Historical and Contemporary Significance

Medha Gurukulam operating out of a modest house located in the vibrant neighbourhood of Nanganallur in Chennai is presently one of the primary ones that offer Shastraik studies in the traditional method in Tamil Nadu. Despite its humble appearance, the aspiration of this Gurukulam, which was started in 2021 by Sri Ramaswamy Iyer, is extremely significant and worthy of being spoken about.

Bharatiya society has always valued and placed knowledge above material wealth. Of all forms of knowledge, the pursuit of learning the Vedas and Shastras is held in the highest reverence since these are the founts of dharma that can sustain and ensure the well-being of creation and thereby, of man. Erstwhile kings and rulers ensured protection to those who dedicated their lives to the study of Vedas and Shastras. Long durations of invasions, colonisation, political unrest and continued slavishness after political independence took a heavy toll on the society’s ability to materially support the preservation and propagation of knowledge. There were losses along the way and some knowledge got lost but the scholars braved all odds to their might to ensure that the study of the Vedas and Shastras continued into the early decades after independence.

Independence from British rule did not result in the establishment Bharatiya rule. Only the people in power changed, not the rules or the systems and this was favourable for foreign ideologies to take root and establish themselves in the society. The psychological warfare waged by the vested interests strengthened post-independence and  has perhaps been the most potent destroyer of our society’s ethos in recent history. Societal upheavals resulted in the number of students opting to study Vedas and Shastras becoming critically low.

At that time, due to the efforts of the Kanchi Paramacharya, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami and others, the study of Vedas was revived. Under the circumstances, preserving the Vedas was the first step.  As an outcome of this, in recent years, there has been an increase in Veda pathasalas with an increase in the number of students who, in turn, started running more pathasalas.

In the meantime, however, the number of students studying the Shastras further dwindled causing a shortage in the number of Gurus; the situation in this sphere has become threateningly critical. At present, there are barely a few hundred scholars when totalled across all the shastras in the country.

What are Vedik and Shastraik studies and how they are different from each other?

Vedas are what are called ‘shruti’ or ‘that which is heard’: they have been given to us by rishis who attained superlative levels of evolution. The Vedas are at the core of Sanatana Dharma. The Vedas are compiled into four: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.

Studying the Vedas is meant to preserve the content of the Vedas which are immutable; they are learnt through the oral tradition that has ensured that they are retained in their pristine form over many millennia. However, several shakhas (recensions) of the four Vedas have been lost down the ages. Along with the Upanishads, Samhitas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas which are sub-divisions of Vedic studies, we have the Itihasas, Puranas and Dharmashastras which are rooted in the Vedas. Even the least literate Hindu is aware – to a lesser or greater extent – of the Itihasas, Puranas and Dharmashastras as they play an integral role in everyday life. These are the practical versions of Vedic knowledge which have helped our society to sustain and thrive despite all odds through generations. Therefore, preserving the Vedas, which is the fount of all dharmic knowledge is imperative.

Those who study the Vedas perform the primary duty of preserving them for future generations. They do not necessarily have the ability to understand or interpret the content. For this, studying the Shastras is essential. The term ‘shastra’ means ‘instruction’. Shastras are treatises on various subjects. Specific shastras are directly related to the study and interpretation of the Vedas. These include, among others, Vyakarana (grammar), Nyaya (Logic) and Vedanta (the essence of the Vedas) which are currently studied at Medha Gurukulam. Mimamsa (interpretation) is yet another shastram that Medha intends to offer in the coming days.

It was the time when the world was suffering due to the onslaught of the COVID pandemic but work had to continue. Sri Ramaswamy Iyer, an IT professional and devotee of Kanchi Mutt, was inspired by the Paramacharya of Kanchi to start a Gurukulam for shastraik studies. He, accordingly, met two of the country’s most authoritative scholars in the Shastras, Brahmashri Devadatta Patil of Goa and Mahamahopadhyaya  Mani  Dravid Shastrigal. With their guidance, in December 2021 he started Medha Gurukulam which focussed primarily on the study of Shastras.

The Gurukulam started with one acharya, Tarka Ratnam Dattanubhav to teach Nyaya Shastram to one student and the situation remained so for about six months. The time was used to make plans on how to take things forward. After six months, Acharya Vyakarana Ratnam Vidyadheesh came to Medha the second field of study, Vyakarana, was started. Even as the Acharyas continued to take care of the students at the fledgling Gurukulam, they had to also look into the admission process for the new applicants. At the end of the first year, Vedanta studies were also started. Now, for the three shastras, there are two or three batches of students who have enrolled online. Today, there are three different shastras that are studied by thirteen residential students at Medha Gurukulam.

The pandemic period also turned out to be one of experimentation. For the very first time, the study of the Shastras was offered online by Medha. Several students enrolled for these from across the globe.

Many of them expressed happiness at having access to this knowledge and system of teaching. At present, there are about fifty students who are studying online.

Admission as a resident student to Medha Gurukulam between the ages of 12 to 16. Since the study of the Shastras requires some amount of analytical ability, the minimum age limit is higher than that of Veda pathasalas where students are normally taken in from the age of 7 onwards. Being from various parts of the country and having to study texts in Sanskrit, the students converse in Sanskrit at the Gurukulam. Though the student may start without knowledge of Sanskrit, they pick up the spoken language within weeks of staying at the Gurukulam.

In the case of those who are enrolling for online sessions, the Gurukulam expects prior knowledge of spoken Sanskrit. There is no age limit for these students.

Though many show interest in learning the shastras, they are evaluated whether they are cut out for such rigorous study. The admission process involves interviews and if they are found eligible, they are given admission to the Gurukulam.

The student opts to study one Shastra initially. This typically takes 6 to 7 years. Until then, they are not allowed to switch or add another Shastra. Once they complete to the Guru’s satisfaction, they may study more. For the Shastras that they study after this, the time taken would be less as the fundamentals would be already covered by the student.

The traditional methods used at Medha Gurukulam aim at creating scholars of the highest calibre. The scholars’ target is to crack the gruelling and highly acclaimed Pareekshas held at Tenali (Andhra Pradesh) and Ahilyanagar (erstwhile Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra) which have several levels of testing held in order to recognise top-notch scholars in Shastras.

In order to enable students to appear for degree courses after studies at Medha, taking examinations conducted by NIOS is facilitated.