INDIA
=Literature.=--_Marshman_, History of India; _Ragozin_, Vedic India;
_Spofford_, Library of Historical Characters; _Butler_, Land of the
Veda; _Houghton_, Women of the Orient; _Clarke_, Ten Great Religions;
_Johonnot_, Geographical Reader; _Macaulay_, Essays; _Ballou_,
Footprints of Travel; _Stoddard's_ Lectures; Encyclopaedia Britannica;
_Arnold_, Light of Asia; _Chamberlain_, Education in India.
=Geography and History.=--India lies between the sixth and thirty-sixth
parallels of north latitude. It is bordered on the north by the
Himalayas and on the south by the Indian ocean. The climate in general
is hot, which makes the natives indolent and accounts for their lack of
enterprise. The country is very rich, the chief products being wheat,
cotton, rice, opium, and tea. The area is about one and a half million
square miles, and the population two hundred millions.
The early history of India is obscure, as the Brahmans, from religious
scruples, have ever been opposed to historical records. It is certain
that there was an aboriginal race which occupied the country from an
unknown period, and that a branch of the Aryan[4] or Indo-Germanic race
came to India and struggled for supremacy. The Aryans succeeded in
reducing the natives to subjection or in driving them into the
mountains. The comparatively pure descendants of these races are about
equal in number in India, their mixed progeny composing the great mass
of the Hindu population. The Sanskrit was their classic language, and
the Veda their Bible.
=The Caste System.=--There are four great castes in India:--
1. The _Brahmans_, or highest caste, who are the priests, scholars,
lawyers, physicians, teachers, etc. This order is highly reverenced by
the lower castes, and its members are dignified, abstemious, and sedate.
Their highest ideal is to bring their desires and appetites under
complete control. They exercise great influence in the land.[5]
2. The _warriors_, who comprise the army and the office holders.
3. The _merchants_, _mechanics_, and _farmers_, who constitute the bone
and sinew of India.
4. The _servants_, who receive no education excepting in matters of
politeness and other things connected with their station in life.
Each caste must pay respect to the higher castes, and association with
persons of a lower caste is considered a degradation. The English
government of India does not interfere with the caste system, but it is
gradually breaking down.
Besides the above-mentioned castes, there are tradesmen's castes which
have grown up as new occupations have been introduced. Thus there is a
potters' caste, a weavers' caste, a carpenters' caste, etc., each son
following his father's trade. This accounts for the marvelous skill of
the craftsmen of India in weaving carpets and fine muslins, in metal
work, and other arts,--workmanship not equaled anywhere else in the
world.
Brahmanism and Mohammedanism are the chief religions. Buddhism overran
the country in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., but it did
not seem to be suited to the Hindus, and now it is found in its purity
only in Ceylon. Unlike the Chinese, the Hindus are a very religious
people. The Shastas[6] declare that "when in the presence of her
husband, a woman must keep her eyes upon her master, and be ready to
receive his commands. When he speaks, she must be quiet and listen to
nothing besides. When he calls, she must leave everything else and
attend upon him alone. A woman's husband is her god, her priest, and her
religion. The most excellent work that she can perform is to gratify him
with the strictest obedience."[7] The system of sale of girls at birth,
for wives, of early betrothal and marriage, of perpetual widowhood under
most degrading circumstances,[8] and the practice of polygamy make the
condition of woman in India still worse than in China.
The English now rule the country with such wisdom and justice that the
people are generally contented and loyal. Reforms have been introduced,
commerce has been established, improvements have been made, and new life
has been awakened. They have also established schools and universities;
but as the purpose here is to give a picture of the _caste_ education,
the English system will not be described.
=The Home.=--Woman has no educational advantages in India, and she is
regarded more as the servant than as the equal of her husband. She may
never appear uninvited in the presence of any man except her husband.
This has worked great hardships for her, especially in cases of
sickness, as she can have no medical attendance unless a female medical
missionary can be reached. This fact has opened a fertile field for
missionary enterprise which has been a great blessing to Hindu women.
A member of a caste may marry in his own or in a lower caste; thus the
Brahman may have four wives, the warrior three, the farmer two, and the
servant one.
Parents love their children, and expect of them unquestioning obedience.
Children are taught to love and honor their teachers even more than
their parents. They are taught to reverence and respect older persons
under all circumstances. Contrary to the Chinese idea of education,
which is to prepare for this life, the Hindu idea is to prepare for the
future life, and children in the home, from their earliest years, are
trained with reference to this idea.
=The Elementary School.=--All teachers belong to the Brahman caste. They
receive no salary, depending upon gifts for their support. They are mild
in discipline, and generally humane in their treatment of their pupils.
