Educational reforms for cultural and spiritual integration in India

Introduction

India is one of the most diverse nations on this planet where people from many different cultural backgrounds live and work together. Tamil Nadu in the south is very different from Kashmir in the north, and Gujarat in the west is very different from Assam in the East. Even people from neighboring states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala speak very different languages (Tamil and Malayalam, respectively) and have several cultural differences. Despite these diversities, there has been a civilizational continuity in India at least for the past few thousand years and the major unifying force has been the Vedic tradition. Great Vedic saints and scholars have been born in all parts of the Indian subcontinent ranging from Swami Rama in Garhwal Himalayas (north), Adi Sankaracharya in Kerala (south), Swami Vivekananda in Bengal (east) and Saint Tukaram in Maharashtra (west).

Despite the unifying force provided by the Vedic tradition, it is natural for certain problems to exist in any society. Since the 19^th century, there have been vociferous attempts by several modern scholars and activists to sow seeds of discord in the Indian society along the many existing (and real) fault lines of caste, creed, gender, and wealth, and also along some of the imaginary (artificially created) fault lines like race (Aryan Invasion Theory, or AIT in short) (Knapp 2012). Bringing real problems in the limelight is not a problem since in some sense it mainly helps in addressing those issues in a meaningful way. But creating imaginary fault lines is not only unethical but is also deeply damaging since it can lead to a severe loss of trust among the people. Trust is the basic foundation for the smooth functioning of all groups of human beings, be it a small family, a society, a nation or a globalized community. No healthy human transaction can take place in the absence of mutual trust. And it is precisely this trust that has been targeted by many groups with vested interests (Malhotra 2011).

These divisive efforts have had a very negative influence on the minds of Indians and led to the creation of strong differences. It is very important to make efforts to reverse the process so that India can once again emerge as a strong nation with deep spiritual and cultural unity. A very important part of building this trust is our education system prevailing in schools and colleges, which are the cradles from where the next generation of citizens is produced. Over the past few years, we have seen some very serious incidents of politically motivated protests across college campuses in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India where students have demonstrated a complete disconnect from our ancient cultural values. It is very important to remedy this situation not only for the benefit of education but also because these mindsets have a deep negative impact on the society at large.

Education in Ancient India

When we talk of reforming our education system, it obviously becomes necessary to look for a reference point in history that can act as a benchmark for future possibilities. And from the Indian context, the two most important benchmarks are Nalanda and Takshashila (Scharfe 2002). Nalanda University flourished at a site near present day Patna (Bihar, India) from around seventh century BCE to around twelfth century CE. Takshashila University flourished around a similar time at present day Taxila in Punjab (Pakistan). Both these universities had a strong Buddhist influence and had bright students from many parts of the world. The most famous teacher of Takshashila University was perhaps Chanakya (or Kautilya) who is well known not only for his pioneering works in economics and political philosophy, but also for guiding Chandragupta Maurya in building the Mauryan empire (Chaturvedi 2002).

The most remarkable difference between the ancient and modern universities in India is perhaps that there has been a systematic separation between secular and spiritual education over the last century. At Nalanda and Takshashila, training in meditation and Yoga was provided alongside education in economics, politics and other secular subjects.  In fact, the importance given to inner development was so high that education was considered to be incomplete without it. Even education in other secular subjects was seen primarily as a means of making spiritual progress.

The same bond between spirituality and secularism is found if we go even earlier in history and look at epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana that give a detailed description of society during those times. Many of the kings of those times (Rama, Janaka, Krishna, etc.) seem to be deeply imbibed with spiritual knowledge and the gurukulas are found to be the mainly run by Vedic seers (Prabhavananda 2013). Even the famous scripture, Bhagavad Gita, was imparted on the battlefield to a warrior and not in a monastery or forest (Aurobindo 2000). Spiritual knowledge was not seen as a thing to be used only for worship of God, but as something that forms a guide for every aspect of life. In fact, there is no concept of religion in the ancient Indian scriptures and the main focus is on dharma (that which sustains life).  

