No
one can be called educated who cannot preserve and expand his/her cultural
heritage. In this article I try to explain how Vedic style of education can be
incorporated into modern education system, in a way, that benefits both the
student and the teacher, which in turn benefits India.
What
is education?
Culture is the sum total of the accumulated
experience and achievements of previous generations inherited by succeeding generations
as member of society. And, the structured process of passing on this collective
experiences and achievements may be called education. The function of schools is
not only to make students knowledgeable, but also to make them cultured,
because education develops student’s ideal nature by giving them a moral
feeling and enables them to control their original animal nature. So, the ultimate
aim of education should not only be to full fill the desire of life, but to
also make the student fit to become a useful member of society.
Falling
morals in today’s students
We are living in an age of rapidly scientific
and technological changes, which nonetheless have many positive effects on
different social groups and across different societies. Much has changed, but
one thing that has not changed is imparting knowledge through learning, which
is a never ending process. The sad part in all of this is that, modern students
are not morally perfect and behave irresponsibly. The reason for this may be
that, students are affected directly or indirectly by the social evils such as:
idleness, egotism, poverty, sexual disability, materialistic appeals, evil
practices, corruption, decline in moral values and destructive
politics. This is where Vedic style of education can help, as it has tendency
to change the minds and character of the students.
Gurukuls
In ancient India, the gurukuls; where
students resided at guru’s place, were dedicated to achieve the highest ideas
to complete student’s development that included physical, mental, spiritual
development as well as God realization. The gurukuls were situated at beautiful
natural places which were near some rural or urban area to fulfill the daily
necessary requirements of the students. This system was free from any sort of
consideration of rich and poor, caste and creed, higher or lower etc. Even the
children of both rulers and peasants stayed together, and state politics do not
interfered in this education system. The students used to seek alms everyday
form different houses. They shared their alms with their teacher, and that is
how a gurukuls was managed. The society had a lot of reverence to students who
were seeking alms for their education.
Teacher
The pivot of the whole education system of
ancient India was teacher. He is also called as acharya, guru and upadhyana on
the basis of the function he performed. Acharya is one who performs the
upanayana; which marks the acceptance of a student by a teacher. A guru is one
who perform the samskaras; mental impression, recollection in Indian Philosophy
and Indian religion. And, upadhyana is who teaches a student a portion of the
Vedas. The education was mainly through ears and lips and not through writing
and reading. This was because writing was considered as inferior, and education
through ears and lips had the power to develop cognition, intelligence and
strong memory. The subjects that were taught were: religion, ayurveda,
vaishaishika, economics, archery, justice, reasoning among others. There was
the provision of free education, but after the completion of education money,
land, animals, grains etc was given as daksina; it is not a fee, but sort of
donation. They treated the student with care, respect, trust and duty.
Punishment was given, but was not harsh.
Student
A prospective student had to convince the
teacher that, the student, had the required intelligence, desire, determination
and qualities to pursue the studies. The age to begin education was usually
eight to twelve, and the time period for studying was twelve years and a
student could study only one Veda in that period. The classes were held in the
shade of trees and under some shelter during monsoon to ensure that the
students are in touch with nature which benefited their physical and mental
development. There were certain rules for the students to adhere regarding
their daily lives such as: to lead a simple life, wake up early before the day
breaks, get freshened up and take bath, and then worship God, and perform havan
etc. The students could eat food twice a day. They were asked to follow the
rules of self control and discipline. The students have great respect for their
teachers and treated them as their parents and King.
Where
have we lost it?
Long before the British rule gurukuls were
the preferred from of education, even in the time of Mughal rule;
1556-1707 its peak years, to the later
years when Mughal power dwindled till the eventual arrival of British rule,
gurukul system existed and flourished. During the colonial times, the British
imported their centralized system of industrial era education while
systematically de-emphasized the importance and usage of Vedic education
system. The modern education system is India is established by British, introduced
by Lord Thomas Macaulay in 1830 and later by Wood’s Magna Carta of Indian
education in 1854. Teaching was confined to the class rooms, connection with
nature was broken and the close relationship between student and teacher was
also lost. It was left to Dayananda Saraswati; the founder of Arya Samaj and
Swami Shraddanand, to pioneer the modern gurukul system, they founded Dayananda
Anglo-Vedic Public School and Universities in 1886 A.D. Then in 1948 Shastriji
Maharaj Dharanjivan Das Swami initiated the first Swaminarayan Gurukul in Rajkot,
Gujarat. But sadly, instead of following its own roots the modern education
system of independent India carried on the track of Western style of Education,
which is based on text books and examination. The teacher lost their right to
decide what to teach and how to teach. This type of educational practice
eventually narrows the area of knowledge, because to pass exams students just
needed to memorize the contents, without understanding it properly.
Need
of the hour
In present times where the news of school
shootings, drug addictions, overexposure to sex, smoking, alcoholism, incidents
of rape, committing suicide at a very young age and showing disrespect toward
elders and others are common. Incorporating Vedic education; which is the core
of India’s culture and rich heritage, in the modern education system will help
the student to achieve the following benefits: ideal of perfect mastery over
senses, to erect the ideal of truth, liberty, equality, peace and unity. This
will intern help in bringing back the true essence of guru-shishya tradition in
the modern education system, because the ultimate aim of Vedic system of
education is the development of personality and character of the student. And
correct the prevailing wrong precedent, which is, ‘education in India is linked
sorely to employment.’
