Present Education System
In
our present education system, the focus is on mental development and that too
on memory and getting information from various sources. The other aspects of
mental development like concentration, imagination, widening the mind etc. are
neglected a lot. The present education system is largely subject-information
oriented, book-oriented and exam oriented. Some aspects of physical education and
aesthetic education are included in current education system, but that too are
negligible. The inner aspects of the personality are not given any importance
in curriculum. And what is the situation about value education? "We
sometimes speak of value education, but the situation is so confusing that
there is a great need to clarify the entire domain of moral and spiritual
values which would also throw considerable light on what we should mean by
psychic and spiritual education."
Integral education
Integral education is a complete system of education.
It develops not only cognitive mind but it develops physical, vital, spiritual,
and psyche aspects of personality also. Here the word ‘Integral’ means ‘total’.
It nourishes a sense of integrity, beauty and harmony in all aspects of
humanity. With the help of innovative techniques of imparting education and
activity based learning, students are equipped with multi skills and abilities
which can be applied and used in his life.
Integral education is not merely an idea but it is a
complete and perfect system of education, According to Sri Aurobindo true
education is not only limited to spiritual aspect of education but it also
includes rational, physical and vital aspects of education, these all make it
integral education. In the words of Mother, who was a closest collaborator of
Sri Aurobindo, “To be complete education it
must be five principle aspects relating to five principle activities of human
being: the physical, the mental, the psyche, the vital and the spiritual. This
education is complete, complimentary to each other and continued till the end
of life.”
Sri Aurobindo used the sense of integral education in
two dimensions. In the first dimension, integral means imparting five aspects (
physical, mental, spiritual, vital and psyche) of individual being and in
second sense of integral means education is not for evolution of individual but
for nation and finally for humanity. In a broader sense integral means
evolution of humanity and promoting the principle of unity in diversity.
Need of Integral Education
Though
the concept of integral education sounds ambitious yet it has become an urgent
need in the modern world which is struggling hard to find answers of the
questions like – How to accelerate the pace of growth and development (material
prosperity)? What is to be done to survive in the era of sharp-edged
competition?
The
system of integral education, on one hand, provides scope to equip children
with all requisite life skills, to polish their capabilities and to award them
with powers to bring desirable changes while on the other hand, it can equip
them with ‗self control to use all those knowledge, capacities, skills, and
powers for their own welfare and for the betterment of the society as a whole.
Thus, adopting the system of integral education would result in combing the two
ever contrasting aims of having material growth and human welfare and
satisfaction.
a. Firstly, there is, today, an unparalleled width and depth of inquiry, which requires a new kind of education that would simultaneously be comprehensive and specialized or varied so as to suit each individual.
b. Secondly, the modern human personality has become, as never before, subject to psychological turmoil, imposing a new dimension in education that still remains undefined and insufficiently explored.
c. Thirdly, there is a greater quest all over the world
for the synthesis of knowledge and culture. Ancient knowledge is being
rediscovered in the context of modern knowledge. The humanist and the technologist
are finding themselves in greater and greater need to each other; and the
scientist and the mystic are getting ready to embrace each other. The
educational implications of these developments are obvious.
Integral education – the revolution it seeks
Man
is not mind plus body. Man is, as the Gita says, body, life, mind and soul. The
Atman, in its evolving form, is called by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother the
Psychic Being, to distinguish it from the soul as the presiding spiritual fact.
This is the revolution initiated and carried on by Integral Education. If
sincerely carried out, it means a real revolution for us in India and also the
world.
Aspects of Integral Education
Education
is expected to bring out the best in man. The question is what is meant by
bringing out the best in man. India has always seen in him not merely a body,
an emotional and aesthetic being, a rational and thinking mind, but much more
fundamentally a soul, evolving gradually into a higher consciousness. It is
this concept which has made India a nation apart and our education too must
reflect this attitude. It must lay stress on the emergence of the spirit, not
rejecting but embracing and perfecting matter and life.
Integral
Education based on the Indian yogic science aims at the total and complete
development of the individual: a strong, supple, well formed and healthy body;
a sensitive unselfish and mature emotional nature, a positively energetic
vital, an enlightened mind, a wide-ranging and vibrant intelligence, a strong
will, a balanced and pleasant personality; and the subtler spiritual qualities
that can channelise, harmonise and direct all the different parts of an
individual into a life that is beneficial to the individual and to his
fellow-men. But the Integral Education is not confined to the thought of
integration of individual and society. The concept of Integral Education
encompasses the integration of matter and spirit also.
Integral Education as an International System
The
aim is at humanity as a whole, the integral education should not be confined to
any specific region or part of the world. The system of Integral Education has
the potential to be universally accepted. Such an education will be essentially
based on spirituality and obviously will foster brotherhood, love and peace
among nations.
There
is necessity of assimilating the material knowledge of the west with the
spiritual knowledge. Integral education, with some variations can be adapted to
all the nations of the world.
A synthesis of Matter and Spirit
According
to Sri Aurobindo, the matter is an expression of the divine. There is life in
matter. An effective education makes a synthesis of matter and spirit. The West
has the knowledge of matter but rejected the Spirit; and The East has the
knowledge of the Spirit, but neglected matter. The synthesis of the two is
necessary so that both would be benefited. Foundation of an effective education
should have its pillars rising from both the aspects.
It
has now become clear that the knowledge of the Spirit and the knowledge of
Matter need to be blended and synthesized; ... And in doing so, all that is
intermediate between Spirit and Matter has also to be perfected and brought
into unity in complete integration. All this has to be done both at the collective
level and the individual level, and in doing so, we shall find it necessary to
develop integral education.
Integration of Inner and outer realities
An
integral education would by its action integrate the inner and outer realities
of our life and personality. Its principles would be harmony and synthesis. Its
movement would be individual and universal at the same time. Its scope would be
each and every activity, each and every aspect of life- from the most sacred to
the most mundane.
Also see
1. Educational Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore
2. INTEGRAL EDUCATION OF SRI AUROBINDO GHOSH
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