Universal Human Values

UNIT 1:
INTRODUCTION TO
VALUE EDUCATION
Value:

Something that is important, worthy or useful

for human being that gives feeling of happiness
or prosperity.

Education:
It is the process of learning, acquisition of
knowledge, skills, values, etc.
 Value Education:

It deals with the learning of : What is universally

valuable to all of us.
We can say that, Value education impart the knowledge
and skills in human beings about what is universally
valuable and how to live in the state of continuous
happiness and prosperity.
 Value:
 Values define what is of worth, what is beneficial, and
what is harmful
 Our values affect our decisions, goals and behavior.
 Values reflected a person’s sense of right and wrong.
 “Equal rights for all” and “The people should be treated
with respect and dignity” are the representatives of the
values.
 Where do we get the
Values?
Your age will greatly influence your values. Different people and
things influence you at different ages:
•Ages 1-7 --- parents
•Ages 8-13 --- teachers, heroes (sports, rocks, TV)
•Ages 14-20 --- peers (values because of peers or peers because of
values?)
•Ages 21+ your values are established, but you may test your values
from time to time.
The five human values which are expected in all human beings are:
 Right Conduct – Contains values like self-help skills (self-reliance,
hygiene etc.), social skills (good behavior, good manners, environment
awareness etc.), ethical skills (courage, efficiency, initiative, punctuality etc.)
and Ownership.
 Peace – Contains values like equality, focus, humility, optimism, patience,
self-confidence, self-control, self-esteem etc.
 Truth – Contains values like accuracy, fairness, honesty, justice, quest for
knowledge, determination etc.
 Peaceful co-existence – Contains values like psychological (compassion,
consideration, morality, forgiveness etc.) and social (brotherhood, equality,
perseverance, respect for others, environmental awareness etc.)
 Discipline – Contains values like regulation, direction, order etc.
Need for Value Education

All human beings aspire for a happy, fulfilling life. For a

human being, there are two important questions to this:

 What is my aspiration? (What to do?)

 How to fulfill my aspiration? (How to do?)

what is really valuable for human being; what is our purpose as
a human being?

To understand what is really valuable for human being, is the

value domain. The subject which enables us to understand this
domain is called “Value Education” (VE).
Value Education enables us to understand our
aspirations and visualize our goals for a fulfilling life
and indicates the direction for their fulfillment. In
relation to these issues, it also helps to remove our
confusions and contradictions. In that sense, VE
addresses the issues related to “what to do?”.
It is also necessary to learn the skills to actualize our aspirations. This
is the skill domain.

The subject which enables us to learn the skills is called “Skill

Development‟ (SD).

It enables us to learn the science, technology, management and other

skills for fulfilling our aspiration. In that sense, SD addresses the
issues related to “how to do?”.
Values and skills go hand in hand. Both values and skills are required.
There is an essential complementarity between
the two. The priority is values, then skills; first
understanding “what to do” and then developing
the skills for “how to do”. And of course,
checking if this results into a fulfilling life!
 Need of Value Education
The present education system has largely become skill-biased. For
developing skills, the prime emphasis is on science and technology,
without a base of values. Skills 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 a way to decide what really is valuable. The
consequence of skill-based education is clearly visible in the form of
serious crises at the individual, social and environmental level. Thus,
there is a strong need to rectify this situation. Value education is a crucial
missing link in the present education system.
But more importantly, the prime need of value education is to understand
human aspirations, to discover what is truly valuable in life; and work
out the program for its fulfillment.
Guidelines for Value Education

1.Universal: It has to be universally applicable to all human beings

for all time and all places. This implies that values should not change
according to sect, creed, nationality, gender, etc.

2. Rational: It has to appeal to reasoning (there should be logical

reasoning behind every aspect) ; and not be based on dogmas or blind
beliefs. It has to be open to address the related questions. It cannot be
a set of do’s and don’ts.
3. Natural and Verifiable: It has to be 'naturally acceptable' to the human being
and not forcefully. there needs to be every provision in nature for its fulfillment.
It needs to be experientially verifiable, and not based on dogmas, beliefs or
assumptions. It is not merely an intellectual exercise or information transfer.

4. All Encompassing: It needs to cover all dimensions (thought, behaviour,

work and understanding) and levels (individual, family, society and
nature/existence) of human life.

