Acharya Tulsi
Regular disciplines, teaching, application!
Vishva Bharati - a paradise of natural, happy circumtance!
Where is the provision for training and practice in the method of preksha dhyana established by you?
For this there exist three provisions. Wherever we may be, we are accompanied by sadhus and sadhvis who practise preksha dhyana themselves and also impart training in preksha to people who may be interested in it. Systematic training in preksha dhyana is also imparted at shivirs organised from time to time. Second provision also exists at the ‘Adhyatam Sadhana Kendra’ situated at Mehrauli in Delhi. There, the sadhaks receive training temporarily or on a regular basis. Thirdly, there is the ‘Jain Vishva Bharati’, which is the principal training centre for preksha dhyana.‘Jain Vishva Bharati’ is an institute of ancient disciplines. A special programme of education and research is in progress there. There are of course, many centers of education in the country. In various universities, research and education are going on side by side. Education and research policies also change and are being refined. There has been a tremendous progress in the field of education. However, it seems to me that all our institutions of education and research are not able to impart a new vision capable of resolving the present day problems. A third essential component is missing. That is sadhana, the practice of meditation. Without sadhana our education remains incomplete. However much one may study, the restlessness of the mind is not reduced thereby. Until a student's mind is clean, peaceful, he will not be able to acquire the capacity for resolving the problems encountered by him. That is why it was thought that education, research and sadhana should be pursued together. Education and research occupy a second position in this conception; sadhana holds the first place. Had sadhana not been accorded the primary importance here, the new idea would not have been much valuable, because education and research without sadhana have been going on for a long time.
For implementing the idea of coordinating education. research and sadhana, our community established the institution called ‘Jain Vishva Bharati’. This institute is situated in Ladnun town of Nagore District in Rajasthan (India). Still another programme---that of service has been added to the disciplines of education, research and sadhana. Thus, ‘Jain Vishva Bharati’ has become a centre of foursome activity. The foremost among these is sadhana-training, experimentation and practice thereof.
Dhyana is an indispensable part of education. If education is separated from dhyana, it degenerates into mere statistics. An education without dhyana, loses contact with life, and is incapable of bringing about a change in everyday living or any improvement in character. That is why a plan formulated by the Sadhana Centre of Jain Vishva Bharati (Tulsi Adhyatama Needam) has been under active consideration. That plan relates to Jeevan Vigyana (The Science of Living). As long as a student is not acquainted with his life and its depths and leads a mechanical existence, intellect and argumentativeness dominate his life, without any direct experiencing. The chief reason behind the growing problems in today's educational institutions is education devoid of the science of living.
I am told that in the educational institutions of Japan, the practice of dhyana is taken up along with academic disciplines. That is why the Japanese display greater devotion to duty; and their sense of responsibility and the desire to fulfil their obligations is much more active. The Japanese workers, labourers, etc. fight for their rights. If their rights are trampled upon, they register their protest, too. But they never stop work. They never destroy public property. They register their protest by tying black ribbons to their arms. By wearing a black ribbon on his sleeve, a worker expresses his dissatisfaction. But these workers never resort to bestial practices like sabotage.
On the other hand, here in our country, the first thing the workers do is to stop working whether there is any strong reason for protest or not. It is difficult to see any rationale behind the acts of destruction and sabotage. And many other unusual practices are resorted to. Undesirable actions will stop only when the mind of the individual is disciplined. Mind-control is very useful, not only on the spiritual level, but on the social level, too. When this is neither taught nor learnt, all social behaviour becomes licentious.Dhyana exercises control over the mind's licentiousness. He who practises dhyana, will never indulge in anti-social behaviour. That is why dhyana has been recognised as an essential element of education at the Jain Vishva Bharati. Because of this rare distinction, the Jain Visliva Bharati occupies an important place among the educational institutions all over the country. Its importance does not lie in big buildings, for many institutions have these. The greatness of the Jain Vishva Bharati lies in its distinct conception. In accordance with that conception, all the programmes conducted here in the fields of education, research and social service give primacy to preksha meditation. Here is to be found constant application of preksha. Thousands of people are benefited by the practice of preksha meditation and they are able to resolve their problems.
What is the outline of the system of education adopted under the newly evolved Science of Living?
The basis of the concept of the Science of Living is an all-round development of life. There are many halting places on this journey from normal behaviour to heightened consciousness. One achieves the final goal after passing through all those stages, and only then does an individual become acquainted with the secrets of the Science of Living. Here attention is not exclusively centred on intellectual development; rather it extends to the development of consciousness beyond all intellectual discipline. The fundamental element here is acquaintance with the physical organism. Later, specific psychic centres situated in the body are awakened. One can become acquainted with the bodily system through a study of physiology; but its technique is different. Physiology limits itself to the physical processes. One who studies the body from the physiological point of view, remains unaware of its spiritual significance. Unless a spiritual outlook is evolved, one cannot become acquainted with the process of purification of the psychic centres situated in the body. The concept of the Science of Living provides for training on this aspect.
No light can manifest itself unless the screen that obstructs it from view is pulled off. In the manifestation of consciousness, too, the purification of the nervous system or the awakening of the psychic centres is an important factor. Without this, without creating an electro-magnetic field, the inner energy cannot be transmitted to the outer sphere. The purification or sensitization in itself constitutes the magnetic field. Thus, consciousness is further extended. The technique of the Science of Living is the process of dhyana-sadhana, and this forms an essential part of the teaching of meditation. Without, meditation one cannot come to know the definition of individuality, nor can one come upon the principles of personality formation.
