We were kids, once upon a time

 

We see outselves reflected

in the twinkling eyes of a child

and their sense of wonder, hunger & awe

as they greedily drink in the world

 

We went to school once

to learn about things

and even when outside, at home & on the streets

we learnt about life

 

When we look at ourselves today,

and then look back

We can sometimes tell

what went into making us what we are

 

Our kids' Education in school is something

that we can't control

beyond picking a 'good one'

and saying "Now go learn!"

 

But what we teach our kids otherwise

or don't

will make our kids successful

or won't

 

Trying, as they say

is half of doing

and half of success is

just showing up.

 

~x~

 

One doesn't have to ignore Vedanta until one reaches a certain age, or level of experience. The attempt here is to present a case study of practically implementing the education of basic Vedantic concepts to children. The case study shared is of a weekly Sanatana Dharma school run in the ... Hindu Temple for the past 2 years. The authors put in perspective their attempts to transmit the Vedantic underpinnings of Indic Hindu culture in the process of teaching the traditions of the Sanatana Dharma from India at weekly classes for members' children using contemporary methods of presentation. The relevance of this to the child's conception of Self is discussed. The thoroughly practical traditional teaching methodologies handed down over generations, of storytelling, and question answers within and upon these stories are discussed, complemented with the presentation of matter in a contemporary style via lists with bulleted points, charts and other visual aids is also discussed. The main narrative of this paper is of the teachers (a trained pandit formally schooled in the Vedic tradition, mentoring volunteers formally schooled in the Western mode, but with firm Sanatana Dharma backgrounds ) using the Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavat Purana, and drawing upon Sanskrit Slokas, and lectures in English from the Chinmaya and Arsha Vidya Gurukulams to accomplish these goals.

 

 

For full article, if interested, please go to

 

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Making Vedanta relevant to today's children

 

[ I'm hoping comments & discussions will be at the main article location.]