The instruction is given under trees in the open air on pleasant days,
and in a tent or shed when the weather is bad. Instruction is given in
reading, writing, and arithmetic, though religion constitutes the
principal theme. Memorizing the holy sayings of Brahma occupies a large
portion of the time. While the Chinaman worships nature and his
ancestors, the Hindu worships Brahma. The cultivation of the memory is
considered important, but by no means so essential as in the Chinese
system.
The reading lessons are from the Veda. In writing, the child begins by
forming characters in sand with his finger or a stick, then he writes
upon leaves, and finally upon paper, with ink. The work in arithmetic is
very elementary, being only such as will fit the learners for practical
life. Servants and girls are excluded from even this limited education.
M. Ida Dean says: "How amused you would be if you could take a peep at a
school in India taught by a native teacher. The school is often held in
an open shed, and no pains whatever is taken to keep it clean. Often the
rafters are festooned with cobwebs and dirt. Of furniture, save the
teacher's low desk, there is none. The teacher uses a grass mat, while
the boys sit cross-legged on the earthen floor. The teacher, in a
singsong voice, reads a sentence which the boys shout after him. Then
another sentence is read, which the pupils likewise shout in a singsong
voice, while their bodies sway to and fro. This goes on until sentence
after sentence is memorized. No one knows nor cares what he is saying.
The teacher never explains. Neither teacher nor pupil is ever bothered
by that troublesome and inquisitive little word _why_."
The castes are taught separately, and especial attention is given to
such instruction as will fit them for their station in life. The highest
virtues to be cultivated are politeness, patience, modesty, and
truthfulness. Morning, noon, and evening there are impressive religious
ceremonies in the school, and the pupils must throw themselves at the
feet of their teacher with reverential respect. There is no theory of
education among the Hindus, each teacher instructing as he pleases,
according to historic custom. This precludes any considerable
improvement in method or advance in the art of education. There is no
authority to decide upon qualifications of teachers, the only essential
requisite being that they shall belong to the Brahman caste.
=Higher Education.=--The Brahmans are the only educated class, although
warriors attend their schools for the purpose of such study as is
necessary in connection with their calling. The farmer caste, too, may
attend the Brahman schools to learn the studies pertaining to their
caste. They pursue in their schools the study of grammar, mathematics,
astronomy, philosophy, medicine, law, literature, and religion. Many of
them still speak their classic language, the Sanskrit. As their religion
is based on philosophy, this study takes precedence over all others.
"The Hindus are believed to have originated the decimal system of
arithmetical notation which has been transmitted to us through Arabian
channels."[9]
The end of Hindu wisdom is to rise above all human suffering through
knowledge. Wuttke says, "Christians pray, 'Thy Kingdom come'; the
Chinese, 'Thy Kingdom remain'; the Hindus, 'Let whatever thou hast
created pass away.'"
=Criticism of Hindu Education.=--1. It is not universal, a large part of
the people being excluded from its benefits.
2. It is based on castes and the promulgation of the caste system, which
is baneful.
3. It depends too much upon the cultivation of the memory.
4. It has no philosophy of education, and, therefore, is
non-progressive.
5. It does not properly honor woman, and excludes her from its
advantages.
6. It produces a dreamy, self-satisfied, indolent, selfish, and
non-progressive people.
7. It makes the people self-reflective, which doubtless accounts for
their profound philosophical and mathematical discoveries.
BUDDHA[10]
Buddha lived in the first half of the sixth century B.C. He
sought to overthrow Brahmanism and taught that all men are brothers,
that they should show friendship, kindness, pity, and love toward their
fellow-men. His religion and his spirit approach nearer to Christianity
than any other oriental faith, and doubtless his influence was great for
the uplifting of the race, though it cannot be classed as technically
educational. "Self-denial, virtuous life, suppression of all
self-seeking, love for fellow-men," said he, "are cardinal virtues which
bring blessedness to mankind." T. W. Rhys Davids says, "Buddha did not
abolish castes, as no castes existed at his time." Had the spirit of his
teaching prevailed, India would never have been cursed by this baneful
system. Buddhism is a religion based on moral acts. In a corrupted form
it has many millions of adherents in China, Tibet, Japan, and other
countries; but it is found in its purity only in Ceylon.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] The Aryans are supposed to have originally occupied the country east
of the Caspian Sea, though some authorities locate them north of it. The
branches of this race are the Hindus, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Celts,
Teutons, and Slavs. These branches are related in language and color,
and the peoples that find their common origin in the Aryans represent a
large part of the world's enterprise and progress.
[5] See article in Johonnot's "Geographical Reader," p. 197.
[6] A commentary on the sacred book, the Veda of the Hindus.
[7] Houghton, "Women of the Orient," p. 34.
[8] A betrothed girl becomes a widow upon the death of her promised
husband even though she be only two or three years old and may never
have seen him. She must always remain a widow, and as such is constantly
humiliated.
[9] Williams, "History of Modern Education."
[10] See North American Review, Vol. 171, p. 517.