Nachiketas - General Preface

Illumination, Heroism and Harmony

Preface

The task of preparing teaching-learning material for value oriented education is enormous. There is, first, the idea that value-oriented education should be exploratory rather than prescriptive, and that the teaching-learning material should provide to the learners a growing experience of exploration.

Secondly, it is rightly contended that the proper inspiration to turn to value-orientation is provided by biographies, autobiographical accounts, personal anecdotes, epistles, short poems, stories of humour, stories of human interest, brief passages filled with pregnant meanings, reflective short essays written in well-chiselled language, plays, powerful accounts of historical events, statements of personal experiences of values in actual situations of life, and similar other statements of scientific, philosophical, artistic and literary expression.

Thirdly, we may take into account the contemporary fact that the entire world is moving rapidly towards the synthesis of the East and the West, and in that context, it seems obvious that our teaching-learning material should foster the gradual familiarisation of students with global themes of universal significance as also those that underline the importance of diversity in unity. This implies that the material should bring the students nearer to their cultural heritage, but also to the highest that is available in the cultural experiences of the world at large.

Fourthly, an attempt should be made to select from Indian and world history such examples that could illustrate the theme

of the upward progress of humankind. The selected research material could be multisided, and it should be presented in such a way that teachers can make use of it in the manner and in the context that they need in specific situations that might obtain or that can be created in respect of the students.

The research teams at the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER.) have attempted the creation of the relevant teaching-learning material, and they have decided to present the same in the form of monographs.

It appears that there are three major powers that uplift life to higher and higher normative levels, and the value of these powers, if well illustrated, could be effectively conveyed to the learners for their upliftment. These powers are those of illumination, heroism and harmony.

It may be useful to explore the meanings of these terms illumination, heroism and harmony since the aim of these monographs is to provide material for a study of what is sought to be conveyed through these three terms. We offer here exploratory statements in regard to these three terms.

Illumination is that ignition of inner light in which meaning and value of substance and life-movement are seized, understood, comprehended, held, and possessed, stimulating and inspiring guided action and application and creativity culminating in joy, delight, even ecstasy. The width, depth and height of the light and vision determine the degrees of illumination, and when they reach the splendour and glory of synthesis and harmony, illumination ripens into wisdom. Wisdom, too, has varying degrees that can uncover powers of knowledge and action, which reveal unsuspected secrets and unimagined skills of art and craft of creativity and effectiveness.

Heroism is, essentially, inspired force and self-giving and sacrifice in the operations of will that is applied to the quest, realisation and triumph of meaning and value against the resistance of limitations and obstacles by means of courage, battle and adventure. There are degrees and heights of heroism determined by the intensity, persistence and vastness of sacrifice.

Yama ( detail of a painting by Naqndal Bose)

Heroism attains the highest states of greatness and refinement when it is guided by the highest wisdom and inspired by the sense of service to the ends of justice and harmony, as well as when tasks are executed with consummate skill.

Harmony is a progressive state and action of synthesis and equilibrium generated by the creative force of joy and beauty and delight that combines and unites knowledge and peace and stability with will and action and growth and development. Without harmony, there is no perfection, even though there could be maximisation of one or more elements of our nature. When illumination and heroism join and engender relations of mutuality and unity, each is perfected by the other and creativity is endless.

The story of Nachiketas is a story of quest, quest of illumination; it is also a story of heroism, since it is only heroes who fight against the temptation of pleasures in order to serve the interests of the highest ideals. It is also a story that illustrates the sentiments of a young seeker whose sole motive was to ensure that his father does not falter in the performance of his duties as a sacrificer, and the first boon that he asks for is, tranquility and a happy welcome from his father on his (Nachiketas's) return journey from Yama, where his father had sent him in a fit of anger. The story is, therefore, an appropriate illustration of the theme of the value-education series which is devoted to illumination, heroism and harmony.

The story of Nachiketas is a story of an ideal student. That one should have enthusiasm to learn is the minimum condition that we should expect from a student. Nachiketas not only fulfills this condition but he manifests a special quality which is that he seeks the highest knowledge, the most secret knowledge and the most precious knowledge, the possession of which leads to the highest fulfillment, namely, realisation of immortality. What is still more important is his persistence in seeking this knowledge even when his teacher, Yama, offers him an alternative that is full of ordinary lures and pleasures; he declines this alternative. In other words, he was able to

distinguish between Preyas, that which is pleasant and Shreyas, that which is good, and he chooses Shreyas instead of Preyas. This story, therefore, needs to be studied by all teachers and students.

The text of this story is to be found in the Katha Upanishad, and it is well known that this Upanishad is one of the most difficult among all the Upanishads. Hence, this monograph undertakes a special effort to elucidate different terms and different turns of arguments, and for those who wish to lead their enquiry in the light of the latest research in the theme of immortality, a special note has been added, which aims at acquainting the reader with what Sri Aurobindo has written on the theme of immortality. Thus, this monograph may be regarded as the most up-to-date introduction to the message of the Katha Upanishad.

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