Wordsworth's Glorious Stage-The Source of True Education, Practical Wisdom & Spiritual Bliss

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European Journal of Education and Learning, Vol.9, 2010 ISSN(paper)2668-3318 ISSN(online)2668-361X www.BellPress.

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Wordsworths Glorious Stage-The Source of True Education, Practical Wisdom & Spiritual Bliss
Bala Harish (Corresponding author) School of English, Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engg. & Tech. 12B/58, Shivpuri Mohalla, Dhuri 148024, Sangrur, Punjab, India Abstract William Wordsworth, a great lover, worshipper and admirer of nature and a nature poet par excellence could reach the bottom of depth and the peak of height in the third stage i.e the glorious phase of his life in the development of his poetic mind and to generate the era i.e from 1797-1807 when he looked at mother nature with a keen eye of joy and bliss. The great literary works Lyrical Ballads, the Prelude, the Excursion, The sonnets, and Poems in Two Volumes reflect the Supremacy of his incredible imagination and excellent creativity. He could make poetry an unlimited and inimitable art that could break all the shackled and imprisoned chains of artificial convention.. The main objective is to provide practical wisdom and sanity, peace and serenity and satisfaction and relaxation to the ailing bodies, sinking hearts, perplexed minds and empty souls which is actually the goal of worldly education but in vain but his poetry proved itself to be the supreme source of true education. This glorious phase of Wordsworth can really bring a drastic change in the educational field to achieve the ever-seeking motives and set goals in worldly education. Key words: education, spiritual bliss, nature, goals & contemporary time

1.Introduction William Wordsworth, a great lover, worshipper and admirer of nature and a nature poet par excellence could reach the bottom of depth and the peak of height in the third stage of the development of his poetic mind from 17 97-1807 i.e. the most glorious period of his life when he looked at mother nature with a keen eye of joy and bliss. The great literary works Lyrical Ballads, the Prelude, the Excursion, The sonnets, and Poems in Two Volumes reflects the Supremacy of his incredible imagination and excellent creativity that could make the humans realise the importance of nature for the real and practical education to the sinking hearts and perplexed minds in this never escapable world. He laments the idea that nature is the real source of education and reflects her supermacy over the worldly educational institutions that fail to achieve the real goal of education.

2.Nature is Not a Mere Vegetation But the Best Teacher In his ever enjoyable poem She Grew in Sun and Shower The poet compares the idea that Nature is not a mere vegetation, subject to the law of growth and decay but a manifestation of God. This poem is an elegy (a meditative poem with a melancholic theme. It may be a poem of mourning, a lament expression of sorrow or a funeral poem).She is supreme and a great friend, the best teacher and ever helping guide. She makes the human soul pure and pious, more enlightened and far away from the worldly fears, worries and ignorance by drinking the sweet nectar that cures all the illnesses and actually intelligent that is the real goal of worldly education yet the teachers fail to inculcate these qualities.As Stern writes, intelligence is a general capacity of an individual consciously to adjust his thinking to new requirements. It is a general mental adaptability to new problems and conditions of life.(Stern inc.1914).The worldly people always seek opportunities to hurt us, to criticize us, to pass hasty judgments on our work and actions and to make us miserable and our plight pitiable. They feel jealous of our excellent achievements and growth. Their hatred and contempt pain our hearts as they mock at us to discourage us. The false love and affection due to hypocrisy and technical sophistication break our hearts and shatter our souls which are totally a contrast to the ancient long lasting and ever-true and loyal relationships. But

European Journal of Education and Learning, Vol.9, 2010 ISSN(paper)2668-3318 ISSN(online)2668-361X www.BellPress.org
education believes in cooperation and loyalty in relationships but contemporary education never miss a chance to make us totally self-centered. It makes us doctors, engineers, lawyers etc.yet fails to maintain our identities as good human being the shadow of the almighty.But nature like a true friend stands by us in every thick and thin, to encourage us always for every minor endeavour to enlighten our path in every difficult situation, to appreciate our work at every small success bit, to bandage our bleeding hearts; when the first drop of blood oozes out, these worldly misfortunes, distresses and despairs can do a damn to destroy our ever enlightened spirits.the noteworthy example of this is that even the most callous hearts that are totally indifferent towards nature feel immense joy and lot of peace and serenity in the lap of nature. Everyone wants to enjoy in the hilly areas where they could feel nature from the closer side to forget all the worldly worries and fearswhich is as true as the sun rises in the east

