Authors: Prof. (Dr.) Dibyendu Bhattacharyya, Subrata Halder
Abstract: This qualitative research paper conceptualizes a comprehensive definition of education as understood through the philosophical, spiritual, and humanistic vision of Swami Vivekananda. Employing Saldaña's (2013) multi-cycle coding framework—comprising open coding, axial coding, and selective coding—this study conducts a systematic textual analysis of primary sources of writings of Swami Vivekananda. The coding process moves through a structured progression: from raw textual data to initial codes, from codes to categories, and from categories to overarching themes. Three primary thematic clusters emerge: (1) Education as the process of Manifestation through Inner Perfection (2) Education as the Integration of Mind, Character, and Skill, corresponds to cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning; and (3) Education as a Humanistic process, reflecting development of personality and selfhood as the supreme educational ideal. The study concludes that Vivekananda's conception of education resists mechanical, information-centric models in favour of a humanistic epistemology that nurtures the affective domain to unlock cognitive potentiality, culminating in the fullest manifestation of the human being.