Value Education – Basic Human Aspirations

Unit-1: Value Education

• Harmony is usually identified as a human value, referring to compatibility and

accord in feelings, actions, relationships, opinions, interests, etc. It denotes a state of
balance among forces influencing and even opposing one another
• “what to do” is “what is important” is “what is valuable”
• The value of an entity is its participation in the larger order of which it is a part. For
example, the value of a pen is that it can write. Here writing is the participation of the
pen in the bigger order in which it is present along with paper and human being
• For human being, this bigger order includes other human beings, plants, air, water,
soil, animals, birds, etc., i.e. the entire nature/existence. The value of a human being
is its participation in this entire nature/existence. Hence, to understand human
values, we need to study the human reality along with all that is there in the entire
nature/existence which constitutes the larger order. The role of human being is to
understand and fulfil its relationship with each and every unit in the existence. The
part of education that deals with the understanding of one’s participation in the
larger order, and thus ensuring it in living, is called as Value Education.
Levels of a Living Human Being

Individual
My value for myself
(eg. ensuring happiness in the self and health in the body)

Family
My value in the family
(eg. ensuring feeling of relationship and prosperity)

Society
My value in the society
(eg. to participate in social systems for justice, peace and
harmony)

Nature/Existence
My value in nature/existence
(eg. mutual fulfilment with rest of nature)
Living in Myself : We all have desires, thoughts, beliefs, imaginations and choices. This is the
first level of our living. Before expressing ourselves in relations, we think, and whatever we
receive from the other, it again passes through our internal processes. We refer to this as (our)
Self. This inner world (or ‘myself ’) co-exists with the body and together we refer to this as a
‘human being’.
Living in Family: All of us are born to our parents and this is the family we are born to. This is
the first web of relationships for each one of us and subsequently we live in more relationships
that include our siblings, our friends and classmates, teachers and others. These are the people
we live with on a daily basis, and we call this ‘family’.
Living in Society: Our family is part of a larger group of people we live with where there are
interdependencies around food, clothing, housing, services, health, education, justice etc. We
live as a part of this human system. This is our society.
Living in Nature/Existence: We are on this earth: with the grass, plants and trees, birds,
animals and other humans surrounding us and we live in this large eco-system that we call
nature. Regardless of where we are, our village, town or city, is within this eco-system or natural
habitat. Our planet is surrounded by a larger system of planetary bodies and that includes the
moon, the sun and the infinite stars and planetary systems that surround us. Our earth is a
part of the solar system that co-exists with all that there is in this entire ‘existence’. And then
there is space between planets, even between you and the book right now! All these things
present in space are together called as existence. ‘Existence’ means all that exists.
Value of a unit is its participation in the larger order
Identification of values is based on realization and understanding
Human values = Value of human being is its participation in the larger order
The participation of human being is in the form of behavior & work
Values of behavior are present as 9 parts in a relationship(Trust, Respect, Affection, Care,
Guidance, Reverence, Gratitude, Glory & Love).
Working with material things, ensuring their right utilization, enrichment & protection is the
human value.
The value of a human being is its participation that leads to harmony at all these levels
In human-human interaction, living in accordance with human values leads to mutual
happiness
▪ Your happiness
▪ Happiness of the other human being
In human-rest of nature interaction, living in accordance with human values leads to mutual
prosperity
▪ Your prosperity
▪ Prosperity of rest of nature.

Understanding What to do Value Value Education

Learning How to do Skills Skill Development
Doing Use of Skills Skills guided by Values Practice
Meaning of Value Education:Value Education is the education which enables to understand
‘what is valuable’ for human happiness. It is all about enabling a transformation in the human
beings to help them move from Animal Consciousness to Human Consciousness.
Need for Value Education:

1. Correct identification of our aspirations: The subject which enables us to understand

‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is called ‘value education’ (VE). Thus, VE enables us
to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also indicate the direction for
their fulfilment. It also helps to remove our confusions and contradictions and bring harmony
at all levels.