Upheavals in Medieval Times

With the passage of time, this strong bond between the two facets of education was slowly broken apart by two major forces. Firstly, there was a significant influx of powerful people from different religious backgrounds who saw the Indian spiritual ideas in opposition to their own cherished religious notions. This led to a systematic denigration of the Indian ideals by means of both physical and intellectual force (Malhotra 2011). The weaker sections of the population were forced to adopt Abrahamic religious notions either by means of physical force or by alluring them with money and jobs. And by systematically modifying the education system, the Indian intellectuals were shown only the negative aspects of Hinduism, which led to a significant loss of faith in the ancient wisdom of this land. A conversation on Hinduism was reduced to merely criticizing its caste system and untouchability without any effort at understanding the history behind it. In the 19^th century, there was also a reform movement started by the name of Brahmo Samaj, which formally distanced itself from Hinduism and had the reform of Indian society as its main objective (Farquhar 2009). Two of the most notable members of this organization were Keshab Chandra Sen and Narendranath Datta, who were later shown the positive side of Hinduism by Sri Ramakrishna. Narendranath was so deeply influenced by Sri Ramakrishna that he took up monasticism in his 20s, adopted the name of Swami Vivekananda and founded the world famous spiritual organization called Ramakrishna Mission, with its headquarters at Belur Math. And it is Vivekananda who is credited with the commencement of the process of regeneration of Hinduism and the bringing together of the modern scientific thought with the ancient wisdom of our Rishis (Majumdar 2000).

Secondly, beginning with Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei in the 15^th and 16^th centuries respectively, slowly various western scientists started debunking some of the long held beliefs of the Church. Of course, the guardians of the Church did not like it and there was a growing animosity between the Church and the scientific establishment. The Church believed that it could defame scientists through its sway over monarchs. And some powerful scientists started believing that they could disprove the existence of God through their findings and hence, do away with the need for religion (Dawkins 2008). There is a famous incident between the French emperor, Napolean Bonaparte, and the renowned French scholar, Pierre-Simon Laplace, that very well illustrates this growing dichotomy. Once Laplace went to meet Napolean to present him his latest piece of work. Napolean had earlier heard from someone that this book written by Laplace had no mention of God, and mentioned this to him on receiving the book. To this, Laplace famously replied, “I had no need for that hypothesis” (Scott 1985:73).

Such a dichotomy between science and religion was never there in India till the colonization by the British and eventual westernization of our education system. In ancient India, be it through the Vedas or the path shown by Buddha, the supreme consciousness was always the guiding light at all levels of education. Even all the material progress made during those times had the higher experience as its basis. However, the above two developments led to the creation of an artificial barrier between spirituality and secularism, which is a major bottleneck in the cultural and spiritual integration of India.

India As A Nation

If we are claiming that a barrier between spirituality and secularism has caused immense problems for Indian integration, does it imply that other nations have suffered in a similar fashion? This question has been beautifully answered by Swami Vivekananda (2012:136-137), who said, “I see that each nation, like each individual, has one theme in this life, which is its centre, the principal note round which every other note comes to form the harmony. In one nation political power is its vitality, as in England, artistic life in another, and so on. In India, religious life forms the centre, the keynote of the whole music of national life; and if any nation attempts to throw off its national vitality — the direction which has become its own through the transmission of centuries — that nation dies if it succeeds in the attempt. And, therefore, if you succeed in the attempt to throw off your religion and take up either politics, or society, or any other things as your centre, as the vitality of your national life, the result will be that you will become extinct. To prevent this you must make all and everything work through that vitality of your religion. Let all your nerves vibrate through the backbone of your religion. I have seen that I cannot preach even religion to Americans without showing them its practical effect on social life. I could not preach religion in England without showing the wonderful political changes the Vedanta would bring. So, in India, social reform has to be preached by showing how much more spiritual a life the new system will bring; and politics has to be preached by showing how much it will improve the one thing that the nation wants — its spirituality. Every man has to make his own choice; so has every nation. We made our choice ages ago, and we must abide by it. And, after all, it is not such a bad choice. Is it such a bad choice in this world to think not of matter but of spirit, not of man but of God?”

