NEW AGE INDIA BUILT ON ETERNAL INDIAN VALUES

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NEW AGE INDIA BUILT ON ETERNAL INDIAN VALUES

• Presentation Prepared by
• D. Rajaraman
• MES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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NEW AGE INDIA BUILT ON ETERNAL INDIAN VALUES

• The aim of this presentation is to capture the
  wisdom of the age old eternal values and to make
  it relevant for these times and to help the
  educators to come up with innovative
  methodologies to help students to harness their
  latent potential and channel their energies
  towards cultivation and sharpening of multiple
  dimensions of human competencies.
• This presentation addresses the topic of
  education from ancient Indian cultural
  perspective which is still applicable and
  provides an effective approach to make students
  more socially concerned, compassionate, liberal,
  ethical, and humane through the development of
  holistic personality.
• This has sustained for 1500 years and will
  survive, since it has all the ingredients for the
  current world too.

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What educators want?

• What kind of education is needed for what kind of
  society of tomorrow?
• According to the educationists, Education, must
  serve society as an instrument for fostering the
  creation of good citizens. Hence the process must
  take into the account of agreed upon values and
  concerns such as,
• human rights, tolerance, understanding,
  democracy, responsibility, universality, cultural
  identity, the search for peace, the preservation
  of the environment and the sharing of knowledge.

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Education What is happening in India?
We have continued Maculism for the past sixty
years

• I have traveled the length and breadth of India
  and there I have not seen one person who is a
  beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen
  in this country, such high moral values, people
  of such caliber, that I do not think we would
  ever conquer this country, unless we break the
  very backbone of this nation, which is her
  spiritual and cultural heritage and, therefore, I
  propose that we replace her old and ancient
  education system, her culture, for if the Indians
  think that all that is foreign and English is
  good and greater than their own, they will lose
  their self esteem, their native culture and they
  will become what we want them, a truly dominated
  nation.

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Education Todays Reality

• For more than a century, India has been talked
  about as the Spiritual guru of the world. While
  such a title is absolutely deserving, the
  negative side has been rarely examined!
• Spiritualism is viewed with bunch of
  superstitions with little logical and scientific
  basis of its existence.
• Majority of the English educated class, which
  mostly lives in cities, practices little of
  spirituality.
• Their English education and life style has
  allowed them surrender most of their ancestral
  spirituality based cultures and traditions.
• This group has consistently denigrated Indias
  core value system in public life, business, and
  most importantly in the education system, in the
  name of PROGRESSIVE MODERN THINKING.

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Modernisation is Westernisation
Due to over a century of brain washing through
Macaulay system of English education, majority of
Indians are habituated to believe that anything
west is always best. To be modern our lifestyle
and thought style should necessarily be western.
We must come out of it at the earliest and be
prepared to think free of western biases. We must
accept that modernization is not westernization
and westernization is not modernization. Blind
imitation of the west would only indicate
bankruptcy of our native genius or acute
inferiority complex. Countries will have to find
out their own respective paths to prosperity in
the light of their respective traditions,
conditions and requirements.
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Two entirely different paradigms

• WESTERN
• Compartmentalised thinking  
• Man a mere material being 
• Subservience to Artha-Kama
• Society, a club of self-centered Individuals 
• Happiness for oneself
• Acquisitiveness

• HINDU
• Integrated thinking
• Man a physical-mental-Intellectual-spiritual
  being.
• Drive towards Puru shartha Chatushtaya
• Society, a body with all individuals therein as
  its limbs.
• Happiness for all
• Aparigraha (non-possession)

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Two entirely different paradigms

• WESTERN
• Profit motive 
• Consumerism
• Exploitation 
• Contrived scarcities
• Economy of rising prices
• Monopoly capitalism through various devices

• HINDU
• Service motive
• Restrain consumption
• entitlements as a matter of right for priority
  groups
• Abundance of production
• Economy of declining prices
• Free competition without manipulated markets

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Two entirely different paradigms

• WESTERN
• Economic theories centered  round wage-employment
• Ever-widening disparities
• The rape of Nature
• Constant conflicts between the individual, the
  society and Nature 

