New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday advocated integrating Gurukul education with mainstream education, saying it is not about living in an ashram but learning about the country's traditions.

Speaking during the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bhagwat said he is not in favour of making Sanskrit compulsory but stressed the importance of understanding India's tradition and history. “The 64 aspects of the Vedic era that are relevant should be taught. Gurukul education should be integrated into the mainstream, not replaced,” he said.

Bhagwat said the mainstream system should be linked with Gurukul education, which he compared to Finland's education model. “In Finland, there is a separate university for training teachers. Education up to the eighth grade is conducted in the mother tongue of students. Gurukul education is not about going and living in an ashram; it has to be linked with mainstream,” he added.

Lauding the new National Education Policy (NEP), Bhagwat said India's education system had been disrupted long ago under foreign rulers who aimed to control rather than develop the country. “Now we are free. We don't just have to run the state, we have to run the people. The mindset should be built, and children should be taught about the past to instil pride that we can achieve,” he said, noting that awareness of these changes has grown in recent years.