Spirituality is not just a choice that India has made, but is the very basis of our civilizational unity. There is so much diversity in India in terms of language, culture, rituals, food habits, etc. that it is only our common spiritual ethos that keeps us together. Hence, it is imperative for the cultural integration of India that its spiritual traditions be given their due importance and placed at the forefront of our society. And for this to happen, massive reforms are required in the education sector so that our academic institutions no longer treat spirituality as an untouchable and fully embrace it without any fear.

Reform 1 : Yoga Education

The first and foremost thing to do in this direction is to start Yoga education, in a way relevant to these times, at all educational institutions of India. The Yogic system mainly has two aspects, both of which are deeply intertwined and equally important. One is the philosophy and another is the actual practice. Philosophy without practice just becomes a dry intellectual exercise and does not really lead to inner development. And practice without a philosophical foundation becomes mindless repetition and often leads to fanaticism. Thus, it is very important that well-trained teachers impart both these aspects of the Yogic system to students in a balanced manner.

One could argue that education in Yoga can be imparted by recruiting suitable people in the conventional Humanities departments. Over the last decade, there also have been several centers for value education that have come up at various institutions for imparting this kind of education. However, both these kinds of academic units are unsuitable for a proper education in Yoga. The main limitation of Humanities departments is that they maintain a strong barrier between their personal lives and their philosophical views. Whether their students and faculty members wake up at 6 in the morning or at noon is none of their concerns. In fact, discussing these matters is considered to be too preachy and encroaching on one’s personal liberties. On the other extreme are the centers of value education that actively promote a certain code of living that is expected from their students and faculty members. Some of these centers also tend to cross the line and become too rigid in their structure, but there are others who are able to maintain a much more balanced perspective.

However, it is important to note that though the Yogic system does promote a certain code of living, its fundamental principles are very different from that of value education. The primary difference is that the Yogic system attaches value to only process, and that is expansion of consciousness. All other codes of life and teachings are flexible and meant to achieve this one objective. Where centers of value education discuss about the social importance of various human values and tend to be rigid at times, a center for Yoga would be expected to be much more flexible and only ask if a certain value is helpful in expansion of consciousness. Sometimes the principles of Yoga can also be in opposition to the principles of human values.

This, of course, does not diminish the importance of the Humanities departments or the value education centers. These academic units have a very important role to play at any university and must be encouraged. But along with these, we also need a dedicated center for Yoga at each university, so that education about the Yogic system can be freely and properly imparted to the students. Such a center for Yoga would also become a point of inspiration for all other members of the institution and also a nodal center for promoting interaction between other related units. If our universities can provide space for so many other activities, they can certainly do so for an activity that is so central to our existence as humans on this planet. Both Socrates and Patanjali are equally important for our education system.

Here, it is very important to ensure that such a center for Yoga does not degenerate to a place for promotion of orthodox religious views of certain practitioners. The practice of Yoga and the ability to flawlessly chant mantras can easily lead to a certain superiority complex and a tendency to look down upon people who follow divergent paths. In this context, a superficial practice of Yoga is no different from any other intellectual exercise that has its own perils. This problem does not affect followers of other pursuits so much since their personal life does not interfere much with their work. But the pursuit of Yoga is very different and much more demanding.  A sincere pursuit of Yoga demands complete dedication from its followers, on both the personal and professional front (Aurobindo 2010). Hence, immense care must be taken while setting up such a center of Yoga in order to ensure the desired quality.

Another important aspect to be noted in this context is that Yoga does not merely mean the practice of asana and pranayama. Kriya Yoga (or Hatha Yoga) is one of the components of Yoga and not its entirety. Traditionally, Yoga is divided into four broad overlapping categories: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Kriya Yoga (Aurobindo 2010). A center for Yoga would be expected to put equal emphasis on all these aspects and encourage practice of all these four paths in suitable proportions by different people.

