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  • Aruddha devi dasi (aruddha108@yahoo.com) and her husband Anantarupa dasa are both disciples of H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami. They began practicing Krishna consciousness in Chicago in the early 1980's, and started the ISKCON Temple in
    Boise, USA, in 1986 as a small weekly program in their home. Now twenty years later there is a beautiful mid-size Vedic temple for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Bankebihari. Aruddha and Anantarupa home-schooled their children and ran
    the Govinda’s restaurant in Boise for 6 years. Her older son, Radhika Raman Das (Dr. Ravi Gupta), holds a Ph.D in Hinduism from Oxford University in England. He entered Boise State University at the age of 13, where he completed dual
    B.A. degrees in Philosophy and Mathematics with highest honors. He also wrote the "India's Heritage" column for Back to Godhead for several years. He is now Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William and Mary, and his first book, The Caitanya Vaishnava Vedanta of Jiva Goswami,  has been published by Routledge, a reputable academic press. Gopal Hari Das (Gopal Gupta) is currently working towards his Ph.D in Science and Religion at Oxford University. He entered Boise State University at the age of 12 where he completed a bachelors and masters degree in Electrical Engineering with highest honors. Currently, Aruddha is traveling to various temples in North America and doing weekend seminars on homeschooling. She also runs a Yahoo group on the Internet for devotee parents interested in homeschooling their children www.krishnahomeschool.com

  • Homeschooling

    Dear Devotees, Prabhupada said there are two things that are great blessings for anyone. To have the guidance of a spiritual master and to be born in a family of devotees . For our purpose let us examine the second blessing. Great spiritual stalwarts such as Pariksit Maharaj, Yuddhisthira Maharaj, Mirabai and Uddhava and our own Srila Prabhupada had the great fortune to be born in a family of devotees and thereby receive good training from their early childhood.
    Srila Prabhupada writes in Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.15
    “By the grace of Lord Shri Krishna, we had the chance of being born in a Vaishnava family, and in our childhood we imitated the worship of Lord Krishna by imitating our father.... Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaishnava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaishnava father, Thakura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaishnava families. The celebrated Mirabay was a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna as the great lifter of Govardhana Hill."

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  • Why we Homeschooled our Children?

    When my two sons, Radhika Raman and Gopal Hari, turned five I enrolled them in a private school, hoping for wonderful results. They studied there for the first two years of their schooling. Besides looking after their academic education, I really wanted to train them to be good devotees. I wanted to read them stories from the Krishna book and Srimad Bhagavatam and teach them how to play mrdanga. I thought I would do these things after they came home from school. But very soon I was disappointed because I realized that there was no time. When they came home they were tired and it was difficult to get them into a devotional frame of mind. Also I had to spend so much time undoing what they had already learnt in school.

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  • Basic principles of Krishna Conscious Homeschooling

    Home schooling should be a part of a Krishna conscious lifestyle, not that Krishna consciousness is one aspect of home schooling.
    A Krishna conscious lifestyle should be the focus of homeschooling. We should be inspired to raise our children as good devotees instead of focusing only on their scholarly achievements. Srila Prabhupada's books are of a very high caliber, and so if we base our curriculum on his books, academic achievement will naturally follow.
    What does this Krishna conscious lifestyle for children really mean? Prabhupada explains this very simply.

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  • An Alternative to Nondevotional Schooling

    Hundreds of Krsna conscious centers now dot the world, and sincere devotees live in thousands of other communities. Still, ISKCON has only about thirty schools for all its children. In previous columns, I've talked about some of the reasons for our slow development in education, as well as plans for growth. But talk of the future does little for parents who must address the need for Krsna conscious schooling today.

    Many parents have given up hope of finding a Krsna conscious school for their children and are sending them to nondevotee schools. Judging from letters I receive, quite a few parents find this solution unsatisfying. I don't blame them.

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  • Homeschooling in the Early Years

    Children up to the age of five are strongly influenced by the behavior and habits of their parents and elders at home and tend to imitate or soak in whatever they hear or see around them. These years are laying their foundation and one can almost predict their future caliber as adults based on their training during these crucial five years. We have many examples within ISKCON of children who were raised in a Krishna conscious environment from the very beginning of their lives and are now a source of inspiration for all. On the other hand, children who are raised in non-devotional atmosphere with television and computer games for their association tend to continue doing these things in their later life.

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  • Homeschooling from ages 5 to 10

    Children's formal education begins when they are five years old. For most of us, until we came under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada, education meant finding reputable schools with good academics. Good academic study meant good jobs, sufficient money and comfortable family life. However, Prabhupada has now changed our whole thinking process. He is challenging us to think more deeply about what real education is. In a lecture in Vrndavan in 1976 he said:

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  • Purity is the Force

    Srila Prabhupada gave us a wonderful motto: Books are the basis, purity is the force, preaching is the essence and utility is the principle.  Let us see how we can incorporate these principles into our home schooling.

