RSS outfit starts 'garbh sanskar' to teach cultural values in womb

Samvardhinee Nyas, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has started a campaign titled 'Garbha Sanskar' for pregnant women to teach babies culture and values in the womb, its national organising secretary Madhuri Marathe said on Monday.

Along with gynaecologists, ayurvedic doctors and yoga trainers, the Nyas is planning a programme which will comprise chanting of the Gita, the Ramayana and yoga practice during pregnancy to 'impart cultural values to babies in the womb'.

This programme, which will start during pregnancy and continue till babies reach two years of age, will emphasise on chanting of Gita shlokas and chaupais of the Ramayana, said Marathe, adding, 'a baby in the womb can learn up to 500 words'.

"The aim and objective of this campaign is to develop a programme which ensures that the baby can learn sanskar (culture and values) in womb and the process continues till the baby gets two years old," Marathe said.

Samvardhinee Nyas, a wing of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women's arm of the RSS, is planning to reach out to at least 1,000 women under this campaign, she said.

As part of the campaign, the Nyas on Sunday held a workshop at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, which was attended by several gynaecologists, including from AIIMS-Delhi, she added.

The initiative has found backing among doctors who feel that the concept holds promise but should not be limited to just listening to Indian epics and needs to complimented by good nutrition.

Dr Pankaj Sarode, a senior consultant gynaecologist and owner of Cradle Hospital in Pune, said Garbha Sanskar is a fascinating concept and is backed by the famous story of Abhimanyu from the Mahabharat.

It is a stream of ancient 'observational science' which deals with the maternal behaviour and thought process to achieve optimum human potential by the unborn child, he said, adding that there are thousands of expectant mothers who are following 'smartly marketed' garbha sanskar classes at present as well.

"As an expert in gynaecology, a science dealing with pregnancy and birthing, I think it definitely holds some promise. But the concept should not be limited to just listening to mythological stories and good music," Dr Sarode said.

"It needs to be extended to good nutrition, good thought and good behaviour and much more. It is scientifically proven that nutrition during pregnancy makes long-lasting effects on an individual's health in later life known as 'fetal origin of adult diseases'," Dr Sarode explained.

Similarly a mother's thinking can make a difference in the unborn baby's health by manipulating hormonal milieu, the doctor said.

"Whether an unborn baby learns cognitive behaviour or not is a topic open for research," Dr Sarode added.

Dr Ritu Sethi, senior consultant, gynaecology, Cloud Nine Hospital in Sector 14 Gurgaon, said Garbha Sanskar is a very known technique in which values are imparted to the growing fetus by the mother.

"Now, this basically means that the growing fetus has emotions, is able to respond to the surroundings, and is able to connect, pick-up values which the mother is imparting to the growing baby to become a good, responsible citizen, emotionally connected to parents because the thought process of the mother is to a large extent responsible for the mental development of the baby," she said.

So how can a mother impart good values to the growing fetus?

"This is by eating a well-balanced, nourishing diet, listening to soothing music, remaining in a stress-free environment, having positive thoughts, by having positive thoughts, by doing yoga, meditation and remaining stress-free and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, doing exercise," Dr Sethi said.