From Fables to Academia: Weaving of Ancient Indian Storytelling into the Higher Education in Ancient India

 Ancient India's holistic approach to education seamlessly integrated storytelling from childhood to the highest echelons of academia. This article delves into the continuum of narrative-based learning, tracing its evolution from childhood fables to the hallowed halls of institutions like Nalanda and Taxila. The journey unveils how storytelling transcended generations, nurturing a profound understanding of science and knowledge.

The Foundation: Storytelling in Early Education:

In ancient India, education was a gradual process that commenced with storytelling at an early age. Children were introduced to concepts through engaging narratives, which not only captured their imagination but also laid the groundwork for lifelong learning. An example of this is the story of the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan), symbolizing the cosmic process of change and evolution.

Imagine a young child listening to the captivating story of the Moon, a handsome deity with twenty-seven wives, each representing a different lunar phase. As the child grows, they realize the symbolic nature of this tale. The Moon's varying appearances are akin to the changing phases resulting from the Moon's orbital relationship with the Earth and the Sun.

Transition to Higher Learning Centers:

As young learners matured, they embarked on a transformative journey to renowned centers of higher education like Nalanda and Taxila. These institutions were not just repositories of knowledge but vibrant hubs of intellectual exchange. Here, storytelling was elevated to new heights, serving as a bridge between tradition and advanced scholarship.

Narratives as Pedagogical Tools:

Ancient Indian universities recognized the pedagogical potential of storytelling. Professors, known as gurus, employed narratives to elucidate complex theories and philosophies. Historical accounts suggest that epics like the Ramayana were analyzed for their moral, ethical, and philosophical dimensions, fostering critical thinking and deeper insights.

Time Lapse Examples in Advanced Learning:

As students progressed, storytelling evolved into a sophisticated tool for imparting advanced knowledge. Concepts like time dilation, a principle of Einstein's theory of relativity, can be linked to the mythological tales within the Ramayana, where time passes differently in different realms.

As students progressed, storytelling evolved into a sophisticated tool for imparting advanced knowledge. Symbolism and allegory, integral to Indian storytelling traditions, were employed to convey intricate concepts. Mythological narratives and parables carried hidden meanings that allegorically communicated profound philosophical, scientific, and ethical truths.

Storytelling as Memory Aid:

Ancient Indian education emphasized oral transmission of knowledge. Storytelling not only made information more memorable but also facilitated its retention. Elaborate stories served as mnemonic devices, allowing scholars to recall vast amounts of information during debates, discussions, and discourse.

Conclusion:

From the simplicity of childhood tales to the intricacies of advanced academia, storytelling was the thread that connected the diverse fabric of ancient Indian education. The transition from fables to the hallowed halls of Nalanda and Taxila demonstrated the enduring effectiveness of this methodology. As we navigate the complexities of modern education, we draw inspiration from this historical tapestry, where storytelling was the bridge that guided seekers of knowledge from the realms of imagination to the frontiers of enlightenment. <with help from ChatGPT>

View from My Window July 2020

 

Mandala Kapil Gupta Aug 19 2020 - First Mandala

Almost first attempt on Mandala Aug 19 2020

Universe - We are missing something

If you are facing a mirror and with another mirror behind you, it's natural for you to see 1000s of replicas. Though let's imagine that you don't know the principle of physics of mirror imaging and don't know there is a mirror behind you. You will keep looking for answers of how deep is the image in the mirror is.
When I hear/ read about Universe, and it's vastness, sometimes, I feel, are we missing something in rules, that can make this all less complex.....

