An Incredible Year with Pluto!

‘Being a mother’ in our culture is broadly synonymous with delivering a baby or adopting one. It is also denoted by socializing the child into one’s culture, loving him/her unconditionally and providing him with the best of everything. What we often miss to understand is that ‘motherhood’ is associated with any act of compassion and love. It could be towards anyone. For me, it is towards my little bundle of joy, Pluto.

I discovered my strong maternal instincts when I got home Pluto. His entry into my life and heart is completely credited to my husband. When we decided to take our relationship to the next level, I expressed my desire to have a dog at home. It was like an untouched chord that stuck both of us. Interestingly, both of us were dog lovers and always wanted to have a dog. To our utter dismay, both our families never permitted us to have one. The childhood desire to have a dog now turned into a much thought over responsibility to become pet parents even before marriage. Eventually, we took the call of getting home Pluto (who was just 25 days old).

Pluto stayed with me at my home. My mother who was really scared of dogs allowed him to stay with us as she knew that I will be getting married in a few months and will be taking him along. At that time, she had no idea about the magic of dogs! She never imagined that after a few months she will be completely in awe of him and in fact would miss him more than me. My younger brother grew really fond of Pluto and he was the one who took care of him in my absence pertaining to work commitments. He lovingly calls Pluto “Bad Boy”.

My experience of raising Pluto has been the most rewarding one so far. I apprehended that a puppy just like an infant, demands too much of care during his growing days. You have to be on your toes 24*7. The little sacrifices you make for him, the time that you devote towards him, the way you feed him etc. makes you grow fond of him with each passing day. If that’s still not enough, just watch him and you will instantly fall in love with the overwhelming cuteness!

There will be days when he will be so mischievous that it will be nerve wrecking. You would want to scold him badly but let me tell you the moment you will do so, he will act out such an adorable puppy face that it will induce terrible guilt for reprimanding him. The cherry on cake would be that after a while he will come up with something even more notorious. Basically, after a while your emotions will get confused over him and exhaust!

For Pluto it was chewing on our new sofas. Oh gosh! Hell was broken loose in our home that day. My mother was almost throwing Pluto and me out of her home. It took me and my brother days to calm her down and get the sofas mended. I can’t stop laughing when I think about that phase! However, as a pet parent it wouldn’t matter to you how much he spoils your furniture, wires, footwear etc., what matters is the truck loads of irresistible cuteness that he will spread in your life. Our entire life started revolving around him.

My husband is the most incredible dog father one can ever be. He never missed any of Pluto’s appointments with his vet. He used to take Pluto to his residence on weekends to enjoy their boys’ time which mainly consisted of Pluto’s bathing and sleeping (pun intended)!

Over the next few months, my brother and I over pampered Pluto. When Pluto turned 6 months old, we realized the need to discipline his ‘rowdy’ behaviour. This brings me to another episode (worth a mention) which happened, when Pluto literally scared away his trainer. On the fifth day, his trainer labelled him a ‘terrorist’ and called it quits! This was 2 months before our wedding. My husband then stepped in and took the responsibility of discipling him. He is the only person Pluto is scared of! Thankfully, Pluto is now a well behaved dog (with pangs of uncontrollable urge to chew on socks and shoes).

We had a special photo shoot arranged with Pluto during our wedding. How could he miss to be a part of our wedding!!

Actually, it was only after marriage that our best phase with Pluto began. It is really heartening to watch my husband and Pluto play every morning and evening. Sometimes when I am silently watching them, I wonder what if I wouldn’t have asked him to get us a dog. We would have been so incomplete without him. His presence in our lives is phenomenal. He binds us together with love and adorability. I don’t think we will ever love our child more than we love Pluto. For us he is our first baby!

 Today he completes one year in this extraordinary world which is so full of love and joy!

Breaking boundaries: A Humanistic Perspective

The entire idea of creating boundaries is very notorious. It is just to create social exclusion on the basis of race, religion, caste, sex etc. We are all humans and in most communities of the world the earth is considered as our nurturing mother. Being the egotistical children of earth, we believe that it is our right to draw boundaries on her bosom, thus setting areas for our movements and interactions. The parameters of differences set by us are so large in numbers that it seems very difficult to identify with people from across boundaries. Sometimes, I wonder what good do we extract in marking territories? 