    There are many things we can do within the home to make it pure and conducive to learning for our children. For example we can have an altar with Deities so that they can be the center of our lives, we can engage in good spiritual sound vibration such as chanting of the maha mantra, we can always cook and honor prasadam, and we can associate always with like-minded devotees. While we introduce these auspicious things in our home we should also be careful to avoid certain things that destroy this purity and pollute the body and mind.
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  • Morning Program

    An enthusiastic daily morning program at home is very important when we are home schooling our children.We are all creatures of habit and if we inculcate good spiritual discipline in children they will maintain it throughout their adult life. Also, there is great benefit to starting the day with remembering the Lord, chanting his holy name and reading His books. The mind becomes peaceful and happy so that they can think intelligently about spiritual matters. The morning program will help control their restless minds and reduce misbehavior among them. If we do this with sincerity and faith and maintain the mood of Krishna consciousness throughout the day, we can actually have little saints running around the house - naughty, just like children are, but often times in a transcendental way.
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  • Deity Worship for Children

                                                                                                                                               
    An important element in preparing the home for the home schooled child is the introduction of Deity worship. Deity worship is essential in the education and training of our children because it trains the mind to focus on Krishna, and to be clean and punctual. Bhaktivinoda Thakur said in Jaiva Dharma: 
    '    The religions which have no provision for Deity worship face the danger that those children born into the religion and those just beginning spiritual     life - both of whom may have little or no understanding, or deep faith in Godhead - may become overtly materialistic and even develop aversion towards the Supreme Lord as a result of the absence of a Deity form upon which to fix their minds. Therefore, Deity worship is the foundation of religion for general humanity."

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  • Good Association

    There is a saying that 'Example is better than precept.'  Even though in the Krishna conscious movement we follow both, Prabhupada often stressed the importance of good example over precept. He explained that if one cannot show by example then the precept has little value.
    “Unless one is firmly convinced about Krishna Consciousness, I don't think the children will learn properly from such a person. Whatever the elder members are doing, the children should do if possible. But for teaching the teachers themselves should be fixed up initiated devotees, otherwise how the children can get the right information and example?"
    According to the Vedic system, the teacher must not only be learned about spiritual matters but also good in character. Therefore parents who are home schooling their children must also follow the four regulative principles namely no gambling, intoxication, meat eating and illicit sex and be initiated devotees or aspiring to be initiated. Why?

     

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  • Teaching Our Children to Eat Only Prasadam

    Another thing we can do within the home to make it pure and conducive to learning for our children is honoring only prasadam and avoiding all unoffered foods cooked by non-devotees.
    Lord Caitanya, the yuga avatar for this age of Kali, emphasized the chanting of the holy name as the only means of achieving love of God in this age of Kali. Unlike other incarnations that came to annihilate demons this most merciful form of the Lord used instead a secret weapon to subdue the demoniac mentality in this age.
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  • The Scriptures are the Basis of Homeschooling

    Srila Prabhupada said that from the very beginning, the children should be taught Sanskrit and English, so that they can read all of his books. Then they would become more than M.A. and Ph.D. level because the knowledge in these books is so advanced. They would be well educated, happy, satisfied and even go back home, back to Godhead.
    Srila Prabhupada specifically encouraged reading Srimad Bhagavam in his Gurukula schools for the children. This is evident in numerous lectures. In 1974, in a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam (1.16.22), Srila Prabhupada confirmed that the Bhagavatam would equip any child to know every subject matter in the world. They would need nothing else. Please read the following quote carefully.

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  • Writing

    Srila Prabhupada encouraged all his followers to write. He said that this would be chanting (kirtanam) because it is repeating what one has learned from his books. It is also preaching, because it encourages others to take to Krishna consciousness.

    'And our men, all our men should write. Otherwise how we shall know that he has understood the philosophy? Writing means Sravanam kirtanam. Sravanam means hearing from the authority and again repeat it.'
    Srila Prabhupada said that anyone who has heard attentively about Krishna will be able to write. He may not be scholarly but his books will be accepted because they are based on authoritative sources. In contrast, he said, writing by scholarly non-devotees is of no value, but only a jugglery of words.

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  • How to Teach Sanskrit, Music and Rote in Homeschooling

    Srila Prabhupada wanted our children to learn English and Sanskrit so that they could study his books deeply. In a Srimad Bhagavatam lecture in 1974 he said:
    "Our students specifically, they should take care of reading Srimad-Bhagavatam. We have therefore prescribed in our school, Dallas, that let them simply learn Sanskrit and English, because English translation they will be able to read, and the Sanskrit verses are there. And from the very beginning, if they begin education with Bhagavad-gita and then comes to Srimad-Bhägavatam and reads the whole literature, then they will be more than M.A., Ph.D. More than. The knowledge will be so advanced.”

