It is amazing to see how life unfolds in silence. Sunlight helps plants to grow, bear fruit and flowers. Rivers flow, carving through land and making them fertile on both its sides. Animals and plants each have a role within the ecosystem. But the purpose of human life on earth remains a mystery, though it has been interpreted differently by different cultures
All animals learn through observation of their parents and the herd and information is absorbed through the act of participating in life. In humans though, education is largely seen as a process of information being imparted through books and words. But as every parent knows, you teach children more by doing than by saying what to do and what not to. In ancient India though, the Gurukul system of education in the Vedic era (before 5000 B.C) was based on total immersion when the student actually lived in the school and learned not just through information from but observation of the teacher. Information is given but the learning happens in silence. To be moulded in the image of the parent or the teacher it needs more than words so children can absorb the nutrients and process them in silence to blossom fully - not just to understand the rules, but to internalize ethical basis of their parent or teacher and know right from wrong when there is no sign-post. So while residing in Guru’s Ashram, they learnt to be helpful to each other, they grew up to understand what it is to be dignified, self reliant, and responsible citizens. That made them good human beings and good house holders as well, not just technically legally compliant citizens.This scenario changed drastically when the Britishers invaded this country. They brought new education system, which while it had many new topics, was dependent on bookish knowledge and though it brought many new ideas, it was designed to make people faithful and obedient to them and who's greatest ambition in life would become to secure a life-long job in government. And that hasn't changed over the last two hundred years. It never aimed to make great saints, philosophers, intellectuals or social reformists - and yet they emerged because of the historic fabric of the traditional systems of education that are so part of the Indian culture itself.