Vivekanand- Method or Procedure of teaching

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari pallavi singh Dr.Saroj Agarwal

Principal Lecturer Sr Lecturer

D.I.M.S. Meerut
D.I.M.S.Meerut D.I.M.S.Meerut INDIA
INDIA INDIA

Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are
“

shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then you will
never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the
lesson. In India boys and girls are taught to do this.

Amongst the contemporary Indian philosophers of education, Swami Vivekananda is

one of those who revolted against the imposition of British system of education in
India. He criticised the pattern of education introduced by the British in India. He
pointed out that the current system of education only brings about an external change
without any reflective inner force
Having analyzed the goal or objective of education, the next question that naturally
arises is about the method of imparting education. Here again, we note the Vedantic
foundation of Swamiji’s theory. According to him, knowledge is inherent in every
man’s soul. What we mean when we say that a man ‘knows’ is only what he
‘discovers’ by taking the cover off his own soul. Consequently, he draws our attention
to the fact that the task of the teacher is only to help the child to manifest its
knowledge by removing the obstacles in its way. In his words: ‘Thus Vedanta says that
within man is all knowledge even in a boy it is so and it requires only an awakening

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and that much is the work of a teacher.’ To drive his point home, he refers to the
growth of a plant. Just as in the case of a plant, one cannot do anything more than
supplying it with water, air and manure while it grows from within its own nature, so
is the case with a human child. Vivekananda’s method of education resembles the
heuristic method of the modern educationists. In this system, the teacher invokes the
spirit of inquiry in the pupil who is supposed to find out things for himself under the
bias-free guidance of the teacher.
Swamiji lays a lot of emphasis on the environment at home and school for the proper
growth of the child. The parents as well as the teachers should inspire the child by the
way they live their lives. Swamiji recommends the old institution of gurukula (living
with the preceptor) and similar systems for the purpose. In such systems, the students
can have the ideal character of the teacher constantly before them, which serves as the
role model to follow.
Although Swamiji is of the opinion that mother tongue is the right medium for social
or mass education, he prescribes the learning of English and Sanskrit also. While
English is necessary for mastering Western science and technology, Sanskrit leads one
into the depths of our vast store of classics. The implication is that if language does not
remain the privilege of a small class of people, social unity will march forward
unhampered.

In the Neo-vedanta humanistic tradition of contemporary Indian thought, Vivekananda

presented a philosophy of education for man making. The chief objection raised by
Vivekananda against the contemporary educational system was that it turned men into
slaves, capable of slavery and nothing else. About the prevailing university education,
he remarked that it was not better than an efficient machine for rapidly turning out
clerks. It deprived people of their faith and belief. Vivekananda was very critical about
this scheme of education. He compared it to the person who wanted to turn his ass into
a horse, was advised to thrash the ass in order to achieve this transformation and killed
his ass in this process. Vivekananda also criticised the contemporary system of
education from the humanistic view point

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Vivekananda concurred with contemporary thinkers when he asserted that the mind–
the chief instrument of learning – deserves more attention than it had earlier received.
Training the mind should be a student’s highest priority, and not simply the
accumulation ,the memorizing and the repeating of facts. In the long run, stuffing
one’s mind with information, technical skills and useless trivia only creates more
problems if one’s mind is not nourished and strengthened and made healthy. Yet
training of the mind in all its aspects is conspicuously absent in today’s education

Vivekananda concurred with contemporary thinkers when he asserted that the mind–
the chief instrument of learning – deserves more attention than it had earlier
received .Training the mind should be a student’s highest priority, and not simply the
accumulation, the memorizing and the repeating of facts. In the long run, stuffing
one’s mind with information, technical skills and useless trivia only creates more
problems if one’s mind is not nourished and strengthened and made healthy. Yet
training of the mind in all its aspects is conspicuously absent in today’s education.
Learning to concentrate the mind was the focus in the Swami’s scheme. He said: ‘To
me the very essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of facts’
(CW, vol. VI, p. 38). In doing anything – such as thinking, working with the Bhands,
etc. – the better the power of concentration the better the outcome will be. And this
power of keeping the mind on the task can be improved.

There is only one method by which to attain knowledge, that which is called
concentration. The very essence of education is Concentration, concentration of mind.
From the lowest man to the highest yogi, all have to use the same method to attain
knowledge. The chemist who works in his laboratory concentrates all the powers of his
mind, brings them into one focus, and throws them on the elements ; the elements
stand analyzed, and thus his knowledge comes. The astronomer concentrates the
powers of his mind and brings them into one focus; and he throws them on to objects
through his telescope ;and stars and systems roll forward and give up their secrets to
him. So it is in every case : with the professor in his chair, the student with his book
,with every man who is working to know.3The more the power of concentration, the
greater the knowledge that is acquired. Even the lowest shoeblack, if he gives more Its
power .concentration, will black shoes better. The cook with concentration will cook a
meal all the better. In making money, or in worshipping God, or in doing anything, the

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stronger the power of concentration, the better will that thing be done. This is the one
call, the one knock, which opens the gates of Nature, and lets out floods of light.

Ninety percent of thought-force is wasted by the ordinary human being and therefore
he is constantly committing blunders. The trained man or mind never makes a mistake.
The main difference between men and the animals is the difference in their power of
concentration. An animal has very little power of concentration. Those who have
trained animals find much difficulty in the fact that the animal is constantly forgetting
what is told him. He cannot concentrate his mind upon anything for a long time. Here
in is the difference between man and the animals. This difference in their power of
concentration also constitutes the difference between man and man. Compare the
lowest with the highest man. The difference is in the degree of concentration.

