Chapter – 3

3.1 Education
Realizing self
In order to reconstruct India, Swami Vivekananda focused on training and
education. “Education is the pivot of Swami Vivekananda’s idea of reform.”1
Swami connects education or learning with human mind. According to him when
we are developing or learning something, actually we are realizing our mind. When
we increase our knowledge, actually we are knowing about our mind. Because every
knowledge is there in our mind. We are just discovering it for the first time in the
history.
“All knowledge, secular or spiritual, is in the human mind. In many cases it is not discovered. But
remains covered, and when the covering is being slowly taken off, we say, we are learning, and the
advance of knowledge is made by the advance of this process of uncovering. The man from whom
this veil is being lifted is the more knowing man, the man upon whom it lies thick is ignorant, and
the man from whom it has entirely gone is all knowing, omniscient. Education is the manifestation
already in man.”2

When he was travelling through the cities in Europe he observed that education
changed them a lot. Even the poor people has basic education. “Through education
comes faith in one’s own self: and through faith in one’s own self the inherent
Brahman is waking up in them, while the Brahman in us is gradually becoming
dormant.”3
The teacher does not have much things to do; but he should lead the students in the
right path of self-realization. Vivekananda would say “education is not filling the
mind with a lot of facts. Perfecting the instrument and getting compete mastery of
my own mind is the ideal of education.”4 A man who have complete mastery over
his own mind and body and a perfect concentration can do greater things for the
world. Knowing many facts and serving for one’s own self and family will not sound
much. But the one who can help the needy at the time of his distress is the one who
is educated well. There for education has much more meaning in the human life. It
should be a process making self-awareness and practicing them to be mindful about
the day to day event that we under go.

1
Swami Swahananda, Swami Vivekananda’s Concept of Service, 32.
2
Swami Vivekananda, My India: The India Internal, 54.
3
Swami Swahananda, Swami Vivekananda’s Concept of Service, 32.
4
Swami Vivekananda, My India: The India Internal, 55.
3.1.2 Education – Character Formation
Vivekananda was completely not happy with the modern education system. He said
“the present education system is wrong.” 5 It will not give a space to think by the
students, rather it produce facts produce facts and information to by heart it without
any second thinking. It provoke students to think that what have tolled is truth. There
is no voice for the critical thinking and creative ideas. Getting a certificate with an
extra ordinary mark and by heart what others have already said and discovered is
not the education. As he said “education in its turn makes the mind free from all
superstitions and hypnosis before tyranny and oppression.”6 Education has much
more duties to fulfill in one’s own life. Through it only the character of a person is
forming.
Swami Vivekananda took the action of giving practice to individuals as his special
call and duty. Because he understood education is the best way to form the character
of a person. “Education is essentially an individual, private process. Each single
human life is a momentous experiment, and education is the method of that
experiment. Education must ensure and encourage the full and free blooming of
man’s personality; it cannot brook totalitarian treatment.”7 Man is a social animal
and in order to live in this biggest community of world he should have a good
personality. In other words we can say that we should be a gentle man and woman
in the society. Education system of British people was not concerned about the
personality development rather it is concerned about studying too many subjects.
Vivekananda called it as “making parrots of our boys and ruining their brains by
cramming a lot of subjects into them.”8
Vivekananda knows that the strength of a nation is in the hands of educated people.
And if the educated people does not have a good personality then what is the use of
such kind of education? Instead of uplifting the poor they will do all kinds of
corruptions and will destroy the social system even. So in order to prevent this
Vivekananda suggested contemplation also along with the formal education system.
“Vivekananda’s plan of education for India contemplated a balanced development
resulting out of knowledge of western science and technology subordinated to the

5
G.S. Banhatti, Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, 219.
6
Swami Swahananda, Swami Vivekananda’s Concept of Service, 33.
7
G.S. Banhatti, Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, 219.
8
G.S. Banhatti, Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, 219.
spirituality and renunciation of Bharat.9 But his dream for such kind of education
were taken up by others in the future.
3.1.3 Education – Gurukul System
Vivekananda’s idea of education was connected with the traditional way of
acquiring knowledge, which is gurukula. Once he said “my idea of education is
personal contact with the teacher- Gurugraha- vasa.”10 Because he believed that the
personal life of the guru will also influence the life of shishya. It is also essentially
part of the education. The guru should inspire his shishya by his life also. Then only
his words that he teaches will be powerful. Again for criticizing the education
system he said “take your Universities. What have they done during the fifty years
of their existence? They have not produced one original man. They are merely an
examining body. The idea of the sacrifices for the common weal is not yet developed
in our nation.”11
The quality of a gurukula system is that “through the fusion of the pupil not only
learns the necessary subjects, but assimilates a way of life.12 There the teacher
should get down to the level of his student and he should think through the mind of
his student. In other words he should know about his student and his thinking
capacity. Then only he can guide him through the correct path of knowledge. Here
the education is not sold. The shishya is staying the house of his guru and together
with the study he may be helping him to do the house hold works. It is also
considered as the part of education and man labouring.

9
G.S. Banhatti, Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, 220.
10
Swami Vivekananda, My India: The India Internal, 57.
11
Swami Vivekananda, My India: The India Internal, 57.
12
G.S. Banhatti, Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, 221.