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

Chapter XI.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES.
ACHIEVEMENTS—The aims of infusion of piety and formation
of character fully achieved—Testimony of foreign writers and travel-
lers—Success in developing personality, preserving and spreading
culture and literature and promoting social efficiency and happiness.
DEFECTS & LIMITATIONS: Hold of religion leads to the neglect
of secular studies and discouragement of rationalism in later times—
The case in Europe the same—Hindu intellect ceases to be creative
and assimilative and becomes receptive and imitative in later times—
consequent adverse effect on education—Arts and crafts regarded
plebian in later times—Education of masses neglected—Neglect of
vernaculars in later times—Depth at the cost of breadth—No broad-
based course including grammar, literature, mathematics, history
and geography for the average student—Most defects arise in
medieval times—A general estimate of Ancient Indian Education.
Introduction : We shall devote this concluding
chapter to the purpose of giving a critical estimate of
ancient Indian educational system by discussing its
achievements and failures. We have already made
some general observations in this connection in the
preceding pages ; we shall here discuss the subject in
a connected and comprehensive manner. We shall
first proceed to ascertain how far the aims and ideals
of the educational system, referred to in Chap. I,
were actually realised in practice. This will to a
great extent enable us to form its just estimate.
Infusion of Piety and Formation of Character :
We have seen already how infusion of a spirit of piety
and the formation of character were the first two
important aims of the educational system. There
can be no doubt that piety and religiousness are more
characteristic of Hindu society than of any other
community. The success of the educational system