For the Sake of True Vision

Let me suggest another way of distinguishing education from indoctrination, a theme I often return to. Education enables individuals to see reality as it is; indoctrination trains them to see doctrine as reality. The former cultivates the capacity to question, investigate, and revise one's beliefs in light of evidence. The latter demands conformity to predetermined truths and discourages independent judgment.

Many twentieth-century communist regimes resorted to what theocratic regimes have long attempted: a comprehensive capture of the human mind or the generation of a cognitive fog that obscures independent judgment. The aim was to absorb individuals into a grand order, subsuming their individuality while elevating a select few to a status approaching reverence or unquestionable authority.
What I have written is an abstraction—a pure type. Reality is rarely so neat. Even the most liberal order may carry traces of the same affliction; it is often a matter of extent rather than kind.

Let me reiterate here the Gayatri Mantra, an eternal prayer for true knowledge and the illumination of the human intellect:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

"We meditate upon the adorable radiance of the divine Source. May that divine light illuminate and inspire our intellects."

The prayer does not ask for conformity, certainty, or submission. It asks for enlightened judgment. In that sense, it captures the spirit of education at its highest: not the acceptance of doctrine as reality, but the cultivation of the intellectual and moral faculties necessary to perceive reality with clarity.

Niraj Kumar Jha

The Education of the World and the World of Education

The distinguishing mark between a good state and a bad one is the quality of its education. But what is education? Its foundation is neither the catchphrase of the three Rs nor literacy alone, but the telling of good stories. Education is, in fact, the inculcation of commitment to goodness; this is followed by the cultivation of both the capacity and the inclination to act well—that is, the acquisition of the skills needed to live well oneself and to help others live better. Pedagogy is therefore among the most serious enterprises of humanity—one that can be compromised only at grave peril.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Education is about...

Among many things, education is about learning what to value and what to ignore. People must learn to appreciate—and even deprecate—ideas or events tactically, for their own good and for the social good. Without such discernment, people may end up valuing totally absurd and even weird things, paying premium prices and handing over parts of their selfhood in the process.

Worthwhile things and events contribute to the substantialisation of the humanity of a person. These recognise the dignity of a person, enhance their self-worth, and, in turn, ensure social progress. Sometimes, a person may enjoy not being oneself; that is fine. But that should be a momentary break, not a full-time occupation.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Restoring Education to Students

Coaching institutions and online tutorials effectively capture most of students' learning hours and ambience, taking over the time that should have been spent at educational institutions. The mechanised training prepares them for competitive examinations but leaves them by the very nature of their job as lesser beings as members of humanity and the citizenry. The whole phenomenon needs a philosophical rethink and a human makeover.

 
Niraj Kumar Jha

Education and Ethics

Many advocate that ethics should be part of education. They see it as a valuable or necessary addition to the education process. They call it ethical education and its obvious implication is that moral education is a specialised and neglected stream of education.

This is a grossly mistaken perspective. Ethics is the sine qua non of education, not an addition. It is the core of education. Even imparting basic skills should not be without inculcating related values. Everything we do should be in service to others and one must do that honestly and with empathy. People are educated to be morally capable of doing things. At the same time, the claim of a fair reward for doing the service is equally moral.

A moral society is a progressive society. A decline in any society and civilization begins with moral degeneration. 

Educational institutions are meant to uphold and infuse morality in society. Their institutionalisation and working demand the utmost care. 

Niraj Kumar Jha 

A Present History of Education

A time came when imperial orders competing with each other made imperialism global. At one point, imperialism was the world, its flora and fauna, and everyone. It was a planetary hierarchical placing of people and grabbing of resources. The system globally coopted education and made it an instrument of order rather than letting it remain a passage to the humanization of human beings. A degree was meant to be a passport to a higher sphere.  It was a process of the denial of humanity to human beings. The story ends here. Is it history? 

