Educational Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda B.Ed Notes

Back to: Educational Studies UGC NET – Unit 1

Educational Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda B.Ed Notes

Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January, 1863. His real name was Narendranath Dutta. He was born in an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta, Vivekananda and deeply followed religion and spirituality from a young age. He started practising meditation ever since he was a child. His birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day. 

Swami Vivekananda was a great educationist and contributed a lot in the field. His thoughts on education plays a significant role in the development of humans even today. In his words, education is ‘the manifestation of perfection that is already in man.’ He regarded education as a continuous process covering all aspects of life such as physical, mental, spiritual and moral. 

Educational Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda 

Swami Vivekananda believed knowledge exists within oneself and discovers it himself/herself with time. He felt that education must be such that it prepares one for their life. He was saddened to see poverty in the country and wanted to get rid of it. He wanted every individual to be able to satisfy their own needs and be self dependent. 

Swami Vivekananda felt that education was not about filling facts in the human brain but improving and sharpening the human mind. He wanted a society free of all the wrongdoings and evils. He felt this could be achieved through the means of education. 

The main philosophy of his life was to serve humanity with peace. For him, someone who was compassionate, kind and helpful was a person of enlightenment. An important teaching of his was helping others and putting the needs of others first before one’s own. He taught his followers to be selfless, fearless and to develop faith. He showed what it meant to have unity as a nation. 

Swami Vivekananda found his Guru in Ramakrishna. He founded the Ramakrishna Math which provided training for devotees like him and the Ramakrishna Mission to do social work and charity. 

Swami Vivekananda’s main teachings consisted of Yoga and Vedanta. Swamiji was the first Indian to spread the knowledge of Indian scriptures and culture in the Western land. He was an important figure in introducing Yoga and Vedanta in foreign. He felt that  through mediation, all the knowledge one has could also be practised. He helped in making Hinduism as a religion popular around the world during his impactful speech in the “World’s Parliament of Religions” 1893 in Chicago. He also helped to spread awareness in the unity of all religions. 

Conclusion 

Swami Vivekananda believed all knowledge is already in the mind itself and one just discovers it. He was convinced knowledge didn’t come within one from outside. He felt discipline was self taught and one’s character was developed by their own teachings. Book learning was not education for him but self development was true education.