Gurukul &

Varna Vyavastha
Indigenous System of
SGEH-no Personalisation and
Socialisation of Education
Greeting in Cayuga
laguage of Six Nations - Chandra Vikash & Alka Vikash
E: chandra.vikash@gmail.com
Invocation of Ma Saraswati
The Goddess of Knowledge
Tribute to my Guru
Who is indigenous? The curious case of India
In India, the nation-state where I
come from, the word indigenous
remains a mystery.
The word is translated in Hindi as
Swadeshi and as Adivasi. In practice,
these two words are a world apart.
That is, most people who would call
themselves as Swadeshi are
reluctant to call themselves as
Adivasi, unless you remind them of
the Aryan Invasion Theory.
Adivasis are usually identified with
forest-dwelling tribes and largely
darker-skinned, disempowered,
dispossessed folks, who incidentally
are identified with another coinage
called Dalit which literally means
oppressed and exploited.
Index
Neti Neti! : Life is neither a straight Line nor a
plain Circle
Indigenous is an Idea Whose Time has Come
Indigenous Education holds the Key
Gurukul and Varna Vyavastha: Indigenous
System of Personalisation and Socialisation of
Education Case Study from India
The Way Ahead: Flora & Fauna Indigenous
Institute of Management and Metaphysics -
Gurukul indigenous education system in a
modern idiom
 Part I
Neti Neti! : Life is neither a
straight Line nor a plain Circle
What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
Papal Bulls (Vatican) of the 15th century
gave Christian explorers the right to claim
lands they discovered and lay claim to
those lands for their Christian Monarchs. Any
land that was not inhabited by Christians
was available to be discovered, claimed,
and exploited. If the pagan inhabitants
could be converted, they might be spared.
If not, they could be enslaved or killed.
Ref: http://upliftconnect.com/americas-existential-crisis/
 Lets first figure out whats
going on We are HERE

Before the Doctrine of Discovery

Indigenous Neo-Colonialist
World Order Modernization World Order

Vedas the ancient indigenous source of encyclopedic knowledge

encourage that humans should endeavor to increase their life
comforts by seeking the most modern, innovative and sustainable
means of communication, transportation and energy.
Womens fashion in 3 decades
in India goes a full circle

1980s 1990s 2010s

 Life is neither a straight line nor a plane circle.

Modernization

We are HERE

Before the Doctrine of Discovery

World Order
Indigenous Neo-Colonialist
World Order

Modernization
The Web of Life is

the
Dance of
Shiva
 The Old Premise of Modernity of
Cradle-to-Grave has hit a dead-end

"Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make

consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of
goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego
satisfaction, in consumption...We need things consumed, burned up,
worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate.
- Victor Lebow Economist, retail analyst and author, on modern consumerism
in his 1955 paper, Price Competition in 1955, published in the Journal of Retailing.
We Only Have 3 Years Left to Prevent a
Climate Disaster, Scientists Warn
Time, Jun 29, 2017
The new research shows the 4.5C upper limit for
climate sensitivity is real and means projections
for global temperature rises cannot be reduced.
The global temperature is likely to be 2.6C to
4.8C higher by the end of the century if emissions
are not cut, according to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, or 0.3C to 1.7C if sharp
emissions cuts begin in the next few years.*

* https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/05/hopes-of-mild-climate-change-dashed-by-new-research
 Part II
Indigenous is an Idea
Whose Time has Come
Artificial Intelligence is Systems Ignorance
Post-Modernization
Interdependence
Integration
Wholistic
Systemic
Indigenous Intelligence
AI

Neo-Colonialist
World Order
Artificial Intelligence
World Order
Indigenous
Mechanistic
Reductionist
Atomization
Independence

Modernization
Indigenous Intelligence is Systems Intelligence

Post-Modernization
Indigenous Intelligence
Systemic
Wholistic
Integration
Interdependence

Indigenous
World Order
World Order
Neo-Colonialist
Independence
Atomization
Mechanistic Reductionist
Artificial Intelligence

Modernization
 The New Premise of Post-Modernity of
Cradle-to-Cradle has just been born

An indigenous mother putting her baby to sleep in a cradle. The photo was taken
in Rangamati's Uluchori village in Indian sub-continent. Photo credit: Supriyo
Chakma

http://en.prothom-alo.com/photo/gallery/65957/Indigenous-Mother-image-51501
 to survive and thrive, it must however
subject its every product to the Eye of
the Needle
Needle # 1
The Scientist asks Needle # 2
The Doctor asks
Needle # 3
The Philosopher asks

Is the product useful?

