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Category: Peace

Category: Peace

Category : Peace

by Dhananjaya Kumar

Shanti, Aman, Peace are inscribed in our scriptures, upheld dearly in our minds, but elusive like fragrance in the winds. Countless peace lovers have been fighting throughout the ages to attain peace on the planet earth.  Yet, all kinds of strategy, policy, technique and technology have failed to bring peace to mankind.  Sages, kings, priests and politicians have all taught and fought to salvage humanity from CONFLICT. We wish for peace but end up fighting or preparing for wars. We console ourselves that this habitual violence is ingrained in human psychology. Yet we try to convince ourselves that humans have evolved from the primitive and primate tendencies to civilized and creative traits. Perhaps, to be human means to be in conflict by consensus- both inner and outer. Let me begin with two episodes.

It was Gandhi Jayanti. About 20 years ago, more than 500 people had gathered to celebrate non-violence. I happened to be one of the speakers along with the Mahatma’s grandson Arun Gandhi. Toward the end of my talk, I asked the audience to make the following CHOICE. Assume there are two (auto) biographies just published. One by a terrorist or serial killer, containing his life history, actions, methods and motivations. The other is my own story from a village boy who traveled to 60 countries, learned from many masters, studied many peoples and cultures, taught and wrote about many subjects, and witnessed many wonderful events. Then I asked which book would you buy, or is likely to be a bestseller. The answer I got was a pensive, pin-drop silence. If I were rich and famous, the answer would probably be more difficult. Let’s extend this choice to two sets of values or personal qualities: (a) ego, aggression, greed, revenge, corruption and (b) love, compassion, forgiveness, service, responsibility. Question: do we gravitate more toward category A or B?  Now the other story…

Music is deeply rooted in the Indian psyche. Music, dance, and other fine arts are peaceful, meditative endeavors. An artist is the least likely to be violent. Reality TV programs in India have become very popular. In recent years, most of those programs have embraced the spirit and language of violence. For example, a music competition there is called WORLD WAR – where musicians are warriors and commercial breaks are temporary pauses in the battlefield. In contrast, a group of NRI volunteers has set up a music and dance center with the underlying goal of promoting peace and creativity. In my own experience with music practice and recordings, I find it difficult to relate music with violence. I recall writing twice to the TV channel requesting it to reconsider putting music on a war footing. As expected, there was no reply. Instead, the music maestros (gurus), acting as ferocious warriors, began advertising for the programs, probably to further boost TRPs.

Such are the glimpses of the outer world thrust upon, or created by us. But recurrent terror attacks require immediate steps to protect life and property. However, throughout human history, more so in recent years, our MODERN societies have learned to expect perpetual violence – becoming increasingly insensitive to it. The violence we experience and tolerate is in fact worse than animalistic instinct, because even animals refrain from gratuitous killing of their own kind. Opinions converge on violence as a necessary evil, without examining why. One reason could be the blind pursuit of economic growth over all other goals of the human society- such as preservation of environment, survival of our specie, removal of poverty and the suffering associated with it, and human evolution to higher existence. Psychologically, we are broken up by our beliefs, religions, and socio-political systems. Consequently, we madly adhere to the methods and technologies (without assessing their impact) which disintegrate our environment and perpetuate destruction. We buy products which depict violence. Violence is profitable; peace is boring!  Perhaps, conflict and war is good for the economy!

We use LANGUAGE to express ourselves and communicate with others. Language is a link between our outer and the inner worlds – words are spoken out and their meanings absorbed within. We perceive ourselves to be in conflict with the world. We hear routine expressions such as: fighting traffic, fighting disease, fighting election, fighting for survival, fighting for peace, fighting to win, fighting to conquer nature, and so on. The emotional content of violent expressions settles down deep into the psyche and the lifespan (between birth and death) becomes a battlefield. Then we raise armies, invent and trade more destructive weapons, and reorient our intelligence to combat violence in order to attain peace. Imagine if the amount of resources devoted to fighting would far exceed what is required to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate all of humanity. Would that be inhuman?

