There are invaluable treasures to be gained by studying the heritage of India which developed over several millennia. Emphasizing this point, Swami Vivekananda once said:
“For a complete civilization the world is waiting, waiting for the treasures to come out of India, waiting for the marvellous spiritual inheritance of that race, which, through decades of degradation and misery, the nation has still clutched to her breast. The world is waiting for that treasure; little do you know how much of hunger and of thirst there is outside of India for these wonderful treasures of our forefathers. We talk here, we quarrel with each other, we laugh at and we ridicule everything sacred, till it has become almost a national vice to ridicule everything holy. Little do we understand the heart-pangs of millions waiting outside the walls, stretching forth their hands for a little sip of that nectar which our forefathers have preserved in this land of India.”
It behoves us, therefore, to reverentially study the glorious spiritual and cultural heritage of India before distributing it to others. The vision of the School of Indian Heritage is to pursue and promote the study of the varied components of this heritage from a contemporary perspective and also to work out the practical applications of the lessons gained from this study in the present world.
At present, there is one department which functions under the school of Indian Heritage, namely, the Department of Sanskrit and Philosophy. The department offers a variety of degree programmes, such as integrated MA, M.Phil and PhD. The courses are mainly focused on the study of Sanskrit language and literature as well as the study of ancient texts. The main areas of research are Panini’s grammar and Advaita Vedanta.
Outside of this department, the school also organizes a series of certificate courses on topics connected to Indian spiritual heritage as well as in various aspects of Indian classical music. The courses on spiritual subjects are taught by monks of the Ramakrishna Order while music courses are taught by outside professionals and include both vocal and instrumental music.
Reports
- Comprehensive report of research activities of Dept. of Sanskrit and Philosophy (as on 15 July 2022)
- Research Activities On Yoga-Vedanta, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Philosophy Vis-À-Vis Western Philosophical Thought, etc. under the ‘Swami Abhedananda Chair’ for the period from 1 Dec 2021 To 15 Jul 2022
Various Units / Departments / Divisions under School of Indian Heritage:
- Department of Sanskrit and Philosophy
- Department of Ancient Indian Knowledge Traditions
- Division of Scientific Heritage
- Division of Spiritual Heritage
- Division of Cultural Heritage
- Division of Yoga Heritage
- Division of Sports Heritage
- Vivekananda Vedanta-Yoga-Adhyayana-Samshodhana-Alayam (Viveka-Vyasa), Vivekananda Centre for Vedanta and Yoga Study and Research
- Vivekananda Chaitanya-Tattwa-Anusandhana-Kendra (Viveka-Chatak), Vivekananda Centre For Consciousness Research