Echoes of Takshashila & Gurukul: Reclaiming the Soul of Indian Education - Time Travel for Education in India.

 

 

How is India, the nation that gave the world its first university at Takshashila, now burdened with an education system it cannot manage? The ultimate irony is that the country which initiated the world into higher learning, has failed to find its footing within its own education system.

What was lost along the way &how do we set it right?

The Dissolution of a Sacred Tie

In the ancient Gurukul & Vedic systems, the teacher-student relationship was the core. Students stayed in the Guru's home, sharing the Guru's life, even its chores & routines. This lifestyle left no room for ego on either side; the teacher & student formed a symbiotic partnership, a familial bond which emphasized respect & collective existence.

In modern India, the system is completely different. The education system has now reduced itself to a commodity-driven scramble for employment. It places salary over 'knowledge with character' & drives students into a race for careers like medicine, law or the corporate world.

On the contrary, ancient education was comprehensive, touching all aspects of the human, his society & his surroundings, including culture, morality, science & self-realization.

Students were made aware of the divine nature of the universe within themselves & in others, taught to master their own nature & trained to strive for truth & peace in their lives. The aim was to createhumans whose basic animal instincts were refined to create noble, enlightened individuals capable of serving society. Character was as important as intelligence.

The Shift from Guru to Employee

In today's Indian schools, teachers lack the motivation or interest they should have for teaching. They merely clock in, spend set hours at school with little regard for student involvement, concerned more with salary, vacations & leaves.

How did a reverent Guru turn into a mere employee?

The decline in this teaching paradigm occurred about 1 millennium ago after the invaders & it only gained momentum as Indian culture absorbed foreign influences.

Today, we have a vicious cycle: Only those educated on strong foundations of both knowledge & character will be good teachers, but there are increasingly fewer such people getting educated.

Furthermore, societal shifts have also contributed. The disappearance of the joint family means that many teachers, especially women, they have to rush back home to take care of family, with no one else to help them manage responsibilities.

The rising trend of consumerism, social media & other digital influences have also led to a 'keeping up with the Joneses' attitude that creates a hyper-competitive learning & living environment. When money becomes the primary yardstick for success in society, education becomes subordinate.

Respect is a two-way process. Students will always honor & respect their teacher if they feel that their teacher respects them & their inherent capacity. But parents, if they were never themselves taught by good teachers who they revered, will never teach their children to honor their teachers. This negative attitude will never change without intervention.

The Morass of Today

Today, Indian schools have stagnated. Indiscipline is rising, the two-way engagement between teacher & student is plummeting &moral values are scarce. Technology has also served to distract rather than unite intellect. Entertainment has triumphed over education.

The reason for the success & global recognition of the Gurukul system lies in its aim: the overall growth of a human. It preached charity as the source of happiness & was driven by high principles of morality &selfless service. Education was not a dry, didactic pursuit; it was a curious, engaging process of the inner self, not a mindless acquisition of data.

A Blueprint for Progress

To bring back the system, it must now be treated as a social commitment rather than a business endeavor. Here's how:

Teacher-Student-Campus Coexistence:

Teachers must be permitted to stay with their families in institutional campuses. The energy saved from tiresome commutes must be diverted to nurturing students.

Reinstate Holistic Curriculums:

Moral, cultural &value-based education must be reintroduced into the curriculum & not dismissed as an optional or superfluous component. This applies to arts, sports & crafts which are usually displaced after grade seven to make room for science or math. The government has to strictly enforce this.

Fair remuneration for the private sector:

The private sector too must provide its teachers with fair remuneration. One cannot expect excellent teaching from underpaid, stressed individuals.

The role of parents:

Parents must be anchored in the principle of respect for teachers. If the teacher complains about the student, the parents should utilize it as a moment to educate their ward, instead of creating friction. Students who are taught to mock & ridicule their peers will lose all capacity for empathy & then also, the ability to respect their parents.

Merit-based, free higher education:

The government should make higher & professional education absolutely free for deserving students regardless of their background, as inability to access education for capable brains causes’ social unrest.

De-commercialization:

Regulatory bodies must curb the blatant commercialization of schools that place profit overpedagogy.

The Best Investment

There is nothing that modern society needs most desperately; and that is cheap, free, good quality, value-based education. It is the foundation stone of society itself. Roads, fancy apartments, fancy cars will serve no useful purpose for a society without an educated people to serve them. Doctors, lawyers, engineers & politicians will need not just knowledge but good moral character.

Education isn't what is recorded by test scores, rather what the person knows about science, how technology affects the person, the place they have in society & how they relate to other humans. Pouring money into education, freely & universally, for the masses would be the most strategic move any society can take.

This article is by the Author Jeevan Gopalan: 

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