Knowledge Acquisition Process

Scope of Knowledge

When we organize knowledge delivery in a system, we call it educational system. The process of acquiring this knowledge is called learning. In general, we use the terms education, knowledge and learning interchangeably. In India, knowledge is given a very high pedestal. Even so that we named our country ‘Bharat’ which latterly means a land of people in pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge is considered very holy, very pure and a manifestation of the source of creation.

Lets understand the term knowledge a little better. But before we get there, lets delve into the term ‘Dharma’. There are innumerable elements that make up this creation and each element is moving at its own speed and has its own unique quality. There are elements that have opposing qualities too however they co-exist harmoniously without clashing with each other. These universal laws that regulates and sustains the creation and gives each element of creation its unique identity & nature is called its ‘Dharma.’

Its definition entails the following aspects too:

1. Nature of elements found in the creation can be defined as its ‘guna dharma’ (गुणधर्मं) eg: Guna Dharma of fire is ‘heat’.
2. Man has from times immemorial drawn ethics from these universal laws to make arrangements for his life be it system of governance or the societal structure. Such ethics or ‘neeti’ also called ‘dharma’ (नीतिधर्म)
3. The various roles that one plays in one’s life such as son, father, teacher etc have its own unique ‘dharma’ eg: ‘putra dharma’ (पुत्रधर्म), ‘pita dharma’ (पिताधर्म), ‘shikshak dharma’ (शिक्षकधर्म). Similarly, in our interaction with the gross material world, we have a unique ‘dharma,’ that enables us to protect it rather than exploit it.
4. The systems that man has created called ‘sampradayas’ (सम्प्रदाय) that enable him to transcend his human existence and reach higher realms of consciousness also is called his ‘dharma.’

Thus, the all-encompassing ‘Dharma’ which is grossly misunderstood and equated only to ‘religion’ has a much wider definition.

The main purpose of education is to gain knowledge of all the aspects of ‘Dharma’, from gross to subtle. This involves ‘seeking’. At the highest level, it is seeking the ‘Absolute Truth’ [सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं  ब्रह्म]. Thus, knowledge of brahman or of the Absolute Truth is equated to Supreme Knowledge, of the highest order. Brahman is believed to be both the underlying as well as the material cause of this entire creation. Brahman is also known as ‘aatma’ (आत्मा) or ‘aatmatattva’ (आत्मतत्व) or ‘parabrahman’ (परब्रह्म) or ‘paramatma’ (परमात्मा) - as is revealed to the ‘seeker’ of that ‘Truth.’

This creation is the ‘universal form’ (or विश्वरूप) of ‘paramatma’ or ‘Brahman’. Man is believed to be made in the same exact ‘form’ as ‘Brahman.’ The unravelling this ’Truth’ is called as ‘Brahmajnana’ (ब्रह्मज्ञान). Two aspects of knowledge are - knowledge about oneself, known as ‘Brahmajnana’ and its material counterpart is knowledge about ‘creation’. Due to the multifarious forms that ‘paramatma’ assumes in this material creation, knowledge also can be sought at various levels & in various forms.

The philosophical history of Bharat has proven that the culture of wisdom and knowledge has given Bharat its immortal status. Because the ‘vision of life’ (जीवनदृष्टि) developed on this highest platform of 'knowledge culture' is the most accepting, devoid of exploitation and can harmoniously co-exist with other differing philosophies & traditions of the world, while holding the capability to guide and reform deviant ones too. Thus, from times immemorial, Bharat has held the beacon light to the world.

Internally, it has preserved this 'vision of life' or Jeevan Drishti by a careful transference of knowledge from one generation to the next and this transference of knowledge is called ‘Bharatiya Shiskha or Education.’

This is how broad is scope of knowledge is.

Where do we get this knowledge?

Contrary to our understanding, knowledge is acquired at three centres:

1. Home
2. Gurukul
3. Society

Home and Gurukul are predominant till a certain age while Home and Society becomes predominant after that. It is a lifelong process. When we consider education in this scope, then we will be able to place the Gurukul education in the right context. If home fails and Gurukul succeeds (or vice-versa), we do not get the desired results.

