Organization background
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (Kanchi Mutt) is one of the five (Badrinath in the north, Jagannath Puri in the east, Dwaraka in the west, and Sringeri and Kanchipuram in the south) centres established by Sri Adisankaracharya many centuries ago. It follows the Advaita philosophy, which is based on the oneness of God (A-dvaita means not-two), i.e. there is only one supreme power which is worshipped in many forms. Further, the life force which animates living beings is no different from this supreme power. In this respect, the philosophy differs from Dvaita which also teaches the oneness of God, but makes a distinction between the life force that animates living beings and the supreme God (hence Dvaita, which means two). Visishtadvaita is yet another philosophical idea which bridges Dvaita and Advaita.

The Kanchi Mutt was established, according to legend, over 2500 years ago, during the time of Sri Adisankaracharya, who is supposed to have been the first Peetathipathi. Since his time, the organization traces its history through 70 Peetathipathis. The current Peetahipathis are Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal and Sri Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal, aso referred to as Perivaas. For more details on the history of the Kanchi Mutt, see here .

The Kanchi Mutt head quarters is in Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu. Sri Adisankaracharya's purpose in establishing these Mutts was to preserve the traditional Hindu way of life and serve as a reminder to people of their Vedic heritage. In consonance with this goal, daily poojas and rituals are conducted at the Mutt by the Peivaas. In addition, they also sponsor numerous other activities with the goal of preserving and propagating Hindu culture and ideals. Such activities include renovation of old temples, building of new temples, establishment of Sanksrit Patasalas where the Vedas/Sastras/Prabandas/Agamas are taught, establishing Ayerveda study centres, where Ayurveda is taught and practiced, thus ensuring that such knowledge is not lost to future generations.

In addition to religious activities, the Mutt is also involved in upliftment of the economically and socially backward social classes, and conducts activities to improve their lot, such as providing them with financial help, running educational institutions that subsidize their expenses, providing subsidized or free medical care, etc.

Project background
Due to the pressures of modern life, cultural heritage is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the lives of today's youth. The seeds for this phenomenon lie in the modern educational system, which places a very minimal role on Vedic cultural heritage. On the other hand, the modern aspects of the educational system are essential to enable students to earn a livelihood after they graduate. Consequently, the Peetathipathi's of Kanchi Mutt were interested in finding a blend that could combine modern education with some traditional education. Towards this end, a few modern schools have now started residential programs where children are given some training in the traditional study while pursuing their studies in the mainstream CBSE curriculum.

The Sankara Smartha Samskrutha Patasala at Vidya Niketan, Bangalore, is one example of this blend. This is a school for children (4th standard to senior secondary level) which attempts to add “traditional schooling” to a modern CBSE curriculum. It is run in collaboration with Vidyaniketan Public School, Bangalore, and follows the CBSE curriculum, This is a residential program, where the students are given specialized training in Sanskrit, Music and Vedic studies as part of a cultural education, in addition to a modern education based on the CBSE curriculum. A dedicated block of the campus, the Patashala Building, serves as the residential facility for the 120 students enrolled in this school. Scholarships are provided to subsidize the costs for poor students. The curriculum for the cultural education, as designed by their Holiness, the Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, include the works of Sri Adisankara (Stotras), Namasankeerthanam, Nitya Karma Anushtanam, Basic Vedic Hymns, Sanskrit Knowledge, traditional Carnatic Music and Yoga.

The Vaikhanasa Patashala cum CBSE school, at Avadi, Chennai, is another example of this blend. Vaikhanasa is one of the principal traditions of Hinduism and primarily worships Vishnu  (and his associated Avatars) as the Supreme God. The followers are mainly Brahmins of  Krishna Yajurveda Taittiriya Shakha and Vaikhanasa Kalpasutra. The name Vaikhanasa stands for both the followers as well as the fundamental philosophy itself with the name derived from founder, Sage Vaikhanasa. Vaikhanansas principle focuses on rituals and worship of Lord Vishnu rather than the philosophy of Uttara Mimamsa, unlike Vaishnavism, the larger and more prevalent form on Vishnu worship. Amongst the Indian communities of priests committed to the promotion of temple-culture, the Vaikhansas occupy a significant position. The oldest such priestly communities, even to this day largely function as temple priests. It is the only group among temple-priests to have a kalpa –sutra of their own. According to their worship methodology, Agni is the lowest of Gods and Vishnu, the highest and the worship of these two will occupy all Godly worship who occupy intermediary positions.