5. Leading to Harmony: The main aim of the value education is to live in

harmony. It ultimately needs to promote harmony within the individual, among
human beings and with the entire nature.
 Content of Value Education

The value of an entity is its participation in the larger order of which it

is a part.
The value or role of a human being is its participation in the larger order.
E.g. my role in living with the other human being is to ensure the feeling of
respect in the relationship. Interestingly, I feel happy in fulfilling my role;
and it is fulfilling for the other as well!
This value is worth understanding, worth thinking about, worth living. The
value of human being is to ensure mutual fulfillment in the larger order, i.e.
in the entire nature/existence, but starting from within themselves, then
extending in their family and in the society.
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. We need to explore and
understand things as they are:
That means the content or scope of study has to be all
encompassing, i.e.
 It has to cover all dimensions of human being – thought,
behaviour, work and realization.
 It has to cover all levels of human living – individual, family,
society, nature and existence.
 Continuous Happiness and Prosperity as Basic
Human Aspirations
Whatever we think, whatever we do is with some end state in mind.
That end state is our basic aspiration.
When you ask yourself:
 Do I want to be happy?
 Do I want to be prosperous?
 Do I want the continuity of happiness and prosperity?
The answers are in affirmative yes. We have a natural acceptance for
continuity of happiness and prosperity. These are our basic
aspirations.
Basic Requirements for Fulfillment of Human
Aspirations

When we try to find out if we have fulfilled our basic aspiration, it is not always
so affirmative. There is quite a gap between our basic aspiration and our state of
being.

When we reflect on all the effort we are making, we can easily see that we are
generally working for accumulation of physical facility!

The basic problem is that we have assumed that “happiness and prosperity will
automatically come when we have enough physical facility‟.

This is something we need to explore in our own life. Where are we putting in our
effort?
If continuity of happiness and prosperity is not achieved by just
accumulating physical facility then what else is essential to do? Let’s try to
find out by asking this question to ourselves:
Is the unhappiness in my family

 More due to lack of physical facility or

 More due to lack of fulfillment in relationship?

When you explore into it, you will find that the major reason for the
unhappiness in the family is the lack of fulfillment in relationship and not
just the lack of physical facility.
Now to look at the investment of your effort, find out:
 How much time and effort you are investing for physical
facility, and
 How much time and effort you are investing for fulfillment in
relationship?

Generally, most of the time and effort is being invested for

physical facility, assuming that every thing is going to be fine
when there is enough physical facility, and there will be no
unhappiness in the family.
The problems are more due to lack of fulfillment in relationship,
and we are investing major part of our time and effort for
physical facility.
With this discussion, the conclusion that we want to draw out of
this is a very simple one:
For human being physical facility is necessary, but relationship
is also necessary.

In fact, by seeing this, we can understand the difference between

animals and human beings. Physical facility is necessary for
animals as well as for human beings.
When a human being has lack of physical facility, (s)he becomes
uncomfortable and unhappy. Once (s)he gets the physical facility, (s)he
forgets about it and starts thinking about many other things.

So, we can conclude that physical facility is necessary for animals; it is

necessary for human beings also. However:

 For animals, physical facility is necessary as well as adequate.

 For human beings, physical facility is necessary, but physical facility
alone is not adequate.
While we do have a natural acceptance to live in relationship, are
we actually able to ensure living in relationship? Have we
understood this or just assumed it? To explore this further, find
out if:
1. You want to live in relationship (harmony) with others or
2. You want to live in opposition with others or
3. You believe, living has to be necessarily in opposition with
others, i.e. there is 'struggle for survival’, “survival of the fittest‟
and if you feel happy living this way?
A little introspection will show that out of these three, what is
naturally acceptable is the first one. You certainly do not want
to live in opposition with others. But you may be conditioned
to think in a manner as mentioned in the third option. If we
adopt the third option, it has significant negative implications
in our life, in the family and in the society. We can see this all
around today.
For ensuring fulfilment in relationship, it is necessary
to have right understanding about relationship.

From the preceding discussion, it may be concluded

that for fulfilment of human being– physical
facility, relationship and right understanding – all
three are necessary.
If we investigate into the priority among these, we can see that right
understanding is the first priority, fulfilment in relationship with
human being is the second priority and ensuring physical facility
with rest of nature is the third priority.

Right Understanding, Relationship and Physical Facility

Human being wants to live with continuous happiness and

prosperity and this is possible by ensuring right understanding,
fulfilment in relationship and physical facility in the correct priority.
This is living with “human consciousness”.
On the other hand, if one is living for physical facility alone, and not
ensuring right understanding and right feeling in relationship, s(he)
feels unhappy and makes others unhappy too. This is one outcome.

The other outcome is that if the right understanding is missing, one

is not able to identify the need for physical facility. Now, if we are
not able to identify our need for physical facility then regardless of
how much physical facility we accumulate, we never feel that we
have enough. We keep wanting more. This feeling of not having
enough is the feeling of deprivation.
There are generally two kinds of people today:

1. Those lacking physical facility, unhappy

2. Those having physical facility, and yet unhappy

Try to find out where you are – at 1 or at 2? Whereas we really

want to be is in the following state, i.e.

