प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

1] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 9
inculcation of civic and social duties, promotion of social
efficiency and the preservation and spread of national cul-
ture may be described as the chief aims and ideals of ancient
Indian education. Let us now see what were the views
of our educationalists about each of them.
Infusion of Piety and Religiousness: Religion
played a large part in life in ancient India and teachers
were usually priests. It is therefore no wonder that
infusion of a spirit of piety and religiousness in the mind
of the rising generation should have been regarded as the
first and foremost aim of education. The rituals which
were performed at the beginning of both the literary and
professional education,—primary as well as higher,—the
religious observances (vratas), which the student had to
observe during the educational course, the daily prayers
which he offered morning and evening, the religious
festivals that were observed with eclat in the school or
the preceptor's house almost every month,—all these
tended to inspire piety and religiousness in the mind of
the young student. It was the spiritual background that
was thus provided which was expected to help the student
to withstand the temptations of life. The very atmosphere,
in which he lived and breathed, impressed upon him the
reality of the spiritual world and made him realise that
though his body may be a product of nature, his mind,
intellect and soul belong to the world of spirit, the laws
of which ought to govern his conduct, mould his character
and determine the ideals of his life.
Limitations on Religiousness: Though the edu-
cational system thus provided the background of piety
and religiousness, its aim was not to induce the student
to renounce the world and become a wanderer in the
quest of God like the Buddha or Tulsidas. Even in the
case of Vedic students, who intended to follow a religious