India has been known all over the world as a prosperous and affluent nation since ancient times. There was always curiosity about India all over the world. India had all kinds of prosperity. Different types of knowledge systems were at the peak. The complete human development, both material and spiritual, was characteristic of India.
Students and travelers from all over the world used to come to India to acquire knowledge, to acquire arts & skills. Indian culture and social life was, and still is, a unique example throughout the world. The root cause of this is that Indian culture has always considered the world as one family. India itself means “Vishwa Bandhutva” and this Vishwa Bandhutva is not just a show but a matter of actual experience.
That is why anyone from any corner of the world is welcome to enter India. As much help as possible was given. Every person, every soul was considered to be the Son of God, regardless of his race, creed or method of worship. “Krinvanto Vishwam Aryam” is the insistence of India. Arya means a cultured, decent and ideal person. For thousands of years, India has embraced the wonderful and unique goal of making the whole world Aryan.
On the pages of history you will find countless examples of Indianthought, Indian generosity and the divine vision of the Indian mind. India has never attacked anyone. It did not try to snatch anything from any country or try to do injustice to anyone. India has never in its history attempted to snatch anyone’s property or goods by force. The reason for all this is the ancient knowledge, learning, tradition and Vedic literature, cultural thought. India and the Indian people have never lagged behind in bravery and prowess. This is the tradition of India, adorned with morality and virtue.
Until the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the whole of India was a leader in trade and commerce. Before the arrival of the British, India’s share was more than 32% in the world’s GDP. Columbus came out of Europe in search of India and reached America which is well known.
Even after thousands of brutal invasions by hundreds of foreign invaders, India was the richest and most prosperous country in the world on the basis of Indian way of life and Indian science, art, skill, craftsmanship and philosophy. But then what happened that made India so miserable? We have to think about this. The main reason for this is the British rule and their policies. All the rulers and invaders who came to India before the British ruled at the political level.
But they did not interfere much in Indian society, education system, culture, tradition, justice system, daily life. As a ruler, they were only involved in raising and looting wealth. Of course, these invaders also inflicted cruelty on us. Yet they did not have much influence on the entire Indian psyche. But the British rule was extremely terrible and catastrophic. The British were very smart. After establishing the state in India, they studied Indian civilization, way of life, society, administration in detail.
Macaulay, who destroys the Indian educational tradition, writes in one of his letters that if India is to truly win, it has to break away from its culture, knowledge tradition and moral, spiritual flow. Macaulay’s dream was to create a black British in India. It means Indian in appearance but British in thought and behavior. For this, Macaulay first targeted the traditional Indian education system and began to break it. The British got the political state of India, but they destroyed the Indian education system.
By the end of the eighteenth century, there were more than 3 lakh Gurukuls in India, providing access to all kinds of education to students from all strata of society. The British destroyed the ancient Indian education system and replaced it with a British education system based on Western ideas. As a result, India’s prosperity was gradually destroyed. The society suffered intellectual, mental, emotional and educational decline. India lost its original nature and confidence. A prosperous country once called Vishwa Guru, became poor. Unfortunately, even after independence, the same Western system was continued. Today, in the world’s GDP India’s share is less than 1%.
Many great men, scholars and thinkers have been studying and analyzing this plight of India for decades. They concluded that the root of all this is in the education system. We have done the job of producing only certified servants by adopting the western teaching method. A young man with a slave mentality was created by this western education system. It destroyed their confidence, ability to think independently, creativity, and entrepreneurial attitude.
To change this, fundamental changes must be made in the educational sector. From the time of the British, the Indian tradition of knowledge was being slandered and ridiculed. “Let the things in the Puranas remain in the Puranas, why there is no Pushpak Vimana today, Indian history is stupid and false, they are fictional things,” it was said. No one has thought that If the Indian Tradition of knowledge is false, then how India became so rich and powerful in ancient times.
In the last few decades, the idea of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) has gained momentum and is being taken seriously. Leading educationists and scientists in the country like Dr. Kapil Kapoor, Padma Bhushan Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Swami Govinddevgiri, Dr. Vasant Shinde, Dr. Shashiji Tiwari, Padmashree Chamukrishna Shastriji, Acharya Umapati Guruji, Amanchi Balsudhakar Shastri and many other scholars brainstormed.
