Ganeshotsav - one of the most celebrated festivals in Maharashtra is around the corner. Every year, we welcome the Elephant God to the tune of vibrant festivities, music and modakams. During this festival, there is an automatic and instantaneous bonding among all sections of the society - regardless of their personal biases and preferences. The feeling of togetherness is palpable and we often even wonder why at all He had to leave! How come we celebrate this festival in this manner in this region? Have we ever stopped to wonder?
The efforts of Sh. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (endearingly referred to as Lokmanya Tilak), was instrumental in bringing together the entire society to taste this sweetness of community. Festivals, not just called for ritual offerings but were a way to really tap into the unity of this land. Lokmanya Ji was one of the forerunners of the Indian freedom struggle against British Rule.
He was born in a Marathi Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri. His father - Gangadhar Tilak Ji, was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who unfortunately passed away when Tilak was just sixteen years old. A few months before his demise, Tilak was married to Tapibai. He obtained his BA in Mathematics and also pursued law thereafter. After graduating, he taught mathematics but withdrew therefrom on account of ideological differences with his colleagues in the school. He thereafter took to journalism.
Tilak actively participated in public affairs and was deeply concerned about his fellow countrymen. He would say: "Religion and practical life are not different. The real spirit is to make the country your family instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God."
His contribution to the Indian freedom struggle was invaluable. However, some of the thoughts he seeded in the minds of the common man were revolutionary, no doubt, but deeply enlivening and liberating. He publicly opposed several policies of the British by publishing strong-worded articles in his papers. He was a living example of how the pen could be mightier than the sword, with the Kesari and Maratha (leading newspapers published by him), which soon became the voice of revolution.
On his birth anniversary, reproduced below are critical portions of a speech he delivered in 1908 at Barsi. The topic of discussion was National Education.
Education, he believed was not restricted to merely reading and writing, which were actually just means of attainment. “That which gives us knowledge of our ancestors is education”. There were many ways of educating - books just being one of these.
Just like a potter who knew how to make a pot out of clay but did not know what the clay was made of, he remarked how businesses in India were completely handed over to other people by the people of India.
On secular education, he stated “How can a person be proud of his religion, when he is ignorant of it?”. He believed that it was this dissociation from religious education that led to the influx of missionary activity in India. He mentioned how the tradesmen would not send their children to schools as they were not receiving the kind of education that was required. Moreover, their sons, having received “formal” education and becoming “fashionable” do not seek to take up the gaddi (seat or ownership) of their ancestral estates as they are very ashamed to do so. They infact want to become clerks to the British Government instead!
Condemning the education system as being one-sided, he mentioned how the British Government only wanted engineers, doctors and clerks and so only gave the people sufficient education to become these to serve their own goals. The schools they ran therefore only served this purpose and the students who passed out of these naturally only sought to take up service with the Government.
He sought a complete reform in the education system that prevailed then - including the transfer of textbooks. It was quality education that would enable the nourishment of good citizens.
He stated, “The Government cannot give us religious education, and it is well that they are not doing it; because they are not our co-religionists.” Moreover, education that inspired patriotic sentiments was not at all given in India. He cited the examples of America - where the Proclamation of Independence is taught in V or VI classes, and Germany where scientific and mechanical education was flourishing, which led to a rise in commerce. Quality education was the duty of the Government which instead actually wanted to keep the common man lame.
“There is a conflict between the commercial interests of England and India. The Government, therefore, cannot do anything in this matter.” He declared that National Schools ought to be setup because even the private schools were not doing a good job for fear of losing their grants.
What would these National Schools do?
He envisaged the need for religious education which would keep the people away from evil pursuits as “secular” education was not enough to build character.
“Religion reveals to us the form of the Almighty. Says our religion that a man by virtue of his action can become even a god. When we can become gods even by virtue of our action, why may we not become wise and active by means of our action like the Europeans? Some say that religion begets quarrel. But I ask “Where is it written in religion to pick up quarrel?” If there be any religion in the world which advocates toleration of other religious beliefs and instructs one to stick to one’s own religion, it is the religion of the Hindus alone.”
He, therefore, explained that Hinduism ought to be taught to the Hindus and Islamism to the Musalmaans in these schools. The children would be most importantly, taught to forgive and forget the differences in these at these schools.
Another important aspect of this form of schooling is to lighten the load of the study of foreign languages. He stated, “In spite of a long stay in India no European can speak for a couple of hours fluent Marathi, while our graduates are required as A rule to obtain proficiency in the English language.” The goal of education had been reduced to the mere knowledge of the English language! However, such compulsion of studying foreign languages did not exist anywhere else in the world!
“We spend twenty or twenty-fire years for the education which we can easily obtain in seven or eight years if we get it through the medium of our vernaculars.”
He, therefore, pushed for education in India’s native languages.
The Vedic Pond deeply resonates with these ideas presented by Tilak Ji. The purpose of education or all learning, when reduced to proficiency in a foreign language, deeply undermines the inherent potential existing in the child. Moreover, if children are introduced to the vast treasure-trove of knowledge that we as bhAratiyas have inherited from our own civilisation, they will certainly experience an opening of their minds and hearts!
Let us pledge to work for our civilisation by amalgamating dharma (profound order existing in the universe that is enlivening) in education. Only then can we ensure real swarAj (self-direction).
Jai Hind!
