Amazing Minds of India
We arrived in Haridwar around 8 pm on August 30th. We dropped off our stuff to a Guest House.. and went straight to the Ganga. Right away we were just amazed by its force, and pureness. We’re used to seeing the rivers much further down the line in India.. when they’re filled with filth. But, not here… here the Ganga is said to emerge from the Himalayas… pure, forceful, cold. The next morning, we woke up at 5:30 AM, and went to Harki Pairi Ghat (the main area where there are mandhirs and people bathe in the Ganga)… it was magnificent. (Sampat has a pretty good description of the Ganga). We wanted to head out to the Sri Ram Ashram… but we didn’t get in contact with Rashmi-ji (who I thought would be an Indian male… only having communicated over email). Lo and behold, we got a call from RAshmi-ji… who happens to be an American female.. not an Indian male as I had thought. =P So, in the afternoon, we headed over to the Ashram.
We're currently at the Sri Ram Ashram near a gham (village) called Shyampur, about 10 km outside of Haridwar. They're primarily an orphanage with about 55 orphans (ages 0-18) that now live as brothers and sisters, and live the "ashram" life -- waking up early, excerising, yoga, prayers, doing daily chores, going to school, playing, etc. The Sri Ram Found. also runs a school right next to the ashram that has about 500 students... 25% come from Haridwar and 75% come for the villages. All the kids from the ashram go to this school, as well. So, we've been able to observe the Indian school system (at least, this school) first-hand. Today, Sampat and I went class-hopping and observed the school, classes, teachers, studnets, etc. I'm pretty sure that Sameer will provide a pretty detailed account of his observations -- so, I'll leave that to him.
What I'm going to write about is being "in the system" in India versus being "outside the system"... and I'm not talking about the caste system. I'm talking more about the "school system" and what we consider "mainstream". All of the following are my observations, generalizations, and conclusions... so, please comment.. if you agree or disagree..
In the US, pretty much all kids go to school... most go to public, and some go to private. Most make it through high school.. although there are some drop-outs (more in some areas than others). After school is completed, there is college and/or work. The American system seems to breed a sense of free-thinking, as people go into all kinds of fields... from the typical "Indian" fields (doctor, engineer, business), to manual jobs (mechanic, technician, plumber), to 'creative careers' (artist, actor, dancer). Everyone... to some degree... has a choice, and can attempt to achieve whatever they want. The common belief is that the American education system (definitely moreso than the Indian education system) breeds open-mindedness and provides opportunities to develop leadership skills and creativity.
From our observations, the Indian school system stresses discipline and uniformity. You will probably not find a school in India that doesn't require uniforms. Not only uniforms, many schools even require a certain hair-style, oil in your hair, a certain hair-length, etc. The students stand up when the "Sir" or "Miss" (the teacher) enters the room, and only sit back down when they are told to do so. The goal isn’t to learn all the material.. but the goal is to pass.. which is only a 33/100. We have yet to see any clubs or organizations at any of the schools, like we have in the U.S. (these clubs usually cultivate leadership skills in kids/youth). It seems like creativity and leadership skills are stifled while, discipline is heavily stressed. As a result, it seems like narrow-mindedness is bred.
However, this isn’t the whole picture of India. As I mentioned before, in the US, it seems like almost everyone is brought up in the “system”… there aren’t too many outliers. Therefore, while the U.S. school system stresses free thinking moreso than the Indian school system… is it still limited, since it is still “within the system”, and the “system” has its effects. In India, there seems to be a parallel world that has the ability to create the most independent thinkers and brilliant minds – it’s a parallel world of ashrams, swamis, maths, sadhus, yoga, monks, NGO/seva work, spiritual/religious affiliations, etc. Bharat Uncle, who’s house we stayed at in Amdavad and who’s started this org. called Aadarsh Amdavad, grew up at the Gandhi Ashram. We’re currently staying at the Sri Ram Ashram.. near Haridwar. This Ashram currently houses about 55 orphans. They also run a school and are starting up a medical center for the villages around this area. This ashram was founded upon the inspiration of “Babaji” (Baba Hari Dass)… who ran away from home at the age of 8 “in search of God”, became a monk, and for the last 55 years or so, has been “silent”. He’s also the founder of the Ashram at Mount Madonna in Santa Cruz.. where the Cali kids had their BSK camp a couple of years back. (Rashmi-didi stayed at the ashram in Santa Cruz, came out to India to visit this ashram… and now has been here for 15 years plus.) Again, all of these amazing minds of India (Bharat Uncle, Babaji)… come from outside the normal “system”.
