art colleges Follow

The modern Hindu (common man) thinks that bribing different gods with coconuts will bring him benediction and material gain, and playing bhajans on loud-speakers or bursting crackers in Festivals is the way to be a Hindu! Nothing could be farther from the truth! How many of us modern day Hindus know that there are different schools of thought in our religion : the Nyaya, Samkhya, Vedanta, Shaiva, Charakha – not just theoretical philosophical treatises but practical guidelines for practitioners of every nature and temperament? How many Moslems today can hold a good debate justifying that Jihad is not what the Terrorists indulge in today? Even as Madrasas exist as the last resort for parents who want a spiritual education for their children, we Hindus are so unfortunate that in the name of Secularism all that is of Indian Philosophy, that has been handed down to us through the ages from wise seers and Rishis, are out of limits to the common Indian man! Indian students learn about Maths, modern Science, Social Sciences and Computers in school, without even one Subject dedicated to apprise them of the knowledge which formed the crest-jewel of our Civilization! The vast knowledge of our ancient Thinkers lies beyond the reach of the students of school, a time when they could dive into depths of spiritual thinking and imbibe the strength of character that is the spine of Civilizations! In the name of co-education, wherein Moslem, Hindu, Christian children learn together, we have a blanket policy of Secularism that rules out the introduction of a separate Subject in the curriculum to address the spiritual needs of the human mind. The extra Subject that I advocate to be accommodated in the school curriculum, could deal with introduction to various philosophies, be it of Indic (Jain, Buddhist, Hindu) or non-Indic origin (Christianity and Islam). I feel that every race has it’s own inherent pattern of mental disposition which is embedded in their DNA, and is reflected in their lifestyle. The sway of Foreign Intruders over India for long periods of time (in the name of Islam or materialist British Empire) in the recent past, has left the majority of modern Indian youth lacking in the facilities, environment and material to cater to his spiritual Spiritual disposition of mind, bringing in a lot of confusion in lives, esp. adolescent lives, in my opinion. In fact, there is a huge void within our hearts we as a race suffer from today, in my personal opinion. It arises from the fact that for ages our ancestors sought knowledge which transcended the five senses - to know who is he and what is his purpose on earth. However the progeny of that race of people who were 'in search of knowledge' of the Soul (Bharata) are today, in the 21st Century, in pursuit of materialist pleasures and sensuality. I don’t say that the kids don’t need to learn their math or computers! They need to learn these to fetch them their bread and butter when they grow up. However just the bread is not sufficient for existence! The spiritual bread (manna) in the form of understanding of Spiritual philosophies needs to be taught to! As for Muslim students, why do they need to go to separate Madrasas to learn about their faith (and at times be taken for a ride by pervert maulavis in the name of jihadi education)? Why can’t we have one Subject wherein Hindu children can learn of their own faith, Muslim students about Islam and Christian students about Christianity? Why don’t we have standardized text books at an earlier stage of life itself for children belonging to different faiths? Even as Appreciation of Art, Literature etc has taken a back seat (these were the hallmarks of 20th Century education), today we have crass-materialism and competitive spirit propagated in schools in the name of Modern Education. We have to pay a high cost for what passes today in the name of "Secularism" (that is denial of knowledge of one's own heritage/religious-spiritual material in the initial stages of development i.e. in school.) This part of education about one’s religious and spiritual heritage is excluded from the school curriculum in the name of Secularism, and left to the mercy of parents who themselves find it difficult to impart these due to lack of knowledge or lack of time! But then this Secularism that we practice in India today, is in my opinion, the borrowed idea of Secularism of the West that seeks to blanket the diversified identities of all religious/social communities under one identity of Nationalism or Westernization. Ancient India has taught us that practicing one's faith need not be kept out of the common platform of public forum. We need not disguise ourselves as Secular, and hide our religious credentials be it of Islamic, Hindu or Christian faith! Today a man with a beard and a white cap is looked upon as a fanatic, as much as a man with tilak on his forehead! Schools are thriving grounds for such prejudice with kids not allowed to wear the tokens of their heritage be it Mehendi or nose-rings to school! Our ancestors were perhaps rigorous practitioners of tolerance that allowed each hue of the spectrum shine independent of a blanket standardization, so that there was no ‘suppression of individual interest in matters of pursuit of one's faith’, which unfortunately is a malaise of our modern democracy! Obviously, intolerance springs from fear and prejudice and is a breed of the past (i.e. impressions of traumatic experiences of the past, ingrained in the modern Indian mind, be it the Islamic conquests or the British Raj) I believe a time will eventually come when these fear and prejudices are obliterated in the annals of time to bring forth a daring attitude in us as a society that will allow India to rely again on its own brand of Secularism based on tolerance, wherein each hue of the rainbow shines bright without having to convert into the White of Standardization to lose its identity! We as a race, need to find out our own priority in life, though without coercion of course; instead of running blindly in pursuit of a lifestyle of ‘more is better’ handed out to us as a people who were suppressed for years in slavery; whose identity and purpose were taken away and replaced with Western aspirations! We as a race will eventually develop our own identity and a lifestyle best suited to our nature (inherent mental disposition as a race), once we reach an awareness and a consensus to introduce our young people in school and colleges to the vast spectrum of Spiritual knowledge that is available to us!