Acharya Tulsi
Every mother dreams that her son’s life would be full of achievements. The talk about achievements is very temping, but it calls for persistent hard work or sadhana. Without such a sadhana no one has found a ready success for himself. Life of a student is like that of a sadhaka. His future is not merely the future of his family or his society, but it is the future of the whole country. The nation whose students have acquired good knowledge and who possess good character, has a different image altogether. With knowledge and good character as solid banks, the life of the student has the easy flow of a river. That is why it is necessary to maintain and equilibrium with regard to knowledge and good character.
Violence, terrorism, cruelty, lack of discipline and character etc. are the burning problems of the present times. These problems invaded not only one class in particular. The conditions of our times have their impact on every section of the people in varying degrees. One way to get over the problems of our age is the use of force.
Force is being used everywhere in the country. In spite of that, the problems are increasing instead of decreasing. The other way to deal with these problems is by taking legal steps. Law is backed by authority, which allows the use of force as well as money. But when law becomes powerless to deal with the situation, one has to think about some new alternative.
Bright Future Depends on the Present
If you wish to see the image of any nation, you must see the image of its adolescents. Today's adolescents would be the leaders of tomorrow. If they are not moulded in the right manner, the dream of building the nation would not be realized. It is necessary to train the minds of the adolescents in order to mould the adolescents. Without the training of the mind, the chances of any change are minimized. The future of any country whose adolescent generation advances even step by step towards imbibing the good sanskaras can never be dark. That generation can go forward in a definite direction on the strength of the inherited sanskaras.
Worrying about the future should not mean closing one's eyes to the present. The future would be bright to the extent that the present is enriched by the natural and life-sustaining elements. For that purpose, we shall have to be fair to the future generation by rising above the memories of the past and worry about the future. It is necessary to pay attention to a well-conceived style of working for the rapid and balanced development of the future generation.
While working in any particular field, both the long term and the short policies have to be kept in mind. The short term policy can be good, provided it has no ill effect on the future. Success with the long-term policies may take its own time, but it creates a solid foundation. If the future generations have to be spared of the problems of the age, so that they experience the realities of life, an enlightened policy would have to be evolved.
Seshan's concern
While thinking about the role of the student community in national development, one idea that came up was about what we would like to give to the students in the coming two or five years. How would we like to shape them? Whatever we want to give them, can be only through education. The Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan came to me and said, "Acharyaji, millions of students are in pitiable condition today. When we look at them, tears come to our eyes. In the context of the students, a menacing problem mocks us for our lack of endeavour. It is half a century since the country became independent. What can we offer to our students?"
Realizing the anguish by Seshan’s concern I asked, "What is the matter? Seshan Saheb, why should a dauntless person like you talk in such despairing terms?" To satisfy my curiosity he said, "There is no curriculum which would teach the students how to live. There is no system of education which would teach how to live life in totality. There is no book by reading which the mind would feel reassured." While saying these things, Seshan became so emotional that he forgot about the presence of other people. Seeing that he was becoming sentimental and agitated I said, "Seshan Saheb, what can I do about the situation which is causing so much concern for you?" He was startled by my question. There was astonishment in his eyes. I said, "The curriculum to which you are referring is ready." He was happy to hear that information. But his curiosity still did not end. He asked, "Where is that curriculum? Who has prepared it? How has it been prepared? Which commission has approved of it?" He was so impatient and eager that he wanted answers to all those questions at the same time. I explained to him the background of the science of living and said, "This curriculum has been prepared under my guidance. It has been accepted not by any commission, but by practical application. And systematic training is being given for that purpose."
Training for Children
The science of living is not a thing of wonder. It is the co-ordinated form of anuvrat and prekshadhyan. It is meant especially for children. The idea of anuvrat came for bringing order in the style of living. The universal and commonly applicable form of the code of conduct of anuvrat found favour with almost all people. But we do not have any magic wand with which we can mould everyone according to the anuvrat model. It is not easy to wipe out the deep-rooted bad sanskaras. Mere preaching or philosophy cannot change the individual. Its practical application is necessary. I referred the question of applying the philosophy of anuvrat to life to Mahaprajnaji. Based on his study and experiences, he evolved the method of prekshadhyan. One problem was solved. The technique of changing man's nature was now at hand.
Anuvrat and Prekshadhyan functioned as complementary to each other. Where expected results were not possible because of the stereotyped sanskaras or some other complications, new avenues of thinking opened for us. The idea of giving appropriate training to the developing minds of the children instead of trying to change the adult minds is the ultimate result of the science of living. It is a mixed programmer for children who involve theory as well as its application. With the idea that by relating it to education, it is easy to relate it to life, a syllabus was prepared. Now the whole syllabus of the science of living is being adapted from the primary to the post graduate levels.
Glimpse of the Future
Astrological predictions are being made about the future of the countries. But in my view, the future of any country depends on its educational policy. The country which trains its students in methods of violence can become a centre of terrorist activities in future. The citizens of the country which give importance to life values in its educational policy can become partners in the development of humaneness in the world. From this point of view, it is necessary that the field of education is influenced by the science of living.
A number of commissions were appointed in India for the purpose of organizing the educational system. Every commission submitted its long report. No one is satisfied by their results. We have not appointed any commission, nor have we got any reports prepared or employed any learned person on salary. Mahaprajnaji is our preceptor of the science of living. Some monks and nuns have worked under his guidance. We have got a competent team of monks and nuns. If the need arises, a large number of them can be engaged in the work. Our only aim is to inculcate good sanskaras among the children of our country where we are living and with whose people we have our relations. Only the country where children have imbibed good sanskaras would be able to keep its image bright.
Testimonial of Good Character
There was a time when Indian was regarded as the spiritual teacher of the world. Those who learnt about good character from the people of India felt proud about it. Why have the spiritual powers of that same India become blunted? How did the lustre of the sadhana of the sages and saints become dim? Why did the spiritual men who exported India's spiritualism to the west become so materialistic minded once they went there? No ideas or experiment, unless it is imported from the West is respected in India. What is the reason underlying this mentality? These are many other similar questions which are affecting India's dignity. The country would have to wake up to break through the stranglehold of such questions. Movements leading to such awakening would have to be launched. From this point of view, whether or not others think along those lines or launch campaigns, we are determined to work within our limitations. A small step resulting from that resolve is the science of living.
We have depended to a very great extent on our own outlook and experiences in preparing this syllabus. We do not insist about any particular point in that matter. In whatever we have done, we have not taken the stand that it is the final thing and therefore we have not blocked the way to further thinking. We welcome the suggestions from any person or organisation connected with education. We have no objection in including anything new, if it is necessary. The building of a personality of the student is the greatest achievement of education. After spending fifteen to twenty years in schools, colleges and universities and obtaining the certificate at the time of leaving is not the real aim of education. The real purpose of education is getting the testimonial in the form of an illustrious character. That testimonial would not be a paper document. It would not require the signature of the chancellor of any university. Rather it would speak for itself. It would be manifest in the lives of the students, and would be evident in their behaviour. Our endeavour would be successful if the science of living awakens even the slightest hope about it.
