Reviving Gurukul System in Contemporary Times
What is Gurukul System?
This system of imparting education was followed in ancient India. The teacher (called guru) chooses not more than 15 students to teach them, impart holistic knowledge — called intelligence.
Kinds of intelligence gaining currency in contemporary education was already being practiced in ancient India, which was destroyed by the Macaulay’s education system that created officers whose mind, mood and manners were English. Unfortunately, not much have changed even after Independence. The Nai Talim Gandhi talks about is forgotten by almost every political powers. Nothing much has been done to revive the ancient knowledge that India possessed before the invasion of Islamic rulers and the East India Company.
There were five kinds of intelligence taught in our gurukul system:
- Buddhi (Cognitive Intelligence)
- Samskar (Emotional Intelligence)
- Dharma (Moral Intelligence)
- Kartavya (Social Intelligence)
- Dhyana Yoga (Spiritual Intelligence)
- Paryavaran (Environment)
- Shodh (Innovation)
Unfortunately, Indian students are taught substandard lessons based on substandard colonial imaginations and impracticality that are not suitable for Indian environment.
Arguments to support Gurukul System
Father of Indian Constitution — Ambedkar, was not born Ambedkar. He belonged to Mahar caste but adopted the last name of his teacher. Ambedkar is not his family name but his teacher’s. Ambedkar received education through gurukul system. See how great he became!
Drawing a similar experience from my life, I recall Dr. Rina Bhattacharya, my Hindi teacher in class VII and VIII. I learned — alankar (figures of speech), chhand and rasa from her. Almost everyone did not love her mostly because she also taught what was not in syllabus. She did not sprinkle marks so easily — you had to earn marks. She disrupted a rote learning system in our school. Fortunately, I grasped whatever she taught. She created a deep interest in me about literature. She changed the way I used to study. She expanded my horizons beyond imagination.
I developed emotional connect with her within a month or two. I remember she pointing mistakes in my notebooks and it was very unlikely that I would accept my mistake. But, whenever she pointed a mistake, I would rectify with love and meticulously.
Unfortunately, I had to leave that school and had to leave Dr. Rina Bhattacharya too. But, I have had little experience of the Gurukul system — connection with a teacher who would teach without bureaucratic constraints.
Reviving Gurukul System
India has been the land of Shodha or innovation. After the colonisation, we forgot what we were. Our roots weakened and we have fallen to what we are today — a developing country from the land of gurus.
What students, parents and teachers can do despite having constraints of living in the times of Macaulay education system? Students and teachers can try to connect with their teachers at a personal level. The teachers should not be afraid to think out of box and going extra miles to teach what is not prescribed in the syllabus. At the same time, the parents should act as a bridge between a child and the teacher’s emotional platform.
गुरू गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, काके लागूं पांय।
बलिहारी गुरू अपने गोविन्द दियो बताय।।
Eroding of respect for teachers among parents and children is another problem. But, this cannot be denied that deteriorating quality of teachers is one of the reason of this erosion. Other reasons could be the downfall of samskara in the society, loosening of our roots that taught to place Acharya’s on a platform.
How can government facilitate? Government should increase education budget from 2% to 6%, which was also highlighted in the report by Kothari Commission (1966). This would place the much needed infrastructure at place. But, at the same time, the teaching job should be made respectable by paying them teachers what they deserve, and instilling respect in society for teachers by affirmative action. But, the most importantly, if government cannot facilitate all this change (as government bureaucracy is the least innovative institution, most risk averse and mostly selfish), they should not be an obstacle in the name of minority appeasement.
There is also need of adapting modern education into Gurukul system but not the other way round.
All this would be a gradual process but this could also be started by civil societies on a pilot basis. We need to strengthen our roots to become what we truly were — a bird of gold.