• HINDU
• Economic theories centered round self- employment
• Movement towards equitability and equality
• The milking of Mother Nature
• Complete harmony between the individual, the
  society and Nature

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Indian values in Education
To achieve this, educational process must awaken
the intelligence of the student so that he or
she may 'flower in goodness'. The cultivation of
a global outlook, a love of nature and a concern
for fellow human beings and environment should be
part of the scheme of education. In order to
achieve this, education has to cover the
four distinct dimensions of the human personality
beginning with the 1. Physical body, 2. The
development of intellectual and aesthetic
sensibilities, 3. The development of socially
desirable moral values and 4. The inner
dimension of spiritual growth. The most
important idea governing the ancient system of
education was that of perfection, for developing
the mind and soul of man.
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Taittiriya Upanishad modern educational systems

• Qualities that are to be developed in the
  students are
• Speak the truth.
• Practice righteousness.
• Make no mistake about study.
• There should be no inadvertence about truth.
• There should be no deviation from righteous
  activity.
• There should be no error about protection of
  yourself.
• Do not neglect propitious (favourable
  circumstances) activities.
• Do not be careless about learning and teaching.
• There should be no error in the duties towards
  the gods and mans.

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Taittiriya Upanishad modern educational systems

• Let your mother be a Goddess unto you. Let your
  father be a God unto you. Let your teacher be a
  God unto you. Let your guest be a God unto you.
• The offering should be with honour the offering
  should be in plenty.
• The offering should be with modesty. The offering
  should be with sympathy.
• Then, should you have any doubt with regard to
  duties or customs, you should behave in those
  matters just as the wise men do, who may happen
  to be there and who are able deliberators, who
  are adepts in those duties and customs, who are
  not directed by others, who are not cruel, and
  who are desirous of merit. This is the
  injunction. This is the instruction. This is the
  secret of the scriptures.
• (Taittiriya Upanishad, I. xi.1-4).

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Taittiriya Upanishad modern educational systems

• These qualities are acquired by emulation in
  addition to education.
• It is only by generating these qualities in
  individuals the ancient Indian educational system
  prompted the students to utilize their
  educational attainments and capacities for the
  benefit of society.

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An useful observation has been made by Swami
Vivekananda in this context
The character of any man is but the aggregate of
his tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his
mind. We are what our thoughts have made us.
Thoughts live they travel far. Every work that
we do, every movement of the body, every thought
that we think, leaves an impression on the mind
stuff. What we are every moment is determined by
the sum total of these impressions on the mind.
Every mans character is determined by the sum
total of these impressions. If good impressions
prevail, the character becomes good, if bad, it
becomes bad. When a large number of these
impressions are left on the mind they coalesce
and become a habit. The only remedy for bad habit
is counter habits all the bad habits that have
left their impressions are to be controlled by
good habits
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Modern Education system should adopt the concept
of Purusharthas
The ancient Indian thinkers felt that a healthy
society was not possible without educated
individuals. They framed educational set up
carefully and wisely aiming at the harmonious
development of the human personality. In this
system understanding oneself (self-knowledge) is
as important as understanding the world.
According to them without a deep understanding of
ones relationship with nature, with ideas, with
fellow human beings, with society, and a deep
respect for all life, one is not really educated
For an ordered, gradual and holistic development
of human personality and to secure a progressive
balance and harmony of growth, the ancient
educational thinkers developed another unique
concept viz. the Purushartahs. Purushartha is
translated to mean a human goal, an object of
desire, consciously pursued.
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Purusharthas Concept

• Dharma being the first of the four
  purusharthas, happens to be the foundation of
  human life.
• Moksha is the ultimate goal of attaining
  freedom from all worldly desires.
• Dharma and Moksha form the spiritual aspect of
  life. Sandwiched between dharma and moksha are
  Artha and Kama, which form the material aspect of
  life.
• Artha and Kama however essential to human life
  are corrosive in nature. Unless they are
  subjected to control and regulation by Dharma,
  they will demoralize man and ultimately destroy
  him.
• Therefore Artha and Kama are placed in between
  Dharma as the foundation and Moksha as the
  ultimate goal.
• Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual
  discipline that guides one's life. Hindus
  consider Dharma the very foundation of life.