Take a moment and think of a world with no boundaries. No maps. No LOCS/borders to be guarded. No greed to colonise other lands. What if we suddenly wake up to a world like this? Where you can go freely to any part on the earth without having to go through the hassles of visa and long security checks. A world where everyone is welcomed with smile on lips and warmth in hearts. A world where there is no 'us v/s them'. A world where we are not Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese etc. but we are all simply 'Earthians'. 

As much as this may seem logically impractical; the least that could be done is to prevent the minds of people from getting polluted with the ideas of social exclusivity. In our world, being born in a particular religion, caste, country, with a skin complexion, sex etc. puts certain people at a superior and privileged status. If at all any ideology needs to be considered, why can't it be of social inclusiveness? Irrespective of any social demographic or physical difference, why can't everyone be viewed with a lens of love and respect? 

Stop propagating nationalism in the name of mindless politics. True nationalism is to understand our rich heritage and spread some knowledge among the fellow countrymen. Perhaps the so called 'nationalists' wouldn't know (or don't want to realize) that India, since centuries, believe in 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' which is described in Maha Upanishad meaning the world is one large family. 

Don't we all experience differences of opinions in our families? But do we tag our family members with different perspectives as anti family? No. Then why do we don't bother to think even twice before labelling fellow countrymen with different opinions as anti-nationals? Heights of unfairness! There are thousands of anti-nationals (and anti humans) not only in our country but in the entire world under the garb of nationalists and peace makers. But do we even use our minds to identify them? I am not saying that anti nationals shouldn't be punished or publicly brought out. My point is that lot of thinking and mindfulness should go into the process before labelling people as anti nationals so that any person with simply a different opinion from ours shouldn't be forcefully put in the category of 'anti nationals'. 

If having this set of beliefs qualify me as an anti national, then let it be. We don't need to prove our love for our country to anyone. I would like to specially mention here that I strongly condemn terrorism or any anti human activity but fighting in the name of assumed patriotism is not what i can ever support. It is a waste of time and resources. Patriotism is something highly intrinsic which needs no words to express. It is well reflected in actions. The world needs so much of action oriented people and responsible media but getting involved in such controversial issues deplete our time, energy and resources. 

I am a proud Indian but before that i am a human because that's what i am born as. It doesn't matter what race, colour, religion, country, sex you are born into as long as you can remain grounded to your basic biology i.e. being born as a human. 

The rule to live should be simple: Don't let your country down and don't pull other countries down. Love and respect all. Appreciate Diversity not only in culture but also in thinking. Spread Love. Because that's what we all need.

Divine Song

I hear the divine song every night 

Sung by beautiful Higher Beings

Melody asserts His love and might

Describing the starry rings ..... 

I dream of floating in the infinite universe

Searching other souls of my tribe 

I would sing them my favourite verse

And would hear the anecdotes they describe ..... 

Touch of the white divine light on my body 

Would heal my pain and suffering 

Lift me up to a place so calm and steady 

I would let go off the earthly emotional string .... 

I appreciate the Divine for giving us death

As it is a journey to the land of love and bliss

Healing the soul from earthly ego and wrath 

Like thirsty land receives rain's first sweet kiss .....

Integral Education: A Contemplative, Transformative and Transpersonal Approach

Everyone has in him something divine, something his own, a chance of perfection and strength in however small a sphere which God offers him to take or refuse. The task is to find it, develop it and use it. The chief aim of education should be to help the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble use. – Sri Aurobindo

Need for Integral Education

Critically speaking, the world seems to be in a state of crisis! The child is born in a society which is defined by complexities and conflicts in every sphere of life – kinfolks, politics, business, religion, caste & class, etc. From this disappointing stance, education seems to be a promising redeemer which asserts holistic development of the children through experiential learning. However, it is dismaying that the current scenario of the education system appears to emulate an industrial mindset. Knowingly or unknowingly, many educational institutions and educators perpetuate practices of conformity, orthodoxy, disempowerment, oppression, and life alienating thought forms. In order to empower and liberate the minds of the children and facilitate a democratic society, a prudent educational design based on the ideals of self-determination, open mindedness, equality, freedom, and justice is requisite.

