THE NEW EDUCATION                           185
In my opinion, intelligent labour is for the time
being the only primary and adult education in this land
of starving millions. . . . Literary education should follow
the education of the hand—the one gift that visibly
distinguishes man from beast. It is a superstition to
think that the fullest development of man is impossible
without a knowledge of the art of reading and writing.
That knowledge undoubtedly adds grace to life, but it
is in no way indispensable for man's moral, physical,
or material growth.
Harijan, 8-3-'35
I hold that true education of the intellect can only
come through a proper exercise and training of the
bodily organs, e.g. hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc* In
other words, an intelligent use of the bodily organs in a
child provides the best and quickest way of developing
his intellect. But unless the development of the mind and
body goes hand in hand with a corresponding awakening
of the soul, the former alone would prove to be a poor
lopsided affair. By spiritual training I mean education
of the heart. A proper and all-round development of
the mind, therefore, can take place only when it pro-
ceeds pari passu with the education of the physical and
spiritual faculties of the child. They constitute an indi-
visible whole. According to this theory, therefore, it
would be a gross fallacy to suppose that they can be
developed piecemeal or independently of one another.
Harijan, 8-5-'37
The baneful effects of absence of proper co-ordina-
tion and harmony among the various faculties of body,
mind and soul respectively are obvious. They are all
around us; only we have lost perception of them owing
to our present perverse associations.
Harijan, 8-5-'37