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

India is a spiritual land. Our country is a paradise on this earth. In the words of Mark Twain India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.It is recognized all over the world. It was regarded as a golden bird (SONE KI CHIDIYA). The land with many traditions, customs, cultures, religions, languages, resources etc. There are so many diversities still we are united. The thread of love and bond of national integration hold all the various beads together to make us a strong nation, which we all are proud of!!!  

 

French scholar Romain Rolland rightly said, If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India. 

 Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

Mother India is the cradle of the Vedas, Upanishadas, Sanskrit, Swastika, Aryans, various dynasties, personalities and much more.  In the previous blogs related to Foundation of Education, we discussed about the Indian thinkers and their contributions to philosophy each in persona.

Throughout history, there are a number of notable people from Andhra Pradesh,  one of the 29 states of India situated on the southeastern coast of the country,  who have proved themselves and have brought glory to our country with their hard work and dedication. Inspired by the lines of Edesamegina Endukalidina (Telugu: ఏ దేశమేగినా ఎందుకాలిడినా) a Telugu Patriotic song written by Rayaprolu Subba Rao. 

Lyrics: Ey deshamegina endukalidina
             ey pitamekhina evvaredhuraina
             pogadara nee thalli bhumi bharathini
             nilupara nee jathi nindu ghouravamu........

Meaning: Whichever country you go to, wherever you set foot,

                  Whatever dais you ascend, whatever anyone says,

                  Praise your Motherland Bharati,

                  Keep up your nation’s whole dignity!

Many have set examples for us to lead a better and successful life, towards perfection. Through this blog lets throw light on, such a great personality from Andhra Pradesh and his contributions with regards to Philosophy.

 JIDDU KRISHNAMURTHI:

Jiddu Krishnamurthi was born on 11 May, 1895 in Madanapalle, then Madras Presidency of British India. He was a renowned  writer and speaker on philosophy and spiritual subjects. His subjects include: Psychological revolution, nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships and bringing about positive change in the society. He constantly stressed the need of a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political or social. 

PHILOSOPHY HIGHLIGHTS:

1. According to him a new mind is possible only when religious spirit and scientific attitude form the part of the same movement of consciousness.
2. He says two instruments are available to the human being: Knowledge and Intelligence.
3. Knowledge enables a human to gain mastery over technical skills. Intelligence is born of observations and self- knowing.
4. For him, education is: Educating the whole person (all parts of the person), Educating the person as a whole (not as an assemblage of parts) and Educating the person within a whole (as part of society, humanity, nature etc) from which, it is not meaningful to extract that person.
5. For him, the intentions of education must be the inner transformation and liberation of the human being and from that society would be transformed. Education is intended to assist people to become truly religious.
6. For him, the purpose of education is to bring about freedom , love,"the flowering of goodness" and the complete transformation. 
7. The educational aims stated by him are: Global outlook, Concern for man and the environment, Religious spirit, which includes the scientific temper.
8. About freedom he says that, order is the very root of freedom. Freedom has no terminal point but is renewed from moment to moment in the very art of living.
9. He considers school to be a place where one learns both the importance of knowledge and its irrelevance.
10. To Krishnamurthi, the teacher and the student function at the same level, communicating through questioning and counter questioning till the depths of the problem are exposed and understanding it is revealed, illuminating the mind of both.
11. The lower school is run based on his philosophies, where teachers and students are given freedom and flexibility.
12. His engagement with education is of paramount significance, namely his emphasis on the  relationship between education and society in terms of the transformational potential of education.
13. He envisaged on the 'good society', as a way of 'being' and 'doing' in this world and was not some distant dream or utopian ideal that he sought to arrive at, through a gradual process of change. 
14. Krishnamurti's teachings is the cornerstone of his educational thought and can make a significant contribution to evolving a sensible policy that concerns itself with change through 'right' education.

                                        
                                         Be proud of our nation! INCREDIBLE INDIA!