School Prayers

Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

Why do students pray before the teaching in the classes begins? Why do students of a school and the teacher(s) gather to pray the Almighty before learning Maths, Physics and literature etc.? When such questions are raised one is provoked to say that those who ask such questions are still in the quagmire of ignorance. Learning is not a mere commercial proposition where paid teachers and paying students are engaged in the knowledge enterprise. The modern world may believe that knowledge should be gained to equip oneself for a lucrative job for the ease of living in a competitive world. May be to make a resource person for the country’s development, to participate in the process of economic growth: But the primary aim of knowledge is to be a good human being to contribute towards the general well being of the society. Life is a challenge of uncertainties,  unforeseen situations and no one can be a winner. T.E.Huxley rightly said, one must be equipped with knowledge to play the game of life to the best of one’s capacity. And for this we must approach all knowledge and the learning process with humility. A prayer is an expression of humility and for that we must bow down before the unseen powers- call it God or anything – and seek divine help to learn the art of living through certain books which must be mediated by teachers. The Guru or the teacher is also revered as Brahman; the Guru is the refiner of the soul, the maker of personality. A prayer before the lessons begin, therefore is essential for the composed integrity of the mind.

In Military training too the supreme powers are invoked. A musician starts his alaap only after prayers- to a Guru or the Supreme Guru. Any learner in any discipline starts with a prayer which prepares the mind to concentrate and stay focused. Knowledge does not come easy. It necessitates hard work with a sense of surrender to the powers governing reality. Only for this reason, all over the world, schools begin the day with a prayer song. The language may be English, Sanskrit, Latin or any local language but the purpose is to learn with humility, for humility is the beginning of all knowledge. In all government and private schools prayer is almost mandatory.  There is nothing dictatorial or authoritarian about it. Learning is the most sacred human activity and the learner should submit to the Supreme Powers so that knowledge will dawn on the infields of ignorance.

In 2012 in all Central Schools in India a beautiful verse was introduced as a prayer song: Asatoman  Sadgamaya, Tamashoman Jyotirgamaya, Mryturiman Amritamgamaya ,Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. It means to reach the truth, moving away from untruth, To move towards light away from darkness and To move towards immortality from mortality.  This alone will lead us to the roots of the universe. Om, (AUM) means the three stages of man's reality and those of the universe; the Awakened state, the Dream state and the Sleeping state. Knowledge of the Om will lead to the peace of mind and also of the universe. The Central Schools have wisely chosen this from the Mandukya Upanishad for generations of students as prayer before they settle down to classwork.

But sadly or unfortunately a PIL has now been filed at the Supreme Court of India seeking its removal, citing the constitutional provisions, as it interferes with the freedom of non Hindus. This is ignorance of the worst kind. Sanskrit is a store house of poetry, philosophy and wisdom.  Sanskrit is much above Hinduism or any sectarian faith. This prayer is not religious nor does it have anything to do with religion of any kind. This is wisdom, pure and simple. But the saddest thing is the Supreme Court of India instead of rejecting it has decided to constitute a Constitution Bench to examine its validity. When T.S. Eliot in his Nobel Prize winning work The Waste Land used Om Shanti Shanti Shanti, no one in the English speaking world raised objection of any kind. Eliot has enriched his poem by borrowing from Indian Wisdom. But in India the source of this wisdom, is now facing a legal challenge. We have no other better example of irony than this!

Dharma is the most misconstrued word in India because of the minorities who always contest anything that extols the majority community. But the greatness of India’s culture should transcend such contestations. There is nothing comparable with India’s wisdom contained in the Sanskrit language. The computers use Sanskrit grammar and all over the world the wisdom and philosophy of India is admired. Such controversies raised in the name of certain misinterpreted constitutional provisions should not vitiate the sacred atmosphere of the schools.