LET'S KNOW ABOUT STUDY CIRCLE

Before knowing about study circle, why not we enjoy this story. Once upon a time there lived a prince, as innocent as a child. His name was Siddharth. Siddharth married a girl called Yashodhara. They had a child; they gave him a beautiful name – Rahul. Siddharth had everything, enjoyed every material and immaterial luxury of life. He was perfectly happy as definition goes about a happy man. One day he saw an old man, a diseased man, a dead man and a sage man with a peaceful face. He thought and thought deeply. He got a conclusion. He left his home, his expensive clothes; he left everything and went away for an unknown journey. He was then a seeker of truth. After long and hard journeys he got a place where he pondered and contemplated. Suddenly he got what he was seeking. He got his new name Buddha. From there on he traveled more frequently and more swiftly. He told everybody what he knew. He gathered people from his surroundings and shared his knowledge with them. His language of conversation was Pali and Magadhi –a kind of prakrit language. He had broken the jinx of Brahmanism. The shrewd Brahmanis who knew everything but never shared anything – got an intellectual shock. But they failed to stop all the enthusiastic seekers of truth. All of them made there own study circles. They called it Vihar. They gathered at places and shared what they knew. They would debate, discuss, recite, elocute, observe, and practice what they would learn. Slowly and slowly they found some marvellous wonders of the universe. The simple key was sharing of knowledge.

So we get an idea that we must contemplate about wonders of this universe and then share our knowledge. This exercise gives us peaceful pleasure. We brought this beautiful idea on earth on 2nd October ’04. We had a meeting at a small but encouraging place. We drew an outline of our study circle. We will meet once in a week. We will read something that is useful for everybody of us. We will make a books-pool, which will increase our accessibility to books. And in weekly meeting we will discuss what we have read. On 21st October second meeting was held and we found that it had tremendous effect on our attitude towards knowledge sharing. And then, we are going on.

We got many new friends at various stages. Some of them went away and never came back. Some of them remained with us. Some of them went for new vistas, new places to have new study circles. This is a chain process, multiplies itself briskly but regularly. We got new friends who themselves were chest of knowledge and brought sets of almirrahs posessing grand and great knowledge. We learnt many new things from them. We learnt that why not make a small library in our meeting room we made it and is running successfully. Then we thought why not we lend our hands to those shoulders that have been bent down due to loads of works and apathies of destiny, to those children who have no option of reading and sharing their knowledge. We did it on occasions of celebration like Diwali, Eid, New Year, and Republic day. We spent our time with those down trodden children and learnt how they celebrate their happy moments. On the occasion of New Year; we had a very delightful rare experience of learning. We went to
Patna railway station and met those children who live on platform and face very harsh realities of life. They are there and we are here only because of our destinies. We have no contribution in our present condition. It is only chance that we’re not borne and brought up on railway platform. Study circle stands with those ideals, which do not differentiate among humans.

One fine & pink morning we had a reading from a magnificent book called The song of the bird. This book took us to unexplored vicinity of spiritualism. We decided that every week we would have a reading of single lesson from this book. Simultaneously we promised the book (which she had urged in plain voice) that we’ll try our best to reflect what we learn from each lesson in our life. This is how we broaden our scope of learning. Slowly slowly we rising those tools of learning which are not part of conventional mode of learning. We are getting experience in several dimensions of learning.

In study circle no topic is chosen, anybody can present anything, any topic from atom bomb to safety razor can become fierce debate. Sometimes very much introverts have shown quality of splendid orator and sometimes too much out spoken student needed to make themselves calm and serious in our weekly meetings. In discussion and debate we have found and developed many aspect of our personal behaviour.

Study circle is congregation of intelligence, sense of cooperation, emotional strings. In fifteen months we have learnt many lessons of discipline, simplicity, honesty. There are learners in our study circle who now follow the policy of honesty. They now know that anything, which is not truth, will never survive. Earlier there were no sense of social responsibility among us but now we are out of imaginary world. We tread our steps on soil of reality. We feel a tantalizing fragrance coming through an orchid full of unknown beauties. Now we had sensed at least a tinge of that endless beauty nature has provided us.


We are now learning these days that the beautiful picture of nation and society is only a beautiful album. The real picture, which has several patches of poverty, depression, pain, darkness is now in front of us. We are trying to accept and internalize the picture. Thus creating better set of human beings on the fore, on the brim, which will draw this ship to the shore. As A.P.J Abdul Kalam in his book- Ignited minds writes – our dreams of future depends on these young minds. We’ve to nurture and strengthen these minds. So we get a developed India in 2020.

In conclusion we remember Sahir who writes: -
“Woh subah kabhi to aayegi
woh subah hamin se to aayegi
woh subah hamin to layenge”.

Translation- the chosen morning has to come we are the ones with whom the morning will come we are the one who will bring the morning.









Topic for the essay competition:

‘Role of Media in the society’

Note: last date of entry is 20th of Feb.’ 06