If man is to live, he must be all alive, body, mind,
heart, spirit – Thomas Merton
Commentary
I bring forth the idea of educating for the soul because much of what A New Global Education is exploring here is the creation of a new global consciousness whose foundation is the educational process. This exploration of what education could be brings us to look at the biggest picture, the purposes that education is ultimately trying to fulfill. Many inspirational educators look at education as a means to not only educate our mind, but also awaken our own consciousness. As students “wake up” they will collectively usher in a new global consciousness. As educators we can help the coming generations find their voice and their soul.
In many developing countries a spiritual world view is inseparable from life. This spiritual world view has many forms, whether religious such as Hinduism or Christianity or indigenous earth based outlooks. In fact, the historical aim of traditional education worldwide was to better understand holy texts. Modern education, with its scientific basis, tends to ignore our inner worlds. Yet these spiritual experiences are inseparable from our longings and inquiries into life and living. Many of the thinkers explored in this site had a deeply spiritual basis to their thinking. Universal human values, such as goodness, kindness, truth and compassion move across all boundaries of religion and individual spiritual outlooks. These qualities are exactly what needs to be cultivated through education.
What is the
Soul?
Soul is a loaded word that brings to mind many images and questions often inseparable from our religious upbringings. Yet we our doing ourselves a disservice if our fears around the idea of soul keep us from exploring and understanding its nature. We need to resist limiting and rigid definitions of the soul because the nature of the soul is its own uniqueness and fluidity. John Miller provides a simple definition of the soul: “the soul is a vital, mysterious energy that can give meaning and purpose to our lives” (Miller 2006:5). The soul is different yet not separate from our mind and our body. Miller also describes the soul as eternal, unique, aesthetic and transcendent.
Spirituality
versus Religion
Use of the terms spirituality and soul are not necessarily synonymous with religion. These terms are often associated with religion yet they also describe an aspect of a universal human experience. Secularity in schools does not necessarily need to be in contradiction to honoring the spiritual nature of the human being. Through teaching universal human values such as kindness, forgiveness and compassion we are able to teach at the level of the soul in a nonreligious manner. Thomas Moore addresses this concern in Educating for the Soul (2005):
The soul is often considered uncharted and indecipherable territory and best left alone in educational settings. In societies that consciously strive to keep education secular this can indeed be murky waters. Our current focus on facts and science and skills highlights a certain dimension of human reality but overlooks others. An emphasis on mind has generated a neglect of soul. The matter of soul is taken up today by the fringe writers who are generally outside the culture of academia and professionalism, digging in the murky swamps of self-help and popular psychology. We need to bring soul more into the center, where we can study it seriously and allow it to have an impact on the culture at large.
Why
this is Important Today – the words of Sri Aurobindo
“At present mankind is undergoing an evolutionary crisis in which is concealed a choice of its destiny; for a stage has been reached in which the human mind has achieved in certain directions an enormous development while in others it stands arrested and bewildered and can no longer find its way…Man has created a system of civilization which has become too big for his limited mental capacity and understanding and his still more limited spiritual and moral capacity to utilize and manage. For no greater seeing mind, no intuitive soul of knowledge has yet come to his surface of consciousness which could make this basic fullness of life a condition for the free growth of something that exceeded it….A life of unity, mutuality and harmony born of deeper and wider truth of our being is the only truth of life that can successfully replace the imperfect mental constructions of the past.
The most important question of human life is to consider the aim of human life and the aim of one’s own life and one’s own position and the role in the society; and this question can best be answered only when the psychic and spiritual domains are explored and when one is enabled to develop psychic and spiritual faculties of knowledge; and (c) the contemporary crisis of humanity has arisen because of the imbalance between the material advancement on the one hand and inadequate spiritual progression. If, therefore, this crisis has to be met, development of psychic and spiritual consciousness should be fostered.”
Education of Universal Human Values
Compassion towards all beings is necessary for divine realization. Those with a tender heart can put themselves in the place of others, feel their suffering and try to alleviate it. – Parmahansa Yogananda
Through the teaching of universal human values we are able to teach what is necessary to usher in a new global consciousness. This is expressed so eloquently by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
“Everyone can understand that being human, we want to lead a happy life, to have a happy family, to be happy within ourselves. But material things alone will not provide us with genuine inner peace or inner happiness. Positive human values are essential. Just as parents bring up their children with love and care, teachers and school administrators need to make every effort to inculcate students with ethical values so that they grow up to be good human beings, with sound moral character and a commitment to the well-being of society. Passing examinations is not the be all and end all of education. Rather, we should bring up children in such a way that they grow up to be responsible individuals. Important here is what I call basic spirituality – the basic human qualities of goodness, kindness, compassion and care. Whether we have religious faith or not, this kind of spirituality is essential. Without them, human existence remains something hard and dry. As a result it is difficult to be happy. Our families and ultimately society will be more troubled. So, it is clear that cultivating these basic spiritual values is crucial to our well-being as a whole."
In the words of John Miller, “You educate for the soul by giving it the things in life it needs: love, beauty, spirit, pleasure. You create the conditions and allow the soul to manifest itself”.
Related
Links
Share International –
Education Archives.
http://www.share-international.org/archives/education/i_education.htm
Esoteric education resource
Self Knowledge
Symposium
http://www.selfknowledge.org/home/index.htm
Spirituality resources
for students
Omega Institute
The Omega Institute is
the nation’s largest holistic and spiritual retreat center for adults. Omega also runs a summer camp for
teens.
Barbara Brennan School
of Healing
Located in South Florida,
BBSH is a specialized college for the study of hands on energy healing and
personal transformation.
Esalen
Esalen is an alternative education center devoted to the exploration of human potential.
California Institute
of Integral Studies
A university honoring the
spiritual dimension of academic life
Belief Net
Popular website that
serves as source of info related to human spirit
Resources
Alderfer, Lauren. Teaching as a spiritual practice: cultivating ethical values for self-renewal and transformation. New Delhi: Full Circle.
Dowsett, N. et. al. (Eds.). (1996). Dimensions of Spiritual Education.. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust.
Dowsett, N. et. al. (Eds.) (1996). Education of the Future. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust.
Journal of Transformative Education
Miller John P. (2000). Education and the soul: toward a spiritual curriculum. Albany : State University of New York Press.
Moore, Thomas. (2005). Educating for the Soul. In J. Miller et al. (Eds.) Holistic learning and spirituality in education: breaking new ground. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Noddings, N. (1984). Awakening the inner eye: intuition in education. Teachers College Press, Columbia University, New York.
Orr, Deborah (2005). Minding the soul in education in Miller, John et al. (Eds.) Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education. Albany: SUNY Press.
Saint-Hilaire, P.B. (1991). Education and the aim of human life. Pondicherry, India: Sri
Aurobindo Ashram Trust.