Education has been the most opted avenue of expressing freedom of will while inculcating the spirit of thought and moral conscience to a more transcending level. In spite of such rich connotations, the present educational system seems to be devoid of this very essence, promoting mindless acquisition of knowledge to suit vocational pursuits. It is an undeniable fact that the present day society, which nurtures the younger generation, faces serious shortcomings in terms of moral, ethical, spiritual values. Children are getting alienated from the crucial aspect of personality development through moral and ethical training. The pointless pressure has taken the reallocation of educational parlance from a holistic approach towards education to farcical rote learning.
On the contrary, the kernel of the Ancient Vedic education is intrinsically based on time tested values and principles. It envisions its strength in developing a native sense of concentration and interest while enhancing a child's knowledge and development of the brain. The wards in the Gurukul are oblivious of outer distractions, living in close proximity of a teacher, where greater emphasis is laid on students' mental, cognitive, spiritual and physical wellness.The system functions on the well-rounded holistic development of a child, enshrining values such as discipline, self-reliance, right attitude, empathy, creativity, and strong moral beliefs. Initiating children into such an enriching atmosphere in the early stages helps them hone their perceptive skills and critical thinking from a tender age, giving them an edge over others.
Vedic education focuses on the art of living and values of life besides promoting coexistence of human and nature for sustainable living. This school of thoughts prescribes “Gurukula” based education. The Guru is seen as the one who "dispels the darkness of ignorance." Gurukula is a residential learning center where the Guru with his family, and the students live under one roof unlike contemporary residential schools. Students follow a disciplined daily routine and only sattvic diet. This Gurukula also teaches contemporary subjects (E.g. Basic Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Computer Science, English literature, etc.) along with values of Vedas. Students are focused to build their physical body and brain and their very stable attitude towards everything. Since ages this school of thoughts promotes gender equality - even boys do learn how to cook, wash utensils, clean surroundings. Ancient kings of Asia used to send their children to Gurukulas where they studied with other children and everybody lived with very basic needs. Because necessary sense of discipline, involvement, engagement with life has to happen before wealth comes into our life. Gurukula promotes the importance of mindfulness in an education system through meditation and other contemplative activities, such as yoga, deep listening and chanting of Vedic Hymns. This education endorses teachings of ancient seers who believed the human body is capable of being influenced by sound and light, that the core of creation is represented by the ultimate sound OM and that the positive light emanated from fire rituals called Yajnas would create universal harmony. Mindfulness influences our response to crises and can increase our ability to cope with the impact of any crises by taking care of our mental health.
Vedas are learnt by only Oral Tradition of Vedic Chanting since vedic period ( 1500 BC – 600 BCE) without any written scriptures. Then Vedas were documented on dried palm-leaves in Sanskrit Language. Even though now Vedas are available in the form of paper-books but students never write what they read or learn from Guru - rather they memorize pronunciation and contents by listening only. Sanskrit is the Best Language for Artificial Intelligence – says NASA.