2. Understanding universal human values to fulfill our aspirations in continuity: Values

form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviours and actions. Once we know what is valuable
to us, these values becomes the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to
understand the universality of various human values, because only then we can have a
definite and common program for value education. Then only we can be assured of a happy
and harmonious human society.
3. Complementarity of values and skills: To fulfill our aspirations both values and skills are
necessary. When we identify and set the right goals and produced in right direction. This is
known as value domain, the domain of wisdom, and when we learn and practices to actualize
this goal to develop the techniques to make this happen in real life, in various dimensions of
human endeavor (struggle). This is known as domain of skills. Hence, there is an essential
complementarity between values and skills for the success of any human endeavor. Ex: I want
to lead a healthy life. Only wishing for good health will not help me keep my body fit & healthy
and without having understood the meaning of health, I will not be able to choose things
correctly to keep my body fit and healthy.
4. Evaluation of our beliefs: Each one of us believes in certain things and we base our values
on these beliefs, be they false or true which may or may not be true in reality. These believes
come to us from what we read, see, hear, what our parents tells us, our friends talk about, what
the magazines talk of, what we see from TV etc. Value Education helps us to evaluate our beliefs
and assumed values.
5. Technology and human values: The present education system has become largely skill-
based. The prime emphasis is on science and technology. However, science and technology can
only help to provide the means to achieve what is considered valuable. It is not within the scope
of science and technology to provide the competence of deciding what really is valuable. Value
Education is a crucial missing link in the present education system. Because of this deficiency,
most of our efforts may prove to be counterproductive and serious crises at the individual,
societal and environmental level are manifesting.
 Basic Guidelines for Value Education:
1. Universal:Whatever we study as value education has to be universally applicable to all
human beings and be true at all times and all places. In addition, it need not restrict itself to
a certain sect, creed, gender or nationality etc. So it has to deal with universal human
values.
2. Rational: It has to be amenable to reasoning and not based on dogmas or blind beliefs. It
cannot be a set of sermons or Do’s and Don’ts.
3. Natural and Verifiable: We want to study something that is natural to us. Being natural
means, it is acceptable in a natural manner to all human beings. When we live on the basis
of such values that are natural to us, it leads to fulfilment, leads to our happiness and also
is conducive to other people we interact with, as well as with nature. We also would like to
verify these values ourselves, i.e. we don’t want to assume something just because it is being
stated here or written in a book, rather, each one of us will want to verify these to find out
whether they are true for us. This has to be done by both checking for validity within
ourselves, as being naturally acceptable as well as something which we can implement in
our living and observe its outcome to be fulfilling.
4. All Encompassing:Value education is not merely an academic exercise. It is aimed at
transforming our consciousness and living. Hence, it has to permeate into all dimensions of
our living, namely, thought, behaviour, work and understanding/realization; as well as all
levels, namely, individual, family, society and nature.
5. Leading to Harmony: Finally, value education has to enable us to be in harmony within
and in harmony with others. Hence, when we live on the basis of these values, we start
understanding that it will it will
Contents of Value education: The contents should be Holistic (considered as a whole thing
rather than a collection of parts) & All Encompassing (Including or covering everything or
everyone)
Covers all dimensions of human being, (as an Individual):
1. Understanding/Realization
2. Thought
3. Behaviour
4. Work/Participation in larger order
Eg. In Thought – we want clarity (a state of resolution, solution) NOT confusion (a state of problem)
In brief:
Content of Value Education:
1. To understand myself, my aspirations, my happiness
2. To understand the goal of human life
3. To understand the other entities in nature, their inter- connectedness and co-existence and
role of human being in nature
4. To understand harmony at the four levels of human living
5. learning to live inaccordance with all the above understandings by being aware of one’s
thought, behavior and work.
 Scope of Value Education: Any course on value education must include
1. All dimensions- thought, behavior, work & and realization and
2. All levels of human living - individual, family, society, nature/existence of human living.
Accordingly, the content of Value Education will be to understand myself, my
aspirations, my happiness; understand the goal of human life comprehensively; understand the
other entities in nature, the innate inter-connectedness, the co-existence in the
nature/existence and finally the role of human being in this nature/existence entirety. Hence, it
has to encompass understanding of harmony at various levels, namely, individual, family,
society, nature and existence, and finally, learning to live in accordance with this understanding
by being vigilant to one’s thought, behavior and work.
 The Process of Value Education:
• The Process of value education is through Self-Exploration
Self-Exploration:
• Self-exploration involves two steps:
1. Verification of the proposals on the basis of our natural acceptance
2. Experiential validation by living according to it.
Natural Acceptance(Svatva): It is the process of seeing and observing everything and then
using your inner conscience to get the answer from within. It is a way to bring out the goodness
in everything naturally. It helps us to learn everything that is good from others and absorb it in
our own way, but without changing our identity.
Alternatively, Natural acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance of the self,
people and environment. It also refers to the absence of any exception from others. In other
words, Natural acceptance is way to accept the good things naturally.

