Why Taxonomy Education is important for School Children

Dr G.B.K. Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of Pragati says that, school children need education in Taxonomy. He shares his childhood experiences when he used to collect Vanamulikas, which is in line with our rich ancient traditions where gurukula students were sent to collect Vanamulikas, and taught how to herd the cows.

It is very unfortunate that children today are totally unaware of value of herbal and medicinal plants. When asked how rice is produced, the reply is that machines produce rice, and how milk is obtained, the answer is that their watchman brings milk packets. The alienation of our children from our rich culture and heritage has to be ended, and children provided with basic knowledge of life, agriculture, and nature. The school children should be provided enough opportunities to visit Pragati’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Park to understand agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and epiculture. These visits should be made part of the project work of school children.

The future is definitely in our students. Pragati is focused on students, especially the school children. We will provide training programs in such a way that they will never forget in their lives. We have examples viz. we take them to the tree where the seed is just sprouting. Ask them to remove this sapling with their finger, and it is easy to do so. But when asked to remove a big tree, they cannot. It teaches the children a big lesson, things that can be done during childhood cannot be done during adulthood.

Training should convey simple messages viz. coconut water cleans and keeps the liver healthy. When the liver is kept healthy, it will say that, even in your next life I will come into you. When one takes Pepsi and Coke, the liver cries and says “I will never come into your body again.” No book gives children this practical knowledge. The knowledge of Taxonomy has to be given to children. Knowledge of 21 patrikas is essential.

Each deity has got his/her own patrikas. For example, Lalitha Tripurasundari has to be offered a special type of flowers and leaves. For Satyanarayana Vratham some other varieties of flowers and fruits are required. Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswathi, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, and Lord Brahma require special flowers who know all these as parks are also lacking these special trees and plants.

The flowers and leaves offered to deities remove a particular disease. So we are going to bring the culture. It is not a myth as the aroma we are going to get, and the deity, that disease is being taken care. This is all about the medicinal value of the plants. Each Devata has got the type of flowers they need, fruits and seeds. In this direction we need to think.