Upadesha Sahasri -1

[MSR]

>
> What is shraddha?
>
> shaastrasya guruvaakyasya satyabud.hdhyavadhaaraNam.h .
> saa shraddhaa kathitaa sad.hbhiryayaa vastuupalabhyate .. 25..
>

giita 4.39 - shraddhaavan labhate jnAnam

shraddhaavaa.Nl{}labhate GYaanaM tatparaH sa.nyatendriyaH .
GYaanaM labdhvaa paraaM shaantimachireNaadhigach{}chhati .. 4\.39..




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>From  Sun Sep 29 10:44:01 2002
Message-Id: <SUN.29.SEP.2002.104401.0700.>
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 10:44:01 -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.4.44.0209260013171.24218-100000 at samadhi.braincells.com>
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Greetings Jaldhar,
Thanks for the elaborate update. I can see the truth in your statements.
Maybe even if we don't teach the philosophy in schools, I still think a fair amount of weightage should be given to these schools of thought.I think it is more of a political strife like you explained. I feel history text books tend to emphasize on external influence and overshadow our own ancient scriptures
Krishna
 "Jaldhar H. Vyas" wrote:On Mon, 23 Sep 2002, KRISHNA RAO wrote:

>
> Dear All, I just joined this mailing discussion a couple of weeks ago. I
> am simply amazed by the knowledge base of all those out there. In this
> connection, I feel strongly that this philosophy should be a regular
> part of the curriculum in Indian Schools.

While your heart is obviously in the right place I don't think this is a
good idea. For a start it is the fact that schools in India are highly
centralized and rife with politics. When leftists come into power
curriculums are written to suit their views and when rightists come into
power they are rewritten to suit them. Would you want such a precious
jewel in the hands of bureaucrats and politicians?

Secondly it is a fact that most people are only interested in a formal
education to the extent that it will help them get a job. This isn't just
an Indian phenomenon. Here in America the number of people studying the
liberal arts is plummetting while enrollments in e.g business or technical
fields is growing. Advaita Vedanta is not at all "practical" in fact it
involves the negation of this world!

The above observations can be combined to make a third. In a democratic
country, the government has to provide education for all--even if they are
unsuited for it or don't want it. Schools tend to be factories for the
mass production of facts. This works pretty well for some kinds of
knowledge and less so for those that require talent. Just because you put
1000 random children into intensive music classes, doesn't mean you'll get
1000 master musicians. Some will show great ability, some will be
horrible, and most will be somewhere in the middle. In the same way in
any given sample of people, many will not be able to really understand
Advaita Vedanta. Brahman is in everything, in a rock as much as
Shankaracharya. But a rock will have much less ability to get moksha
because it has much less chetana and viveka. It would be sheer folly to
force this sublime thought on those who are not prepared for it.

> If we need to preserve the
> ancient heritage and see to it that there is a continuous propagation of
> thoughts it is important that the young Indian minds be given the right
> ingredients at a very young age itself.

I agree but the kind of high-level topics discussed here are not the right
ingredients. What is needed more than facts is motivation. A motivated
person will seek out facts for themselves. They will start asking
questions and that's when they can benefit from advaita-l. "ancient
heritage" always reminds me of some dusty old museum. It is more
motivating I think to show your beliefs are lived right here and now.

My daughter just turned 10 months old. Already she sits in my lap
sometimes when I do puja in the morning. She has learned to clap when we
say a dhun like "Radhe Radhe" When she gets older we'll teach her a few
shlokas and bhajans, take her to mandirs and read her stories from
shastras. And more importantly she will see her parents, family and
friends practice dharma without fear or hesitation. When she reaches high
school or college age she will be motivated to seek in earnest and that
will be the right time to introduce her to Advaita Vedanta.

> Most people at least those who I
> have come in contact with are of the opinion that such discussions
> should enter a person's life when he/she is in their 40s/50s . I
> strongly oppose that notion and somehow wish that by germinating these
> seeds of wisdom early in a child would maintain the sanctity and legacy
> of this rich tradition. Let me know your thoughts. Krishna
>

Our sages have recommended life be divided into the four ashrams for sound
psychological reasons. How will you convince a teenager that samsara is
full of death and suffering? They think they are immortal and every
experience is new for them. There will be a few exceptional ones (like
Shankaracharya himself) and I'm not suggesting they should be held back.
Because Brahman is all, its' realization cannot be bounded by time. But
most young people will not be ready. And it is true that wordly
experience and knowledge can deepen your appreciation of the spiritual.
How can you say "not this, not this" if you don't know what "this" is?
Shankaracharya almost lost the debate with Mandana Mishra when he was
asked questions about kamashastra which being a bala brahmachari he had no
idea how to answer. The crisis was only averted when he temporarily
inhabited the body of the recently deceased King Amaru.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/


