Foreword These are the times of unprecedented pace of change, never experienced before in human history. The power of ideas and imagination, coupled with human curiosity and creativity have helped mankind to get deeper insights into the secrets of nature. The world is now a global village in which everyone is a neighbour of everyone else. The glamour and glitz of globalization has ignited an upsurge for materialistic pursuit that flourishes unabated, oblivious to the disastrous consequences that are already looming large on the horizons and threatening the very existence of mankind on the planet earth. It has overshadowed the spiritual quest. With all its knowledge, wisdom and gadgetry, violence, wars, bigotry, distrust, hunger, ill-health are on the rise! The sensitive bond between human beings and nature stands disturbed. Literacy percentages are rising, and contrary to all expectations, values are eroding on a universal scale. Albert Einstein had envisioned the future: "Our time is distinguished by wonderful achievements in the fields of scientific understanding and the technical applications of most of those insights. Who would not be cheered by this? But let us not forget that knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life. Humanity has every reason to place the proclaimers of high moral standards and values above the discoverers of objective truth."
Preface This volume titled Aspects of Education: An Indian Perspective is a collection of nine articles written by me. Most of these articles have been published in reputed journals. The articles deal with various aspects of education in India such as Education in the Vedic Age, True education, National system of education, Value-based education, Roles of educators, parents, teachers and students, etc.
I am immensely indebted to the great Indian philosophers and educationists such as Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Rabindranath Tagore, Sri J. Krishnamurti, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, and others whose ideas on education inspired me to write these articles. My acknowledgments are due to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai for having published seven of my articles included in this Volume in different issues of its esteemed periodical Bhavan's Journal. They are: "Education in the Vedic Age", "True Education", "National System of Education", "Value-Based Education", "Role of Educationists in School Education", "Role of the Teachers", and "Educating the Growing Child".
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
