There is this very interesting concept in our scriptures. They are called Sadhana chatushtaya— ways by which you can make yourself a suitable conducting medium for education and receiving knowledge.
1. Viveka
2. Vairagya
3. Shad-sampat
4. Mumukshutva.
This
is an attempt to relate these to the current scenario in education.
1. Viveka : When we are after something, we must
know what it is that we are after. A discrimination that we exercise in knowing
what it is that we are after, what it is that we are expecting, this faculty of
inner discrimination is called viveka,
correct understanding. Are we doing a course for better grades or to satisfy
our thirst for knowledge in the subject or is it simply because we believe it
will result in a better future. This capacity in us to distinguish between what
is redundant and that which is essential for making ourselves fit to tread the
path of Knowledge is discrimination, called viveka.
2. Vairagya : When we know what is necessary and what is unnecessary, what is proper and what is improper through this exercise of viveka, we also know what is to be rejected and what is to be caught hold of. That process of rejection of what is unnecessary, redundant, meaningless, an interference, is called vairagya. It is the understanding of the meaninglessness of certain things we are pursuing that will enable us to abandon them from our considerations in daily life.
It is not true that everything is irrelevant at all times, and it is also not true that all things are useful always. A careful distinction between the necessary and the unnecessary, the meaningful and the meaningless, the beneficial and the harmful, is the principle of renunciation. So there is a perpetual vigilance required on our part to understand what it is that we have to take hold of, and what it is that we have to abandon.
3. Shat-Sampat : This third requisite is
called shad-sampat, the
acquisition of six virtues. They are called sampat because they are actually treasures, very
valuable things. The six virtues are sama,
dama, uparati, titiksha, sraddha and samadhana.
i. Sama is a determination on your part to be always calm and quiet under any kind of condition, even aggressive conditions. Reaction is not the way in which you have to conduct yourself towards an action. Two persons are necessary to quarrel, and you need not be a party in that.
Sama is the restraint of the internal organ. The internal organ, or the psyche proper, is called the antahkarana chatushtaya. These are, broadly speaking, the functional aspects of the psyche.
1. The mano, or the mind that thinks,
2. The buddhi or intellect that decides and determines,
3. The ahankara that identifies everything with itself, and
4. The chitta or memory that remembers past things;
ii. Dama is the restraint of the five senses. When
on the path, one needs to control the pull of 5 senses namely Sound, Sight, Touch, Smell and Taste.
iii. Uparati is cessation of all worldly longings or Feverishness towards things. One needs to stop being obsessed with things.
iv. Titiksha means a kind of endurance and tolerance
that you have to exercise. One needs to focus on what is more important and stick to it.
v. Sraddha is faith in that which you are asking
for. One needs to believe in their effort and never to loose faith despite ups and downs.
vi. Samadhana is concentration of mind. Always be
attentive on that which you are seeking.
There are three stages of Practice
1. Shravana – Listening to the Teachings
2. Manana – Reflecting on those teachings
3. Nidhshyaasana – Continuous practice of those teachings.
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