A living tradition

School - the word conjures up images of uniformed children traipsing in the recess, of homework left undone and of the eternal wait for t...

School 8211; the word conjures up images of uniformed children traipsing in the recess, of homework left undone and of the eternal wait for the school bell. So when you turn off the road at Kothrud in Pune and enter the long drive to the Vedacharya Ghaisasguruji Vedapathshala you expect to see the conventional type of school. Instead in the sylvan surroundings of the Vedbhavan, as the school is popularly called what greets the eye is a whole new world. In the spacious, open rooms of the octagonal-shaped building with a central courtyard, young fresh-faced boys with tonsured heads clad in white dhotis with a white cloth covering their shoulders recite shlokas.

The measured rise and fall in the cadence of their voices fills the bare rooms while Moreshwar Vinayak Ghaisas better known as Guruji keeps a watchful eye over them. A little away from the main building in a small shed smelling distinctly of cowdung, two boys feed and wash cows. Although this pastoral scene seems like it belongs to another age, for the students at the Ved Bhavan it is only a part of their daily schedule.

8220;This is the fulfillment of my father Vedacharya Vinayak Ghaisas Guruji8217;s vision of a traditional Gurukul,8221; says Ghaisas his hands waving across the verdant two acre plot. The Ved Bhavan has been the culmination of years of perseverance, of holding on to a dream which began in 1945 in a small cramped 10 feet by 10 room in Sadashiv Peth. 8220;My father would teach the vedas to six pupils who stayed elsewhere but would come to our house for their instruction and many a time stayed for lunch. However my father8217;s dream was in the manner of the traditional gurukul, the students would stay with the Guru in their pursuit of preaching and preserving Vedavidya.8221;

A dream that took concrete shape in 1989 when the Ved Bhavan shifted to the newly constructed building which was inaugurated by Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then Vice President of India. For the 15 students at the Ved Bhavan the day begins at the crack of dawn 8211; 4 a.m.! After a quick revision of the previous day8217;s study and a regimen of suryanamaskaras and exercises it is time for breakfast. Not for these lads the ready breakfast of toast and tea. Students at the Ved Bhavan milk the cows that give them their drink of a healthy glass of milk. Studies here do not mean classes punctuated by the class bell.

8220;The students are trained to recite the Dashagranthas, which contain the most ancient wisdom of the scriptures.8221; The students recite shlokas 8211; their heads bent meditatively, the younger ones being helped in their pronunciation by the elder students. At noon the students along with their guru sit together to partake a simple satvik meal cooked and served by Ghaisas8217;s mother and wife emphasising the atmosphere of a family. It is time to look after the other activities of the Ved Bhavan that include tending the cows, washing and milking them.

A brief siesta is followed by more lessons till sunset. After dinner the students are briefly required to review their day8217;s studies and then to bed. Do the young students 8211; the youngest scholarly-looking boy being all of 10 years 8211; absorb all that is being taught? 8220;Only bright students with good memory and genuine interest in the vedas are given the opportunity to study here. It is a misconception that students are sent here only when they cannot apply themselves to any other form of education.

8220;It is best to be initiated into the discipline between the age of eight and ten because the child8217;s tongue is most flexible then and he can utter the shlokas with the right kind of inflection. Besides, once they grow up it is difficult to make them conform to the rules of the Ved Bhavan. This is a special school and as a teacher here I have to make them understand its special nature by following the dictates that I set,8221; explains Ghaisas.

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The estabishment runs on the principle of Vidyadaan or the grant of knowledge and fees in cash or kind are not accepted from the students who usually stay for twelve years, the designated time period to master Vedavidya. Public donations from dedicated donors help to run the Ved Bhavan. For the students staying away from their homes, Ghaisas 8211; who took on the mantle when his father passed away last year 8211; along with his wife are family. As 13 year old Kedar Patankar who has been at the Ved Bhavan for the past three years says, 8220;In the beginning I found it very difficult to adjust to the new lifestyle but Guruji and his family have helped me to blend in.8221;

A sentiment that is echoed by 16-year-old Avadut Pujari from Sangli who has been a resident for the past four years ,8220;I like it here because we are made to feel like we are part of the same family. When I finish studying I would like to start a Vedpathshala back home.8221; The graduates from this unique school appear for an examination conducted by the Vedashastrottejak Sabha and step into the career of a ved vaidik priest where prospects, says Ghaisas are bright. 8220;In which other profession can you earn money with the respect of all sections of society?8221;

It is apparent that the decline of this form of learning is a sore point with him. 8220;Ours is an ancient knowledge, a thousand year old tradition that the modern system of education barely 200 years old is slowly wiping out. Education these days has become just a commercial venture not the vocation it should be,8221; he laments.

The Ved Bhavan as it stands today has been the outcome of patience, hard work and help from generous individuals. In order to generate funds a few new projects have been thought out. A Siddhivinayak temple is already under construction while that of a sabha mandap, a library and a guest house are in the pipeline. Inheritors of a precious legacy, the Ved Bhavan lives on hoping to make a difference.