What is Integral Education?

In the teachings on education by Sri Aurobindo and Mother, Integral Education or Free Progress System emerges out as a viable solution to the concerns of contemporary educational system. Sri Aurobindo focused on the transformation and divinization of the child in a manner where the ignorance and suffering of human beings are transformed into an infinite existence of mind, life and body that is inwardly united with Divine and outwardly expressed as a holistic self. Mother believed that complete education can never be achieved through academic excellence alone. It should encompass five fundamental aspects of human being - the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic, and the spiritual.

Integral Education proliferates that each child is a soul in the journey of evolution and already has the knowledge. Moving away from mere information and skills acquisition, it emphasizes on the self-development of the child triggered from within and further nurtured by teachers and parents. The basic aim is to facilitate the child on becoming the ‘whole’ or ‘integrated’ being that he is meant to be by integrating surroundings, society, country and humanity with his true self.

Sri Aurobindo outlines the three principles of education that can preside over all true learning. The following three principles are assisted by 2 processes of nature which are, insatiable curiosity, and spontaneous imitation & hero worship. 

1.     Nothing can be taught: Since each child is a soul in evolution, the proper role of an educator is not to impart knowledge but to guide the students in acquiring knowledge for themselves. The true knowledge comes from within and can’t be obtained from acquiring outside information. However, the provision of external resources along with an enriching and stimulating environment helps to awaken the individual to his/her latent potentialities.

2.     Consult the mind in its growth: Every child has a unique dharma, a Divine given duty and talent, and it is the educator’s responsibility to help the students identify these innate abilities, predispositions and interests, and to further cultivate them. Educators must not impose any arbitrary set of ideas, knowledge, qualities or capacities determined by others as it deflects them from their natural developmental trajectory and estrange them from their souls leading them in wrong directions.

3.     From the near to the far: The child must be taught in a way where the knowledge grows from the senses to more abstract faculties. Individual must be guided from what is already known, accomplished and established to the outer extensions that are within the reach but are yet unrealized and undeveloped.

Progressive Pedagogical Principles

Though the possibilities for the enrichment of the educational process through the creative application of integral principles are endless, following are some progressive pedagogical guidelines which can enhance the teaching and learning process.

·  Acknowledge Multiple Intelligences: The internal source of reality is the Psychic Being whose external focal point is the idiosyncratic Intellect. Depending upon the diverse learning styles and varying strength of mental faculties, each student has their own path to learning. All intelligence must be acknowledged and nurtured as it is essentially one. Development of one intelligence possibly assist in the development of the other forms of intelligence.

·   Individuality and Human Potential: Each child is unique and has something different to offer to the classroom and the world. Treat and respect each one of them as unique individuals. Adopt a personalized approach tailored specifically according to their needs and talents. Encourage the child to progress at his/her pace without any comparison or competition. Educators can design some exercises which could take the form of extra challenges, special creative exercises, extra classes or programs that suit their needs.

·   Involvement of Children: Educators must actively involve children as imperative contributors in their journey of self-development. More freedom, choice and power should be placed with the students in terms of what and how they want to learn. Educators must attempt to relinquish the role of “sages on the stage” to become “guides on the side”.

·  Friendly Atmosphere and Ethical Classroom: Holistic development of children can be exquisitely undertaken by nourishing them in a non-threatening, serene and natural environment. Classroom is the learning laboratory for life and hence must encourage compassion, sensitivity, care, respect, dialog, self-discipline. It should model community building and quality relationships. 

·   Self-evaluation as a Pathway for Lifelong Learning: Emphasize on cultivating introspection and self-reflection in students so that they become conscious and aware of their cognitive faculties, and understand values at a deeper level. This will initiate a lifelong learning process as skills like innovation, expertise, wisdom and leadership develop and deepen over adult years.