Is it good for health?

Is it good for the society?

 Part III
Indigenous Education holds the Key
The Real Purpose of Education

"The mastery of nature, so the imperialists teach, is the purpose of all

technology. But who would trust a cane wielder who proclaimed the
mastery of children by adults to be the purpose of education? Is not
education above all the indispensable ordering of the relationship
between generations and therefore mastery, if we are to use this term, of
that relationship and not of children? And likewise technology is not the
mastery of nature but of the relation between nature and man."
- Walter Benjamin
Can indigenous education emerge out
of the shadows of neo-colonialism...
Indigenous education focuses on teaching indigenous
knowledge, models, methods, and content within
formal or non-formal educational systems.
The growing recognition and use of indigenous
education methods can be a response to the erosion
and loss of indigenous knowledge through the
processes of colonialism, globalization, and
modernity.
Indigenous communities are able to "reclaim and
revalue their languages and [traditions], and in so
doing, improve the educational success of indigenous
students", thus ensuring their survival as a culture.
And stand on its own feet?
The climate is changing in more than one
respect physical, social, behavioral and
metaphysical.
We need to prepare our youth and children
with these changes for their survival and for a
bright and sustainable future.
Flora & Fauna Indigenous Institute of
Management and Metaphysics (FFIIMM), as
described in the next section, is a much
needed and overdue response in this
direction.
 Part IV
Gurukul and Varna Vyavastha:
Indigenous System of Personalisation and
Socialisation of Education Case Study from India
 What is a Gurukul?

Gurukul as an indigenous educational system was prevalent across the Indian

sub-continent before British colonialism.
It is personalized education according to guna (merit), karma and swabhav
(character) that determine varna and corresponding ambit of roles and
responsibilities in the society from small (kshudra) to big (brihad).
This also prepares the students to become an integral and valuable member
of the society and to prioritise social objectives above individual interests.
Who could study in a Gurukul? -
The story of Satyakam Jabal
Satyakam was a bright boy who wanted to study in a gurukul. His
mothers name was Jabla but he didnt know who his father was. During
his interview, the teacher at the Gurukul enquires about his family
profession and about his family surname. When he asks his mother, she
truthfully tells him that she served in various gurukul and that he was
conceived in one of them but she does not remember who is his father.
She tells him that as you are my son, your surname will be Jabal.
Satyakam narrates the same to the Guru.
The Guru or the principal of the gurukul Rishi Gautam Haridramut, who
incidentally was also the guru to Krishna, is so impressed with the childs
courage and conviction to tell him the truth that he admits him.
He gives him 400 indigenous cows and asks Satyakam to take them to
the forest and come back when the number becomes 1000 as
described in the Chhandogya Upanishad. After 6 years, one of the bull
(Nandi) informs Satyakam that the number has been reached. When he
comes back to the gurukul, the guru tells him that you are already a
master of your subject and that he had nothing further to teach him.
The Guiding Philosophy of Varna
Vyavastha - Natural talents may flower
Human beings manifest different traits such as:
1. Work with physical objects; One has an inclination to
be skilled with physical objects and techniques.
2. Work with living objects; One wants to become a
healer, a doctor to bring comfort by cure to others.
3. Work on Minds; One wants to be a learned person
interested in bringing bounties of wisdom to others.
The motivating force in humans manifests in various
forms and needs to be nurtured accordingly.
Gurukul played a valuable role in suggesting a suitable
aptitude for each student and provided the checks and
balances to guide them on this path.
Varna Vyavastha System and Structure

