Swami Vivekananda , the prophet of the modern age and a modern exponent of the Vedanta Philosophy defined 'education' as the 'manifestation of perfection already in man' . It is not merely the accumulation of facts and information, but the assimilation of knowledge and wisdom , inherent in man but in a dormant state. According to him , the external world works only as a suggestion or occasion and sets one's mind to unveil the successive covers of ignorance and discover the true-self, i.e., the divine nature of one's innermost soul. The divine soul of man is a treasure-house of infinite knowledge about the universe. Thus a man learns from within and in the process of his awakening , he expresses his hidden potentials , which are required for an all-round development of his integrated personality.
In determining the method of education, Vivekananda looked upon 'religion' as the innermost core of education. To him, religion is nothing but 'realization' , a process of 'being' and 'becoming' . Thus he strongly recommended a 'life-building' , 'character-forming' and 'man-making' education system by which one can increase the strength of mind , intensify faith in oneself , cultivate the will-power , develop the power of concentration , expand the intellect and also one can stand on one's own feet as an ideal perfect being. These are the motivating powers , which push the citizens of a country going forward in the march of civilization.
In his educational scheme for India , Swamiji gave highest priority to the spread of mass-education and female -education for the restoration of lost individuality of the poor people and also for empowerment of the women.Thus the whole education system of a country , whether spiritual or secular , should be guided by its national ideal , so that the greater challenges of national progress can be met with more confidence and competence in the long-run.
The supreme goal of education should be to strive for achieving 'self-control' and 'detachment' from the worldly affairs like 'pleasure' and 'pain' . Ultimately , a self-less , dispassionate learner can only enjoy the freedom of soul,i.e., emancipation from the bonds of 'illusion' and liberation from the 'self' through 'salvation' , which is the highest state of existence.[ Existence- Knowledge-Bliss](sacchidananda)