Reform 2 : Courses On Sanskrit, Tamil And Other Indian Languages

Language has played a very crucial role in the evolution of human societies. One of the main advantages humans have over other animals is the use of language, which has led to unprecedented technological and societal developments. Language also has a profound relationship with the culture of a group of human beings (Pinker 2008). The language we speak has a deep impact on our thought process, our understanding of various concepts and also the relative importance we attach to various things. Certain words in one language may not even have a precise translation in another language, since the meaning of certain words is often well understood only by living in the culture associated with that language. One such word is Atman in Sanskrit, which is erroneously translated as ‘soul’ in the English language.

In most of the reputed universities and institutions of higher learning in India, there are courses on German, French and other foreign languages. But it’s a pity that there are only a handful of institutions that offer courses in Sanskrit or even other Indian languages that are spoken by a large number of people. Appreciating things that are Indian is very difficult without an appreciation for the Indian languages. Educational institutions at most of the developed countries in the world strongly promote their own local languages along with teaching foreign languages. The educators in India also need to understand the importance of promoting local languages in their classrooms.

Among all the languages spoken in India, Sanskrit and Tamil occupy a very important place since they are the oldest languages containing a treasure of valuable scriptures (Shapiro and Schiffman 1981, Malhotra 2016). The Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana and many other such Sanskrit scriptures are very valuable sources of learning which not only help us in understanding the past, but also provide important insights into the present and future. Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita are nowadays commonly used to convey principles of management in company boardrooms (Pattanaik 2015). Similarly, the Sangam literature is a rich source of literary works in Tamil and dates back to around the third century BCE (Nilakanta and Champakalakshmi 1997). Now, of course, one can always read English translations of these books, but as discussed above, that helps only to a certain extent. An appreciation of the language in which these texts were originally written, is essential for a deeper understanding of the ideas contained in them.

Establishment of a center for Yoga at universities will automatically lead to the availability of teachers who can teach Sanskrit, since this language plays a deep role in all Yogic practices (Frawley 2016). But the promotion of other Indian languages has to be undertaken by the Humanities departments or perhaps through creation of a specialized center for languages. Here, it is important to note that even left leaning scholars of Sanskrit need to be encouraged since they can provide constructive criticism of our understanding of the Vedas. A diversity of views is essential for the healthy growth of an educational institution. Debarring left leaning academicians from a study of Sanskrit is as detrimental as denouncing the spiritual side of our scriptures.

Sanskrit is not just a language of the Vedas, but also has many profound aspects from the linguistic and computational perspective. Sanskrit is a very scientific language whose rules were established by Panini around the fourth or fifth century BCE (Vasu 2017). An understanding of Sanskrit can also go a long way in developing powerful tools for Natural Language Processing (NLP), which is a vibrant field of research in computer science and has serious implications for Artificial Intelligence (Briggs 1985, Kak 1987). Faculty members at the University of Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru University are doing good work in the area of Sanskrit and computational linguistics, and other universities and institutions must also be encouraged to develop these research areas.

Reform 3 : Discussion (Socratic) Method Of Teaching

Though starting courses and research in Yoga and Sanskrit will surely have a positive impact on our students and society, it is not going to be effective on its own. As mentioned earlier, a huge problem is the tendency for Yogis and scholars (of all backgrounds) to acquire a superiority complex thereby hampering their ability to deliver this kind of education. Ideas also have a tendency to stagnate and degenerate if not refreshed repeatedly. In that respect, India is been truly blessed to have had saints and sages of many different flavors at all times. It is also this regular interaction between Yogis from different points of view that has kept the Indian spiritual tradition free from some of the grave problems faced by Islam and Christianity. And this same spirit of interaction must be actively promoted at educational institutions.

