In the last two articles we learnt about the very logical system of four stages of human life, called āśrama dharma, namely brahmacarya (celibate student), gṛhastha (householder), vānaprastha (hermit) and sannyāsa (renunciate), that would help one to attain the four goals of human life or caturvidha puruṣārthas of dharma (righteous living), artha (righteous earnings), kāma (righteous desires) and mokṣa (redemption). We also learnt that these could be achieved only when one lived and worked in the society according to one’s inherent tendencies called guṇadharma, based on which one would be classified according to four categories or varṇāśrama-dharmas, namely brāhmaṇa (intellectual), kṣatriya (administrator), vaiśya (trader) and śūdra (service provider), all of which would function harmoniously in the society like the various limbs of the same body.
By now, it’s evidently clear that the system of individual, social and spiritual progress as laid out by sanātana dharma was the most logical and useful system amidst various other ancient civilisations of the world. The fundamental reason for the successful practice and sustenance of these systems over several centuries was the robust education system of sanātana dharma called the ‘gurukula’ system of education. ‘gurukula’ – the community of the teacher, was essentially a residential system of education that revolved around a ‘guru’ or a master who was adept both in the knowledge of the material-social sciences that enabled one to eke out a livelihood and fulfil the first three goals of dharma, artha and kāma, as well as the spiritual sciences that acquainted one with the subtler truths of all existence as brahman and thus enabled one to realise one’s own divine nature leading to the achievement of the fourth and the final goal of mokṣa.
Therefore, two kinds of education were imparted in these gurukulas as mentioned in the muṇḍakopaniṣad. The story goes that once the great householder śaunaka, who was well educated and also adept in all the sacred duties that were to be performed by a householder, discontent and unfulfilled, approached the great sage and teacher aṅgiras to learn from him the ultimate knowledge. He asked him, “Master, what is that by knowing which everything else is known?” To this the master replied, “There are two types of knowledge to be acquired; so say those who know the brahman – namely, parā and aparā, i.e., the higher and the lower knowledge. Of these, the aparā is the ṛgveda, yajurveda, sāmaveda, and the atharvaveda, the śikṣā, kalpa, vyākaraṇa, nirukta, chandas and jyotiṣa. parā is that by which the immortal is known.” (muṇḍakopaniṣad 1.1.4 and 1.1.5)
‘gurukula’ – the community of the teacher, was essentially a residential system of education that revolved around a ‘guru’ or a master who was adept both in the knowledge of the material-social sciences as well as the spiritual sciences that acquainted one with the subtler truths of all existence.
Thus, it was told to śaunaka that two kinds of knowledge must be known, aparā or lower knowledge which is the scientific knowledge of the immediate that is around you, and parā or higher knowledge, which is the spiritual knowledge of the divinity beyond.
In those days, the material knowledge was mostly contained in the vedas and the śāstras. Out of the four sections of the vedas, the first three namely, saṁhitā (collection of mantras), brāhmaṇa (instructions for rituals – not be confused with the brāhmaṇa of varṇāśrama) and āraṇyaka (meditation on the mantras) constituted the aparā knowledge, along with the six vedāṅga or parts of vedas viz. śikṣā (phonetics or pronunciation), kalpa (rituals), vyākaraṇa (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chandas (meter), and jyotiṣa (astronomy). All of these were necessary for a brāhmaṇa like śaunaka to discharge his duties associated with his varṇa of intellectuals. It was expected of him to learn the mantras in the vedas, understand and chant them correctly, perform rituals associated with them in the right way and at the right time. Thus, for a brāhmaṇa these were the material knowledge or aparā vidyā. However, though śaunaka was adept in these, he had not found peace and fulfilment, as he was yet to realise the existence of divinity within and without. Therefore, he was advised by aṅgiras to also learn parā knowledge, knowing which all things could be discerned as divine. This knowledge, which was largely contained in the fourth philosophical section of vedas called upaniṣad, could alone lead him to immortality.
