Curriculum Concepts

Introduction

“The old system of Gurukula, should be revived as the perfect design to

produce great men, sober and responsible leaders”
(letter to Satsvarupa, November 21st, 1971)

The tasking and challengeable process of reviving the Gurukul System of Education, as
suggested by Srila Prabhupada, is what urges this document to be unfold. Tasking because of the
lack of attention, importance and investment mostly people give to education nowadays and
challengeable because its nature brings a “new” educative paradigm1, difficult to be understood and
applied due to our conditioned mindset on approaching education.
The aim of this document is therefore, to present a functional and accurate curriculum for
vedic education, in order to provide the best training to our children both devotional and academic,
while fulfilling the vision of our Founder-Acarya.
All contents of this document are based on concepts, experiences and procedures revealed in
Vedic scriptures, therefore Vedic curriculum, and supported by institutional experiences and
researches done by the Bhaktivedanta Academy in its almost 40 years of existence. More
specifically this document has its theoretical basis in the Concept of Vedic Education produced by
H.H. Bhaktividya Purna Swami in 1985 and its philosophical background in the Philosophy of
Education, produced a continuous effort along many years by the Bhaktivedanta Academy staff.
We should here recognize the tremendous effort of all our predecessors, the great Vaishnava
Acaryas from the past, all ISKCON devotees, pioneers and contemporary, who somehow
contributed in the field of education, and all gurukulis that took part on this sweet and tasking
process of reestablishing Vedic education. All glories to Sri Krishna Caitanya, all glories to Sri
Nityananda Prabhu, and all glories to all devotees of the Lord.

Purpose
1 The premise of Vedic Education is that the Curriculum’s primary concearn is character and values formation
to develop what is recommended by the scriptures and Acharyas for the performance of devotional service, which will
be expressed through skills and knowledge.
 With deep consideration, the Vedic Authorities have clearly defined the goal of education
and thus its subsequent curriculum, methods of training, and practice.

The Vedic curriculum actually taught a lifestyle through personal values. The various
subject matters and their application each had a direct correlation with each other; a common
thread which had its basis in the philosophy and culture of the Vedic literatures. The subject
matters taught therefore, would enable the individual to understand and adapt themselves to the
universe and their place within it. Equipping them with sufficient fundamental and practical
working knowledge to be able to purify themselves through the performance of their prescribed
duties and, thus make progress towards the ultimate goal of life.

Vedic Study was conceptualized into 6 main areas, compromising the 14 different books of
knowledge, which form a frame work upon which the various branches of ancient and
contemporary subjects were organized2.

The ideal result of the systematic study of Srila Prabhupada’s books, the books of the
previous Acaryas and the Vedic literature, will be:

- Vicāra: a deep appreciation of the subject matter presented;

- Bhakti-Anucena: an insight into the various subject matters themselves, their relationship
with one another and their relationship and application to the Lord;

- Sadācāra: a molding of personal values and practice in line with the teachings of the
scriptures;

- Pracāra & Ācāra: a sense of obligation to pass on such knowledge and culture through
their own efforts and personal example.

Mission Statement

2 A full explanation of the division of the Vedic Literature and its curriculum will be given later.
 The Bhaktivedanta Academy aims to provide a facility for its members to study, practice,
and disseminate the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam, along with corollary studies of the standard
works of the Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas and the branches of Vedic philosophy, culture, and science
in the context of Srimad Bhagavatam and Srila Prabhupadas teachings.

Institutional Objectives

To accomplish the above mission, the Academy endeavors to:

• Maintain an educational environment appropriate to the Vaisnava tradition.

• Impart to the Academy’s staff and students a deep appreciation for Vedic teachings,
resulting in a lifetime personal commitment to practice the Vaisnava way of life.

• Impart to the Academy’s staff and students a deep commitment to preserve,

perpetuate, and disseminate the knowledge, practices, and values of the Vaisnava tradition.