·  Meta-learning: Encourage children to “learn how to learn”, “think about thinking” (metacognition), and understand the nature and limits of knowing (epistemology). Education should fortify the learner’s ability to monitor, reflect and choose the appropriate problem solving strategies for paramount outcomes.

·   Awakening creativity: In today’s complex modern world, success requires creativity which includes considering multiple perspectives, hypotheses, or alternate solutions and not pledging rigidly and swiftly to any single way. Students must be encouraged to bracket their logical minds and open to other forms of intelligence as and when required.

·   Culturing of Emotional Wisdom: Mother emphasized on education of the ‘vital’ and suggested that it should commence at an early age. In addition to teaching children to observe their own impulses, reactions, desires and their causes; observing others, accurately interpreting others’ feelings and influencing others’ emotions through one’s own emotions are fundamental to one’s emotional wisdom. Educators must introduce their learners to the rich legacy of human emotions that are exhibited in poetry, music, art and literature.

·  Sensitize with Music: Music is not only one of the joys of life but can also be one of the joys of learning! With the effective use of music, educators can create a desired atmosphere and establish a positive learning state in order to accentuate learning activities. Music facilitates a multisensory learning experience that can enhance attention, memory, and imagination, develop rapport, align groups, and inspire students.

·  From ‘concrete’ to ‘abstract’: Till the age of around twelve, the child’s mind is hardly open to any abstract notions, ideas and concepts. Educators can still teach them using concrete images, symbols and fables. A narrative, story, enactment of situations, introspection, collective games etc. can be more impactful than any number of theoretical explanations.

·  Pedagogy for Authentic Learning: Most authentic learning happens in social contexts, and often through peer tutoring, apprenticeship or mentoring relationships, and collaborative learning. Encourage learning by doing, case based learning, situated learning, discovery learning and inquiry learning. Learning inspired from curiosity and personal engagement is far superior and in depth than rote memorization.

Educators following the integral pedagogy make a conscious effort to balance the inner realities (visions, feelings, values, motivations, relationships) and the outer realities (action, measurement, physical health, infrastructure etc.) of their learners. They give themselves as much freedom to develop as they give to their learners.

Conclusion

The integral approach to education addresses many aspects of being a human including spiritual growth, flowering of human potential and evolution of the meaning-making capacity. The thoughtful, introspective and transformative learning experiences tend to shape the learners into responsible and sensitive global citizens. 

This article is published in EducationMatters@ETMA, March 2015 issue.

Go to the link for the e magazine: www.etma-india.in.

Understanding God!

Who is God? Does he exist? Why does he choose to remain invisible to us? What are the attributes of God? Can monotheism/polytheism be proven? Is God fair to all or does he allow the innocent to suffer? Does God answer prayers of a sinner? Is God loving and forgiving or is he cruel and punishing? Is it wrong to be angry or feel disappointed with God? Does God seek our love, devotion and worship? Can God really perform miracles? Does God speak to humans? Etc. We all have struggled with such questions pertaining to God at some or the other point in our lives. Since time immemorial many scholars, philosophers, gurus have attempted to understand the answers to all such questions about God. All the influential religions of the world have described God through their teachings and scriptures. There are around seven billion people in this world and each person has his or her own views about God that are influenced by his religion. I was always fascinated with the fact that though God has been described in millions of ways yet he enjoys the position of being indescribable.

My quest to explore God dates back to my childhood. My maternal grandma played a significant role in orienting me towards God. As I was growing up she used to narrate me stories related to God, imparted spiritual teachings and made me understand the subtle messages they conveyed. I remember visiting Temples and attending Satsangs with her and since a very young age I actively participated in the discussions pertaining to God. To my astonishment everybody had varying views about God and they all spoke about their opinions with outstanding confidence as we speak about our dear ones. As a child this made me even more curious to find out which view was appropriate. As I grew up, I realized that there is plethora of views regarding God varying from individual to individual. Their views can be placed on a long continuum ranging from the views of people who completely believe in God to the views of those who are atheists and deny his existence. From nothing to everything, God enjoys different significance in each and every person’s life. My interest further collated when I enrolled in a course on Indian Psychology during the second semester of Post Graduation in Psychology. The course gave me an impetus to look into the various aspects of our life where we feel the presence of God.  As a child I was curious to know his miracles and now as an adult I was curious to understand his exceptional role in our lives.

