April 2nd, 2019
India International Centre Annexe

The Contemporary Relevance of Ancient Indian wisdom is a new project that has been undertaken by the Dalai Lama Trust. The promotion of ancient Indian wisdom is the fourth commitment of His Holiness a”er the cultivation of positive human values, inter-religious harmony and the preservation of Tibetan culture.

His Holiness has lately spoken of his commitment to reviving awareness of the value of ancient Indian knowledge among young Indians today. His Holiness is convinced that the rich ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind and emotions, as well as the techniques of mental training such as meditation, developed by Indian traditions, are of great relevance today.

Since India has a long history of logic and reasoning, he is con#dent that its ancient knowledge, viewed from a secular, academic perspective, can be combined with modern education. He considers that India is, in fact, specially placed to achieve this combination of ancient and modern modes of knowledge in a fruitful way so that a more integrated and ethically grounded way of being in the world can be promoted within contemporary society.

With this in mind, the Dalai Lama Trust has been entrusted with putting together a team of experts to develop a new syllabus for children in India from class 1-9. The members of this project are:

Ven. Sandhong Rinpoche, who is the former Prime Minister of the Tibetan government is exile and an exemplary scholar who has published several books. An expert in various Indian traditions, he is an advocate of the Gandhian principle of non-violence.

Geshe Nawang Samten, who is an educator, Tibetologist and the vice chancellor of the Central University for Tibetan Studies. He has edited and co-translated some of the most important publications in modern Buddhist literature. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for his contributions to Education.

Professor Ujjwala Jha, who is currently a senior professor at the Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune. She has a teaching experience of 30+ years. She has completed a dual M.A. in Sanskrit & Pali as well as Indian Logic & Epistemology from Pune University. She has been involved in several courses aimed at increasing awareness in Indian Knowledge Systems.

Prof. Shubhada Joshi is from University of Mumbai. She is an expert of Sankya Philosophy. During her tenure as the head of department of Philosophy, she not only expanded the philosophy department, but also contributed to the creation of new important departments such as a Pali Department and a Department of Yoga which are fields of study that have their source in ancient Indian wisdom.

Prof. Beni Madva Shastri is from Karnatak University, Dharwad. His expertise is in vedanta and he also teaches Prakrita in the university.

Prof. Pradyumna Shah Singh is from Banaras Hindu University. His #eld of expertise is Jainism and Buddhism.

Prof. Sacchittanand Mishra is from Banaras Hindu University. He is a scholar of Nyaya and Navya-Nyaya.

On Day 1, this esteemed group of experts in their fields met for the third meeting, which was held in Delhi at the India International Centre Annexe. This meeting was held to finalise the curriculum for classes 1-3, which is phase 1 of the project.

It is also important to emphasise that ancient Indian wisdom includes several different schools of thought. The systems of ancient Indian knowledge include but are not limited to prasangika, advaita vedanta, mimansa, visheshika, jain and baudh. These traditions often interacted and debated with each other. This shows that although there were different philosophies and ideologies, they were respected and healthy dialogues emerged from this communication. The team of scholars found it essential to bring all these traditions into the syllabus in order to transmit a broader understanding of this wisdom to the children.

Although there are very complex and sophisticated concepts that are explored in ancient Indian wisdom, the challenge of teaching it to children in classes 1-3 was resolved with a very simple and elegant solution. Selecting stories that appeal to a child’s imagination and at the same time hold a message appeared to be a great way to introduce the subject. After class 3, the stories will start to be connected with philosophy. The focus throughout the syllabus is moral values. Several exercises are included on values and ethics.

The stories explore various message like the following –

• The value of knowledge is beyond worldly possessions
• Non-punishment and non-reward point of view regarding ethics
• Nothing belongs to us
• Think big, don’t limit the scope of your mind
• Nothing or nobody is ever inferior to us
• Superior versus inferior
• You reap what you sow
• A good deed can only be good if done selflessly
• Rules must be followed, even in war
• Everybody should not be prescribed the same medicine
• The more you are scared of your problems, the bigger they become
• If you are in power, bring change that is positive
• Forgiveness
• Non-violence
• Finite versus infinite
• Anger is the biggest enemy

Class 4-6 will see an introduction to basic philosophy. Classes 7-9 will learn advanced philosophy and logic. Logic is an instrument that is used to cultivate critical thinking. As the program advances, the seeds that have been planted will flourish and the material will become gradually more sophisticated. Including topics like logic will be crucial to the syllabus, as the children will be able to see the immediate benefits since these exercises are designed to sharpen the mind and can be used outside the classroom and provide a new way of looking at things.

