Advaita Vedanta in Indian Schools

[Srikrishna Ghadiyaram]

Hari Om !!

--- "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at BRAINCELLS.COM> wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Oct 2002, Naresh Cuntoor wrote:
>
> > A child first begins school at home, with the
> elders in the
> > family acting as teachers. If an interest into a
> particular way
> > of thinking (religion/culture included) is not
> kindled at this stage,
> > chances are that the child won't bother to
> investigate into it until
> > he/she becomes an adult.  Sounds hackneyed? > >
>
> Actually what it sounds like to me is it is the
> grownups who are in dire
> need of education.
>

Yes, a very important point has been brought out that
all the parents do not have 'sufficient' background
and 'economic' flexibility to think beyond 'eating'.
It is a social menace. As much it is the
responsibility of the 'society at large' to help the
'child' acquire basic modern education and skills, so
much it is important that we consider the child's
spiritual development as an integral part of our
commitment to society.


> > Where else? see above..
> >
>
> TV?  Bedtime stories?  The internet?  I don't know.
> Parental involvement
> is the key that much is for sure.
>

Possibly if you made the above statement out of fun,
you might prove wrong. In the recent times, after the
TV and cable networks have become common place in
India, a lot of religious programs have have started
in every channel and they feed the basic enthusiasm
and motivation for the starved people. I hear that
there is a lot of interest for such programs. The fact
that every channel carries such programming is a proof
enough. You know how much successful were Ramayana and
Mahabharata serials on TV.  We need to do more, to
help a child build confidence and face life more
cheerfully, and employ the talent for higher pursuits.
As you noted a middle class parent needs help soon,
too.

Your ideas of achieving the 'desired result' away from
from formal school is not ignored. But, you know how
much the 'Sankara mathas' have achieved in providing
'psychological and spiritual growth from the early
childhood. Most of the people out of the Brahmin
community are left out (with exceptions). A society
can not be strong by such methods. God is for all.
Wisdom is for all if not Vedas. Also, in people's
minds and implementation, there is a lot of separation
between religion and spirituality. How can the larger
goal be achieved with such difference in ideals and
understanding.

Om Namo Narayanaya !!

Srikrishna

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>From  Wed Oct  2 20:39:57 2002
Message-Id: <WED.2.OCT.2002.203957.0700.>
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 20:39:57 -0700
Reply-To: braos at yahoo.com
To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
From: KRISHNA RAO <braos at YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Advaita Vedanta in Indian Schools
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0210021849120.20167-100000 at samadhi.braincells.com>
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Let me add a few words here since I started this whole topic....without causing much deviation from the actual discussion on Advaita Vedanta

 "Jaldhar H. Vyas" wrote:
On Wed, 2 Oct 2002, Naresh Cuntoor wrote:

Actually what it sounds like to me is it is the grownups who are in dire
need of education.

That pressure is increasing everywhere in the global middle class. Wasn't
it just a few months ago Time or Newsweek had a story about how even 9 or
10 year old children in some parts of the US are getting ulcers or nervous
breakdowns due to the high stress in their lives? Indian parents have to
learn from their western counterparts that ultimately the path they are on
is self-destructive.

Learning should be fun and for its own sake not some certificate. How can
we convince the yuppies about this? I don't think we can. I think the
system is beyond repair and we should provide alternatives and just let it
crash and burn on its' own.

Yes the main goal here is to see if the actual purpose of the teachings is served. Also it is very easy for you or me in the US to say such things by the few clicks of a keyboard. Trying to put these in practice is really the ultimate challenge as I found out when I was trying to bring some changes in the educational structure in my alma mater, UVCE, Bangalore.

Really sometimes I think the way modern society is headed is to denigrate the roots of the culture that it was built upon.





> >
> > Absolutely. I'm not denying this at all just questioning whether a
> > modern school or college is the right place for it.
>
> Where else? see above..
>

TV? Bedtime stories? The internet? I don't know. Parental involvement
is the key that much is for sure.

> How many schools, do you think teach history "the other way?" For
> instance, my peers and I studied the "glory of ancient India" for all of
> ONE chapter in ONE year of school. (in 10th standard sanskrit course,
>

I agree that most middle-class Indians have a poor grasp of history. The
reason is it is so politicized. In Gujarat (which is BJP controlled)
there is plenty in history books about glorious ancient India but info
about Muslim or British India is minimized. That's why I'm against
getting politicians involved.


The question of the right wing or the left wing doctoring the text books is really harmful because the children are the real future and I realize now that the tone of my history books in ICSE  was geared more towards eulogizing the West. This is a unified syllabus across the country based out of a system in Cambridge and boy did they achieve their purpose!!


> Errr.. how would say, an hour's class on a subject that motivates
> reasoning and thinking be out of place then? As you said, there's limited
> time .. So do you think there's time outside of school?
> see above..
>

It wouldn't be out of place. *If* it actually happens. That's what I'm
skeptical about. If the teachers are capable, why aren't they doing it
already?

> Its not a question of how much it is worth or how much it can achieve. Its
> about providing the inputs to people who might otherwise not get it until
> much later!
>

We can keep patching up the holes in this leaky ship or we can invest the
energy and effort into a new ship.

