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his love and good will beyond communal, national, and racial barriers. The educational process should therefore strive for a synthesis of spirituality and science; as Dr. Albert Einstein averred, ‘Science without religion is blind, and religion without science is lame.’ Human Excellence – The Target of Education The spirit of true education is found in the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda perspective which maintains that human excellence is the objective of education. It thereby signifies a simultaneous and harmonious development of body, mind, and soul. It affirms that education becomes complete when knowledge rises to the level of wisdom. The art of educating a person lies in the method of investigating the powers of the inner man, and in the knowledge of his inherent potentialities. These are capacities which are also responsible for the objective investigations of scientists. Modern methods of education can never be satisfactory so long as the development of inner culture and the central facts governing life are ignored. Education should develop moral strength and
inner toughness through a well-regulated and disciplined life. In the present-day scenario, when all indicators of social and economic development are showing an upward trend, we should be cautious that these material achievements have not been gained at the cost of our inner growth, culture, values, traditions, and human relationships. Physical health, mental purity, intellectual acuteness, moral power, and a spiritual outlook on life should go together if perfection is to be achieved. Education should enable students to be adherents of satya and dharma, observers of continence and followers of a righteous mode of living. As Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru fittingly pointed out, ‘Men like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, men like Swami Vivekananda‌.are‌great constructive geniuses of the world not only in regard to the particular teachings that they taught, but (in) their approach to the world; and their conscious and unconscious influence on it is of the most vital importance to us.’14 Let all stakeholders in education respond dynamically to the call of educational renaissance so perfectly exemplified in the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda model.
References 1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Mayavati Memorial Edition, January 1989, 5.224. (Hereafter, CW) Ibid, p. 370 The Life of Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and Western Disciples, 6th edition, 1.77 Ibid, 1.77 Ibid, 1.97-98 Ibid, 1.183
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Ibid, 1.131-32 CW, 7.171 Ibid, 4.477 Ibid, 1.28 Ibid, 5.366 Ibid, 5.519 Ibid, 2.67 Great Thinkers on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, p.121
If Keshab possesses one virtue which has made him world-famous, Naren is endowed with eighteen such virtues. I have seen in Keshab and Vijay the divine light burning like D FDQGOH ÀDPH EXW LQ 1DUHQ LW VKLQHV ZLWK WKH UDGLDQFH RI WKH VXQ —Sri Ramakrishna T h e
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