Why moral science classes may still be relevant

I finished my schooling in three schools. One in Aluva and two in Ernakulam. In class 8, Sr Delbert who taught us English, in a rare act of confidence, sent me inside the convent to fetch her notes that she had forgotten to bring.

I walked in, part triumphant and part scared, only to be reading the various verses from the Bible which were written on small black boards, at the bottom of which hung cloth dusters made of rags. Dust them and you were blessed with a cloud of white on your hair and clothes. I came out of the convent with a halo, wiser and lighter.

I went to college, whose motto was the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Schools and colleges had a vision and a motto back then. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, where my cousin studied, had a Rig Veda verse on its diary--Aa no bhadrah kratavo yantu vishvatah (let noble thoughts come to you from all sides). As students, we were taught the Sanskrit shloka of Kaka cheshta, Bako dhyana, Svana nidra, Alpahari and Grihatyagi as the five signs of an ideal student.

Moderation, balance and restraint were the ingredients for the recipe to be a good human. And to be good was the ultimate aspiration. Being balanced was a virtue. Long before ‘holistic’ and ‘global citizen’ became vision statements in educational institutions, building of character and a value system were the ideals.

Through all the years of college and school, there was the practice of writing a quote, a verse or a wise saying on the black board at the beginning of the day. I have stood on chairs to reach the top of the board, crinkling my eyes, as the chalk powdered into letters, words and then sentences. It was from the blackboard that I first learnt of the Gettysburg address and that democracy was of the people, by the people and for the people.

All the institutions I went to insisted on Catechism for the catholic students and Moral Science for others. We read inspiring stories of service, love, selflessness and discipline through them, without ever calling it ‘preach’. There was the responsible Shravan Kumar who carried both his parents on his shoulder, the honest axe cutter who refused gold and silver axes and waited for the goddess to fetch him his metal one from the waters, stories from Panchatantra and Jataka tales, and many more.

So, after all these years, when I walked into my second office at Noida, which I hold as additional charge, I was pleasantly surprised to find a marker board that read “aaj ka suvichar”. Good thought for the day. On 5th Feb it reminded me that nothing was permanent in life. Everything changes. Hence, do not be under too much stress. Whatever be the circumstances, there will certainly be a change. In the substantive charge office, I saw a board that said a giver is the greatest, whether he gives a word of support or lends a hand in the time of distress.

I have been well, but been vomity with the nauseating contents of Epstein files. The utter moral vacuum in which we live in; the fall from grace of men of power and influence. It is a rare society that preys on its children and perhaps the debauchery is the beginning of the end, if past civilisations are analysed. As post truth world collided with the pandemic, and life turned too short and unpredictable, we started sitting on the fence.

And waiting. And watching.
Without an opinion, without a stand, socially distant and morally detached.
We now say whatever works. With a shrug of the shoulder.
Or whatever floats your boat. Even as the boat is drowning all of us in the process.
Things are mid. 6-7.
Hedonistic pursuits dominate our conversations. Being a foodie is a badge; alpahari is passe. Wanderlust is a goal even as lustful wanderings hoist up small towns like Kanchipuram, once known for temples and silk saris, for its adulterous escapades. Overconsumption and the resultant exhaustion is real. Content-overwhelm for one. Influencers unbox hauls, that is more of the same thing.
Today there is problem of plenty yet a lack of focus on the priorities. Or maybe the priorities have changed. A choice architecture that is so skewed, the wealth divide is nauseating, marriages are less and we do not want children (also because what is this world that we are raising our kids in).
Bring back the moral science class.
Bring back the balance.
Moderate the conversations with morals.