Value Education The Indian Tradition

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Proper education and more importantly, proper assimilation and absorption of knowledge can only occur when there is a balance, an equilibrium, existing in the relationship between students, teachers and parents. The parents and the teachers are like the two arms of a tuning fork. When both arms resonate in unison they create the hum that is knowledge in the students. Parental duty towards education of their children does not begin and end with putting them in a school under the care of a teacher. A child begins to observe and absorb at home. The skills that emerge in a child are developed further, expanded and honed in a school.

"Education" wrote Mahatma Gandhi, almost a century ago, "does not mean a knowledge of letters but it mean character building. It means a knowledge of duty. Our own word literally means "training".

In our ancient Gurukula system, children were made over to the care of a Guru and the students lived in the Ashram of the Guru. The Guru took care to identify the weakest student in the group and oriented his coaching in such a way, that even that weak student was able to understand and assimilate what was taught. The teacher, the Guru, was full of understanding and compassion and nudged and nurtured the weak and helped them to catch up with the performers.

The purpose of this book is to identify the objectives, nature and characteristics of value-education of the masses in Ancient India. To start with, in order to frame a conceptual value- structure of social education in Indian society across space and time, the author has made a survey of objectives and nature of Adult (Social) Education of India in particular at present. After careful analysis, objectives are identified which have relevance with the welfare of the human family and human society, and the development of individual and spiritual entity of man towards perfection.

Accordingly, attempt has been made to find out the socio- moral values that are congenial with the said objectives and in what ways they are present in the ancient Indian traditions and scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. For the purpose, various sources of value-oriented elements like dialogues, precepts, verses, episodes etc. were examined to identify and classify the inherent values. Study has been conducted on the sociodynamics of organizations of ancient Indian society with its caste and class-components and of the people living therein with their peculiar faith, customs and mores.