Education in Values and Spirituality :: Introduction to Values and Spirituality

Module 1 - Introduction to Values and Spirituality

Values and spirituality are central to the moral philosophy of human civilisation and its legal institutions. Values and spirituality are traditionally considered to be the prerogatives of the religions and they are viewed as being embodied in the family unit. Yet for 25 centuries, the great and the lesser-known civilisations have been struggling with the issues of human frailty. Our collective inability to live up to our espoused values and moral principles, with the exception of a few outstanding individuals, has paved the way for a long, slow moral decline. Today we face a values crisis.

The aim of the Diploma of Education in Values and Spirituality is to inspire participants to re-examine their ideas and beliefs about values and spirituality. It covers a wide range of subjects where clarity about values and spirituality is important. Subjects for exploration include, for example: the emotional and psychological impact of archaic social attitudes, gender bias, economic and social stress, human rights, addiction and environmental issues. In addition, the Diploma provides definitions of values, methods of meditation, and explains how to develop critical thinking, negotiation skills and structured conversation.

Conventional education in the present economic framework has become oriented toward acquiring specialised skills and knowledge for the purpose of obtaining remunerative work. Competition has become so intense that higher education has either chosen, or been forced, to compromise on education that focuses on life, values, culture, integrity, and other skills and on dimensions of understanding that make one a better man or woman who can contribute qualitatively to a civilised world.

ValuEducation aims to supplement conventional education, to supply important information and to teach skills without which a student’s chances of experiencing success in their physical, emotional, social and spiritual life are diminished.

When a young adult emerges from their educational alma mater it is important that they have qualifications to facilitate financially rewarding employment. Many other elements, however, are essential as a preparation to meet social challenges and the stresses and expectations of life in the family, community and workplace. If an individual has not had the opportunity to develop character, inner strength and the powers of good judgement and discrimination, they are at a disadvantage in any social and professional environment. Unless individuals take the time to think about their values, to form an ethical policy for themselves, and to determine their priorities, they remain ill-equipped to deal with the tests they will face as the years go by.

Swami Vivekananda once defined education as, ‘The manifestation of the perfection already in man.’ By using the expression perfection, he directed attention to the divinity inherent in everyone. An institution of education becomes truly educational when it turns its attention inward, towards the discovery of the self in relation to the vast, infinite creation of the Divine.

This course is secular, although many of the ideas and recommendations presented are recognised as truths and revered by the major faiths, some of which are theistic, and some of which are non-theistic. The editors have decided to use the term ‘the Divine’ to denote higher power, supreme intelligence, transcendent consciousness or God. Students are recommended to refer to their own faith tradition when choosing how to interpret this term. Significant spiritual concepts that have a direct bearing on the formation of values are presented in Module 3 of the course, according to the ways they are usually interpreted in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. In Module 4 the concepts of consciousness and the Divine as taught by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University are examined in more detail.

Modules 1-8 form the theoretical component of the diploma course. Module 9 is a Manual of Personal Progress where students enter details throughout the period of the diploma and hand in at the end of it for consideration as part of their grading. Module 10 contains instructions for a Field Project, which must also be handed in as part of a student’s final assessment. Module 11 is a handbook to keep with you during the Spiritual Retreat that forms an integral part of the course. Module 12 is entitled Sustaining a Value Based Life and is provided at the end of the course so that students can keep up their personal progress. The development of values and spirituality is a life long learning process.