This write-up is the result of a video clip, a part of which I recently happened to watch. Although carefully presented, the video was highly misleading, so much so that I thought of sharing my thoughts with you. I do not have any issue with its political motivation; my outrage is the way it belittled India’s values and ancient education system.
The video compares India’s ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s and current Prime Minister Narendra Modis’ speeches. First it shows a confident Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, whose growing popularity makes the leaders of even most powerful nations take pride in being around him. Then it shows India’s Ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, talking in his usual polite style.
The producer claims that while Rajiv Gandhi is polite, Narendra Modi is arrogant, and attributes such qualities to education or lack of education. I doubt if the producers know what education means, what humility means and what arrogance means. We will come to it later.
The ugliest part is, it suggests that education only means high university degrees obtained from Western countries, especially from Britain, and that without such education a person cannot lead the country. Flat ridiculous and outright misleading!
The producer banks on western university education without realizing the outcome of it. While western education has good aspects in it, it has lavishly produced hypocrites and haters. On the other hand, India’s ancient Vedic education teaches people good sanskaras (culture), straightforwardness and honesty. Western education promotes impersonalism and has slowly destroyed families, the very fabric of social harmony, while Vedic education, traditionally taught in gurukulas, stresses on warmth in person to person relationship and rising to the platform of developing devotion to God, who is a transcendental person.
The negative impact of Western education is truly worrisome. Humans have gradually turned into zombies and two-legged animals, who, having lost the sense of spirituality, have lost the ability to think beyond the body and who butcher four-legged animals for their own sense gratification. Conversely, the ancient Indian education teaches people to become intelligent human beings, protect and shelter animals and weaker living entities, and rise one’s consciousness beyond the material world.
Western education system has systematically ruined India’s Vedic culture. It teaches to speak politely to garner public support and earn honour but the actions speak for themselves. The history of India’s gurukulas and how they were ruthlessly destroyed under British rule is no more a secret.
Unfortunately, I feel compelled to mention that the destruction of India’s ancient values and civilization, even after the independence, is a proof of whose ideology the then ruling party forced upon Indians for almost six decades. Presumably backed and guided from behind the scene by the British government and British agenda, the ruling party instituted British education system, British laws, British culture and British values in India. The ongoing desperate attempts by the same political party to divide India based on caste and religion is an undeniable proof of this.
To claim that only university degrees from foreign countries are enough or essential for a leader in India is to imply that our ancestors and glorious kings who did not have such degrees were all unqualified to lead the country. Only those who do not know India’s excellent history can make such laughable propositions.
By being harsh on western or foreign education, I do not intend to say they have nothing good in it. Obviously it does. Even Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, known worldwide as the Hare Krishna movement, who is known as the ambassador of Vedic knowledge to the west, also has praised some aspects of it. India has no less culprits either. It is the opportunist politicians and money-hungry businessmen who, for their own benefit, turn good into evil and allure people into choosing the wrong.
But that does not absolve any education system, nor its supporter and executors, from taking the responsibility for the downfall. Today, Indians must own the blame for letting the country fall prey to godless education, which automatically promotes animalistic tendencies, and help prevent further degradation of fellow citizens. Wise people need to work together and reestablish Vedic style of education for the benefit of not only India but the world.
As a matter of fact, politicians hold major responsibility for today’s pathetic condition of India’s degrading civilization. So far political parties, all of them have corrupt people without exception but what matters the most today is India’s leadership. There was a time before a few years when Indians were hesitant to call themselves Indian, especially while residing in foreign countries. Today the situation is different. Even the enemies of Narendra Modi can see that he has brought India in the forefront on the global scene. If foreign university degrees were essential for being a successful Prime Minister of India, we would have seen the opposite. As we know India’s present Prime Minister’s education took place mainly in India. We hear how he was trained to uphold Vedic values instead of western values, and we can see this has made him a friend even for international leaders. Needless to say, I do not support all that he does and I have written about it but the point being made here is different.
I must honestly agree that today Indians have again become proud of being Indians. This is important if Vedic values are to return to Indian homes before the healthy fabric of our social life vanishes. It may take much longer for the original teachings of the Vedas to return to our planet but we can play our part under whatever circumstances we may be in. Charity begins at home and if we can change ourselves, one day the world will also change for better.
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