AUROBINDO GHOSH (1872 – 1950 )
- Unit Structure
- 9.0 Objectives
- 9.1 A Brief Life History
- 9.2 Sri. Aurobindo as a Philosopher.
- 9.3 The Two Negations
- 9.4 Aurobindo‘s Views on Reality
- 9.5 Aurobindo‘s on Mind
- 9.6 Functions of education
- 9.7 Integral Education
- 9.8 Aims of education
- 9.9 Integral Curriculum
- 9.10 Aims of education according to Integral education
- 9.11 Methods of Teaching
- 9.12 Methods of Teaching
- 9.13 Principles of teaching and learning.
- 9.14 The Teacher:
- 9.15 National system of education.
- 9.16 Let us sum up
9.0 OBJECTIVES:
After reading this unit you will be able To understand the views of Sri Aurobindo on the controversies of materialistic and ascetic thoughts in philosophy. To understand the philosophical interpretation of Sri Aurobindo on Reality. To understand the various levels of mind and its functions. To understand the concept of integral education. To understand his views on aims of education, curriculum, role of teacher and methods of teaching.
9.1 A BRIEF LIFE HISTORY
Aurobindo was born in an educated middle class family in Calcutta on 15th Aug. 1972. He went to England at the age of 7 and lived there for 14 years. He received his education at Cambridge At the age of 18, he passed the entrance examination of the Indian Civil Service. Besides English, he mastered Latin and Greek and learnt French, German and Spanish. In 1893, on his return from England, he joined as professor of English at Baroda College in Gujarat. Here, besides devoting himself to cultural and literary activities, learnt Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Sanskrit.
He joined the Indian National Congress and became an active freedom fighter. He was a revolutionary and was disappointed with the Moderates of the Indian National Congress. He started the Bengali daily ‗Yugantar‘ and English daily ‗Bande Mataram‘ to promote his revolutionary ideas. He was considered one of the most dangerous leaders by the British government. From a revolutionary freedom fighter, he became a philosopher and seer. In 1908, he was sent to jail for the Alipore Bomb case. During this time, he turned to yoga, meditation and study of religious, philosophical and spiritual literature. This changed him a lot.
He went to Pondicherry and spent his remaining 40 years in his Ashram there. He changed himself and involved in several educational and social activities. He proposed theories of education which catered to Indian needs. He set up an International Ashram and International Centre of education and social activities. He also started a new experiment known as ‗Aurowill‘ as a city of human unity.
9.2 SRI. AUROBINDO AS A PHILOSOPHER
Sri. Aurobindo cannot be considered a philosopher in the strict western sense though he had acquired the western philosophical traditions through his British education and later readings. It is also wrong to think of him as a traditional Indian ‗ holy man‘ though many in India recognized him not only as an accomplished ‗yogi‘ but also as an avatar of new age.
What we find in him is not a fusion of philosophical- religious types, but an appearance of a new kind of thinker whose methods are of spiritual inquiry derived from the Indian tradition with a completely new frame of intellectual reference to modern science and the challenge of transcending through the conflict between religion and materialism, tradition and modernization. It is also wrong to consider him as a ‗Hindu thinker‘ for; Hinduism sought only ‗eternal law,‘ ‗sanatana dharma,‘ which is not an Indian monopoly.
His spiritual inquiry was aimed at clearing the weaknesses of current thinking about conflicts between the spiritual quest and functional materialism. He showed the new ways of seeing the relationship of man to
the natural environment and to the material aspects of existence. He is undoubtedly more ‗systematic‘ a thinker than Gandhi and Tagore. Like Jiddu Krishnamurti, Sri Aurobindo also believed that what we call as religious is not primarily a matter of doctrines or dogmas, but of experience. He says what validates a religious intuition is the experience of its spiritual authenticity.
It is not a point of view or collection of ideas given down through generations, but is entirely first hand personal experience. Aurobindo wondered if one could discover the means to connect the personal religious experience to the modern world‘s larger but inherently religious analytical rationality.
Check your progress Fill in the blanks with correct option.
i. Aurobindo started a new experiment called____________ .