Home is the centre for moulding behaviours, Gurukul is the centre for moulding intellect and society is the centre for action. Education at home is led by parents, at Gurukul by acharyas and in society by Dharmacharyas (remember, the definition of Dharma is much beyond religion).

So, when we are thinking of setting up Bhartiya Education system, we need to ensure that all the three centres are functioning appropriately.

The Process of Acquiring Knowledge

There are a number of faculties/tools which we as human beings possess via which knowledge is acquired. When knowledge gets associated with these tools, it manifests itself in various forms:

• There are two sets of tools for interfacing with the external world.

1. There are 5 sense organs (ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ) which help us in making sense of the entire world around us. These sense organs are – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. When knowledge gets associated with these organs, it takes the form of sensation.
2. There are 5 action organs (कर्मेन्द्रियाँ) which help us do things. These are – voice, hands, feet, anus and genitals. When knowledge gets associated with these organs, it takes the form of action.

• There are five tools of knowledge acquisition which are at subtle levels. There are:

1. Mind (मन): Knowledge at this level manifests as thoughts and feelings.
2. Intellect (बुद्धि): Knowledge at this level manifests as decision making ability.
3. Ahankaar (अहंकार): Knowledge at this level manifests as responsibility of doing and enduring the results of doing.
4. Chitta (चित्त): Knowledge at this level manifests as samskara (संस्कार), the store house of all our experiences of lifetimes.
5. Hriday (ह्रदय): Knowledge at this level manifests as realization. This is the level of knowledge access achieved by all the knowledgeable Rishis of India.

So there are a total of 15 such tools which nature has given us to acquire knowledge. The level or evolution and skill at each of these tools determines the level of knowledge one can acquire. The education system should be such that all these faculties are developed to their full potential to allow smoother acquisition of knowledge. The education system today is so focused on just one of these faculties – the intellect. This makes it very constrained and incomplete.

Getting the right understanding of how these faculties functions, using various means to develop these faculties and once the faculties are developed, using them to achieve knowledge excellence in the area of interest, should be primary goal of the education system.

Once we recognize this, the next is to develop the level of understanding of order of growth of these faculties. Each faculty becomes active at a certain age. If a specific faculty is not yet active, the child cannot acquire knowledge meant to be acquired by that faculty. It is the responsibility of the acharyas to understand this and teach in a way that facilitates knowledge acquisition based on knowledge acquiring faculties at that age. Without this, all knowledge delivered by the acharyas do not reach the student, nor can an acharya create an environment which can strengthen these faculties.

Clearly, the first part of the education needs to focus on developing the growth of faculties using subjects as a medium. Once the faculties are developed, we can use them to develop the proficiency in subjects. These subjects obviously needs to be aligned to the child’s inclination. This means that there is a clear demarcation between these two stages. We could call these two stages as ‘FOUNDATION’ and ‘ADVANCED’.

Here we delve into each of these life stages and explore the panchkoshas, curriculum and pedagogy:

Pregnancy (गर्भावस्था) and early childhood (शिशुअवस्था, 0-5 years)

When a child is born, it carries ‘samskaaras’ (संस्कार) from three different sources: samskara from previous births, samskara from its predecessors i.e. through genetics and samskara via the mother in the womb during pregnancy. While the previous two are predetermined, the ones the child obtains from the womb are significant. Therefore, mother is called the first teacher of the child & thus, educating the mother is vital. Thus, she undergoes samskaaras such as garbhadaan (गर्भाधान), pumsavan (पुंसवन), seemantonayan (सीमन्तोन्नयन) which bear favourable impressions on the child in the womb.

From birth upto 5 years is considered shishuavastha. Whatever child receives becomes its foundational samskaaras as its ‘chitta’ (चित्त) is most active. The knowledge seeking indriyas (इन्द्रियाँ) too are activated.

