ÂSHRAM 2020

There is a village in remote interiors of Goa, on the bank of River Kushavati, called Rivona. As
per history its original name was Rishi Vana, a forest where Rishis reside. Its well known for its
Buddhist caves.

Recently Rivona became the talk of the town all over Goa when one day all of the sudden the
Prime Minister of India Modi made a phone call in the village to congratulate a 16 year old boy
Priavrat Patil.

What made the Prime Minister of India to call Priyavrat Patil was that this young handsome
teenager had cracked one of the most difficult exam in Sanskrit. This makes him one of the
topmost scholars of Sanskrit.

Some days back i was in Margao with a friend for some work. The person i was to meet was at
Quepem. So we went there. After the work my friend said why not go to Rivona to meet the patil
gurujis.

When we reached Rivona it was quite dark and already the cyclone Nisarga was approaching.
There we met Mrs Patil. Their house itself was the first revelation. It was not just a house. It was
a Rishis ashram. You could feel you are seating there and all of a sudden Shri Ram would enter
with his huge bow or Shri Krishna with his flute, anytime.

The young man and his father were not at the home. So Mrs Patil called her son on his mobile.
The very first thing i noticed was this lady who was talking to us in fluent Konkani and Marathi
was talking with same fluency to her son in Sanskrit.

Pryavrats father Mahamahopadhyaya Davdutt Patil and his mother together run a Sanskrit
Gurukul in this village. Its a small institution with 30 or so resident students. Not many in Goa
may know about it but the President of India and the Prime Minister of India know who they are
and what work they do. This small unaided school is one of the topmost Sanskrit research centre.

Gurukul is an entirely different kind of study system. Unlike our regular schools here boys and
girls are dedicated to study their given topics. They reside in the house of their guru, do
community work, learn life skills and at the same time specialise in their subject.

Learning Sanskrit in the traditional way is no joke. There are no classrooms or books. You
totally memorise a book like a song. When asked you sing the entire book page by page,
paragraph by paragraph, word by word without making a single spelling or pronouncing mistake,
knowing each and every meaning of the word in the same tone and at the same pitch. Every word
is a mantra.

The Gurukul admits boys after 7th standard and girls after 10th. There is no other criteria.
Students come from all over the country. Education is free. No fees. The school is run by a
public charitable trust on public donations.
The course is of 6 years and in this 6 years you learn 3 topics. Sanskrit Vyakran, Mimansa and
Nyaya. That is grammar, interpretation and art of debating. Thats it. If you are a passout of this
small unaided institute not affliated to any board or university, all the universities in the country
will come rushing to you, requesting you to head their Sanskrit Department.

Remember this is not a Veda Pathshala. They dont teach Vedas or Shastras or Upanishads. They
teach you PHD level Sanskrit. If you learn it all the knowledge of gods is open to you. Who
doesn't want the keys to heavens gate in this life itself?

In life if you are a Hindu, you may not go to any temple ever. But do something for preservation
of Vedas. Dharma is not about hating other religions. It is about finding your way to the God
through the hardships in life!

Regards,

Shriniwas khalap
Goa