The whole history of habitual violence in thought, action and speech is now a deep-rooted tendency (sanskara) of our COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS, which transmutes the human potential for evolution and enlightenment. A vertical shift to higher consciousness is needed, but how and by whom? The practice of Yoga and meditation can gradually transform the “autonomous” or involuntary physiological functions into “somatic” or voluntary functions – that is, the entire mind-body continuum becomes controllable by the individual. This would enable us to dissolve Karmic bondage and involuntary tendencies. The seeds of conflict would then dislodge from our collective unconscious. But this vision would take its own course. What do we do now to stamp our legacy for future generations?

As in medicine so in violence – prevention is cheaper and better than cure. The key is EDUCATION from early childhood – at home and in schools. So far, we have put children under stress everywhere, harping on the great untruth “empty mind is devil’s workshop”. Children today have difficulty in resting and sleeping; they do not learn the creative potential of calmness. They grow up as extreme thinkers and doers, always looking for newer and higher peaks of excitement. At home, since birth, we keep them virtually untouched by nature, feed them processed foods, implant in their minds a set of unquestionable beliefs and rituals, and pressurize them to perform and conform. In schools, they are taught to compete ruthlessly, not necessarily to excel; they are given all the answers, not how to explore and discover; they are handed a history of knowledge not the imagination to create new knowledge. Let us consider designing a new education system where, in addition to academics, the students would learn creative imagination, positive human and life values, social responsibility, resource conservation, harmony with nature, respect for diversity, and consequences of their actions and negative emotions. About 10 years ago, I had written a detailed paper on this subject “Drive to Overcome Violence Through Education (DOVE)”. It was widely circulated, and appreciated by recipients. But courage and resources were lacking to develop the program for phased implementation. Meanwhile, violence by and among the youth has increased; some have even been drawn to terror. Can we imagine a whole generation being peace-loving by nature?  Perhaps we are afraid of peace, yet desperately seeking Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

“People who are good with hammers, see every problem as a nail” – Abraham Maslow

“We will not have peace on this planet unless we have a spiritual renaissance” – U Thant

“The choice today is not between violence and non-violence; it either non-violence or non-existence” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Striving for peace and preparing for war are incompatible with each other” – Albert Einstein

Category: Peace

Category : Education , Humanity , Peace

Written by: Usha Chaudhary
October 14, 2017

Decades of research, study and contemplation by psychologists and educators suggest
that the missing link in today’s traditional education systems over-stimulates the left
brain, while neglecting the right hemisphere of the brain, which relates to self-
awareness, interconnectedness, creativity, love, compassion, adaptation, and reverence
toward nature, where true knowledge resides. Therefore, RENEW (Reform Education for
a New World) advocates an augmentation to our existing education system that
incorporates human and ethical values, personal and social responsibility, inter-personal
relationships, public service, deep relaxation, music, dance, lifestyle, and forward-
looking creative thinking. It is this balanced and integrated learning that will result in a
more creative, peace-loving, and harmonious society for our future generations.
It is interesting to note that the core concepts that underlie RENEW are not completely
foreign to the education space. In fact, one of the pioneers and early proponents of
education reform, Jiddu Krishnamurti explains in his book “Education and the
Significance of Life” (1953) that education should not condition the child, but build
awareness of our inevitable conditioning by society and social values. He stresses “self-
knowledge”, in that education should awaken the capacity in a child to be self-aware,
and not merely impart mechanical, technology-based learning that over-emphasizes
technique and ignores the total process of life itself. Similar to what RENEW prescribes,
Krishnamurti stresses the need for an integrated approach to education that activates
and stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, and the characteristics associated with
them.
In his book “Magical Parent; Magical Child” (2004), Joseph C. Pearce focuses on the role
of parents, families, coaches, and teachers in education. He encourages adults to
rediscover their playful inner child as they learn from, teach, and mentor children. It is
changing the adult that changes the environment, which helps transform the child. This
redefinition of the adult-child relationship optimizes the interface and enables the child
to mirror a new creative energy that in turn cycles back and transforms the adult.
Similarly, RENEW focuses on redefining the role of parents, families, and teachers in the
education process as well as provides techniques that emphasize learning through
nature and the environment.

