A New Education for a New India

��

�� n Thu.2nd November, on behalf of the Hon-

ourable Minister for Human Resource Devel-opment, Shri Murli Manohar Joshi, the 4-dayconference: A New Education for a New In-dia – Integral Education, was inaugurated byShri Kireet Joshi. In the inaugural address ShriJoshi emphasised the need to build a new syn-thesis – between the old and the new, the East

and the West, the individualand the collective, keep-

ing in mind SriAurobindo’s in-

junction –

a 4-day Conference (Nov.2nd-5th, 2000) by The Gnostic Centre, New Delhiheld at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi

attended by teachers, counsellors, principals from 111 schools

Shri Kireet Joshi lightsthe inaugural lamp

Shri Kireet Joshi:Inaugural address

Ameeta Mehra: Wel-come & Introductionto the Conference

‘We do not belong to the dawns of the past,but to the noons of the future.’ Extending hissupport for this endeavour, Shri Joshi con-cluded with these words:

‘A New Education for a New India: Integral Education’

Sraddhalu Ranade: Talk on‘Five Elements of Education’

‘I am happy that in this Conference, theexperiments made under the inspiration of SriAurobindo and the Mother will be especiallyhighlighted, and I am convinced that theseexperiments have developed special techniquesand methodologies which need to be widelyunderstood and practised. … I am sure thatduring your explorations in this Conference,a new opportunity will be offered where theconcept and practice of integral education willbe pursued in a spirit of impartial quest andenthusiastic search, so that a new India canbe built on the basis of authentic knowledge,integrality and completeness. … I am sure thatyou will work out the implications of themethodologies and contents of this conceptof education, and I shall be very keen to learnof deliberations and also your proposals as tohow to make this vast concept of integral edu-cation viable in our country.’

The audience comprised of distinguishedguests from educational institutions, schoolprincipals, teachers, teacher-educators - total-ling 450.

�� The inaugural address was followed by a 23-minute multimedia presentation on the Con-ference theme, prepared by The Gnostic Cen-tre. The presentation traced the introductionand the impact of British education on India,post-1835. It put forth the inner dilemma ofthe student and the teacher, of all those in-volved in the educational process, when caughtbetween their own dreams, aspirations, po-tential on the one hand, and the demands ofthe ‘system’ and ‘administration’ on the otherhand. The presentation provided insights intothe inner shift that each one of us has to makein our own attitude towards the entire issueand review it in a larger perspective. It pre-sented a way forward de-spite the system and evenwithin the system, thateach one of us can take to-day.

�� Dr. AN Maheshwari (Chairperson, NationalCouncil of Teacher Education) began the sec-ond day with presenting a Vision for TeacherEducation in India.

�� For nearly 4 hours, on the morning of the 2ndday, about 400 teachers listened in rapt at-tention to Sradhhalu Ranade (Sri AurobindoInternational Centre of Education,Pondicherry) as he explained the various as-pects of Integral Education - the multifoldpersonality of the child, the crucial role andinfluence of the teacher, the freedom-orientedmethodology, the interaction between studentand teacher, the learning space. Sraddhalutook up issues of discipline, freedom, concen-tration, in his talk. He made the concepts vividwith personal anecdotes and practical guide-lines based on his own classroom experience.At times he encouraged the audience to re-flect or engage in a brief mental activitythere and then, or a guided medita-tion, in order to understand theconcepts better.

a report by The Gnostic Centre

�� The afternoon session by the Gnostic Centreteam, concretised the morning session by go-ing into the details of Mental and Vital Edu-cation. The session began with a 20-minutemultimedia presentation that gave an overviewof the main features of Mental and Vital edu-cation and how it could beimplemented in the existingsystem.

Thereafter, Ritika Goyal(Treasurer, The Gnostic Cen-tre, and a practising lawyer atthe High Court) engaged theteachers in a dialogue on ‘Whatis the Mind’. She challengedthem to extend their mentalboundaries by getting out ofthe set and safe definitions andarrive at their own clear under-standing of the Mind, its na-ture and functions. Throughvarious questions and activitiesRitika guided the teachers togain a new insight into the truerole of the Mind, its limita-tions as well as its strengths.

Anuradha (Secretary, The Gnostic Cen-tre) added to this the explanation of the 5stages of Mental Development and the men-tal faculties that need to be developed at eachstage. Through classroom examples, anecdotesand questions, she put forth the need to de-velop the capacities of concentration, widen-

ing, organisation, control and silence at themental level. Anuradha also touched upon Vi-tal Education and the need for gradually re-placing the lower desires and needs withhigher ones.