All success in .any line of work is the result of this. High achievements in arts, music,
etc., are the Results result of concentration. When the mind is concentrated and turned
back on itself, all within us will be our servants, not our masters. The Greeks applied
their concentration to the external world and the result is perfection in art, literature
etc. The Hindu concentrated on the internal world, upon the unseen realms in the self
and developed the science of yoga.

The world is ready to give up its secrets if we only know how to knock, how to give
necessary blow. The strength and force in the blow comes through concentration. The
power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of knowledge.

Training the mind to concentrate on a specific subject has several stages, the primary
one being learning how to collect the mind and preventing it from running hither and
thither. The student trains his mind to be more attentive and more ‘mindful’.

In the present state of our body we are much distracted, and the mind is frittering away
its energies upon a hundred things. As soon as we try to call on our thoughts and
concentrate our mind upon any one object of knowledge, thousands of undesired
impulses rush into the brain , thousands of thoughts rush into the mind and disturb it.
How to check it and bring the mind under control is the whole subject of study in
Rajayog.

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Similarly, the Swami also wanted students to cultivate will-power. According to him,
will-power is developed when ‘the current and expression of will are brought under
control and become fruitful’ (CW, vol. IV, p. 490). Will-power is necessary not only to
conduct the learning process, but also to strengthen one’s character

One must understand this one fact, no good comes out of the man who day and night
thinks he is nobody. If a man day and night thinks that he is miserable, low and
nothing, nothing he becomes. If he say 'I am, I am ', so shall he be. That is the great
fact one ought to remember. We are children of the Almighty, we are sparks of the
infinite, divine fire. How can we be nothings?

We are everything, ready to do everything; we can do everything. This faith in

themselves was in the heart of our ancestors; this faith in themselves was the motive
power that pushed them forward in the march of civilization. If there has been
degeneration, if there has been defect, one will find that degeneration to have started
on the day our people lost this faith in themselves.

Next, the student must learn how to detach his mind from distractions that impose
themselves in spite of himself. Then, simultaneously, he must direct the mind on to the
desired subject and focus the full force of his mind on it. To give an example: a convex
lens gathers sunlight and focuses it on one point to burn a piece of paper .Likewise,
when a mind becomes concentrated, it acquires tremendous power and is able to
unlock the mysteries of the subject it is focused upon.

The practice of meditation leads to mental concentration. To me the very essence of

education is concentration of mind, not the collection of facts. IfI had to do my
education once again, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power of
concentration and detachment, and then with a perfect instrument, collect facts at will.
Power comes to him who observes unbroken Brahmacharya for a period of twelve
years. Complete continence gives great Brahmacharya intellectual and spiritual power
necessary for __ .concentration. Controlled desire leads to the highest results.
Transform the sexual energy into spiritual energy. The stronger this force, the more
can be done with it. Only a powerful current of water can do hydraulic mining.

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It is owing to want of continence that everything is on the brink of ruin in our country.
By observance of strict Brahmacharya all learning can be mastered in a very short
time; one acquires an unfailing memory of what one hears or knows but once. The
chaste brain has tremendous energy and gigantic will power. Without chastity there
can be no spiritual strength. Continence gives wonderful control over mankind. The
spiritual leaders of men have been very continent and this is what gave them power
.Every boy should be trained to practice absolute Brahmacharya and then, and then
alone faith and Shraddha will come. Chastity in thought ,word and deed always and in
all conditions is what is called Brahmacharya. Unchaste imagination is as bad as
unchaste action. The Brahmacharin must be pure in thought, word and deed.

.The idea of true Shraddha must be brought back once more to us. The faith in our
own selves must be awakened and then only the problems which face our country will
gradually be solved by
ourselves. What we want is this Shraddha. What makes the difference between man
and man is the difference in the Shraddha and nothing else. What makes one man great
and another weak and low is this Shraddha. Vivekanand had strongly believe in the
power of Shraddh .he emphatically say my master used to say : he who thinks himself
weak will become weak ; and that is true. This Shraddha must enter into you.
Whatever of material power you see manifested by the western races, is the outcome
of this Shraddha, because they believe in their muscles; and if you
believe in the spirit how much more will it work!

On the student’s side, in order to facilitate the manifestation of his innate strengthand
knowledge, he should cultivate the spirit of shraddha – that is, faith in
himself,humility, submission and veneration for the teacher. This is also necessary to
create a Swami Vivekananda 239
Prospects, vol. XXXIII, no. 2, June 2003
favourable environment for learning. The Taittiriya Upanishad (an ancient Indian
scripture – 1.11.2) gives the instruction: ‘Acharyadevo bhava – Let the teacher be your
deva’ [i.e. a person fit to be worshipped or highly honored]. The teacher/pupil
relationship ,based on respect and mutual trust, is the cornerstone of the edifice of
Vivekananda’s scheme of education. The Upanishads also advocated this. Before
starting the lesson, the teacher and the pupils were to pray together so that they would
mutually benefit and be strengthened by the teaching/learning process.

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Vivekanand emphasizing the importance of shradha openly declares-“To preach the
doctrine of Shraddha or genuine faith is the mission of my life. Let me repeat to you
that this faith is one of the most potent factors of humanity. First have faith in
yourselves. Know that though one may be a little bubble and another may be a
mountain-high wave, yet behind both the bubble and the wave there is the infinite
ocean The infinite ocean is the background of me as well as you. Mine also is that
infinite ocean of life, of power, of spirituality as well as yours. Therefore, my brethren,
teach this life-saving, great, ennobling grand doctrine to your children even from their
very birth”.

Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your
mind should be only on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning
your lessons, think only of the lesson. In India boys and girls are taught to do this.

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