Education
Haridwar district is well endowed with academic institutions of excellence, thanks mainly to the facilities of national fame available for studies in sciences, engineering, technology and advanced research in the town of Roorkee.
Education in Sanskrit based classics and Hindu religious/cultural disciplines is an age-old tradition in the district, mainly centered in and around Haridwar city. Some of the important institutions of this genre are:
- Gurukul Kangri, situated in Kankhal, on the banks of river Ganges, on Haridwar-Jwalapur bypass road. It is one of the oldest Universities of India. It was founded in 1902, to study the unique Gurukul based education system. Here Ancient Vedic and Sanskrit literature, Ayurveda, Philosophy are part of the curriculum besides modern sciences and journalism. Its 'Archaeological Museum', established in 1945, houses some rare statues, coins, paintings, manuscripts and artefacts, starting from Harappa culture (c.2500-1500 BC). Mahatma Gandhi visited the campus three times, and stayed in its sprawling and serene campus for extended periods of time, most notably during the 1915 Kumbh mela.
- Vishwa Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Haridwar. A Sanskrit University, set up by Govt. of Uttarakhand, it is the only university in the world dedicated to studies of ancient Sanskrit scriptures and books. Its curriculum also covers ancient Hindu rituals, traditions and culture, and it boasts of a building inspired by ancient Hindu architecture style.
- State Ayuevedic College & Hospital Rishikul, Haridwar, is the oldest Ayurvedic Medical College of India. It is situated near Devpura in Haridwar on the banks of Upper Ganges Canal. It is also providing postgraduate education for Ayurveda. Soon it will be transformed as the first Ayuevedic University of Uttarakhand.
- Govt Ayurvedic Collge & Hospital, Gurukul Kangri of HNB Garhwal University is also one of the oldest Ayurvedic medical colleges in India. It is situated in Gurukul Kangri University Campus.
- Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya: established in 2002 by the act of the Uttarnchal Government is a fully residential university. Run by Sri Vedmata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj Haridwar (headquarters of All World Gayatri Pariwar), it provides various degree, diploma and certificate courses in areas like Yogic Science, Alternative Therapy, Indian Culture, Tourism, Rural Management, Theology (Dharm Vigyan), Spiritual Counseling etc. It also provides distance learning courses.
Modern Ashrams are also being established in the district for imparting training in yoga and meditation to people coming now from near and far, including foreign countries of the West :
- Shantikunj Ashram provides a 9 days camp covering yoga, meditation, art of living, scientific spirituality etc.
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Famous quotes containing the word education:
“Those who first introduced compulsory education into American life knew exactly why children should go to school and learn to read: to save their souls.... Consistent with this goal, the first book written and printed for children in America was titled Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes in either England, drawn from the Breasts of both Testaments for their Souls’ Nourishment.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)
“Man is endogenous, and education is his unfolding. The aid we have from others is mechanical, compared with the discoveries of nature in us. What is thus learned is delightful in the doing, and the effect remains.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It is not every man who can be a Christian, even in a very moderate sense, whatever education you give him. It is a matter of constitution and temperament, after all. He may have to be born again many times. I have known many a man who pretended to be a Christian, in whom it was ridiculous, for he had no genius for it. It is not every man who can be a free man, even.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)