gandhian education is the first model of vocationalisation of education in India. Knowledge must be related to actions and practical experiences.

Thus, from the above discussion it may be evaluated that Gandhian perspective of education is much similar to the concept of ―the ideal state‖ and ―education‖ of Plato and Aristotle. Gandhi‘s view on educations seems like to be extracted from Plato and Aristotle but this cannot be true since Gandhi was all that which was needed to be natural, rather it would be better said that he was very much influenced by Plato‘s and Aristotle‘s details about development of the human skills in the direction of their capabilities.

Thus, from the above discussion it can be concluded that real education lies in drawing the best out of man. Gandhi strongly believed that basic education was an important means to develop the body, mind and spirit. By following the Gandhian way of education we can attain an ideal standard of education which is much needed in the present scenario and which will prepare the nation for becoming an ideal state. It will make men aware of what their weaknesses are and what their capabilities are and work on them. It will also help eliminate the situations and difficulties that we find out in the modern education system like Gandhi says-

1. Lal, Basant Kumar: Contemporary Indian Philosophy (Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, Delhi, 2012) 2. Gandhi, M.K.: YOUNG INDIA, 1925. 3. Gandhi, M.K.: Young India, 13-11-1924, p. 378 4. Harijan, 31-7-1937 5. Harijan, 11-2-1939 6. Harijan, 22-6-1940

8. https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/g_edu.htm

Research Scholar (UGC-NET), Department of Philosophy, Patna University, Patna shivisinha9667@gmail.com