On our train ride from Delhi to Haridwar, a 21-year old was sitting next to us. His name was Vijay Kulkarny from Aurangabad. He was a good student, go admission to college, and completed his first year in Computer Science. It seemed like the “system” was doing what it is set out to do. However… Vijay was headed to Haridwar to stay at the Shanti Kunj Ashram… for the NEXT 5 YEARS! I don’t know too many details about the ashram he’s staying at… it’s based on the Gayatri Mantra. The Guruji who founded the ashram, passed away 7 years ago. During his 5 years at the ashram, Vijay will be working towards a phD in Psychology (what happened to C.S.??) and will become a “sevak” of the ashram. The students, once they graduate from the ashram, are involved in various social projects around India (& around the world according to Vijay). Soo.. how did Vijay.. who seemed to be a product of the system.. turn out like this? Well Vijay’s father is a “sevak” of “Shanti Kunj” and spends 1 month there each year. His influence and Vijay’s natural spiritual inclination (Vijay told me that his brother has no interest in any of this..) led him to this path. He was going on with his life within the “system” until he received “permission” (some sort of admissions process) to come to the ashram. So, as soon as he got admission, he dropped everything, and headed over. What amazed me the most… is that he had never been to the Ashram before… he had never been to Haridwar before… this was the first time he was going there… and he’s going to spend the next 5 years of his life there!
This is where/how the Indian culture still lives and flourishes just as it did hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago. It’s passed down from generation to generation. Those that seek God and attain spiritual enlightenment… there light is so bright that its effects uplift so many others. This “India culture/spirituality” lives on as a parallel world to the Westernization/modernization of India. It’s not two completely separate worlds either…. this culture/spirituality permeates through everyone’s life to varying degrees. It has various effects, as well. To some city youth… they are surrounded by it so much, that they get completely turned off by spirituality, especially if they only see it practiced in its ritualistic form. But for others, who see the deeper purpose in it… it opens up a whole new world.
We're currently at the Sri Ram Ashram near a gham (village) called Shyampur, about 10 km outside of Haridwar. They're primarily an orphanage with about 55 orphans (ages 0-18) that now live as brothers and sisters, and live the "ashram" life -- waking up early, excerising, yoga, prayers, doing daily chores, going to school, playing, etc. The Sri Ram Found. also runs a school right next to the ashram that has about 500 students... 25% come from Haridwar and 75% come for the villages. All the kids from the ashram go to this school, as well. So, we've been able to observe the Indian school system (at least, this school) first-hand. Today, Sampat and I went class-hopping and observed the school, classes, teachers, studnets, etc. I'm pretty sure that Sameer will provide a pretty detailed account of his observations -- so, I'll leave that to him.
What I'm going to write about is being "in the system" in India versus being "outside the system"... and I'm not talking about the caste system. I'm talking more about the "school system" and what we consider "mainstream". All of the following are my observations, generalizations, and conclusions... so, please comment.. if you agree or disagree..
In the US, pretty much all kids go to school... most go to public, and some go to private. Most make it through high school.. although there are some drop-outs (more in some areas than others). After school is completed, there is college and/or work. The American system seems to breed a sense of free-thinking, as people go into all kinds of fields... from the typical "Indian" fields (doctor, engineer, business), to manual jobs (mechanic, technician, plumber), to 'creative careers' (artist, actor, dancer). Everyone... to some degree... has a choice, and can attempt to achieve whatever they want. The common belief is that the American education system (definitely moreso than the Indian education system) breeds open-mindedness and provides opportunities to develop leadership skills and creativity.
From our observations, the Indian school system stresses discipline and uniformity. You will probably not find a school in India that doesn't require uniforms. Not only uniforms, many schools even require a certain hair-style, oil in your hair, a certain hair-length, etc. The students stand up when the "Sir" or "Miss" (the teacher) enters the room, and only sit back down when they are told to do so. The goal isn’t to learn all the material.. but the goal is to pass.. which is only a 33/100. We have yet to see any clubs or organizations at any of the schools, like we have in the U.S. (these clubs usually cultivate leadership skills in kids/youth). It seems like creativity and leadership skills are stifled while, discipline is heavily stressed. As a result, it seems like narrow-mindedness is bred.
