Date: January 31, 2026
Venue: Online
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On January 31, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti, was invited by La Grace – Sri Aurobindo Integral Life Center, South Carolina, USA, to be a panelist on their webinar titled ‘The Vastness of Learning: Maheshwari and Integral Education’. This session is part of La Grace’s 8-week series called ‘New Perspectives, The Ultimate Calm – Maheshwari’s Infinite Wisdom’ which offers weekly explorations of Maheshwari and her supreme power of Wisdom, Calm and Vastness within the spiritual framework of the Four Powers of the Divine Mother.
Dr. Mehra was a co-panelist for the webinar scheduled for January 31; Dr. Nimesh Joshi, Co-ordinator of the Sri Aurobindo Integral Life Center at Auro University, Surat was the other panelist. After brief introductory remarks by Ms. Radhe, Executive Director, La Grace, Dr. Mehra was invited to start the discussion on the deep relevance of Maheshwari aspect of the Divine Shakti for Integral Education
Drawing primarily from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Dr. Mehra highlighted that Maheshwari represents the divine qualities of calm wideness, comprehending wisdom, benign tranquillity, compassion, majesty, and all‑ruling greatness. She embodies the cosmic Force that lays out the vast design of creation and sees the whole, while leaving the realm details to the power of Mahasaraswati. Maheshwari’s aspects of vastness and wideness provide an essential foundation for educational work aimed at preparing human consciousness for integral growth.
Dr. Mehra reminded the audience that when we think of Maheshwari or the Wisdom aspect of the Divine Shakti, the corresponding soul-temperament or soul-force is that of a predominant intellectual turn of nature. She pointed out that such a temperament has a seeking for deeper knowledge and an inquiring intelligence. But a full development of such a soul-temperament demands attention to education at all levels, particularly the psychic and vital level.
One of the most important ways in which the power of Maheshwari becomes a guiding light for the practice of integral education is through its emphasis on widening of consciousness. Dr. Mehra shared several practical methods for widening consciousness—relaxation of inner contractions, identification with vastness (like sky or water), invocation of peace, and approaching understanding without strain. This widening is essential for living freely and intelligently, even outside the context of yoga.
Across all domains of integral education—mental, vital, and psychic—the principle of widening stands central, said Dr. Mehra. It opens the consciousness to universality, harmony, deeper understanding, and true delight, aligning educational practice with the vast and luminous influence of Maheshwari.
When discussing the implications for Mental Education, Dr. Mehra reminded the audience the Mother’s description of the true purpose of mental education: to prepare the mind as a refined and conscious instrument for a higher life. She quickly listed the five sequential yet sometimes overlapping phases, as described by the Mother and shared a few classroom practices that may be used.
- Concentration and Attention:
The primary obstacle for a learner is mental dispersion. Their thoughts flit like butterflies, preventing sustained attention. Educators must cultivate attentiveness through creativity, meaningful engagement, and genuine interest to nurture a lifelong love for knowledge. - Expansion, Widening, Richness:
This phase develops the mind’s breadth and complexity. Everyday life becomes a learning field, encouraging observation, reflection, imagination, and multidimensional study. Approaching subjects from multiple perspectives fosters mental suppleness and awakens an aspiration toward higher truths. - Organising Ideas around a Central Ideal:
As the mind matures, learners must be guided to form general ideas and achieve harmonious syntheses of diverse and even contradictory thoughts. A luminous central idea serves as an axis around which knowledge organizes itself, strengthening constructive mental activity. Daily mental purification becomes essential to keep thoughts aligned with this higher synthesis. - Thought‑control:
The ability to think only what one chooses, and when one chooses, requires discipline and clarity. It ensures inner mastery and prepares for deeper mental transformation. - Mental Silence:
The culmination of mental education is a state of perfect calm and receptive silence. This quiet space allows the higher consciousness to inspire thought and action. It also relieves fatigue and enhances clarity, enabling genuine understanding beyond intellectual struggle.
Dr. Mehra then moved to the realm of Psychic Education and pointed out that it emphasizes inner discovery—finding within oneself something independent of body, mind, environment, and cultural conditioning. This inner being carries universality and limitless expansion. The Mother describes how this psychic contact dissolves ego barriers and awakens empathy, enabling one to “live in all beings.”
Dr. Mehra shared a few practices that aid psychic education, which include silent reflection, nature communion, calm regulation of breath, relaxation, and heart‑centered awareness. She reminded the audience of the Mother’s emphasis on cultivating inner quietude, receptivity, generosity and kindness, and widening of consciousness to overcome difficulties such as jealousy or agitation.
Speaking of Vital Education, Dr. Mehra said that widening of learners’ understanding and feelings can be facilitated through a thoughtful aesthetic development and educational practice aimed at character formation. This can create an experience of harmony and beauty rather than chaos. Art education can help cultivate detachment, universal delight, and higher emotional refinement.
After Dr. Nimesh Joshi shared his insights into the topic, there was a general discussion in which Dr. Vladimir Yatsenko, Director of Institute for Applied Research in Integral Studies, La Grace and Dr. Matthijs Cornelissen from SAICE, Pondicherry also shared some interesting observations.
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See more of BhāratShakti’s work in the project ‘Education for New India‘