{"id":2365,"date":"2013-07-13T01:41:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2365"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:41:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:41:09","slug":"33-on-education-the-brain-of-india-vol-01-early-cultural-writings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/01-early-cultural-writings\/33-on-education-the-brain-of-india-vol-01-early-cultural-writings","title":{"rendered":"-33_On Education -The Brain of India.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t The
\nBrain of
\nIndia <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tI <\/font><\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tT<\/b><\/font>HE
\nTIME<\/b> has
\nperhaps come for
\nthe Indian mind, long pre-occupied with political and economic issues, for a widening of
\nits horizon. Such a
\nwidening is
\nespecially necessary for
\nBengal. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tThe Bengali has
\nalways led and still leads the higher thought of
\nIndia, because he has
\neminently the gifts which are most needed for
\nthe new race that has to
\narise. He has
\nthe emotion and imagination which is
\nopen to
\nthe great inspirations, the mighty heart-stirring ideas that move humanity when a
\ngreat step forward has to be
\ntaken. He has
\nthe invaluable gift of thinking with the heart. He
\nhas, too, a
\nsubtle brain which is
\nable within certain limits to
\ncatch shades of
\nmeaning and delicacies of
\nthought, both those the logic grasps and those which escape the mere logical intellect. Above all, he has in a
\ngreater degree than other races the yet undeveloped faculty of
\ndirect knowledge, latent in
\nhumanity and now to be
\nevolved, which is
\nabove reason and imagination, the faculty which in
\nSri Ramakrishna, the supreme outcome of
\nthe race, dispensed with education and commanded any knowledge he
\ndesired easily and divinely. It is a faculty which now works irregularly in
\nhumanity, unrecognised and confused by
\nthe interference of
\nthe imagination, of
\nthe limited reason and of
\nthe old associations or
\n\t\t\tsamskaras
\nstored in the memory of
\nthe race and the individual. It
\ncannot be made a
\nrecognised and habitual agent except by
\nthe discipline which the ancient Indian sages
\nformulated in
\nthe science of
\nYoga. But certain races have the function more evolved or
\nmore ready for evolution than the generality of
\nmankind, and it is
\nthese that will lead in
\nthe future evolution. In
\naddition, the race has a
\nmighty will-power which comes
\nfrom the long worship of
\nShakti and practice of
\nthe Tantra that has
\nbeen a
\npart of
\nour culture for many centuries. No
\nother people could have revolutionised its<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 365<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\twhole national character in a
\nfew years as
\nBengal has
\ndone. The Bengali has
\nalways worshipped the Divine Energy in
\nher most terrible as
\nwell as in
\nher most beautiful aspects; whether as
\nthe Beautiful or
\nthe Terrible Mother he has
\nnever shrunk from her whether in
\nfear or in
\nawe. When the divine force flowed
\ninto him he has
\nnever feared to
\nyield himself up to it
\nand follow the infinite prompting, careless whither it
\nled. As a
\nreward he has
\n\t\t\tbecome the most perfect <\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ra<\/i>
\n of
\nShakti, the most capable and swiftly sensitive and responsive receptacle of
\nthe Infinite Will and Energy the world now holds. Recently that Will and Energy has
\nrushed into him and has
\nbeen lifting him to
\nthe level of
\nhis future mission and destiny. He has
\nnow to
\nlearn the secret of drawing the Mother of
\nStrength into himself and holding her there in a
\nsecure possession. That is
\nwhy we
\nhave pointed to a religious and a
\nspiritual awakening as
\nthe next necessity and the next inevitable development. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tBut along with his great possessions the Bengali has
\nserious deficiencies. In
\ncommon with the rest of
\nIndia he has a
\ngreat deficiency of
\nknowledge, the result of an
\neducation meagre in quantity and absolutely vicious in
\nmethod and quality. And he is inferior to
\nother Indian races, such as
\nthe Madrasi and Maratha, in
\nthe capacity of
\ncalm, measured and comprehensive deliberation which is
\nusually called intellect or
\nreasoning power, and which, though it is
\nfar from the whole of
\nthought, is
\nessential to
\nthe completeness of
\nthought and action. By
\nitself the logical or
