musings 70

In good old days we used to learn things by trial and error, putting to effective use a lot of mental energy.. and that involved lots and lots of effort and even pain

If we examine the way Vedas were taught.. we will have some idea how tough it was for the initiates..

The various syllables and phonetic notations while chanting Vedas were to be synchronized with movement of head.. to keep the purity. and originality . and validation of the vocal delivery..

For this, the initiates would have their heads shaved except for a long tuft with a handful of hair..

The teacher would catch hold of this tuft, and pull up and down, and tilt the head of the young pupil to and fro, left and right, up and down, and the pressure of the pull would be in sync with the intonation..

The first few years of study for the boys was just deluged in tears and pain.. Traumatic indeed.

But once they get used to it it becomes great advantage.. the Vedas in their full dimensions would be embedded in the psyche of the student for ever..

Here, we want everything saralam or super easy .. and we want to give a running commentary on the process of our learning more than concentrating on our learning..

What a paradigm shift!