Literature Review:-

The previous researches carried out on the educational thoughts of various philosophers and its relevance on the modern society, the researches done earlier show that still so many other aspects of educational thoughts of these thinkers have not been picked up and explored. Although there are some researches which are quite significant as they extend their horizon and take initiative to include multifarious themes of education yet the number of such is quite less. Hence there is still a gap in the previous research done which can be noticed with the review of these following papers:

Sharma (2012): studied the educational ideas of Swami Vivekananda. The aim of education is not to acquire degrees but to get to know about the country and its people hence to serve them. He believed that the aim of education was to awake man from ignorance and to guide him to knowledge. Love, peace, co-operation, equality, mutual understanding were some of the saint’s ideals on the basis of which he propounded his theory of education. He emphasised on the role of concentration in education. The mentor is very significant in Vivekananda’s philosophy of education.

Sengupta (2014): studied the contribution made by Rabindranath Tagore, Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo in the field of education. He brought out the influence of Upanishadic thoughts on the three mentioned educators. At the time of setting up Ashram Vidyalaya at Shantiniketan, Rabindranath was influenced by the ideals of Upanishads. He laid emphasis on real pursuit of knowledge which has been expressed in Svetasvata Upanishad. Vivekananda, influenced by Upanishadic thoughts, is of the opinion that concentration is very important for self-exploration. Aurobindo talks about the role of teacher as a facilitator.

Akhter (2015): studied the concept of integral education of Sri Aurobindo at length. The main aim of education according to philosophy of Aurobindo is the overall development of the mind, body and soul. Integral education implies the enhancement of knowledge, harmony and will- power. Aurobindo is of the opinion that moral values, character building and humanity must be inculcated through education. True education awakens man’s consciousness and transforms him from man into superman. He also stressed on Yoga as integral part and parcel of education system.

Hooda & Sarika (2014): revealed that Swami Vivekananda is of the view that education does not mean filling empty minds with only information and bear facts, if that information is not perceived properly by the students. Education in his terminology is a lifelong process which brings out self- development, character formation, intellectual growth etc. He was in favour of practising ‘Brahmcharya’. He believed education must bring universal brotherhood, love and cooperation and thus form a strong nation. He also supported technical education in order to grow industrialisation.

Saha & Maji (2013): studied the philosophy of Aurobindo concerned with education. Aurobindo’s concept of integral education includes holistic education, developing spiritual, moral, philosophical, social values of the students. He was a firm believer in elemental education which should be child centred i.e. according to the needs of a child. He believed in providing full liberty to the students. He was the supporter of practice and observation. In the modern world of rapid changes the philosophical ideas of Aurobindo may not seem much apt.

T. Pushpnathan (2013): studied extensively the contribution of Tagore in the educational field. The aim of education is self- realisation. Self- realisation means to recognise the universal spark in oneself. Another aim of education is universal brotherhood and harmony between man and nature. Tagore lays emphasis on independence, physical development and mental development. His educational philosophy is coloured with the ideals of Geeta and Upanishadic thoughts.

Deshmukh & Mishra (2014): made a study of educational thoughts of Sri Aurobindo. As per his philosophy it is not enough to develop physical psychic and mental aspects only but to enhance beauty, knowledge, power and love. The amalgam of all these is known as his concept of integral education. As per teaching is concerned, he proposed three methods of teaching. The first being nothing can be taught to the students. It means the role of teacher is not to instruct but to guide and help. The second method is that the mind of the student be consulted in order to shape their growth and personality. The third being to work from known to unknown. Students’ learning is conditioned by past and his environment. Jaiswal et al (2014): studied the relevance of Vivekananda’s philosophy in the curriculum of the discipline Family and Community Resource Management has been reviewed. There are two specialisations under it.

 Hospitality Management

 Interior Design.

Both correspond to Vivekananda’s ideals of education namely development of leadership, self- empowerment, self-development, self- confidence, man–making, women-education, training of mind, freedom in education. Education also aims at development of mind, body and soul. This discipline is so structured as to bring holistic development of the child.