Characteristics of Natural Acceptance:

• It does not change with time/age: What is naturally acceptable to you today is the same as
what was naturally acceptable to you yesterday, and what will be naturally acceptable to you
tomorrow. For example, our natural acceptance for the feeling of trust, for the feeling of
respect in relationship remains invariant with time: a child naturally accepts having the
feeling of trust. Twenty years later, when (s)he becomes a youth, she still has a natural
acceptance for trust; and when she grows into an old person, (s)he continues to have a
natural acceptance for the feeling of trust – there is no change in the natural acceptance with
time for any given person.
• It doesn’t depend on place: Naturally acceptable feelings, like trust, respect, affection, etc.
remain invariant with place. These feelings are naturally acceptable to me when I am in India,
in America, in Africa, in Europe or in any other place. Like that, my natural acceptance to
keep the Body healthy does not change with place. No matter where we are, we have the same
natural acceptance at all the places.
• Natural acceptance is uncorrupted by likes and dislikes or assumptions or beliefs: We
have taken the examples of this above also. When we ask the right questions, we can see our
natural acceptance and it is there. Natural acceptance remains unaffected by our likes and
dislikes, our belief systems and our preconditioning even if they are very deep and influence
our thoughts day and night. For example, even if we are preconditioned for years ‘not to trust
anyone’, if we ask the question as to what is naturally acceptable ‘trust or mistrust’, the
answer is in favor of trust.
• Natural acceptance is innate; we don’t need to create it: Whatever be the background of a
person, this faculty is very much there. For example, the moment we think of disrespecting
someone, how does it feel within? Comfortable or uncomfortable? Similarly, the moment we
think of opposing anyone, how does it feel? Are we at ease or we feel uneasy? Of course,
uneasy. Why is this happening? Because we have the faculty of natural acceptance as a part
and parcel of our being and it keeps hinting that what we are feeling, thinking or doing is in
harmony with our own natural acceptance or not. We can start referring to it at any time, it is
always there.
• Natural acceptance is definite: It is for relationship, harmony and co-existence which is
universal. This we can directly verify by asking, what is naturally acceptable to us –
relationship or opposition, harmony or disharmony, co-existence or struggle? When we look
into the details of relationship, harmony and co-existence, in chapters to follow, we will ask
these questions again regarding each and see that these three – relationship, harmony and co-
existence, ultimately provide the guidance for our living in harmony, happiness
 Self exploration
Exploration = Observing Outside
Self-Exploration = Observing Inside

➢ It is the process to find out what is valuable to me by investigating within myself.

What is right for me and true for me and has to be judged within myself. Once we
start paying attention towards investigating into our present beliefs and aspirations,
we get to know whether our aspirations and what we really want to be (i.e. what is
naturally acceptable to us) are one and the same or not. If they are the same, then
it’s no problem. But if the two are different, it means that we are leading a life
against our natural acceptance. Such a life cannot bring us happiness.
or
➢ Self exploration is a process of discovering that there is something innate(existing in,
belonging to), invariant(never changing) and universal in all human beings. This
enables us to look at the confusions and contradictions within us and resolve them
by becoming aware of our natural acceptance. Once we start observing inside, we
can achieve harmony at all levels of our living.
Content of self exploration involves finding answers for the following fundamental
questions of all the human beings:
1. The Desire/Goal/Aspiration: What is my (human) Desire/ Goal? What do I really want in
life, or what is the goal of human life?
2. The Program: What is my (human) program for fulfilling my aspirations? How to fulfil
it? What is the program to actualize the above?

