Acharya Tulsi
When the eye has an ailment, what is the benefit of applying medicine on the back? How can the pain in the back be reduced? By tending to the eye, the pain in the eye can be reduced.
When the body is sick, the doctor treats the symptoms. When the symptom is identified, the treatment takes effect. When the symptom cannot be located, no medicine or treatment is useful and the body cannot recover.
The disease was detected, the doctor diagnosed the symptoms, and the medicine was not consumed or not fully consumed. If the proportion and dietary habits are neglected, then how can the disease be cured?
Problems arise, solutions are sought out, and there are as many solutions available as problems. The seeking of a solution is only conducted within the context of a problem, only then it can be done. The problem must be humane and the solution can be found in nature, then the equilibrium can be found. When the problem is natural and the solution can be found at a humane level, the source cannot be located. When the problem's source can be pinpointed and the solution sought, the solution can be identified within proximity.
Who will Establish the Values?
The present day world is surrounded by problems. The most important problem is characteristic decline. In other words, problem is the loss of human values and infidelity towards these values. Casteism, regionalism, terrorism, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, nepotism, many problems are caused by this. The return of character into human life prevents the accumulation of problems. When character is right in human life, everything is in place. Without character, there is nothing. This approach has become weak. There is no group which has the courage to stop the decline of his character.
There was a time when the business class had dignity. 'Jaye lakh aur rahe saakh' ('Lose money but never your dignity') -they lived by this motto. However, the tides of time made humans weak and powerless. Their resistance has been diminished drastically. Bureaucrats are known to have a bad reputation in society. When workers are exploited and harassed, they turn rebellious. On seeing the rebellion crushed, they tread in the dark alleys of immorality. There is a disciplined and responsible group - teachers. Teachers are the responsible group of the nation. They play a vital role in the upbringing and character building of the nation's future generations. If this group is influenced by the ways of the world, who would don the mantle to establish the values?
Anuvrat and its Upkeep
Schools are institutions where the characters of students are forged. Why are characters not being built? A good education shows the way to break shackles, why are we missing out on this ideal? Why is the teacher's focus not completely on the character-building of the student? Why has the role of the teacher shrunk? Several such unanswered questions exist, which must be addressed and put to an end.
The 'Anuvrat teachers' committee' constituted at the national level is aware of these issues. Anuvrat (small vow) is related to the all groups. It is a movement run by everybody's assistance and support, and is far removed from any caste or tradition. All paths that lead to corruption are guarded by Anuvrat, some movements are run by Anuvrat from time to time, to seal the paths securely. Since 1991, the teachers group has been the special focus of the movement.
In a conference organized for teachers in Ranavas, I invited activists. I expected at least one lakhs Anuvratis (one who follows Anuvrat) to pledge and join the movement. The activists took the pledge and joined the movement to spread the message of the movement across the nation. They later met again after a year at a teachers' conference in Ladnun, with renewed spark and vigour in their faces and closer to their target. In the teachers' conference, 450 activists expressed a desire to join the Anuvrati (one who follows Anuvrat) movement. A new zeal was evident in them. They put forth the Anuvrat (small vow) committee's objectives and formulated a plan, which was appreciated by all activists and institutions. The groundwork was laid for the committee's work.
Life and Livelihood's Calculations
Teachers have a major responsibility, even though they are faced with many challenges, the biggest being the instability in the education policy. In the recent years, there were many meetings and conferences organized at the state and national level, what has been the result? The purpose of education is the life-building of students. Education is of two types - life-building and livelihood-building. The calculation of livelihood is easy whereas the calculation of life is complex and affects the character. One is linked to implementation, the other to intelligence. In the present, students gain in intelligence but lag behind in character-building in their education.
The education domain is turning out to be a fertile field for Anuvrat (small vow). Several conferences and debates were organized between students and teachers over the years. Many teachers and hundreds of students listen to Anuvrat (small vow) and become followers, Anuvratis. They pledge allegiance to Anuvrat (small vow) and ethics, freedom from drugs and ego, social harmony. It sometimes feels that the way in which the students are shaped, will change the entire world. The problem still remains. Why? The students do not get a conducive environment. To overcome this problem, a concerted effort between the students, teachers and parents is essential.
Who will Fill in the Gaps?
It is not important who is lacking, the students, teachers or the guardians. The crucial point is how to address these shortcomings. Who will take care of these? Students are immature and cannot shoulder such a huge responsibility, the guardians are nostalgic but it does not seem any progress is possible through them. What remains is the teachers' group. What is important is they work with Anuvrati (one who follows Anuvrat) students to achieve the goals decided. They have to make students aware about Anuvrat (small vow) Darshan (Philosophy), make them understand the spirit of Anugyan and, teach them Anuvrat (small vow) songs. In this order, ethics and character can be incorporated into students' lives.
The second task of teachers is to give a new direction to the guardians by organizing regular meetings and to make them aware how they can play a crucial role in imparting values to children. Character-building does not entail spending money on children, getting admissions in big universities, trying to fulfil their every demand. Character-building is composed of - discipline, composure and hard work. It is difficult for guardians to create a suitable environment for children while considering all these factors. Teachers will have to pay attention to this.
My Dream
There are ample programs for adult training at different places. There are advantages to train the adults, however, when requisite emphasis is placed on child education, there will be no requirement to spend time, effort and infrastructure on adult training. With this in focus, two things have been my dream - children-building and student-building. We have been striving to give shape to this dream. Aiming this only the whole curriculum of life science is created. The training of life science will not be completed until the teachers are not trained.
We are performing our work. The Anuvrat (small vow) Teachers Committee has formulated a plan in this direction. This will not be possible through a single teacher's efforts, but rather through the heartfelt participation of all teachers. The committee's teachers must add new teachers to the committee and seek their contribution to the betterment of the committee. This alone will help solve the challenges faced by the teaching community.
