Maithreyee Gurukula is more than just a place of Education

A Visit to Maithreyee Gurukulam

Shefali Vaidya

Maithreyee Gurukulam for girls is one of flagship programs of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) that has been running for almost 25 years.

Maithreyee Gurukulam is located amidst lush areca nut and coconut orchards in Moorkaje village near Vitala, about 40 kms away from Mangaluru. Founded on Guru Poornima day of the year 1994, it is not just a place of learning. It is a sanctuary, a world that moves at its own unhurried pace.

As we drove into the beautiful, serene campus, it was like entering a dream world. Mellifluous voices rose up and down with the wind as we were welcomed by the site of a group of students sang Kannada songs while sitting in the middle of an areca nut grove.

Maithreyee Gurukula stands in harmony with its surroundings in a beautiful tract of land donated by a local lady named Parameshwaramma for this unique Kanya Gurukulam. The Ajeya Trust has been running this Gurukulam from the start.

Recently, the Gurukulam got its new premises. A beautiful Murti of Bharat Mata stands at the entrance, right next to the Sharada temple. There is a lovely small laterite temple dedicated to a local Daiva in the premises as well. The classrooms are in beautiful bright red cottages with sloping roofs. The buildings do not impose themselves on the land but rather belong to it, as naturally as the trees and birds.

Maithreyee Gurukulam was founded with the vision of reviving the ancient Gurukula system of education, emphasising holistic development. The curriculum focuses on Panchmukhi Shiksha, integrating Vedic studies, yoga, science, organic agriculture, and fine arts, aiming to nurture well-rounded individuals. The Gurukulam is affiliated with NIOS for the exams.

The heart of this place beats in the form of two extraordinary women, Shrimati Akka and Savitri Akka. They do not merely run the Gurukulam, but they are the very spirit of the place, nurturing it with the patience and devotion of a mother tending to her children.

I asked the students about how they felt about studying at Maithreyee. A girl from Thane, Maharashtra told me that when she took admission here after her tenth grade, initially it was hard, because the Gurukulam insists on the girls doing most of their work themselves. But she said, once she got used to it, she started loving the place. Another girl from Uttar Pradesh said that she loved that there was perfect equality at the Gurukulam, no one asks about anyone’s caste or family background and the teachers eat the same food and live in the same simple way as the students do!

The students of Maithreyee Gurukula know at least four languages, Sanskrit, English, Hindi and their own mother tongue. They also study math and science, but they do not merely study all the time. They play, trek, learn music, dance, grow their own vegetables and spend time in nature. All of this education is completely free. Maithreyee Gurukula doesn’t charge a rupee from the students or their parents, it only runs on donations from the society.

I asked Shrimati Akka about the students who have graduated from Maithreyee and whether they keep in touch. She smiled and said ‘they treat Maithreyee like their parents’ home. Some of them visit every year with their families’. She told me of one ex-student who now lives in the US. She teaches Indian classical music there and donates her entire earning to the Gurukula as Gurudakshina!

Maithreyee Gurukula is more than just a place of education. It is a reminder of what learning once was in Bharat, fully immersive and holistic.

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