(a)Bande Mataram. (b) Aurowill (c) yoga. (d) Materialism.
ii. Aurobindo can be considered as a ____________.
(a) Hindu thinker (b) Western philosopher. (c) Indian holy man. (d) New kind of thinker.
iii. Aurobindo‘s spiritual inquiry was aimed at clearing the conflicts between ______________ .
(a) The experience of the spiritual authenticity. (b) The spiritual quest and functional materialism. (c) Hindu thought and Islamic thought. (d) Sanatana dharma and eternal law.
9.3. THE TWO NEGATIONS
One of the cornerstones of Aurobindo‘s outlook is his concept of the two ‗Negations‘. He maintains that the ascetic ideal that became dominant in India after the spread of Buddhism was a withdrawal from the world, which he calls the ‗revolt of Spirit against Matter‘. This resulted in an over-emphasis on transcendent realization and undervaluing of the natural world. This tendency was strengthened in Hinduism by the Shankara School of the ninth century which taught that reality was spiritual and that the material world was merely ‗qualified reality‘. This illusion that dominated Hinduism resulted in social indifference to material progress thus loosing the balance between things spiritual and things material. Thus, the sub-continent lagged behind the western world with regard to material progress.
The other negation was materialism. Materialism denies the reality of the spirit, insisting that it is an illusion, a mere projection of personal fantasy. Both these negations are the result of exaggerating a part of the
truth to claim that it is the whole truth. In his book ‗The Life Divine‘, Aurobindo wrote, both negations are opposite poles of the same error.
9.4. AUROBINDO‘S VIEWS ON REALITY
The negation of materialism in India and refusal of the ascetic in Europe have sought to assert themselves as the sole truth and dominate the conception of life. In India, if this has lead to a great heaping up of the treasures of the spirit and a bankruptcy of life, it was just the opposite in Europe; accumulation of riches and world‘s powers moved towards a bankruptcy of things of the spirit. Aurobindo is in total agreement with Vivekananda when he says that we progress not from error to truth, but from partial truth to more complete truth. It is characteristic of Aurobindo‘s intellectual method that he avoids simplistic juxtapositions of contrarieties, but finds a reasonable basis for recognizing that what appears inconsistent is actually compatible and are different aspects of the same reality which is more complex and subtle.
Placing spirit and matter either on an analytical test of science or spiritual understanding by religion has failed to satisfy the people. What is needed, according to him, is to place both material world and spiritual world at the same realm. Aurobindo argues that the world as it is must claim attention of religion, because this world is one part of the total cosmic domain transformable by the Spirit. He rejects the view of those who focus on the promises of the ‗hereafter‘ on the fulfillment of individual soul as a reward for renouncing evil and doing ‗good‘. His objection is not based on a conviction that these views are spiritually false, but rather that the truth is partial. The error is not absolute, but it is in the aggregation of a part of the truth and considering it as the all embracing reality.
He wrote, ―The ascent of man in to heaven is not the key, the key is rather his ascent here into the spirit and descent of spirit into his normal earthly nature of humanity. The second major element in Aurobindo‘s thought is that transcendence is to be sought in this world rather than the next. He maintains that just as humans evolved genetically from simpler to more complex organisms; it is possible for human beings to evolve continuously as spiritual beings. He makes no concession to the well established convention of thought that matter is here, spirit there, and only when the threshold of death is traversed may we expect a higher existence. For him, both can be achieved in this world by rising above the blindness of selfishness and by achieving a higher consciousness.
Fundamental to Aurobindo‘s message is that no single perspective on man or God is able to disclose more than partial truth. Hence, his work is filled with subtle and complex distinctions between levels of consciousness in man, and different aspects of Brahman. He strongly believes that the natural world is not separate from the all embracing ‗Absolute’. If Divine is everywhere, then certainly it is there in man also, may be a partially concealed spirit. Through spiritual disciplines, one is able to uncover this spirit which is hidden by our ego. What is new in Aurobindo is the firm conviction that a new spiritual discipline is necessary to achieve the next stage in spiritual evolution of humanity. The divine in man can be obtained by the spiritual discipline called yoga. The task is to find it, develop it and use it. His concept of yoga is not that of a ‗sanyasi‘ who turns away from life in order to turn towards God.