One way to encourage interaction is by organizing regular seminars and meetings that make people from different backgrounds come together to share ideas. But discussions at such meetings can remain at the superficial level if it is not supported by a culture of discussions in the day to day functioning of an educational institute. People who do not discuss on a daily basis cannot be expected to suddenly start doing so at special events. Such people often just convey their ideas without having the patience to listen to what the other person is saying. It is very easy to be too obsessed with our own thoughts and being completely unaware of other thought currents that may be going on around us (Hotchkiss 2003).

This inability to discuss holds true for students much more than for faculty members. After getting into research, one slowly does develop the ability to discuss various ideas since it is an essential component of research. But that is often a very slow process taking a lot of time, thereby leading to huge loss of productivity. If we could train our students in the process of discussion early on, it would not only save time and resources, but also motivate more and more people to do original research. It would also lead to a much better understanding of various scientific concepts (Griffin and Cashin 1989, Neumayr 2017, Willimgham 2009) and thereby, produce much more competent scientists and engineers.

The discussion method of teaching, also known as the Socratic method, is used quite routinely in teaching the humanities and management courses but seldom in subjects related to science and engineering. This needs to change in the near future. It is very much possible to teach science and engineering courses using discussions and is already practiced by a few faculty members with good success (Shah 2016). The primary advantage of using discussions is that it promotes understanding instead of rote learning. There was a time when information was not easily accessible and had to be provided in classrooms. But in today’s world of high speed internet, it is imperative for classrooms to primarily become places where these concepts can be discussed and imbibed instead of merely being stated.

Being able to hold healthy discussions with people from different backgrounds is also the bedrock of a pluralistic society. Lack of ability to discuss ideas often makes people very rigid and non-negotiable, often leading to fanaticism. Our educational institutes place so much importance on public speaking and debating skills, but seldom on being a good moderator. A society surely needs good orators, but its need for good moderators is no less. It is very important to put in place a mechanism that not only encourages good moderators, but also provides rigorous training to our students and teachers in this respect.

Reform 4 : Incentives For Faculty Members To Lead The Reform Process

A proper implementation of all the above stated reforms requires a huge amount of commitment (both in terms of time and energy) on the part of faculty members at educational institutions. And expecting faculty members to invest this much time and energy on top of their already busy schedules is going to be very unreasonable without providing appropriate incentives. Many educational institutions genuinely want their students to be properly educated and groomed into becoming well-rounded individuals, but ironically they do not provide any incentives for faculty members who are wiling to work in this direction. The work that is currently being done is primarily driven by personal motivation and is neither very sustainable in the long run nor can bring about reforms on a large scale.

However, it is also not easy to design proper incentives for such work. Monetary incentives do not work well in this domain since it defeats the very purpose of promoting selflessness. The first and most important requirement is that universities need to start giving such work its due importance and not consider it as an unnecessary deviation or wastage of time. To begin with, faculty members who devote time to such activities could be relieved from some of the other workloads at their respective departments. The appraisal system for determining a faculty member’s productivity used during promotion decisions could also take into consideration contribution in these domains.

Reform 5 : Training of Faculty Members

There are a few faculty members at our educational institutions who happily contribute towards bringing about these reforms even in the absence of any institutional incentives or formal training. However, there are also many others who could contribute but do not have the required training. It is important for administrators to understand that faculty members of modern education institutions are not enlightened beings and can themselves be in need of guidance and mentorship. But, unfortunately, most institutions do not pay much heed to this. Neither are faculty members given any inputs on how to teach nor provided with avenues from where they can learn various soft skills required for their professional growth. It is usually assumed that a faculty will automatically acquire it from the surroundings, which leads to a huge loss of time and productivity.

It is very important for institutions to develop mechanisms for proper training and mentorship of faculty members at various levels. A researcher who has done very good work at the PhD or post-doctoral level may not necessarily have the skills to guide students independently. Someone who is a great researcher may not necessarily be able to teach properly in a class. Someone who is a good teacher may also have unreasonable expectations from students and may not be able to adjust to their level. And someone who is deeply interested in engaging with students and bringing about various educational reforms may not have the right skills to do so. Educational institutions should not assume the presence of any of these skills in their faculty members, especially those that are newly recruited. One might feel that spending time in such training activities is very unproductive and cuts into the already very busy schedules of faculty members. But it is important to note that a sharp sword is able to achieve in one cut that a blunt sword is not able to achieve in a hundred.