Deb (2014): studied the growth of educational system in India during the British Rule. Lord Macaulay came out with his famous Minute in 1835 whereby he proposed to conflate vernacular Indian Languages with that of Western Literature and Science. Gradually many reforms were done and at the present time the education system followed in India is modelled on the educational system framed during the British reign only.

P.R. Shinde: studied Vivekananda’s educational thoughts, his concept of education and aim of education. The new concept that is taken up for study is methods of teaching and learning, the qualities of teacher and taught, curriculum, women education etc. As per Swami ji’s thoughts student must be:

 Pure in thought and speech.  Must practice celibacy  He should have lust for knowledge Further he advocated the study of languages especially Sanskrit and English and also emphasized on the importance of Geography, History, Economics and Psychology.

K, Rao (2010): dwelt on the comparative study of the educational thoughts and ideals of two great educators i.e. Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. Both the educators laid much emphasis on the importance of vocational education and activity based education which can reduce the indiscipline among the students by inculcating their interest in the studies and the curriculum which is being taught. Education should be such that it can help a man earn his livelihood. Both were open to many ideological isms like pragmatism, naturalism, idealism. They picked up the best from wherever they could lay their hands on. Being an idealist, they advocated that the child should uplift himself spiritually and morally. They became naturalist by providing full freedom to the child. As far as aim of education is concerned both are having divergent views. Swami ji believed that the aim of education should be to uplift poor Indian masses. Whereas Gandhi believed that education should aim at converting students into self- reliant individuals. As per curriculum is concerned, Swami ji proposed the study of arts, history, geography, Sanskrit, technology and commerce whereas Gandhi placed handicraft as the integral part of the curriculum so that the child should adapt himself to his surroundings.

P, Nithiya (2012): emphasized on Vivekananda’s educational thoughts, his concept of education and aim of education. The new concept that he talked further is about the methods of teaching and learning, the qualities of teacher and taught, curriculum, women education etc. As per Vivekananda thoughts a taught must possess some qualities like he must be: pure in thought and speech, must have lust for knowledge and must practice “Brahmcharya” i.e. celibacy to make his life a success.

Kadam (2012): dealt with the women education and the steps taken up to provide education to women in his study. During the ancient Vedic and later Vedic period women were given proper education and they had right to get married at a proper age. With Manu Samiti and with the advent of Mughals the position of women started deteriorating and later Christianity put the women in clutches. During Middle ages the condition of women was humiliating as women became sufferers in all walks of life. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and many other struggled for the betterment of women’s condition. With the contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy many schools were opened and free education was given to women.

Singh (2014): highlighted the importance of women education in the present time. Vivekananda believed that without women education it is not possible to develop the nation as both men and women complement each other. This paper also focuses on the steps taken at the present time to ameliorate the women education by the Government. As per 2011 census Kerala topped in female literacy rate with 91.98% and Rajasthan dipped to the bottom with only 52.66%. The overall female literacy rate in India as per 2011 census was65.46% only. There are many policies taken like Mahila Samakhya Programme in 1988, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme (KGBV) in 2004 and National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) in 2003.

Mandal & Behera (2015): studied Raja Ram Mohan Roy as a contributor and pioneer in the field of Indian education. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a great reformer and educationalist laid much emphasis on western education. He is also of the view that young students must be provided with English education to bring a feeling of unity among the westerns. He is of the view that for the development and progress of the society and its people women education is mandatory. Besides this, with the help of David Hare in the year 1817, he opened the Hindu College at Calcutta; in 1822 he succeeded in opening the Anglo-Hindu school and many more. Roy was also in the favour of studying practical subjects like Mathematics, Philosophy, Chemistry and Anatomy .He also worked on certain languages like Sanskrit, Persian, English, Greek and Hebrew and motivated the others for the same.