Yoga is a spiritual discipline. In it mental intuitions are admitted only as a first step for realization. They must be confirmed and adjusted by experience. The obstacle in achieving this spiritual discipline is not the material limitations of the natural world, but our failure to seek the inner self that is already a higher consciousness. Aurobindo wrote, ―Because man is wrapped up in his own outward going mind, because he has not learned to live within; he is not conscious of this self‖. Yoga is for the ordinary man, while he carries out his worldly pursuits. If a merchant wishes to follow yoga, he regards his work as Divine; he does not use unfair practices to earn money. If a student looks for higher values, he must observe ‗brahmacharya‘.
Check your progress Answer the following in one or two sentences
1. What was the result of the so called ‗revolt of the spirit against matter?
2. What was the reason for India lag behind the western world with regard to material progress?
3. What according to Aurobindo is the obstacle in achieving the spiritual discipline of ‗yoga‘?
4. What is fundamental to Aurobindo‘s message?
9.5 AUROBINDO‘S VIEWS ON MIND
His concept of mind is different from others. To him, the mind is the primary means of manifestation in man. Mind is not a thing. It should not be equated with the brain. It is a function or a process. The function of mind expresses itself in higher mental processes in feelings, emotions, attention, and memory etc.
In his writings he brings out the different planes of mind. They are :-
1) The ordinary mind
2) the higher mind
3) The illuminated mind
4) The intuitive mind
5) The over mind
6) The super mind.
Ordinary mind is divided into three different parts—
- thinking mind: is concerned with ideas and knowledge,
- dynamic mind: is concerned with forces of realization of ideas,
- externalizing mind: with expression of them in life.
Aurobindo also writes about thinking mind and vital mind which may then be considered as functions of mind. The action of the thinking mind is to doubt, to question, to argue to reason, to be bold enough to reject if it is uncertain and repeat the process again and again. Man‘s mind is an imperfect instrument to catch the full integral truth. According to Aurobindo, the errors of conceptual mind must be corrected by the super mind which acts as a link between ‗sachidananda‘ and universe, knowledge and ignorance.
Super mind is the divine gnosis (having special knowledge). This super mind creates, governs and upholds the world. It is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. It is the Lord within. In it there is no distinction of knowledge known or unknown. According to Sri Aurobindo, super mind is a state of consciousness. One can acquire it gradually. After acquiring it, one must use it for transforming his entire being, his body, mind and soul which one attains through the super mind; he becomes a superman, a ‗jnani‘ or Gnostic at our own plane of being.
Ordinary mind can become super mind by yoga.
Check your progress Answer the following a sentence or two.
1. What is the function of mind?
2. What are the different planes of mind?
3. What according to Aurobindo one should do after acquiring super mind ?
4. How can an ordinary mind become a super mind?
9.6. FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION
The main functions of education can be summarized as follows.
- i. To bring out the real man in oneself.
- ii. To build the power of the human mind and spirit i.e. evoking of knowledge, character and culture.
- iii. To enable the individual to establish a clear continuity between the past, present and future.
- iv. To enable the individual to establish right relationship within himself and outside-world.
9.7. INTEGRAL EDUCATION
True education, according to Sri Aurobindo, is not only spiritual but also rational, vital and physical. In other words it is integral education. This integral education has been explained by Sri Aurobindo‘s closest collaborator, the Mother in these words. ―Education to be complete must have five principal aspects relating to the five principal activities of human being: the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual. This education is complete, complimentary to each other and continued till the end of life.
Aurobindo‘s scheme of education is integral in two senses. Firstly, it is integral in the sense inculcating all the five aspects of the individual being. Secondly, it is integral in the sense of being an education not only for the evolution of the individual alone, but also of the nation and finally of the humanity. The ultimate aim of education is the evolution of total humanity. In this scheme of evolution, the principle of growth is unity in diversity. This unity again, maintains and helps the evolution of diversity.
