Vivekananda and Philosophy

Hemen Pegu

Introduction: Swami Vivekananda, the great Indian legend who is known as a mystic, philosopher, educationist, and Yogic saint, was born on 12 January 1863 in Calcutta. He was born in a scholarly environment created by his grandfather, a great scholar of Persian and Sanskrit. His parents called Vivekananda with the name of Narendranath Dutta. The reflective, encouraging attitude of Narendra’s father and his mother's spiritual temperament helped shape his early life.  Philosophy of Vivekananda: He believed that the future of any nation depends upon its human resources and the main aim of education should be to develop this human resource. He says each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. His educational thought has very great significance today because modern education has lost much of its connection with the values of human life. He tried to make the people of India understand that political and social strength should have their foundations on cultural strength. He has a true vision of the philosophy of education in India in its cultural context. In his educational philosophy, he has given much stress to women's education, peace education, and moral and value education. Also, his educational philosophy talked about self-realization, character formation, personality development, universal brotherhood, the importance of Yoga, and moral and spiritual development. His methods of instruction are purely based on Western and Indian philosophies. His philosophy of education revolves around the following aspects: 1. Knowledge within:------------------- Knowledge is inherent within the individual himself. The individual finds every knowledge by experiencing it within himself. Perfection is inherent in everyone. It is the function of education to lead one to perfection. Therefore, education should be made available to all. 2. Child Promotes His Development:---------------------- Swami Vivekananda believed that it is incorrect to assume that we can promote the development of a child. According to him, every individual naturally develops on their own. He said, "Everyone develops according to their nature. Eventually, everyone will come to know this truth. Do you believe that you can educate a child? The children will educate themselves. Your role is to provide the necessary opportunities and remove any obstacles in their path. The children will educate themselves independently. Just like a plant grows on its own, the gardener only provides the necessary environment for growth, but the plant itself does the growing." Therefore, Swami Vivekananda advocated for the principle of self-education. ore, Swami Vivekananda advocated for the principle of self-education. 3. Education as per the Nature and Needs:-------------------------- The awakening and liberation of modern India as viewed by him was a stage for the realization of universal love and brotherhood. He gave his fellow brethren, a dynamic gospel of supreme fearlessness and strength. He mercilessly denounced the arrogance and sophistication of the upper classes of Indian society. He was one of the great thinkers in India to offer a sociological interpretation of Indian history.  Conclusion: Viewed in the light of contemporary thought, Vivekananda was an epoch capsule into a life span of less than forty years updating his mother country to fight against all kinds of social evils. ‘Equilibrium’ and ‘synthesis’ were the watchwords of Vivekananda. Contemplation and devotion to duty were unified in his personality. He had gone deep into the social and political decline of India and attempted to prescribe a workable formula to eradicate all social inequalities. The awakening and liberation of modern India as viewed by him was a stage for the realization of universal love and brotherhood. He gave his fellow brethren, a dynamic gospel of supreme fearlessness and strength. He mercilessly denounced the arrogance and sophistication of the upper classes of Indian society. He was one of the great thinkers in India to offer a sociological interpretation of Indian history. As an educationalist, he believes in absolute values which have to be realized by a good system of education. Education should be the preparation for life. It should develop a feeling of nationalism and international understanding, it should lead to the development of character and make individuals self-dependent. Today there is a deterioration of cultural ethics and standards. The supreme need of the hour is to counteract this emotional, moral, and cultural collapse. Only a process of a good system of education can bring about a healthy political and social life. Swami Vivekananda stands for this and his message is for all time.

Back to Blogs