> > Also I want to credit my parents especially my mother for their efforts.
> > They are not great scholars or anything. But they did give me that
> spark
> > of motivation to want to know more and for that I am eternally in their
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> That is exactly what I'm talking about! Whats wrong if schools provide
> that motivation?
>

Nothing is wrong. One should just not pin hopes on schools while ignoring
other perhaps more viable (or at least tractable) sources of motivation.

In finality what I would like to add is rather than question this misinterpretation of facts, we could make recommendations on the principles of vedanta and related material to be included in a subtle manner. For eg. a generic text book was

The only reason I have brought this about, no matter how much we discuss or argue about this, real success would materialize in doing some good to the society. Why should we do this? I strongly feel that we who have been fortunate enough to even have got motivated into this discussion list have a strong responsibility to play in propagating these facts to the upcoming generation. If we voice the opinions of the strongly biased factions as an obstacle to every single element of truth that we brought out, then it would be better to stop the discussion on this.

Regards,

Krishna





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<P> 
<P>Let me add a few words here since I started this whole topic....without causing much deviation from the actual discussion on Advaita Vedanta
<P> 
<P> <B><I>"Jaldhar H. Vyas" <JALDHAR at BRAINCELLS.COM></I></B>wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">
<P>On Wed, 2 Oct 2002, Naresh Cuntoor wrote:<BR><BR>Actually what it sounds like to me is it is the grownups who are in dire<BR>need of education.<BR><BR>That pressure is increasing everywhere in the global middle class. Wasn't<BR>it just a few months ago Time or Newsweek had a story about how even 9 or<BR>10 year old children in some parts of the US are getting ulcers or nervous<BR>breakdowns due to the high stress in their lives? Indian parents have to<BR>learn from their western counterparts that ultimately the path they are on<BR>is self-destructive.<BR><BR>Learning should be fun and for its own sake not some certificate. How can<BR>we convince the yuppies about this? I don't think we can. I think the<BR>system is beyond repair and we should provide alternatives and just let it<BR>crash and burn on its' own.<BR><BR>Yes the main goal here is to see if the actual purpose of the teachings is served. Also it is very easy for you or me in the US to say such things by the few clicks of a keyboard. Trying to put these in practice is really the ultimate challenge as I found out when I was trying to bring some changes in the educational structure in my alma mater, UVCE, Bangalore. </P>
<P>Really sometimes I think the way modern society is headed is to denigrate the roots of the culture that it was built upon. </P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P>> ><BR>> > Absolutely. I'm not denying this at all just questioning whether a<BR>> > modern school or college is the right place for it.<BR>><BR>> Where else? see above..<BR>><BR><BR>TV? Bedtime stories? The internet? I don't know. Parental involvement<BR>is the key that much is for sure.<BR><BR>> How many schools, do you think teach history "the other way?" For<BR>> instance, my peers and I studied the "glory of ancient India" for all of<BR>> ONE chapter in ONE year of school. (in 10th standard sanskrit course,<BR>><BR><BR>I agree that most middle-class Indians have a poor grasp of history. The<BR>reason is it is so politicized. In Gujarat (which is BJP controlled)<BR>there is plenty in history books about glorious ancient India but info<BR>about Muslim or British India is minimized. That's why I'm against<BR>getting politicians involved.<BR></P>
<P>The question of the right wing or the left wing doctoring the text books is really harmful because the children are the real future and I realize now that the tone of my history books in ICSE  was geared more towards eulogizing the West. This is a unified syllabus across the country based out of a system in Cambridge and boy did they achieve their purpose!!</P>
<P><BR>> Errr.. how would say, an hour's class on a subject that motivates<BR>> reasoning and thinking be out of place then? As you said, there's limited<BR>> time .. So do you think there's time outside of school?<BR>> see above..<BR>><BR><BR>It wouldn't be out of place. *If* it actually happens. That's what I'm<BR>skeptical about. If the teachers are capable, why aren't they doing it<BR>already?<BR><BR>> Its not a question of how much it is worth or how much it can achieve. Its<BR>> about providing the inputs to people who might otherwise not get it until<BR>> much later!<BR>><BR><BR>We can keep patching up the holes in this leaky ship or we can invest the<BR>energy and effort into a new ship.<BR><BR>> > Also I want to credit my parents especially my mother for their efforts.<BR>> > They are not great scholars or anything. But they did give me that<BR>> spark<BR>> > of motivation to want to know more and for that I am eternally in their<BR>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<BR>><BR>> That is exactly what I'm talking about! Whats wrong if schools provide<BR>> that motivation?<BR>><BR><BR>Nothing is wrong. One should just not pin hopes on schools while ignoring<BR>other perhaps more viable (or at least tractable) sources of motivation.</P>
<P>In finality what I would like to add is rather than question this misinterpretation of facts, we could make recommendations on the principles of vedanta and related material to be included in a subtle manner. For eg. a generic text book was</P>
<P>The only reason I have brought this about, no matter how much we discuss or argue about this, real success would materialize in doing some good to the society. Why should we do this? I strongly feel that we who have been fortunate enough to even have got motivated into this discussion list have a strong responsibility to play in propagating these facts to the upcoming generation. If we voice the opinions of the strongly biased factions as an obstacle to every single element of truth that we brought out, then it would be better to stop the discussion on this.</P>
<P>Regards,</P>
<P>Krishna</P>
<P> </P></BLOCKQUOTE><p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
New <a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/evt=1207/*http://sbc.yahoo.com/">DSL Internet Access</a> from SBC & Yahoo!</a>
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