Sri Pratyaksha Charitable Trust
- Location : Kanchipuram, India
- Community Served: Hindu Community
- Focus: Hindu Religion/Spirituality
Organization background
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (Kanchi Mutt) is one of the five
(Badrinath, Jagannath Puri,
Dwaraka, Sringeri, Kanchipuram)
religious centres established by Sri Adisankaracharya 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.
For more details on
the history of the Kanchi Mutt, see
here .
The purpose of these Mutts is to preserve the
traditional Hindu way of life and serve as a reminder to people of
their Vedic heritage. Activities of Kanchi Mutt include
conducting daily poojas and rituals at the Mutt,
renovation of old temples,
building of new temples, establishment of Sanksrit Patasalas
and Ayurvedic study centres.
Project background
The modern educational system, places all the emphasis
on enabling graduates to earn a livelihood, and gives
no importance to study of our cultural heritage.
This leads to the risk that our Vedic cultural heritage
may be forgotten by today's youth and lost to posterity.
To avoid this outcome, Kanchi Mutt sponsors a blended
educational program that
combines modern education with some traditional education.
This takes the form of residential schools
where children are given some training
in the traditional study while pursuing their studies in
the mainstream curriculum.
The programs run by the Mutt are listed below. The education
at these institutions includes a
livelihood-oriented aspect as well as a traditional aspect as described below.
- Bangalore: Sankara Smartha Samskrutha Patasala ,
(traditional aspect:
Namasankeerthanam, Nitya Karma Anushtanam, Basic Vedic Hymns, Sanskrit Knowledge, traditional Carnatic Music and Yoga)
- Avadi: Vaikhanasa Patasala
(traditional aspect:
Namasankeerthanam, Nitya Karma Anushtanam, Basic Vedic Hymns, Sanskrit Knowledge, traditional Carnatic Music and Yoga)
- Karveti Nagar: Panchanga Purohita Patasala,
(traditional aspect: rituals such as Powrokithyam, Nithya Parayana Mantras etc)
- Tirupati, Hyderabad, Nasik: Sampradaya Patasala,
(traditional aspect: cultural tradition and customs)
- Karveti Nagar: Nadhaswara Patasala, separate for boys and girls
(traditional aspect: classical Nadhaswaram)
- Mayavaram: Shaiva Agama Patasala
(traditional aspect:
temple rituals, personal rituals, social practices etc)
- Tirupati: Pancharatra Agama Patasala
(traditional aspect:
temple rituals, personal rituals, social practices etc)
- Chennai: Sangeeta Patasala
(traditional aspect: Carnatic music)
- Mahendramangalam: Veda Patasala
(traditional aspect: Veda)
- Thandalam: Veda Patasala
(traditional aspect: Rig Veda)
- Vizinagaram: Veda Patasala
(traditional aspect: Vedas)
- Samalkota: Veda Patasala
(traditional aspect: Vedas)
GKF contributions to SPCT
- 2013,2014: Partial funding for 328 students in 2 Patasalas (Vidyaniketan:140, Vaikhanasa:188)
- 2015: Funding for 245 students in 4 Patasalas (Vidyaniketan:90,
Vaikhanasa:120, Panchanga Purohita:10, Sampradaya(T):25)
- 2016: Partial (68%) funding for 334 students at 8 Patasalas (Vaikhanasa:95, Vidyaniketan:120, Sampradaya(T): 52, Panchanga Purohita: 32, Nadaswaram-boys: 10, Nadaswaram: 10, Shaiva Agama: 15)
- 2017: Partial (40%) funding for 451 students at 10 Patasalas
(Vaikhanasa:95, Vidyaniketan:100, Sampradaya(T): 121, Sampradaya(H): 25, Panchanga Purohita: 51, Nadaswaram-boys: 15, Nadaswaram-girls: 14, Shaiva Agama: 20, Pancharatra Agama:10)
- 2018: Funding for 20 students at 2 Vedapatasalas (Mahendramangalam, Thandalam)
and partial (28%) funding for 606 students at
11 Patasalas
(Vaikhanasa:80, Vidyaniketan:95, Sampradaya(T):208, Sampradaya(H): 32, Panchanga Purohita: 96, Nadaswaram-boys: 25, Nadaswaram-girls: 25, Shaiva Agama: 25, Pancharatra Agama:10, Sangeeta:10)
- 2019: Partial (16%) funding for 828 students at
15 Patasalas
(Vaikhanasa:70, Vidyaniketan:78, Sampradaya(T):302, Sampradaya(H): 47, Sampradaya(N): 65, Panchanga Purohita:91, Nadaswaram-boys: 30, Nadaswaram-girls: 25, Shaiva Agama:24, Pancharatra Agama:20, Sangeeta:10, Vizinagaram:13, Samhalkota:16, Thandalam:27, Mahendramangalam:10)
- 2020: Partial (23%) funding for 998 students at 17 Patasalas
(Vaikhanasa:72, Vidyaniketan:86, Sampradaya(T):450, Sampradaya(H): 40, Panchanga Purohita:95, Nadaswaram-boys: 35, Nadaswaram-girls: 35, Shaiva Agama:20, Sangeeta:10, Samhalkota:25, Nellore:25, Ollapalli:10, Nasik:15, Thandalam:30, Mahendramangalam:10)
- 2021: Partial (8%) funding for 1060 students at 20 Patasalas
- 2022: Partial (6%) funding for 1139 students at 29 Patasalas
- 2023: Partial (7%) funding for 1223 students at 32 Patasalas
- 2024: Partial (6%) funding for 1507 students at 37 Patasalas