The central government then studied the situation and decided to adopt a new education policy. Under this, the National Education Policy (NEP) was formulated. It was decided to restructure the Indian education system on the basis of Indian knowledge traditions. Ancient traditional Indian knowledge systems will be studied and researched in every field of education. The Indian knowledge system is not just about philosophy or spirituality. It is a way of life. That is why India has been prosperous since ancient times.
Under the National Education Policy, there will be unprecedented changes in the education sector in India. There will be a new revolution. It will be based on the Indian Knowledge System (IKS). A feature of the Indian knowledge tradition is that it still has the largest store of knowledge in the world. No other culture, civilization or tradition in the world has so much knowledge. Hundreds of universities in India like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramshila had huge libraries which were destroyed. Nevertheless, to date, more than 1 crore manuscripts are still extant in India. Apart from India, our manuscripts are also available in Germany, European countries, USA, China and other countries.
Only 5% to 7% of them have been studied. The store of knowledge in more than 90% of the manuscripts is not yet open. This knowledge is available in Sanskrit, Old Tamil, Prakrit, Pali, Avesta. What is special is that the Indian knowledge tradition has not been broken. It is constantly flowing. This tradition of knowledge persist even after the tireless efforts of the British. Through the tradition of criticism, story tradition, commentary tradition, translation tradition, etc., its existence remained intact. That is why Indian civilization and knowledge tradition is said to be eternal.
The Indian knowledge tradition is described as 14 Vidya and 64 Kala. 14 Vidya is a part of philosophy and 64 Kala is a source of practical education which is useful for daily life like arts, skills, crafts, agriculture, health, science etc. All these traditions will be studied and modified to suit today’s way of life. Thus, in the next few decades, India will witness a major revolution in the field of education. This change will not be limited to the field of education, but will take place in the way of life, in the Indian psyche and in every sphere of life. Fundamental Indian thought, Indian knowledge, Indian Tradition, Indian art, skills, craftsmanship, management will all undergo radical changes. The Indian Knowledge System (IKS) sector in India is expected to create more than 5 million jobs and employment in the next few decades.
In this age of change, India’s self-esteem and self-respect will increase. There will be coordination and research in the tradition of modern knowledge and ancient knowledge. Creativity will develop. Ancient Indian civilization, culture and knowledge traditions will be presented in a modern form. They will be useful and a guide not only for India but for the whole world. To make this knowledge coordination a reality, IKS scholars, experts, teachers, consultants will be needed.
The big challenge is to put the Indian knowledge tradition into practice and present it to the world in a modern form. For example, let us talk about the Bhagavad Gita. I.I.M. Ahmedabad had recently organized a conference on Bhagavad Gita and Management Sutras. It was a great initiative. We should think that Bhagavad Gita is not just a book of management. The Bhagavad Gita is the ocean of knowledge. It provides detailed knowledge of sociology, psychology, spirituality, behavior, education, art, etc. It requires research. Also, thousands of texts will be studied and presented in a modern format.
The study of Indian knowledge systems is not only necessary for the existence of the whole world but it is also essential for the existence of human beings, which is being seriously considered all over the world. Recently, the Union Minister of Education has stated that there are solutions to the current problems of the world in the Indian Knowledge systems. From this point of view, in the next few decades, the IndianKnowledge System (IKS) will revolutionize the whole of India and bring about significant changes in the country, in every sphere of life.
By removing the Macaulay education system, we need to create today’s knowledge tradition. Future Indian Education system has to be developed on the basis of Indian languages, history, art, philosophy and spirituality. Through the Indian knowledge system, the whole country will move from mental dependence to mental freedom. Bhishma School of Indic Studies is constantly striving for this. Bhishma Sanstha was established in 1976.
By 1999, Bhishma had published more than 7,000 pages of 18 volumes on Indian history and culture based on knowledge from the creation of the universe to the 21st century. The Bhishma School of Indian Knowledge System has launched a number of programs ranging from certificate, degree to Masters level. These programs are accredited by IACDSC, USA which is a global accreditation agency. One may get more details at www.bhishmaindics.org. Ever citizen of India should understand the emergence of this IKS wave in the country and acquire the IKS knowledge & skills to contribute for nation and people.
Opportunities in Indian Knowledge System : Career, Jobs, Professional, Business, Research, Social and Cultural Opportunities in Indian Knowledge System
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– Prof. Kshitij Patukale