Niraj Kumar Jha 

Education and Liberty

Liberty is awareness, and therefore, one needs education to get liberated. Here, however, more pertinent is how one means education and liberty. Liberty is very powerfully perceived as liberation from worldliness and with the goal of being united with the Ultimate. This is indeed a noble goal and one must see its virtuosity in life. However, liberty concerns life also besides the afterlife; life, though ephemeral and uncertain, is of paramount importance here and now, and life has a continuity collectively and impacts our being mentally as well physically. Liberation has this secular aspect too, related to time and space. It makes life livable; one has the security of life and possessions, and the freedom to do what one likes but without hurting others. This post addresses the latter liberty. Education is primarily about enabling people for freedom. Human beings from being a predator as well as prey in the food chain in their primitive stage facing other predators, other creatures of killing contact, their own ilk, and natural forces, and that too often and mortally, have travelled a great distance. Every human step has been facilitated and consolidated by education. However, all the peoples have not covered the same distance. The variations in peoples' advances testify to the quality of their education. Education must therefore require liberated scrutiny; people must examine the content and method of education for keeping it geared to its function continuously. People often perceive education as sacred, not to be accessed with 'profane' mundane concerns. And, such doings are often, very ironically, dictated by secular ideologies, which seek unquestionable following from the people.

Education and liberty go together.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Education

Education, among others, is also about enabling the graduate to be in control. It should empower the initiate to know the essential ideas of living well and equip one with necessary life skills. Everyone should know the fundamentals of the economy, civic life, and health. For instance, when I say health I mean to say that a person should have a fair knowledge of diseases, their causes and cures. The first thing is that they should not fall ill, if fall ill, they must know the basics of cure, and further if the problems aggravate, the person should know enough not to be duped by the practitioners. The ancient university of Nalanda had a compulsory course on medicine for all the resident scholars. They knew it so well that only a healthy body possesses a good mind.

The fact is that our present pedagogy, a colonial graft, seeks to overawe pupils. It basically imparts the knowledge of big and extraordinary things, ideas over lived realities, the universals, the meta realities, but it strictly keeps away the students from learning how to negotiate with all those gigantic phenomena. They create wedges and counterpose norms against mores, ideals against practices, and learning against the living. Today's pedagogy forges the graduates only to fit in the different frameworks. A good number of people do learn the tricks of the trade, but the hard way through trial and error, or outside the ambit of formal education. In other words, they are trained primarily for clientelism. And, the greater part of the pedagogy is simply wasteful: the pieces of ideological stuff. In a nutshell, colonial education creates dependent personas: everyone is prepared to be cheated or exploited by others.

Niraj Kumar Jha 

Education

Education and training are meant to serve different purposes and are altogether different things. The former makes one sceptic and the latter a practitioner.

 

Niraj Kumar Jha

Education: the Endeavour

Education is the toughest of the human endeavours. Things you have to beat, you know, include among others your genetic coding and the language that makes you express yourself. And this is why it is very rare that we encounter an educated one. 

Niraj Kumar Jha

Edcuction: the Humane Universe

Generally people perceive and pursue education in terms of instrumentality. That's a dimension of what we know as education. Mostly people don't realise that the education is their own human self. We evolve to our essential self through education, which is not external to us, but innate to our real self in the same way as the ability of speech is to us. The true education is the universe, which we constitute as human beings. The universe manifests both - the unfathomable real and the infinite potential of our existence as human beings.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Thinking Education

The world is in great flux. The global revolution, which is under-way, would far overshadow all previous ones and even the great wars in its consequences. It would be so even if they are put together. The scope of changes is going to be so vast and deep that it cannot even be imagined at this stage. This is despite the fact that during these couple of decades the world is already changed beyond description. Stating this obvious has a context here. For us, the Indians, forming the largest democracy, the imperative is to visualise the unfolding changes and not only prepare accordingly for all these but also to lead humanity out of strife and guide them towards sustainable prosperity. But the very arena where these things can be worked out is in serious disarray. Yes, I am talking about the whole paraphernalia of education in our country. I am not competent to talk about the numbered institutions of excellence in the country but I am sure in saying that they are like few oases in the vast desert what our educational reality is. Even these few and discrete institutions do not stand global marking for excellence. At this stage not only we need to mobilise the best talents available in the country but also need to invite or hire the best minds from across the world to build up a top order of education and a benchmark for the rest of the world. This would not happen by itself or merely by appealing to powers that be, but what is needed is to make it a general public demand. This can be done if the educational institutions put up concerted efforts. This does not require extra resources or efforts; they can do this only by orienting their routine work. Through seminars, workshops, interacting with the media and by using social media and most importantly by talking to their students they can build up the momentum by which the critical issue of education for national rejuvenation becomes a national priority. The teachers from universities to preparatory schools must put their mind together for bringing the issue of education at the top of social agenda for the sake of humanity, for the sake of the country and for the sake of their fellow beings. 

- Niraj Kumar Jha