\nreasoning intellect creates the accurate and careful scholar, the sober critic, the rationalist and cautious politician, the conservative scientist, that great mass of
\nhuman intelligence which makes for
\nslow and careful progress. It does
\nnot create the hero and the originator, the inspired prophet, the mighty builder, the maker of
\nnations; it does
\nnot conquer nature and destiny, lay its hand on
\nthe future, command the world. The rest of
\nIndia is
\nlargely dominated by
\nthis faculty and limited by
\nit, therefore it
\nlags behind while Bengal rushes forward. The rest of
\nIndia has
\nfeared to
\ndeliver itself to
\nthe Power that came
\ndown from above to
\nuplift the nation; it has
\neither denied its call or made reservations and insisted on
\nguiding it
\nand reining it
\nin. A
\nfew<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 366<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t mighty men
\nhave stridden forward and carried their race or a part of it
\nwith them, but the whole race must be
\ninfused with the spirit before it can be fit for
\nthe work of
\nthe future. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t On
\nhis side the Bengali, while in no
\nway limiting the divine inrush or
\nshortening the Titan stride, must learn to see
\nthe way he is
\ngoing while he
\ntreads it. For want of a
\ntrained thought-power, he
\nfollows indeed the ideas that seize
\nhim, but he does not make
\nthem thoroughly his own. He
\nthinks them out, if at
\nall, rapidly but not comprehensively, and, in
\nconsequence, though he has
\napplied them with great energy to
\nthe circumstances immediately around him, a
\nnew set of
\ncircumstances finds
\nhim perplexed and waiting for a
\nlead from the few men to
\nwhom he has
\nbeen accustomed to
\nlook for
\nthe source of
\nhis thought and action. This is a
\nsource of
\nweakness. For the work of
\nthe present, and still more, for
\nthe work of
\nthe future, it is
\nimperatively necessary to
\ncreate a
\ncentre of
\nthought and knowledge which will revolutionise the brain of
\nthe nation to as
\ngreat an
\nextent as its character and outlook has
\nbeen revolutionised. A
\nnew heart was
\nnecessary for
\nour civilisation, and, though the renovation is
\nnot complete, the work that has
\nbeen done in
\nthat direction will ensure its own fulfilment. A
\nnew brain is
\nalso needed, and sufficiency of
\nknowledge for
\nthe new brain to do
\nits work with thoroughness.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 367<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tII<\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tA<\/font>
\n\t\t\tNEW<\/font><\/b> centre of
\nthought implies a
\nnew centre of
\neducation. The system
\nprevailing in
\nour universities is
\none which ignores the psychology of
\nman, loads the mind laboriously with numerous little packets of
\ninformation carefully tied with red tape, and, by
\nthe methods used in
\nthis loading process, damages or
\natrophies the faculties and instruments by which man
\nassimilates, creates and grows in
\nintellect, manhood and energy. The new National Education, as
\ninaugurated in Bengal, sought immensely to
\nenlarge the field of
\nknowledge to which the student was
\nintroduced, and in so
\nfar as it
\nlaid stress on
\nexperiment and observation, employed the natural and easy instrument of
\nthe vernacular and encouraged the play of
\nthought on
\nthe subject of
\nstudy, corrected the habit of
\nspoiling the instruments of
\nknowledge by
\nthe use of
\nfalse methods. But many of
\nthe vicious methods and ideas employed by
\nthe old system were faithfully cherished by
\nthe new, and the domination of
\nthe Council by men
\nwedded to
\nthe old lines was
\nbound to
\nspell a most unfavourable effect on
\nthe integrity of
\nthe system in
\nits most progressive features. Another vital defect of
\nthe new education was
\nthat it
\nincreased the amount of
\ninformation the student was required to
\nabsorb without strengthening the body and brain sufficiently to
\ngrapple with the increased mass of
\nintellectual toil, and it
\nshared with the old system
\nthe defect of
\nignoring the psychology of
\nthe race. The mere inclusion of
\nthe matter of Indian thought and culture in
\nthe field of
\nknowledge does
\nnot make a system of
\neducation Indian, and the instruction given in the Bengal National College was
\nonly an
\nimproved European system, not Indian or
\nNational. Another error which has to be avoided and to
\nwhich careless minds are liable, is
\nthe reactionary idea that in
\norder to be
\nnational, education must reproduce the features of
\nthe old
\ntol<\/i>
\n\t\t\tsystem of