However, this isn’t the whole picture of India. As I mentioned before, in the US, it seems like almost everyone is brought up in the “system”… there aren’t too many outliers. Therefore, while the U.S. school system stresses free thinking moreso than the Indian school system… is it still limited, since it is still “within the system”, and the “system” has its effects. In India, there seems to be a parallel world that has the ability to create the most independent thinkers and brilliant minds – it’s a parallel world of ashrams, swamis, maths, sadhus, yoga, monks, NGO/seva work, spiritual/religious affiliations, etc. Bharat Uncle, who’s house we stayed at in Amdavad and who’s started this org. called Aadarsh Amdavad, grew up at the Gandhi Ashram. We’re currently staying at the Sri Ram Ashram.. near Haridwar. This Ashram currently houses about 55 orphans. They also run a school and are starting up a medical center for the villages around this area. This ashram was founded upon the inspiration of “Babaji” (Baba Hari Dass)… who ran away from home at the age of 8 “in search of God”, became a monk, and for the last 55 years or so, has been “silent”. He’s also the founder of the Ashram at Mount Madonna in Santa Cruz.. where the Cali kids had their BSK camp a couple of years back. (Rashmi-didi stayed at the ashram in Santa Cruz, came out to India to visit this ashram… and now has been here for 15 years plus.) Again, all of these amazing minds of India (Bharat Uncle, Babaji)… come from outside the normal “system”.
On our train ride from Delhi to Haridwar, a 21-year old was sitting next to us. His name was Vijay Kulkarny from Aurangabad. He was a good student, go admission to college, and completed his first year in Computer Science. It seemed like the “system” was doing what it is set out to do. However… Vijay was headed to Haridwar to stay at the Shanti Kunj Ashram… for the NEXT 5 YEARS! I don’t know too many details about the ashram he’s staying at… it’s based on the Gayatri Mantra. The Guruji who founded the ashram, passed away 7 years ago. During his 5 years at the ashram, Vijay will be working towards a phD in Psychology (what happened to C.S.??) and will become a “sevak” of the ashram. The students, once they graduate from the ashram, are involved in various social projects around India (& around the world according to Vijay). Soo.. how did Vijay.. who seemed to be a product of the system.. turn out like this? Well Vijay’s father is a “sevak” of “Shanti Kunj” and spends 1 month there each year. His influence and Vijay’s natural spiritual inclination (Vijay told me that his brother has no interest in any of this..) led him to this path. He was going on with his life within the “system” until he received “permission” (some sort of admissions process) to come to the ashram. So, as soon as he got admission, he dropped everything, and headed over. What amazed me the most… is that he had never been to the Ashram before… he had never been to Haridwar before… this was the first time he was going there… and he’s going to spend the next 5 years of his life there!
This is where/how the Indian culture still lives and flourishes just as it did hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago. It’s passed down from generation to generation. Those that seek God and attain spiritual enlightenment… there light is so bright that its effects uplift so many others. This “India culture/spirituality” lives on as a parallel world to the Westernization/modernization of India. It’s not two completely separate worlds either…. this culture/spirituality permeates through everyone’s life to varying degrees. It has various effects, as well. To some city youth… they are surrounded by it so much, that they get completely turned off by spirituality, especially if they only see it practiced in its ritualistic form. But for others, who see the deeper purpose in it… it opens up a whole new world.
posted by Raj Kanani | 11:55 PM
5 Comments:
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hi raju hemiphai is here . she is gone read your blog now. she said hi . we all play mafiya.they realy enjoy the game. and they saw both wedd. dance and they realy enjoy it.
love mom
Hi Raj,
This is a very interesting account. I like the idea of the "parallel worlds", but I still wonder how easily it is to go from one to another. You met one student who successfully made the transition, but I'd be interested to know whether he had classmates that wanted to join him but were compelled to stay within the conventional "system" through family pressures, etc. It is also quite clear that this young man's parental influence had an effect on his decision to join the ashram... but how many such parents remain in this modernizing India?
In general, I question the relationship between the two parallel worlds. You seem to suggest that the "system" and world "outside the system" have reached an equilibrium, but I would throw out the possibility of an imbalance. When I was in India, I recognized that "system" life was slowly encroaching into the previously untouched corners of India. Now granted, this trend is definitely non-uniform in its application, but you must concede that it's happening. At some point, the border between the "system" and the Ashram will meet (figuratively speaking). What happens then?
-Neil
It was great to read your blog. I have the following views:
India leads in spirituality because spirituality begins at home in India, and also external parallel systems like Meditation centres/ashrams/religious groups support that. But it is also true that there is a lot of rigidity in the system where duty and discipline is not always interpreted in the right sense. For e.g. how many parents would allow their children to go on a pilgrimage all by themselves (even if their chilren are adults)? Parents still take most of their children's decisions in India. There is a very thin line between respect/obedience and autocracy. There are the extremes in India. US is a nation that leads in individualism, complete freedom, which means that you have all freedom but also less support. Do whatever you like but also find for yourself.
Basically it all boils down to Give and Take. In India the give and take bond is very strong. Where you get strong support duty/expectations bind you. In US people interact at a distance where you get a lot of freedom but also less support - each to his own.
On hindsight, I think both systems have their ups and downs and the best would be fine balance between the two.
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