How the practice of mindfulness helps impart Holistic Education incorporating all the f our pillars as described in the UNESCO report " Learning The treasure within".

1. Holistic Education &
.Mindfulness
P.L.Dhar

2. Why Education ?
Whatever good or bad that you see today in
the society is directly linked to the kind of
education we give to our youth.
Aristotle “..the fate of empires
depends on the education of
the youth.”

3. Education today
Assured high paying job
Pleasant is good !
We become felicity computers!Materialistic world view
Happiness lies solely in sensory pleasures
No discussion on Values
Aim of life=> material acquisition!
Best education

4. Consequences of this materialistic
world view
• Life means more !
Ecological degradation,
discontentment
Inequity, Strife, Crime, Violence
Dehumanization, Value erosion
• Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride
• Na baap bada na bhaya, sabse bada rupaiya

5. What is real purpose of education ?

6. Views on Education
• There are two educations. One should teach
us how to make a living and the other how to
live
• Perhaps the most valuable result of all
education is the ability to make yourself do
the things you have to do, when it ought to be
done, whether you like it or not.
• Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a
fire.

7. Education : Indian
Perspective
Vidyaya amritam ashnute
Education is the manifestation of perfection already in Man
Sa vidya ya vimuktaye
The purpose ….. not to produce mere scholars,
technicians or job hunters, but integrated men …
who are free of fear

8. UNESCO: Report of the International
Commission on Education for the
Twenty first Century
Learning : The Treasure
Within
Education throughout Life based
on four pillars
– Learning to Know
– Learning to do
– Learning to live together
– Learning to be

9. Learning to Know
• Not a mere information
gathering but mastering the
instruments of knowledge --
learning to learn
– Calling upon the powers of
concentration, memory and thought
– scientific temper
– Understand the environment , to be
able to live in dignity .. various skills
– The sheer joy of learning

10. Learning to Know
• It is futile to try to know
everything
• But specialization must not
exclude general knowledge.
– Developing curiosity
– Need for fruitful synergies
between disciplines
– Future of work : Interdisciplinary -
‘Ecological’

11. Learning to Do
• Putting learning to practice
• From skill to competence
– Vocational trg + social
behaviour + aptitude for team
work +initiative + readiness to
take risks
– importance of interpersonal
relationship – rise of service
sector
– Intuition, flair, judgment and the
ability to hold the team together

12. Learning to live together
• By developing an understanding of
other people and appreciation of
interdependence
• Discovering others, developing
empathy
– First know oneself
• Working towards common
objectives
– projects, cultural activities, social
work
• Manage conflicts in the spirit of
respect for the values of pluralism,
mutual understanding and peace.

13. Learning to BE
• So as to better develop one’s
personality
• Act with greater autonomy,
judgment and personal
responsibility
• Enable flowering of all potentials

14. Requirements of a Holistic
Education
 Enhancing the power of concentration,
memory and thought
 Scientific temper, Developing curiosity
 Readiness to take risks … fearlessness
 Ability to face failure

15. Requirements of a Holistic
Education
 Managing interpersonal relationships,
aptitude for team work, and the ability to
hold the team together
 Manage conflicts , developing empathy,
appreciation of interdependence
 Develop one’s personality, Intuition
 Enable flowering of all potentials

16. How to fulfill these requirements?
• Teaching the art of increasing concentration
power to get control over actions, speech and
thoughts
• Teaching the art of handling ups and downs
of life – resisting temptations and handling
criticism !
• Teaching the art of self-observation – to
know the strengths and weaknesses

17. Present approach in most schools
• Moral Education
• Limitations of didactic approach
• Example from Mahābhārata
जानामि धिमि् न च िे प्रवृति
जानामि अधिमि् न च िे तनवृति

18. Need for addressing the root cause
• Root cause of lack of self control:
– instinctive tendency to seek pleasant
feelings [craving] and avoid unpleasant
feeling [aversion]
• Feelings arise at all sense doors
• Bodily sensations are the best anchor
for training

19. • Systematic scanning of the body to ‘feel’
the bodily sensations and training the mind
not to react to them.
• Using breath as an anchor to raise
concentration [Ānāpāna meditation] to
develop the ability to feel subtle sensations

20. Mindfulness
Emotions
Thoughts Mindfulness
Body : postures,
Activities,
movements,
sensations
Moment
by moment
Non-
judgmental
Open
curiosity
Feelings
Perceptions
Non-
reactive
Being
Consciously
aware of

21. Meditation process in nutshell
Select object of
meditation
Notice any
reaction --
Relax
Noticing
attention has
wandered
Attention wanders
Return the
attention to the
object
• Moment by
moment
• Open Curiosity
• Non-judgmental
• Non -reactive
Let us practice for a few minutes

22. International acceptance of
Mindfulness
Moving from unconscious to conscious living

23. Benefits of practice
• Increase in concentration & efficiency
• Ability to resist temptations, distinguish
between ‘urgent’ and ‘important’ ; and say NO
• Ability to face ups-downs of life
• Proper self-appraisal- knowledge of strengths
and weaknesses
• Improvement in relationships