EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

Explained By Swami Ranganathananda

According to Swami Vivekananda "Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man." All knowledge, secular or spiritual is in the human mind. Man discovers it within himself, which is preexisting through eternity. Next it manifests externally.

Swami Ranganathananda's concept of education, on close analysis, appears to had its basis in the concept of education developed by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda observes education in the following manner: "Education is the life-building, man-making, character-making, Assimilation of ideas".

Swami Ranganathananda quotes this in many of his writings and explains the following:

Education so conceived becomes continual growth of personality, steady development of character, and the qualitative improvement of life. A trained mind has the capacity to draw spiritual nourishment from every experience, be it a defeat or victory, sorrow or joy".

Education is the training of the mind and not stuffing the brain, Character efficiency is the fruit of the former while the latter produces mental stagnation and its attendant character differences.

According to Swami Vivekananda the purpose of education is to develop personality of child in all aspects namely physical, intellectual and spiritual. Function of education is to bring about a harmonious development of all the aspects of human personality so that it can grow to its highest stature and serve the society as its best.

Let us see how Swami Ranganathananda expands the ideas of Swami Vivekananda.

Education helps the child to achieve vyaktitva and vikasita vyaktitva (developed personality). It is a continuous process.

At the level of vyaktitva, man puts oneself in the centre and wants the world to dance round him on or her; as a vikasita vyakti, he or she becomes humanized and learns the art of service and dedication to the people around.

All true education involves this spiritual growth from vyaktitva to vikasita vyaktitva. Vikasita means expansion not a mere expansion in body - weight and size, not a mere intellectual expansion in mastery of facts and formulae, but a spiritual expansion, through the assimilation of the values of tyaga and seva.

These values are the by-products of that spiritual growth in man. That is why it is called Vikasita Vyaktitva. When our children are able to live in peace with others, work with others, love and serve others, then only they have become persons, vikasita vyaktis, till then, they are only individuals, vyaktis.

This type of spiritual growth from individuality to personality, from vyaktitva to vikasita vyaktitva, must first strive for it and achieve it, and then help their students to achieve it. This is a great and basic step what we have to take in our education.

This is the very soul of value-oriented education, of human resource development; education helps the child to become a vyakti and vikasita vyakti; that is learning to be and joins learning to do. Thus it becomes complete and meaningful Education.

TO SUM UP :

Swami Vivekananda defines education as 'the life building, Man-making, character making, assimilation of ideas'. purpose of education is to develop personality of child in all aspects namely, physical, intellectual, and spiritual.

Following Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ranganathananda further elaborates it as 'Education is training the mind and not stuffing the brain'. Purpose of education is to develop 'vikasita vyaktitva' in child.

 http://www.geocities.ws/kpmiyapuram/rkp5.html

 

About your relationships TOI Speaking Tree

Jaya Row | Jul 9, 2011

Are you in conflict with the people you love most? Do you experience incredible highs followed by invariable lows in your relationships? Have the days of wine and roses become days of whine and neuroses? 

Love tainted with selfishness is 'attachment;' it is only about you. You expect a return for your affection, tangible or intangible. You make demands on people and bind them. You feel insecure, vulnerable and threatened. Your expectations never seem to be met with. The more people do for you, the more you want. The relationship thus becomes conflict-ridden. In the end, it breaks down and you lose the person. 

The age-old philosophy of Vedanta steps in with new ways of defining ourselves, others and the world around us -- ways that will appeal to the younger generation. It takes dedication, a leap of faith, and practice. 

Expand your mind. Get attached to a wider circle of people – community, nation, humanity. Work for loka sangraha, for the welfare of the world. As you get attached to the higher you get detached from the lower. True love is born and your relationships become free from the endless strife that prevails now. 

In order to fill the haunting sense of emptiness in your life you depend on people for your happiness. Thus the starting point is faulty. Only when you are happy within can you establish meaningful relationships with others. It is absurd to depend on others to fill the void. Vedanta says you are paripurna – totally fulfilled. You do not need anyone to make you happy. Gain knowledge of your fulfilled state. 