The teachers were invited to reflect uponthe following:• Reflect upon the way you plan your les-

sons. How often do you consciously planto train in the studentsConcentration and Inter-est?• How often do youconsciously plan for Self-observation, Will forprogress, Replacing thelower with the higher?• What are the oppor-tunities that exist in yourdaily interaction withstudents to develop: Ob-servation, Reasoning,Memory, Judgment, Im-agination? How often doyou utilise these? Why?Why not?• What are the oppor-tunities that exist for Self-reflection, Higher aimsand motives, Progress?

How often do you utilise these?• Do you feel that your subject has the natu-

ral potential to develop a particular facultyor a particular quality? Which ones?

• Plan an activity to do so.

Ritika Goyal & Anuradha:Workshop: ‘Mental andVital Education in Class-room Practice’


Ameeta Mehra: Talk:‘From Teaching to Facilitation’

And as Home Assignment:• Think of some of the common problems

that students manifest in the following ar-eas and your response to them.* Mental* Vital

• How do you deal with these generally?• What is the consequence?

The chief objective of this session was to en-gage the teachers in a reflection upon theirown classroom practice with regards to the de-velopment of the student’s mind and vital. Itset the tone for the session on the followingday.

�� Two days of collective invo-cation and aspiration had lefttheir impact on the collectiveconsciousness and the ambi-ence of the auditorium. Themorning of the 3rd day therewas a conscious shift in theatmosphere. A sense of deepserenity and quietude, com-bined with intense and pur-poseful energy - at peace withitself, dynamic and ready forfar-reaching action - ema-nated from Ameeta Mehra(Chairperson, The Gnostic Centre) as she gen-tly unfolded the mysteries of Facilitation,through stories, role models, reflective ques-tionnaires, guided meditations. She focusedon actually facilitating in that one session theattitudinal shift that is required in each oneof us, to evolve from teaching to facilitation.Till now the attention had consciously been

on addressing the mind. But now the focusdeepened to bring about a qualitative shift inthe Conference - from the mind to the soul,to that innate quest in each one for Perfectionand Excellence, for Integration. The teachershad expressed this need in various ways in theirapplication forms itself - a need to learn howto cope with stress, how to contact the innerpeace, how to meditate. Ameeta took up theseissues practically.

She specified 4 requirements in order tomake the shift from teaching to facilitation:

1. To be a Visionary2. To be a Reflective Practitioner3. To Awaken the Interest of the Child4. To be a Living ExampleThe teachers were invited to put down

on paper their AIM as a teacher, their Visionand visualise it at various levels of their being,

so that it could become a reality in their lives.This was done through the followingworksheet:

A. Formulate as precisely as you can, yourAIM as a Teacher.

• What is your Vision as a teacher?• When you teach your subject, what is it

really that you are teaching?• Is it the content, or is the con-

tent an occasion for the facilita-tion of a larger vision?

• What is that Vision and Aim?• How conscious are you of it, and

how far do you think you arepractising it everyday?


B. MENTAL• What are the faculties and skills that you

need to develop?• What steps are you taking, or planning to

take towards a further growth and devel-opment of your mind?

C. VITAL• What kind of person do

you want to be?• What attitudes/qualities

do you see yourself acquiring and develop-ing as a teacher?

• What would you like your emotional stateto be, your relationships to be?

D. PHYSICAL• What kind of body - physical health and

fitness would you like to maintain?• Are you doing anything for the continued

fitness and health for your body? What?• What else would you like to do?

E. PSYCHIC• What do you do (or would like to do) for

the enhancement of your inner well-beingand growth?

• How much time do you give yourself - forthe nourishment and growth of your deep-est self?The next step was to learn some ways of

Self-observation and self-organisation, so thateach could live up to their vision and developin themselves gradually the qualities needed.One was the practice of writing a Self-reflec-tive journal that helped one to discern one’sown movements of Light and Shadow (in re-lation to one’s aim, aspiration, ideal) duringthe day. The second was the practice of theThree Principles of True Teaching:

1. The first principle of true teaching is thatnothing can be taught.

2. The second principle is that the mind hasto be consulted in its own growth.

3. The third principle of education is to workfrom the near to the far, from that which isto that which shall be.Ameeta invited the teachers to reflect upon

their own mode of learning and the factorsthat had helped or hindered their learning, aswell as the role of Interest in learning. Shetook up the issue of teacher-student relation-

ship and the influence thatthe teacher can exert by be-ing a living example, a rolemodel instead of a sermon-iser. She encouraged theteachers to reflect upon thequalities that they would in-dividually need to develop inthemselves in order to teachwith this orientation, as well

as the qualities that they would need to rejector overcome.

