Delivering holistic education for contemporary times: Banasthali Vidyapith and the Gurukula system

This paper presents a case of an Indian university, Banasthali Vidyapith, for proposing lessons for holistic education for the discipline of management. This case is being compared with the ancient indigenous education system of the Gurukula. What are the important features of the holistic education of the Gurukula system, and what can we learn from it as practical wisdom for contemporary times by analysing the modern example of the case of Banasthali Vidyapith, which is rooted in this Gurukula system? The research design that has been followed is qualitative in nature, using the in-depth interviews, observations and ethnographic participation of authors in both systems and interpretive thematic analyses. By addressing such a question the authors argue how management education can prepare the student for responsible citizenship when they enter society, which is one of the aims of liberal arts colleges in modern education systems. Another question is how can students nurture an integrative mindset of problem solving by allowing life-skills development that taps into the physical, mental, aesthetic, moral and intellectual dimensions of the student? The five-fold holistic education at Banasthali addresses such development and has features which could be interesting for management education globally.