The Hindu View of Education is the text of a speech delivered by Ram Swarup at the convention of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in New Delhi on November 1, 1971.

Core Argument

A nation’s theories about education depend on its theories about man:

  • If man is a physical entity → one kind of education
  • If man is a mental being → a different kind
  • If man is a spiritual being → yet another kind
  • Hindus have traditionally regarded man predominantly as a Spirit

Historical Background

Ram Swarup cites historical evidence of India’s pre-colonial educational system:

  • In Bengal and Bihar circa 1835, there were approximately 100,000 indigenous elementary schools
  • The “monitor,” “slate,” and “group-study” methods were borrowed from Indian practice by Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster and introduced in England as a “New System of Schooling”
  • India’s literacy ratio was among the highest “till yesterday”

The Spiritual Dimension

According to ancient Indian seers:

  • There is a greater life beyond the apparent life of the senses and mind
  • Man’s true home is the life of the Spirit
  • The purpose of education is to make man aware of this larger life and how to reach it
  • Yoga is the practical discipline developed for this purpose
  • The Spirit enriches the life of the mind and body, giving it meaning and vista

Critique of Modern Education

  • Without inner life, outer life is “blind, feeble, empty and self-estranged”
  • Education that only deals with secular concerns is self-defeating
  • Explains the “emptiness and revolt of modern youth in Western schools and colleges”
  • Current educational planning is West-oriented, treating India as a “developing country” that needs wholesale import and imitation

See Also