Education in Ancient India c4.34

c4.34

induces the new entrants to imitate their example. The invisible yet all-pervading influence of established traditions of the institution naturally spurs the student to identify himself with them. The system eliminated the factors in home life prejudicial to the educational atmosphere and facilitated better studies; it however did not altogether eliminate the refining influence of the family life, because students used to come into indirect contact with it when living under the guardianship of their teachers, who were usually householders. It also served to tone down personal angularities of pampered children and made all students more resourceful and self-reliant and better acquainted with the ways of the world¹. It was felt that students trained at home would lack the benefit of school discipline and suffer from desultoriness and want of application and would thus normally compare very unfavourably with those trained in a Gurukula.²