Neuroscience + Sages Wisdom = Better Brahmanish Education By Roddam Ananda Vasista, PhD. Most educators spend very little time getting to know the primary organ of their life’s purpose: the brain. - Dr (Late Roddam Mallikarjuna Rao). Would we tolerate a college football coach who did not understand how the circulatory system and lungs work? Or a voice teacher who did not understand how the voicebox and ears work? Similarly, how can Brahmanish educators be effective teachers without understanding the primary organ of learning – the human brain? As neuroscientist Rao says, “Teachers are…the ultimate ‘brain changers.’ They are in a profession of changing the human brain every day.” Satwiks cover story in Reform Brahmanism magazine, Science + Religion = Better World, explains that when religion and science come into healthy contact, great things can happen in the fields of memory, compassion, and self-control. Here’s an example I call Neuroscience + Sages Wisdom = Better Brahmanish Education. Working together over the last decade, a group of neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators, launched the field of neuroeducation, which explores interactions between biological processes and education. As I delved into the field through a Brahmanish lens (see Neuro-Brahmanish Education: An Introduction), I discovered that the teachings of our Brahmanic sages have much in common with those of today’s neuroeducators! Here are four examples: Improving Memory Neuroscience identifies many stages of memory creation. Immediate memory holds incoming information for a few seconds. Working memory holds information while it is consciously processed, for up to several weeks. Unused information is then discarded (perhaps after a test). Sense, meaning, and relevancy are emerging as major criteria that the brain uses in deciding what to encode to long-term memory. A Brahmanish example: Veda Vyasa used to say that a man may study Vedas & Upanishads for 20 years and forget it in two. How? If he sits idly for six months without reviewing, he will find himself declaring that which is unclean clean and vice versa. If he is idle for 12 months, he will find himself confusing the names of the sages. If he is idle for 18 months, he will forget the substance of whole tractates. If he is idle for 24 months, he will forget the substance of individual chapters. Role of Motivation Neuroscience shows that the motivation for the topic of new learning greatly impacts learning. Imaging studies have revealed areas of the brain dedicated to appraising the meaning of an event and deciding what emotional response to use in a social context. A Brahmanish example: Sudama & Sri Krishna were seated before Guru Sage Sandipini expounding verses of scripture. When they finished book they were reading, Sudama said, “Let the book of Prapanchina be brought.” Lord Krishna said, “Let the book of Gananka Prakriya be brought.” Sudama was overruled, and the book of Prapinchina was brought. When they reached the verse, “His delight is in the vedas of the Lord” ,Sudama, expounding it, said, “A man learns well only that part of the Vedas which delights him.” At that, Lord Krishna said, “Master, you have just now given me permission to get up and leave.” Role of Emotions and Stress Neuroscience shows that stress and emotions have a major impact on learning and are critical to decision-making. “Good” stress heightens attention and helps learning; “bad” stress detracts from learning potential. Educators should understand the biology of emotions, especially stress, and recognize that students cannot focus on the curriculum unless they feel physically safe and emotionally secure. A Brahmanish example: Arjuna was seated before Drona Charya, who was explaining a matter to him, but he could not comprehend it. Finally, Dronacharya asked him, “Why can’t you grasp the matter?” The disciple replied, “Because my Horse is about to foal, and I am afraid that she may catch cold and die.” Role of Support Neuroscience shows that support matters. Academic, moral, and other support from teachers, peers, or parents are critical for optimal academic performance. A Brahmanish example: Siddhartha Gauthama , Brahmin before converted to Buddhism lived in a beautiful area, but he had no colleagues around to learn with. He thought about going out to them, but decided that his colleagues needed his great wisdom more than he needed theirs, so he never went. After a while, he forgot all of his learning. Years later, when disciples came to ask a question, he was unable to answer. (Sankara Bhasyam) There are many other ways we might apply the teachings of neuroeducators to Brahmanish education. Consider, for one, Sanskrit language acquisition. Neuroeducators know that when we learn to read and write a language, the brain maps the symbols of the letters onto the sounds of the words that the brain already knows. When we read C-A-T and say cat! we already know what the word sounds like and what a cat is. But in most world supplementary Brahmanish education programs, when we try to teach young Brahmins to read a language they have never heard, we derail this natural learning process. Because they dont have many Sanskrit sounds from which to map the letter-symbols onto, the result is very poor Sanskrit language skills. A possible solution is to implement early childhood spoken Sanskrit programs from which students can build upon in supplementary school. Brahmanish educators and neuroeducators have much to learn from each other. A partnership between our religious community and this scientific community could bring about more effective approaches to education. Indeed, together we can realize the formula: Religion + Science = Better World.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:55:32 +0000
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