• Acknowledge and reward Academy staff and students according to their individual
achievements in their respective fields of study and practice.

• Maintain a resource library of Vedic and Vaisnava literature.

Curriculum
 The core structure of the complete vedic curriculum, as exemplified by Krishna’s own
educative program, can be divided in four didactical areas, training in – ashram, academic,
vocational and cultural.

1) Ash
ram - Character/Religious Education – Based on sadhana, sadhacara, vicara, pracara and
purascarya vidhi (discipline, responsibility, moral education, missionary education and
preparation for spiritual initiation)

“It is customary, after being initiated in the Gāyatrī mantra, for one to live away from
home for some time under the care of the  ācārya, to be trained in spiritual life. During this
period, one has to work under the spiritual master as an ordinary menial servant. There are
many rules and regulations for a  brahmacārī living under the care of an ācārya,  and
Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma strictly followed those regulative principles while living under the
instruction of their spiritual master, Sāndīpani Muni, who was a resident of Avantipura, in
the northern Indian district of Ujjain.” (Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
chapter 45)

Since character and religiosity are areas based in values and virtues and
pedagogically extrapolate classroom education, they are thought and learned in extra-
classroom activities. These category of learning is technically called service learning 3. As
quoted in Srimad Bhagavatam:
“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of
Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless
knowledge and detachment from the world.” (S.B. 1.2.7)
Pupils are engaged in different services in the school community according to the necessity
in different years, semesters, etc. In the services they are divided into groups in which senior
students take care and instruct juniors. The mood of the services and different discussions
regarding how the services are being performed are done through daily assemblies.
Among many values and virtues students have to develop this curriculum summarize them
into three main categories: devotional values, moral/studentship values and religious
(catechetical) values.

Syllabus:
Devotional
- Sād
hu-saṅga - Training in relationships
- Nā
ma-kīrtana - Talking about the Lord and singing his glories
3 “A form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students. . . seek
to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves. In the process,
students link personal and social development with academic and cognitive development. . . experience enhances
understanding; understanding leads to more effective action.” (Janet S. Eyler - Vaderbilt University)
- Bhā
gavata-śravaṇa - The science of hearing and connecting everything to the Lord
- Mat
hurā-vāsa - The consciousness of living in a sacred place
- Śrī-
mūrtira śraddhāya sevana - Worshipping and serving the deity of the Lord

Moral/Studentship
- ST
UDIOUSNESS AND Inquisitiveness - Developing the mood of a serious student
(brahmācārya)
- SEL
F-SATISFACTION AND SELF-CONTROL - Self development through understanding
one’s position
- SE
RVICE ATTITUDE - The attitude and readiness for doing menial service
- RE
SPECT - Developing faith in authority
- CL
EANLINESS - body and mind cleanliness
- SO
CIAL ORIENTATION AND PROTOCOL - Learning social civics and etiquette

Catechetical
- OF
FER OBLATIONS - The importance of Vedic rituals
-  FE
ED THE BRAHAMANAS - Learn to cook, eat and serve prasadam

The acquisition and development of each one of this values are gradually imbibed by the
student in different levels and are assessed according to their behaviour and attitude. There
are six levels or gradations in which the students develop themselves in the curriculum, they
are:

1) Prarambika
2) Praveshika
3) Upaveshika
4) Vatu
5) Upanayani
6) Upashastri
 The assessment of the pupil is objectively done through the outbound profile4 for each
ashram level. And the management and supervision for the whole ashram is done by the
Bhaktivedanta Vidyashrama School, a ashram school department within the Bhaktivedanta
Academy.
2) Aca
demic – Based on the 14 books of Vedic knowledge

