-- His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami
Traditional education is practically a thing of the past, something most of us have never even seen, what to speak of having lived or experienced such a life-style. We are generally totally ignorant of what itmay be or what it might have been. Whatever little we have heard about traditional education has often left us with negative impressions and reservations about it, as we were likely exposed to the so called short-comings and even "backwardness" of such an educational system.
In the university where I took up my post-graduate studies in education just a few years ago, the traditional gurukula system found in India and the traditional pondok pesantren system found in Indonesia were classified under "non-formal" education. The specific term used to describe the course in the Indonesian language was Pendidikan Luar Sekolah - PLS", which literally translates as "Education Outside of
School". The irony is that, traditionally speaking, what is classified today as "Education Outside of School" (non-formal education) was previously the "only" education taught in school settings such as gurukula or pondok pesantren and that was considered then as "formal education". All other education was "outside of school" through the equivalent of what we call today "vocational training" and "apprenticeship" (non-formal education). We have basically done a full somersault here, accepting today what is non-formal education as formal and what is formal education as non-formal. Today's science and technology promote studies and research which deal primarily with advancement of vocational trades (computer and other machine oriented technology), and give less importance to the academic fields of philosophy and humanities. How has this come about and what kind of results can we expect? A good part of the answer lies in the following statemen- "The effects of the Sophists on education necessarily make one wonder whether it is wise to entrust education to the technicians rather than the philosophers." (Pratt, 1980: 18)
We have indeed allowed the policies of education to be influenced and dictated by the interests of political leaders, powerful industrial magnets, technocrats and scientists, all of whom tend to lack in wisdom and depth. Due to a primarily materialistic training, such "leaders" are either prone to personal motivation, allured to ever increasing profits, lacking in philosophical insights or short-sighted by nature. The root of the problem in education lies in not knowing or not understanding the basic principles which are meant to govern any and all educational pursuits, beginning with the very definition and purpose of knowledge and education. Put simply and plainly, when education is used primarily to promote materialistic pursuits and ambitions, there must be shortcoming and failures because the very meaning and purpose of education are not understood or followed. In the name of so-called education only, teachers and students are simply playing a costly game.
How we live and where we live also help shape our education. As mentioned in the Preface to VARNASRAMA EDUCATION, unless we understand the essence of what education is and the basics of what makes for an ideal society (varnasrama), any attempt to develop effective and meaningful educational systems will fail. It is of crucial and paramount importance to understand the intimate working relationships between education and society, not only in the early years of one's formation, but indeed throughout one's entire life. The ancient Vedic system of varnasrama dharma is the most ideal, most scientific and most fulfilling educational institution which can help make one vastly learned, well organized, productive and highly skilled, and above all, cultured and wise.
[Source: From author’s ‘Preface’ to Traditional Education.]
Traditional education is practically a thing of the past, something most of us have never even seen, what to speak of having lived or experienced such a life-style. We are generally totally ignorant of what itmay be or what it might have been. Whatever little we have heard about traditional education has often left us with negative impressions and reservations about it, as we were likely exposed to the so called short-comings and even "backwardness" of such an educational system.
In the university where I took up my post-graduate studies in education just a few years ago, the traditional gurukula system found in India and the traditional pondok pesantren system found in Indonesia were classified under "non-formal" education. The specific term used to describe the course in the Indonesian language was Pendidikan Luar Sekolah - PLS", which literally translates as "Education Outside of
School". The irony is that, traditionally speaking, what is classified today as "Education Outside of School" (non-formal education) was previously the "only" education taught in school settings such as gurukula or pondok pesantren and that was considered then as "formal education". All other education was "outside of school" through the equivalent of what we call today "vocational training" and "apprenticeship" (non-formal education). We have basically done a full somersault here, accepting today what is non-formal education as formal and what is formal education as non-formal. Today's science and technology promote studies and research which deal primarily with advancement of vocational trades (computer and other machine oriented technology), and give less importance to the academic fields of philosophy and humanities. How has this come about and what kind of results can we expect? A good part of the answer lies in the following statemen- "The effects of the Sophists on education necessarily make one wonder whether it is wise to entrust education to the technicians rather than the philosophers." (Pratt, 1980: 18)
We have indeed allowed the policies of education to be influenced and dictated by the interests of political leaders, powerful industrial magnets, technocrats and scientists, all of whom tend to lack in wisdom and depth. Due to a primarily materialistic training, such "leaders" are either prone to personal motivation, allured to ever increasing profits, lacking in philosophical insights or short-sighted by nature. The root of the problem in education lies in not knowing or not understanding the basic principles which are meant to govern any and all educational pursuits, beginning with the very definition and purpose of knowledge and education. Put simply and plainly, when education is used primarily to promote materialistic pursuits and ambitions, there must be shortcoming and failures because the very meaning and purpose of education are not understood or followed. In the name of so-called education only, teachers and students are simply playing a costly game. How we live and where we live also help shape our education. As mentioned in the Preface to VARNASRAMA EDUCATION, unless we understand the essence of what education is and the basics of what makes for an ideal society (varnasrama), any attempt to develop effective and meaningful educational systems will fail. It is of crucial and paramount importance to understand the intimate working relationships between education and society, not only in the early years of one's formation, but indeed throughout one's entire life. The ancient Vedic system of varnasrama dharma is the most ideal, most scientific and most fulfilling educational institution which can help make one vastly learned, well organized, productive and highly skilled, and above all, cultured and wise.
[Source: From author’s ‘Preface’ to Traditional Education.]
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