Singh & Rawat (2013): dwelt on Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts about aim of education which is bringing out perfection in man, developing the individual physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. The other aims being realising unity in diversity, character formation and education for weaker strata of society like women. It also talks about his views about curriculum. He said that for spiritual development philosophy, religion, Upanishads should be studied. For material progress the study of languages, Geography, Science, Political Science, Economics, Psychology, Art and Agriculture should be included in curriculum.

Bhattacharjee (2014): studied Tagore’s Educational philosophy and brings out its relevance to Post- modern times. Post- modern curriculum lays emphasis on the growth of thinking capability and creativity which even Tagore believed in. Teaching methods of this period are task based and activity oriented; again something which Tagore advocated. It as well as Tagore believes in teaching through mother tongue so that proper assimilation of knowledge can be had. Both lay focus on student oriented teaching. Thus the paper truly brings out the importance of Tagore’s educational beliefs which are still relevant to modern and post modern educational conception.

Barman & Bhattacharyya (2012): revealed that Swami Vivekananda laid stress on real education which is helpful in the character building of a child. He also believed in man- making education by which the student can inculcate good moral values like honesty, respecting others, co-operation, love and affection, forgiveness and as a result he can develop himself morally, socially, physically and spiritually .According to him education should be based on value education which will transform the student into moral human being.

Dixit (2014): studied the contribution of Aurobindo and Vivekanand and offered a comparative and contrastive study of two famous and much reputed educationists of India viz-a-viz Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda. There are certain similarities in both the educators. These are as follows:

 Both believe that spirituality plays a vital role in education.  To refer to ‘truth’, they used the term ‘Brahman’ and for reality they used the term “Atman”.  They believe that self-realisation is the main goal of life.  They did not focus on contemporary educational system and believed in replacing it with ‘Bharateeya’ system.  They are of the opinion that education makes the man know about himself.  No teacher can probably teach anyone anything. Both believed that teacher was just a facilitator. There were certain points on which they even differed. These points are:

 Both differ on the levels of progress of mental and intellectual development.  The idea of turning man into superman was given by Aurobindo and not much proposed by Swami Vivekananda.

Biwas & Deka (2014): brought out the comparative analysis of both Rabindranath Tagore and Paulo Freire.

 Education as per Tagore is to make man human and grow him fully. Whereas Freire was of the opinion that education is to know rather to cram.  Tagore believes in activity based curriculum so that it can develop each and every aspect of the child’s life whereas Freire believes in curriculum which is based on reality and social justice. Problem solving strategies should be included in the curriculum which can foster the critical thinking of the child.  Manual work is what Tagore advocated and Freire does not lay stress on this. He was confined to social reality only.  As far as mother tongue is concerned, Tagore was in favour of teaching through it but he also advocated that English can be effectively used to bring better vistas of knowledge for the children whereas Freire also held that education should be imparted through mother tongue as it brings better understanding for the children.  Tagore is of the opinion that teacher-taught relationship is very intimate as the teacher is the best, philosopher and guide whereas Freire says that pupils are the passive receivers and there is no space of love between them.

Rathi (2011): studied Gandhi’s educational ideas and pinpointed Gandhian thought on education. Gandhi’s ideas related to education are collected in two books namely Basic Education and Towards New Education compiled by Bharatan Kumarappa. Gandhi believed that free education must be provided to all up to seven years and there should be the focus on vocational education which is imperative. He also favoured Craft like weaving, spinning and agriculture to be incorporated in syllabi. As per his thought education implies to uplift the character of the students and through it aiming at national development. Education should enable one to earn one’s livelihood. Education should promote communal peace and brotherhood. Education must be ingrained in the ideal of non-violence or ‘Ahimsa’.

Gupta (2012): studied educational philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. Her study sought to explore Swami ji’s ideas about aims of education, training of the mind, teacher and taught relationship, the role of education in implanting values in pupils and education for the poor strata of society. Her study revealed that in the present day scenario much of his ideals if used can bring bright prospects for the future of Indian educational system.