3.Nature's Education System is Totally Different From the Worldly Education Nature's education system being totally different from the worldly education always puts us on the right track like any incarnation of God that becomes the midway to have Darshan of his lord, that supreme power, that almighty. It not only provides the light of wisdom and sanity to our perplexed souls and agitated minds, but also channelizes our precious energies and sound potentialities in right direction and makes us truly creative as skinner writes, creative thinking means that the predictions and or inferences for the individual are new,original,ingenious,unusual.the creative thinker is one who explores new areas and makes new observation,new predictions, new inferences (Skinner inc.1968). The human aptitude and attitude get mingled in the bright light of knowledge and awareness from ignorance and insanity providing him something worthwhile to raise him from ordinary to extra ordinary and from common to uncommon.The sublimity of thoughts, the nobility of actions, the loftiness of mind, the purity of heart, the incomparable wit and wisdom, the divine beauty and charm and the spiritually enlightened soul are few noteworthy qualities that are the goals of education yet the natural objects like teachers reflect these ideal features.Wordsworth has emphasized the moral influence of nature through the following noteworthy lines "The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart and soul, of all moral being" William Wordsworths poems have the capability to transform completely the tensed and anxious hearts to cheerful and blissful ones. His poetry has soothing effect on the pinched hearts and the inculcation of unity with nature in his literary works makes the human beings realize the essence of that almighty whom is the source of wisdom, sanity, truth, loyalty and never ever the feeling of being lonely which itself is a great feeling to take a sign of relief among the worldly selfish and never reliable people and thus is the treasure of true and practical education for the people of all the ages.it actually transforms our educational psychology.As crow and crow writes, educational psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual from the birth through old age.(Crow& Crow1973).So every sensible person realises the never-breakable bond with the mother nature consciously or unconsciously which in turn is the shadow of the almighty- the real master and the real educationalist.

4. Natural Objects-The Source of Peace and Serenity-An Ever Seeking Goal in Worldly Education In Composed upon Westminster Bridge, Wordsworth makes his readers feel to the lees that the abstract solitude and all solitary things have an extra ordinary and ever-appealing fascination which the poet had never experienced so intensely as at the sight of large and vast city lying in the bright sunlight. As he writes: Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own sweet will; Dear God! The very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!

European Journal of Education and Learning, Vol.9, 2010 ISSN(paper)2668-3318 ISSN(online)2668-361X www.BellPress.org
Wordsworth motivates his readers to be always in the company of ever-friendly nature as she is ultra clear, pure and pious and being objective and unbiased remains away from all the worldly impurity, materialism and selfcenteredness. She teaches by showing her unbiased attitude irrespective of caste, creed, richness, status or power unlike to the world where Might is Right.motivation is considered with the arousal of the interest in learning and , to the extent is basic to learning(Crow& Crow)

5.Nature The Source of Extra-ordinary Courage and Self-confidence Inculcation of extra ordinary courage and self-confidence to surpass all the obstacles, mysteries, problems, negativities and unfavorable conditions are not confined to any worldly medicinal syrup or any hi-tech scientific invention but is quite minor to ever existing yet so pure and simple but quite mysterious mother nature and in turn to the omnipresent almighty. The poets works also makes his readers capable to understand the mystery of nature and in turn the source of the ultimate power and wisdom to enjoy heaven in the most hellish circumstances which is eveseeking in the contemporary time.Wordsworth also imparts knowledge to the readers about child the supremacy of his philosophy and an eye among the blind irrespective of his being gifted or backward.prem pasricha writes,the gifted child is the one who exhibits superiority in general intelligence or the one who is in possession of special abilities of high order in the fields which are not necessarily associated with high intelligence quotient(Pasricha 1963)while barton hall writes,backwardness in general,is applied to cases where theireducational attainment falls below the level of their natural abilities.(Barton1947) He is the best prophet and seer who can find those hidden treasures of, knowledge, power, strength and courage and wisdom that humans even could not dare to find in their dreams.

6. TheTotal Loss of Fear and Anxiety As today's fast life has made the human beings just like machines and the ultra modernity and high technology has produced the anxiety and fear as the by-products, but Wordsworth poetry gives the easiest and sure short method to satisfy the empty hearts, bewildered souls and the frustrated minds.The modern educationalists talk bigger but fruits are not even noteworthy.the man has lost control over himself.he has become a mere puppet in this high-tech world where education produces machines as products and consumes human beings as reactants.but nature helps to enjoy the incredible bliss in this mortal world.a tensed mind gets relieved so easily in the lap of nature where every possible medicinal syrup fails to do it so casually.