Sraddhalu Ranade’s “Introduction to Integral Education” expands further on the
concepts noted above. Ranade believes that the core objective of education should be
to teach children to be good human beings capable of exceeding his/her humanness and
achieving something beyond. His five dimensions of teaching include: 1) teaching the
body to be spontaneously beautiful; 2) teaching the emotions to flow spontaneously; 3)
teaching the mind to always seek perfection; 4) teaching “I”-ness, i.e., our essence and
souls within; and 5) teaching spirituality and consciousness. Ranade goes on to describe
the core elements of education as solely being derived from nature – earth (the child);
water (nourishment); fire (thirst for knowledge); air (means of communication; and
ether (the environment in which education takes place). He too believes that the adult-
child relationship is the key to education. For optimal teaching and learning, the adult
must assume the role of authority, friend, helper, and his/her inner child in order to
make a personal connection and bond with the child. It is this bond of relationship and
love that enables and optimizes the natural flow of education.
The application and adoption of these transformational education concepts and
methods have been slow around the world but perhaps the most progressive and stark
example of its adoption has been experienced in Finland. Finland’s education system
shows that “less is more” and this is exemplified in several ways for both teachers and
students: 1) Less formal schooling allows children to learn through playing and exploring
and then starting formal education when they are developmentally ready, at age 7; 2)
Less time in school enables students to reflect and absorb their learning; it enables
teachers to spend more time on planning; and enables both teachers and students to be
well rested and ready to teach/learn; 3) Less teachers results in more consistency, care,
and connection with the student; 4) Less/fewer classes allows for several breaks and
gives students time to digest their learning and exercise their bodies and muscles
resulting in greater focus and concentration; 5) Less testing results in more learning due
to reduced stress for both teachers and students; 6) Less topics enables delving into
greater depth on specific topics to ensure optimal learning; 7) Less homework places
greater emphasis on participation; 8) Less students per class promotes more individual
attention to the student; and 9) Less structure leads to greater trust – society trusts the
schools to hire good teachers; schools trust the teachers to be highly trained individuals;
parents trust the schools and teachers to provide quality and individualized education to
their children; and children trust their teachers, parents, and school to make learning
enjoyable and creative vs competitive and punitive.
As Albert Einstein so aptly put it, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten
what one has learned in school”. He also observed that “No problem can be solved by the
same mind that has created it." Einstein’s brilliance is an inspiration to the scientific and
educational communities alike. He professed the importance of imagination, curiosity,
and the strength of character as being essential ingredients to education and learning.

He recognized that a transition from the existing partial and academic-centric education
process to a more integrative education system requires vision, leadership,
commitment, and collaboration. RENEW is a platform and program to help us do just
that, not by substituting the existing education systems but by providing an integrated
learning to supplement our traditional academic curricula – by adding an additional dimension of experiential lessons focused on character-building, civic duty, ethics, morality, and connection with and reverence for nature. It may take generations to be fully functional and effective, but we must begin now and welcome all to join our movement to reform education for a new world!

