https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/across-campuses-a-crisis-of-philosophy/cid/1921909
This is a very sad state of affairs indeed in the same land where the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavath-Gita were written and have been cherished for centuries … and the same land where Vyasa, Gaudapada, Adi Sankara and Ramanujacharya were born, walked and philosophised …
I’d say the blame lies squarely on the way philosophy syllabus is set in our universities . And also the dull, uninspiring quality of faculty and teaching.
Philosophy is dry, abstract subject. But it’s so intellectually stimulating … as stimulating if not more than Mathematics. But a lousy teacher or professor can easily make the subject dreary and pedagogic if he or she is not a philosopher himself and cannot fire up the imagination or curiosity of students. To teach Philosophy well to students one must live as one .
The only way the subject of Philosophy … Indian Philosophy certainly… can be made to come alive and inspire young minds is to have it be taught by professional philosophers and not university professors or academicians. The Gurus, Acharyas, seers and pontiffs of the different Matham and sampradaayams in our country should come forward and volunteer to devote their personal time and organisational resources to training, interning or mentoring university students majoring in Philosophy. They would do a much better job than university dons in attracting young minds and intellects to take up the challenge of becoming great philosophers in life themselves.
In my personal world-view, an India that is proud of only its IT workers, hi-tech work-culture and automation or AI achievements would mean really nothing if it didn’t also have cause to feel equally proud of its philosophers of a new future generation.
Sudarshan Madabushi