MAHARISHI DAYANAND’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

MAHARISHI DAYANAND’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

3-NOV-ENG 21

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-------------------------The nineteenth century holds a special significance in world history, and Maharishi Dayanand holds a special place among its leading leaders. With the advent of science and crafts, every aspect of life underwent transformation and efforts to reorganize society in a new way were made in both the Eastern and Western worlds. Maharishi Dayanand is particularly credited with initiating this revolution in India. There were other Acharyas who also attempted to move the country out of old traditions and onto a new path. Maharishi Dayanand was one of those modern innovators whose education was unaffected by European systems. Gujarati was his mother tongue, Sanskrit the language of his initiation and culture, and he successfully attempted to awaken India's national instincts through the Aryabhasha (Hindi) and the Devanagari script. This great man of the nineteenth century sought to replace outdated traditions with eternal values. He discovered the Aryan culture, the source of Europe and Asia, the gift of wise, truth-seeking sages. The history of the past two thousand years had become a chronicle of blind traditions and hateful selfishness. Therefore, there was a need for a teacher who would provide new light and dream of building a religious human religion and an ideal human society. Maharishi Dayanand was such a light.

Maharishi Dayanand was a man of the era, a man of all humanity, not of any particular country. His only wish was the welfare of all human beings. This welfare was impossible through dogmas, blind traditions, false beliefs, and immoral behavior. Public welfare is possible only when proper education is established, enabling individuals to discern truth from falsehood and to be guided by a discerning mind.

Maharishi Dayanand knew that if humanity is to prosper and a virtuous society is to be built, that person must be kept vigilant from the very beginning of life. A newborn child's first teacher is their mother. A newborn child brings with them the sanskars of their previous lives, and these sanskars are refined by the proper environment. Even the best sanskars become corrupted when placed in an inappropriate environment. Therefore, it is essential that a child's education is properly organized from infancy to adolescence.

Education is the responsibility of both the family and society. A child is the nation's asset. The future of the nation depends on the child. The child will eventually become the nation's builder. Therefore, neglecting children's education is neglecting the future of society and the nation. The gardener of the garden understands that care must be taken of the sprout and the plant in every situation, right from the time of sowing. Maharishi Dayanand emphasized this in his literature and teachings. If the nation's morality is to be strengthened, then education must be carefully considered. Maharishi Dayanand had his own dream. He was a spiritual teacher, but his spirituality was rooted in the realities of life. The individual is a part of the nation. The nation's prosperity lies in the nation's prosperity. Yoga and love are the nation's wealth. The nation must be enriched with wealth and all kinds of assets. The nation's wealth must be increased through science and crafts. And the youth must be encouraged in this direction. The wealth of a prosperous nation must be distributed for the welfare of all. For this, self-denial, public service, non-possession, and other moral virtues are required. This was Swami Dayanand's belief. He was such a great philosophical thinker who coordinated the welfare of the people and the welfare of the hereafter, who coordinated the spiritual life with the temporal life and who, on the basis of the words of Maharishi Kanada, accepted the success of religion in the integration of both prosperity and salvation. ...The words which Maharishi wrote or said almost a century ago can still be assessed in the present situation of the country and the world and which can even today act as a light in the darkness of uncertain future.