Ameeta introduced the 3 learning stagesof Information, Assimilation, Utilisation thatone needs to plan for in order to ensure inter-est, understanding and retention. Thereafter,the teachers were once again invited to exam-ine their present way of teaching and identifythe areas in which they needed to bring abouta change. The teachers were given individualworksheets to design a class assignment in theirown subject area, keeping the following inmind:1. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Principles of True

Teaching and the Three Learning Stages.2. Your aim as a teacher, and the Vision you

have set before yourself.3. Some aspect of Self-reflection and Self-ob-

servation on the part of the student.4. Build into it a self-evaluation and self-re-

flection on your own teaching method andattitude - To be a living example and a Self-reflective Practitioner.

5. Choose one mental or vital faculty/qualitythat you would like to encourage your stu-dents to develop, and include that into yourplanning.This served as an assimilation and utilisa-

tion activity, as the very act of putting the con-cepts into practice, brought up real questions.


These were addressed in the post-lunch ses-sion by a panel comprising of Ameeta,Sraddhalu and Anuradha. The individual workand dialogue culminated in the formation ofsmall working groups, primarily based on sub-ject areas, to chalk out an action plan forchange in classroom practice, within the broadframework of a particular subject.

�� !�� "�� #�� The morning of the4th day focused onu n d e r s t a n d i n gwhat is the Psychicand how can onecome in touch withit. Ameeta guidedthe teachersthrough medita-tion to contact theinner presence, theinner light, the in-ner guide that isthe psychic beingor the chaitya purusha, present in each one ofus. She explained its importance and its rolein Education, and offered some practical waysto create a psychic atmosphere in the class-room (of silence, clarity, beauty, order, joy,harmony). She invited the teachers to inte-grate this aspect into their planning, for theafternoon presentations.

Ameeta Mehra: Workshop:‘Psychic Education...’

Sraddhalu Ranade, AmeetaMehra, Anuradha: Panelfeedback on Presentations

�� The final session of the Conference, on the4th day, brought all the participants onto thestage, in small groups, to present their plan-ning of a different approach to teaching. Theteachers had been given the following assign-ment as a group:

As a group, choose one subject or class assign-ment/project, and plan keeping in mind thefollowing:• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Principles of True

Teaching and the 3 learning stages.• Your aim as a group and the goal you have

set yourself.• One mental faculty and one vital quality

or attitude that you would like to encour-age the development of.

• Take up one or more issues that are pres-ently a bottleneck for you, and to find acreative solution for it, together. Look atthe possibilities that exist; see the glass full,rather than the glass empty. For eg.:a) How could you manage a large class-

size and yet facilitate well?, orb) How could you operate within the con-

straints of the present examination sys-tem and yet be able to fulfil your role/vision as a teacher?, or

c) How could you teach in such a way asto give some amount of individual free-dom and space for creativity and caterfor different levels of learning of yourstudents?

The presentations once again brought tolight areas that had been understood and as-similated and those that required further work.It was clear that we had come a long way from

the 1st day of the Conference,and also that some seeds hadbeen sown, and these requirednurturing - a process both in-dividual and collective. TheConference concluded with aquiet meditation.


��$��%At the end of the 4-day Conference, the teach-ers put down their response in the form of afeedback. A glimpse is offered here:

HAS THE CONFERENCE CHANGED

YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN ANY WAY? HOW?Yes. To be able to appreciate the child’s devel-

opment of themind and heartabove the aca-demic param-eters.

Teacher, Bluebellsschool, Kailash colony

Yes, it’s made memore passionateabout my jobwith the chal-lenges they pose

which are to be dealt with a new perspective.Teacher, Bluebells school, Kailash colony

The conference has made me aware of the nar-row perspective in which I worked and thegreater possibilities that lie ahead.

Teacher, St. Francis de Sales Sr. Sec. school, Janakpuri

I feel we could now move a step ahead inbreaking through the conventional methodsand limitations faced by us.

Teacher, Our Lady of Fatima Convent school, Gurgaon

Yes, it has made me be-lieve more strongly inmyself and my capabili-ties and given meenough motivation (orrenewed energy) to keepat some things I hadvisualised. Now withthis guidance I’ll activelypursue.

Teacher, Modern school,

Barakhamba road

It has ignited the inner spark in me. I’ll try toignite this in my students too. I’ll also try tosearch within myself if I have all the qualitiesof a good teacher. I’ll also try to find sometime for myself.

