THE ROLE OF ETHICS AND CULTURE IN EDUCATION

T. Shyama Krishna

Humanity today, possessed with unlimited, unprecedented power of destruction and unending conflicts, all over, is at cross roads. There has been a scientific and technological revolution but the devils grabbed its fruits even as the angels were debating its uses. The contribution of the knowledge explosion has not addressed to human welfare and to the problems for alleviating poverty and misery of mankind. Ecological balance is gravely upset as never before on a global scale, tampering with the forces of nature inviting alarming risks like global warming. The twentieth century had witnessed two world wars and was on a brink of a third global conflict.

Cultural and ethical values are at their lowest ebb. Religion, instead of spreading the gospel of the Lord and tolerance, has been made a spring board for fanatics-inciting hatred and violence, irreligious practices, unscrupulous trading use of drugs, deadly modern weapons, resorting to evils like fake currency and what not – all in the name of religion.

All this shows that in recent times man’s moral values have not flourished commensurate with the growth of his scientific and technological attainments. The balance between the two is severely upset, as a result of which the so-called modern development has become seriously lop-sided, turning man into a mechanical being devoid of moral considerations. Knowledge unscrupulously used is more dangerous to mankind than ignorance. A knife misplaced in the hands of a murderer takes a life while the same in the hands of a surgeon saves one. It is a question of moral values; the means are prevailing over the ends.

The inference is that man’s moral and cultural values should keep pace with his material and intellectual advancement, as the essential precondition of human welfare is happiness, combined with social amity and universal peace. If this is ignored humanity will inexorably move towards self destruction. Against this background if we examine our educational system, we come to be thoroughly disappointed. The system has only a brain and no heart. Arts are subordinated to sciences. It is centered around material development and has no place for culture and ethics - no provision for character building. In this aspect, however modern, this education lays behind the gurukula system of ancient India, which put premium on character building. It worked towards the ultimate goal of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the ideal of one world and of humanity as one family.

But polemics apart, how do educationists think in this regard? What does educational philosophy say about it?

In the words of John Dewey, the eminent educationist, “Philosophy is the reflection of social ideals and education is the effort to actualize those ideals in human behaviour”.

The educational system of any nation should be based upon great ideals, which reveal the culture of that nation. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore exhorted, “We shall have to understand clearly what ideal has long been admired and cherished by our countrymen and what means should be adopted to inspire the heart of our people”.

But it will not do to sit dreaming of our past glories, marked by spirituality, a rich culture and profound thinking in all walks of life. Sri Aurobindo succinctly remarks how our ancients cared both the material and spiritual aspects of life. He observes, “If India had the veda, she had also the Ayurveda and the Dhanurveda. If she had her Artha Sastra, she had also her Kamasutra and the Silpa Sutra. It is thus a comprehensive outlook of life that made will Durant in his story of civilization acknowledge that “Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”.

History records the golden era that witnessed the glories of Indian arts and literature. But “the race lost its vitality and its intellect became petrified so that she reached the bottom of decline” (Aurobindo). The nation then went into hibernation and then there was the clarion call of Swami Vivekananda followed by a sudden spurt of cultural renaissance and awakening, thanks to the galaxy of illustrious sons of Mother India that appeared on the scene. Mother India was once again found marching on the road of all-round progress to find her due place in the comity of nations of the modern world.

After the attainment of independence, our leaders, conscious of the rapid changes taking place around us, told the people that we should not lag behind the western societies in material progress. Dr. S. Radha Krishnan exhorted that we must focus on the improvement in the standard of living of our people, “In our fight against disease, poverty and hunger, we can use the resources placed at our disposal by science. We can change the living conditions for the better.

Education was found to be the most effective means of the desired social transformation. A new sense of optimism had overtaken the nation as reflected by the opening lines of the Kothari Commission Report – “The destiny of India is today being shaped in her class rooms”.

In this context, the need for an appropriate foundation of the educational philosophy arose. We lost our old values and failed to establish new values commensurate with modern life. In our struggle for quantitative development of education, we faced deterioration of academic standards, creating new problems like unemployment, student unrest, commercialization of education etc., It was found that moral and social values lost their place in our confused lop-sided and over ambitious schemes of education.

The Education Commission (1964-66) said: “The old values which held society have been disappearing and as there is no effective programme to replace them by a new sense of social responsibility. Innumerable signs of social disorganization are evident everywhere and are continually on the increase”. The Commission emphasized on the moral and spiritual values in consonance with Indian Culture alongside the development of science and technology as the need of the hour.

Ancient Indian education, while holding knowledge as supreme (Nahi Jnanena Sadrusham), put character building on a high pedestal. Knowledge without character was denounced and deprecated by many an authority.

The Bhagavath Gita, a compact work is considered the epitome of all Indian scriptures – inspired our great leaders like Tilak and Gandhi to action as a rich source of moral and spiritual values of life.

The Gita preaches self-realisation as the end of all knowledge. One should do the duty without anticipating any reward. Self-control and selfless action are the essence of a noble life. It says that knowledge by itself is of no value, what is important is how it is used. He who enjoys the fruits of others labour without his own contribution is no better than a thief. A man’s development is in his own hands. He can be elevated only by himself, by his own efforts. Gita preaches that life is a battle, it should be fought. Life is a challenge, it should be faced.

The Gita proceeds in the form of a dialogue between the preceptor and his disciple (Lord Krishna and Arjuna) – a form, which still is considered the best method of teaching.

Indian culture is not narrow in its outlook. It is secular and composite in a way that helps national and emotional integration. It has the strength to hold the community together down the ages, invoking unity in diversity. It is no education if such cultural values are not imbibed through it. It is high time that educational authorities considered afresh the introduction of moral and cultural training as an Integral part of our system.

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