Indian Eternal Values

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NEW AGE INDIA BUILT ON ETERNAL INDIAN VALUES

Presentation Prepared byD. Rajaraman

MES INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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NEW AGE INDIA BUILT ON ETERNAL INDIAN VALUES

The aim of this presentation is to capture the wisdom of the age old eternal values and to make it relevant for these times and to help the educators to come up with innovative methodologies to help students to harness their latent potential and channel their energies towards cultivation and sharpening of multiple dimensions of human competencies. This presentation addresses the topic of education from ancient Indian cultural perspective which is still applicable and provides an effective approach to make students more socially concerned, compassionate, liberal, ethical, and humane through the development of holistic personality.This has sustained for 1500 years and will survive, since it has all the ingredients for the current world too.

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What educators want?What kind of education is needed for what kind of society of tomorrow?According to the educationists, Education, must serve society as an instrument for fostering the creation of good citizens. Hence the process must take into the account of agreed upon values and concerns such as,

human rights, tolerance, understanding, democracy, responsibility, universality, cultural identity, the search for peace, the preservation of the environment and the sharing of knowledge.

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Education: What is happening in India?

I have traveled the length and breadth of India and there I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral

values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and

cultural heritage and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will

become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.

We have continued ‘Maculism’ for the past sixty years:

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Education: Today’s RealityFor more than a century, India has been talked about as the Spiritual guru of the world. While such a title is absolutely deserving, the negative side has been rarely examined!Spiritualism is viewed with bunch of superstitions with little logical and scientific basis of its existence.Majority of the English ‘educated’ class, which mostly lives in cities, practices little of spirituality. Their English education and life style has allowed them surrender most of their ancestral spirituality based cultures and traditions.This group has consistently denigrated India’s core value system in public life, business, and most importantly in the education system, in the name of PROGRESSIVE MODERN THINKING.

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Modernisation is Westernisation

Due to over a century of brain washing through Macaulay system of English education, majority of Indians are habituated to believe that anything west is always best. To be modern our lifestyle and thought style should necessarily be western.

We must come out of it at the earliest and be prepared to think free of western biases. We must accept that modernization is not westernization and westernization is not modernization.

Blind imitation of the west would only indicate bankruptcy of our native genius or acute inferiority complex.

Countries will have to find out their own respective paths to prosperity in the light of their respective traditions, conditions and requirements.

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Two entirely different paradigms

WESTERNCompartmentalised thinking : Man – a mere material being :Subservience to Artha-Kama :Society, a club of self-centered Individuals :Happiness for oneself :Acquisitiveness :

HINDUIntegrated thinkingMan – a physical-mental-Intellectual-spiritual being.Drive towards Puru shartha ChatushtayaSociety, a body with all individuals therein as its limbs.Happiness for allAparigraha’ (non-possession)

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WESTERNProfit motive : Consumerism:Exploitation :Contrived scarcities :Economy of rising prices :Monopoly capitalism through various devices :

HINDUService motive Restrain consumption“entitlements as a matter of right for “priority groups”Abundance of productionEconomy of declining pricesFree competition without manipulated markets

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WESTERNEconomic theories centered round wage-employmentEver-widening disparities :The rape of Nature : Constant conflicts between the individual, the society and Nature :

HINDUEconomic theories centered round self- employmentMovement towards equitability and equalityThe milking of Mother NatureComplete harmony between the individual, the society and Nature

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Indian values in Education:To achieve this, educational process must awaken the intelligence of the student so that he or she may 'flower in goodness'. The cultivation of a global outlook, a love of nature and a concern for fellow human beings and environment should be part of the scheme of education. In order to achieve this, education has to cover the fourdistinct dimensions of the human personality beginning with the 1. Physical body, 2. The development of intellectual and aesthetic sensibilities, 3. The development of socially desirable moral values and 4. The inner dimension of spiritual growth. The most important idea governing the ancient system of education was that of perfection, for developing the mind and soul of man.

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Taittiriya Upanishad &modern educational systems

Qualities that are to be developed in the students are:“Speak the truth. Practice righteousness. Make no mistake about study. There should be no inadvertence about truth. There should be no deviation from righteous activity. There should be no error about protection of yourself. Do not neglect propitious (favourable circumstances) activities. Do not be careless about learning and teaching. There should be no error in the duties towards the gods and man’s.

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Let your mother be a Goddess unto you. Let your father be a God unto you. Let your teacher be a God unto you. Let your guest be a God unto you.The offering should be with honour; the offering should be in plenty. The offering should be with modesty. The offering should be with sympathy. Then, should you have any doubt with regard to duties or customs, you should behave in those matters just as the wise men do, who may happen to be there and who are able deliberators, who are adepts in those duties and customs, who are not directed by others, who are not cruel, and who are desirous of merit. This is the injunction. This is the instruction. This is the secret of the scriptures.

(Taittiriya Upanishad, I. xi.1-4).”

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These qualities are acquired by emulation in addition to education. It is only by generating these qualities in individuals the ancient Indian educational system prompted the students to utilize their educational attainments and capacities for the benefit of society.