- The integral School
The ultimate aim of education is man-making. It prepares the educand to work first as a human being and then as a member of a nation and finally as an individual. The circles of moral responsibility and loyalties proceed from wider to narrower and vice-versa. The man has to develop first as a human being then as a citizen and finally as an individual. Most of the present confusion of values is due to an inversion of this order. That education which comes naturally, easily, effectively and without strain is called integral education. Integral education is complete education.
Important aspects that constitute integral education are:-- i. Strengthening of mental and physical aspects.
- ii. Achievement of five principal aspects – the physical, vital, mental, psychic and spiritual. All the above five aspects have to be developed together.
- iii. Development of the four aspects of truth namely; love, knowledge, power, and beauty.
- iv. Development of the vehicles of truth namely psychic for love, mind for knowledge, vital for power and physical body for expression of physical beauty.
Shri Aurobindo believes in these ultimate principles of individuality, commonality and essentiality. These, in other words, are the educand, the society and the humanity. Integral education, according to him, must include evolution of all these three elements. These should develop together. This is the purpose of the school. In his lectures at Baroda college, Shri Aurbindo observed that the colleges and universities should educate through their academic as well as social activities.
The school cannot be isolated from society. If cannot give total education in isolation. Its teachings have to be practiced in the society outside it. In the integral school four types of rooms are required to carry on various activities:
1. Rooms of silence,
2. Rooms of collaboration,
3. Rooms of consultation,
4. Lecture room.
Thus the school will develop different types of activities such as silence, collaboration, consultation and lectures. It will provide play, activity, discovery, innovation and finally development of the powers of the body, mind and spirit of the educand. In brief, the integral school will provide opportunities for integral development. In fact, the aims, curriculum and methods of teaching are in the light of these concepts of integral education.
Check your progress Say whether the following statements are true or false. If false correct the statement.
1. To Aurobindo, one of the main functions of education is to establish right relationship with past, present and future.
2. According to ‗Mother‘ complete education must have five aspects relating to the five principal activities of human beings.
3. Integral education is meant for the individual only.
4. The purpose of school is the simultaneous development of the educand the society and humanity.
9.8 AIMS OF EDUCATION ACCORDING TO INTEGRAL EDUCATION
i. Perfection of soul: The main aim of education is to‖ help the growing soul to draw out that is best and make it perfect for a noble cause‖
ii. Realization of inner self: Education should enable him to realize his inner self which is a part of the universal consciousness. He has to enter into right relationships not only within himself but also with the people of country and with the universal society to which he belongs.
iii. Physical development: Physical development of the child is another important aim of education. It will be misguiding to say that those who are physically strong are mentally weak. Without physical development no other development is possible.
iv. Development of morality: Without moral and emotional development mental developmental becomes harmful to human progress. The three essential factors for the moral development of a child are emotions, impressions or habits and nature. So it is necessary that the ideals of a teacher should be so high that the child by mere imitation is able to reach higher stages of development.
v. The development of senses: Education should aim at the training of senses. According to him senses can be trained fully when manas, chitta and nerve are pure.
vi. Development of consciousness: another important aim of education is to develop consciousness. According to him it has four levels.
(i) Chitta (ii) Manas (iii) Intelligence (iv) Knowledge. A teacher should develop all these four levels harmoniously. This will promote the development of conscience.
vii. Harmony of the individual and collectivity: Most of the socio-political thinkers have either laid emphasis upon the individual or collectivity. But Aurobindo aims at realization of harmony between individuals and also between nations. His scheme of education therefore is truly international. Explaining this ideal of Sri Aurobindo‘s scheme The Mother said, ―For all world organizations, to be real and to be able to live, must be based on mutual respect and understanding between nation and nation as well as between individual and individual. It is only in the collective order and organization, in a collaboration based upon mutual goodwill that lies the possibility of man being lifted of the painful chaos where he is now. It is with this aim and in this spirit that all human problems will be studied at the university centre, and their solution will be given in the light of the supra-mental knowledge which Aurobindo has revealed.‖
viii. Cultivation of values: The present crisis of man is due to the chaos of values. Old values have been challenged while new values have not firmly taken their place. Character formation very much depends on value. The supreme value in Sri Aurobindo‘s thought is harmony. Other values are spirituality, divinity, evolution, ascent, transformation etc. the most important value for required for all growth is sincerity. Once that is developed, the rest follows.
