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Mahatma Gandhi & Good parenting advice :
Mahatma Gandhi was one of those people who
believed strongly in the goodness of family life and therefore he never endorsed
the view of separating young children from their parents for studies or any
other reason.
His opinion on the subject is well summed up in his own words: "The education
that a child imbibes in a well-ordered household is impossible to obtain in
hostels". This statement made by him almost half a century ago, in fact still
holds true in todays’ fast paced world, a world in which we see children who are
not even a year old being left in crèches. This is of course the case only
because both the parents of the child are busy with their careers and therefore
do not have time to spare for the child.
Most parents perhaps overlook the fact that the children undergo their most
formative part of their life in the first six years of their life. In fact it is
in this phase that 80% of their mental make-up takes place. And it is this fact
coupled with the state of parenting that exists today, that makes one wonder
about what sort of legacy we are passing on to the next generation. In fact, it
makes one wonder whether there is any legacy to talk about at all.
Gandhi’s views on parenting and the importance of parenting can be summed up in
another belief that was held by him and as stated by him: "for proper upbringing
of children, the parents ought to have a general knowledge of the care and
nursing of babies". In fact, it is believed that the development of the child
begins in the conception stage of the fetus itself.
It is believed that the
physical and mental states of the parents at the moment of conception have an
effect an on the characteristics of the infant. And in fact thereafter the moods
of the mother throughout the period of pregnancy, the desires and the
temperament collectively have a strong developmental effect on the child’s
mental state.
Mahatma Gandhi considered character building as the highest form of learning
that is to be imparted to a child. In his own words on the subject he states: "I
had always given the first place to the culture of the heart or the building of
character, and as I felt confident that moral training could be given to all
alike, no matter how different their ages and their upbringing, I decided to
live amongst my children all the 24 hours of the day as their father. I regarded
character building as the proper foundation for their education and if the
foundation was firmly laid, they would be able to face life in a much better
way.
However, according to Gandhi character education of a child never equated
to propagating to force one’s viewpoint on the children. It was Gandhi who said,
"It is idle to expect one’s children and wards necessarily to follow the same
course of evolution as oneself."
Mahatma Gandhi on Character Education:
Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbander, which is a small town in Gujarat. He was
born into a family of humble origins. His father did not have more than an
education of the third grade, and his mother was illiterate. Most of the other
senior members of the Gandhi family also had very meager academic education.
Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi was therefore the very first person from his family
to obtain the degree of graduation from a high school. However, it is also to be
noted that his academic achievement was below average. And in spite of such
humble beginnings and a below average performance in the academic fields, Gandhi
went on to become the most reckoned leaders of India who led India to achieve
the state of freedom. This is because, though Gandhi’s parents could not impart
much of academic education, they ensured that they instilled in him a strong
character education.
It is this very strength of character that later enabled
Gandhi to educate himself and complete the London Matriculation as well as the
London Bar examinations. It was this very strength of character that stood by Gandhi when he later went
to South Africa.
His sound character proved to be his main strength in the difficult
circumstances that prevailed there. It was with the help of this asset of
character that Gandhi managed to overcome many seemingly insurmountable
obstacles. Not only that, Gandhi also took it upon him-self to impart character
education to thousands of almost illiterate Indians in South Africa.
If the main element of Gandhi’s success were to be traced back, then it would
become clear that his strong sense of character was the unique asset that he
possessed which assisted him during his crises in South Africa as well as later
in India, with his unique weapon, 'Satyagraha', whose implementation primarily
requires lesser academic education but a very strong dosage of character
education.
In a particular presentation that was made by Dr. Shall Sinha, he discussed the
techniques that were used by Gandhi to teach the value, acquisition and
implementation of character education. According to Gandhi, there were four
vital elements of character education and these elements also help in academic
performance.
One of the most memorable quotes by the Mahatma on education sums up aptly what
he felt about the subject: "Education without courage is like a wax statue -
beautiful to look at but bound to melt at the first touch of a hot stuff." –
Mahatma Gandhi.
And although he had the largest and strongest following in terms of numbers,
Mahatma Gandhi did not consider it his greatest strength, he believed more in
the strength of character. The following quote by him sums up his view on the
subject: "Strength of numbers is the delight of the timid." – Mahatma Gandhi.
Author Sakina Kadiwala,
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