Education in Ancient India c3.11

c3.11

Infusion of Piety and Religiousness: Religion played a large part in life in ancient India and teachers were usually priests. It is therefore no wonder that infusion of a spirit of piety and religiousness in the mind of the rising generation should have been regarded as the first and foremost aim of education. The rituals which were performed at the beginning of both the literary and professional education,—primary as well as higher,—the religious observances (*vratas*), which the student had to observe during the educational course, the daily prayers which he offered morning and evening, the religious festivals that were observed with eclat in the school or the preceptor's house almost every month,—all these tended to inspire piety and religiousness in the mind of the young student. It was the spiritual background that was thus provided which was expected to help the student to withstand the temptations of life. The very atmosphere, in which he lived and breathed, impressed upon him the reality of the spiritual world and made him realise that though his body may be a product of nature, his mind, intellect and soul belong to the world of spirit, the laws of which ought to govern his conduct, mould his character and determine the ideals of his life.