The blended program at this school is conducted in collaboration with the Garodia Vivekananda Vidyalaya School, which follows the CBSE curriculum, while the traditional education part of the program is based on Vaikhanasa philosophy. The school management offers a fully sponsored free education for the students getting selected for this program. Currently there are 95 students (up from 40, 68 and 95 in previous 3 years) enrolled in this program.

Based on the success of the Sankara Smartha Samskrutha Patasala at Vidya Niketan, Bangalore, and the Vaikhanasa Patashala cum CBSE school, at Avadi, Chennai in previous years, two new Patasala's were started in Andhra Pradesh. The first, a " Panchanga Purohita Patasala " is located in Karveti Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, and teaches the younger generation academic studies as well as rituals such as Powrokithyam, Nithya Parayana Mantras etc. There are 32 students in this Patasala now (up from 10 a year ago).

The second, a " Sampradaya Patasala " is located in Tirupati and focuses on providing education to girl students, empowering them with academic knowledge as well as teaching them cultural tradition and customs. There are 52 students in the Patasala now (up from 25 last year).

Based on the success of the previous Patasala's, three new Patasalas have been started this year. The first is a Nadhaswara Patasala for boys in Tirutanni, the second is a Nadhaswara Patasala for girls in Karveti Nagar. The purpose of these Patasala's is to review and infuse extra strength into Nadhaswaram music. Student strength is expected to be 10 in each of these Patasalas.

The third is a Shaiva Agama Patasala in Mayavaram. Agamas are canonical texts that are believed to be 'anadi' or revelatory, that have come down from the Godhead, just like the Vedas. They are also referred to as Tantra or Samhita. All the six major traditions of Sanatana Dharma - Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava, Kaumara, Ganapatya and Saura have their own set of tantras. The most popular are the Saivagamas (Siva), Vaikhanasa and Pancaratra agamas (Vishnu) and Shakta agamas (Devi). Earliest surviving manuscript of a Saivagama is dated to 4th century.
Temple worship across the subcontinent and even in medieval South East Asia was based on the agamas, that describe everything from site selection for a temple, karshana/construction,pratishtha/installation of deities, kumbhabhisheka/consecration, puja/worship rituals and utsava/ festivals. It is a living tradition, still followed across temples in South India. Agamas are a treasure trove of knowledge, with rich material on urban planning, architecture, design, sculpture, music, dance, many types of plants and flowers used in worship, festivals, scientific time measurement, scales for construction and so on.
"Agama ritual" is a broad term, covering temple rituals, personal rituals, social practices and much more. Most of our daily rituals can be traced back to agamic roots. Flag-hoisting, raksha bandhan, applying vibhuti, giving tambula/betel-leaves and nuts, waving of aarti lamps, removing of the evil eye, homa/ fire worship for various results, performing dana/charity, Vastu practices... etc.
The Patasala will accept students from hereditary families who have been practising and preserving these traditions. Student strength is expected to be 15 in the Shaiva Agama Patasala.

Project description
The management at both the above institutions relies on donors to make possible the highly subsidized or completely free education that is provided to the children at these schools/patashalas. In 2013 and 2014 respectively, GKF picked up part of the cost of funding 140 and 188 students at the Sankara Smartha Samskrutha Patasala at Vidya Niketan, Bangalore, and the Vaikhanasa Patashala cum CBSE school, at Avadi, Chennai. In 2015, GKF picked up the complete cost of funding 210 students at Vidya Niketan, Bangalore and Avadi, Chennai for the current year, and also the cost of supporting students at the Panchanga Purohita Patasala in Karveti Nagar and the Sampradaya Patasala in Tirupati. In 2016, GKF will pick up over 2/3 of the cost of supporting 334 students at all the 7 Patasalas.

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