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SUMMARY
Paramahamsa Niranjanananda
Teaching is a very comprehensive subject. It has generally been accepted as being intellectually creative but in teaching, the personal creativity, the characteristic creativity, can also be felt today. In the name of teaching, we disregard the mental attributes of children. Like a broken earthen pot into which we go on pouring water, we go on pouring knowledge into the children's minds without any awareness of their receptivity. The modern concept of teaching has changed. Teaching is the mirror of society. The mode of teaching in schools is a reflection of our social order and our current way of thinking. But how can children be taught to overcome the distraction and dissipation that disturbs the process of education?
If we follow the instructions of the traditional Yoga Sutras, then it is not just the way of teaching which changes but also the individual's personality. First of all the child has to overcome restlessness and the deep-rooted tension has to be eradicated. To eradicate mental stress in a child is the teacher's duty. In order to obtain a state of mental receptivity, children have to be taught relaxation techniques. It is only when children reach the state of relaxation that their minds can become one-pointed and concentrated, otherwise not.
This is the theme of yogic philosophy that, before onepointedness, before concentration, in the practice of pratyahara, the process of bringing the mind to a state of relaxation has to be taught. When the student reaches the state of relaxation and one-pointedness, he begins to experience self-awareness. Yoga is not just a spiritual science, it is a process of self-development, and this is the proclamation of Maharishi Patanjali's first Sutra, Atha yoga anushaasanam. Yoga is the way to train yourself and discipline your life.
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