Vedic Education: The Need of the Era

Yogeshwar Krishna Montessori Preschool (Play School, Kindergarten, Nursery) Malad West

In the growing day and age with the advent of the information overflow the world is progressing at a speed never seen before. The competition all around is getting tougher and the age old rule of ‘Survival of the fittest’ has never been more applicable. Qualifications, skills and knowledge is not an option anymore. Because of such a tough scenario in the outside world it has become a sort of a mandate for all the members in the house to contribute towards the finances of the house. In such a case it is often seen that the children are left all alone by themselves. The educational needs of the students can be catered to by any institution or in today’s scenario even the internet. However certain important aspects for the healthy growth and development of the child is not covered in schools too. In today’s world when corruption, moral degradation and loss of ethical values are tearing the world apart it has become very important for the children to stay connected to their cultural roots. The knowledge derived and propagated by the ancient seers time and again call for a self-evaluation so that the population doesn’t lose their way while on the path to success. In the earlier days the grandparents told children many mythical and historical stories with moral values. These stories had many traits to them. They were entertaining and at the same time subconsciously trained the children to be responsible and moralistic citizens in their time to come. However in the present era we are seeing a rise in the number of admissions in old age homes, which means one of the only sources of traditional knowledge are now locked up in a ‘Vridhashram’.

Yogeshwar Krishna Montessori Preschool (Play School, Kindergarten, Nursery) Malad West

Max Muller once said “The true history of the world must always be the history of the few; and as we measure the Himalaya by the height of Mount Everest, we must take the true measure of India from the poets of the Veda, the sages of the Upanishads, the founders of the Vedanta and Sankhya philosophies, and the authors of the oldest law-books, and not from the millions who are born and die in their villages, and who have never for one moment been roused out of their drowsy dream of life.” “If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power, and beauty that nature can bestow—in some parts a very paradise on earth—I should point to India. If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most full developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant—I should point to India. And if I were to ask myself from what literature we, here in Europe, we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of one Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw that corrective which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human, a life, not for this life only, but a transfigured and eternal life—again I should point to India.”

Vedic Knowledge serves a very important function in ones life. The aims of education in the Vedic Period were:-

Education for other World Lines
Character Formation
All-round development of personality
Intellectual Development
Spiritual Development
Preparation for living
Preserving and Transmitting Culture
Education was only a means and not and end in itself.

With such kind of aims the high level of thinking back then is pretty obvious. Knowledge was considered sacred and it was not until very late that people started selling this knowledge for a fee. But then again it is the Vedas themselves that in some form or the other say that "Change is essential." Knowledge was passed on orally from one generation to another in ancient India. Education involved three basic processes, one, which included ‘Sravana’ (stage of acquiring knowledge of ‘Shrutis’ by listening). Two, ‘Manana’ (which means the pupils should think, analyse for themselves about what they heard, assimilate the lessons taught by their teacher and make their own inferences) and three ‘Nidhyasana (which means the comprehension of truth and to apply/use it in the real life). However nowadays the schools only provide theoretical knowledge in the form of textbooks and no practical work or analysis is involved. Students are not taught how to apply their theories in real life. They are not taught 'How' to think, rather they are fed 'What' to think. It is very important that a child learns 'How' to analyse things not only on the outside but also within himself. That is precisely how Vedic Knowledge helps a student grow holistically from the Mind, Body and Soul.

Yogeshwar Krishna Montessori Preschool (Play School, Kindergarten, Nursery) Malad West

The Vedas made us liberal being and taught us how to live in peace with one another. They taught us how to respect people. For example, in ancient India women were given equal right to education and teaching. Women seers like ‘Gargi’, ‘Gayetri’ or ‘Maitreyi’ were prominent participants in educational debates and proceedings of ‘Parishads’ (Assemblies). This shows us how women did have the right to education in the Vedic period.

Thus at Yogeshwar Krishna Montessori Preschool we aim to impart the lost values, morals and ethics through cultural knowledge while at the same time keeping the children at-par with the international standards of education.

Yogeshwar Krishna Montessori Preschool (Play School, Kindergarten, Nursery) Malad West

Vedic Education: The Need of the Era

Friday 17 March 2017

Vedic Education: The Need of the Era...