Vedic Gurukula — a holistic education system that was started in India during the Vedic Age ( c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) and stands relevant even today!
Even though the term “Holistic Education” is relatively new that seeks to engage all aspects of the learner, including mind, body, and spirit — this is not something new in India and it is there since the Vedic Age ( c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) in the form of Gurukula based Vedic Education. Vedas were composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and the second urbanization which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain. Since 2000 BCE, many Gurukulas have dotted the landscape of South Asia and attracted students, travelers from all over the ancient world.
In this school of thought, Guru is seen as the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance and Gurukula is the center of learning where the Guru, his family, and the students live under one roof. Parents introduce their children to Guru so that he takes the entire responsibility of instilling Academic, Spiritual, Emotional, and Social Intelligence in children to get them ready for the Universe. The students of Gurukula are oblivious of outer distractions. The system functions on the well-rounded holistic development of a child, enshrining values such as discipline, self-reliance, the right attitude, empathy, creativity, and strong moral beliefs. Great emphasis is laid on the students' mental, cognitive, spiritual, and physical well-being. Gurukula based Vedic Education also complies with philosophies of education of modern time — Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Social Reconstructionism, Existentialism, Behaviorism, Constructivism, Conservatism, and Humanism. Some of the Gurukulas even teach modern subjects besides focusing on a Holistic approach to Environmental and Sustainability Education.
Indian National Education Policy 2020 also reflects a similar school of thought – teachers and faculty are considered as the heart of the learning process to create holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st-century skills. All aspects of curriculum and pedagogy will be reoriented and revamped to move the current modern education system towards real understanding and learning how to learn - and away from the culture of rote learning as is present today. Paving the way for the country’s first national school board for Vedic education, the governing council of the Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratishthan – a fully-funded autonomous body under the Ministry of Education working on the promotion of ‘Veda Vidya’ – has given its in-principle approval to set up a Bhartiya Shiksha Board in 2019.