Its experience with sound, touch, form, juice, smell has to be auspicious, beautiful & happy as it lays the foundation for it to develop its own approach to life & it has to be a positive one. He has to experience that life is beautiful and world has a lot of goodness to offer. Therefore, the mantra for this age is ‘lalayet panchavarshani’ (लालयेत पंचवर्षानी) or fill the child’s life with love.

Shishuvatika @ Vidyakshetra has a natural, homely atmosphere with motherly adults as its teachers. Child is encouraged to wear natural fabric such as cotton. The toys are handpicked, made from natural material such as wood & bamboo. A large play area is made available with fruit bearing trees such as mango and chickoo so the child has vision of auspicious trees and hears melodious sounds of chirping birds, has plentiful exposure to the rays of sun, and cool breezes touch its skin day in and day out.

The child is exposed to fine languages such as Sanskrit shlokas, Bhagavat Gita, daily Panchanga shravana. Huge emphasis is given to language development and in the womb the child is exposed to mother tongue. Therefore, child is exposed only to Kannada (the local language & mother tongue of over 90% children in shishuvatika) in this stage of its development. If a child is prematurely introduced to reading and writing, its language development skill of proper pronunciation, tonality, meaning, sentence structuring etc becomes debilitated.

A naughty child is given no harsh instructions but is gently brought into the right space by the teacher using songs and rhythms which forms the primary part of inculcating disciplinary practices in the child. Rhythms of day, of the week, of the month and of the seasons etc go deep in its understanding the seasons, the days etc and this also lays the foundation of a good discipline for the child. 
There is no scope for harshness, chiding the child or punishing it in shishuvatika as it has a deep bearing on its psyche.

The body (अन्नमय कोष) of the child is developing. Therefore, his nourishment is well taken care of. A balanced menu as per ayurvedic principles has been developed, organic rice, dals and vegetables procured and a roster of parents along with a cook prepare lunch on daily basis. Such food is offered with love and care to children in shishuvatika.

Play in shishuvatika is a serious affair. Man has been gifted with hands to do work and serve others. This samskaar has to be developed right in shishuavastha. It develops through holding, breaking and throwing things. Further, hands develop by playing in water, in sand and soil. To develop the karmendriya called hands, sufficient opportunities are provided in shishuvatika- to clean up after play, to fold clothes, to water the plants, to dig, to sweep, to swab etc. Children have the rhythm of cooking once a week- they experience cutting, pounding, grating, peeling etc which help strengthen the hands and ready the hands for the work it is meant for.

All this is aided by deep engagement with parents to educate them as well for the right environment at home.

Childhood (बालावस्था, 6-12 years)

This phase starts when the child becomes 6 years old. This is the age of action and experiential learning. Parents should focus on creating interest in all the types of work and development of skills to get things done. Inculcation of good habits, development of virtues, teaching aspects of self-control and modesty, humility, and discipline is the responsibility of the parents. Children should get opportunities to play hard and work hard. Reading, painting, music, productions, languages are the areas which should become more and more experiential.

This is the age of loving discipline. The mind is capable of following directions and getting inspired. Hence inspirational conversations and stories should be used. With all this the orientation towards home and society would increase.

The change from early childhood (शिशुअवस्था) to childhood (बालावस्था) is gradual. The first two years of childhood are these transition years. In these transition years, the child starts doing its own work itself. During this transition, the child learns to listen and follow instructions and advice. The mindset needs to transition from playfulness to responsibility and to discipline. This is also the time when formal education begins. The parents need to handle this transition well.

Now the two centres of knowledge – home and gurukul. Probably, home is still primary. The aspect of action and experiential learning applies to both the places. The goal of education in gurukul is to develop the panchkoshas and use subjects as a means of developing those. Hence the process of learning needs to give specific focus on this process of development. For example, for development of Annamayakosha there should be sports and a lot of physical activities. For development of Manomayakosha, there should be Yoga and Sangeeta, for Vigyanmayakosha there should be Maths and Science, for anandmayakosha there should be kalas, literature, poetry etc. Then there needs to be aspects of home science, sociology, dharma, culture, Itihaasa, geography, environment, Adhyaatm (आध्यात्म) etc. All these subjects will help the child start relating to home, society, country and the world. It is the skill of the acharya to weave and link every small activity to learning goals and make learning a pleasant experience.

