Holistic Heritage of Ancient India: Guiding Principles for Present Education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjiks.2025.v2.n2.024

Keywords:

Higher Education, Gurukul System, Ancient India, Pedagogy, NEP 2020, Holistic Education

Abstract

This article analyses the challenges faced by India's higher education system, encompassing concerns related to quality, relevance, and the importance of comprehensive student development. This study suggests that incorporating ancient Indian educational pedagogies, which include intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social development, could offer effective solutions. The article suggests that the Gurukul system, with its emphasis on personalised instruction and mentorship, has the potential to revitalise modern education through interdisciplinary learning and a respectful teacher-student relationship. Furthermore, it promotes the integration of moral and ethical instruction, as well as physical and mental well-being activities, such as yoga and meditation, to improve the overall quality of life for students. The article proposes a more inclusive, innovative, and holistic higher education system in India by integrating ancient wisdom with contemporary educational strategies. This approach aims to better equip students for future challenges and opportunities.

Author Biographies

  • Gyanendra Singh, Assistant Professor, Inter University Centre for Teachers Education, BHU, Varanasi

    Dr. Gyanendra Singh has been serving as an Assistant Professor at IUCTE, BHU, Varanasi, since December 2022. Previously, he was Assistant Professor in Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering at Thapar Institute (2021-2022), Post-Doctoral Fellow at Tel Aviv University, Israel (2016-2021), and University of Fukui, Japan (2015-2016). He earned his Ph.D. and M.Tech from IIT Delhi, specializing in optical interferometric studies of flexible electronics substrates and OLED efficiency improvement. With 19+ papers in international/national journals and 18+ conference presentations, his research focuses on applied optics, optical imaging, interferometry, holography, biomedical optics, flexible photonic devices, and physics pedagogy/assessment. At IUCTE, he coordinates NEP 2020-aligned workshops, seminars, and faculty programs. A lifetime member of OSI and IAPT, he serves on the editorial board of American Journal of Optics and Photonics and frequently speaks on STEM, AI tools, and research methodology in higher education.

  • Raj Singh, Assistant Professor, Inter University Centre for Teachers Education, BHU, Varanasi

    Dr. Raj Singh is an experimental physicist and science education specialist and currently serves as Assistant Professor at IUCTE, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. His research interests include ion beam physics, molecular fragmentation, advanced spectrometry techniques, and science education. He has developed Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectrometers (COLTRIMS) to study planetary molecules and designed Hybrid Electrostatic Ion Beam Traps (HEIBT) for investigating ion–ion and ion–laser interactions. He has carried out postdoctoral research in France, Israel, Sweden, and India, focusing on inner-shell ionization, Coulomb explosion, and peptide bond formation under VUV excitation. Dr. Singh has published more than 30 peer-reviewed research papers in reputed journals and books and has actively contributed to several national and international conferences. Alongside his scientific work, he is deeply involved in science teacher education in higher education institutions, including module development and pedagogical and assessment innovations aligned with NEP 2020.

  • Kushagri Singh, Assistant Professor, Inter University Centre for Teachers Education, BHU, Varanasi

    Dr. Kushagri Singh is an Assistant Professor at IUCTE, BHU. Her expertise spans nanomedicine for disease diagnosis and treatment, kinetic modeling of drug-loaded chitosan nanoparticles, polymer science, bacteriophage therapy for typhoid and cholera, and animal model testing for Salmonella and Vibrio phages. Her research advances life sciences and healthcare, while she currently focuses on equipping life science faculty with cutting-edge pedagogies aligned to NEP 2020.  A gold medallist in B.Sc. Microbial Technology (Jaipur National University) and M.Sc. Applied Microbiology (Institute of Science, BHU), Dr. Singh earned her Ph.D. (2012-2018) from IIT(BHU)'s School of Biochemical Engineering on a DST-INSPIRE Fellowship. She served as Research Associate at ICMR-NICED, Kolkata, and has published over 17 research articles, reviews, and book chapters in journals from Bentham Science, Elsevier, and Springer. She has actively participated in international and national seminars, conferences, and workshops.

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Published

2025-12-31

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2025): Research Review Journal of Indian Knowledge Systems [JUL-DEC 2025]

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Singh, G., Singh, R., & Singh, K. (2025). Holistic Heritage of Ancient India: Guiding Principles for Present Education. Research Review Journal of Indian Knowledge Systems, 2(2), 227-234. https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjiks.2025.v2.n2.024