Personal Well Being Through Education:
SPIRITUAL EDUCATION
PRESENTED BY:
Nupur Sood,
Ph.D. Enrolled Candidate,
Roll Number: 9038.
Department of Education and Community Service,
Punjabi University,
Patiala.
What: Meaning of well being, concept of personal well
being, meaning of spirituality, difference from religion,
meaning of spiritual education.
Why well being through spiritual education: Need of
well being, need of spirituality in students & teachers,
relationship between well being and spirituality (SQ)
and Importance of spiritual education.
How well being through spiritual education is possible:
Through curriculum, methodology, on part of system,
on part of teacher and co curricular activities.
Well-being: being healthy,
free from any disease,
a good or satisfactory condition of existence.
Our wellbeing is at the center of many influences.
AREAS OF WELL BEING:
• Financial,
• Social,
• Occupational,
• Environmental,
• Individual or personal.
Personal well-being: A combination of Emotional, Spiritual, Physical and Mental Well Being.
Well being in students: Better environment and management
structures.
A strategy: Spiritual education.
If spirituality is understood as the search for or the development of
inner peace or the foundations of happiness, then spiritual practice of
some kind is essential for personal well being.
In students, being mentally, emotionally and physically healthy is
important for their development in every aspect: Academically, in
sports and in co- curricular activities as well. It is necessary to
provide better environment and opportunities for spiritual growth to
the students in educational institutions.
Is Spiritual Education different from Teaching about Religion?
Religion
Spirituality
SPIRITUAL: Consisting of spirit; not material; pertaining to the
intellectual and higher endowments of the mind. Spirituality is an inner
path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the
deepest values and meanings by which people live.
Spirituality is a basic aspect of human development, it deals with the
core questions of life... questions like "who am I?", and "what is the
meaning of my life?", and "how am I related to the rest of humanity?".
A RELIGION is an organized attempt to answer these questions, often
with systems of ideas that go together. Thus, different religions are the
paths to the same goal: Spirituality.
EDUCATION TO BE INTEGRAL : FOR SPIRITUAL EDUCATION.
Education is meant to bring out the best in Man, to develop his potentialities to the maximum, to
integrate him with himself, his surroundings, his society, his country and humanity to make him
the "integrated man".
We have put before ourselves an integral goal, so also the process of education must be integral.
According to the Indian yogic psychology, the personality of an individual has four main aspects:
a) The Physical, formed of our body and all its inner and outer functioning.
b) The Vital, the seat of our impulses and desires, of enthusiasm and violence, of dynamic energy,
passions and will.
c) The Mind formed of our thinking and reasoning parts.
d) The `Psychic' or soul which is "the psychological centre of our being, the seat within of the
highest truth of our existence, that we can know and manifest the truth."
Education, to be
fullest.
integral, must help all these four aspects of our personality to grow to the
New methods and processes have to be found which will enable us to first become
conscious of these different parts of our being, to develop them, and to integrate them
fully with one another. Spiritual education is then expected to promote well being in the
students.
Such task cannot be the sole responsibility of the teachers or confined to the schools and
educational institutions. The entire society must participate in it and its structure should
be so designed that every aspect of social life and every experience of the child becomes
a means and an opportunity for learning and progressing. The process of learning should
expand into the homes and outside. The classroom should only be an occasion for a
concentrated and systematic working on a specific topic.
Integral Education based on the Indian yogic science aiming at the total and complete
development of the individual : a strong, supple, well formed and healthy body; a
sensitive unselfish and mature emotional nature, a positively energetic vital, an
enlightened mind, a wide-ranging and vibrant intelligence, a strong will, a balanced and
pleasant personality; and the subtler spiritual qualities that can channelize, harmonize
and direct all the different parts of an individual into a life that is beneficial to the
individual and to his fellow-men.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president
of India, in the opening chapter of his book
entitled Ignited Minds clearly points out the
need of integrating spirituality with
education. In so doing, he sees hope for
pluralistic democratic societies such as India
for harmony, peace, progress and
prosperity. He says, “Self-realization is the
focus”, and “The radiance of such minds
embarked on constructive endeavor will
bring peace, prosperity and bliss to this
nation.”
Spiritual intelligence as well as social and emotional intelligence are worthy of
the educators attention. Education must serve the ultimate goal of creating
good and wholesome human beings and not just smart individuals who are
lacking the tools that are necessary for advancing human civilization. Being
spiritual means possessing the qualities of the “Great Spirit”, the one and
only Creator such as radiance, magnanimity, knowledge, power, love
patience, generosity, forbearance, trust, wisdom, oneness, unity, universality,
and much more.