Education at home

Education at home should focus on developing qualities like love, empathy, putting others before oneself, helping others, the aspect of seva etc. All these can only be taught to the child by displaying these qualities at home by the parents, by narrating and discussing inspiring stories and incidents or by insisting on them to learn these aspects. Daily routines need to develop like sleeping time, wake up time, eating time, proper habits of eating etc. Then they should start gaining proficiency in doing household work. In all this, there should be a sense of taking forward the family traditions.

Education in Gurukul

The education in Gurukul should start focusing on laying the foundation of panchkosha development using subjects. This would encompass three aspects: the subjects, the developmental goals and the pedagogical principles.

Subject Categories

We could map the development of Panchkosha to three categories of subjects: Kriya (क्रिया), Ichcha (इच्छा) and Gyaan (ज्ञान). Following figure shows a rough mapping:

In our traditional text, there is a mention of 64 subjects (कलाएं) which were taught in the Gurukul. Though it requires a deeper research on how to make these contextual in today’s world, there is a definition of 24 subjects which we have done at Vidyakshetra which are making to the three categories. Here are the list of subjects:

• Kriya (क्रिया) subjects: These subjects focus on Annamaya and Pranmaya koshas. The goal is to increase the intensity of the activities which were being done in early childhood (4 and 5 years). There are 6 subjects in this category:
  • Agriculture, House Construction, Cloth making and Handwork, Pottery, Kalari / Yoga and Woodwork.
• Ichcha (इच्छा) subjects: These subjects focus on Pranmaya and Manomaya kosha. These koshas would start developing during this phase. There are 6 subjects in this category:
  • Tabla, Flute, Sangeeta, Bharatnatyam, Painting and Theatre
• Gyan (ज्ञान) subjects: These subjects focus on manomaya and vygyanmaya kosha. The goal is to crate an intellectual base for the child.  There are 12 subjects in this category, which are further divided into 5 areas:
  • 3 Language: These include Kannada, Sanskrit and English. Spoken Hindi is also included but is not treated as subject.
  • 3 aspects of Maths: Apart from the aspects of core, mathematics, there is a very elaborate curriculum for geometry which starts at a very early age. Then there is an introduction to astronomy as well.
  • 3 aspects of Science: These include Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
  • 3 aspects of Sociology: These include History (इतिहास), Geography (भूगोल) and Culture (संस्कृति).

Developmental Goals

These subjects are introduced to children at different ages based on the developmental stages of all the koshas. As these subjects are used to develop panchkoshas, the manifestation of these developments are expected to be seen in the following aspects:

