Education in Ancient India c4.25

c4.25

Importance of Habits: One of the best ways to secure ready cooperation from students was to encourage proper habits; great importance was therefore attached to the formation of proper habits by the student during his education course. It was realised that habits constituted a second nature and those formed during the pliable and impressionable period of childhood would stand a person in good stead throughout his life. Rules of discipline, that are prescribed for the student, have been laid down not so much for the purpose of prohibiting him from doing undesirable acts as with the object of forming good and valuable habits. The habit of rising early was found to be good; it was therefore laid down that the student must daily get up at the dawn. Plain living and high thinking was recognised to be a desideratum; in order to develop a liking for it the use of costly food and gorgeous dress was prohibited. Life is a hard and long struggle against circumstances; in order to prepare students for it, rules were laid down calculated to develop them into strong and hardy men with determined will and great enduring power.