Acharya Tulsi
The American Presided Bill Clinton declared the ninth decade of twentieth century as the 'Decade of the Brain'. In that decade lot of miscellaneous researches were made about structure of brain. Research Scholars Submitted many findings. Out of their findings, one point was - 'with mental exercise brain can be made more active'.
The mental exercise has deep relationship with the education. By education only bookish knowledge is not available, but also mind get trained. The education is agency for purifying society. After getting education, if purification is not achieved, then it means something is lacking. If sunflower does not bloom under sun ray, then under whose influence it will bloom. Education is the strongest medium of purification and personality development. This connects life further with culture. If there is defect in this also, then what society will achieve from such education.
From Whom the Creativity of Cultures Comes?
The first culture comes to man from mother. In building of culture birth giving mother's role is very important, but role of mother tongue and motherland is no less important. How can you expect culture from a person, who never got any education from mother, or from mother tongue or from motherland?
Five decades are going to complete of independent India. Even after so long period no education system is incorporated in the country. It is a strange thing. If we make a study on the cultural results of mixed education system and media, the situation seems very disappointing. Today maid servant has taken the place of mother. Film songs have taken place of morning mantras. The creative thinking that was in the games of toys has been now replaced by disastrous toys like Pistols - Rockets. Children of two or two & half years are being sent to schools at an age when they have to get free and natural education in homely environment. Today they are deprived of these things.
Rich people send their children to public or convent schools. If admission is not available by normal procedure, it is available by paying big amount as donation. Here, in these schools, it is very painful to see the mother languages being neglected. We do not have any feelings of hatred or precaution towards the foreign languages. But today English is widely spreading over and Indian languages are facing a lot of problems and are ignored. Leave ancient languages like Sanskrit & Prakrit, even Hindi is also losing its status and its usage is decreasing.
What a tragedy, Indian youths, even after getting big degrees in the field of education, are not able to read and understand the books on religious or philosophy.
Change of Culture
Education is an unavoidable part of the development. By the medium of education only superstitions, social wills, meaning less traditions and evils in life are purified. One side, education teaches the art of living and on the other side it brings excellence in traditional behaviour. The educated people are more dedicated towards their aims and are always ready to face the challenges of their time. This is only possible when education of life values and cultural values are achieved. It is not that, these qualities are not available in our current education system. But due to deteriorating values of our language and culture, these thoughts are coming with our education, which should not happen.
With what all the names children of present time are addressing their parents. They get hesitated in calling their parents as mother (Maa) and father (Pitaji). They call their mother as 'Mum' 'Mummy' or 'Mama'. They call their father as 'daddy' and now it has become 'dad'. They have forgotten to say 'suprabhatam' in the morning. They start the day with 'Good Morning'. They feel symbol of backwardness in touching feet of their parents, elders and teachers. They feel happy by shaking hand with their elders. They go to school by saying Ta-Ta and Bye-Bye and the parents also feel proud in this. It is very surprising to see all these things.
Food habits changed. Dress code changed. Life style changed. Talking style changed. The behaviour of young and old changed. Traditional festivals also got changed. How today people are celebrating the birthday of their children? They even do not know that birthday can be celebrated in Indian style also. Cutting cakes, lightening & blowing the candles etc. are western style. Who can be blamed for this? Children cannot be blamed for this. On the name of life standard, whatever traditions they are being taught are collapsing the Indian traditions. The guardians do not think from this point of view. In such situation, culture can be preserved by education only.
Importance of Mother Language and Mother Land
Those who do not accept the importance of mother language, how can they value their mother land? In the name of higher education or special education, brain-drain is the major challenge before the country. I do not mean to say that one should not learn new things by going to other countries. This is not the subject of worrying if students go to other countries for getting higher education. The subject of worrying is forgetting the duties towards mother land. Attraction towards economic greediness and materialistic prosperity pluck away the person from their roots and seed it anywhere, this thinking is becoming true.
Today, Indian people are not proud of being Indian. How will it be? Unless the education is not indianized, they cannot get attracted towards being Indian. Education is imparted in India; even then Indian languages are not getting importance. Indian culture has no important place. The Government of the country and educational Institutions is keeping mum like audience. The educationalists of the country have no courage to promote Indian languages and Indian culture.