• Cultural Development (सांस्कृतिक विकास): There are multiple aspects to this development. Children should learn about purity and righteousness. Experientially it may mean things like not entering the temple or kitchen with taking bath, washing both hands and legs before eating food, not using outside slippers/shoes inside the house etc. Children should learn how to establish relationship with nature including plants, animals and all the things around. Experientially this may mean feeding the birds/animals, watering the plants, creating family relations like calling rivers, cow and Tulasi as mother or invocation to mother earth as you get up early in the morning and many more. All these should happen through stories. Wherever possible these aspects should be added to the subject being taught.
• Etiquettes and Virtues (शिष्टाचार और सदाचार): This also in many ways is a part of the cultural development but needs a special mention. It is important to understand what is indecent and what is misconduct in specific situations. Avoiding them would be a good starting point for etiquettes. Virtues like speaking truth, respecting elders, giving seva, empathy towards the weak and protecting them, protecting the environment, understanding tangible and intangible profit, contentment while understanding the difference between needs and wants etc. are things that should be weaved in the education fabric while teaching various topics and subjects.
• Self-Control (संयम): Childhood (6+ years) marks the beginning of the Bhrahmcharya ashram for the students. This is the age to learn and practice various types of self control to mould the character, develop qualities and enhance mental and intellectual potential. Four important types of controls which should be focused on are:
  1. Taste: Eating everything cooked at home without being critical or wasting it. Controlling the urge to eat junk food or outside food.
  2. Money: Being thrift, maintaining your possessions for longer usage, knowing the difference between cost and value, ability to judge the quality and cost of things etc.
  3. Words: Usage of good words, sweet language, speaking softly, not getting into unnecessary arguments, not making fun of elders etc.
  4. Time: Finishing things well but on time, not wasting time etc.
• Tenacity and Endurance (तपश्चर्या और तितिक्षा): This has an extraordinary importance in the life of a human being. The practice of this should being in the childhood. Various behavioural aspects should be identified to build it. Some of the easiest ways would be the practice of fasting, developing ability to work for longer hours, being in silence, doing japa (जप), following the rules, not giving into attractions of food/clothes/mobile, learning not to complain in adverse situations etc.
• Aspects of Yagya (यज्ञ), Daan (दान), Tyaag (त्याग) and Seva (सेवा) should become an integral part of the development of the child.

So, we see that the entire focus of the curriculum in Gurukul is to develop character, develop Panchkosha using the subjects and build a foundation of the subjects themselves. It is important to understand that children spend only a part of their day at Gurukul. The other part is spent at home. What the child learns at both the places should be in sync and rhythm. If the learnings at the two places are out of sync, we will end up creating a confused character. What child learns at Gurukul, the actual practice of it happens at home. Hence it is of utmost importance that the parents understand the nuances of the Gurukul and compliment it with the right atmosphere at home. Parents are guided on ways of controlling habits before minds (मनोमयकोष) becomes active. Gurukul is responsible for creating this engagement levels with the parents.

Pedagogical Principles

Some of the pedagogical principles we apply at Vidyakshetra to offer all of these to children as as follows:

1. Personalized lesson plans based on nature and temperament.
2. Development of habits to control nature of the child.
3. Development of daily routines, seasonal routines and life routines.
4. Approach of self-control as against external control
5. Instruction led and experiential Acharya-Kulam. This is a concept of same acharya being the class teacher for a group of students for 7 years, all through the childhood duration.
6. Learning from experts
7. For some subjects, children from multiple age groups are grouped together for more effective learning.
8. No Books. No exams.
9. Experiential learning aided by experiments, trips and workshops.
10. Panchkosh based assessment & reporting.

Children are exposed to all the 24 subjects covering Kriya, Ichcha and Gyaan. By the time they are 12 years, they would have explored all these dimensions. At the end of 12 years, children should have identified their Vritti (वृत्ति) with the help and guidance of the acharya. It is a skill that the acharya should develop where he/she is aware of the needs of the nation and society, match it with the vritti of the child and mould the child to meet those needs.

With this foundation in childhood, the child would be ready to take up the journey of the next stage, aligned to his/her vritti.

Adolescence (किशोरावस्था, 13-15 years)

This is the time when teenage sets in. This is an infectious age filled with confusion. Hormonal changes aggrevate the 6 doshas of manomayakosha and intellect starts becoming hungry. The child cannot decide whether to behave as an adult or as a child. Parents specifically need to be vey cautious. Hormonal changes set in. Masculine and Feminine indications start showing up. Subconscious attraction to opposite sex sets in which can be very distracting for the children. Educating children regarding this is of utmost importance at this time for the parents. This is the time when hard work, physical fitness, self-control, virtuous behaviour, following instructions etc. needs to be observed under strict discipline. The strictness and the discipline of the parents is usually responded with a sense of rebellion. Parents need to develop the skill to manage it. This becomes a little easier if the aspects of education mentioned in the childhood are practiced well. At the same time, now, children should get an opportunity to shoulder some responsibilities and enhance their thinking faculty.