\nBengal. It is
\nnot eighteenth<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 368<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t century India, the India which by
\nits moral and intellectual deficiencies gave itself into the keeping of
\nforeigners, that we have to
\nrevive, but the spirit, ideals and methods of
\nthe ancient and mightier India in a
\nyet more effective form and with a
\nmore modern organisation. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t What was
\nthe secret of
\nthat gigantic intellectuality, spirituality and superhuman moral force which we see
\npulsating in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, in
\nthe ancient philosophy, in the supreme poetry, art, sculpture and architecture of
\nIndia? What was at
\nthe basis of
\nthe incomparable public works and engineering achievements, the opulent and exquisite industries, the great triumphs of
\nscience, scholarship, jurisprudence, logic, metaphysics, the unique social structure? What supported the heroism and self-abandonment of
\nthe Kshatriya, the Sikh and the Rajput, the unconquerable national vitality and endurance? What was it
\nthat stood behind that civilisation second to
\nnone in
\nthe massiveness of
\nits outlines or
\nthe perfection of
\nits details? Without a
\ngreat and unique discipline involving a
\nperfect education of
\nsoul and mind, a
\nresult so
\nimmense and persistent would have been impossible. It
\nwould be an
\nerror to
\nlook for
\nthe secret of
\nAryan success in
\nthe details of
\nthe instruction given in
\nthe old ashrams and universities so
\nfar as
\nthey have come
\ndown to us. We
\nmust know what was
\nthe principle and basis on
\nwhich the details were founded. We
\nshall find
\nthe secret of
\ntheir success in a
\nprofound knowledge of
\nhuman psychology and its subtle application to
\nthe methods of
\nintellectual training and instruction. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t At
\nthe basis of
\nthe old Aryan system was
\nthe all-important discipline of
\nBrahmacharya. The first
\nnecessity for
\nthe building up of a
\ngreat intellectual superstructure is to
\nprovide a
\nfoundation strong enough to
\nbear it. Those systems of
\neducation which start from an
\ninsufficient knowledge of
\nman, think they have provided a
\nsatisfactory foundation when they have supplied the student with a
\nlarge or
\nwell-selected mass of
\ninformation on
\nthe various subjects which comprise the best part of
\nhuman culture at
\nthe time. The school gives the materials, it is for
\nthe student to use
\nthem, -this is
\nthe formula. But the error here is
\nfundamental. Information cannot be
\nthe foundation of
\nintelligence, it<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 369<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tcan
\nonly be
\npart of
\nthe material out of
\nwhich the knower builds knowledge, the starting-point, the nucleus of
\nfresh discovery and enlarged creation. An
\neducation that confines
\nitself to
\nimparting knowledge, is no
\neducation. The various faculties of
\nmemory, judgment, imagination, perception, reasoning, which build the edifice of
\nthought and knowledge for
\nthe knower, must not only be
\nequipped with their fit
\nand sufficient tools and materials, but trained to
\nbring fresh materials and use
\nmore skilfully those of which they are in
\npossession. And the foundation of
\nthe structure they have to
\nbuild, can
\nonly be
\nthe provision of a
\nfund of force and energy sufficient to
\nbear the demands of a
\ncontinually growing activity of
\nthe memory, judgment and creative power. Where is
\nthat energy to be
\nfound? <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tThe ancient Aryans knew that man was
\nnot separate from the universe, but only a
\nhomogeneous part of
\nit, as a
\nwave is part of
\nthe ocean. An
\ninfinite energy, Prakriti, Maya or
\nShakti, pervades the world, pours itself into every name
\nand form, and the clod, the plant, the insect, the animal, the man
\nare, in
\ntheir phenomenal existence, merely more or less
\nefficient <\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ras<\/i>
\nof this Energy. We
\nare each of us a
\ndynamo into which waves of
\nthat energy have been generated and stored, and are being perpetually conserved, used up
\nand replenished. The same
\nforce which moves in
\nthe star and the planet, moves in us,
\nand all our thought and action are merely its play and born of
\nthe complexity of
\nits functionings. There are processes by
\nwhich man can
\nincrease his capacity as an <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ra<\/i>.