Conclusion

This article contains several ideas that can go a long way in bringing about the much needed reforms in our educational institutions. If our academic institutions start embracing our spiritual tradition with open arms, it can bring about a deep sense of national and cultural integration. The division between spiritual and secular education was perhaps necessary in the past century due to historical reasons and for an unhindered growth of the science and technology. But such a division is no longer needed and is also detrimental to further progress of mankind. Now science is strong enough with a spectacular track record and does not need to be afraid of a religious onslaught. And Indian spiritual traditions are also matured enough to accept and fully embrace the scientific findings. A marriage of science and spirituality will provide the much needed glue to deepen the bond between various diverse groups in India and perhaps even the whole world.

Bibliography

Aurobindo, Sri (2000) Essays on the Gita. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Puducherry.

Aurobindo, Sri (2010) The Synthesis of Yoga. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Puducherry.

Briggs, Rick (1985) “Knowledge representation in Sanskrit and artificial intelligence”. AI Magazine. 6. pp. 22-38

Chaturvedi, B. K. (2002) Chanakya Neeti. Diamond Pocket Books. New Delhi.

Dawkins, Richard (2008) The God Delusion. Mariner Books. New York.

Farquhar, John Nicol (2009) Modern Religious Movements In India. Read Books. Vancouver.

Frawley, David (2016) Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound : Secrets of Seed (Bija) Mantras. Motilal Banarisadas Publishers. New Delhi.

Griffin, Ricky W. and Cashin, William E. (1989),"The Lecture and Discussion Method for Management Education: Pros and Cons". Journal of Management Development. 8. pp. 25-32.

Hotchkiss, Sandy (2003) Why Is It Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins Of Narcissism. Free Press. New York.

Kak, Subhash C. (1987) “The Paninian Approach to Natural Language Processing”. International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. 1. pp. 117-130.

Knapp, Stephen (2012) Advancements of Ancient India's Vedic Culture: The Planet's Earliest Civilization and How It Influenced the World. The Vedic Friends Association. Detroit.

Majumdar, R. C. (2000) Swami Vivekananda: A Historical Review. Advaita Ashram. Kolkata.

Malhotra, Rajiv (2011) Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines. Amaryllis Publishers. New Delhi.

Malhotra, Rajiv (2016) The Battle For Sanskrit. Harper Collins India. Noida.

Neumayr, John W. “Why the Discussion (Socratic) Method?” https://thomasaquinas.edu/a-liberating-education/why-discussion-socratic-method . Last accessed on 30 June, 2017

Nilakanta, Sastri K. A. and Champakalakshmi, R. (1997) A History Of South India. Oxford University Press. London.

Pattanaik, Devdutt (2015) My Gita. Rupa Publications India. New Delhi.

Pinker, Steven (2008) The Stuff Of Thoughts. Penguin UK. London.

Prabhavananda, Swami (2013) Spiritual Heritage Of India. Vedanta Press. Hollywood.

Scharfe, Hartmut (2002) Education in Ancient India. Brill Publishers. Boston.

Scott, George P. (1985) Atoms of the Living Flame: an Odyssey into Ethics and the Physical Chemistry of Free Will. University Press of America. Lanham.

Shah, Kushal (2016) “Methods for Teaching Traditional Physics”. Physics Today. 69. pp. 12.

Shapiro, Michael C. and Schiffman, Harold F. (1981) Language And Society In South Asia. Motilal Banarsidas Publishers. New Delhi.

Vasu, S. C. (2017) The Ashtadhyayi of Panini – Vols. 1 and 2. Motilal Banarisadas Publishers. New Delhi.

Vivekananda, Swami (2012) Lectures from Colombo to Almora. Advaita Ashrama. Kolkata.

Willingham, Daniel T. (2009) Why don’t Students like School? Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco.