Date: February 8, 2025
Venue: Matriniketan
As part of the residential programme organized by Uditam: Institute for Integral Healing, Sri Aurobindo Society, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti, was invited to facilitate a group discussion session on Saturday, February 15, 2025. For her session, Dr. Mehra focused on the topic – Inner Progress and Education for Life. as all the participants in the group were working in the field of education.
After the initial introductions, Dr. Mehra spoke of education as the first formal process of conscious development of an individual. In that context, she shared some insights from the Mother on the significance of life-long education, highlighting the broadest understanding of Integral Education – cultivation and development of all parts of one’s being – with a goal to prepare oneself for a deeper self-discovery and self-mastery.
She highlighted that any good educational approach must always consider three aspects – the individual, the nation to which the individual belongs, and the larger humanity. At every level a deeper connection with life should never be ignored when conceiving the learning experiences to be offered to the child – who is essentially a soul in evolution. This understanding of education, Dr. Mehra said, should be applicable at every level, including when we are adults and not part of a formal educational set up, but see ourselves as lifelong learners.
Through examples and stories from Indian tradition, personal experiences and observations, the group slowly in an interactive manner explored the idea of education as it should be connected with life. Dr. Mehra highlighted that one of the biggest shortcomings of modern education is that it is removed from life as such and most children and teachers end up thinking of education only as a means to get a degree and eventually fulfill one’s material and social needs. In this context, we need to rethink our education as a society. She shared a few observations from her recent travels to illustrate some of the points.
Dr. Mehra also spoke about the emphasis in Indian tradition on education as a preparation for self-knowledge and inner liberation. This led to some specific questions regarding the place of spirituality in education. A discussion on some aspects related to this helped everyone reflect deeply. Teachers in the group shared their perspectives based on their classroom experiences.
Another important point about the greater interest among some secitons of Indian youth toward exploring the religious-spiritual nature of Indian culture was also brought up through the discussions. This led to a shared exploration of the difference between religiosity and spiritual aspiration. A few points regarding the need for inculcating love for the motherland and patriotism through education was also discussed.
Overall the session covered many wide-ranging points through an interactive approach, which was appreciated by the participants.