\nThere are other processes by
\nwhich he can
\nclear of
\nobstructions the channel of communication between himself and the universal energy and bring greater and greater stores of it
\npouring into his soul and
\n\t\t\t   brain and body. This continual improvement of
\nthe <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ra
\n\t\t\t<\/i>and increase in
\nquantity and complexity of
\naction of
\nthe informing energy, is
\nthe whole aim of
\nevolution. When that energy is
\nthe highest in
\nkind and the fullest in
\namount of
\nwhich the human <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ra
\n\t\t\t<\/i>is
\ncapable, and the <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>dh<\/i><\/font><\/span>ā<\/i><\/font><\/span><\/font>ra
\n\t\t\t<\/i>itself is
\ntrained utterly to bear the inrush and play of
\nthe energy, then is a man
\nsiddha<\/i> , the fulfilled or
\nperfect man, his evolution is
\nover and he has completed in
\nthe individual that utmost development which the<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 370<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t mass of
\nhumanity is
\nlabouring towards through the ages. <\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t If
\nthis theory be
\ncorrect, the energy at
\nthe basis of
\nthe operation of
\nintelligence must be in
\nourselves and it
\nmust be
\ncapable of
\ngreater expansion and richer use to an
\nextent practically unlimited. And this also must be a
\nsound principle, that the more we can
\nincrease and enrich the energy, the greater will be
\nthe potential range, power and activity of
\nthe functions of our mind and the consequent vigour of
\nour intellectuality and the greatness of
\nour achievement. This was
\nthe first
\nprinciple on
\nwhich the ancient Aryans based their education and one of the chief processes which they used for
\nthe increased storage of energy, was
\nthe practice of
\nBrahmacharya.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 371<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tIII<\/b>
\n\t\t\t<\/font> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tT<\/font>HE PRACTICE<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/font> of
\n\t\t\t\tBrahmacharya is the first and most necessary condition of
\n\t\t\t\tincreasing the force within and turning it to such uses as may
\n\t\t\t\tbenefit the possessor or mankind. All human energy has a
\n\t\t\t\tphysical basis. The mistake made by European materialism is to
\n\t\t\t\tsuppose the basis to be everything and confuse it with the
\n\t\t\t\tsource. The source of life and energy is not material but
\n\t\t\t\tspiritual, but the basis, the foundation on which the life and
\n\t\t\t\tenergy stand and work, is physical. The an<\/font>cient Hindus clearly recognised this distinction between
\n\t\t\tkāraṇa <\/i> and pratiṣṭhā <\/i>,
\nthe north pole and the south pole of
\nbeing. Earth or
\ngross matter is
\nthe pratiṣṭhā <\/i>,
\nBrahman or
\nspirit is
\nthe kāraṇa<\/i>. To
\nraise up
\nthe physical to
\nthe spiritual is
\nBrahmacharya, for by the meeting of
\nthe two the energy which starts from one and produces the other is
\nenhanced and fulfils itself. <\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n \t\t\tThis is
\nthe metaphysical theory. The application depends on a
\nright understanding of
\nthe physical and psychological conformation of
\nthe human receptacle of
\nenergy. The fundamental physical unit is
\nthe retas <\/i> , in
\nwhich the tejas <\/i> ,
\nthe heat and light and electricity in a
\nman, is
\ninvolved and hidden. All energy is
\nlatent in
\nthe retas <\/i> .
\nThis energy may be
\neither expended physically or conserved. All passion, lust, desire wastes the energy by
\npouring it, either in
\nthe gross form or a
\nsublimated subtler form, out of
\nthe body. Immorality in
\nact throws it
\nout in
\nthe gross form; immorality of
\nthought in
\nthe subtle form. In
\neither case
\nthere is waste, and unchastity is of
\nthe mind and speech as
\nwell as of
\nthe body. On
\nthe other hand, all self-control conserves the energy in
\nthe retas <\/i> ,
\nand conservation always brings with it
\nincrease. But the needs of
\nthe physical body are limited and the excess of energy must create a
\nsurplus which has to
\nturn itself to some use other than the physical. According to
\nthe ancient theory
\nretas <\/i> is
\njala <\/i>
\n\t\t\tor
\nwater, full of
\nlight and heat and electricity, in
\none word, of<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 372<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n \t\t\t
\n\t\t\ttejas <\/i>.
