By Ac. Sambhutyananda Avt.

Education plays a pivotal role in making the human personality and shaping human life. But as of now, our education falls short of people’s high expectations.

Concept of Education
Education in the ordinary sense of the term means enlightenment. To educate means to enlighten, to make one aware of what one did not know or what one is ignorant of. Ever since the inception or rise of intellect in human beings, they awoke with certain cardinal questions related seeking the truth about oneself and one's life, truth about one's surroundings, truth about the world and truth about the ultimate goal of one's life. The cardinal questions such as who am I; what is this world and what is the goal of one's life have been haunting human beings for milleniums. It is in quest of the truth regarding life and the world that man invented different branches of knowledge or education.

Humanity, in the course of its journey from ignorance to knowledge, came to know that human life is not only a lump or a corpus of bones and flesh, nor is it only a biological machine, nor is it only a psychic phenomenon, nor is it only a beholder or container of spiritual prowess; rather, it is a curious amalgamation and complex composition of body, mind and soul, a wonderful manifestation of spirituo-psycho-physical phenomena. Thus human life is tri-farious, - physical, psychic and spiritual. Hence, mere imparting of knowledge of alphabets and books is not education, rather education is systematic and comprises sustained efforts to unfold and develop one's latent physical, psychic and spiritual potentialities in order to unite the psyche with the self. That is why it has been said, "Knowing oneself is the real knowledge". Education should aim at integrated, tri-farious development of personality.

The Purpose and the Objectives of Education
It is implied that education should provide the knowledge of multifaceted aspects / problems of individual and social life, knowledge of latent multiple potentialities in the human structure to solve all those problems; practical know-how, the techniques and the skills to explore and utilise enormous expressed and unexpressed human potentialities to solve the multiple human problems and achieve the purpose or goal of life. To sum up, it can be said that the purpose of education is to secure for mankind a respectable and honourable place in this world.

Hence, the education has three objectives before it to fulfil:

1) To make one learned.

2) To make one skilled (technical & methodical skill) and

3) To make one an ideal citizen and a perfect man, a whole man by inculcating the values of human life including discipline (obedience), morality, etiquette, courtesy, manner, humility, service mentality, love for animates and inanimates, compassion for old and invalids etc.

The Plight of Present Education and Peoples’ Expectations
Today’s education in general has fallen far away from the high expectations mentioned above due to many reasons, which can be issues of debate and elaborate discussions.

Due to lack of a comprehensive philosophy of life as the basis of education and due to lack of ideal teachers, education today has become purposeless and directionless. The educational Institutions have been reduced to factories for manufacturing bread-earners. Education has become a trade, a commerce. Educational institutions have become trading houses; in many cases they have become multi-national trading houses. Humanity today is eagerly in search of a value-based, purposeful education, which will be a blending of perfect learning, proper and effective skills and moral values entwined with the purpose of life, which will make one a complete human being. Thus, a value based, purposeful, holistic and wholistic education is the need of the day. Such a value based, purposeful, holistic and wholistic education, Shrii P.R. Sarkar terms as Neo-Humanistic Education. So education should be based on a Neo-Humanistic philosophy of life.

The relationship between philosophy and education
Education and philosophy both are inter-related and inter-dependent. Education without philosophy becomes purposeless and directionless, whereas philosophy without education becomes ineffective and inconsequential. Philosophy is the abstract counterpart of education and education is the dynamic counterpart of philosophy. Philosophy without education is lame and education without philosophy is blind. So, education must be based on a comprehensive philosophy of life. According to Shrii Sarkar, Neo-Humanism which has the holistic and wholistic approach to life, should be the basis of education.

Neo-Humanism
According to Shrii P. R. Sarkar, there are two kinds of humanism –

i) General Humanism, ordinary Humanism or pseudo-Humanism

ii) Neo Humanism.

The concept that is concerned about the interest and welfare of human beings alone is known as General Humanism, Ordinary Humanism or Pseudo-Humanism. And the humanism, which is concerned for the welfare of all animates and inanimates of the universe is termed as Neo-Humanism.

Shrii Sarkar defines Humanism as: “When the underlying spirit of Humanism is extended to everything animate and inanimate of the universe, such an all-embracing and all-encompassing Humanism is known as Neo-Humanism”.