I often wondered what made god ‘The God’? Is it the product of our imaginations, faith and beliefs or are we a creation of his imagination? Is it that humans have created God to establish law and order or is the law and order established because of God? Is it that we need God or is it that God also needs us? The questions were many whereas the answers need to be individually looked for. I began my journey to understand God by exploring his status and relevance in the lives of different people belonging to various stages of life; and gender. This exposed me to multiple roles that God plays for them in their day to day life. Each time I met a new participant my journey became more exhilarating as my own perspective about God was either strengthened or questioned. However, I was delighted to know that a majority of people believe in God and his Divine presence around us. Some of the elderly participants even shared their experiences about how they realized God in their lives. This motivated me to work with zest all throughout the study. 

My own thoughts and beliefs were rejuvenated in the process of the research project I had undertaken as a part of the Masters program. Now when I look back I realize that I have gained an unmatchable experience for lifetime. My perspective to look at myself, others and God has changed a lot. There might be one God that we all worship but there are innumerable ways to look at him. After getting an opportunity to know so many people’s perspectives and point of views, my personal belief is that God is Faith which is garnered by the Love and Devotion of a believer. Just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder similarly God is in the faith of the believer. The believers see him in the flowers which bloom, the birds which chirp, the water that flows through the rivers into the oceans, the sun that gives energy, the moon that gives calmness and everything of the universe. He manifests himself as love we experience for self, others and nature. I appreciate that God’s grace has no limits and I am utterly certain it exceeds any imagination a human being might have of it.

Oh Lord, I seek you through knowledge, I know of you

I seek you through others, I see your reflection

I seek you within, I behold you clear

But when I seek you through all the three, I was illumined

Beyond the Cognitive: Reflections from my Teaching Experience

"To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield" is the guiding philosophy of the school (name withheld) where I went for my School Experience Program. The ethos of the school reflects the ideals of Maharishi Dayanand and Mahatma Hansraj. It reflects the "Value System" prevalent in India which aims at nurturing our socio-cultural heritage as enshrined in the Vedas. Learners are imbibed by these values so as to develop them into good human beings. To this effect; the Vedic ritual of performing 'Havan' has a place of pride in the school’s curriculum and is performed regularly to purify the air and environment. The education in the school is an amalgamation of ancient Vedic values and contemporary scientific temperament. Along with the intellectual development, the school aims to promote the traditional Indian values with due emphasis on competence, creativity and inculcation of scientific outlook and aesthetic appreciation.

I taught Social sciences to class IX^th and Psychology to class XI^th. The majority of students in class IXth were boys whereas in class XIth it was the other way round. Though the students were full of energy and enthusiasm, their curriculum permitted little time for self-reflection, but I felt a need to re-channelize their energies. Interestingly, even though the boys in XIth std were less in number and got sufficient attention from the teacher, they were still reluctant to study and attempted different means to distract the teacher in order to avoid participation in the classroom. Exploring the issue further, I learnt that Psychology was offered as an option against Political Science. Perhaps it was because of a limited choice of subjects rather than the interest that compelled them to opt for Psychology. On the other hand, the girls looked forward to share their personal experiences which enriched the classroom discussion. This made me wonder whether the girls were more intuitive and inward looking or were they simply more interested in studying Psychology?

At the end of the term I felt a need to evaluate myself viz.-a-viz. my teaching and my interaction with my learners. I asked both the classes to fill a feedback performa which consisted of ten indicators of teacher effectiveness. Besides these indicators, there were a few qualitative questions. One of the questions required them to answer what they had learnt from their teacher. Quite a few of them wrote that they learned to control their anger. They mentioned that many a times they would try to provoke me, or enrage me, but I remained tranquil and composed.