\nThe excess of
\nthe retas <\/i>
\nturns first
\ninto heat or
\ntapas <\/i>
\nwhich stimulates the whole system, and it is for
\nthis reason that all <\/span>
\n\t\t\tforms of
\nself-control and austerity are called
\ntapas <\/i>
\n\t\t\tor tapasya<\/i> , because they generate the heat or
\nstimulus which is a
\nsource of powerful action and success;
\nsecondly, it
\nturns to
\ntejas <\/i>
\nproper, light, the energy which is at
\nthe source of
\nall knowledge; thirdly, it
\nturns to vidyut <\/i>
\n\t\t\tor
\nelectricity, which is at
\nthe basis of
\nall forceful action whether intellectual or
\nphysical. In
\nthe
\nvidyut <\/i>
\nagain is
\ninvolved the
\nojas <\/i> , or
\nprāṇaśakti <\/i>,
\nthe primal energy which proceeds from ether. The
\nretas <\/i> refining from
\njala <\/i>
\n\t\t\tto tapas <\/i>, tejas <\/i>
\nand
\nvidyut <\/i> and from
\nvidyut <\/i>
\n\t\t\tto ojas <\/i> , fills
\nthe system
\nwith physical strength, energy and brain-power and in
\nits last form of
\nojas <\/i>
\nrises to
\nthe brain and informs it
\nwith that primal energy which is
\nthe most refined
\nform of
\nmatter and nearest to
\nspirit. It is ojas <\/i>
\nthat creates a
\nspiritual force or vīrya <\/i>, by
\nwhich a man
\nattains to
\nspiritual knowledge, spiritual love and faith, spiritual strength. It
\nfollows that the more we can by
\nBrahmacharya increase the store of tapas <\/i>, tejas <\/i>, vidyut <\/i>
\nand
\nojas <\/i> ,
\nthe more we
\nshall fill
\nourselves with utter energy for
\nthe works of
\nthe body, heart, mind and spirit. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\tThis view of
\nthe human soul was
\nnot the whole of
\nthe knowledge on
\nwhich ancient Hinduism based its educational discipline. In
\naddition it
\nhad the view that all knowledge is
\nwithin and has to be
\nevoked by
\neducation rather than instilled from outside. The constitution of man
\nconsists of
\nthree principles of
\nnature
\nsattva <\/i>,
\nrajas <\/i>
\nand
\ntamas <\/i> ,
\nthe comprehensive, active and passive elements of
\nuniversal action, which, in
\none of
\ntheir thousand-fold aspects, manifest as
\nknowledge, passion and ignorance.
\nTamas <\/i>
\n\t\t\tis a
\nconstitutional dullness or
\npassivity which obscures the knowledge within and creates ignorance, mental inertia, slowness, forgetfulness,
\ndisinclination to
\nstudy, inability to
\ngrasp and distinguish.
\nRajas <\/i>
\n\t\t\tis an
\nundisciplined activity which obscures knowledge by
\npassion, attachment, prejudgment, predilection and wrong ideas.
\nSattva <\/i>
\n\t\t\tis an
\nillumination which reveals the hidden knowledge
\nand brings it to
\nthe surface where the observation can grasp and the memory record it. This conception of
\nthe constitution of
\nthe knowing faculty made
\nthe removal of
\ntamas <\/i> , the disciplining of
\nrajas <\/i>
\nand the awakening of
\nsattva <\/i>
\nthe main<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 373<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tproblem of the
\n\t\t\t\tteacher. He had to train the student to be receptive of
\n\t\t\t\tillumination from within. The disciplining of rajas <\/i> was effected
\n\t\t\t\tby a strict moral discipline which induced a calm, clear,
\n\t\t\t\treceptive state of mind free from intellectual self-will and
\n\t\t\t\tpride and the obscuration of passion, -the famous discipline of
\n\t\t\t\tthe  brahmacārin <\/i>
\nwhich was
\nthe foundation of
\nAryan culture and Aryan morals; and the interference of
\nwrong ideas was
\nsought to be
\nremoved by
\nstrict mental submission to
\nthe teacher during the receptive period, when the body of
\nascertained knowledge or right ideas already in
\nman’s possession was
\nexplained to
\nhim and committed to
\nmemory. The removal of
\ntamas <\/i>
\n\t\t\twas
\neffected by
\nthe discipline of
\nmoral purity, which awakened the energy of
\ntejas <\/i>and electricity in
\nthe system
\nand by
\nthe power of
\ntapasyā<\/i>
\ntrained it to be a
\nreservoir of
\nmental force and clarity. The awakening of
\nillumination was
\nactively effected by
\nthe triple method of
\n\t\t\t . repetition, meditation and discussion.
