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What is the significance of Vedic education in current scenario?
The Vedas were taught in the first stages of Hindu culture. The teacher held a distinct role and rank in Vedic India. He was well regarded by the community for his knowledge and intellect as well as his mind, heart, and hand skills. The Guru or instructor served as a symbol of virtue, a source of wisdom, and a refuge for spirituality. The process of choosing and preparing a teacher was quite meticulous. The Rigveda states that a teacher was chosen and then skillfully instructed or trained. Before being permitted to teach, the prospective teacher had to complete the approved curriculum and perform all requirements of a Brahmachari.
Teachers must have pursued information in order to realise themselves, and they were well-liked and respected. With time, the elite group of professors—later known as the caste of Brahmans—became stratified and lost some of its former splendour. Later, instructors came from this caste of Brahmins, and the profession was passed down through the family. Manu mentioned that a teacher’s son would occasionally assist his father by taking over the classroom. Some of the more capable and older students served as monitors and occasionally helped the teacher with his job.
The contribution of the prehistoric educational system was this monitorial system, which was a means of acclimating students to the role of instructors. The Upanishad era was notable for its individualised approach to instruction. The teacher and the pupil had a close connection, as implied by the word upanishad (sit near). The instructor had the discretion to accept a disciple, but once he did, it was his moral responsibility to see that the disciple developed. A disciple or pupil also had the option to select his instructor. Since writing only emerged later, knowledge was passed along verbally, and explanation was a crucial teaching strategy.
The tactics utilised by instructors were mimicked and accepted by students, and were passed down from one generation of teachers to the next. Methods were passed down through initiation and repetition. Good teachers developed their own approaches and used real-world examples to make the subject exciting and important to pupils. Listening to the uttered words, comprehending the meaning, reasoning leading to generalisation, confirmation by a friend or instructor, and application were the five steps to understanding the meaning of an old Indian religious truth practised.