Teacher, CRPF Public school, Rohini

��

A report on the Confer-ence would be incom-plete without a brief lookat the most beautiful andinsightful exhibition thatwas put up by The Gnos-tic Centre, on various as-pects of Integral Education. Combining text,visuals and worksheets, the exhibition provedto be a much sought after resource for theteachers who spent some time daily, going overthe material and taking notes for future refer-ence. The Exhibition detailed out the fivefoldeducation - Mental, Vital, Physical, Psychicand Spiritual - explaining the nature andmethodology of each. It also presented mate-rial on the Five Elements of Education - earth(the student), water (the teacher), fire (ofknowledge), air (methodology) and ether(learning environment), providing insightsinto how each couldplay its role in an In-tegral Education.

�� The Exhibition wassupplemented byliterature and audio-cassettes on IntegralEducation and Self-development - yet anotherresource for most of the teachers.


The most important change that I have felt isthe change in orientation. It is important tofocus on yourself as a person and try to bringchanges in what you can change, rather thanblaming the system.

Teacher-educator, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee college

The Conference has shown me a path - whichI can now visualise very clearly - the path ofdevelopment/growth with a right attitude inmy personal as well as professional sphere oflife. It has instilled the courage to face andcope with CHANGE.

Teacher, Presentation Convent school

I was on the verge of losing all my hope inteaching. But, now I am rekindled with thetrue spirit in teaching.

Teacher, DTEA Sr. Sec. school, Moti Bagh

TO WHAT EXTENT DID THIS CONFERENCE FULFIL

YOUR EXPECTATIONS?I’ve received more than I had ex-pected definitely. I had not ex-pected it to be so interesting andhaving that influence to transformme. It is a step which will lead meto higher goals, I hope.

Teacher, Ramjas school, Anand Parbat

I am going back learning a fewthings, and this makes all the dif-ference! I listen, I meditate, I doand I remember.

Teacher, Delhi Public school, Ghaziabad

In so many ways, for school definitely, myhome, my attitude towards my children, I’vebecome more tolerant and I’m applying thenear to far technique, it works wonders.

Teacher, Vivekananda school, Anand vihar

It has been an experience of life time.Teacher, SSLT Gujarat Sr. Sec. school

It was highly interactive giving us a chance topractically access different situations.

Teacher, Bluebells school, Kailash colony

It did not altogether answer my academic que-ries but instead gave me a lot more in terms of

personal enrichment - something I had nei-ther expected nor anticipated.

Teacher, Eicher school, Faridabad

It has helped me to hope to achieve what Ithought was impossible. It has given me adeeper insight to true education and rein-forced principles which I knew - Rekindle theinner light in me.

Teacher, St. Francis de Sales Sr. Sec. school, Janakpuri

The Conference has succeeded in mobilisingthe inertia that had gripped for so long.

Teacher-educator, CES-CERT, Pitampura

IN WHAT WAY HAS THIS CONFERENCE

CHANGED YOU AS A PERSON?It has reminded me to follow my vision inlife. It has taught me to be a beautiful personso that I may make everyone and everythingaround me beautifully.

Teacher, DAV Public school, Sant Nagar Burari

I have inculcated a feeling and a thought - tolearn more and look at the positive side.

Teacher, Delhi Public school, Ghaziabad

To remain unperturbed in any circumstances.Teacher, Bal Bharati Public school, Pitampura

It has helped me to become more reflective,i.e. reflect upon myself, how I conducted myclass, what more could I have done. The mostimportant thing is that it has encouraged meto meditate and concentrate, a thing which I[had] lost.

Teacher, CRPF Public school, Rohini

Touched me spiritually.Counsellor, Montfort school, Ashok vihar


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DELHI1. Air Force Golden Jubilee school2. Amity International school, Saket3. Apeejay school, Saket4. Apeejay school, Sheikh sarai5. Army Public School, Dhaula kuan6. Arwachin Bharti Bhavan Sr. Sec. School7. Bal Bharati Public school, Pitampura8. Bal Bharati Public school, Rohini9. Bharati Public school, Swasthya vihar10. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan - Mehta

vidyalaya11. Bhavan’s Sawan Public school, Bhati mines12. Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushpa vihar13. Bloom Public school , Vasant kunj14. Bluebells International school, Kailash

colony15. Cambridge school, Srinivaspuri16. Convent of Jesus & Mary, Bangla sahib17. CRPF Public school, Rohini18. Dashmesh Public school, Vivek vihar19. DAV Centenary Public school, Paschim

enclave20. DAV Public school, Sant nagar burari21. DAV Public school, Shreshtha vihar22. Dayanand Model school, Patparganj

