According to UNICEF, "Quality education is a child's right." In India, education is a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14, guaranteed by the Right to Education (RTE) Act. And Kerala offers one of the highest-quality and most equitable education systems in India.
According to Google, "The primary objective of quality education in India is to ensure the holistic development of every child, enabling them to acquire functional literacy, critical thinking, and essential life skills. It empowers children to break the cycle of poverty, secure meaningful employment, and become active, contributing members of a democratic society."
As one would notice, most of the above lead to material growth, which looks great on people. However, in reality, it can lead to disparities in wealth accumulation, over-consumption, affect the environment, cultural erosion, and slowly the "I" factor rises above the "We".
Hence the following FOUR 'BHAVAS' - to be cultivated ( or to be self-discovered) in a Child:
In the Indian scriptural tradition, a child's education is not limited to acquiring knowledge or skills. It is about cultivating bhāvas (inner attitudes, relationships, and ways of being) that help the individual grow into a balanced, compassionate, courageous, and spiritually aware human being.
The four bhāvas that are emphasized across the Vedas, Upanishads, Itihāsas, Purāṇas, Dharmaśāstras, and the Bhagavad Gītā are :
- Mātṛbhāva (Mother Principle) – The Foundation (Ādhāra) is the DHARMIC aspect of parenting (here DHARMA is defined as the COSMIC ORDER), which means cultivating the qualities represented by the mother—love, nurturing, compassion, security, care, gratitude, and emotional connectedness.
- Children learn:
✓ Unconditional love
✓ Compassion and empathy
✓ Trust and emotional security
✓ Kindness and service
✓ Gratitude for those who nurture life - Scriptural Sources :
✓ Taittirīya Upaniṣad (Śikṣāvallī): "Mātṛ Devo Bhava" — "Regard your mother as God."
✓ Mahābhārata: Repeatedly describes the mother as the child's first teacher and the highest object of reverence.
✓ Manusmṛti: Emphasizes the exalted place of the mother in a child's life.
- Children learn:
- Pitṛbhāva (Father Principle) – Courage, Strength, and Character, which means developing discipline, responsibility, courage, perseverance, integrity, leadership, and protection in the child.
- Children learn:
✓ Courage (Śaurya)
✓ Strength and vigor (Vīrya)
✓ Self-discipline
✓ Responsibility
✓ Duty (Dharma)
✓ Resilience in adversity - Scriptural Sources
✓ Bhagavad Gītā 2.3: Krishna urges Arjuna to abandon weakness and arise with courage.
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते । क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥ - "O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy."
✓ Bhagavad Gītā 3.19 & 18.47: Performing one's duty with dedication.
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर । असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरूषः ॥ - "Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme."
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥ - "It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one’s nature are never affected by sinful reactions."
✓ Rāmāyaṇa: Lord Rama exemplifies obedience, responsibility, courage, and righteous conduct.
- Children learn:
- Mitrabhāva (Spirit of Friendship) – Living with Society. This means developing healthy relationships with friends, relatives, neighbors, society, and all living beings.
- Children learn:
✓ Cooperation
✓ Respect for diversity
✓ Teamwork
✓ Friendship
✓ Social responsibility
✓ Compassion for all beings - Scriptural Sources
✓ Rig Veda 10.191: "Move together, speak together, let your minds be in harmony."
सं ग॑च्छध्वं॒ सं व॑दध्वं॒ सं वो॒ मनां॑सि जानताम् ।
✓ Maitrī Upaniṣad: Promotes friendship and harmony among beings.
✓ Yoga Sūtras (1.33): Patañjali recommends Maitrī (friendliness) as the first attitude for inner peace.
मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षणां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम्॥
✓ Mahā Upaniṣad: "Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam" — "The whole world is one family."
- Children learn:
- Ācāryabhāva / Īśvarabhāva (Teacher and Divine Principle), meaning reverence for wisdom, teachers, truth, learning, and ultimately the Divine present in all existence.
- Children learn:
✓ Humility
✓ Love for knowledge
✓ Self-inquiry
✓ Reverence for teachers
✓ Spiritual awareness
✓ Seeing the Divine in all beings - Scriptural Sources
✓ Taittirīya Upaniṣad: "Ācārya Devo Bhava" — "Regard your teacher as God."
✓ Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12): One should approach an enlightened teacher with humility to gain true knowledge.
परीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्मचितान् ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन । तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् ॥
✓ Bhagavad Gītā 4.34: "Approach the wise with humility, inquiry, and service; they will impart knowledge."
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥ - "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."
✓ Bhagavad Gītā 6.29: The realized person sees the Divine equally in all beings.
सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि । ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शन: ॥ - " A true yogī observes Me in all beings and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized person sees Me, the same Supreme Lord, everywhere."
- Children learn:
The Four Bhāvas Together
Together, these four bhāvas nurture the complete development of a child:
✓ Mātṛbhāva builds emotional security, love, and compassion.
✓ Pitṛbhāva develops courage, discipline, responsibility, and character.
✓ Mitrabhāva cultivates friendship, cooperation, social harmony, and respect for all.
✓ Ācāryabhāva / Īśvarabhāva awakens wisdom, humility, lifelong learning, and spiritual consciousness.
In the Indian worldview, education (śikṣā) is not merely the transmission of information but the formation of character. These four relationships—Mother, Father, Friend/Society, and Teacher/Divine—together prepare a child to become a compassionate individual, a responsible citizen, and a seeker of truth. They represent the harmonious integration of the emotional, moral, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of human life.