Education in the Light of Tradition: Studies in Comparative Religion

179 Pages·2011·3.081 MB·English

by  Jane Casewit

METAPHYSICS . COSMOLOGY . TRADITION . SYMBOLISM
STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION
The First English Journal on Traditional Studies — established 1963
Studies in Comparative Religion is devoted to the exposition of the teachings,
spiritual methods, symbolism, and other facets of the religious traditions of the world,
together with the traditional arts and sciences which have sprung from those religions.
It is not sectarian and, inasmuch as it is not tied to the interests of any particular religion,
it is free to lay stress on the common spirit underlying the various religious forms.
One of our primary aims is to meet the need for accurate information created by
the now world-wide interest in the question of “ecumenical relations” between the
great religions, by providing a forum where writers of proven authority can exchange
views on various aspects of religious life, doctrinal, historical, artistic and mystical, not
forgetting the element of personal experience and reminiscence.
By collecting accurate information about the great religions under their many
aspects and rendering them available to interested readers we feel we are fulfilling
a very pressing need of our time and also contributing in a practical manner to the
cause of inter-religious understanding. If there is to be an effective measure of this
understanding at any level this can only be on the basis of accurate presentation both
of teachings and facts. An ill-informed benevolence is no substitute for genuine insight,
based on information that is neither willfully distorted nor confined to the surface of
things.
In this manner we think that we are best serving the interest of our readers in their
search for truth.
(Excerpt from the Introduction to our first publication, almost fifty years ago)

Education in the
Light of Tradition
Studies in Comparative Religion
Edited by
Jane Casewit
Education in the Light of Tradition:
Studies in Comparative Religion
© 2011 World Wisdom, Inc.