Bright - Confused - Stagnant

We all come across so many bright, really bright, people, who have done great as kids/teenagers and struggling in adult life. These are people from best of the Universities, and you talk to them, and they are bright, they think beyond, they can hold a conversation on complex topics. Many of these "bright people" are struggling in career vis a vis many other "not so bright" candidates.
What's going on here, why brightest minds are not at the top. The simple answer is "What they do not teach you at School?" or in simple terms, it is not all about only intelligence. So what are the parameters that stop intelligent people from growing to the top?
In my thinking, following are some critical parameters. Following is no final list, though just a list that I thought of, I may update it later.......
i) What is one's driving factor?
We have heard many times, the best recipe for success is to do what's your passion is, so you go to work every day to something that drives you. Though topping a college or university is not always about passion or internally driven. Many times driving factor comes from external stimuli, like just about meeting expectations of society or parents or fear of something external. Same people in real adult life, have difficulty in finding that drive from inner self when things are going well. There is no fear or meeting any body's expectations or failure. So in such a mindset, one is always in a catch-up game. In adult life, a person will for some time work hard and reach a point of equality or a small advantage to peers, a place, where one does not feel fear and pressure of societal expectations. With fear gone, this is obviously followed by a float period. During the float period rest of the world moves ahead and then fear comes back again. This person never achieves the full potential of self and always in catch up game, since stimuli are external. The answer lies in thinking through what is one's self-driving factor in life. It has to be something from the inner that one buys into and one wants to achieve. It should not be something based on external stimuli.
ii) Intelligent people at times do not know, how to learn from successful people?
An intelligent person in college is a person, whom everybody comes to help for most. So effectively everybody is learning from him or her, rather him or her learning from others. Above may not be true for all the people. Though there is a fair percentage of academically brilliant people, who do self-learning. Being self-taught is ok when in college, where learning mostly is one dimensional. Though in real life, success needs competence in multiple dimensions. At this point, one's ability to learn and listen to others become very important. At this point ability to collaborate, or learn from other successful people becomes the difference between success and float.
Due to Lack of ability to learn from others, intelligent people either get frustrated or confused or both. Some try to do what they know the best work harder and produce more, though that is like cleaning the handle of knife again and again, while what one needs is sharpening the edge of the knife. Failure despite hard work leads to more frustration. It is a deadly trap, since these people, many a time become the demotivation catalysts in the organization. These are the people, though bright, are the ones who are complaining about anything and everything on the coffee machines. These are tough people to identify since given intelligence they have; they are still average or above average performers in current roles. It is the growth that they lack and desire that company cannot give.
iii) Lack of Discipline
The third factor in my understanding is the lack of discipline. An intelligent person and gets things easy in early life. The first casualty for easy wins is discipline. While in real life, my take, discipline is more important than intelligence. I am not demeaning intelligence, just prioritizing. Simple situations of self-owned business or a corporate job, when one needs to fill in 12 hrs or work in an eight hour day, the only way to accomplish that is through discipline or burn out happens fast. There are mundane tasks that need to be completed, and those need discipline. The lack of discipline hinders growth.
So a shout out to, all intelligent people out there, look at yourself carefully. Please don't become the critiques of the world at the coffee machine. You are more than that; organizations need you, the world needs you.
Simple abilities to relook at what your persona is, what you driving factor is, may lead to success you are missing for so long.

The Fence

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.” You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say or do something you will regret later.

- Author Unknown

Above is not mine ...... :), though this one is so beautiful almost poetic, so here it goes

We Fail Everyday

We all fail every day, from the second we wake up till the time we go to sleep, we fail. We fail to wake up on time; we fail to get breakfast right, we fail to hold on calories, we fail in a conference calls, we fail in conversations with the team. There are these small failures that we face since we wake up to the time we sleep.
Somebody can say that, in a way, we succeed as well every day. Though what I want to focus on is the failure, since somebody said failure stays with us ten times more than success. Add to that, our own biases, most of us are not arrogant and have grown up with strong notions of being sensitive to what others tell us, feel about us etc. etc. That will make an impact of failures "10 times more" even multiply more on us. That is why failures can easily suck our energy and focus. If we let failure overcome us, this paralyzes us and paralyzes us for few minutes, or hours. The worse is that it paralyzes us for some crucial seconds when our brain should be going what do I do to recover the situation.
We need to keep our mind and body in the condition that is ready to take the impacts and hits of failure every second, every day. Let's do some preventive maintenance, so our body (car) doesn't break down on every bump, every strong break or tight turn.
Some simple rules can be followed to lessen the impact.
i) Transactional interactions do not govern the long-term goals. So with every transaction fails, ask brain to stop thinking "force-Maure," i.e. my promotion is gone, I need new role etc. etc. The long-term goals achievement is like staying healthy, you do get your indulgences, though till you are doing few things right (i.e., hitting the gym regularly), the body will hold up. So if your brain takes you to long-term goals, tell him STOP, this was just a transaction. Over time train brain to understand that it was just a transaction, no point being paranoid about it. Believe in the longevity of life and fruitlessness of our end result in life.
ii) Set expectations right, now with years in the corporate world or growing up. You understand yourself better than others. No point trying to fool yourself. In every given situation set your expectations based on your past record and your capabilities. Most of the fails are since you go beyond your own ability. So with every fail is an opportunity to re-set your expectations and see what you can achieve. Once again always remember fruitlessness of the end result in life.
iii) Take breaks at short intervals, This is not about taking mandatory annual breaks, frankly, most of us do not even take those to re-adjust compass, and if you have a posting in other country and visit the home country in these breaks. You come back more fatigued than rejuvenated. These are the breaks weekly or maybe twice a week. These are breaks just to let brain get some time to relax (perhaps meditation). It is like breaking the flow whether on a good flow or downward spiral. When on good flow, chances of making mistakes, it makes sense to stop and rethink, based on above two points. It does not make sense to run a 100 yards fast while you have to run a full mile. When on a downward spiral, this is an absolute must for course correction. How many times sports team have lost games since they failed to slow down the game.
iv) Know your team and talk to your team. So who is your team, who is on your side in life and in an organization? In a nutshell, who got your back? Write down on a piece of paper these names. The names should not be more than 3-4. These are the people you are talking to when you are taking your break. These are the people you are keeping in touch. These are the people who are your well-wishers. These are the people who will call out loud and be true to you.
To end, the fruitlessness of the end result is philosophical from Gita; you do not take anything with you at the end of life for the final journey. You do not remember who was the 7th King of any kingdom, or 9th president of any country. It's about the journey and enjoying it, it is not about where you reach. Smell the roses and listen to leaves......... failures will not impact you, live a life.