“Being very satisfied5, Sändépani Muni instructed Them in all the intricacies of Vedic
wisdom and in supplementary literature such as the Upaniñads.” (Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, chapter 45)
The academic learning has its nucleus and fundaments in Srimad Bhagavatam, supported by
Srila Prabhupada books, the Acarya’s books and Vedic literature in general. Therefore the
whole academic curriculum has a theological basis, driven by the philosophical and heuristic
path of self-realization. Hence all subjects are learnt and appreciated in its ontological
principles, following the hierarchical order:
1) Ho
w this subject connects or descends to/from the Supreme Lord?
2) Wh
ats are its metaphysical aspects?
3) Rati
onally, why should we apply it?
4) Em
pirically, what are its components and dynamics?
The application of this four elements are done in an trans-disciplinary way called in the
curriculum as Cetanopanayanam. Which is the main subject in the curriculum, also
denominated as philosophy, the first of the six academic curriculum areas. From the
comprehension of this subject all the other five subjects are unfolded in the curriculum.
Upon completing the primary and secondary study of the Cetanopanayanam curriculum the
pupils advance to the systematic study of Serial Prabhupada books pursuing the Divinity
titles that will be explained in the next section.

The academic curriculum is comprise of 14 areas classified in 6 subjects

Syllabus:
Six areas of knowledge:
- Phil
osophy and logic (Bhagavat Vidhi and anviksiki)

4 Each level has a standard document defining the virtues students should have for being able to move to the next level
they are called: outbound profile for prarambikas, outbound profile for praveshikas, outbound profile for upaveshikas,
outbound profile for vatus, outbound profile for upanayanis, outbound profile for upashastris.
5 The opening sentence, “Being very satisfied”, is referring to the 1st didactical area, in other
words, by being satisfied with the acquisition of values through the ashram training of Sri Krishna
and Sri Balaram, Sandipani Muni academically trained them on Vedic wisdom.
 Study of Srila Prabhupada teachings of the vaishnava/vedic scriptures centralized on
Srimad Bhagavatam, its logical interpretation, presentation and its practical application.
- Litu
rgy & priestly (Pancharatrika and Kalpa)
Deity worshiping and rituals as means to be fully engaged on the Lord’s service.
- Scri
ptural mnemonics (mantras)
Memorization of important scriptural verses for use in preaching, sanskrit, deity
worship, and samskaras.
- Lin
guistic (founded on sanskrit)
Grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, prosidy – The science of communication and
language.
- Mat
hematics and physical sciences (Jyotisa)
Vedic mathematics, cosmology, astronomy & astrology
- Civi
cs and social sciences (Dharma and Purana)
Proper personal/social/environmental behavior, according to the Lord`s universal rules.
History, geography, natural sciences, ethics, politics, economics, health, principles of
art, architecture and physical education.
* This six areas are pedagogically design to comprise the 14 books of knowledge6

3) Voc
ational
“Being very satisfied, Sāndīpani Muni instructed Themi in all the intricacies of Vedic
wisdom and in supplementary literatures such as the  Upaniṣads.  Because Kṛṣṇa and
Balarāma happened to be  kṣatriyas, They were specifically trained in military science,
6
The division of the fourteen books of Vedic knowledge comprised in six areas:
Scriptural mnemonics
Veda: (1) Rig Veda; (2) Yajur Veda; (3) Sama Veda; (4) Atharva Veda
Linguistic
Vedanga: (5) Siksa; (6) Chanda; (7) Vyakarana; (8) Nirukta
Liturgy and Priestly
Vedanga: (9) Kalpa
Mathematics and physical sciences
Vedanga: (10) Jyotisa
Philosophy and logic
Upanga: (11) Vedanta/mimamsa, (12) Nyaya
Civics and social sciences
Upanga: (13) Purana; (14) Dharma Shastra
 politics and ethics. Politics includes such departments of knowledge as how to make peace,
how to fight, how to pacify, how to divide and rule and how to give shelter. All these items
were fully explained and instructed to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.” (Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, chapter 45)