7.Wordsworths Poetry- A True Guidelines to Worldly Education The todays luxurious but totally lonely and pessimistic life has really tried every possible effort making the humans teared away from their basic abode and also tried every vain effort to divert their minds from the natural serenity. When the whole world was sailing in the boat of woes, sufferings, anxieties, tensions and dissatisfaction of hearts and minds, then William Wordsworths poetry comes as a flicker of hope which provides extra-ordinary and uncommon joy to the earthy people that was truly the motive of education which was far away from the territory of fulfilment as he writes:(Dr. Sen) 15 A poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company I gazed and gazed but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought, For oft, when on my couch I lie, 20 In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye

European Journal of Education and Learning, Vol.9, 2010 ISSN(paper)2668-3318 ISSN(online)2668-361X www.BellPress.org
Which is the bliss of solitude? And then my heart with pleasure fills, It believes in coperation and unity among human beings as a part of one group. Even the educationalists try to inculcate as they write,group means the members share an ideology-a set of beliefs, values and norms which regulate their mutual conduct.(Kretch, Crutch& Ballachey 1950)

8. Nature-The Source of Spiritual Enlightenment Wordsworths poetry is more worried about the voids in the human hearts that must be filled with the natural essence as they feel that Mother Nature is the strongest ever possible shelter for the sinking hearts and the fearful minds. It believes that the kinship with the natural objects helps to open and develop the insights of human souls. As Wordsworth writes in his ode which is really very high and full of optimism "Earth fills her lap With pleasures of her own" Wordsworth, in his works, refers to an ever-seeking an escape world which is not transient and momentarily but is immortal, permanent and everlasting) and incredible and gorgeous beauty of unique spiritualism which ever glitters with the divine nectar, human soul dances voluntarily, human feet move automatically and the real and true inner self of every soul gets lost in the charm while the contemporary education flourishes the transient physical self ignoring completely the transcendental soul which in turn is the cause of the survival of the physical self.What a paradoxical situation when the body is the king of all and the soul is a slave; a slave of this mortal world; a salve to the evils of this ultra modern society; slave to the transient luxuries and slave to this momentarily relationships. Our senses being fully aware of the transience and momentarily body yet fall a prey to the fake glitter. The only escape is a love for nature, the love for that supernatural and the love for their permanent abode.

9. Nature Teaches the Concept of Serenity and Satiation of Ever-lasting Soul Wordsworth teaches the concept of serenity and satiation of ever-lasting soul which has been totally ignored in this materialistic and mortal world. He motivates his readers to taste the divine and transcendental happiness and celestial nectar as well the laws of Nature remains forever.worldly education talks about fulfilment of worldly needs and desires. It talks about peace of mind and satisfaction of heart but fails to enlighten the path to achieve it.This is how the poetry of William Wordsworth appeals to the readers of all the age groups. The totally different and abstract moods play silly games with the human mind and heart and disappointedly the materialistic world, worldly relationships and worldly the best but good for nothing friends those are totally selfish could not help to satisfy the abstract feelings and emotions. There begins the role of nature the mysterious of all; the best friend and the best guide. Man's internal soul really knows the importance and significance of soul while the external physical senses have really empowered the powerful spirit fully while following the concept of ecocriticism, his poetry reveals the wonders and mysteries of internal hidden world where human soul gets face to face with the sheer reality of the world.

10. Conclusion The experts in the field of education feel that education must work like sugar coated Quinine to cure the inner gangrenes of human soul and heart and the soul of education lies in the peace and serenity of the literate's mind. Not only has this but the literate also got aware of the harsh reality of this world. He realizes the ultimate truth that no relationship is permanent and ever-lasting but in the absolutely adverse conditions the abstract almighty in the concrete shape of natural objects stands by us in every thick and thin. He inspires us, motivates us and raises our confidence level to make us arise from the unfavorable time and critical atmosphere. The humans

European Journal of Education and Learning, Vol.9, 2010 ISSN(paper)2668-3318 ISSN(online)2668-361X www.BellPress.org
become able to understand this fact and could implement in their practical lives, then there remains no worry, anxiety, tension, woe, suffering or melancholy at all but never ending, everlasting, the transcendental bliss to achieve the ever-lasting and ever-seeking Moksha!

References Barton,Hall(1947),Psychiatric Examination of the School Child,London:Edward Arnold Collins, Cobuilds (1996, 2003), Learners Dictionary: Harper Collins publishers Crow,L.D. &Crow,A(1973),Educational Psychology (3rd ind.reprint),New Delhi:Eurasia Publishing House Crow,L.D. &Crow, A.,Op.Lit.,P.254 Dr. Sen, S.,William Wordsworth, Selected Poems (A Critical Evaluation) Kretch,D,CrutchField,R.S.&Ballachey,E.,(1950)Individual Edi.),Tokyo:Mchraw-Hill in Society(International Student

Pasricha,Prem(1963),Educational Psychology:Delhi University Publishers Skinner C.E.,( inc.1968),;Essentials of Educational Psychology(ed.):Prentice Hall Stern, W.,( inc.1914),Psychological Methods of Testing Intelligence,Baltimore: Warwick and York

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