Thoughts on Education: Arts in Curriculum

Engineering or Medicine?

That’s the ubiquitous question that confronts nearly every student completing school in Bhārata.

The disdain for arts is evident, and so is the obsession for STEM.

But what is the civilizational cost? Arts aren’t simply the output of frolic and leisure; they are enablers of the creative faculties of the mind.

While rote and repetition exercise the memory muscle, arts in education exercise the imagination sinew.

Why is it that despite perpetual terror attacks on Hindus, the community is ever asleep and unable to mobilize?

In his book 'An Indictment', Śrī Ram Swarup (SRS) analyzed what is missing in our approach, and offered suggestions for stock taking.

Some excerpts: When the Second World War passed without a whimper in India, he noted:

"A total world war, a crisis, of the highest magnitude in human affairs has passed away without touching India in the least... A total war which has changed the life of other countries... -

Dharma’s expansive multiple-life metaphysics, premised on the fundamental truth of consciousness rather than its materialist dismissal as an epiphenomenon, is its most unique, precious and indispensable philosophical contribution to the human experience.

A thread. To begin, let us examine the concept of ‘history.’

Contemporary enterprises such as Indology and philology are stymied by a uni-linear notion of time, itself derived from the historicism that was necessary to uphold the Judeo-Christian worldview.

How proximate is the BJP’s manifesto to Hindu aspirations?

As Hindus, we desire Order (rṭā, ṛṇa, dharma), Abundance (artha), Strength (bala) and Knowledge (bodha).

In light of these parameters, we take a brief look at the opportunities and needs: 1. Viksit Bharat: A vision is of great importance at this juncture, after the ‘planned’ cluelessness of decades.

Development, however, must be powered by dhārmika artha and dhārmika kāma.

VB provides great scope for reviving our institutions for this aim, keeping in mind, “When it is said that India shall be great, it is the Sanatana Dharma that shall be great.”

We are delighted to announce an Annual Summer Camp for children, "Ramavataram", in collaboration with @TheVedicPond and Sri Aurobindo International School, Hyderabad.

Our mission is to nurture holistic development, blending traditional wisdom with contemporary relevance.

1/6 The camp will enable children to navigate life with compassion, perspective, and resilience - through mix of classroom sessions, outdoor activities, and interactive learning grounded in our cultural ethos.

A transformative journey back to our roots, celebrating Śrī Rama.

2/6

The recent conversation between Adv. @jsaideepak and Anas Tanwir offers a great learning opportunity to develop Svayambodha and Śatrubodha along key dimensions.

Sai Deepak ji demonstrates the critical thinking habits of a Hindu Civilizationalist.

Hindu Heuristics: A Thread. These points shed light on the significant aspects of Svayambodha and Śatrubodha.

Moreover, they yield the clarity required for Hindus to articulate these ideas and engage in debates.

A cheat-sheet from the discussion.

|| A Thread on the Rising of Śrī Rāma Cetanā in Bhāratavarṣa ||

Today, Śrī Rāma Cetanā rises once again in the sacred land of Sanātana Dharma.

There have been other occasions in history where Śrī Rāma Cetanā has united all of us.

1/10 The first Rising of Śrī Rāma Cetanā came with His birth as an avatāra of Maryāda Puruṣottam.

He united India, north to south, with sacred principles.

He went through great hardship for this, but gave us Dharma through His living embodiment of it.

2/10

Rights vs Ṛṇa.

The modern bedrock of state polity and resultant policy formulations is anthropocentric. This primacy can trace its evolution originally to the Judeo-Christian understanding of the world, with humans being the prized Creation, meant to lord over others. However, life is infinitely rich and varied for such delusions to hold sway for long.
It is not the emphasis on rights but on ṛṇa, that enables us to savor life. Born into saṃsāra, we are indebted to 5 principalities for the gift of life: Manuṣya, Ṛṣi, Pitṛ, Deva, Bhūta.

On the occasion of 77th Independence Day, we revisit and reflect upon Śrī Aurobindo's vision of "Bhavani Bharati" which inspires us at @brhat_in. Śrī Aurobindo, a seer who saw with sublime clarity the role for India in forging a brilliant future for humanity. Inspiration that flows from his pen holds his work, which is a living throb and can guide us in our journey of self-fulfillment, as an individual and as a nation.

Our program, the Scrolls of Āryavarta, is an exploration of the Bhārata that once was, and that could have been, using the modes of AI art and historical fiction.

We are excited to present the latest chapter in this. The depictions, tales and timelines are fictionalized.

Settled comfortably in our penchant for English, it is easy to miss the essential role language plays in creating our world.