Vedic education is unique by its personalized approach in designing the curriculum,

in this regard the system is tutorial. “A person’s defects are better rectified in a private
tutorial class or private coaching than in hearing lectures in a school or college.”7
As the curriculum is unfolded from primary to secondary education the application
becomes progressively personalized according to the pupil’s vocation. Massive educational
curriculums are out of question, “Is it possible to think of a common treatment of patients
each of whom has his own ailment? While it cannot be applied to the diseases of the body
that can be visualized, how can it be applied in handling invisible, intangible, and
sometimes intractable material, different minds and moral conditions?”8
Although the application of the curriculum is already personalized in the other areas
of the curriculum (ashram, academic and cultural), here it becomes entirely individualized.
The pupil chooses whatever area of the fourteen books he wants to get specialize from the
fourteen books and proceed with his studies developing a project in which he can practically
apply the knowledge he is receiving. The pedagogy here becomes more pragmatic as he has
to undertake a functional project that will produce fruits not only in his learning field but for
the school community or the overall Vaishnava community in general. In this way he can
get progressively specialized in his vocational field.
The logical flow of the curriculum, culminating in the vocational training is that the
student will learn and experiment all areas of knowledge in his primary and secondary
education and will get specialized in his vocational training as part of his tertiary program.
“Gurukula is only for the small children. Preliminary, primary. And when the children are
grown up, they should be sent to the varṇāśrama school or college for further developed
training.”9

3) Cult
ural - Sixty Four Arts

“After hearing only once from Their teacher, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma learned all the arts and

sciences. In sixty-four days and sixty-four nights, They learned all the necessary arts and sciences
required in human society. During the daytime They took lessons on a subject from the teacher,
and by nightfall They were expert in that department of knowledge. ” (Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, chapter 45)

Although elements of culture pervades all curriculum areas, there are specific cultural arts
that are part of Vedic and Vaishnava traditions organized in the curriculum.

7 Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta S. Amrita Vani – Nectarian Instructions or Imortality, Mumbai, 2004, p.315
8 Mookerji, Ancient India Education, p. XXVI
9 Morning Walk, Varṇāśrama College, March 14, 1974, Vṛndāvana
 At the Bhaktivedanta Academy, the sixty-four arts are taught as a part of social
development. They are also known as the lalita-kala, or fine arts, as they promote the finer
sentiments of a human being and assist in the refined, cultural interactions. Being the
practical application of Vedic sciences, they are an integral part of human life, however,
they are not stressed to the same degree as spiritual development, which is the most
important element of human existence.

In terms of the origin of the 64 arts it’s explained: the epitome of transcendental loving
exchanges is shared between Radha, Krishna and the residents of Vrndavana. These
pastimes are displayed through the medium of spiritual culture; which has the sixty-four
arts as ingredients of relationship. These arts have as their source Srimati Radharani, Who
is the reservoir of all spiritual arts and sciences. She trains the residents of Vrndavana how
to perform these activities to increase the transcendental pleasure of Sri Krishna.

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, residing in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha,
resembling His own spiritual figure, the embodiment of the ecstatic potency possessed of
the sixty-four artistic activities, in the company of Her confidantes [sakhis], embodiments
of the extensions of Her bodily form, permeated and vitalized by His ever-blissful spiritual
rasa.”10

The sixty-four arts cover those activities, which, if known, may assist one’s social
interactions (both with devotees and society at large). Therefore, these arts are beneficial
for the performance of devotional service for the pleasure of Sri Krsna.

Syllabus

The sixty-four arts can be categorized under sixteen main headings:

1. Music
2. Dance
3. Theatricals
4. Painting & Sculpturing
5. Cooking
6. Aesthetics (Arrangements & Decorations)
7. Language Arts
8. Recreation
9. Psychology
10. Mystic arts (Astrology)
11. Medicine (Health)
12. Technical Arts
13. Natural & Biological Sciences (Purana)
14. Horticulture

10 Sri Brahma Samhita, 5.37

15. Jewellery
16. Miscellaneous