Subject Categories

This is also the time when the 24 subjects, they got exposed to in childhood, of which they did all the subjects for atleast 2 years, the number of subjects should reduce. There should be more focus on the areas which are aligned to their vritti, and hence the profession, which was identified at the end of 12 years. The subjects aligned to the vritti should be taught in greater depth.

Keeping these in mind, the curriculum and pedagogy should be designed in the Gurukul. It might be beneficial to segregate the closeness between boys and girls at this time. Closeness with parents and acharyas should be orchestrated. The attitude of rebellion should not be countered by anger or anxiety. It should be countered by straight forward, clear, confident and calm orders.

Some of the key aspects of the curriculum are as follows:

• 12-13 years – Ramayana
• 14-15 years – Mahabharata
• Bhartiya Jeevan Drishti integrated curriculum.
• Kala and Painting – intense and precise
• Language – Debates, grammar
• Projects integrating व्यष्टि, समष्टि, सृष्टि and परमेष्ठी
• Analytical/logical/synthesis – Science, Math, Geometry, Astronomy
• Physical fitness, tenacity, flexibility, strength

From the perspective of Panchkoshas, childhood (previous stage) was the time when 5 sense organs and 5 action organs of the annamayakosha, and feeling realm of the Manomayakisha were predominantly developing. Hence the pedagogy was more experiential and inspirational. Instructions and following the instructions were main tools. But now during adolescence, the thinking faculty of the Manomayakosha and inspection/test/asses of Vigyaanmayakosha are developing. Thinking faculty of Manomayakosha means that when the child sees or hears something, it will remember it, will try to look at various aspects of it, will try to understand it, will try to imagine the impact and consequences of it and conclude on what is right and what is wrong. There isn’t a lot of analysis in this process. Good foundation in childhood makes adolescence easier to handle.

This is also the time when parents and children should strengthen the aspects of courage, self-confidence, fearlessness, eagerness to take up challenges and string desire to overcome them.    

Developmental Goals

As we design this curriculum and pedagogy, we can have a laundry list of expectations from the child at the end of 15 years. This should be worked backwards and incorporated. Few expectations or goals should be:

• Intellectual expectations

1. Recitation of Bhagwad Gita and little understanding of the content.
2. Little understanding of our Veda, Upanishad and related Bharatiya knowledge systems.
3. Fluency in Sanskrit
4. Proficiency in math tables from 1 to 30 and mental math
5. Language expertise in spoken mother-tongue
6. Knowledge of at least 10 great kings of Bahratiya Itihaasa.
7. Panchang knowledge with 9 planets, 12 Indian months, 12 Rashis and 27 Nakshatras.
8. Good knowledge of Indian geography including rivers, mountains, states, languages, local cultural traditions etc.
9. Sangeeta, Abhinaya
10. Beautiful written expressions
11. The list is only indicative and can be enhanced or modified.

• Behavioural expectations

1. Is the child capable of going to the market to get groceries, daily need items, shoes, clothes etc? Can the child assess the quality and cost combination for the items?
2. Is the child capable of making a monthly budget for the household needs?
3. Can the child do reservations for travel to any corner of India?
4. Can the child celebrate occasions like birthday or any other happy occasion in a beautiful way, maintaining the balance on expenses.
5. Can the child prepare the menu for a meal for guests?
6. Has the child developed skills to clean the house, utensils, clothes etc.
7. Can the child stay alone at home for few days and manage? Can the child host guests?
8. Can the child happily spend 24 hours without TV, mobile or gadgets?
9. Can the child conduct a pooja, yagya or decoration of pooja ghar?
10. The list is only indicative and can be enhanced or modified.

• Cultural expectations

1. Can the child select the personal items which do not damage the environment?
2. Does the child have awareness of issues like terrorism, Hindutva, economic crisis, difference between disrespect and disagreement etc.?
3. Does the child have awareness of the ideologies of various political parties?
4. Is there a thought of the type of contributions they would do to make Bharat a ‘VishvaGuru’ or contribute to ‘Make in India’ initiative?
5. Do they want to visit various places of cultural significance in Bharat?
6. Can they culturally represent Bharat in Europe, America, Australia or Africa?
7. Have they identified an area of samaj seva for themselves?
8. Is there awareness of social traditions, can they discriminate between good and bad rituals?
9. Do they discuss about the state of the Bharat in general?