Varna could change or remain the same over a lifetime. The

social organization based on varna called Varnashram
Vyavastha is designed for the individual soul or atma to
progress to higher level over one or several lifetimes. Ashram
relates to stages of life.
Together, it leads to high quality of life marked with good
Health, Happiness, Harmony and rich Heritage.
Two distinct characteristics of Gurukul
Location: Small portions of the forest was
designated as Abhayaranya which were
sanitized and secured from carnivores and
insulated from urban milieu. Academies of
different disciplines were set up in this
campus.
Teachers consisted of Vanaprasthis people
in the 3rd stage of Ashram Vyavastha who
had overgrown their family obligations. They
volunteered to undertake the responsibility to
teach and pass on knowledge and
experience to the next generation.
 Gurukul, Ghumkudia, Gatiora and
other regional indigenous forms
In different local communities around India, Gurukul is
called by different names that reflect local indigenous
needs and aspirations.
These are learning centers where adolescents of tribes
study under the supervision of an experienced villager.
In the Bastar region of Madhya Pradesh, this is called
Ghotul. In the Uraon areas as Ghumkudia, in the Uttar
Pradesh tribes, it is called Rangabung, as Gatiora in the
Munda-Ho tribe tribe and as Ikhuinchi in the Naga areas.
The popularity and utility of this social organization
evolved in its journey of centuries and stood the test of
time over long periods of its history.
 What led to its disintegration?
However, as the so-called civil society began to peep into
the life of the tribes with its frustrations and under the spell of
colonial grandiosity, the practice came under the spell of
modernization and began to wither away.
Even the history of human civilization tells us that social
organizations come into existence in various historical
pressures and begin to lose their relevance in the long run.
Ghumkudiya or Ghotul practices are not possible in today's
social and cultural environment.
This primitive institution can not compete with the kind of
training and needs to innovate and adapt to the challenges
of life today.
 What led to its disintegration?
The Bigger Picture
The evolution of western anthropology of modernity influenced and
was in turn influenced by, colonialism and ideological geo-politics
which extended and exported the influence of the West to beyond.
Common to many theories of development was a cheerful sense of
cultural tragedy: the necessary disintegration of traditional societies
that functioned, in Rostows* scheme, as a precondition for
economic take-off.
Foreign domination was needed to accomplish this salutary
destruction, since otherwise the customary relations of traditional
production would set a ceiling on economic growth.
By its own providential history, Europe had been able to develop
itself, but according to Rostow, other peoples would have to be
shocked out of their backwardness by an intrusive alien force.
*Source: Walt Rostows Stages of Economic Growth (1957)
 Part V
The Way Forward:
Flora & Fauna Indigenous Institute of
Management and Metaphysics
Gurukul indigenous education system in a modern idiom
 The Vision

A new generation of
confident and capable
indigenous youth with
adequate and appropriate
skills and knowledge to co-
create a bright and
sustainable future and shape
their dreams and aspirations
 The Mission
Tobecome worlds flagship centers of
learning in next 3 years by 2020
50 locations around India and 500 locations
world-wide
Each location with one urban center
surrounded by a cluster of 20 villages
Each urban center with 100 students and
village with 50 students
Totalenrolment: 55,000 students per year in
India and 5,50,000 around the world
 Guiding Principles
FFIIMM will address the basic and higher needs of
the local communities in harmonious co-existence
with the flora and fauna in a healthy and
sustainable manner
Urban center as nodal policy-making, research,
co-ordination, justice and governance center and
Village-As-A-Polytechnic as sites for production
and management of resources.
FFIIMM will follow an Open Campus approach
with no physical boundaries within or between
villages. Only the outer boundary of urban center
will be fortified wherever necessary.
Global Network of 500 FFIIMM

Balia Chowk,
Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India

Demonstration Site and Global Indigenous Centre

 Socio-Economic Model
Over time, students will not be charged any fees but will share
the responsibility to mobilise resources from local and global
communities and pay them back in due course in goods or
services
In the first 3 years, 50% of students will contribute the fees
based on parity with similar rated institutions in the country. This
corpus of funds will be used to finance the initial set-up.
In these 3 years, we shall shift entirely to commodity economy
or a new form of the traditional prevalent across
India and adjoining areas.
The open campuses will be developed as new age forest
cities and villages based on the traditional . They
will be designed as carbon sink models to absorb excess
carbon from Earths atmosphere.
 Academic Model
FFIIMM will offer integrated 5-year +2 and undergraduate program
after Class X or 4-year undergraduate program after Class XII for
Bachelor in Indigenous Management and Metaphysics (BIMM) in
Calendar Year July 2018 to June 2022.
It will offer 2-year postgraduate program for Master in Indigenous
Management and Metaphysics (MIMM) from next calendar year
July 2019 to June 2021.
It will offer a variety of short-term training programs and workshops
to augment local skills and knowledge to regenerate depleted or
degenerated natural resources of water, forests, pastures and
livestock and to fulfill the needs and aspirations of local
community.
FFIIMM will work in synergy and symbiosis with a variety of
educational and research institutions in inter-disciplinary areas
towards the above objectives.
NYAH-wenh
Chandra Viikash & Alka Vikash
E: chandra.vikash@gmail.com