प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

II] SOME EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND POSTULATES 29 and impressionable period of childhood would stand a person in good stead throughout his life. Rules of discipline, that are prescribed for the student, have been laid down not so much for the purpose of prohibiting him from doing undesirable acts as with the object of forming good and valuable habits. The habit of rising early was found to be good; it was therefore laid down that the student must daily get up at the dawn. Plain living and high thinking was recognised to be a desideratum; in order to develop a liking for it the use of costly food and gorgeous dress was prohibited. Life is a hard and long struggle against circumstances; in order to prepare, students for it, rules were laid down calculated to develop them into strong and hardy men with determined will and great enduring power. Importance of Routine: It was recognised that routine also will play a great part in the formation of habits. The daily routine was carefully determined with a view to enable students to form good habits and master their subjects at the end of their course. Students of poetics and literature were constantly engaged in practising composition and versification. Students of theology had to take part daily in the performance of sacrifices, which they would be called upon to conduct in their after life. Apprentices in sculpture and painting had to go through a long course of routine practice before they could finish their course. Students in primary and secondary schools went through the daily routine of recitation and recapitulation, which enabled them to master their subjects. The routine was made interesting by making several children take part in the recitation simultaneously. Association and Imitation: Ancient Indians had realised that association and imitation play a great part