Malik (2013): studied Gandhi and focused on Gandhi’s role in educational philosophy. Gandhi’s concepts related to aims of education and whether his concepts are valid in the modern era is explored and analyzed in the present paper. Aims of education being making an individual capable of earning his bread and butter, developing the all round personality and transforming character into more sublime and moral one which he termed as character-formation. Besides the paper also explores two more concepts of Gandhi which earlier papers fail to do. It takes into consideration Gandhi’s ideal of sex education and women education. Gandhi was strongly of the opinion that both sex education and women education are important if we have to see India progressing by leaps and bounds as women are part and parcel of every society. Without educating women India will ever be backward and there is no hope of its progress as he believed and as far as sex education is concerned he advocated that it should be incorporated in the course curriculum in school in order to equip students regarding their sexual roles in society which is quite significant if India has to be crime free.

Khatun (2015) studied the contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy in uplifting the status of women in Indian society during the 18th century. She also studied the evolution and growth of “Brahmo Samaj” after the demise of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. It was Raja Ram Mohan who established “Brahmo Samaj” for religious reforms in 1832 but soon this “Samaj” took the form of a social reform movement to uproot all the heinous social evils like dowry system, sati system and many more. Khatun revealed that one of the main issues of the movement started by Raja Ram Mohan Roy was to provide education to women. He raised his voice loud in society to champion the cause of women’s education. He was a supporter of women’s right; placed them equal with men in society and made earnest efforts for their education.

Nandi et al (2015): analyzed the concept of Basic Education of Mahatma Gandhi. Basic education means free and compulsory education to the children between the age group of 7-14 years in order to bring literacy in India. Instruction would be in the medium of mother tongue of the chid in order to facilitate better understanding of the concepts taught. Education will be wedded to craft as per the interest of the child so that the child becomes independent and can stand on his own feet. Spinning, weaving and agriculture will be included in the curriculum. Basic Education concept of Gandhi failed although it was a very promising and practical but it could not be fully made into success. The causes of its failure were as follows:

 Paucity of financial aid.

 Lack of dedicated and well trained trainers.

 Lack of enthusiasm in the implementers to execute this plan successfully.

Rao (2012): studied and analyzed various definitions of education and the aims prescribed by different thinkers over different periods of time. After that it focuses its attention on Gandhian educational system. The aims of education, medium of instruction, curriculum and basic education by Gandhi are dwelled at length.

Gour (2014): made an enlarged and comprehensive study of the educational philosophies of two great educationists and thinkers of India hailed as great intellectual men of 20th century namely Gududev Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. As far as Tagore is concerned, the aim of education and the educator is to create an environment of freedom for the child so that perfection in the child can be achieved. Other ideas of Tagore related to education like self realisation, intellectual development, physical development, love for the mankind, freedom, mother-tongue as medium are dealt with. Mahatma Gandhi on the other hand believed in basic education. His ideas concerning the role and aims of basic education are discussed at length in the paper.

Nandi et al (2015): The paper enumerates the concept of basic education as propounded by Mahatama Gandhi. The authors of the paper reveal that on the basis of Gandhi’s recommendations, the Wardha Conference passed the following resolutions:

 Up to the age of 7-14 years free and compulsory education be given to all.  Mother-tongue would be accepted as medium of instruction.  Learning by doing be made as ideal of education. And education be wedded to craft as per the needs of the child.  Balancing the remuneration of the teacher. Apart from dwelling on the merits and demerits of the basic education, the paper evaluates the relevance of basic education to modern day education. If adopted properly it can:

 Basic education can help in solving the problem of unemployment.  It can help in building good character of the individual by teaching the dignity of labour.  It can uplift women education.  It will inculcate moral, social and democratic values in the students. Bakrania & Jadeja (2014): This paper brings out the influence of Vivekanand on the educational system. He was quite against the prevalent system of education of his time which promoted rote learning. He on the other hand proposed that understanding is the key to success. Rote learning is not education. He believed that education is a life-long and continuous process which harmonises man to live in a adaptive way in society bringing peace and progress. However India stills is lagging behind in adopting many of his ideas like equal right to education for all.