Category: Peace

Category : Education , Humanity , Peace , Spiritual

I. The Case for Education Renewal:

Over the past 20+ years, we have studied, observed and contemplated upon the vast subject of education for current and future generations. We have read in-depth reviews and research done in this area, and have keenly observed education systems in many countries. With a few exceptions, we found that people are generally dissatisfied with school systems in most countries. Only a few countries have taken steps to reform education, albeit with limited success. At the local level, there are many visionary individuals and institutions that have launched and are doing progressive work in this area, however, their tremendous efforts and results are not adequately acknowledged or appreciated. We want to join forces with like-minded individuals who are passionate about education reform in order to affect change in our communities, countries, and society at large.
There is strong evidence that humanity is on the path to self-destruction. While this may sound somewhat inflammatory, it is not far from the truth. We are bombarded with news clips and stories on a daily basis that demonstrate that negativity has become a dominant force in our lives, society, and world. Many people are driven by egos, resulting in power, greed and selfishness. The symptoms can be seen in the violence, poverty and suffering that exists throughout the human race. There is wealth imbalance that is further fueling the greed to acquire more and exploit others. This current environment and our society that is based on hostility and distrust is not sustainable.
As a result of this bifurcation in the human race, our planet is suffering a slow demise. Humans show little awareness, acknowledgement and respect for the earth’s natural resources. There is natural inclination towards being in conflict with nature and its fundamental laws. The fact of the matter is that there is no shortage of natural resources and humans are not violent by nature. However, the current social and power structure encourages a small minority of humans to exploit the large majority. The future looks rather bleak for mankind. The primary issues are systemic, societal, and habitual. Life, for the most part, has become a battlefield where everyone if fighting to either survive or to exploit. The amount of avoidable wastage and destruction is more than the resources required to remove poverty and provide for basic human needs. We must act now to begin a foundational change in our education system.

It is quite disturbing to observe this present state of humanity suffering from shortsightedness, deprivation, human trafficking, and moral and ethical degradation. Education has become limited to literacy and job skills in a fiercely competitive environment with the end goal of wealth creation; without due regard to human and ethical values focused on: individual talent, personal and social responsibility, cooperation and compassion, collaborative conflict resolution, connection with nature and environment, etc.
Simply put, today’s education is focused on enhancing textbook-based IQ with little to no focus on building EQ in our students that are based on innate and acquired learning from our nature and environment. We must place greater emphasis on character-building, self-respect, and co-existing with others with love, cooperation, compassion and preservation. More money and more technology are not substitutes for wholistic education which can produce more intelligent and visionary individuals and hence societies. We realize it is not possible to replace or reform the entire education system, but we can begin by augmenting, broadening and deepening the scope of learning in our school systems. Raising the level of awareness among students, families and teachers should be the first step.
We are in a trap of sorts, and our planet is in a death spiral but we believe we can break away from it. We have a vision of a society with the same resources that we currently possess but where needs are met and waste is minimized; a world where there is peace, compassion and respect for mankind. It is possible to foster an environment where all humans can not only survive, but also thrive.
Today, since birth, children are forced to be disconnected from nature. It is a fact that life cannot survive with animosity towards life sources of nature. Isolation from nature is a fundamental flaw and must be rectified through education. This education must begin with children. Children have a natural interest in growth, exploration and learning. They have no vested interest in the status-quo since they don’t know it. Therefore, their minds can be nurtured in the very early years to learn from and live peacefully on our beautiful planet rather than build an attitude of conquering and exploiting it.
We need to create learning that is more freethinking, visionary, and based on discovery and exploration. Again, our proposal does not call for replacement of the existing education system but merely augmenting it by increasing the level of awareness of this renewed method at existing schools. This will ultimately lead to a different and more sustainable society and world for our future generations.
This is the premise for this education renewal program – to build a new world, a new society, and a renewed planet.

II. Principles of RENEW (Reform Education for a New World):
The principles of RENEW can be categorized in 4 areas of study, as follows:

  • Accentuate and Celebrate Individual Talent
    Indirect learning
    Creative play
    Focus on excellence vs competition
  • Instill Human and Ethical Values
    Personal and social responsibility
    Civic responsibility
    Health, fitness and nutrition
    Respect for self and others
  • 3. Develop Emotional Balance
    Cooperation and compassion
    Character building
    Communication
    Teamwork
    Collaborative problem solving
  • Enable Connection with Nature and Environment
    Exploration and discovery
    Awareness of cosmos and natural environment
    Understanding interconnections and dependencies

III. Implementation Method:
The principles or areas of study will become modules for learning and each module will be incorporated into simple “how to” processes geared to three important stakeholders – Parents/Families, Students, and Teachers.

