FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION :: INDIAN THINKERS ON EDUCATION - PART IV

SRI AUROBINDO GHOSH:

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was born in Calcutta, then the capital of British India on 15 August, 1872. He was a revolutionary poet, philosopher, writer and spiritual master. He believes in integrating all the aspects of life, based on the evolution of consciousness. His idealistic philosophy of life was based upon  the Vedanta philosophy of Upanishads. He believes that spiritual penance, Yoga practice and Brahmacharya are necessary for the promotion of the development of human soul. He regards life as a creative process.

PHILOSOPHY: 

1. His philosophy is a happy and judicious blend of the old and new, oriental and occidental, idealism and realism, spiritualism and pragmatism.
   
2. He believes in the spiritualism of India and described the four layers and the Super mind.
3. He laid stress on the training of the five senses of the mind, mental powers and logical capacity.
4. He assumes in providing a good and creative environment to a child and teaching the best of morals is a must. He says child should be given the opportunity to think in a reasonable manner.
5. He considered Vedas as the chief source of Indian Spiritualism.
6. He believes that rebirth is indispensable for spiritual evolution. Birth and death are predetermined processes in the scheme of evolution.
7. He stresses on curriculum for primary stages  in Mother tongue.
8. He wrote the three fundamental Principles of teaching (1909-10): 

• The First- Teacher is not an instructor, he is a helper and guide. 
• Mind has to be consulted in its growth. 
• Education must proceed from direct experience.

The Four Layers Of Mind: Sri Aurobindo's believes that the four layers of mind are the principle tools of education in the hands of a teacher.
These four layers are:

• The first layer: Chitta (The past mental impression).
• The second layer: The Manas or the mind proper.
• The third layer: Buddhi or intellect. 
• The fourth layer: The intuitive perception of things.

Chitta (The past mental impression)-

1. It is the first layer of mind.
2. It is the store house of memory.
3. From this store house, the teacher has to select the needful items very carefully in order to help an educand to comprehend the fundamental knowledge pertaining to some aspects of human life.
4. Sometimes, the teacher happens to choose an unsuitable thing which obstructs in the mental development of the child.
5. Chitta needs no training, it is automatic and it represents the past experience.

The second layer- The Manas or the mind proper-

1. The Manas or mind receives the sensations from our five senses through seeing, hearing, taste, touch and smell are the basic roots of our knowledge.
2. The knowledge thus obtained is converted into ideas.
3. It is a teacher's duty to train these five senses in such a manner that the sensations received from them are correct and lead to real knowledge. 

The third layer: Buddhi or intellect-

1. The Buddhi or intellect rearranges systematically the knowledge that has been acquired by the Manas or mind.
2. Intellect is the chief tool for education.
3. Comprehensive, creative and synthetic powers are found in intellect.
4. As these powers develop, intellect goes on becoming sharper and sharper.
5. It is through intellect that an individual gives his judgement about things, imagine, thinks, observe, control various aspects of his life.
6. The power of reasoning and analysis are indications of intellect.
7. Through reasoning one is able to distinguish, compare, classify, generalize, deduce, infer and determine.
8. From the educational point of view, good development of intellect is very necessary.

The fourth layer: The intuitive perception of things-

1. The intuitive perception of things or the intuitive power helps one to experience the truth directly.
2. It develops very slowly.
3. This layer is found in rare people.
4. The reasoning faculty of intellect may not accept this intuitive power of an individual, because forgetfulness, biased imaginings mar its development.
5. It's development is beyond the scope of teacher.
6. It's development is dependent upon the student.
7. Teacher's role is the role of guide.
8. Teacher is a helper to help student grow to perfection in his own way.