Pashupatinath University: A wonderful concept

“Nepal has many histories. It has histories of the Malla era and the Shah era, but a comprehensive history of the country is lacking. So, there is no history uniting the Mechi in the east Mechi with Mahakali in the west….” This is the gist of what the renowned historian Surya Vikram Gyawali said to Kedar Man Vyathit right after the latter’s appointment as the Chancellor of Nepal Rajkiya Pragya Pratishthan about 54 years ago in his capacity as a member of the Pratishthan, stressing the need to connect the Nepalis with the history of Nepal.

Even after the erstwhile Royal Nepal Academy got a new name, Nepal Prajna Pratishthan, after a wave of political changes that occurred about 17 years ago, Gyawali’s words remain relevant. 

Fifty-four years later, Gyan Vallabh Jwala, who was with the academy back then, cited this communication at a program that Pashupati Area Development Trust had organized recently to collect opinions from scholars for the establishment of a Shri Pashupati Hindu University. 

Gyawali’s communication with Vyathit features in ‘Vichar-patra’ of a committee formed to step up preparations for the establishment of the university and also in this journalist’s recently completed MPhil dissertation. 

My research is based on a unique perspective of Professor Harold A Innis, a Canadian scholar associated with communication theory, in particular ‘The Bias of Communication’ and ‘Time-Biased Communication’. This theory is based on the premise that the identity of a nation is built upon its own cultural heritages and civilizations. 

So, the plans for the development of a Shri Pashupati Hindu University have this journalist naturally elated. Indeed,  the Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the several religious-cultural-spiritual heritages that makes Nepal known to the world. If the university manages to emerge as the very best among similar other institutions in due course of time, with support from the government and other stakeholders, it will further boost Nepal’s image globally. 

At this point, it will be contextual to quote the author Stephen R Covey. He says, “What you do with what you know is far more important than what you know. If you do not use what you know, you can forget it or lose it. To share what you know is like planting a seed. If you plant a seed in the soil, it will germinate in the soil, grow in the field, and go to another place, and it will not die. If you throw it in the mud, it will rot, and if you throw it elsewhere, it will dry up. The seed will not germinate.” 

This statement points out the need to apply the acquired knowledge in the right time and place for desired outcomes. In the ocean-like span of Pashupatinath, my research may be a drop of water, but then drops of water collected from various pilgrimages have significant worth, don’t they? 

Also, let me recall a high-level promise to accelerate the process of establishing a Children's Literature Institute in Nepal. This wonderful plan is getting nowhere, with the ministry concerned not bothering to take initiative toward this end. 

But the proposed university should not suffer the same fate. 

Active involvement of the President in this project has given a glimmer of hope and so has the Culture Minister’s remarks implying that the government has attached due importance to the project. 

If the university materializes and, in course of time, manages to establish itself as a reputed institution, it may not even need government funding, for it can generate enough revenues by drawing students from far and wide, making it a self-sustaining institution.  

The onus is on the government and other stakeholders to turn this wonderful plan into reality.