Guest guest Posted August 9, 1999 Report Share Posted August 9, 1999 > We have some questions, our aim is to make Varnasrama a practical thing. > > Meditate on this...suppose you are given a school and it is up to you how > you would focus the school, for the sake of the conference the focus would > be Practical Varnasrama... In my opinion a Vaisnava Varna-asrama-dharma Academy should first of all teach its student the basic philosophical understanding and principals of a varna asrama dharma society. This would have first to be researchd and thought, the sociological, economical and political connections and interrelations of the four varnas in such a society. Every society if democracy, or any other has its basic knowledge thought in the schools to the citizans so that there will be a common understanding in society. If this basic understanding is there in the "students" than one could start to teach them the specific varna knowledge, and education. I dont think an aspiring ksatriya would have to learn how to make soap on his own, or other things of this kind wich belong moore to the specific knowledge of the sudras or vaisyas, in my opinion. I anyway have some problems to understand why this self seficiency is caled varnasrama dharma, I think a varna asrama dharma society is a much broader understanding of society than just how to make ones own soap or cloth or whatever of this sudra or vasya specific activitys. Certainly a society needs first and foremost food to feed its citizens and other practical things for life, but is it limited just to this? > 1) How would you teach Practical Varnasrama? > > 2)What would be the initial knowledge/skills to be learned for the small > students? > > 3) What knowledge/skills the graduates should have? > > 4) Should be at certain level specialised schools for certain varnas? If > yes, what would it be? > > ----------------- > > For question two... I thought it was very nice to teach them about making > soap and things like that, very simple and at the same time related with > their everyday lives...that's why I was surprised to hear the complains > from some of the members of the conference about the simple staff. > > Note: > Even though these questions sound like are more for the other conference > (Varnasrama development), I thought it was better for this one since we > are including Varnasrama in our classroom... (at this moment it is in a > small way, we expect to increase as we get input and expertise). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 1999 Report Share Posted August 11, 1999 Greetings to all and Haribol As usual I am about to stick my foot in my mouth. Here goes, All schools should teach the basics, our kids live in the same world as every body else. So to avoid handicapping them, we must teach reading writing and math. The language of the country they are in and at least one other common language is also important, to avoid ending up like Americans who can't speak any other language. We should have built into all the classes our basic philosophy respect and tolerance of others, and respect for the land. Soap making well.... When I was a school kid We had shop classes that taught basic wood working automotive repair and basic house hold repairs, We also had home economics how to cook sew handle money basic nutrition first aid typing. Our schools were trying to produce young people who could change a tire, plan and cook a tasty meal fix the car, sew on a button or make a dress and generally we were supposed to be ready to face the world. We could read, write, balance a check book, cook and fix the squeaky cabinet door, and put a new cord on a lamp. It worked! My generation were able to handle the simple problems of life. So instead of shop or perhaps in it we teach disaster preparedness! How to make soap, basic first aid, how to sew how to plant a successful garden, store the harvest safely, read a compass basic generic survival. And learn how to use our hands. why? Because Prabhupda said the cites would soon be distorted and we should get out of they cites get our land and plant our grains so we will be able to take care of our selves, when the disaster (or what ever occurs)! A varnasrama Education is simply a well rounded education where we take care of each other, accept higher authority, corporate with our neighbors and live our religion like it should be. There will of course be people who believe that the cites won't be destroyed. That all this foolish simplistic back to the land crap is for the alarmist, and the survivalist nuts. I would prefer to be thirty years over prepared than one day late. Ask those folks in Kosovo if they think soap making is something they ever wanted to learn? Perhaps we should ask them if they would like to learn it now? Those poor souls in Belgrade (and other large cites) will be freezing and starving in about three more months. They have no basic skills, no food stored up, they don't know how to purify their water, they don't know how to build a simple snug warm shanty till help comes. They have no SOAP. These were prosperous city people who went to school plays, ate in restaurants, lived in apartments and bought their food in the grocery store. YES YES I know it won't ever happen to you because you chant and pray and Krishna will protect you. That however doesn't mean he won't let you die. Only that he will protect your soul for the next round of advancement...Perhaps! Think about it! Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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