Some of these topics may be heavy for their age. But they are essential for them to formulate a direction of life for themselves in years to come. They are worth giving a thought both for the parents and for the acharyas.

• Professional Expectations

1. As mentioned earlier, this is the age where they start acquiring the skills to excel in the identified professional area. This identification was done by the time they were 12 years of age. Whatever is the area of profession, the mindset and the context which needs to be built is that of seva for the society and mother nature. The understanding that the wellbeing of the society and the world would eventually render personal wellbeing.
2. The orientation of the child should be either to continue the tradition of family profession or if that does not exist then, start off that tradition. The goal should be to enhance the traditional knowledge, make it contextually relevant and take it forward.
3. The skills required to undertake the profession should start getting enhanced by this time. By the time the child is 15, he should be able to do apprenticeship under professionals. Achieving that level of expertise should be a key expectation.
4. The chosen profession, whether employment or own production, should be looked at as a way of earning for the child.

This gives us a comprehensive list of expectations around which the curriculum and pedagogy needs to be designed and delivered.

Pedagogical Principles

The pedagogical principles should change based on this development. Gurukul and acharyas should ensure that the information levels start becoming universal, difficulty levels should start increasing, they should understand the problems, plan for solutions and actually solve problems. For example, if you have to go from Bangalore to Delhi, then what are the different ways, what are the pros and cons of each way could be a good challenge. If there is an earthquake in some part of the world, how could relief efforts reach that place. Various types of surveys in the social/cultural realm would be very good for the children. These are all examples of pedagogical principals.

Some of the aspects of pedagogy which is kept in mind are:

1. Inspiration Lead by a subject matter expert
2. Draw connections.
3. Dialogue, Debates and projects driven.
4. Demand for intensity, precision and beauty.
5. Identification and alignment to Vritti.
6. Learn to make mistakes, develop ability for proper discrimination and decision.
7. Introduction to community centred socio-economics systems

One key question which we should also address is the whole concept of equality of men and women. The western distorted definition of equality is that women should be able to do all the things a man can do. Bhartiya Jeevan Drishti helps us clear this myth by understanding the similarities and the differences between a man and a woman. Nature created two different categories of human beings for a purpose. The education should be structured such that every girl can become a woman of full potential and every boy should become a man of full potential. Distorted views lead to cultural crisis and wokeness we are seeing in the world today.

There is no difference between boy and a girl as far as spiritual (आध्यात्मिक) and intellectual (बौद्धिक) topics are concerned. Both should be exposed to the same books, discussions and understanding. But the difference between them at physical level and mental level is natural and expected. In Bharatiya society, the two would eventually come together to form a single, inseparable unit of the society. The woman runs the family, and the man supports, protects and helps her in all possible ways to make it happen. It is ideal that the husband and wife have developed skills in the same profession. This lays the foundation of family profession and allows for starting off a tradition. The children in this age are not yet married or are expected to fulfil these expectations. But their mindset should be developed so that such a possibility can become a reality in the future. Towards this, there should be provision to get them the understanding of concepts of Kula, Gotra, Vansh, Ishta Devta, Kula Devta etc. as well.

Children will become 15 years old as they undergo a few years of self-control, strict discipline and hard work. They would start feeling that they are grownups and the people around them would also attest to it. As that happens, the instinct to become more independent will also start growing. They have the direction, skills, ability to handle responsibilities. They may still need some support in decision making, but that is a part of the process.

Young Adulthood (युवावस्था, 16-21 years)

This stage of the student can be divided into two parts – 16-19 years and 19+ years. The reason we have capped it to 21 years is because that would define the formal association of the child with the Gurukul. The reason they are clubbed together is because this represents the time span when panchakoshas are developed, prudence and decision-making ability has come in but the family life has not yet started. This is the final leg of preparation before the child is handed over to the society for the remaining part of his or her life. It is the time life’s directions and Jeevan Drishti takes final shape before independent practice of it begins.