9.9 INTEGRAL CURRICULUM
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh prescribed a free environment for the children to develop all the latent faculties to the full and suggested all those subjects and activities of child‘s interest to be included in the principles of curriculum.
- i All life is education. So curriculum is not confined to a limited syllabus and a few text books.
- ii It should include all those subjects which promote mental and spiritual development.
- iii It is a means towards an end, not an end in itself, the end being the development of integral personality.
- iv It should provide for leisure pursuits.
- v There should be flexibility to meet individual needs.
- vi Subjects of curriculum should be able to motivate children.
- vii Curriculum should involve creativity of life and constructive activities
- viii Curriculum should be interesting.
1. For primary stage: Mother Tongue, English, National History, Art, Painting, General Science, Social Studies, and Arithmetic.
2. Secondary stage: Mother tongue, English, French, Arithmetic, Art, Chemistry, Physics, Botany, Social Studies, Physiology, Health Education.
3. University Stage: Indian and western philosophy, History of Civilization, English, Literature, French, Sociology, Psychology, History of Science, Chemistry, Physics, Botany, International relations and integration.
4. Vocational Education: Arts, painting, photography, sewing, sculptural, drawing, type, shorthand, collage industries, carpentry, nursing, mechanical and electrical engineering, Indian and European music, and dramatization.
Check your progress Attempt the following in short.
1. List the aims of integral education.
2. How does education in the realization of universal consciousness?
3. When can senses be trained fully according to Aurobindo?
4. What solution does Aurobindo suggest for lifting man out of the chaos in which he is now?
5. What are the different levels of consciousness according to Aurobindo?
6. What is the supreme value in Sri Aurobindo‘s thought?
7. Why should curriculum be not confined to a limited syllabus?
8. Why does Aurobindo say that curriculum is not an end in itself?
9. What is the justification for Aurobindo including art, painting, music, etc. in the curriculum?
9.10. METHODS OF TEACHING
The following principles of methods of teaching have been stressed by Sri. Aurobindo.
1. Love and sympathy for the child
2. Education through mother tongue
3. Education according to the interests of the child
4. Education through self experience
5. Emphasis on learning by doing
6. Education through co-operation of teacher and students in the education process
7. Education according to the nature of child- considering the divinity in the child and latent gifts of mind and spirit
8. Freedom of child- free environment to gain more knowledge through his own efforts.
9.11. PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
i. The first principle is that ―nothing can be taught, but everything can be earned‖. The teacher is a helper and guide, not an instructor or task master. He doesn‘t impart knowledge but shows him the way to acquire Knowledge which is already within him.
ii. The second principle is that the mind has to be consulted in its growth. It is wrong to mould the child into the shape desired by the parent or teacher ignoring and destroying the divine in the child. To face the nature of the child to abandon its own dharma is to do permanent harm says Aurobindo.
iii. The third principle of teaching is to work from near to far, from the known to unknown. Education should be according to the nature of the child. He says man‘s nature is molded by his souls past, his
heredity and his environment. The past is the foundation, the present is the material and the future is the aim and each should find its due place in any national system of education.
9.12 THE TEACHER
Sri Aurobindo has assigned a very important place to the teacher. However, he has not made him central as in the ancient Indian scheme. The teacher remains the philosopher and the guide. The Guru does not have absolute authority. He aims at turning the disciple‘s eye towards the beacon light of his own Godhead. In fact the real teacher is within the educand. He is the God. He is the ultimate guide and yet the teacher plays an important role in arousing the educand towards God within. He has not to impose his opinions or demand passive surrender from the educand. Sri Aurobindo compared the teacher to a gardener. Sri Aurobindo emphasizes an inner relationship the educator and the educand.
Describing as to who is a teacher, The Mother has laid down the following qualifications.
- One must be a saint and a hero to become a good teacher.
- One must be a good yogi to become a good teacher.
- He should be absolutely disciplined and have an integrated personality.
- He should be absolutely disciplined and have an integrated personality.
- One must have the perfect attitude in order to be able to exact a perfect attitude from one‘s pupils.