Love others for what they are, the good as well as the bad. Understand that people behave according to their nature. Do you hate a lion for its ferocity or a deer for its timidity? You love both creatures equally because you understand their nature and accept them for what they are. What prevents you from accepting people as they are? Why do you complain when a partner gets angry or a child is timid? 

Look at others as part of yourself and you will focus on their best qualities. You will see opponents as partners, competitors as comrades. You will celebrate others' victory as if it were your own. Thus your happiness multiplies a billion times! Today you are happy only when good things happen to you. In the end love turns Godward. You worship God in all beings. 

Vedanta says there is only One. If you see separateness, it is your delusion. Just as one ray of light refracts into seven different colours, you see distinctions and demarcations because you view the world through the prism of your body, mind and intellect. You see maximum separateness when you identify with your body. See the world through your mind and your circle of love expands to include your family. Rise to the intellect and you see oneness among your compatriots. Merge with Atman, the Spirit within, and all differences vanish. You exult in the experience of the One in the many. You see yourself in all beings and all beings in the Self, just as you admire your images in different mirrors. Only then will you be free from sorrow and delusion. And you will attain the exalted state of enlightenment. 

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spirituality/vintage-wisdom/About-your-relationships/articleshow/9151524.cms?prtpage=1

 

Expectation brings frustration TOI Speaking Tree 310311

Osho, Mar 31, 2011

If you expect too much, you will be frustrated. If you don't want to be frustrated, don't expect. Live without expectations and there will be no frustration.

But people go on expecting; then frustration comes in - frustration is the shadow of expectation. When you feel frustrated you think that existence is doing something wrong to you. Any asking is asking too much. Don't ask, be. And then you will be surprised - whatsoever happens is good; you have no way to judge it.

I used to stay with a rich family in Calcutta. Once i went; the family had come to take me from the airport. The husband was very sad. I enquired, "What is the matter?" He said, "There has been a great loss." Listening to this, his wife started laughing. She said, "Don't bother about what he says. There has been no loss - in fact, there has been a great profit."

I was puzzled. I said, "You both are here. Please try to explain this riddle to me." The wife said, "There is no riddle. He was expecting ten lakh rupees and he got only five lakh rupees. So he says, `Five lakh rupees' loss,' and I say, `You have profited' - but he won't listen, and he is very sad."

When you expect ten lakh rupees and you get five lakh you feel frustrated. If you are not expecting and you get five lakh rupees you are full of joy, thankfulness, gratitude.

Don't expect, and you see your whole life becomes a joy. Expect, and your whole life becomes a hell. Expectation is the cause. If you want to change, never start by the effect, start by the cause. Frustration is the effect. You can go on fighting with frustration - nothing will happen, you will become more and more frustrated. Whenever you are feeling miserable, go into it and find out where the cause is. If you want to drop the effect then avoid the cause; then become aware, more and more aware.

There are many people who enjoy frustration. There are many people who enjoy being miserable. In fact, they cannot tolerate happiness at all. When they are miserable they are happy, when they are happy they feel very miserable. Whenever you are miserable you gain something: sympathy, attention. Whenever you are happy nobody shows any sympathy - in fact, people become jealous. When you are unhappy everybody is a friend, everybody sympathises with you - even your enemy will sympathise with you. When you are happy even your friend will become jealous and inimical.

When you are happy nobody pays any attention to you. People avoid you. In fact, they start thinking you must be mad: Happy? Who has ever heard of anybody being happy! When you are unhappy they accept you. Then they think everything is okay, because this is how things have to be. And people enjoy your unhappiness, that's why they pay attention - because whenever you are unhappy they can compare themselves, and deep down they can feel good.

You love frustration? Then go into it. Become more artistic about it, decorate it a little more; make new possibilities, new doors to become more frustrated. If you don't enjoy it, then i don't see the problem. Just go deep into it, watch, and you will find some expectation hidden behind. Whenever you expect, you are asking for frustration. Drop expectations!

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-31/edit-page/29365596_1_frustration-listening-profit