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  • Preaching is the Essence

    Through preaching, children gain a greater understanding of the philosophy and their faith in Krishna becomes stronger. This is because they have to articulate their own experience of Krishna consciousness in a way that makes sense to others. They have to answer questions, respond to arguments, and sometimes deal with challenges. Skills such as public speaking, marketing, debate, interpersonal communication, and conflict management are taught in many schools and colleges. Yet, by preaching, the devotee child automatically learns all these skills.
    Conducting preaching programs in schools--first K - 12 and then universities--was a significant and effective part of our home schooling. Here is how we went about it...

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  • Discipline in Home Schooling

    Many parents have asked me this question: “How did you discipline your children? How do you motivate them to learn?”

    Srila Prabhupada’s formula for discipline was love. He said that if we can get the children to obey through love then that is better than force or punishment. If there is love and trust between the parents and the children, then automatically the children will obey because they want to please their parents. Of course the center of that love is Krishna and when we serve Krishnatogether, a spiritual bond is established in the family which is much more powerful than the material bonds we already possess. Srila Prabhupada said in a letter, “So similarly, if we train children by developing and encouraging their propensity to love Krishna, then we shall be successful in educating them to the topmost standard. Then they shall always very happily agree to do whatever you ask them.” (Letter, 1972)

     

     


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  • Social Life for Home Schooled Children

    By Krishna's arrangement twenty years ago we found ourselves in Boise, Idaho with no temple or devotee association. Thus, we decided to start a center so that gradually we could develop good association.

    Initially it was hard to find good friends for our children. Most of the congregation members at the time ate meat or eggs and watched television. However, there was one South Indian family who were Sri Vaishnavas, and they did not eat meat, eggs, or onions. Our children would play with their two sons, occasionally spending a night at their house or inviting them over to our house. They played games together and sometimes practiced dramas for festivals. Besides these two friends, they had several casual friends who came to the Sunday feast.

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  • Krishna Consciousness of Parents - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    The strength behind any gurukula or home schooling is the teacher. Srila Prabhupada therefore emphasized the importance of good Krishna consciousness among all his teachers. In a letter to disciple he wrote:

    “If Aniruddha is shaky in his Krishna Consciousness, how he can teach the children? Unless one is firmly convinced about Krishna Consciousness, I don't think the children will learn properly from such a person. Other experienced teachers may be called from other centers if they are required, that you should discuss with them.”

     

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  • Raising Kids, Home Schooling

    I recently attended Mother Aruddha and Radhika Raman's (her son, who has PhD from Oxford University at age 23) seminar on homeschooling. It was very inspiring for me and my 10 year old. They gave so many practical ideas. They explained so vividly that it does not matter if you are homeschooling or not, kids learn most from parents. I truly wish I had attended such seminar 10 years ago. Anyways, please forward this information to parents/devotees who may benefit... There is also a DVD of this seminar. I believe some parents started homeschooling after they watched this DVD.

    Your Aspiring Servant
    Nisha
     

  • Festivals - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    As a child Srila Prabhupada showed great eagerness to celebrate festivals. He once spoke of his efforts to celebrate Rathayatra.

     

    “When I was five or six years old, any carpenter I saw I would ask him why don’t you make a Rathayatra cart for me. ‘Yes, why not,’ they would say. I would have my father take me to the carpenter shop, but none of them would make it. One old lady saw me crying on the street because I could not have the Rathayatra cart built. She asked my father why is he crying and my father explained because he wants a Rathayatra cart but no carpenter is making it. I have got one, said the old lady, and my father purchased it from her. He bought oil paint for me and I painted. I was also preparing fireworks for the occasion. I saw little books how to do it.”

    other articles by Aruddha Devi Dasi

     

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  • Vacations and Holidays - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    Travel was an important aspect of our homeschooling life. A major advantage of homeschooling was that I could teach my children throughout the summer and go to India during Kartik or in the winter when the weather is more pleasant. Since we were running a preaching center, my husband and I would travel to India separately so that one person could look after the temple. We took them to India every year to visit their grandparents and stay in the holy dhama for
    some time. This trip was the highlight of their year. Needless to say, they sometimes got sick during the visit but that was a small price to pay compared to what they gained both materially and spiritually. When they were very young, they would fall sick easily and so we would stay in the dhama only for a few days. But as they grew older, starting from about eight years old, we stayed in Mayapur and Vrndavan longer.