The course of the flow of human existence is from finite to infinite, from limited to limitless. That is why it has been said that human existence is an ideological flow. As humans advance towards infinity, the angle of vision also expands to 360º. Then humans develop an integral outlook and they no longer think only for human beings but rather will embrace everything animate and inanimate of this universe. This extended bond of human love out of the feeling of oneness of genesis (progenitor), the feeling of all-pervasiveness, is known as Neo-Humanism. It is this distinct quality of human beings that makes them special and distinct from other forms of life. Here lies the excellence of human beings. This is the underlying spirit of humanism; this is the human being in real sense of the term. Thus the humanism, which advocates and stands for all embracing and all encompassing humanism is rightly known as Neo Humanism.

Obstacles and bondages to Neo Humanism
The three sentiments of geo-sentiment, socio-sentiment (group sentiment) and humano-sentiment are the obvious bondages on the path of Neo Humanism. Man has to overcome these sentiments in the following manner:

1. Geo-Sentiment should be overcome by study and rationalistic outlook or rationalistic mind

2. Socio-sentiment to be overcome by application of the principle of social equality. Everything, every animate or inanimate of this universe wants to survive to the fullest extent of life. It wants to enjoy life. Furthermore, nothing in this universe is useless; everything is useful either on the basis of utilitarian value or existential value. It is on this principle of survival and utility that everything of this universe is equal. This is the principle of social equality; this is the guiding principle behind human society.

3. Ordinary Humanism or general Humanism can be overcome by Neo-Humanism.

Neo-Humanistic Education
Education based on Neo-Humanistic principles or Neo-Humanistic values of life is known as Neo-Humanistic education. Neo-Humanistic principles/values in a nutshell are as follows:

1. Finding and feeling the supreme link between the self and the Supreme Consciousness is the essence of life; i.e. spirituality is the essence of life.

2. One should be guided by rationality, not by sentiment or dogma.

3. The welfare of all is paramount.

4. Love and care for all the animates and inanimates of the universe

5. Nothing of this universe is useless, everything is useful based on their utilitarian and/or existential value. Therefore, we are to:

a. Protect, preserve and care for everything.

b. Save the creatures from their extinction.

c. Not waste or destroy anything unnecessarily.

d. Ensure maximum utilisation and rational distribution of all resources.

e. Love and compassion. Respect and care for all, including the old and aged, handicapped and invalid.

f. Obedience and discipline.

g Social norms - manners of social living.

h. Sense of dutifulness and responsibility.

i. Service mentality - a sense of service and volunteering.

j. Aesthetic sense

k. Morality

l. Moral courage

Educational Reformation
Today there is the need for a radical change in the educational system. When it comes to educational reformation, we have to take into account the following factors:

1) Philosophy of education - Education must be based on a comprehensive philosophy of life, i.e., if the education has to be made meaningful and purposeful then the philosophy of life must be the basis for the philosophy of education.

2) Ideal teachers - Teachers are the instruments for imparting education. Hence, teachers must be ideal. For an ideal teacher, besides many other qualities, it is necessary that:

a. A teacher must be well acquainted and must have well understood the concept and philosophy of education and philosophy of life.

b. The life style of teachers must be in accordance with the ideals, the concept and the philosophy of education and philosophy of life.

Teachers’ quality, motivation and orientation are important factors for imbibing the values of education in students. If the teachers feel that they are merely paid servants, and if the relationship between the teachers and the management is that of employees and employer, then the end product, the manifestation of education, will be defective. However, if the teachers really feel and become the guides, philosophers and friends of their students, then the results can be astounding.

A teacher must have made education as his / her mission. A teacher must feel that he / she is an educational missionary, a crusader in the field of education.

Besides the above the other factors responsible for education which should also be taken into account are:

3) Curriculum

4) Methods of teaching

5) Management

6) Students

7) Guardians

8) Surrounding / society

In order to bring a radical change in the field of education and fulfil people’s expectations and aspirations, people everywhere need to enter the field of education so as to elevate the extant standard by imparting a value based, Neo-Humanistic education by opening hundreds of primary, junior and high schools. When people begin to spread Neo-Humanistic education, based on values of unbounded love and compassion for all, it will create a revolution in the world.