  1. PARENTS/FAMILIES:  This module will focus on the home environment, indirect learning, character-building, emotional balance, connection with nature, being role models, healthy diet/nutrition, personal hygiene, life-style, working through blocked and limiting beliefs and more.
  2. STUDENTS:  This module will focus on respect for self and others, cooperation, compassion, civic responsibilities, exploration, discovery, communication, dealing with emotions, being self-reliant, responsible and taking initiative for self-growth
  3. TEACHERS:  This module will focus on exploration and discovery, awareness of natural environment, supportive approach, individual talent and pace of learning, excellence vs competition, exercises and assignments, organizing knowledge, grading vs assessment of strengths and weaknesses, correction vs punishment, sports and games, individual and group projects, beyond literacy, etc.The environmental factors would be integrated into all three and would include understanding cosmos, nature, earth, life forms, vegetation, reverence, interconnections and dependencies, exposure to natural laws, fundamental sciences, documentary films, activities by parents and teachers, etc.

We have a team of enthusiastic people who share our vision and are well trained to assist us in creating this project.
We have created a detailed plan for each of the modules to elaborate upon the brief outline provided above. We will prepare booklets that will focus on the key concepts of RENEW, including its values and a practical “how to” guide for parents/families, students, and teachers. These booklets can also be translated into other languages to facilitate access and acceptability.
We have a team of enthusiastic people who share our vision and are well trained to assist us in creating this project.
We believe that “reform education for a new world” (RENEW) is the most important thing to do in this life. We look up to you for guidance in moving this concept into action.

DHANANJAYA KUMAR: Retired World Bank senior economist, Yogacharya, writer, poet, cultural activist

NEHA PATEL: Consultant Psychologist, Emotional Well being Coach, Arts Based Therapist, Trainer and Facilitator

USHA CHAUDHARY: Chartered accountant, executive experience in finance, media, charitable organization

Category: Peace

Category : Humanity , Peace

Twenty children 5-10 yrs old massacred in USA, 22 kids stabbed in China, many crimes against children in India and around the world. That was 2013, but the situation is no different today. We cannot think of a single country where crime against children are not committed.  Our societies seem to be on a high-pitch, fast track roller-coaster ride to more consumption, more accumulation, more wastage, violence and destruction. And we call this culture and civilization. Imagine what children are thinking about all this. Clearly, this is an unfriendly world for them.  and how future generations will judge today’s collective mind-set.

Do we wait helplessly, like insensitive self-centered creatures, for society to change or can we join a movement to co-create a more intelligent and compassionate society. We invite you to join RENEW; and hope that a critical mass people with vision would share some time and talent to carry the vision forward.

Here is a quote to help soul-searching. From an excellent eye-opening book “Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight” by Thom Hartmann, the following passage written by Neale Donald Walsch (author of “Conversations with God”) as “afterword” for the book by Hartmann

“If you decide to ignore this information, you will co-create one kind of future. If you decide to act on it, you will co-create another…. When I read this book I knew that I could never view my life in the same way again. I could see myself as part of the problem, or as part of the solution, but I could never again see myself as having nothing to do with either… We know enough to take part in changing the collective consciousness, and write a new “story” of human experience.

You may feel like a voice in the wilderness, but it is your voice we are waiting to hear. Let us act, at last, in the best interest of us all. Then the sun will shine another day, and another still, and life will not merely go on, but achieve its highest expression, its grandest glory, its greatest joy. Can we give this gift to our children? Please say yes.”

Raising Intelligent Kids

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