REFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEM - SECULAR EDUCATION – MAKE IT INCLUSIVE & LIVELY

REFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEM

SECULAR EDUCATION

MAKE IT 

INFORMATIVE,INCLUSIVE & GOAL ORIENTED

Reforming Education System is the most urgent and important need in India today.

In the three parts earlier, we examined -

(1)        What Great people think of Education system,

(2)        The Need to build Character through Education system.

(3)        The need to gradually phase out the CASTE SYSTEM – through Education – and Bring Unity among all people

(4)        The need for day to day skills like cooking

(5)        Greater stress on sports and Games

(6)        The need for lateral, creative and objective thinking

(7)        Skills to fix basic electrical and electronic appliances

India is a secular country. But, secular Education is not availed by certain sections of the society and they still prefer their own religious schools. Madrasas for Muslims and Christian schools for Christians are all over India and proliferating.

But, Hindu scriptural teaching is not available anywhere. Thus, while Islamic religious education and Christian religious education are available, Hindu religious education is missing. Many social ills in India today are due to such lop-sided education, we don’t know anything about the Major Religions of India.

Indian secularism has thus become a negative, negating concept and not a positive, inclusive concept.

In last three years, I have been studying the Gita and the Upanishads. The more I understand them, the more, I feel that they do not belong to a Particular religion in the conventional sense, but, belong to the whole humanity. They are one of the RICHEST SOURCE of all morals, ethics and the best practices of social living.

It is the lack of their knowledge that makes many Hindus practice untouchability, superior-inferior complexes and so on. India takes a person from worship of everything in Nature, to a single representative thing (an idol or such things), and from there to a shapeless formless God and finally to a level where one sees himself in all beings and all beings in one’s own self. The Individual must realize the divinity in himself.

These are based on solid, sound reasoning. Lack of knowledge of these extraordinary and highly scientific methods even among the Hindus has given rise to various misconceptions in the minds of other religions and Hindus themselves – that Hinduism has so many gods, Hindus worship only Idols and so on, which is far from truth. All religious Acharyas like Adi Sankaracharya and Ramanujacharya have condemned the practice of UNTOUCHABILITY in strong terms.

Adi Sankaracharya has invoked the authority of Siva Himself, who directed him not to practice un-touchability. Therefore, Adi Sankara's clear message is that NO ONE  should practice untouchability. The latest to tell us this by personal practice is - Mahatma Gandhi himself. In spite of that, if it still exists, we have to blame our so called secular education, which doesn’t teach this great aspect of religion.

I have read the Bible too to a reasonable extent.I have heard parts of Koran from many of my Muslim friends.

The point is - India must introduce a positive all-inclusive religious education, taking the best aspects of each religion. India must become a Model country, where people understand each religion in the country – and choose their personal religion freely – according to their conscience, instead of basing it on somebody else’s conversion inducements. In all religions, we do find extremely liberal, tolerant, well informed Individuals, who do adopt to such liberal religious practices.

Which means - an Individual may at his option, adopt himself to the BEST OF ALL RELIGIONS- a sort of UNIVERSAL RELIGION. Individual choice should not be obstructed by any Priest, Mulla or Bishop of any denomination. There should be true, free,well-chosen, informed religious freedom.

Today, all wars all over the world are RELIGIOUS WARS, between the persons practicing the world’s 2 great religions. This happens because of NON-TOLERANCE and non-appreciation of each other’s religion and a constant itch to interfere in other’s religions. We cannot shut our eyes to this FACT. It is true that mostly, religious fundamentalists only involve themselves in such activities. But, disturbing fact is, because of non-secular, religious education, the number of such fundamentalists is growing.

INDIA can show the way for true religious freedom and inter-religious tolerance. Let the Best of all religions be there in the curriculum – and let people choose whatever principle they like – not necessarily whatever religion they like.

For example, USA frequently calls the DALI LAMA and listens to his wonderful lectures on Buddhism – but these are applicable to the whole of mankind. Many Hindu Gurus attract just as much attention in the UPA and people there are beginning to understand Indian ethos mow much better. Why can’t Indian Universities also - periodically call eminent well informed religious leaders also – for lectures – as USA is doing?

That should be the Goal of Secular Education – not the present lifeless, goalless, so called secular education.

Readers' views on this important topic are MOST WELCOME

= Yours

(V.Vijayamohan)