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

II] SOME EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND POSTULATES 29
and impressionable period of childhood would stand a
person in good stead throughout his life. Rules of
discipline, that are prescribed for the student, have been
laid down not so much for the purpose of prohibiting him
from doing undesirable acts as with the object of forming
good and valuable habits. The habit of rising early was
found to be good; it was therefore laid down that the
student must daily get up at the dawn. Plain living and
high thinking was recognised to be a desideratum; in
order to develop a liking for it the use of costly food and
gorgeous dress was prohibited. Life is a hard and long
struggle against circumstances; in order to prepare,
students for it, rules were laid down calculated to develop
them into strong and hardy men with determined will
and great enduring power.
Importance of Routine: It was recognised that
routine also will play a great part in the formation of
habits. The daily routine was carefully determined with
a view to enable students to form good habits and
master their subjects at the end of their course. Students
of poetics and literature were constantly engaged in
practising composition and versification. Students of
theology had to take part daily in the performance of
sacrifices, which they would be called upon to conduct in
their after life. Apprentices in sculpture and painting
had to go through a long course of routine practice before
they could finish their course. Students in primary and
secondary schools went through the daily routine of
recitation and recapitulation, which enabled them to
master their subjects. The routine was made interesting
by making several children take part in the recitation
simultaneously.
Association and Imitation: Ancient Indians had
realised that association and imitation play a great part