Gohil (2013): This paper studies the concept of co-education of M.K. Gandhi. His study reveals that though the modern education believes in co-education but Gandhi’s opinion regarding this was quite contradictory. He was of the opinion that men and women are different creation of God so there should be separate education for them. Co-education is very apt till primary level but after that as there nature differs hence it becomes imperative to provide separate education to them.

M, M, (2013): This paper talks about Vivekananda’s educational theory in terms of the goals of education. The goals of education being man-making education, character building, physical and moral development. The paper also talks about women education, education for the masses and the role of teacher in developing the personality of the child. He was in favour of picking anything good from the west but to mould and use it as per Indian needs.

Das (2014): studied the educational contribution of Rabindranath Tagore and brings out that he favoured naturalism which is based on the notion that the child should be taught in a natural surroundings where he can develop himself and his creative faculty. Tagore was against the system of bookish knowledge widely practised during his time which is still going on. Teacher and taught should have a amiable relationship where the teacher should act as a friend and facilitator for the child. He also advocated incorporation of artistic activities like painting, acting, dancing and singing in order to sharpen the creativity of the students.

Kolanchery & Mathew (2015): The paper tackles with Gandhi’s views about aims of education, role of teacher, child cantered education, methods of education, philosophy of life and education. In Gandhi’s scheme of education, learning by doing i.e. education should be activity oriented. One of the primary aims of education in Gandhian thought is vocational education to enable students self-reliant.

Ali (2015): The paper deals with definition of character formation as proposed by Swami Vivekananda. It is the total of one’s personality traits. He further expanded his thoughts about character formation as it can be built through hard work, moral values, learning through mistakes and habit formation. The study also reveals the role of a teacher as one who brings out the latent talent of the student. The true teacher is the one who can come to the level of the student and guides him accordingly.

Rahman & Panda (2011): The paper dwells on the contribution made by Tagore in the field of distance education. It was Tagore who initiated distance education in 1936 through the Lok Siksha Samsad (People’s Education Council) though at that time there was no open school or Open University in India. He was impressed by the system of mass education programme when he visited Socialist Russia in 1930.Through this model he proposed that:

 Those who could not attend school, would avail the benefits  There is no need of coming to school  They will be given certificates when they complete their degrees  These certificates will help in insuring the job opportunities for the candidates.

Mondal & Mete (2012): studied the views of Vivekanand about the education system of the country. Their study is based on Vivekanand’s educational philosophy concerning his views about the aims, objectives of education, teaching methods and role of teacher and all around development, women education and medium of study.

Ghosh (2014): conducted a comprehensive study about Tagore’s views about the aims of education, nature based learning, religious education, teacher and teaching, teaching through mother tongue. One important concept dwelt in the paper is sustainable education which means freedom of education. Sustainable education thus implies freedom of art, freedom of intellect and freedom of will.

Hooda & Sarika (2014): studied Vivekanand’s views about character formation, moral and religious education, education for masses and women education. Education helps in man-making and nation making. Thus the paper confides itself to his much talked about ideas concerning aims of education.

Pal & Bairagya (2015): revealed Rabindranath as the first pioneer of distance education. Distance education is what Tagore’s very significant contribution in the field of education. In 1936, he set up this scheme. He even wrote a letter to the minister of education to start Distance education in Bengal. Though the government did not act on his proposal, he himself started with distance education through the Lok Siksha Samsad (People’s Education Council).He even practised this concept in Bengal. There were proper prescribed text books and reading material.

Paul (2013) studied the educational ideas of four Indian modern educational thinkers, and brought out the views of Tagore, Vivekanand and Gandhi regarding the role of education in developing the personality of an individual. As per Tagore education should be such that in which a person can develop his whole personality. The aim of education should be self- realisation, love for freedom and humanity, intellectual and personality development. As per Gandhi, education should have 3 H’s which means head, heart and hand. He also favours character building and preparing the student for his complete life. As per Vivekanand, education should be man-making, a person should have self control and self realisation and he revealed that education should bring out the best in child.