It is important to not just impart moral education, but be aware of the self too

Mahatma Gandhi clearly expressed his views on educational policy when he said: "I know that there is a school of thought which believes in only secular instruction being given in public schools. I know also that, in a country like India, where there are most religions of the world represented, and where there are so many denominations in the same religion, there must be a difficulty in making provisions for religious instruction. But if India is not to declare spiritual bankruptcy, religious instruction of the youth must be held to be at least as necessary as secular instruction."

The Education system in India we all know, changes every five years when a new government comes to rule. It’s a fact that we all have witnessed over the last few years specifically. It should also be noted that ever since India adopted the present Constitution, the word secularism has been bandied about wrongly to block all efforts to introduce moral and spiritual education. Even though one Education Commission after another has recommended the introduction of moral education, the Government continues to disregard their recommendations in the fancied interest of false secularism. The result is that things continue to deteriorate more speedily than before.

Sri Aurobindo had clearly said that "To neglect moral and religious education altogether is to corrupt the race. The notorious moral corruption in our young men, previous to the saving touch of the Swadeshi movement, was a direct result of the purely mental instruction given to them under the English system of education." Hence it would not be wrong to say that a person without moral and spiritual education, is a sub-human whose life is worth not a penny. One can quote the views of many other national leaders like Dr. Radhakrishnan, Vinoba Bhave, etc. extensively in support of the above contention. But there seems to be no need for this because the policymakers very well know about all these views. Then where is the hitch? It's simply a lack of realisation of the need to formulate a consistent education policy in which moral education and the practice of meditation form a part of our educational system. However, if it is not realised soon, then it may lead to a moral vacuum which may further give rise to crime, corruption, cruelty, violence, and extremism.

The need of the hour is not just to introduce moral education, but there also is a need to know the nature of consciousness or the self because it is not enough to teach physics, chemistry, maths and science; Education must enlighten a person about the self or the Mind. Aurobindo has said: "The true basis of education is the study of the human mind. Any system of education founded on theories of academic perfection, which ignores (mind) the instrument of study, is more likely to hamper and impair intellectual growth than to produce a perfectly equipped mind". Today scientific research has established very clearly that Meditation has many benefits for the individual and society, so why does the Government not introduce it in schools and colleges? The answer to this question might, perhaps, be that there are so many systems or kinds of meditation in vogue and the government does not know which one to introduce. This, however, does not seem to be a sufficient reason to block the introduction of a very important and useful subject for all time. If the results are judged from the benefits which accrue to the practitioners in respect of their physical, mental, spiritual and social health, that should be sufficient ground to consider its introduction in some schools, to begin with on a trial basis at least. The other criterion could be whether the principles on which it is based are universal, scientific and psychologically correct. So, let us raise demand for education reforms and get rid of our laid-back attitude to move into the age of enlightenment

(Writer is a spiritual educator & popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK)