| Consolidating the views of eminent scholars, we may characterize "total education" as - "the system of teaching, learning and initiation of knowledge which leads to - complete self-reliance, excellent development of personality and continuous evolution of virtuous tendencies."
Education begins with literacy and may successively endow one with enormous knowledge, analytical thinking, trenchancy of thoughts and decision making and acumen in specific disciplines of training. In principle, completion of education should also make one scholastic, talented and expert in solving worldly problems and enable one to propagate goodwill in the society. We may review the present systems of education to check whether they are capable of offering what is expected of this definition of education. A thorough evaluation of the present systems vis-a-vis the ancient system of education devised by the Indian rishis would be inevitable in this regard if we want to expand this comparison in different dimensions of what corresponds to "complete or total education".
The Indian rishis - the spirituals masters of yore who are also reverenced as perfect educationists of all times, had defined "total education" as a combination of shiksha and vidya. Shiksha in their view was - practical training of literacy, worldly knowledge and development of specific skills or talents which make one self-dependent and enable him or her earn respectable means of living. By this definition, we might say that the component of education which is generally taught in the schools, universities and centers of higher learning today, corresponds to shiksha.
Vidya, as described by the rishis is that component of "total education" which inculcates virtuous tendencies, independent thinking with intellectual and moral illumination of the mind and the heart and helps perfect refinement of character and development of personality. Vidya, which is initiated by a spiritually elevated noble master and sincerely adopted in every domain of life by a dedicated disciple, gives rise to an ever expanding source of true knowledge and gradual escalation of ideal tendencies. Deep impressions of vidya assimilated in the inner cores of the mind are carried over as sanskaras (intrinsic tendencies) in next births too.
Shiksha and vidya complement each other and together organize a perfect system of absolute education. Although several centers of excellence have maintained high standards of shiksha with induction of liberal thinking and intellectual discoveries, we hardly find any school or righteous mode of propagation of vidya any where in the world today. Even in India, where it was originated and given inspiring dimensions of global expansion via the "gurukula" system established by the rishis, it appears to have been confined to the decipheration of ancient scriptures in some traditional schools of Indian philosophy and vedic education. People in general, do not even know the proper meaning of vidya and as per their faith, often misinterpret it either as shiksha of ancient subjects or as some kind of ’esoteric knowledge’ or ’spiritual power’ associated with consecration by a religious master or guru.
Gurudev Shriram Sharma, a noble rishi of the modern age, has thoroughly reviewed the genesis, ancient developments, current status and future of shiksha and vidya in the present volume and given eminent directions for the improvement in both in today’s context. He has emphasized the need of revising the existing system of shiksha to make it more rational, dynamic, relevant and useful in guaranteeing a happy and bright future to the world. He has also justified the importance of incorporating vidya in the updated system of shiksha and given practical guidance for doing so at the primary, secondary and higher levels of education. He has devised specialized syllabus for this purpose to suit the gamut of students having different backgrounds and mental and intellectual levels. The primary and secondary education offered in the school of his mission’s center at Shantikunj, Hardwar, sets a living example of how this syllabus could be successfully implemented with the innovative methods of teachings suggested by him... |
