Gita in school: Religious text or philosophical treatise?
Lalit Mohan, TNN | Feb 10, 2015, 03.04 AM IST
Haryana's education minister Ram Bilas Sharma minced no words when he said recently in Sohna: "The government is ready to include the Gita in the school curriculum. It is knowledge, it is our way of life, it's science and a solution".
But before the state government does so it has to decide whether it wants to treat the Gita as a religious text or a philosophical treatise. The two are sometimes irreconcilable because, as Jawaharlal Nehru once said, "Philosophy is the greatest enemy of religion. It teaches men to think."
Scriptures are 'taught' without any accompaniment of discussion or debate. Some of them are indeed works of great literary merit. But they have to be accepted without dissent. Questions are discouraged and, if at all any are asked, rational answers may not be given. Divergent interpretations are forbidden. Even deviation from the popular version of a mythological tale like the Ramayana is frowned upon.
To treat the Bhagwad Gita in the same manner would be a folly. There are no fairy tales in the Song Celestial. It contains the essence of the Upanishads and is sometimes also referred to as Gitopnishad.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gita-in-school-Religious-text-or-philosophical-treatise/articleshow/46180717.cms
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