Essay on Indian education in the eyes of sri aurobindo
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Explanation:
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was born on August 15, 1872, at Konnagar near Calcutta (Kolkata).
At 5 he was sent to a Darjeeling convent and, at the age of 7, he was sent to England for education and lived there for 14 years.
Ignorant of his mother-tongue Bengali he mastered as many as ten languages such as English, French, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Spanish, Marathi and Sanskrit. He could speak fluently English and French.
He was a very brilliant student and stood 2nd in the I. C. S. examination (theoretical) in 1890. But he did not appear for the practical examination (horse-riding) as he nourished a strong feeling of resentment against the British rule in India.
Aurobindo also achieved the ‘Special Tripos’ (Simultaneous Honours in three subjects) from Trinity College, Cambridge. He returned to India in February 1893 and joined Baroda College (M. S. College now) as a professor of English. Here he devoted himself to self-culture and reading philosophy and cultural heritage of India.
At Baroda (Vadodara) he came into contact with Thakur Saheb, a true revolutionary leader of Poona (Pune). He was also influenced by the revolutionary ideas of Bai GangadharTilak. He began ‘Yoga’ by himself in 1901.
When the Bengal Partition Movement started in 1905 he gave up his job at Baroda, came back to Bengal and actively joined the political movement. He joined the Extremists against the Moderates. There are two sides of his political activities.
He started secret political activities against the British rule in India. These were revolutionary and violent in nature. He also started public propaganda through press and platform in favour of independence. To propagate revolutionary ideas he edited the journal “Bande Mataram”.
He was a true patriot, a seer, a nationalist and a philosopher of outstanding quality. He joined the Bengal National College (present Jadavpur University) as a Principal in 1906. He thus dedicated himself to the cause of national service. In 1908 he was arrested and imprisoned for a year for his revolutionary activities.
In the jail he realised new spiritual experiences which guided him for the rest of his life. Here he gained a new life — a spark of divine life. Sri C. R. Das, the famous barrister of Calcutta, defended Sri Aurobindo in the famous trial known as Manicktala Bomb Case.
He was acquitted and came out of the jail in 1909. During his imprisonment his view of life was radically changed. In the jail he thoroughly read the Gita and the Upanishads engaging himself in intensive meditation and practice of ‘Yoga’.
In 1910, he left his political activities and went to Pondicherry in search of a more complete experience harmonizing the two ends of existence — Spirit and Matter. He realised that it is possible for the mind to rise to a greater divine consciousness and with this mental power and bliss to transform this material life.
At Calcutta in 1909 he edited ‘Karmayogin’ in English and ‘Dharma’ in Bengali to preach his philosophical experiences.
During the period 1914-21 he edited ‘Arya’ (in English) to propagate his philosophical and spiritual ideas. At Pondicherry more and more people began to come to follow his spiritual path and thus Sri Aurobindo Ashram came into existence, its ideal being the attainment of life divine on this earth. Madam Paul Richard from France joined him in 1914.
She later came to be known as Sri Mira Ma (Sri Ma). The chief writings of Aurobindo include The Life Divine (1939), the Savitri (1950), the Synthesis of Yoga and the Essays on the Gita. On 5th December 1950 Sri Aurobindo entered Mahasamadhi.