(The education that we Bhaaratvaasi are receiving is all wrong, rather we are being told only information that also wrong. In Democracy this is in hands of Rulers i.e. the politicians whom we have given votes and elected as our representatives.)
As is understood, the education system that we follow in Bhaarat now, was given by British Government in 1835 as per the recommendations of the Education Secretary Lord McCauley. Till that time for nearly 1000 years, there was hardly any education system in existent as a public system. Some Gurukuls were running at important Dharmsthal like Kashi, Paithan, Rishikesh etc. and imparting Vaidik education to willing students. But the students coming out of them were very few and far between.
British initiated this education system with a rider that the qualified people will be employed by the Government. Hungry Brahmins were the first to jump for the bounty. This solved two problems with one decision; Government could get a positive help from Bhaarateeya people to Government’s efforts of Ruling the population and the educated people would surely be in the opposite camp from nationalist people who were trying to overthrow the British Government.
We find our students are (after the Education) becoming atheists as well as disrespectful towards their family elders, teachers as well as Bhaarat Rashtra. They do get degraded morally as so many instances of copying in examinations are being exposed. Now new ideas are emerging to teach them morality, respect to elders as well as patriotism. Is it possible to teach these topics in piecemeal manner? It needs the children to have their elders steeped in Bhaarateeya culture to imitate them. Till 1947 we did not need to teach these topics to the students and still we find umpteen people went to jails by joining Mahatma Gandhi’s Freedom Struggle of Bhaarat. What has happened in these seventy odd years after independence? But presently not only fathers and uncles but even mothers and aunties of children are away to offices daily and therefore unable to provide necessary guidance to them. Since British were foreigners, Bhaarateeya students did join the education keeping in mind the compulsion and there always was a subtle desire to get proper education on our own like getting Bhaarateeya Sanskaar from elders in home and the neighbourhoods, reading ancient books on Bhaarateeya Rishis & saints, biographies of Nationalists (who put in efforts from time to time to overthrow British Rule in Bhaarat).
Since the Government now is ours, the disbelief on Government has been off. But the education system has remained same. Bhaarat still has predominantly Hindu population with their ancient and glorious culture but (it appears that) this culture is intentionally being removed from amongst people and Western i.e. align one is being enforced compulsorily instead. As expressed by Swami Vivekanand in a lecture in USA, this culture ensures that the followers of western culture will be Godless as well as 10 times more selfish. We are seeing this prophesy being realized?
The Western civilization provides merely intellectual and not holistic training to the pupils. Swami Vivekanand said about this Education System in a lecture while touring America, “It is one of the evils of your Western civilisation that you are after intellectual education alone, and take no care of the heart. It only makes men ten times more selfish, and that will be your destruction. When there is conflict between the heart and the brain, let the heart be followed, because intellect has only one state, reason, and within that, intellect works, and cannot get beyond. It is the heart which takes one to the highest plane, which intellect can never reach; it goes beyond intellect, and reaches to what is called inspiration. Intellect can never become inspired; only the heart, when it is enlightened, becomes inspired. An intellectual, heartless man never becomes an inspired man. It is always the heart that speaks in the man of love; it discovers a greater instrument than intellect can give you, the instrument of inspiration. Just as the intellect is the instrument of knowledge, so is the heart the instrument of inspiration. In a lower state it is a much weaker instrument than intellect. An ignorant man knows nothing, but he is a little emotional by nature. Compare him with a great professor — what wonderful power the latter possesses! But the professor is bound by his intellect, and he can be a devil and an intellectual man at the same time; but the man of heart can never be a devil; no man with emotion was ever a devil. Properly cultivated, the heart can be changed, and will go beyond intellect; it will be changed into inspiration. Man will have to go beyond intellect in the end. The knowledge of man, his powers of perception, of reasoning and intellect and heart, all are busy churning this milk of the world. Out of long churning comes butter, and this butter is God. Men of heart get the “butter”, and the “buttermilk” is left for the intellectual”. (From The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand – Volume 1). In short, people educated in this system will remain Godless (Atheist), become lot more selfish and less inspirational. Since the person has learnt subjects, he cannot go beyond his lower consciousness which is limited by his intellect. Inspiration, Compassion, Intuition etc. are all beyond limit of intellect i.e. transcendence towards God, in higher consciousness. Therefore these people cannot reach there It will be a good idea to try and understand the make up of human mind in order to understand its efforts to gain knowledge better. Of course all the species do remain in this, lower consciousness
throughout their lives. Only man has capability to visit the higher consciousness (if he desires). As per Bhagavad Geetaa, there are routes (Yog-Marg) by which a person can cross the transcendence and go to higher consciousness zone; Bhakti, Karm and Dnyaan.
In Sanskrit there is a saying ‘Vidyaa vinayen shobhate’ (i.e. Knowledge shines with humility). So in reality, the presently learned people do not have knowledge.
Education or training of human minds must accompany Meditation. Gurukul system of education being followed in Bhaarat since ancient time did include this aspect essentially. This is another lacuna in the current education system and it remains useless.
It is worth noting that a man need not get the education that our Government is insisting on each of us to have. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are the three basic ‘R’s that every individual must have acquired while he/she is 5-6 years old at homes, temples or other community centres. It is not a big deal. The important thing is his ways of using these basic skills to become an ethical and honest person. The current education system being imposed is really making the student dishonest due to examinations and competition existing at each level of his growth in the community. Once he has acquired the 3 Rs, he is capable of thinking and this makes him eligible to practice Meditation as well. Sincere and regular practice of Meditation makes the person free form any ‘acquired vices’ and keeps his mind clean for acquiring knowledge.
Government should concern itself to see that the citizens are well versed in 3Rs and that is all. They must not continue with the Education system started by British since 1835 as routine. We must restart Gurukul system of Vedic education to (at least) consenting students. Whatever Ved-Pathshaalaas are functioning, may be converted to Gurukuls with appropriate resources by the Government. In case some students need current system of education it may continue in some Universities with Meditation i.e. Raaj-Yog practice and Bhaarateeya culture as compulsory subjects (in addition) in all classes.
Recruitments to bureaucracy from current system will stop after some years from now and retiring bureaucrats then should be replaced by students graduated from Gurukuls (Snaatak) on the recommendation of their Kulgurus. Other Gurukul-passed students can join any post in private sector or become entrepreneurs as they desire.
Once the outside world starts realizing the results of Bhaarateeya education system, they will be coming to Bhaarat for suitable advice to change their own systems. Bhaarat will have to give them correct advice since She is the preordained Jagadguruu to give sane advice to the whole world. To become capable to be in this position She has to first become herself fully respected icon in this field.
Till we can fully change our education system to Gurukul type, holistic one, we shall have to run the current system for some years, but the efforts must be made to convert current education system to Holistic form as early as possible.
—–Prof M D Apte – mdapte2@gmail.com;