The Spiritual Intelligence is measurable: Spiritual Quotient (SQ)
Zohar and Marshall introduced 12 qualities of SQ.
Self-awareness: Knowing what I believe in and value, and what deeply motivates me.
Spontaneity: Living in and being responsive to the moment.
Being vision- and value-led: Acting from principles and deep beliefs, and living accordingly.
Holism: Seeing larger patterns, relationships, and connections; having a sense of
belongingness.
Compassion: Having the quality of "feeling-with" and deep empathy.
Celebration of diversity: Valuing other people for their differences, not despite them.
Field independence: Standing against the crowd and having one's own convictions.
Humility: Having the sense of being a player in a larger drama, of one's true place in the world.
Tendency to ask fundamental "Why?" questions: Needing to understand things and get to the
bottom of them.
Ability to reframe: Standing back from a situation or problem and seeing the bigger picture;
seeing problems in a wider context.
Positive use of adversity: Learning and growing from mistakes and setbacks.
Sense of vocation: Feeling called upon to serve, to give something back.
Expected Outcomes of well being through Spiritual Education
Spiritual Education: Need of the hour.
To counter intolerance
Promote understanding, love and respect
Build a sustainable world
Constructively channelize human energy
The present conditions of our world are not the result of an inadequate
government system, an impotent and corrupt bureaucracy or a deficient
economic structure; it is simply and directly the outcome and expression of
our state of consciousness (what we are within). An inner change must
precede the outer if it must be lasting and meaningful. An integral education
is the key to this inner change on a larger collective basis; it is the key to true
world-progress and a better future for all mankind.
The word spirit means the real essence of an object hidden
underneath its surface. It is an open-ended concept – the
deeper the dive, the deeper the intelligibility and meaning.
The concept of ultimate reality represents the most profound
understanding achievable. In respect to human relations, the
reality to be understood is the essence of a human being,
the essence of the universe and the relationship between
the two.
The study starts with a systematic multi-disciplined
investigation of the self of the student and projecting the
resulting intelligibility to other humans and other beings in
the world.
Spiritual Education: Strategies in Classroom
• Meditation has been on the topmost
in the list of stress management
techniques, thus, keeping the mental
health sound.
• In keeping with a general increase in
interest in spirituality and
complementary and alternative
treatments, prayer has garnered
attention among some behavioral
scientists.
• Important for stress management,
emotional and mental health also. It
helps in being an efficient worker.
WHY Well Being through Spiritual Education?
Youth should be encouraged to develop a strong sense of
purpose, empowering their own transformation and leading
them to contribute to the advancement of society.
Young people’s spiritual capacity, the basis for their own
happiness and sense of well-being, can prove to be a
powerful force for social change.
How well being through spiritual education is possible?
Well Being and Spirituality
Investigations have yet to be done to examine mediating factors
between religiosity/spirituality and health, which may possibly be the
most vital reason for examining the link (George, Ellison, & Larson,
2002). A mediator is a variable that explains the how or the why of
the impact an independent variable has on an outcome variable
(Baron & Kenny, 1986).
Frederickson (2002) postulates that positive emotions may be the
active ingredients between religiosity/spirituality and health and wellbeing, and that the ability to find positive meaning is the most reliable
path to cultivating positive emotions.
Characteristics of Curriculum favoring Spiritual Education in Schools:
Intelligent and meaningful explanation of reality
Includes all knowledge disciplines and religions.
It has the potential of human transformation.
No discrimination, affirmation, denial of any religion, race and culture.
Strictly academic considerations, no preaching or proselytizing.
Encompass entire humanity and totality of human experience.
Learning must be multi disciplined, inclusive, meaningful and conducive to inner
growth.
Harmony with sense perception and reason.
The spiritual education of each learner can be carefully
documented in a comprehensive Student’s Spiritual
Education Record.
Teaching methodologies: No discrimination, objectives
based teaching.
Co Curricular activities: Assisted with Spiritual Guidance
Meditation Camps
Libraries: Books and Magazines: Spirituality related.
Morning Assembly: Prayers
In Sri Aurobindo's words:
"That alone will be a true and living education
which helps to bring out to full advantage,
makes ready for the full purpose and scope of
human life all that is in the individual man, and
which at the same time helps him to enter into
his right relation with the life, mind and soul of
the people to which he belongs and with that
great total life, mind and soul of humanity of
which he himself is a unit and his people or
nation a living, a separate yet inseparable
member."