\nAvṛtti <\/i>
\n or
\nrepetition was
\n\t\t\t\tmeant to fill
\nthe recording part of
\nthe mind with the śabda<\/i> or
\nword, so
\nthat the artha <\/i>
\n\t\t\tor
\nmeaning might of
\nitself rise from within. Needless to say, a
\nmechanical repetition was
\nnot likely to produce this effect. There must be
\nthat clear still receptivity and that waiting upon the word or
\nthing with the contemplative part  of
\nthe mind which is
\nwhat the ancient Indians meant by dhyāna <\/i>or
\nmeditation. All of us
\nhave felt, when studying a
\nlanguage, difficulties which seemed
\ninsoluble while grappling with a
\ntext, suddenly melt away and a
\nclear understanding arise without assistance from book or
\nteacher after putting away the book from our mind for a
\nbrief period. Many of us
\nhave experienced also, the strangeness of
\ntaking up a
\nlanguage or
\nsubject, after a
\nbrief discontinuance, to find
\nthat we
\nunderstand it
\nmuch better than when we
\ntook it
\nup, know the meanings of
\nwords we
\nhad never met
\nwith before and can
\nexplain sentences which, before we discontinued the study, would have baffled our understanding.
\n\t\t\t\tThis is
\nbecause the j\u00f1ātā<\/i>
\nor
\nknower within has
\nhad his attention called to
\nthe subject and has
\nbeen busy in
\nthe interval drawing upon the source of
\nknowledge within in
\nconnection with it. This experience is
\nonly possible to
\nthose whose sattwic or
\nilluminative element has
\nbeen powerfully aroused or
\nconsciously or <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font> <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage \u2013 374<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tunconsciously trained to action by the habit of intellectual clarity and deep study. The highest reach of the sattwic development is when one can dispense often or habitually with outside aids, the teacher or the text book, grammar and dictionary and learn a subject largely or wholly from within. But this is only possible to the Yogin by a successful prosecution of the discipline of Yoga.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tPage \u2013 375<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tIV<\/b><\/font> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tW<\/font>E HAVE<\/b>
\n\t\t\tstated, as succinctly as is consistent with clearness, the main psychological principles on which the ancient Indians based their scheme of education. By the training of Brahmacharya they placed all the energy of which the system was capable and which could be spared from bodily functions, at the service of the brain. In this way they
\n\t\t\tnot only strengthened the medhā <\/i>or grasping power, the dhī<\/i> or subtlety and swiftness of thought conception, the memory and the creative intellectual force, making the triple force of memory, invention, judgment comprehensive and analytic, but they greatly enlarged the range, no less than the intensity, of the absorbing, storing and generative mental activities. Hence those astonishing feats of memory, various comprehension and versatility of creative work of which only a few extraordinary intellects have been capable in Occidental history, but which in ancient India were common and usual. Mr. Gladstone was considered to be the possessor of an astonishing memory because he could repeat the whole of Homer’s Iliad, beginning from any passage suggested to him and flowing on as long as required; but to a Brahmin of the old times this would have been a proof of a capacity neither unusual nor astonishing, but rather, petty and limited. The many-sidedness of an Eratosthenes or the range of a Herbert Spencer have created in Europe admiring or astonished comment; but the universality of the ordinary curriculum in ancient India was for every student and not for the exceptional few, and it implied, not a tasting of many subjects after the modern plan, but the thorough mastery of all. The original achievement of a Kalidasa accomplishing the highest in every line of poetic creation is so incredible to the European mind that it has been sought to cleave that mighty master of harmonies into a committee of three. Yet it is paralleled by the accomplishment  
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 376<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tin philosophy of Shankara in a short life of thirty-two years and dwarfed by the universal mastery of all possible spiritual knowledge and experience of Sri Ramakrishna in our own era. These instances are not so common as the others, because pure creative genius is not common; but in Europe they are, with a single modern exception, non-existent. The highest creative intellects in Europe have achieved sovereignty by limitation, by striving to excel only in one field of a single intellectual province or at most in two; when they have been versatile it has been by sacrificing height to breadth. But in India it is the greatest who have been the most versatile and passed from one field of achievement to another without sacrificing an inch of their height or an iota of their creative intensity, easily, unfalteringly, with an assured mastery. This easy and unfailing illumination crowning the unfailing energy created by Brahmacharya was due to the discipline which developed
