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Sri Sathya Sai Baba Articles |
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The Institute of Sathya Sai
Education in Thailand
By Sumana Shashidhar
Those were the days in ancient
times, when the moral, ethical and social values among the people
were very high. The educational system - at all levels - was
imparting human values such as compassion, humility, truth,
non-violence, righteousness, etc. Nowadays there is significant
progress in all the fields of external knowledge, with the ever
growing scientific advancement. But a little introspection makes
us realise the state of melancholy in our lives. This is because
external knowledge is becoming dominant and human values made
recessive, though these human values are very much within everyone
to experience. In short, education and literacy are not
necessarily moulding the character. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba –
the world’s best education reformer - says, “The end of education
is character”. Otherwise it is like a fruit without juice.
Today what we need is young men and women of high moral values to
transform the whole world into a peaceful state where ‘brotherhood
of man and fatherhood of God’ manifests. To achieve this state it
is very essential to inculcate these Human Values such as Truth,
Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence at a very young age
among children. Schools should provide such conducive atmosphere
with the help of dedicated teachers of high values.
Origin of Sri Sathya Sai School
I had an opportunity to undergo a residential diploma course at
the International Institute for Sri Sathya Sai Education in Human
Values, to which the Sri Sathya Sai school is affiliated. As the
name suggests the inspiration for this school is the teachings of
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Dr. Art Ong Jumsai, Dr. Judo and Sr.
Lorraine - The Director, Assistant Director and the Secretary
respectively - are the three emissaries of Bhagawan who have
pioneered this noble education method under the Divine guidance of
Bhagawan. Whilst enjoying the blissful experience to the fullest
satisfaction, I have realized during my tenure how a value based
education can be imparted to children with love.
Location and Aim of the school
The Institute of Sathya Sai Education (ISSE) and the Sathya Sai
School are situated in the same campus. It is in the north of
Bangkok, in a province called Lobpuri. The place is very scenic
with beautiful tall trees and other flowering trees cascading down
the mountains, giving the natural landscape a poetic beauty. The
Pasak River flows across the area, giving life to this natural
forest and the people living there. The whole place is like an
ashram. The Institute building is a beautiful Thai-style house
located on the school premises, on the banks of the Pasak River.
It is approximately 1 km from the main school building. The school
reminds one of the Gurukula of ancient times. Sages who lived in
hermitages were imparting education along with strict spiritual
discipline. The children were taught to lead a life based on
moral, ethical and spiritual values, so as to become ideal
citizens. Based on the same principle, Sri Sathya Sai School is
providing a conducive atmosphere for the children to develop their
humane qualities.
The Sathya Sai School was started in 1996. This is the second
school to be set up outside India, the first being in Zambia.
Today there are many Sathya Sai Schools around the world - in
Australia, Nepal, Fiji, Indonesia, Canada, etc. The Sathya Sai
schools around the world follow the national curriculum of the
respective countries. But it is imperative that the essence of
human values are blended into the academic subjects. This is the
principle of SSEHV. The school has a unique way of teaching these
values. For instance Peace could be the theme for one of the
weeks. During that week all subjects taught will carry the
significance of Peace and its sub-values such as concentration,
honesty, patience, self-confidence, etc.
Morning Prayer
The school in Thailand has grades from 1 to 8 with 180 children in
all. The children are brought up in an atmosphere of love,
reverence, mutual respect, co-operation and spiritual discipline.
The children begin their day at 5:45 am in the prayer hall along
with the teachers and other staff of the school. The prayer hall
is huge, with a capacity of 300-350, where symbols of all the
major religions are displayed. The portrait of Bhagawan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba is prominently seen in the hall. The children of the
Sathya Sai school respect all religions. Swami has said that He
has not come on behalf of any particular religion but has come to
foster the roots of all religions. They start with a Buddhist
prayer “Buddam Sharanam Gachahmi” and chant a few Buddhist verses.
This is followed by 3 Aums and Gayathri mantra which leads to
Light meditation. The prayer session ends with an EHV teacher
narrating a value-based story. This is a healthy start to induce
in the child right thinking, right behaviour and right living
throughout the day.
Breakfast
The children then proceed to the canteen for morning breakfast.
Children fill their plates themselves and clean their plates after
eating. This is the only school in Thailand where children are
served only vegetarian food. The whole country in the beginning
looked with a lot of scepticism at the school because
vegetarianism is alien to the people there. But today people from
other schools are coming to study the secret of the excellent
health of the children of this school. As a substitute to high
protein animal products the school has introduced soyabean
formulations, which is the richest source of proteins and
essential nutrients.
Curriculum
The school begins at 7:30 am after the national anthem. The
children go to their respective classrooms. The first period
invariably begins with EHV. In the EHV class the values are
imparted to the children in a direct manner. Every period begins
with the chanting of Gayathri Mantra. As a part of our course we
trainees got this wonderful opportunity in planning and presenting
EHV for all grades. The memories of this class room experience are
unforgettable. The children are taught all other subjects like in
any other school, but stressing on values all the time.
The principle of the school is to build the character of the
children. This is the main function of the school. In every facet
of life in the school, be it living, studying or playing, much
more emphasis is placed on teamwork than on individual
achievement. Universal human values like truth, honesty, love,
loyalty, sharing, compassion, courage, determination, etc. are
imparted in day-to-day functioning. The weekends are exclusively
devoted to activities like planting trees or planting rice
seedlings, to inculcate environmental awareness. In the process
the children are taught to develop their commitment to the
society.
Behavioral studies of these children
Once an Education Inspector visited the school and was going from
class to class. He stopped at grade 3, where the teacher was
taking mathematics class. He asked one of the students, “If you
are given 500 bahts and asked to buy envelopes for this amount,
how many would you buy if each envelope costs 25 bahts”? The child
immediately answered, “Why should I buy envelopes for all 500
bahts? I will only buy whatever is necessary as money should not
be spent unnecessarily”. The inspector was taken aback at this
reply.
For everything here love is the only weapon. Once while having
lunch I noticed 3 boys seated opposite to each other, away from
the rest and feeding each other. Later I found from one of the
teachers that these boys were quarreling and this was the
punishment given to them to mend their ways. For the next 3 days
they had to feed each other.
As a result of food habits, disciplined spiritual practices and
most importantly the understanding of human values, the children
look very peaceful, contented and charismatic. Love radiates from
them at all times. It is a normal sight in schools to see children
topple and fall while playing and get hurt in the process. One day
I noticed a boy crying as he fell down while running. I was
proceeding towards the boy who was a few meters away but before I
could reach the boy a group of elderly boys surrounded him and
consoled him, while a few others rushed to fetch water. Seeing the
boy crying, others expressed compassion from the bottom of their
hearts. The concern displayed for fellow beings was an incredible
sight to watch.
Inference
Though there are many plants and trees in a forest, one jasmine
creeper is enough to spread its fragrance to a wide area.
Similarly when these children go out into the society they will
transform the people around, bringing peace and harmony, and make
the world a better place to live in. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
says, “Education should serve not only to develop one’s
intelligence and skills, but also help to broaden one’s outlook
and make him useful to society and the world at large. This is
possible only when cultivation of the spirit is promoted along
with education in the physical sciences. Moral and spiritual
education will train a man to lead disciplined life”.
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