Indian Philosophy for Young Beginners

The push for IKS will be more meaningful if its crowning jewel is taught in schools – but in a creative way.Indian Philosophy for Young Beginners (Representative pic from Pexels) In Katha Upanishad, when Yama grants him boons, Nachiketa seeks, among other things, knowledge leading to enlightenment—what we now call philosophy. For a boy to probe existence and death is not unusual. The protagonist of the 1991 novel Sophie’s World is 14 years old and eagerly devours simplified lessons in the history of philosophy from Democritus to the present. In France, students are introduced to philosophy in schools. The schoolleaving exams include an almost mandatory fourhour paper. This exam is taken very seriously by the students and also by the media.The scene in India today is different. The list of ‘elective’ subjects for a higher secondary student under the CBSE system can well be simplified as “anything but philosophy.” Apart from history, political science, psychology and sociology among the humanities or physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology for the science stream, one can study fine arts, six varieties of classical music, entrepreneurship, legal studies, home science or physical education. But not philosophy. It is one of the rare subjects in humanities—linguistics is another—that are introduced only at the college level.Of late, a new elective has come up: ‘Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India’. The unwieldy title could be meant to align it with the government’s promotion of the Indian Knowledge System/s (IKS). Its syllabus for Classes 11-12 includes astronomy, chemistry, literature, life sciences, mathematics, arts and, yes, philosophy (20% weightage). In broad terms, it speaks of the nine schools of Indian philosophy, but the fine print reveals the focus on ethics. While learning classical ethics at the school level is not a wonderful idea, it leaves out much of the core philosophy.Adolescents can profit in many ways from learning basics of philosophy. Choosing between the Indian and the western varieties is not that important, but let’s go with the indigenous one. Firstly, it inspires wonder and curiosity about thinking and reasoning—the crucial ingredients of the study of any other branch of knowledge. Indian philosophy was moulded by the tradition of Shastrartha, of public debates, Vaad and Vivaada. It expected the participants to have a thorough understanding of the other side. Its pinnacle is seen in Mahayana Buddhism, where the monastery curriculum includes a course in debating with students taking up roles on either side of the debate. Another gift of philosophical education is critical inquiry. It would be useful in higher education and also as citizens. Indian epistemology proposes a slew of means of knowledge, or Pramanas: How do we know? On the basis of our senses, inference, an authority’s word? Every school had its accepted set of Pramanas, and they debated each other’s accepted Pramanas. This should open young minds to the possibility of looking at things—including WhatsApp forwards—in a more fruitful way.Montaigne might have said that to study philosophy is to learn to die, but he was writing at a certain age. Philosophy is usually the art of living. So, young pupils can benefit from it right before stepping out into the world. This is mostly in the area of ethics, but there are different sets of ethics for the different schools. The morality taught in the Vedanta school does not square with Charvaka’s, who famously said there’s no heaven or hell, this world is all there is, and enjoy it while you can. These days, almost all adherents of every school follow only Charvaka when it comes to daytoday life. Still, introducing our teenagers to the possible kinds of moralities is not a bad idea. There are many more benefits of introducing students to philosophy at a younger age. The real question, however, is not when or why but how. How should Indian philosophy be taught?In the first year of BA in a leading university, there is an optional paper in philosophy, which begins with morality. What is the minimum conception of morality? Recommended reading includes an excellent textbook that presents real-life case studies before bringing up the working definition of morality. Helping students discuss moral dilemmas around us can be utterly exciting. Nothing like that happens in actual classrooms, however. Teachers, overburdened or otherwise, barely deliver the gist of the chapters. Students, taking a cue from the seniors, check previous years’ question papers, prepare notes using generative AI, clear the exams and move on.No subject can be more ruined by our education system than philosophy. It is one of the popular subjects in the competitive exams for government jobs, because there are multiple choice questions such as who the founder of Vaisheshika school was or who propounded the concept of Maya. That is philosophy only in name.The French students we met at the beginning face questions like “Does art always have a meaning?” or “Is the mind of an individual nothing but a reflection of the society of which he is a part?” They are expected to write pages on a single question and also analyse a philosophical text.Philosophy stands as the highest achievement of the IKS. Any push for IKS is incomplete without philosophy at its core. Teaching it well demands reform of education itself. Still, beginnings can be made outside the school system by creatively using the new IKS initiatives.- EndsPublished On: Aug 13, 2026 18:12 IST