Introduction:
Vishwa Ved Vijnana Sammelan or World Congress of Vedic Sciences is held by Vijnana Bharati to promote the timeless and highly practical knowledge from the various disciplines of Vedic Sciences, so that people can benefit from the same in their personal and professional life.
Top Educational Leaders on Indic Sciences in Higher Education
The 3rd World Congress of Vedic Science was organized from 10th to 13th January 2018 in Deccan College, Pune. As a part of the same, an education conclave of Vice-chancellors, key educational leaders and experts from the top 60 institutions of India and a few invited experts from abroad was conducted on 10th January. Participants represented three types of institutions – languages and humanities, professional and technical education, and general university education. The distinguished thinkers deliberated on the why and how of Introducing Vedic sciences in higher education. They concluded that unless systematic study is conducted to examine not only Ancient India’s achievements but also the process behind them, Indic insights cannot be adapted to the modern context for social welfare. Several western Universities are already exploring Indic subjective sciences deeply in that light. It is high time the youth of India is also trained to harness their own intellectual heritage, participate in this emerging global trend and lead by innovation.
Summary of Recommendations
The conclave has unanimously recommended three action items for immediate execution – i) enable youth to explore Indian sciences via effective training in Sanskrit – the language of India’s science – at school and college levels, ii) excite youth to explore Indian sciences via introducing history of India’s scientific journey alongside that of modern science to kindle interest in its pursuit, and showcasing endorsements by successful individuals as role models and iii) empower youth with Indian scientific knowledge relevant to their area of interest via courses in professional and technical education.
Notes from Conclave Discussions
Several other recommendations emerged from the conclave. The Government of India has launched the free SWAYAM E-learning portal to support massive dissemination of education over the Internet across geographies. This portal should be fully leveraged for disseminating Indian knowledge. Immersive induction programs should be organized for students entering higher education to give them a glimpse of key Indian cultural values of socially conscious living, service-centred enterprise, and art and festivals as means to inculcate growth of ethical personality. One such program is being unrolled at IITs.
Regardless of the educational content, its mode of communication must appeal to today’s students for effectiveness. An example cited is introducing study of river ecology and conservation via river-rafting excursions. Several suggestions were made on how the study of Sanskrit in educational institutions has to be revamped to be more attractive and relevant. Sanskrit should be treated and taught as a language of science in addition to literary and grammatical studies.
—Sai Susarla
— The author is the Dean, MITSVS, Pune