This is the age where Brahmcharya must be strictly practiced. This is the way to strengthen self-control and concentration, physical fitness and ability, reign in the physical and mental faculties. Sense of responsibility should get stronger; decision-making should be with prudence and scientific in nature. Youth is the treasure for the family, society, and the nation. He or she should become worthy of being one.

This is the age when the child tastes independence and at the same time energy levels, physical, mental and intellectual, are high. This is time to become serious about workmanship, exercise and sports. At least 2 hours of physical exertion which results in profuse sweating should become a part of the curriculum. So does some serious yoga practice. Specifically, the focus should be on the first 5 out of 8 limbs propounded by Patanjali – Yam (यम), Niyam (नियम), Aasan (आसन), Pranayama (प्राणायाम) and Pratyaahaar (प्रत्याहार). This is the time when the student should understand the responsibilities and expectations of various stages of life, various ashramas and the Jeevan Drishti of how everything should be done from now on. There should be absolute control on modern fashion, perverted entertainment, boy-girl relationships and addictions.

This is the age to get deeper education in the chosen life’s direction. This means reading the right shastra and granth. All the intellectual capacity should get deployed into Adhyayan. Collect all possible information, understand concepts and contexts, analyse and synthesize behavioural aspects. Professional competence in the chose area should be fully developed between 16-19 years. This is aided by working under a professional subject matter expert. Post 19 years, the student should be in a position to start earning either independently or under guidance. He should have a clear understanding of what it means to be a Dharmic Professional. Few points which may guide the student are:

• First choice, family profession.

1. If there is a family profession, continue and enhance that.
2. If there was a family profession but your father stopped doing it, restart it.
3. If there was no family profession or you have strong reasons to change it, consult learned people, your acharyas and parents to understand your vritti and chose a profession accordingly.

• Second choice, production. If you get into production, then base it on life energies (of human or animals) rather than energy forms developed by humans like electricity or electricity driven machines. This may take some time to become a reality, but a bridge should be created in that direction. Also avoid the modern industrial setups of employer and employee. Avoid anything which harms and impacts the health of environment and consumer. Focus should be on researching for alternates if modern professional practices are otherwise.

• If you chose to be in trade and commerce, rather than production, design the setup such that the investment in non-productive aspects is minimal.
• If you chose to dedicate your life in the service of the society with professions like acharya, doctor, Dharmacharya or Priest, then you would not do it for money. Have faith in the societal support to take care of you.
• The lowest form of profession would be to get employed under a person who is into production.

The curriculum and pedagogy should be designed to get these indicators imprinted in the student’s mind. There are gaps today in the society to allow the youth to adopt a professional model listed above. It is the duty of the acharya and the institute to spend adequate time in research, in creating the right network of professionals who are subject matter experts and help the students experience a working model. This is very important till the time such a setup becomes a norm in the society.

The design at Vidyakshetra considers this design as a combination of two streams: Professional stream and Bharatiya Jeevan Drishti stream. One stream runs with professional mentors and the other is anchored with acharyas in Vidyakshetra.

By the time children are out of Vidyakshetra, at the age of 21, they should be in a position to start their professional life, should have a sound foundation of Bhartiya Jeevan Drishti and should have laid a foundation to achieve the purpose of their lives.

Conclusion

Hope we got a gist of the thought process, goals and outcomes of the curriculum and pedagogy which needs to be designed in a Gurukul. Education is life long but the goals and methods are different in different stages of life. Here, our focus was to cover the stages which are there till the Gurukul education gets over. Achieving all the desired outcomes is a journey which Vidyakshetra has taken up in partnership with the parents and society at large. We are on a continuous improvement journey and we seek blessings from all of you to be successful in making this a main stream education system in Vikasit Bharat of 2047.