Significance of gurukul system of education
The unfortunate fact is from our childhood, we are trained to be separate from others. In schools, we are taught to be somebody, prove that we are somebody. As adults, we are then taught to compete with others.
We have to understand one thing: the people who have created the present system of education are not enlightened. The system of education designed and developed by the ancient sages in the East, the gurukul structure (a type of ancient Hindu school that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students studying and imbibing the guru or teacher) is totally out of practice. It is no longer alive today.
Let me highlight a few points about the Gurukul system of education that was initiated by the enlightened masters. In this system, any child who belongs to the country belongs to the master, the guru. The guru takes care of all of them and parents have no rights over them. Let me explain a few rules here to elaborate on this.
Up to the age of seven children in the gurukul were not allowed to wear clothes. You will definitely laugh at this. But this was done so that they do not get the idea that they are individual bodies. They were allowed to relate with existence, with Ether straightaway. They were allowed to relate with flowers, forests, trees, and Earth. This ensured that until the child's seventh year the idea that they are somebody did not form itself in the mind.
This also taught them not to suppress the opposite gender that is alive in them. They were not given the idea that they are male or female. Understand that when we are born, all of us have the characteristics of both the genders within us. A man is only 51% male and 49% female. Similarly a woman is only 51% female and 49% male. It is our upbringing, dictated by societal rules that classify us into rigid gender differentiation right from birth. Therefore we end up suppressing the opposite gender within us.
In the gurukul system, children were encouraged to keep their gender commonality open. This system made sure that children were not given the idea that they are somebody. They were also not taught to separate their body from the environment.
Try to follow only these few things with your kids. First of all do not separate their upper and lower body with clothes at the waist. Make them wear clothes that cover the whole body. Next, do not continuously keep encouraging them to develop the idea that they are somebody. We believe that this is what builds their identity and self esteem, and this is where we are making disastrous errors.
In the ancient gurukul system, at the age of seven, the children, both boys and girls, were given a meditation technique. Even if they formed such an idea that they are male or female, they used this meditation technique to dilute that imbibed feeling. This meditation technique helped them to flush out the feeling of gender uniqueness out and again and again helped them tune into the collective consciousness. This is what we now call the Gayatri Mantra (a sacred chant or *mantra* taught before adolescence). From seven to fourteen they practiced the Gayatri through which they continuously connected to the collective consciousness.
By the age of fourteen, by the time they reached adolescence, they would have had a glimpse of the collective consciousness and its blue print. After they have had the glimpse of the blue print, depending on the intensity of their glimpse, they would be given deeper meditation techniques, so that they could go deeper and deeper into these techniques. Thus by the age of 21, they had every opportunity to become enlightened.
I'll tell you honestly, there was a time when 70% of all the people were enlightened. The remaining 30% were working towards it. The social structure created by the enlightened masters consisted of people either already enlightened or others who were working towards it. There was no other category. Just two categories: achieved and working towards it: enlightened and seekers! Unfortunately, we have lost that system.
Now, we have already started a Gurukul system in the Bidadi ashram in Bharat as well as a few other ashrams. We have some devotees whose children are a part of the Gurukul system here in the ashram. We expect to revive the Gurukul system soon, without disturbing modern education and without disturbing their link to the collective consciousness.
Collective Consciousness is what I call God. The whole is what I call God. When you are whole, you are holy!
You must have heard about the raas purnima described in the Bhagavatam (the night of full moon when the raas lila was performed) is a beautiful example of collective consciousness. Most of us have no idea or a wrong idea about the raas lila. It has got nothing to do with the physical plane. It was actually Radha and the gopis (women cowherds) experiencing collective consciousness. Krishna gave the ultimate experience of collective consciousness to the groups of gopis and Radha.