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner without written permission,
except in critical articles and reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Education in the light of tradition / edited by Jane Casewit.
p. cm. -- (Studies in comparative religion)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-935493-99-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Education--Religious aspects. 2. Education--
Sociological aspects. 3. Education--Aims and objectives. I. Casewit, Jane, 1952-
LB1027.2.E38 2011
379.2’8--dc23
2011038883
Printed on acid-free paper in USA.
For information address World Wisdom, Inc.
P.O. Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682
www.worldwisdom.com
CONTENTS
Editorial vii
I. Education and the Human Condition
FRITHJOF SCHUON 3
The Triple Nature of Man
ANANDA K. COOMARASWAMY 9
The Bugbear of Literacy
TITUS BURCKHARDT 17
The Traditional Sciences in Fez
WILLIAM STODDART 23
The Role of Culture in Education
M. ALI LAKHANI 27
Education in the Light of Tradition: A Metaphysical Perspective
ENES KARIĆ 35
Moral Tuition and Education
II. Education in Traditional Societies
CHARLES EASTMAN (OHIYESA) & JOE MEDICINE CROW 41
Traditional Native American Education
JAGADGURU OF KANCHIPURAM 52
Traditional Hindu Education
MARCO PALLIS 68
Education in the Borderlands of Tibet
SACHIKO MURATA 83
Learning in the Confucian Tradition
WILLIAM C. CHITTICK 85
The Goal of Islamic Education
ANNE FITZGERALD-LO 93
Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
III. Dilemmas of Modern Education
MARTIN LINGS 99
Education at the Eleventh Hour
SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR 105
Modern Education: Its History, Theories, and Philosophies
LORD NORTHBOURNE 110
Intellectual Freedom
GHISLAIN CHETAN 119
Schools Adrift
IV. Solutions for Education Today?
JEAN BIÈS 133
Transdisciplinary Education: Profiles and Projects
JAMES S. CUTSINGER 138
The Once and Future College: Rose Hill in Theory and Practice
GRAY HENRY-BLAKEMORE 148
Educating Young Children Today: An Interview with Elena Lloyd-Sidle
Book Reviews
JANE CASEWIT 155
L’Ecole à la Dérive: L’Enseignement Actuel à la Lumière de la Tradition Universelle
(Schools Gone Adrift: Present-Day Education in the Light of Universal Tradition)
by Ghislain Chetan
SAMUEL BENDECK SOTILLOS 160
A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar
by Amadou Hampaté Bâ
Notes on the Contributors 164
Note on the Editor 167
Education in the Light of Tradition
Editorial
Relative — like the whole world —
Is the phenomenon of man, and absolute
Is God alone.
What counts is not the bustle
Of science and education, with which one struggles —
It is only our relationship with the One
That is all — of which men say
It is mere dream.
If thou holdest fast to God,
It is indifferent what thy pursuits are —
Whether thou venturest forth with lofty science
Or huntest bisons on the prairie.
(Frithjof Schuon, Autumn Leaves, “The Relationship”)
This profound poem by Frithjof Schuon tells us what the fundamental goal of educating young
souls should be—enhancing their relationship with God. Modern educators study extensively
“how” children learn or should learn; yet the underlying aim of learning is rarely brought
under serious scrutiny because the meaning of life itself and the human condition is no longer
understood in most modern education systems.
Almost every country in the modern world is undergoing “reform” of its education system.
Yet despite the enormous efforts and resources being invested in public teaching and learning,
modern ministries of education continually revise curricula in an attempt to decide what their
nation’s children need to learn. However, a clear understanding of human nature itself has been
forgotten, along with a loss of a sense of a sacred center and a connection to the Divine Principle.
A child’s sense of the sacred and the concept of his/her being a servant of God, or devotee
of one of His Qualities, has been replaced by the urgent need to solidify young allegiances to
nation states through education for upright “citizenship.”
As long as the Divine Principle has been eliminated from the foundation of children’s
upbringing, those truths that children essentially need to learn for their good in this world and
for the ultimate benefit of their final ends will be neither communicated nor understood.
He knoweth nothing as he ought to know, who thinks he knoweth anything
Without seeing its place and the manner how it relateth to God, angels and men,
And to the creatures in earth, heaven and hell, time and eternity.
(Thomas Traherne)1
If we therefore begin with the premise that our main objective in life should be our
relationship with God and to return to our Creator with purified souls prepared for Eternity,
it follows naturally that young people therefore should initially learn to understand the Divine
1  English cleric, mystic, and poet (1636/7-1674).
vii
Education in the Light of Tradition: Studies in Comparative Religion
Principle and its reflection in manifestation and all that this understanding implies for their own
lives, that is, how to cultivate a relationship with God and their neighbors.
Within this perspective, we can understand why the sacred was ever present in education
in traditional societies and instruction addressed a youthful soul as well as the body and mind,
the latter being considered an extension of both body and soul. Knowledge and understanding
of metaphysical and symbolic truths were formulated to address the higher reaches of the
intelligence, creating a vibration in that part of young souls which begins to overlap with the
Heart, seat of the Divine spark in all of us. Teachers, therefore, were held in the highest respect
and occupied revered positions in society because they were the transmitters of this precious
knowledge.
Indeed, the original goal of education was to understand and approach the Real, and
distinguish between the Real and the illusory, equipped with tools of learning such as a
knowledge of sacred texts enshrined into one’s memory and a thorough understanding of the
grammar of a sacred or liturgical language, as well as the ability to express oneself through
rhetoric and debate. Physical sciences, mathematics, and geography were also taught within the
perspective of their reflection of the Divine Principle. Children also learnt myths, magical tales,
and stories which evolved out of their respective traditions.
Most schools are criticized today for not teaching “values.” Parents blame schools for no
longer instilling a moral compass and discipline into students, and schools blame parents for
abdicating their roles as “first educators.” C.S. Lewis remarked, “Education without values, as
useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”
Undoubtedly, the transmission of moral values is problematic within a secular education
curriculum. “Values” can only be taught within an education system that safeguards a liaison
with the Divine, thus providing a framework for values which reflect Divine Qualities and
encourage young people to be “viceregents” of God on earth. True values and ensuing ethics
can only be understood against a backdrop of tradition and a revealed religion, encompassing
a sacred law which places certain limitations on individuals and societies in order to promote
virtue and preserve social equilibrium.
Most modern schools formulate “rules” and a “dialogue” about students’ rights and
responsibilities towards themselves and others which are generally carried out at some stage
of the curriculum. However, shorn of their sacred foundation, these rules (and the subsequent
dialogue) are liable to seem arbitrary and self-justifying, the product of yet another self-appointed
adult authority, to which students feel no allegiance, and against which they frequently rebel.
Taken to its logical conclusion, “ethics and values education” in schools cannot but instill
in young minds a distrust of adult authority and an identification of tradition with a sort of
oppressive tyranny of the aged. And indeed, this is precisely the message that the media and
popular culture incessantly “markets” to young minds. The result is (another) generation of
young people in despair, with few hopes or aspirations for their lives, provoking even further
social disequilibrium through their unprecedented, negative behaviour.
Although objections could justifiably be made that, in earlier times in traditional worlds,
equal opportunities for education were not offered to everyone in society, nevertheless, an
appropriate form of training suited to one’s destined role in life ensured the transmission of
handicrafts, artistic traditions, domestic expertise, animal husbandry, agricultural skills and the
like, and allowed most people to learn how to perform well the tasks bestowed upon them
through their destined caste, social standing, and gender. The underlying principle of education
in the light of tradition could be illustrated in another poem by Frithjof Schuon:
viii
Jane Casewit, Editorial
It may be good to bring a child into the world,
And to educate him with love and care —
But when he grows up, the world will take the trouble
To do the opposite: to draw the child’s soul,
Which is still wavering, into the realm of deception.
Therefore, give the child a right soul at an early age,
So that, with courage, he may choose the True.
The objective of this collection of articles on education in the light of tradition is to offer
a glimmer of the traditional view of education from within living traditions and to open a
space for criticism of modern, national education programs which have been designed based on
modern philosophies of education. As we experience it today, education is inevitably fraught
with insoluble challenges, as programs are constructed upon flattened, uniform curricula and
a philosophy which expounds “education for all”—that panacea for social ills which ends up
being instruction aimed at the lowest common denominator of human capabilities and ignores
the infinite diversity of human souls, while attempting to push as many young people as possible
through a public education system.
Some of the articles are philosophical and express traditional principles of education,
while others are direct or indirect criticisms of public education systems or offer alternative
approaches. Yet other contributions describe the transmission of knowledge and values from
within a traditional society.
Sincere gratitude is owed to all those who responded to our request for articles and
contributed to this special volume of Studies in Comparative Religion. I would like to especially
thank Michael Fitzgerald, Clinton Minnaar, Edin Lohja, Tayeb Al-Tayeb, and Scott Macky for
their continued support during the preparation of this special issue.
Jane Casewit
ix