Intro: Truth (satya ), righteous conduct ( dharma ), peace (shanti ), love ( prem ) and non-violence (ahimsa ) are the core universal values which can be identified as the foundation stone on which the value based education programme can be built-up. These five are indeed universal values and respectively represent the five domains of human personality – intellectual, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. They also are correspondingly correlated with the five major objectives of education, namely, knowledge, skill, balance, vision and identity.
It is only by incorporating ‘DHARMA’ supplemented by best of the teachings of all religions including Bhagavad Gita in school and college curriculum, we will be implementing the advice of Swami Vivekananda that man making, character building education should be provided for the purpose of national reconstruction. This exactly has been the recommendation of Human Resource Development (HRD) Committee presided over by Shri S B Chavan, quoted with approval by the Supreme Court in Aruna Roy’s case, [2002 (7) SCC 368, at para 29, page 388]. Relevant part of it reads:-
“Our educational system aims at only information based knowledge and the holistic views turning the student into a perfect human being and a useful member of society has been completely set aside,” Swami Vivekananda had aptly said:
“Education is not the amount of information that is put in your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making, assimilation of ideas. If education is identical with information, libraries are the greatest sages of the world and encyclopedias are rishis.
Truth (satya), righteous conduct (dharma), peace (shanti), love (prem) and non-violence (ahimsa) are the core universal values which can be identified as the foundation stone on which the value based education programme can be built-up. These five are indeed universal values and respectively represent the five domains of human personality – intellectual, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. They also are correspondingly correlated with the five major objectives of education, namely, knowledge, skill, balance, vision and identity.” [para-7 and 8]
“ Primary school stage is the period in a child’s life when the seed of value education can be implanted in his/her impressionable mind in a very subtle way. If this seed is nurtured by the capable hands of dedicated teachers in school, if they insert values at appropriate intervals during a child’s school life, it can be easily said that half the battle in building up national character has been won.” [para – 9]
The panacea for corruption, abuse of power and immoral conduct in particular onslaught on women which are rampant and eating into the vitals of the nation lies in making instructions in dharma or moral code compulsory in the school/college curriculum. As Bharat Ratna PV Kane has said “There is no word which is equivalent to the Sanskrit word ‘Dharma’ in any other language of the world.” Dr. Radha Krishnan has stated ‘Virtue is ‘Dharma’ and ‘Vice is Adharma’. To put in one sentence, dharma is moral code of conduct common to all whereas religion is mode of worship of God by believers in God by giving Him different names. Religions are many and personal but ‘Dharma is one and Universal’. In National Education Curriculum, best of good code of conduct which are prescribed in different religions including Bhagavad Gita should also be incorporated. This would fulfil the advice of Swami Vivekananda to provide man-making, character-building education.
The only remedy for all the social and economic evils with which the nation is afflicted is dharma abiding nature must be inculcated in every individual through education. This process is called Samskar in Sanskrit. The meaning of Samskar has been explained by Sabaraswamy in his inimitable language thus:-
“Samskar is that process undergoing which a person or thing becomes fit for the purpose for which he or it is meant.” [Sabara Bhasya on Jaimini-III, Vol. I, p 338].
The real education therefore has two sides. One side is knowledge and another is character. The clear implication is, every knowledge such as general, technical, medical or legal must be regulated or controlled by character, in that, knowledge acquired undoubtedly enables a person to live a comfortable life, but the greater purpose of it, as Patanjali has declared is that it has to be used to serve the fellow human beings to mitigate their hardship and secure happiness to them. It is only when both these aspects are imparted through education, it can be called education in the real sense of that term
In his book titled Swami Vivekananda on himself, he has said that one Sanskrit shloka of two lines gave him good samskar or moulded his character. It is this which ultimately made him the greatest personality of the century and has become immortal. That shloka reads:-
“ A person who treats every woman other than his wife as equal to his own mother, regards wealth or money belonging to another person as equal to loaf of mud, regards all living beings as his own atma, can be regarded as really educated person. “
Therefore, the panacea for all our national problems is to comprehensively reform our National Education System on the above lines so that our education system will ensure the continuous supply of good citizens not only with good knowledge but also with sterling character which has been the ideal of Swami Vivekananda. Therefore, reforming of our education system to fulfil that propose is the real tribute that our nation has to pay and should pay to Swami Vivekananda. It is appropriate that this reform should be brought during the 152nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Justice (Retd.) M Rama Jois ( The writer is former Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court.)
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