E-Paper
Sunrays | The paradox of Indian ethos & Western education
When the God-loving Indian farmer prays to Varun Devta to send the elixir of rain and his son in school sings, “Rain, Rain go away …,” wouldn’t the Gods be confused
A conversation between mothers and teachers of schoolchildren recently caught my ears, “Aaj kal ke bachhe bhi naa. Sunte kahaan hain …(Kids these days, don’t listen at all).” Everyone had woes to share and I pondered yet again over what had gone wrong with our upbringing. We come from a culture that emulates, “Maathru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Aacharya Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava! (Respect your mother, father, teacher and guest as God)”
Why then should values like obedience, respect, humility, discipline, empathy, gratitude etc. be alien to our youth?
When I got home, our two-year-old granddaughter was lisping to age old nursery rhymes, ‘Old MacDonald had a farm, Eeeya eeya oh!’ and ‘Rain, Rain go away, come again another day …’
According to Google, the poem ‘Rain, Rain go away …’ dates back to the 17th century. I guess the poet lived in bleary, cloudy and cold weather so it was a good idea to sing, “Rain, Rain go away; Come again another day …”
But in India, especially in Central and Southern India where the weather ranges from hot, hotter to hottest, we really value the rain. Our agriculture depends on it. When the God-loving Indian farmer prays to Varun Devta (God of oceans) to send the elixir of rain for the thirsty soil so that he can sow the seeds; and his son in school sings, “Rain, Rain go away …,” wouldn’t the paradox confuse the Gods?
Do children of kindergarten even understand the poems we teach them? Of course they do not! We teach them to learn by rote with the help of rhymes ’n’ rhythm. So how about training them to phonate something that is verily Indian and meaningful; like the cosmic, all-encompassing Om or the Gayatri Mantra? We just need to tutor them to recite it. Understanding comes much later … just as in nursery rhymes!
The ancient Indians knew that the sound of creation is OM. It can be heard reverberating within us by plugging our ears with our fingers and closing our eyes, in silence. Could we teach our school-going children to tune in to this cosmic sound of the universe? It would teach them to recognise the underlying unity in the diversity of creation!
Enough research has been done on the benefits of reciting the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra, amplifies our intellect, unlocks our intuitive powers and awakens the effulgence of the Sun within us. Chanting it helps develop calmness and concentration. The world recognises this. Sadly, somewhere in the past years, the mention of God and religion vanished from our education system.
I taught our two-year-old granddaughter to chant the Gayatri Mantra.
Ombhurbhuvahsvah, tatsaviturvarenyam bhargodevasyadhimahi, dhiyoyonahpracodayat...
She would definitely learn the nursery rhymes too at school, but I wanted to teach her something that is definitely more valuable.
It is heartening to see that the New Education Policy (NEP 2020) talks about the importance of the human values of truth, peace, non-violence, love and righteous conduct. It recognises that teaching values to children is likely to help overcome prevailing fanaticism, violence, and corruption, exploitation and drug abuse. It identifies that religion is a key source of value generation. The NEP 2020 is all set to remodel all curriculum and pedagogy such that it is firmly rooted in the Indian ethos, culture and traditions, taking stock of ancient and contemporary knowledge.
Resultantly, the youth of our country shall benefit from the precious Indian knowledge that is our invaluable legacy. True education must equip children with life skills, human values, character and wisdom; it should not just enable them to earn. The revised focus is much needed and welcome!
And who knows, maybe the morning prayers in our schools get replaced by the effulgent Gayatri! And soon we shall hear, “Aaj kal ke bachhe! Kya baat hai!”And we shall celebrate our children everyday… not just on Children’s Day!