"The design principles of a civilization" become simple enough to understand, but the "saṃskāra of a saṃskṛti" sound obscure, even old-fashioned. A civilizationist can speculate on "civilizations being similar to organisms,"

but to speak of the civilization that is Bhārata possessing a consciousness that is Dharma- this acquires nationalist/ fundamentalist/ communal colors.

The civilizationist Matthew Melko contends that-

"Civilizations are distinct from primitive cultures, exercise greater control of the environment," and are characterized by agriculture, animal domestication, monumental architecture and complex political institutions. In sharp contrast is the definition by Prof. Yasuda Yoshinory-

"Civilization begins to appear when a workable system for living, that is a proper relationship between man and nature, is established in accord with the features of a given region."

Marā..Marā..Marā...Rāma..Rāma..Rāma

We are all familiar with the kathā of how Ratnākara was given the mantra of Rāma's name by Ṛṣi Nārada, which transformed him into the Ādi Kavi Ṛṣi Vālmīki.

Such is the transformative power of Rāmāyaṇa, whose tej still lights up our path. We recently had the soubhāgya to offer a session on Śrīmad Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa in collaboration with @6amiji. Śrī Rāma's persona presents such an amalgam of dharma and karma, that the ideal itself elevates the cetanā.

Here are some thoughts our learners shared post the course.

An unexpected metaphor from ancient India that throws light on the nature of reality 👇🏻

Neil deGrasse Tyson says the universe is an uncaring materialist accident.

Elon Musk says the universe is a simulation.

Atharva Veda says the universe is Indra’s Net. Indra’s Net paints the world to be an infinite web spreading in all directions.

At each intersection: a pearl that represents all individual action.

Every pearl reflects every other pearl - and the whole net!

Bauddhika Ātmanirbharatā, with reference to Science and Technology.

An initiative by the CoE-IKS @IITKgp and @ugc_india
to dispel the misleading belief about India's knowledge being divorced from the observational sciences.

@EduMinOfIndia It will also communicate and explain why India is fast becoming ātmanirbhara in civil, urban, peace and war technologies.

The FDP 2022 will support and strengthen the Government's resolve to create ātmanirbhara Bhārata.

A major update on the Bṛhat Open Library:

Purāṇa.

Colloquially, a fair translation of it is 'the old,' or 'from the ancient times.'

It works, but it evades a critical emic truth.

As we maintain at Bṛhat- history is to civilization, as memory is to consciousness. Not only did our ancestors possess history, they cared about it deeply.

Not the material, 'factual' history.

But as Prof. Adluri calls it, the "history that transcends historicism."

History that a civilization could converse with and learn from.

As we do from memory.

It is said that Paraśurāma once acquired a sacred art, a martial art.

An art he then taught to the inhabitants of a land newly reclaimed from the ocean.

108 original training grounds were established, the story goes. Today we call those grounds kalaris, and the land- Kerala.

And the sacred art, the martial art...

Kalaripayattu we call it, and in Thiruvananthapuram we can take in the scent of that primal soil once again, as if in the kalaris of yore.

Bauddhika Ātmanirbharatā, with reference to Science and Technology.

An initiative by the CoE-IKS @IITKgp and @ugc_india to dispel the misleading belief about India's knowledge being divorced from the observational sciences.

@EduMinOfIndia It will also communicate and explain why India is fast becoming ātmanirbhara in civil, urban, peace and war technologies.

The FDP 2022 will support and strengthen the Government's resolve to create ātmanirbhara bhārata.

Of all the functions that Culture provides us, one of the greatest is the meaning making process.

Man’s quest for meaning in life is eternal and it has been the primary function of Culture to provide meaning in individual and social life. In a culture where the meaning-making process is in place, nothing happens without a reason.

Nothing is a mere accident. Everything makes sense and connects to everything else, in great arcs of meaning.

These arcs make life comprehensible. They give our lives 'context.'

On the Day 4 of Bṛhat Anveṣī we explored the unique temples of Kanara, or coastal Karnataka, in the sacred town of Barkur, through which the meandering river Sīta flows, making it one of the most sacred kṣetras. First, we saw the Panchalingeshvara Temple which is one of the most sacred temples in Barkur. With its remarkable Kerala-style architecture a rare apsidal-shaped garbha-gṛha, it houses five liṅgas representing the five faces of Sadāśiva.

Calling all #yoga seekers to join us in this pioneering initiative of Integral Yogini Teacher Training Course #IYTTC as a part of the larger #ShaktiKumbh in #Rishikesh, #India, on the holy banks of #MaGanga | 12 Feb – 5 Mar’ 23 What will be the #IYTTC experience?
- Understand the relevance of Pancha koshas and the Seven chakras.
- Dive into the auspicious wisdom path of Srividya.
- Connect to moon cycles and rituals through the gentle yet potent practice of Chandranamaskar.