The team took great pains to design this syllabus in a secular way. In order to do this, any reference to religious, symbolic or ritualistic activities needed to be removed. Past lives and other such matters, which are common themes in Hinduism and Buddhism were not included. This did not appear to be an easy task as most of these stories are filled with historical references that oftentimes mention the religious beliefs of that time.

I asked Ven. Samdhong Rinpoche if by removing these references, there might be a chance of losing the historical context in which they were set. He did not think so and explained that what was of interest was the message and the messages are universal. For example, he explained that the concept of being a virtuous person can have religious connotations like going to heaven, or having a good rebirth. However, these connotations are specific to one particular religion, and therefore in order to be inclusive, it is important to teach a child that by being a virtuous person, they will be happier and make the environment around them better. The message remains the same, even when divorced from its historical or religious background.

So, how did we lose touch with this knowledge? Geshe Nawang Samten la explained, “Earlier we did not differentiate philosophy from spirituality. Philosophy was studied separately, but in ones day to day life, spirituality and philosophy were not separated. Whereas in the west, spirituality and philosophy are completely detached. In the wake of the modern education system, which became the predominant system in India officially, as very much a vestige of a colonial British system and culture. More than that, in modern times, ancient traditions and wisdom are not regarded as something valuable, something that has significant potential to pay contribution to social life. Therefore, this has not been incorporated into the educational system.”

His Holiness has often mentioned that modern education is predominantly oriented towards materialism. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to wonder if teaching these concepts to students may cause a conflict as they become older and are thrust into the world. Pressure from families and schools to study and take career paths that are financially lucrative may not align with the principles found in ancient Indian wisdom.

To clarify this, Professor Shastri explained that it is true that children look up to their elders and even often imitate them or follow in their footsteps. He said, “there is a big emphasis on creating wealth and how to go about it. That is why children are inclined towards that kind of life. However, if we help cultivate other qualities as well, they may find a balanced outlook. They will then be able to give the idea of wealth the right amount of importance.”

“We are trying to teach the children what a meaningful life is. This does not preclude creating wealth. Perhaps even upon attaining wealth, it will become clear that by itself, wealth accumulation does not constitute a meaningful life. Wealth can also be created in ethical ways and in unethical ways. There is a Sanskrit shloka about this. It tells us firstly that in the pursuit of wealth, we should not harm others. Secondly, we must not bow down to immoral people and we must not take money from them. Money that comes from suspicious means cannot be in alignment with a virtuous life. It is okay if we do not accept this ill begotten money. And finally, if we follow a virtuous path, any money we make becomes much bigger. Even if we do not make much, it will have a different kind of value for us that is much greater than large sums of tainted money. This money will be of benefit on our path.”

This shloka is also in the syllabus. It is with materials like this that the chances of creating a more insightful generation become higher. The syllabus is meant to foster the idea of a meaningful life in children, and if they take some time to reflect on this wealth of knowledge, there is a good chance that it will seep into their attitude towards the future.

Having carefully gone through several stories and chosen those that the group unanimously approved, notes were taken on the changes that needed to be made to any stories. This would continue into the next day as each member had brought several stories to share.

Day 2 of the meeting began bright and early. The remaining stories were discussed, categorised by class and once again notes were made regarding any changes. This took up a large part of the day. Finally, all the stories needed in the class 1-3 syllabus were selected and approved. With this, Phase 1 or the program came to a close.  Once the stories are revisited and finalised, the syllabus will be ready to take into the classrooms.

The discussion then turned to Phase 2, which is for classes 4-6. An outline was devised of the introduction to philosophy and the research and gathering of information was divided between the members. At the next meeting, the research will be looked at by the team and strategies will be discussed as to how it must be shaped. With each member looking forward to the next phase, the meeting was closed.

It is very exciting to be a part of such a momentous project. The Dalai Lama Trust is eager to see the final outcome of this project and to be a part of reviving such a rich tradition back in its place of birth. We will be updating this space with new information as we go into phase 2.