The education India needs

This is on occasion of Swami Vivekananda's anniversary. Linked here is a letter Swami Vivekananda wrote to Shrimati Sarala Ghoshal, editor of the Bharati, Darjeeling on the 24th of April, 1897. I will attempt to paraphrase the points I find interesting.

Most (perhaps all) things about education from the letter still apply. For instance, I doubt if India has made any seminal progress in making its people think independently. Intrinsic feudal attitudes that Swami Vivekanand observes that might have set in from the Islamic age were the first such attempt that stunted India's spirit of independent thought. In the British age, Macaulayite education was the culprit and this can be observed in today's rote learning that goes on in schools and even colleges. In the feudal age, this might not have mattered much because the royals would have thought for the people. But in a democracy, where public discourse is paramount, trust in the self is important. 

As per Swamiji, this lack of self trust could be because of monopolization of education in the hands of the few, which was the tone of the time Swami Vivekananda wrote the letter in and persists in this day due to left liberals. The latter is evident when you consider the poor portrayal of rich Indian cultural tapestry, and distorted adoptions of Indian ideologies such as secularism, 'vasudhaiva kutumbkam', socialist spending etc which just serve leftist propaganda. As per him, education has to be spread among the masses, and I must add here that it has to reflect the entire spectrum of thought from left to the right, and allow the masses to choose what pleases them which is in vogue with what they need for the moment. 

The next point Swamiji raises about is lack of originality. In my view, this will follow from independent thought and decentralization of education. Another feature that is needed for originality is devotion (Shraddha) to work, which Swamiji considers next. This is absent in today's Indian education as it is based on more of vocational training. While that is absolutely necessary, there is a need of education that inspires intrinsic love and duty for the vocation, which should not be a matter of merely performing an act for money, but something for which a man takes extra pains and performs in his vocation considering it a mission of his life. Swamiji suggests that the solution to all of the problems affecting India's education is self realization as advocated by Vedanta, and then expresses a desire that the editor spread this knowledge to the world. 

Knowledge, from a Vedic Perspective

This is from the book: "In search of the cradle of civilization" by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak and David Frawley. It is a good read, for people who are just beginning to learn about Hindu culture. I was expecting a lot more about certain details but the authors have only skimmed across several important topics. Perhaps, that was their intention. Anyway, I am paraphrasing from passages which explained what was knowledge according to my ancestors, which for people like me, who are in the field of creating knowledge might be irrelevant since we need to know things in its exactitude. The problem with knowing things from a materialist perspective is that the knowledge gets locked from the general public and they cannot grasp it without sufficient investment of time starting from the basics of that branch of knowledge. This is alleviated by the Vedic method of conveying knowledge and the subtle metaphorical ideas that are more generalized and easier to grasp for the laymen, provided he accepts a Guru and knows or is shown how to decode the metaphors. The following is how knowledge was expressed according to the Vedas: -

1) Vedic theory of knowledge is based on a belief in the interconnectedness and unity of the whole universe, primarily the three components - viz. the cosmos (adhideva), the individual living being (adhibhuta), and the Spirit (adhyatma). Thus, the Vedas are meant to be interpreted in three ways.

2) The Vedic rishis acknowledged that straight logic cannot answer all questions and that scientific knowledge included some paradoxes for e.g. Yajnavalkya when he says in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: "The Gods are fond of the invisible and dislike the visible." In this sense, the invisible is the vast realm of existence that is not perceptible to the senses.

3) The Vedic Rishis did not go into the details of any phenomenon, but communicated the essence of what they saw. And this was in the form of metaphors, which is why it is advisable not to read the Rig Veda superficially.

4) The Vedas are to be read with a questioning attitude and not with a closed sense of dogmatism. Asking questions are the first step towards acquiring knowledge, and in this the Vedic perspective mirrors functioning of today's science.

5) The Rishis proclaimed a unity that is inexplicable and can be seen only from an elevated state of mystical awareness. This is considered a creative reservoir or potentiality, also known as the Purusha and envisioned as a giant man.

6) The world was said to be created through the Purusha's self sacrifice. His mind was said to have given rise to the Moon, his eyes to the Sun, his breath to the air element, his navel to the midspace, his head to the sky and his feet to the earth.

7) The purpose of human creation was now to preserve the unity of the Purusha and all human activity including architecture, sculpture and literature was to be modeled on it. In fact, they set the goal of life to study the mystery of the Purusha.

We shall end this topic here, for as I said, the authors have only skimmed this important topic. I will revisit it when I get my copy of this great book by one of the best authors ever possible, on the topic.