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<P>Greetings Jaldhar,
<P>Thanks for the elaborate update. I can see the truth in your statements.
<P>Maybe even if we don't teach the philosophy in schools, I still think a fair amount of weightage should be given to these schools of thought.I think it is more of a political strife like you explained. I feel history text books tend to emphasize on external influence and overshadow our own ancient scriptures
<P>Krishna
<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">On Mon, 23 Sep 2002, KRISHNA RAO wrote:<BR><BR>><BR>> Dear All, I just joined this mailing discussion a couple of weeks ago. I<BR>> am simply amazed by the knowledge base of all those out there. In this<BR>> connection, I feel strongly that this philosophy should be a regular<BR>> part of the curriculum in Indian Schools.<BR><BR>While your heart is obviously in the right place I don't think this is a<BR>good idea. For a start it is the fact that schools in India are highly<BR>centralized and rife with politics. When leftists come into power<BR>curriculums are written to suit their views and when rightists come into<BR>power they are rewritten to suit them. Would you want such a precious<BR>jewel in the hands of bureaucrats and politicians?<BR><BR>Secondly it is a fact that most people are only interested in a formal<BR>education to the extent that it will help them get a job. This isn't just<BR>an Indian phenomenon. Here in America the number of people studying the<BR>liberal arts is plummetting while enrollments in e.g business or technical<BR>fields is growing. Advaita Vedanta is not at all "practical" in fact it<BR>involves the negation of this world!<BR><BR>The above observations can be combined to make a third. In a democratic<BR>country, the government has to provide education for all--even if they are<BR>unsuited for it or don't want it. Schools tend to be factories for the<BR>mass production of facts. This works pretty well for some kinds of<BR>knowledge and less so for those that require talent. Just because you put<BR>1000 random children into intensive music classes, doesn't mean you'll get<BR>1000 master musicians. Some will show great ability, some will be<BR>horrible, and most will be somewhere in the middle. In the same way in<BR>any given sample of people, many will not be able to really understand<BR>Advaita Vedanta. Brahman is in everything, in a rock as much as<BR>Shankaracharya. But a rock will have much less ability to get moksha<BR>because it has much less chetana and viveka. It would be sheer folly to<BR>force this sublime thought on those who are not prepared for it.<BR><BR>> If we need to preserve the<BR>> ancient heritage and see to it that there is a continuous propagation of<BR>> thoughts it is important that the young Indian minds be given the right<BR>> ingredients at a very young age itself.<BR><BR>I agree but the kind of high-level topics discussed here are not the right<BR>ingredients. What is needed more than facts is motivation. A motivated<BR>person will seek out facts for themselves. They will start asking<BR>questions and that's when they can benefit from advaita-l. "ancient<BR>heritage" always reminds me of some dusty old museum. It is more<BR>motivating I think to show your beliefs are lived right here and now.<BR><BR>My daughter just turned 10 months old. Already she sits in my lap<BR>sometimes when I do puja in the morning. She has learned to clap when we<BR>say a dhun like "Radhe Radhe" When she gets older we'll teach her a few<BR>shlokas and bhajans, take her to mandirs and read her stories from<BR>shastras. And more importantly she will see her parents, family and<BR>friends practice dharma without fear or hesitation. When she reaches high<BR>school or college age she will be motivated to seek in earnest and that<BR>will be the right time to introduce her to Advaita Vedanta.<BR><BR>> Most people at least those who I<BR>> have come in contact with are of the opinion that such discussions<BR>> should enter a person's life when he/she is in their 40s/50s . I<BR>> strongly oppose that notion and somehow wish that by germinating these<BR>> seeds of wisdom early in a child would maintain the sanctity and legacy<BR>> of this rich tradition. Let me know your thoughts. Krishna<BR>><BR><BR>Our sages have recommended life be divided into the four ashrams for sound<BR>psychological reasons. How will you convince a teenager that samsara is<BR>full of death and suffering? They think they are immortal and every<BR>experience is new for them. There will be a few exceptional ones (like<BR>Shankaracharya himself) and I'm not suggesting they should be held back.<BR>Because Brahman is all, its' realization cannot be bounded by time. But<BR>most young people will not be ready. And it is true that wordly<BR>experience and knowledge can deepen your appreciation of the spiritual.<BR>How can you say "not this, not this" if you don't know what "this" is?<BR>Shankaracharya almost lost the debate with Mandana Mishra when he was<BR>asked questions about kamashastra which being a bala brahmachari he had no<BR>idea how to answer. The crisis was only averted when he temporarily<BR>inhabited the body of the recently deceased King Amaru.<BR><BR>--<BR>Jaldhar H. Vyas <JALDHAR at BRAINCELLS.COM><BR>It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/</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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