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An useful observation has been made by

Swami Vivekananda in this context: “The character of any man is but the aggregate of his tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind. We are what our thoughts have made us. Thoughts live: they travel far. Every work that we do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think, leaves an impression on the mind stuff. What we are every moment is determined by the sum total of these impressions on the mind. Every man’s character is determined by the sum total of these impressions. If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good, if bad, it becomes bad. When a large number of these impressions are left on the mind they coalesce and become a habit. The only remedy for bad habit is counter habits; all the bad habits that have left their impressions are to be controlled by good habits”

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Modern Education system should adopt the concept of ‘Purusharthas’

The ancient Indian thinkers felt that a healthy society was not possible without educated individuals. They framed educational set up carefully and wisely aiming at the harmonious development of the human personality. In this system understanding oneself (self-knowledge) is as important as understanding the world. According to them without a deep understanding of one’s relationship with nature, with ideas, with fellow human beings, with society, and a deep respect for all life, one is not really educated For an ordered, gradual and holistic development of human personality and to secure a progressive balance and harmony of growth, the ancient educational thinkers developed another unique concept viz. the “Purushartahs”. Purushartha is translated to mean a human goal, an object of desire, consciously pursued.

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`Dharma’ being the first of the four purusharthas, happens to be the foundation of human life. `Moksha’ is the ultimate goal of attaining freedom from all worldly desires. Dharma and Moksha form the spiritual aspect of life. Sandwiched between dharma and moksha are Artha and Kama, which form the material aspect of life. Artha and Kama however essential to human life are corrosive in nature. Unless they are subjected to control and regulation by Dharma, they will demoralize man and ultimately destroy him. Therefore Artha and Kama are placed in between Dharma as the foundation and Moksha as the ultimate goal. Dharma is the moral law combined with spiritual discipline that guides one's life. Hindus consider Dharma the very foundation of life.

Purushartha’s Concept

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`Ancient Indians also developed the concept of Yoga for disciplining the mind and the body. Discipline does not arise from one's own mind. It has to be learned from outside. The word Yama can be broadly translated as "Self Restraints".1) Ahimsa - Non-violence. Restraint from harming other living beings. Extending love and affection to all other creations of nature. Compassion, mercy and gentleness towards every other living being.2) Sathya - Truthfulness, Restraining from falsehood, in thought, word and deed. 3) Asteya - Non-stealing. Restraining from desire to take what is not belonging to oneself. 4) Brahmacharya - Literally means "moving towards realisation of Brahman". Restraint from waste of energy in body, mind and speech. 5) Aparigraha - Non grasping (coveting). Restraint from hoarding and greed. Holding things which are not needed. In the modern parlance "consumerism".

YOGA SHOULD BE TAUGHT

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The word niyama refers to internal restraints and they are also five in number 1) Saucha - Cleanliness and Purity of body, mind and thoughts. This will bring orderliness, punctuality and clarity in one’s living. 2) Santosa - Meaning Contentment within. True happiness in life lies in accepting the way of things that the life offers. Then Peace and tranquility will follow with patience. 3) Tapas - Burning desire for spiritual path. 4) Swadhyaya - Self study. Broadening of intellect through serious study of known (physical world) and unknown (spiritual world). 5) Iswara Pranidana - Surrender to the Lord. Accepting the fact that nothing is in our hands. All that happens are for the good. It’s Lord's Will.

YOGA SHOULD BE TAUGHT

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Bharatiya view on consumption is in total contrast to the western view. It advises people to consume (resources) moderately, leaving something to the future generationsBharatiya view looks at all elements of Nature such as the soil, the mountains, the rivers and seas, the air, the plants and animals, as sacred and to be preserved and protected. Human beings are only a part of the Nature and not its master. Bharatiya view is that human life is complete only when the material aspect is well integrated with the spiritual aspect. It neither neglects the material life, nor gives exclusive importance to it. Hence the Bharatiya approach to life is called integrated or Holistic approach.

Ancient Education system advocates

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Integrated approach is the speciality of Hindu thinking. Hindus had always felt that Education, Ecology, Economics, and Ethics must be taken into consideration in an integrated manner. The Bharatiya view, on the contrary is that Dharma or Ethics is superior to Artha. Economic activities should be conducted only according to the codes of Dharma. Hindu philosophy further says that Artha and Kama which are against Dharma should be given up.The gross economic inequality found today among the developed and developing countries, exploitation of the third world countries, terrorism and development of weapons of mass destruction, critical environmental degradation, change of climatic conditions and global economic crisis – are all due to the western practice of Education in economics, which is free of Ethics & Dharma. Therefore what the world needs today so badly is the Bharatiya Holistic; Dharma based approach to Education to groom the young mind.

Ancient Education system advocates

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On the basis insights obtained from our journey through ancient Indian educational processes we may say that the goals of educational philosophy for tomorrow should be: • To educate students so that they are able to develop a holistic personality • To inculcate a love for nature and respect for all forms of life • Not to condition the students in any particular belief, either religious, political or social, so that their minds may remain free to ask fundamental questions, enquire and learn In conclusion we may reiterate that the education must address the issue of character formation along with spiritual formation developing the full potential of human beings besides revealing the great and hidden values of life and insight into the ocean of wisdom. It must also reveal to the students the possibilities of attaining values in life much greater and higher than those found on the level of relative existence. HENCE ANCIENT INDIAN VALUES ARE VERY MUCH SUSTAINABLE & PRACTICABLE AND THE WORLD SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE FOR PEACEFUL CO EXISTANCE OF THE HUMANITY.

CONCLUSION

Indian Eternal Values

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