India Essay, Research Paper

Humans obtain knowledge in many ways. They learn through their own experiences, but also through the experiences of others. Humans are most often educated by the moral standards and teachings of their time. Education and expanding one’s knowledge is never a negative thing, it is always beneficial to learn something even you don t realize you are actually learning. For this reason, many authors incorporate the ideas of education and learning in their writings. Indian literature provides three pieces that are exemplary of this: “The Yoga of Knowledge”, “Numskull and the Rabbit”, and “The Mystery of Brahman”, In each of these works, there are not only lessons to be learned by the stories’ characters, but by the reader as well. “The Yoga of Knowledge”, from the Bhagavad-Gita, is the story of Sri Krishna and Arjuna the warrior. Arjuna fears going in to battle because he does not want to kill his relatives, and Sri Krishna is explaining to him why he needs to practice nonattached work and fulfill his dharma. This work is a very good example of how humans are often educated by moral principles and teachings of the times. Sri Krishna is teaching Arjuna about the Indian beliefs of Karma and Dharma. Sri Krishna is very persuasive and is very clever in how he goes about educating Arjuna. Sri Krishna’s purpose in educating Arjuna is to get him to act, so Sri Krishna is focusing on positive things. Sri Krishna rationalizes: “Death is certain for the born. Rebirth is certain for the dead. You should not grieve for what is unavoidable”. Sri Krishna also strikes upon Arjuna own self worth. He explains to Arjuna that it is his own caste-duty to give all that he possibly can as a warrior. Sri Krishna glorifies Arjuna’s duty when he says, ” Die, and you win heaven. Conquer and you enjoy the earth. Stand up now, Son if Kunti, and resolve to fight. Realize that pleasure is pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, are all one and the same: then go into battle. Do this and you cannot commit any sin”. Sri Krishna uses these methods to help Arjuna, his teaching is very positive and rational. Unlike “The Yoga of Knowledge”, the type of education depicted in “Numskull and the Rabbit”, from the Panchatantra is based on dishonesty, deception, and fear. The animals of the forest are in a sense trying to teach the lion, Numskull, how to be a good King, but they are only doing so to save themselves. The person learning the most in this case is the reader. This story effectively conveys the concept of the Greek chain of destruction. This is when someone (or something) has more “goodies”, or material possessions than another individual, it is simply human nature to be greedy and envious of the other’s fortune. The Greeks discovered that the more you had, the greater you would fail, which is the case in the story of Numskull. Numskull let his excess of power get to his head, and he developed a poor attitude towards others. His extreme pride led to his foolish behavior, and his inevitable destruction. This theme of greed and eventual destruction has obviously been a lasting theme, because it is still very applicable in today’s society.

The final example of education in Indian literature is “The Mystery of Brahman”, from the Taittiriya Upanishad. This is the story of Bhrigu Varuni and his father, Varuna. Bhrigu is asking his father to teach him the true meaning of Brahma. This type of education is through one’s own experience. Varuni does not just give Bhrigu the answer to his question, Varuni teaches Bhrigu how to learn it for himself. Learning through experience is the most effective type of learning. Bhrigu learns the TRUE meaning of Brahma, simply by learning what it was NOT. Bhrigu goes through many different things, each less materialistic and worldly than the previous, until he finally realizes the genuine meaning of Brahma. He comes to the understanding that when you take away everything, all that is inessential, you are left with Brahma. Would he have learned this if Varuni had simply tried to explain such a vast and unimaginable concept to him in his own words? Each of these works relay a lesson or teaching both within the story, and out to the reader. The ingenuity and skill with which these authors crafted their stories provide the reader with a creative yet effective way to learn of methods of education as well as the beliefs and viewpoints of previous civilizations. Education and the learning process will continue to thrive in our writing and in our lives as long as humans exist. There is always a thirst for knowledge; there is always something new to learn. This is what makes the variety and creativeness of our educators so vital, we as humans thrive on expanding our minds and brightening our horizons.