THE DAYANANDIAN MODEL OF EDUCATION

Manu Singh


Apples have fallen since centauries and will continue to fall till centauries to come but Newtonian cognizance flashes the pages of epoch just like a shooting star to provide ‘gravity’ to ‘Truth.’ In the same way mice have been feasting on the offerings offered to deities and will continue to relish them, but the Dayanandian Spark which volcanized into the great Indian renaissance will never be congruent to anything this world has ever experienced. This spark was the one, which provided fuel to the Indian national movement, the back bone to the crippled Indian social structure and gave rebirth to the Vedic philosophy, which was decayed by the bacterium of its own country. Encapsulation of the life of this zealous seeker and reformer who is infact the real millennium man can never be possible – its like what Nietzsche said after reading the Satyarth Prakash – Nietzsche was planning to pen down the greatest work on philosophy when he came across the Satyarth Prakash and said-“why do I need to show the world a candle when there already exists a sun,” and eventually landed up burning his semi-finished work.


Not only Nietzsche or Maxmuller, Dayanand has been revered and held in high esteem by many great philosophers and thinkers. He was a true reformer of the classes and the masses, a moving orator, an everestian persuader he fearlessly and tirelessly exposed hypocrisy and outward form caged in outward ‘dogma’ and sectarian narrowness. According to the Great Maharishi education, training and knowledge were the principle instruments in the act of ameliorating and reforming the society and his own aim was to nurture a new generation, which would not only break free, but also liberate the society by obliterating dividing barriers of caste and sect and who would be cerebrally and pedantically empowered to reform and change. He waged a war against obscurantism, toryism, religious fanaticism and retrenchment and countered meaningless rituals, asking people to accept anything after testing it on the touchstone of logic and reasoning (Tarkev Rishi). After going through the historical episodes of those shastrarthas (debates) one is completely awestruck and cannot help but admire his indefatigable courage, conviction and gibraltan commitment towards the real truth amidst fierce opposition and hostility by the priests and the pundits, who were running their lavish livelihood out of these unscientific rituals and miracle mongering.


Swamiji’s views on education are of more relevance today than they were then. The adoption of the western model has been a comprehensive failure as caste and religious bigotry stand where they were – infact they have acquired a more venomous shape. And on the other hand this model has brought its own hazards and perils in the form of the spread of momentary hedonism, dog eat dog individualism and blind consumerism which has made men turn to the outer world and amass more than their need, the result has been the creation of plastic and robot like human beings who lack the spirit of love, compassion, justice, truth and non violence. This philosophy has shadowed the attainment of the perfect bliss but its main aim is to gain physical and sinful pleasure by any means leading the human society into a dangerous mode where there is a sharp increase in oppression, crime and the abuse of the environment on a social scale and meanness, selfishness, immoral and unethical conduct on a personal scale. The only way out of this quicksand predicament is the implementation of this Dayanandian model over this western glamour, blitz and lollipopery. The concern of the Maharishi was to sequester chaff from the wheat, separate Spirituality from rituality. He advocated free, quality, compulsory and equal education for all. In his view all children should receive a proper physical, mental, moral and spiritual without any distinction of any caste, creed or sex.


According to this peerless philosopher - emphasis should be laid on rationality and a broad-minded approach by understanding and reasoning and rejecting the sweep of blind superstition or for that matter even unscientific studies of palmistry and astrology. He further reiterates that education should be provided equally to all without the distinction of money – a goal that still eludes us even after this so called fake talk on globalization. Elitist institutes still dominate the minds of the growing middle class and inculcate snobbery, plutocracy and the policy of differentiation. Swamiji admonished the grabbing class and advocated Vedic socialism by elucidating that a proper moral and spiritual education would pluck out the bud of ambitious greed and would halt the rampant rape of mother nature by greedy humans then in the form of industrialization in Europe and now in the from of globalization all over the world. As for the education of girls Swamiji recommends that girls should not only receive a sound physical education but also excel in skills of commerce and accounts apart from arithmetic and medicine. According to him Cognizance was like a limitless and vast treasure and it increased when you spread it. He also stressed on the development of an egalitarian school system, which would annihilate the caste system by imbibing moral values.


The Education system, which Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati wanted, has become obsolete in not only in the private sector but also unfortunately, even in the DAV’s and the Gurukulas. And the gravest problem is that the intellectual and the so-called ‘brain of the country’ don’t even raise a brow to this. There are no talks or conferences or symposiums in the country regarding this, which is very shameful for this so-called developing nation. I think it is high time that the youth of this country to take up this issue as a revolution and get this model of education implemented at any cost as that is the only way the abysmal condition of our society can be changed.