It is now well recognised that efficiency and work culture, supported by a congenial working environment, are the pivots of progress and development in every sector of human activity and endeavour.
The ancient Indian traditions of knowledge quest explored the factors that contribute to efficiency in tasks undertaken by individuals and groups. The Chandogya Upanishad infers: “Whatever is done with Vidya, Shraddha and Upanishad, that alone becomes supremely efficient.” Swami Ranganathananda, in his Oxford Lecture of 1985, brilliantly elaborates these values. Vidya is the ‘science or knowledge’.
He explains: “To be efficient, you must have the knowledge of what we call the technical know-how of a thing… Mere knowledge of a subject does not make you efficient. So a second value is added: Shraddha—faith in oneself, the impulse from within; I can, and the conviction that the work you are doing is worthwhile and that there is meaningfulness to life and the world. This faith extends to others as well.” Gandhi would not have launched the Dandi March had he been bereft of faith in himself.
Alexander Fleming would never have discovered penicillin sans faith in himself. Swami Vivekananda would not have won the hearts of one and all merely by the salutation that became a global historic legacy: ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’, in his Chicago address on September 11, 1893! One could go on citing how faith in individual self has accelerated the march of civilisations.
Interestingly, the third value is Upanishad itself! It implies ‘deep thinking, meditative thinking on the subject concerned’. Clearly, the import here explicitly indicates that intellectual knowledge is not sufficient and of less use in discharging the obligations of adult life unless supplemented by faith and deep thinking. It is impossible to ensure the blossoming of an individual’s creative energies and competence unless all the three values are ignited and assisted to develop to find their ‘full flow’!
Today, one comes across animated discussions in heavily-funded seminars and conferences on poor quality of school education and Indian universities not finding pride of place in global varsities’ ranking. Why 75 per cent Class VI students cannot read a Class II text? Everyone knows what has led to this decline in learning levels; and further, the yawing gaps in the personality development of even those who may have attained ‘very high percentage of marks in board examinations, the fondest dream of most of the parents and learners’! Every book on pedagogy invariably mentions how education must draw the best out of “Body, Mind and Spirit”! Some alert teaching hand may also add that the expression is equivalent to “Self, Society and Nature” or “Head, Hand and Heart”.
Major impediment in overall personality development of learners is the neglect of spirituality in the teaching-learning process, in schools, and prominently in teacher preparation institutions. Youths need icons in schools and colleges who adhere to values and principles.
There can be no better icon than the school teacher who has internalised moral, ethical and humanistic values in his thoughts, actions and deeds. His immense self-confidence would radiate to the learners. Absence of emphasis on value inculcation and nurturance by example is the most debilitating factor in education. For ages, every civilisation has considered religions as the major and prominent source of human values. There could be other sources too.
Five values—truth, peace, non-violence, dharma (righteous conduct) and love—are accepted equally by all religions. If the basics of all religions are made known to each child, the common acceptance of these values would become evident. It would lead to social cohesion and religious amity. These two together provide the pivot to progress and prosper.rajput_js@yahoo.co.in