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YOGA SHOULD BE TAUGHT

• Ancient Indians also developed the concept of
  Yoga for disciplining the mind and the body.
  Discipline does not arise from one's own mind. It
  has to be learned from outside.
• The word Yama can be broadly translated as "Self
  Restraints".
• 1) Ahimsa - Non-violence. Restraint from harming
  other living beings. Extending love and affection
  to all other creations of nature. Compassion,
  mercy and gentleness towards every other living
  being.
• 2) Sathya - Truthfulness, Restraining from
  falsehood, in thought, word and deed.
• 3) Asteya - Non-stealing. Restraining from desire
  to take what is not belonging to oneself.
• 4) Brahmacharya - Literally means "moving towards
  realisation of Brahman". Restraint from waste of
  energy in body, mind and speech.
• 5) Aparigraha - Non grasping (coveting).
  Restraint from hoarding and greed. Holding things
  which are not needed. In the modern parlance
  "consumerism".

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YOGA SHOULD BE TAUGHT

• The word niyama refers to internal restraints and
  they are also five in number
• 1) Saucha - Cleanliness and Purity of body, mind
  and thoughts. This will bring orderliness,
  punctuality and clarity in ones living.
• 2) Santosa - Meaning Contentment within. True
  happiness in life lies in accepting the way of
  things that the life offers. Then Peace and
  tranquility will follow with patience.
• 3) Tapas - Burning desire for spiritual path.
• 4) Swadhyaya - Self study. Broadening of
  intellect through serious study of known
  (physical world) and unknown (spiritual world).
• 5) Iswara Pranidana - Surrender to the Lord.
  Accepting the fact that nothing is in our hands.
  All that happens are for the good. Its Lord's
  Will.

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Ancient Education system advocates

• Bharatiya view on consumption is in total
  contrast to the western view.
• It advises people to consume (resources)
  moderately, leaving something to the future
  generations
• Bharatiya view looks at all elements of Nature
  such as the soil, the mountains, the rivers and
  seas, the air, the plants and animals, as sacred
  and to be preserved and protected. Human beings
  are only a part of the Nature and not its master.
  
• Bharatiya view is that human life is complete
  only when the material aspect is well integrated
  with the spiritual aspect. It neither neglects
  the material life, nor gives exclusive importance
  to it.
• Hence the Bharatiya approach to life is called
  integrated or Holistic approach.

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Ancient Education system advocates

• Integrated approach is the speciality of Hindu
  thinking. Hindus had always felt that Education,
  Ecology, Economics, and Ethics must be taken into
  consideration in an integrated manner.
• The Bharatiya view, on the contrary is that
  Dharma or Ethics is superior to Artha. Economic
  activities should be conducted only according to
  the codes of Dharma. Hindu philosophy further
  says that Artha and Kama which are against Dharma
  should be given up.
• The gross economic inequality found today among
  the developed and developing countries,
  exploitation of the third world countries,
  terrorism and development of weapons of mass
  destruction, critical environmental degradation,
  change of climatic conditions and global economic
  crisis are all due to the western practice of
  Education in economics, which is free of Ethics
  Dharma.
• Therefore what the world needs today so badly is
  the Bharatiya Holistic Dharma based approach to
  Education to groom the young mind.

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CONCLUSION

• On the basis insights obtained from our journey
  through ancient Indian educational processes we
  may say that the goals of educational philosophy
  for tomorrow should be
• To educate students so that they are able to
  develop a holistic personality
• To inculcate a love for nature and respect for
  all forms of life
• Not to condition the students in any particular
  belief, either religious, political or social, so
  that their minds may remain free to ask
  fundamental questions, enquire and learn
• In conclusion we may reiterate that the education
  must address the issue of character formation
  along with spiritual formation developing the
  full potential of human beings besides revealing
  the great and hidden values of life and insight
  into the ocean of wisdom.
• It must also reveal to the students the
  possibilities of attaining values in life much
  greater and higher than those found on the level
  of relative existence.
• HENCE ANCIENT INDIAN VALUES ARE VERY MUCH
  SUSTAINABLE PRACTICABLE AND THE WORLD SHOULD
  TAKE ADVANTAGE FOR PEACEFUL CO EXISTANCE OF THE
  HUMANITY.