Education System

(The entire approach is purely my guess work... and hence heavily speculative... At best, the benefit ... any... is only likely to be about the 'methodology' of approach... A thing, a concept, often ignored)...

The base of it , reasonably 'ought' to navigate around handling 'life' and aiming at evolving further.

The 'need' to revamp is felt, when it does not seem to 'equip' the 'educated' ones to handle life well...

Strangely enough,

this 'education'... was not 'isolated' from life itself... in the ancient days...
The 'structure' called a school today... was a little smaller in the ancient days, and not everybody was sent to it (Gurukulam)...

A look at the 'classes' (varna system)... seems to offer some clues...

One class used the 'intellect'.... more often..... to handle life (and obviously therefore, appreciated the interdependence with other classes better!).. the 'system' was incorporated (seamlessly interwoven) into the life-style prescribed to this class... (when intellect is 'addressed'... the activities prescribed, might transcend perception at logical/emotional levels... most 'rituals' seem to indicate this much!)...

The next class uses the 'mind' more often.... logic for material aspect of life... Emotions for maintaining the social harmony... Imbalance in basic-needs might upset the social harmony (emotional trust, the worst of susceptibilities)... The training thus involves an imparting, structured well enough, to suit the evolving social network... Concepts therefore needs to be transmitted with a little bit of 'practicability'... and yet, basic concepts ought to get handed down to generations, simultaneously+ parallelly too! The need to grasp the society's needs envisages a balanced emotional mind, to ensure an accurate grasp...

The next class uses the physiology more often... and in a very dexterous manner... The training is also therefore... more of physical nature ... they lean to handle their body well, and with a well-maintained physique, the emotions being capable of shifting very consciously (not oscillating too-loosely), between compassion and a sense of 'natural-justice' , dispensed judiciously... This class takes up the responsibility of administration, and defence...

The rest of the residual people happen to also constitute into a class, which keeps the 'training' aspect to its barest minimum... Even this class happens to transcend the animal level 'excellence' when we look at how the offsprings of animals happen to learn their way-to-livelihood all-by-themselves!

The classifications were never like a 'water-tight-compartment'... though the formal pronouncement of any upgradation rested with the intellectual class, while the down-grading was by almost a consensus, not waiting for the immediate availability of an intelligent/wise one in the vicinity!

Since the ancient 'classification' , has taken very ugly turns into political proportions in the present day, I had to heavily restrain a liberal use of those labels which makes a grasp quite easy!
But yes, I had to trim the 'observations' based on which I made this guess work, just because the readers do not manage the focus for too long! (Ironically, that... the observations.... constitute the most fascinating part of the analogy... it is too voluminous.... and unless a mind is really eager, the very exercise of reading/listening might become enervating... apart from the fatiguing to a mind!... Spiritual path, I find, leaves me with no options/choices about observing these traditional methods of imparting education, of which literacy was confined only on 'need-based-tutoring'... ).

Learningly yours,

psn (24th October, 2015)