Eternal India Encyclopedia

Ancient Concepts, Sciences & Systems

Eternal India

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ANCIENT INDIAN EDUCATION

If you don't earn knowledge

(Vidya)

in the first

quarter of life; if you don't earn money in the second quarter

of life; if you don’t acquire righteousness in the third quarter

what will you do in the fourth quarter of your life?

The main aim of the ancient Indian system of Education was the

union

(yoga)

of the individual soul with the Oversoul. The Vedic

literature — the

Samhitas,

the

Brahmanas,

the

Aranyakas

and the

Upanishads

— contain the roots of this system of education whose

schools were located away from the din and bustle of towns and

cities, in the woods and forests of India. India's civilisation thus

began as a rural and not a urban civilisation. The forest, not the

town, is the well-spring of its highest thought. A branch of

Sanskrit sacred literature is aptly named Aranyankas, "Forest

books", works composed by sages residing in the forests.

The home of the teacher

(guru)

was the school. The pupil

(sishya)

was admitted after a solemn ceremony known as

Upanayana

(the thread ceremony) or initiation which lasted three

days. He became a

dvija

or twice-born ready to begin his spiritual

life as a

brahmachari

or religious student. Vedic education was

confined to children of the three upper castes. The brahmans had

access to all knowledge. The kshatriyas, princes and sons of chiefs

and nobles, were trained in arms and the sciences needed to fit

them for government. Craftsmen received and imparted vocational

education through their caste guilds. Women, who enjoyed equal

status with men in the sphere of education in the Rig Vedic period,

were admitted to full religious rites and educational facilities. It

was possible for a boy to receive education from his father. Learned

fathers were

gurus

to their sons.

The minimum age for the

upanayana

in the case of brahmans

was eight, for kshatriyas it was eleven and for vaishyas it was

twelve. The maximum age limit was 16 for brahmans, 22 for

kshatriyas and 24 for vaishyas. There were also different seasons

for different classes. For brahmans the

upanayana

was in spring,

for kshatriyas it was summer and vaishyas it was held in autumn.

For those who would be householders the studentship was for

a period of 12 years. After that they could spend two months every

year in the house of the teacher. For those who did not want to

become householders, the studentship could continue lifelong.

The student lived with his teacher as a member of his family.

He performed household duties like collecting fuel for cooking. He

looked after the teacher's house and cattle. Another duty of the

brahmachari

was to go out and beg for alms twice a day in the

morning and evening and give the alms to his teacher. The student

was expected to show the utmost reverence to his teacher, attend

to all his needs and obey all his commands implicitly. The educative

value of these practices was that they produced in the pupil a spirit

of humility and of the mind as an instrument for acquiring

knowledge. The aim of education was

citta-vritti-nirodha-

control

of the mental waves as a result of which the individual merges in

the universal, the union

(Yoga)

of the individual soul with the

oversoul.

MAIN SUBJECT

The main subject of study was the

Veda.

Three steps were

followed-

shravana, manana

and

nididhyasana.. Shravana,

was

listening to the words or texts as they were uttered by the teacher.

The students would repeat the verses after the teacher until they

mastered them. This was followed by

manana,

deliberation or

reflection on the topic taught which resulted in his intellectual

apprehension. The third step in the process was

nididhyasana

(meditation) leading to the realisation of truth after its intellectual

appreciation.

In these domestic schools, the teacher admitted as many pupils

as he found fit and could instruct. There might be pupils who

wished to continue as students for life, dedicated to the pursuit of

learning and religion. Such students were known as

nasthika

brahmacharis.

They wandered about the country seeking to expand

their knowledge by contact with sages and master minds.

Formal education ended with the ceremony called

samavartana

(graduation) whcih marked the end of the austerites imposed upon

the student. The

brahmachari

emerging from his room at midday,

took a luxurious bath and decked himself in ornaments. He was

now called a

snataka

that is one who had bathed. After the

ceremony, the

snataka

was permitted to return home and become a

householder.

There were also institutions for advanced study known as

parishads.

The most famous

parishad

of the times was the

Pancala parishad

which was patronised by the philosopher-king,

Pravahana Jaivali,

who daily attended its sittings.

Besides these residential schools, circles of wandering

scholars devoted to philosophical discussions and academics for

advanced study, there were assemblies of learned men gathered

together by kings at their courts. The

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

describes a conference of philosophers - the earliest of its kind in

the world - which was convened by the philosopher - king Janaka of

Videha at his court with the intention of codifying the floating mass

of philosophical speculation into a regular and scientific system.

Among the participants there were eight principal philosophers -

Uddalaka, Aruni, Asvala, Artabhaga, Bhujyu, Ushasta, Kahoda,

Vidayadha

Sakalya

and

the

woman

philosopher,

Gargi

Vachaknavi. The most learned of all was Rishi Yajnavalkya. King

Janaka announced that he would award the royal prize to the

philosopher who would answer the most difficult and perplexing

questions that were put to him. Gargi publicly challenged his

wisdom by posing two perplexing questions but Yajnavalkya

successfully answered them.

From the end of the Vedic period to the beginning of the Gupta

period, the Vedic scheme of education of the three upper classes of

Aryan society was expanded and systematised. The tradition of

sending the boys to live with the teacher after the

Upanayana

ceremony continued. The method of teaching continued to be oral.

The pupil should pay no fee to his teacher in advance but at the end

of his studies he should offer something according to his means or

to the teacher's desire. The

Brahmanas

studied the four

Vedas