Purpose of Self-Exploration:
1. It is a process of dialogue between “what you are” and “what you really want to be”:
We will look into ourselves and find out what we are today, and how this contrasts from
what we really want to be. If these two are the same, then there is no problem. If on
investigation we find that these two are not the same, then it means we are living with this
contradiction (of not being what we really want to be) and hence, we need to resolve this
contradiction, this conflict within us.
2. It is a process of self evolution through self-investigation: By self-investigation, we shall
work towards being what we really want to be. Hence, the self-exploration leads to our own
improvement, our own self-evolution – we will become qualitatively better. We can be more
in harmony within ourselves.
3. It is a process of knowing oneself and through that, knowing the entire existence:
Thus, self-exploration leads to us knowing ourselves better. Today, we are largely unaware of
our own characteristics, our own assumptions, beliefs and pre-conditionings. We will go
beyond these beliefs to know ourselves. Once we have known ourselves, and we are sure of
it, we can then also know all the things around us correctly. This way, we can be sure of
these things in our own right, we can be authentic about them. We don’t have to continue to
live merely with assumptions about these things.
4. It is a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling it:
Once we start knowing ourselves and everything beside us, we shall understand our relationship
with them i.e. we shall understand our relationship with other humans, animals, plants and matter
etc. We shall then know how we have to live in harmony with all these things.
5. It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living accordingly: None of
us wants to live with uncertainty. If our state of mind, our own behaviour keeps changing, we are not
comfortable with ourselves. We all desire for certainty and stability. Once we know our own true
nature, we will also understand what is our participation with the other things we live with – this is
the ethical human conduct or the humane conduct. This is what characterizes a human being. When
we know this true human character, we start moving towards it in a natural manner.
6. It is a process of being in harmony with oneself and in harmony with entire existence:
Through the process of Self-exploration, I establish a dialogue with my natural acceptance. This
enables me to be in harmony within myself. Through the same process, I am able to explore into the
harmony in the entire existence. We slowly come to realize (and we will keep talking about this in the
entire book) that there is an innate harmony in the existence. I only need to discover this. And once I
do this, I can learn to live in harmony with the entire existence. Thus the process of Self-exploration
helps me live in harmony within myself and in all my interactions with the worldaround.
7. It is a process to identify our innateness (Svatva) and move towards Self
Organization(Swantantrata) and Self-Expression (Swarajya): When I identify my innateness, what
I really want to be and establish a dialogue with it, it enables me to become Self-organized, i.e. I
attain harmony in myself. This is Swatantratã. When I start living with this harmony, it starts
expressing itself through my harmonious behaviour and work, and it naturally extends to my
participation with the surroundings. This is working towards Swarãjya.

➢ Svatva: (Existing in, belonging to, or determined by factors present in an individual from birth) To
know your Natural Accepatnce & what you want to be.
➢ Swatantratã : Being self-organised : Being in harmony in oneself
➢ Swarãjya : Self-expression, Self-extension : Living in harmony with others, and thus participation
towards harmony in the whole existence
 The proposals stated are verified on the basis of our natural acceptance
and tested it out in our living, which ultimately results in “realization” and “understanding” in
us. This means, knowing something to be “true”, for sure, within ourselves.
The answers we get on having realization & understanding are:
(a) Assuring: “I am assured of the answer or understanding in myself”
(b) Satisfying: “I am satisfied that the answers are fulfilling for me.
(c) Universal: “I know or realize that the answers I have got are the same for everyone.
They are invariant with respect to:
(i) Time: These answers are the same at all times: past, present and future
(ii) Space: These answers are the same at all places or locations
(iii) Individual: The answers are the same for every human being
If the answers we get do not fulfil any of the criteria of being assuring, satisfying
and universal, it means the answer is most likely coming from your past beliefs/conditioning
and not from your natural acceptance. Hence, we need to re-verify the answer.
Basic aspirations of an human being
All human beings basically aspire for/ want the following in their life:
i. Continuous Happiness
ii. Prosperity

