By Yogendra dasa (BMS)
February 4, 2021
In the time of King Vena, children’s education was severely hindered by the lack of sincere and affectionate teachers. This is one of the reasons the sages ultimately cursed his administration. King Vena had abandoned his responsibility to organize schools around the principle of affectionate relationships between adults and children. The sages were heart rent.
However, King Prithu and the next generation of educational organizers would discover how to manage this responsibility more carefully. Therefore, even before doing any good deeds or service, their vision was applauded by all concerned.
Failing in our sacred duty to protect children by giving them an atmosphere of affection should be heartrending to any sincere human. The remembrance of this failure can become a pillar of success only when we discover the right principles and organize around them.
Let’s consider what is the ultimate sign of success in organizing children’s schools around a Bhagavat system of educational principles:
Training in Srimad Bhagavatam is supposed to be for gradually bringing children to the stage of having a melted heart that is moved by pure affection (SB 1.10.13, purport). Any human can understand how much vulnerability it takes to reach this stage. Children naturally have enormous vulnerability, and are meant to have, from the very beginning of their lives, soft hearts capable of being moved by affection.
If we accept this principle, further questions naturally follow:
How do we organize education around the principle of ensuring that children’s soft hearts stay soft? How would our children turn out if soft hearts and right relationships were systemic and standard to our ways of teaching and raising children? I will look at the first question in a separate article, and for now we’ll just look at the second question.
We can find a practical example in the royal Kuru ladies, who as fully matured individuals, paid their respects to Lord Krsna from the top of the palace when he departed Hastinapura for Dvaraka.
“Absorbed in the thought of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is sung in select poetry, the ladies on the roofs of all the houses of Hastinapura began to talk of Him. This talk was more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas,” (SB. 1.10.20).
In his purport, Prabhupada explains that while the ladies were talking, their talk was as good as the Vedic mantras because, although spoken in simple language, the subject matter was directly of the Lord. Thus, their talks were more valuable than the benedictions of learned brahmanas because they were more pleasing to the heart. The royal ladies developed the consciousness of Vedic wisdom by being absorbed in the thought and actions of the Lord. So by the Lord’s grace, their speech was more attractive than Vedic hymns.
In other words, the royal ladies were simple, natural, dedicated, conscientious, and most importantly they remained close to Krishna throughout their lives. Thus, their very speech was more pleasing and valuable than the benedictions of learned brahmanas. It is said that you may know a person by their speech. We may also take for granted that the entire character of these royal ladies was due to their successful upbringing in Krishna consciousness.
The royal Kuru ladies were most definitely given an education from childhood that protected their soft hearts and was characterized by their immersion in a sea of affectionate and trustworthy adults. As grown ladies they became completely clear in their understanding and application of Bhagavata life because, throughout their developing childhood, sincere and affectionate adults gradually taught them how.
In their talks, these noblewomen attractively expressed their own clear understanding:
· that Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead (SB 1.10.21),
· of Krsna’s creative potencies, as well as the process and purpose of creation (SB 1.10.22),
· that the senses can be controlled only by better engagements (SB 1.10.23, purport),
· of Krsna’s attractive and confidential pastimes throughout different periods and ages (SB 1.10.23-24),
· of the basic philosophical premise that everything in the cosmic creation is the property of the Lord (SB 1.10.25),
· that something more than what is known as liberation is in store for those who simply know the transcendental nature of the Lord and associate with Him (SB 1.10.26),
· of the arrangement of planetary systems (SB 1.10.27),
· of the purpose of religious rites (SB 1.10.28), and
· of the purity of devotional service to the Lord (SB 1.10.30).
These are secondary signs of success for schools organizing around a system of Bhagavata educational principles. The primary active principle of success is the presence of affectionate adults who are sincerely striving to see the children’s relation to the Lord as His separated parts. Affectionate adults work out of a good understanding of the developmental point of view, and so strive to gradually bring out the children’s innate potential for healthy reintegration to the Lord’s devotional service. This point will be discussed in the following article seeking to answer the question of how to organize.
The vision is: to organize for ultimate success – preserving the child’s soft heart so that she may one day become moved with affection for our dear most Lord.
om tat sat