The original languages of India are- Sanskrit and Prakrit. In ancient period thousands of books were written in these languages.
The book like Vedas, Aagam and Pitak are our cultural heritage. Their language is Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali. In the post Vedic period Sankaracharya, Ramannujacharya etc wrote many serious books. The interpretation of 'Agamas' were written by the famous writers of other literature and spiritual scriptures like Acharya Kundkund, Umasvami, Siddhasena, Samantbhadra, Hemchandra, Haribhadra, Akalanka, Jinasena etc. Dingnag, Dharmakirti, Ashwaghosh, Vasumitra, Buddaghosh etc. are among the famous scholars of Buddhist philosophy. The high quality poetic literatures were created by great poets like- Kalidas, Maagh, Bhavabhooti, Vanbhatt, Dandi etc. The list of such literary personalities is very long. Here, just their names were introduced. There have been such personalities, each of them has written lakhs of poems. These literatures are live images of the culture. In these poems, thousand years of culture and civilization is recorded. To understand the essence of Indian culture one has to make these ancient books written in Prakrit and Pali as base.
Acclamation to Supreme Court
It should have happened that Indian educationalists should have included Sanskrit and Prakrit languages compulsorily in the curriculum. But it happened just opposite to this. Leave compulsory, these languages did not find place even as alternative language. The Indian Government did not give a place to Prakrit and not even to Sanskrit. It is said -"Sakkayam paagam chev pasachyam isibhasiyam"- Sanskrit and Prakrit are great languages, spoken by the saints. The Supreme Court gave attention towards these great languages after seeing the negligence in our own country itself. The bench of Justice Kuldeep Sinha and B.L Hansaria directed Central Board of Secondary Education to include Sanskrit as alternative subject in their curriculum. The Supreme Court's decision is encouraging for those people who want to preserve the Indian culture. In these days the Supreme Court passed an important decision. According to which primary education will be given in mother language. After hearing both decisions it feels that acclamation should be given to Supreme Court. These decisions of learned judges are not only a solid step toward protection of not only of justice but also of Indian culture. Though, the Prakrit language is still not visible to them, but it is proved that without reading Sanskrit Indian philosophy and culture cannot be understood. In the Indian educational system, the tradition of Gurukul is agreeable. Gurukul were informal education centres. There used to get lessons for both job and personality development. With this formal and informal education both type of education - spiritual and temporal used to be taught there. On the one hand the students were given the practical knowledge of operating arms, agriculture etc. and on the other hand humility, tolerance, compassion, moderation, labour, self sufficiency etc of characteristic values were taught. In present days the education has become unilateral. Now also if we incorporate the original elements of Indian culture then a good harvest of culture can come in the coming decade.
New Dimension of Education
The aim of discussion on Indianization of Education is not to deny the present education system. We have always stressed upon that our education system is not defective. Today whatever new achievement in the field of scientific development, economic progress and technology has taken place, how these are possible in a defective education system? In the field of medical science new techniques are coming up. All these are result of education only. As worldly point of view, even after unimaginable achievements, it is clear as day light that characteristic part of the country has deteriorated. In this field education has not done any remarkable work. Hence it is expected to make education experimental in the context of life values.
Once Babu Jagjeevanramji told about his poignant experience - "Once in the middle of my foreign trip I went to Japan. There at one station the train stopped and started. There, hundreds of labours got into the train without ticket. I thought that here also the train journey goes on as we have in India. When I told about my feeling to one of the labour, he said- 'Babu Ji! What are you saying? Here we did not have time to take ticket. Now we will give full money to T.T. In our country, there is no undignified man who makes loss to the country for his own selfish cause.' This is an incident, which tells the story of difference of culture. India is great. Its culture is great. Its heritage is great, but it has gone out of our education system. The character which is not a part of education, how will it come in the life of students? After seeding thorn how can you get mango? It seems that the life essence of our education is vanished. Now it is expected to adopt it again with the education.