Happiness: Happiness may be defined as being in harmony/ synergy(the added success,

energy, or power gained by two people or organizations working together, which is better than
the result achieved by them working separately) in the states/ situations that we live in.
Happiness is being in a state of liking. Unhappiness is a lack of this synergy or harmony. To be
in a state of disliking is unhappiness.
• Happy situations comprise of feelings such as trust, respect, confidence etc. All these feelings
carry an element of harmony in them. Hence they make us feel relaxed and happy.
• On the other hand, feelings like failure, disrespect, lack of confidence, doubt etc. lack the
element of harmony and hence make us unhappy.
 Happiness Continuous Happiness
The state or situation, in which I live, State / Situation in which I live
or expanse(great extent) of my being:
if there is harmony / synergy(The added 1. As an Individual Human Being
success, energy, or power gained by two 2. As a member of a Family
people or organizations working together, 3. As a member of Society
which is better than the result achieved by
them working separately) in it, 4. As an unit in Nature/Existence

then it is Naturally Acceptable to me to be in Continuity of Happiness

that state / situation = Harmony at all levels of being i.e.
(and I want to continue to be in that state / 1. Harmony in the Human Being
situation) 2. Harmony in the Family
3. Harmony in the Society
To be in a state / situation which is Naturally 4. Harmony in Nature/Existence
To be in a state of Harmony / Synergy is
Happiness

Happiness = To be in Harmony
Prosperity: In addition to happiness, we also aspire for adequate fulfillment of our bodily needs
i.e. the need for physical facilities. These Physical Facilities are the material things we use in
order to fulfill the needs of our body. Having enough physical facilities gives us a feeling of
prosperity.
• If one has more than required amount of physical facilities then a prosperous person thinks of
right utilisation, nurturing the other using the extra physical facilities
Prevailing notions of Happiness and Prosperity: In the modern world, the desire for physical
facilities has become unlimited. The physical facilities are no longer seen as objects fulfilling
bodily needs but as a means of maximizing happiness. This unlimited desire for physical
facilities has become anti-ecological and anti-people endangering human survival itself.
The false notions of happiness and Prosperity have affected human living at all four
levels:
➢At the level of Individual: Problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides, stress,
insecurity, psycho-somatic diseases, loneliness etc.
➢At the level of family: Breaking of Joint families, mistrust, conflict between older and younger
generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, family feuds, wasteful
expenditures in family functions etc.
➢At the level of Society: Terrorism, naxalism, communism, casteism, racial, ethnic struggles,
wars between nations, genocide, nuclear genetic warfare.
At the level of Nature: Global Warming, pollution, depletion of mineral resources,
deforestation, loss of soil fertility.
The three basic requirements to ensure happiness and prosperity for human beings are –
1. Right Understanding helps to create harmony at all four levels of human living. Right Understanding enables us to –

• Resolve the issues in human relationships

• Be prosperous
• Enrich Nature
• Work out our requirements for physical facilities
• Correctly distinguish between wealth and prosperity
• Understand the harmony in Nature
Final goal of Human aspiration is
To live in harmony with all four levels
1. Myself
2. Family
3. Society
4. Nature/Existence (including space)

Wealth: Wealth is a physical thing. It means having money, or having a lot of physical facilities,
or having both.
Prosperity Vs Wealth: Wealth means possessing more number of physical things while
Prosperity is a feeling of possessing more than required physical facilities.
Following are the possibilities:
• A person may not possess required physical facilities, so he may not feel prosperous.
• A person may accumulate more and more wealth but still he may be deprived of the feeling of
prosperity.
• A person may have required wealth and feel prosperous