- A teacher who does not possess a perfect calm, an unflinching endurance and who are full of self-deceit will reach nowhere.
- He should be able to eliminate his ego, master his mind and develop an insight into human nature.
- The most important thing in a teacher is not knowledge but the attitude.
- The teacher also should grow along with the pupils.
- The Mother says, ― If a teacher is to be respected, he must be respectable.
Aurobindo strongly argued for national system of education. He put forward the following elements.
- i. Education does not become national by tagging the word ‗national‘ to the system.
- ii. Education should pay due attention to sacrifice, progress and increasing knowledge.
- iii. Mere knowledge of science doesn‘t make us educated in the true sense. This must be related to powers of the human mind and spirit.
- iv. There should be a balanced understanding of the national and international relationship of universal relationship.
Check your progress State whether the following statements are true or false. If wrong correct the same.
1. Sri Aurobindo proposes education through experience.
2. A child can gain knowledge through his own efforts in a free environment.
3. The teacher has no role to play in the child‘s development.
4. A saint is a good teacher.
5. A teacher must have an insight into human nature.
6. Education does not become by not tagging ‗national‘ to the system.
7. Knowledge science must be related to powers of mind and spirit to become education in the true sense.
8. The most important thing in a teacher is his attitude.
9. Education should pay due attention to sacrifice, progress and not knowledge.
9.14. LET US SUM UP
The synthesis of the great philosophy of Sri Aurobindo can be summed up in one phrase: ―Realization of the sublime ‗Truth‘ which can be achieved through the Integral view of life, Being a superman and the Gnostic individual, Descent of Divine Power, intuition, yoga and super mind. By integral view of life, he implied ―a healthy integration of God and man”. Aurobindo placed premium on intuition and not on logical reasoning and preached the gospel of ―intuition and more perfect intuition”. His idea on yoga was aimed at divinizing the whole man and for this he advised the education of the mind. To Aurobindo only such education was true and living which helped one to develop his latent powers and enabled him to entre into the right relationship with life, mind soul of his nations well as with the total life, mind and soul of humanity. Information cannot be the foundation of intelligence, but can help build knowledge, the starting point of further discovery and creation of fresh knowledge. An education that confines itself to imparting knowledge is no education. Education must be based on the psychology of the child‘s nature. Parents and teachers must enable the child to educate himself, to develop his own practical, intellectual, moral and aesthetic capacities and to grow independently as an organic being.
9.15 UNIT END EXERCISE
1. What are the different opinions about Sri Aurobindo as a philosopher? What is your opinion?
2. Explain the two negations. Which one do you support?
3. What is the controversy between materialism and spiritualism according to Aurobindo‘s thoughts? What is his solution?
4. Give the main functions of education as perceived by Aurobindo.
5. Explain the concept of integral education and the aims as laid down by Sri Aurobindo.
6. Write short notes on the following:
(i) Curriculum in integral education.
(ii) Methods of teaching according to Aurobindo.
(iii) Principles of teaching and learning.
(iv) Role of teacher in integral education.
(v) Views of Sri Aurobindo on National system of education.
Further readings
Aggarwal, J.C. and Gupta S. (2006), Great Philosophers and Thinkers on Education, Shilpa Publications, New Delhi. Aggarwal, S., (2007), Philosophical Foundations of Education, Author Press, New Delhi. Chandra, S. S. and Sharma, R. K., (2004), Principles of Education, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. Chaube S.P., (1988) Indian and Western Educational Philosophers, Vinod Pusthak Mandir, Agra. Joshi, S. (2006), Great Indian Educational Thinkers, Authors‘ Press, New Delhi. Mishra P.K. & Dash P.C. (2010), An introduction to Philosophical and Sociological Foundations of Education, Mangalam Publications Delhi. Pandey R.S.,(1997), East-West Thoughts on Education, Horizon Publications, Allahabad. Shehsad, A., (2006), Educational thinkers of India, Amol Publications Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. Shukla, C. S., Shaida B. D. and Safaya R. N.(2008), Teacher in Emerging Indian Society, Dhanpatrai Publishing Co. (P) Ltd, New Delhi.
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