We can extrapolate this idea of lower and higher knowledge to modern day education. For instance, in the case of medical sciences, all that is related to learning medicine as a profession like knowledge of human physiology, anatomy, diseases, surgical methods, pharmaceuticals etc., would be considered as the lower knowledge or aparā vidyā, whereas parā vidyā would still be the same as in ancient times, which would be to learn the great spiritual truth of all existence as divinity alone and nothing else. The same applies to all fields of knowledge, be it science, humanities, fine arts, law or accounting.
Thus, the gurukula system believed that the higher knowledge or parā vidyā alone could complete one’s education, above and beyond learning the tricks of one’s trade.
The most important part of the gurukula system was that even though aparā vidyā differed from pupil to pupil, and naturally so as different students came from different varṇāśrama and had to be taught the subjects that best suited their tendencies and dispositions, parā vidyā was same for all. A brāhmaṇa had the obligation to learn how to perform certain ceremonies and rituals, whereas a kṣatriya had a duty to learn the art of warfare and administration. Likewise, it was imperative for a vaiśya or tradesmen to learn commerce and economics, and the śūdra or artisans were to be taught certain skills like agriculture, weaving, pottery or smelting according to their likes. But the common knowledge that was to be taught to all was parā vidyā – the spiritual knowledge – that would enable them to successfully wade through the world and the various āśrama dharmas to finally renounce and achieve mokṣa.
The entire education was completely free and a ‘gurudakṣiṇā’ would be given to the guru as a mark of gratitude at the time of graduation. This too was done based on one’s own capacity. For instance, a farmer’s son may give a few bags of their farm produce, a businessman’s son may offer some materials, a king’s son may offer gold, land and cattle, so also a śūdra’s son may offer some of their crafts and implements for the use of the āśrama. Thus, each expressed their gratitude to the guru and the gurukula in their own way, and there was no such thing like capitation fee, tuition fee, science lab fee, sports fee, examination fee and of course transportation fee; for all lived in the gurukula itself unlike today. This ensured that there were no financial barriers to education and the sustenance of the gurukula fell upon the shoulders of the entire society and not just the parents of the pupils.
Another very important aspect was that the guru would assess and understand the child’s inherent qualities and irrespective of the varṇāśrama in which the child was born. He would encourage and mould the child according to his tendencies and innate talents. Thus, people who would excel at a certain field of knowledge, could be classified differently from their class at birth. Today, the only reason why a farmer’s child would want to be a doctor or a doctor’s child would want to be a politician, is largely due to material considerations and not their inherent abilities. But this wasn’t the case back then.
However, the most important difference in education between then and now is that, today only the lower material knowledge is being imparted to the students with the sole aim of making them capable of earning a decent living. But, the need for teaching them greater truths of life which will mould them into better humans and eventually divine is completely ignored. The commoditisation of education has created a dangerous divide of haves and have-nots, and student loans have become debt traps.
Many educators, philosophers and thinkers, from Swami Vivekananda to Mahatma Gandhi, have time and again insisted upon a holistic system of education, and fortunately even today certain institutions are providing such education. Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Gurukulams based on the philosophy of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who said that, ‘Education is for life and not for living’, thus amalgamating aparā and parā vidyā into free gurukula based education system, is bringing back the glorious ideals of the ancient education system as propounded by sanātana dharma.
We shall discuss this in the next article.
Two core aspects of the gurukula system of education
- Even though aparā vidyā differed from pupil to pupil (each taught the subjects that best suited their tendencies and dispositions), parā vidyā was the same for all.
- The guru would assess and understand the child’s inherent qualities and irrespective of the varṇāśrama in which the child was born. He would encourage and mould the child according to his tendencies and innate talents.
gurukula
A residential system of education that revolved around a ‘guru’ or a master who was adept both in material and (higher) spiritual knowledge.
gurudakṣiṇā
A mark of gratitude given by the disciple to the guru at the time of graduation (based on the disciple’s capacity).