\nsattva <\/i>or inner illumination. This illumination makes the acquisition of knowledge and all other intellectual operations easy, spontaneous, swift, decisive and comparatively unfatiguing
\n\t\t\tto body or brain. In these two things lies the secret of Aryan
\n\t\t\tintellectual achievement. Brahmacharya and sattwic development
\n\t\t\tcreated the brain of India: it was perfected by Yoga. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tIt is a common
\n\t\t\tcomplaint that our students are too heavily burdened with many
\n\t\t\tsubjects and the studying of many books. The complaint is utterly
\n\t\t\ttrue and yet it is equally true that the range of studies is
\n\t\t\tpitifully narrow and the books read miserably few. What is the
\n\t\t\treason of this paradox, the justification of these two apparently
\n\t\t\tcontradictory truths? It is this, that we neglect the basis and
\n\t\t\tproceed at once to a superstructure small in bulk,
\n\t\t\tdisproportionately heavy in comparison with that bulk, and built on
\n\t\t\ta foundation too weak to bear even the paltry and meagre edifice of our imparted knowledge. The Indian brain is still in potentiality what it was; but it is being damaged, stunted and defaced. The greatness of its innate possibilities is hidden by the greatness of its surface deterioration. The old system hampered it with study in a foreign language which was not even imperfectly mastered at a time when the student was called upon to learn in that impossible medium a variety of alien and unfamiliar  
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 377<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tsubjects. In this unnatural process it was crippled by the disuse of judgment, observation, comprehension and creation, and the exclusive reliance on the deteriorating relics of the ancient Indian memory. Finally, it was beggared and degraded by having to deal with snippets and insufficient packets of information instead of being richly stored and powerfully equipped.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe new system of National Education sought to undo the evil by employing the mother-tongue, restoring the use of the disused intellectual functions and providing for a richer and more real equipment of information, of the substance of knowledge and the materials for creation. If it could not triumphantly succeed, that was partly because it had to deal with minds already vitiated by the old system and not often with the best even of these, because its teachers had themselves seldom a perfect grasp of the requirements of the new system, and because its controllers and directors were men of the old school who clung to familiar shibboleths and disastrous delusions. But in the system
\n\t\t\titself there was a defect, which, though it would matter less in
\n\t\t\tother epochs or other countries, is of primary importance in such
\n\t\t\tperiods of transition when bricks have to be made out of straw and
\n\t\t\tthe work now done will determine the future achievement of our
\n\t\t\tnation. While calling itself national, it neglected the very
\n\t\t\tfoundation of the great achievement of our forefathers and
\n\t\t\tespecially the perfection of the instrument of knowledge.
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tIt is not
\n\t\t\tour contention that the actual system of ancient instruction should be restored in its outward features, -a demand often made by fervid lovers of the past. Many of them are not suited to modern requirements. But its fundamental principles are for all time and its discipline can only be replaced by the discovery of a still more effective discipline, such as European education does not offer us. The object of these articles has been to indicate the nature and psychological ideas of the old system and point out its essential relation of cause and effect to the splendid achievement of our ancestors. How its principles can be reapplied or be completed and to some extent replaced by a still deeper psychology and a still more effective discipline is a subject fit for separate treatment.  
\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tPage \u2013 378<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Brain of India I   THE TIME has perhaps come for the Indian mind, long pre-occupied with political and economic issues, for a widening…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-early-cultural-writings","wpcat-49-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}