23. Delhi Kannada school, Lodi estate24. Delhi Police Public school, Safdarjung en-

clave25. Delhi Public school, East of Kailash26. Delhi Public school, Mathura road27. Delhi Public school, Rohini28. Delhi Public school, Vasant kunj29. Don Bosco school, Alaknanda30. Doon Public school, Paschim vihar31. DTEA Sr Sec school, Moti bagh32. DTEA Sr. Sec. School, Lodi estate33. East Point school, Vasundhara enclave34. Evergreen Public school, Vasundhara en-

clave35. General Raj Public school, Hauz khas36. Green Fields school, Safdarjung enclave37. Guru Harkishan Public school, Purana

quila road38. Guru Harkrishan Public school, Hemkunt

colony39. Guru Harkrishan Public school, Kalkaji40. Guru Nanak Public school, Rajouri gar-

den41. Happy Model school, Janakpuri42. Kendriya vidyalaya, JNU43. Laxman Public school44. Lovely Public school, Priyadarshini vihar45. Mahavir Model School (Jr. & Sr.)

I’ve become a little more determined to im-prove myself. I can see my drawbacks in BOLDLETTERS and shall improve them for my-self.

Teacher, Bluebells school, Kailash colony

Hereafter I’ll make a conscious effort to be aliving example and teach children becausethat’s the best way children would learn.

Teacher, DTEA Sr. Sec. school, Moti Bagh

Made me re-look at my vision as a counsellor.I am now beginning to look at it more as apassion than as a ‘job’, ‘career’ or even ‘profes-sion’.

Counsellor, Cambridge school, Srinivaspuri


46. Mirambika47. Modern school, Barakhamba road48. Modern school, Vasant vihar49. Montfort school, Ashok vihar50. Mother Teresa Public school, Preet vihar51. Mount Carmel school, Anand Niketan52. Naval Public school, Chanakyapuri53. NC Jindal Public school54. Preet Public Sec. School, Preet vihar55. Presentation convent school56. RAK Child Study Centre, Lady Irwin col-

lege57. Ramjas Public school (Day boarding),

Anand parbat58. Ramjas school, Anand parbat59. Ramjas school, RK puram60. Red Roses Public school, Saket61. Sardar Patel vidyalaya, Lodi estate62. Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Kalkaji63. SSLT Gujarat Sr Sec school64. St. Anthony’s Sr. Sec. school, SDA65. St. Columba’s school66. St. Francis de Sales Sr. Sec. School,

Janakpuri67. St. Paul’s school, SDA68. Summer Fields school, Kailash colony69. Tagore International school, East of kailash70. Tagore International school, Vasant vihar71. The Mother’s International school72. Universal Public school, Preet vihar73. Vidya Niketan, Saket74. Vivekananda school, Anand vihar

Teacher Education Institutes1. Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bawana2. CES-CERT, BBPS, Pitampura3. DIET, Ghummanhera4. DIET, Keshavpuram5. DIET, Moti Bagh6. DIET, Rohini7. Gargi college8. Lady Shri Ram college9. Maharaja Surajmal Institute, Janakpuri10. Shyama Prasad Mukerjee college, Punjabi

bagh11. Vivekanand college, Vivek vihar

Educational NGOs1. Schoolnet India Ltd.2. Search Educational Trust

ANDHRA PRADESH1. Sri Aurobindo International school,

Hyderabad

GUJARAT1. Anand Niketan, Ahmedabad2. Dakshin vidyalaya, Navsarjan Academy,

Nargol

HARYANA1. Chiranjiv Bharati school, Palam vihar2. DAV Public school, Gurgaon3. Dronacharya Public school, Gurgaon4. Eicher school, Faridabad5. Golden Jubilee Airforce school, Gurgaon6. Our Lady of Fatima school, Gurgaon7. Rotary Public school, Gurgaon8. Ryan International school, Gurgaon9. Vivekananda Public school, Gurgaon

ORISSA1. New Race: A Centre of Education,

Balasore

RAJASTHAN1. Mayura school, Jaipur

UTTAR PRADESH1. Amity International school, Noida2. Army Public school, Noida3. Bal Bharati Public school, Noida4. Cambridge school, Noida5. Delhi Public school, Ghaziabad6. Delhi Public school, Noida7. Delhi Public school, Vasundhara8. Rajghat Education Centre, Varanasi9. Vishwa Bharati Public school, Noida

WEST BENGAL1. Free Progress Academy, Purulia

For further information,please write or e-mail to The Gnostic Centre, at:Mailing add: H-401, Som Vihar Apts., New Delhi 110022Phones:5063060 & 70, 6179129, 91-6360351E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.gnosticcentre.com

A New Education for a New India

Education

Transcript of A New Education for a New India