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  • Are Restrictions Good for Our Children? Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    Sometimes parents express doubts or concerns about placing so many restrictions on children, such as no television, unoffered food, or mundane parties. Are these restrictions healthy for a child? Will they make him or her resentful?
    Some restrictions, we all agree, are good for children. We know, for example,
    that restricting children from playing with matches or eating before brushing their teeth is good for them. We also know that children, if allowed, will play all day but we need to restrict their play time so that they can be educated.
    Just as these material restrictions are necessary to keep a sound mind and healthy body, similarly spiritual rules and regulations are necessary to keep the soul happy. We are minute spirit souls, part and parcel of Krishna, and our happiness lies in reviving our lost relationship with Him. No amount of material assets can make us happy.

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  • How to Deal with Adult Topics in the Srimad Bhagavatam - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    If the children were to go to karmi school and watch television there are two things that they would be exposed to, namely sex and violence, and we all know what that exposure can do to young, impressionable minds. Whether or not we read the Bhagavatam, all children will ask these questions. But through the Bhagavatam they see a different perspective – sex for a higher purpose, for producing God-conscious children.

    In the Bhagavatam there are many references to sex life, but all of them recommend sex only according to religious principles - for procreation . We have many examples of personalities who produced exalted children due to proper use of sex life. For example, the progenitors such as Daksa and Kasyapa Muni produced thousands of children in order to populate the earth. The Bhagavatam does not view sex negatively; rather it shows how to use everything in Krishna's service.

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  • Studying History through Srimad Bhagavatam - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    While home schooling my children through the scriptures I did not realize the effect that such schooling would have on them until they grew up and started to present this philosophy to others as well as practice it themselves. Needless to say, the study of Srimad Bhagavatam had a powerful and positive effect on them. Besides giving them spiritual benefit, character development and strong faith, it also educated them in a variety of subject areas. In this article I will try to explain why it is good to study key subjects through the Bhagavatam before regular books are introduced to children. Here, I will focus on the subject of history.

    Acquiring information is not the main challenge of our times. Far more important and difficult is ascertaining the source of information, evaluating it critically, deciding what is useful and then presenting it with one’s own realizations. A student who can do this is considered intelligent and educated. The study of Srimad Bhagavatam gives one such an education.

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  • Playing for Krishna - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    Srila Prabhupada wanted our children to play games that would enhance their Krishna consciousness. He was not in favor of any toys or games that would lead to forgetfulness of Krishna. He wanted us to utilize our children’s playful tendencies by encouraging them to re-enact Krishna’s pastimes, by becoming Mother Yasoda or Nanda Baba, cowherd boys in the forest, or demons such as Aghasura attacking Krishna. For indoor play, Prabhupada preferred that children improvise with household items such as bowls and spoons, as children have done for centuries, rather than using modern, artificial toys. He also disliked games that supercharge the child’s brain and put him or her in an excessively anxious state. Srila Prabhupada writes, “Not that we shall give them many games for playing, these so-called scientific methods of learning are artificial,
    unnecessary, and on the whole I do not have much trust in this Montessori system or any other such system of teaching. Your idea for having altars to train the children in Deity worship is very nice.” (Leter to Satyabhama 1972)

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  • Teaching Children Science from the Vedic Perspective - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

    A mother recently asked me: "Can we teach children about soul, karma and dying?" Can they really understand all this? Isn't it too morbid for them?
     We have many examples in our scriptures of children who have become pure devotees just by hearing transcendental knowledge. A good example is Prahlada Maharaja who received transcendental knowledge while he was in his mother's womb. Similarly Dhruva Maharaja saw Lord Narayana face to face when he was a mere child after receiving instructions from Narada Muni. Knowledge about the soul is not dependent on material factors such as intelligence, age, race or gender. We can directly experience this with our own children. They are naturally attracted to chanting and dancing and stories of Krishna if we give them the right environment. They may not yet be able to understand the complex aspects of Krishna conscious philosophy but they can understand simple concepts such as the presence of the soul in every living body.

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  • Children and the Holy Name - Aruddha Devi Dasi on Homeschooling

     

    Recently I was asked to speak on the theme of "Children and the Holy Name." I was excited about the topic; after all, isn't this the essence of our children's education? Krishna and the holy name are non-different and in the age of Kali He incarnates as the holy name to make it easier for us to approach Him. The scriptures say that Kali-yuga is full of quarrel, hypocrisy, anxiety and temptation, and thus it is difficult to approach the Lord through the processes of meditation, temple worship, sacrifice, etc.-methods that were easier in the previous ages.

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  • A new book by Aruddha dd

    Many devotee parents are finding that traditional schools do not offer a spiritually nourishing environment for their children, and an increasig number are choosing to homeschool. This guide help you instillin your children strong Krishna conscious values while giving them a solid academic education.

     

    http://blservices.com/homeschooling-krishna-s-children