Hinduism and Science:Hindu view on Science, Knowledge and Education

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Hinduism and Science: Hindu view on Science, Knowledge and Education

Into blinding darkness enter those who worship ignorance and into greater darkness those who worship knowledge alone. 

Isa Upanishad

Next, with regard to knowledge. The teacher is the former element, the pupil the latter, knowledge their union. That union takes place through the recitation of the Veda. So much with regard to knowledge.

Taittiriya Upanishad

1. Hindu scriptures recognize two types of knowledge: the lower knowledge and the higher knowledge. Knowledge of the rites and rituals and scholarly study of scriptures is considered to be lower knowledge, while higher knowledge is the knowledge of Atman and Brahman gained through personal experience or self realization. Of the two, the Higher Knowledge alone is true, because it liberates the individuals from the cycle of births and deaths.

2. Central to the educational system of Hinduism is the concept Guru or the teacher. A teacher is a god in human form. He is verily Brahman Himself. Without serving him and without his blessings a student cannot accomplish much in his life. In matters of spirituality the teacher shows the way not by trial and error but by knowledge gained through experience. In matters of scriptural studies, the Guru would make the student memorize all the scriptures by heart and subject him to rigorous discipline. Till the student mastered one scripture completely and recited all the verses from memory without fault, he was not allowed to learn another. In ancient India, the education of a student lasted for several years. When the student finished his education, his Guru had a right to demand his fee (gurudakshina) either in kind or in cash. 

3. Another important concept associated with pursuit of studies in ancient India was the gurukula system. A gurukula was a place where a teacher or a guru lived with his family and establishment and trained the students in various subjects. The gurukulas usually existed in forests, away from the buzz of the towns and cities. Admission into the gurukula was not an easy process. A student had to convince his guru that he had the desire, the determination and the required intelligence to pursue the studies and had to serve him for years before he was admitted into the school and initiated into the subjects.

4.Students in the gurukulas were subjected to rigorous discipline. They had to live in a very austere environment, observe complete celibacy, practice yoga and meditation under the supervision of the master and also perform many menial jobs for the master's household. On specific occasions they had to undergo fasting as a necessary means of purification and mastery of the body and mind. 

5. Sometimes if the Guru traveled to other places, the students accompanied him. This generally happened when the Guru was summoned by a local ruler to perform some Vedic rites or enlighten him on some specific spiritual matter.

6. Girls were not admitted to the Gurukulas. They were not even allowed to study like the boys. Ancient India had some educated women, like Maitreyi, the wife of Yajnavalkya, who were generally related to some seers and sages or wives of some great kings. But it is doubtful if ordinary women in ancient India had any role other than performing household duties and procreation.

7. Lower caste people were not permitted to study any subject outside their occupation. Manusmriti prescribed severe punishment not only for lower caste men who dared to study the Vedas but also for those who dared to teach them. In the early Rigvedic period, some gurus were broadminded enough to admit some low caste children as their students, as is evident from the story of Satyakama Jabala who was born to a free woman and Yajnavalkya who came from a very humble background. But the trend changed completely during the later Vedic period, so much so that even the mere act of hearing the Vedic hymns by low caste men was declared a sacrilege and great crime.

8. Ancient India had a number of universities and centers of education, where not one guru but several lived together and taught to groups of students different subjects. The emergence of Buddhism and the migration of gurus to towns and cities contributed to this new movement. 

9. Hinduism emphasizes the importance of verification of truth through personal experience. It regards the external world as a great illusion, but does not discourage those who want to study it in order to realize the nature of external reality. It is not averse to scientific pursuit of knowledge, so long as it is in harmony with the spiritual aims of man. Therefore in ancient India a number of subjects other than religion were taught to students as a part of their occupational study or even general study. These included subjects such as mathematics, medicine, metallurgy, magic, music, art of warfare, sculpting, temple building, commerce, pottery, weaving and so on. Since the occupations were based upon castes, children were initiated into the secrets of their traditional vocations from a very early age.

10. Hinduism recognizes the importance of knowledge in the spiritual progress of man, but at the same time it is wary of the fact that you cannot teach everything to every one. Knowledge should be imparted only to those who are interested, who are mentally disposed, who are qualified by virtue of their evolution or current knowledge and who knows the the true value of knowledge. Teaching sensitive knowledge to an unqualified person is therefore forbidden. It is like giving a knife to a monkey with which it may even injure itself. For example in the Bhagavad gita Sri Krishna says," This (the Bhagavad gita) should not be spoken to the one who is not austere, who is not My devotee at any time, who does not want to serve Me, and who is envious of Me."

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