I was both perplexed and touched by their responses, and what amazed me the most was that a similar feedback was received by not less than 12-13 students from both the classes. They perceived anger as a negative trait and, admired the teacher and her management of anger. This experience laid a path for a self-reflection of my journey as a teacher. I wanted to understand the way in which my learners conceptualized anger, why they expected me to be angry and how was I different from the other teachers? I was overwhelmed that I could make them aware of their anger and kindle a need to manage it.

I reflected on this underlying yet essential difference between the relationship they shared with me and the relationship they shared with other teachers. Before my School Experience Program, I had already reflected on the kind of relationship I wanted to establish with my learners. I viewed my learners as sentient beings who deserved respect and dignity. I encouraged them to share their thoughts and opinions while my focus remained inculcate sensitivity and tolerance in them. I don’t claim absolute tolerance but I never thought of using anger as a tool to establish control or discipline in the classroom.

I was amazed that the learners were aware of their naughty behavior and deliberately tried to elicit an aggressive reaction from their teacher. Not receiving the expected reaction made them perceive the teacher as different from the rest. While pondering over these issues, I began to read Krishnamurti and got many answers from him. He believed that there is a peculiar quality to aggression which is isolation. Even I feel that an aggressive person is alienated from the world. This alienation is twofold: one is when the world distances itself from him. Second is when the person is frustrated from the world and develop resentment towards it and creates a psychological barrier which prevents others from entering. When as teachers we get aggressive in classrooms, the students develop a fear for us and consider us as different from them. Students show their non-acceptance in the form of noncompliance. At times, this leads the teacher to develop a negative opinion about the students and distance herself from them. As far as my context is concerned, I still wonder whether I was able to form a personal connection with them at the affective level where a mutual understanding of others’ emotions prevailed or not.

I think that this is similar to what power and authority does to a human. When you are in an authoritative position you generally tend to look down upon others as less knowledgeable or less capable than you. A most common fallacy in which the teachers lead their entire life is that of supremacy. This sense of supremacy has emerged from our religious and cultural milieu which privilege gurus to enjoy supremacy even over God. Because of the prevalent norms around the conceptualization of guru it is being incongruously equated to teacher which gives her undue power. Although a teacher may feel a sense of pride to be considered as supreme but the underlying authority completely disengages the teacher with the learners. The role of teacher is reduced to passing knowledge and no deeper engagement is possible.

To my mind, for a teaching learning process to be effective, some amount of transformation should take place in the teacher as well as the learner’s personal transformation is initiated by the realization that you are capable of looking into your inner self. While I was reading the feedback of my students I felt as though I was undergoing some kind of transformation. Though I had an idea about the kind of relationship I will establish with my students I never consciously behaved in a subtle way or masked my anger. At that point I realized that it was not that I was trying to overcome my anger or control it. It was that I did not feel the emotion of anger at all. Krishnamurti said that you become what you fight. I think this happens because when you have to fight or control anger consciously, there will be an urge to keep on thinking about the ways to fight it. In this manner, the emotion of anger would still persist in our minds and no meaningful transformation would be probable. One may question that how can one get rid of anger and transform oneself.

I believe this can be arrived through self-awareness when one can attempt to delve deeper into oneself and try to comprehend the cause of anger. But this must be done objectively as a third person who witnesses. If we initiate a dialogue between ourselves and our anger, we tend to defend and attribute reasons which will not let us view it as it is. The problem of anger can be solved when we look at it without condemning it or passing judgments. Self-awareness is the first step forward on the path of personal transformation.

The transformation which we undergo would not be worthwhile if it doesn’t reach others. Would my transformation be meaningful if it was just restricted to me? I wouldn’t have considered my behavior as noteworthy if my students wouldn’t have learned from it. This experience became significant only because of its power to transform me as well as initiate a transformation in my learners. Though the transformation was implicit to me, it was effective as it was able to bring me closer to my inner self and my learners.

Therefore, I believe that personal transformation can’t take place in seclusion. It will lose its significance if social transformation would not follow. The personal transformation I experienced was a result of my deeper engagement with not only myself but also with others.