Isha Samskriti : Building a strong generation

It was June 8, 2014. We were at the Isha Samskriti premises with our 7-year-old daughter, waiting for her turn to enter the gurukul. Soon, a young volunteer walked in and led my daughter inside. I thought she would look back and bid me good bye, but she didn't. There was literally no looking back!

Like every parent, we wanted the best for our child. By the time our girl was 5 years of age, she was in her fourth school. We changed schools every year despite the financial implications.

During our childhood, both me and my husband had faced rigorous academic regimes and burnt ourselves in the cut-throat competition. We did not want our child to go through the unbearable rigour of this rat race.

We wanted her to blossom to her fullest potential, not just earn better grades than her peers. We wanted our daughter to retain the inquisitiveness of childhood but acquire the wisdom to handle any of life's challenges. We wanted to provide her an opportunity to craft her own life the way she saw fit.

Isha Samskriti had the answer for all that we wanted for our child. Since it is a gurukul that seeks a commitment of 10-12 years of a child's life, and because of the supportive environment they provide to each child, Samskriti can grant admission to a very limited number of children every year. But with immense luck and grace, she got selected for Samskriti.

At Samskriti, the students' day starts at 4:45 AM every day with the Guru Pooja - a chant in Sanskrit that is an invitation to the divine. Their mornings are filled with Yoga and Kalaripayattu practices, followed by a healthy, delicious and sumptuous breakfast. They have fruits, porridge, pulses, soaked and boiled cereals, ground nuts, energy snacks made of millets, jaggery, ghee etc. The day continues with lessons on various other subjects and practices, with another Yoga session in the evening, then dinner before winding up the day at 8:45 PM.

When my daughter finished her first term (a period of six months), we were waiting with bated breath to take her home for her vacation. It is a 3-week period which usually disappears in a jiffy!

When she got home and started telling us about her school, I understood how much she enjoyed every aspect of her schooling. I asked her, "What shall I make for breakfast?" She humbly requested, "Is it possible to make the yummy milk kanji (porridge) they make at the Yoga Center please?"

And surprise, surprise, she was no longer finicky about what was served to her. She ate even the curry leaves that she always pushed aside earlier. "Food is to be eaten not wasted," she said. This was a huge transformation from the picky eater that she used to be.

With great joy she spoke of the moments the students spend with Sadhguru. She also demonstrated some music notes and dance steps that she learnt, and recited Sanskrit slokas and chantswith a great deal of precision.

At Isha Samskriti the students learn Yoga, traditional music, Bharata Natyam, Kalaripayattu and Sanskrit, along with English, Tamil, Maths and Science. They also study Agriculture, where the students are given a small piece of land to develop as their own "agri bed".

Each child learns all these subjects ather/his own pace and is never made to rush to match the speed of others.

At the end of her first vacation, I gave her an option, "You can still choose to stay with us and go to the earlier school or continue in Samskriti!" Her reply came in an instant, "Take me back there. My vacation is over!"

Before my daughter joined Samskriti, she was under-weight and used to fall ill frequently. But at Samskriti, her health stablized, her immunity levels improved, and we noticed a steady increase in her weight and stamina.

As years passed, we were quite astonished by the clarity in her thought process and straightforwardness in her approach towards life's circumstances. We were seeing an uncluttered intelligence blossom in her.

After 4 years of going through all the art forms of learning, Samskriti students are given an option to specialize in any 3 subjects. Most often the children choose by themselves, sometimes their teachers help them in the selection process.

My daughter opted for Yoga, Siddha, Dance and Sanskrit. Later, she also opted for Arts (drawing, painting). I asked her how she wanted to earn her living. She gave a very clear answer, "Let me learn first. I will decide on that when the time comes."

The best part of Samskriti is that each child strives to excel in whatever he/she does. There is no pressure from parents or from peers. The child is supported by her fellow pupils, teachers and brahmacharis (monks) who take care of the children. They instill a sense of responsibility without pampering them. Last year, our daughter became a teenager. Teenage life comes with its challenges. The independence a teen longs for and the responsibility that comes along with, can be quite tricky to handle. Not just my child, most kids I interacted with at Samskriti are able to handle the transition gracefully and quickly settle down. I remember how as a young adult, I was driven by compulsions and insecurity. Instead, my daughter shared this thought - "Mom, Sadhguru told us that compulsions can be overcome by being conscious." Now for a mother, that was an "Aha" moment!

As they grow up and turn into young adults, they go through rigorous practices. Once, she shared with pride, "For the Yoga Day celebrations, we did 108 Surya Namaskars. After I did it, I felt so fresh and energetic that I wanted to push myself to keep doing it frequently."

This January, her batch of students went through a 21-day Yoga Utsav. She was excited when she shared her experience: "These 21 days made me realize how Hatha Yoga can calm me down. I don't get annoyed by things that happen around me. I fell in love with breath watching and it is amazing. I am aware of so many things that happen within me. I don't let external situations bother me." By the time they reach 18/19 years of age, they would have specialized in one primary subject and one secondary subject. With that kind of specialization, these children could choose to become experts in their field. For the knowledge and life skills they gained, earning is no longer a cause for concern. Sadhguru says these children are not for the University but for the Universe. Samskriti children, wherever they are, in their own way will strive to make a conscious world. They are the seeds for the future generations!