The New Education in Practice

The author – Kent Bicknell –, currently Day Care Consultant for the State of New Hampshire, will be the Principal of the Sant Bani Ashram School, scheduled to begin operation in September 1973 for Grades 1-8, on a day student basis, for all who wish to attend.

The Master’s address at the inauguration of the Manav Kendra Education Scheme one year ago leaves no doubt as to the need for Spirituality in education. Quoting Gentile, Master says that ‘a school without a Spiritual Content is an absurdity.’¹ The Manav Kendra system is seen as ‘an entirely new concept of integral education and moral living according to the ethics of Spirituality,’ and is dedicated to the ‘concrete Realisation of Human Unity.’¹ The modern educational system, however, is ‘woefully inadequate’ because it is ‘largely egocentric and makes men spiritually and socially incompetent.’¹

In a recent talk, Master called for a Spiritual Revolution to bring True Peace into the world.² Such a revolution will be achieved when the people at large have right understanding. The latter leads to right thoughts, right speech, and then to right action. The first step in right understanding ‘lies in recognising that there is a Maker of the universe Who is the Controlling Power and permeates all Creation.’² Recognition of the overall Unity of the universe and the fellowship of man is regarded as True Knowledge in the Manav Kendra education system, and selfless service is emphasised as the noblest end of such knowledge: ‘The young should […] accept the creative ideal, which regards humanity as One and service as the end of all knowledge.’¹

Master, as the embodiment of the Creative Ideal, reveals much in His daily life. While in Vancouver in 1963 during His second world tour, it came to His attention that members of a certain religious group, the Doukhobors, were being jailed by the government because they refused to send their children to the public schools. The Doukhobors, a spiritual group committed to the existence of the Inner Light, were adamant that their children receive a spiritually oriented education. When the Master heard of their plight, He not only interceded with the government on their behalf, but also contributed two hundred dollars from His own pocket to their cause. He later described the incident to a small group of disciples in Washington, D.C.:

I met now in Canada a very troublesome cause. There were some people there […] they don’t like to send their children to the schools. They say ‘We don’t want this education […] We want to keep our own children – give our own teachings of celibacy, chastity, good life.’ The government was against it; they were put into jails. There was a hunger strike […] We interceded […] We called the Prime Minister over there, he came over […] and we reconciled. ‘Let them have their own schools, their own teachers. Why do you force them to do what is not moral?’

What are schools doing nowadays? Their teachers are not chaste, I tell you. Some [children] are spoiled at home, and the rest in the streets, and further in the schools. […] Our whole system is wrong, I tell you.³

If the whole system is wrong, what should schools be like? Master stresses the importance of right atmosphere:

The school should be a home of teachers and students who reflect in their studies, and on the playground, and in their daily lives, the cherished virtue of humility.¹

The attitude of both teachers and students is an important factor in maintaining right atmosphere. Master recalls His own attitude toward an early teacher, and the teacher’s attitude toward his students:

These days, most teachers are just paid, but when I used to study as a child, they were people dedicated to humanity in children. If a child was promising, the teacher would wave aside the question of fees and call him to his own home for further instruction. We often went to our teacher’s home. He did not have any water laid on there, so we used to bring it in buckets and do other work around the house, purely out of love for him. He loved us and taught us with love.⁴

Students should be taught in the spirit of love and sympathy, ‘blending information with inspiration and knowledge with love.’¹

The teacher’s responsibility is more fully explained in the following excerpt from a recent letter to an American initiate :

It is good that you are working as a teacher. Teaching is a noble profession when you work for man-making and discover higher potentialities of the young minds lying latent in them. You can sow sacred seeds of Spiritual Aspirations in them in your own cherished manner when they shall endeavour to benefit in their later years of life. Of course you have to discuss the theory side only, yet instil faith in them of the living presence of God and the Master. Such an attempt on your part in an impersonal manner will not only bless you with Divine Bliss but entitle them for the gracious protection of the Master-Power working overhead.

Along with right attitude, physical location is emphasised as another important factor in maintaining the right atmosphere:

[…] the situation of the school also plays a major role. The German word ‘kindergarten’ is quite suggestive in this context. ‘Kinder’ means child, and ‘garten’ garden, indicating that every school should be situated in a lovely spot of nature. In ancient India, every Ashram was a garden of nature.¹

In response to the Sant Bani Ashram sangat’s request for guidance on this subject, Master wrote:

Necessity is the mother of invention. I am glad to find that you have realised the importance of having a school run in the Sant Bani Ashram for the education of Satsangi children. […]

A school in the Ashram premises shall be a rare boon for the growing children to benefit when they can be imparted basic Spiritual Teachings in their tender age. I approve your having a school over there.[…]

As stated above the school building should be within the Ashram itself and may be constructed gradually, basing on necessity. […]

Efforts should be made for raising separate funds for meeting with the initial expenses and your local Satsang may render feasible financial help to cover up the deficit. Nominal fees should be charged from the children who can afford to pay. […]

The services of qualified teachers, preferably initiates, as indicated by you should be utilised. […]

Master says that it is the ‘constant association with gentle forces which breeds virtuous persons.’¹ The most important task of the teacher is, therefore, the same as that of every disciple: to live up to the teachings of the Master.

_______________

Sources: 1) ‘Towards the New Education,’ Sat Sandesh / September 1972. 2) ‘The Coming Spiritual Revolution,’ Sat Sandesh / March 1973. 3) From a tape recorded 18^th January, 1964. 4) ‘Protector and Protection,’ Sat Sandesh / September 1970.