Lenin - Preface

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

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 multi-sided, 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 team at the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAVER) has attempted the creation of the relevant teaching-learning material, and they have decided to present the same in the form of monographs. The total number of these monographs will be around eighty to eighty-five.

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

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.

Lenin marked an important stage in the history of the world. The world has been revolutionised, and no more can capitalism have the monopoly of the earth. The injustice that is inherent in capitalism was greatly understood by Lenin, not merely by his reading of Marx but by actual experience of Russia of his own times. Intellectually he was sharp, and he was thus a great votary of clarity and illumina­tion. That he was not even merely a thinker but acted vigorously to change the world gives us an inspiring example of heroism. Finally, it can easily be seen that his love for humanism was an expression of his love for harmony in the world. He had rightly come to the con­clusion that communism can survive only if the ideal of comrade­ship and brotherhood of mankind could come to be practiced. Thus Lenin can be seen as a great visionary who wanted fraternity as a basis of equality and liberty; indeed, liberty, equality and fraternity can be harmonised only if communism comes to be spiritualised. It seems that the near future will hold out a proof for spiritualisation of communism.

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