3. Having physical facility, happy and prosperous.

Now, if we are able to ensure all three, i.e. right understanding, relationship and
physical facility, in that order of priority, let us see the outcome

• Through right feeling in relationship, based

on right understanding, we can ensure mutual
happiness – happiness for ourselves as well
as happiness for others.
• With right understanding, we can identify the
need for physical facility. We can also learn
how to produce using a mutually enriching
production process. Once we are able to
ensure the availability of more than required
physical facility, we have a feeling of
prosperity; isn’t it?
(Enabling
Rolethe Transformation to Human Consciousness)
of Education-Sanskar
The role of education is essentially to facilitate holistic development, i.e. the
individual transformation to human consciousness as well as the societal
transformation to a humane society.
For this, the education-sanskar has to ensure:
1. Right understanding in every child,
2. The capacity to live in relationship with other human beings, and
3. The capacity to identify the need for physical facility, the skills and practice
for sustainable production of more than what is required, leading to the
feeling of prosperity.
Education is developing the right understanding (holistic perspective).
Sanskar is the commitment, preparation and practice of living with right
understanding. The preparation includes learning appropriate skills and
technology.
 Process of Value Education – Self-exploration
The process used here for value education is self exploration. As the name
suggests, the process is to find out what is valuable to me by investigating within
myself. Since it is me who feels happy or unhappy, successful or unsuccessful,
therefore whatever is right for me, true for me, has to be judged within myself.

We discussed previously that the value of an entity is its participation in the larger
order. In the case of the human being, to understand what is valuable, we need to
study ourselves and the “larger order” around us, which is, everything around us.
When we look around, we find other human beings; we find animals, plants,
birds, insects etc. and then things like air, water, soil, stones, metals, etc. All these
are things we live with and there is a need for us to understand our relationship
with all of these things.
We live with this entirely – we live with our family, our friends, air, soil,
water, trees - the nature around us and we want to understand our
relationship with all these. Understanding of all these is to be done by me -
the ‘self ’. To understand my relationship with all these, I need to start
observing inside.

Human Values can be understood by an appropriate process of self-

discovery, because they are potentially there in each and every human
being. There is already a natural acceptance for values in a human being.
It is only that we have to discover them or become aware of them. Thus,
the process for Value Education has to be that of self-exploration, and not
of giving sermons ( a talk on religious and moral subjects) or telling dos &
don'ts. Whatever is found as truth or reality may be stated as a proposal
and every student is to be encouraged to verify it on his/her own right.
 Starting to Observe Inside
Normally, we are used to exploring outside. For example: we keep looking
around, we observe trees, animals and other human beings. Seldom do we
observe “what is going on in me while I am observing outside”. Thus, it
remains only external observation. When we say we want to self-explore, it
means we have to now start observing within ourselves too and not observing
just outside.
Let’s take the example that we are seeing a tree. When I see a tree, here is what
is happening: the image of the tree is available on my eyes. From there, the
information is passed on to me, and then I say: “I can see a big tree, and it is
about 100 meters away and so on”. This is an example of observing outside.
But when I start to observe what relation I have with the tree or, how does the
tree relate to me, it is observing inside.
Now let’s take another example. When I get angry, I ‘know’ I am
getting angry. In other words ‘I’, can ‘see’ the anger, in ‘myself ’. I am
no longer using my ‘eyes’ to see the anger, but I am observing this
anger inside my own self.

You can check if you want to be able to decide on your own right or
you want somebody else to decide for you? This somebody may be a
group of people; it may be the society or the education system, etc. If
you are not able to decide on your own right then:
 Someone else is programming you (deciding what is valuable and
what is not valuable for you)
 Unconsciously you keep accepting those things as values
 You get busy with how to implement them, how to realise them and
materialise them
 What is Self-exploration?

It is a process of seeing the reality on our own right, by our own investigation,
observation and analysis. Through this process, we are trying to understand the
reality that exists and our participation with it; this participation is what we are
calling values.
The first step is to verify the given proposal on your own right, by referring it to
your “natural acceptance‟. If the proposal is naturally acceptable to you, it is
right for you. If it is not naturally acceptable to you, it is not right for you.
Further, self-exploration is a process of dialogue. To begin with, it is initiated as
a dialogue between you and yourself.
 The Dialogue Within

It is a dialogue between “what I am” and “what is naturally acceptable to

me”.
“What I am” has to do with my desires, my thoughts, my expectations; all
that is going on in my imagination. It includes the way I feel, the way I
think, how I make decisions, what I expect from others and all that. It is my
current competence on the basis of which I live. “What is naturally
acceptable to me” is what I really want to be, that is my natural acceptance.
It is my intention. It is a basic reference which is a part and parcel of every
human being. We may or may not be referring to it at present, but it is
always there.
When we are in harmony within, we are in state of happiness. When we
are in a state of contradiction within, we are in the state of unhappiness.
Therefore:
Happiness is to be in a state of harmony.
Unhappiness is to be forced to be in a state of contradiction.
We don't want to be in contradiction, so whenever there is
contradiction, we want to run away from it; but if we cannot run away,
and if we are forced to be in that state, we call it unhappiness.
It is possible for each one of us to do this self-exploration. The dialogue
within constitutes the major part of it. Through this, we:
1. Discover our natural acceptance
2. Become aware of “what I am”
3. Can make effort to ensure harmony and happiness within by ensuring
that “what I am” is inline with my natural acceptance.
 The Process
Whatever of Self-exploration
is stated here is a proposal; do not assume it to be true or false, right or
wrong. Verify it – verify it on your own right, on the basis of your natural
acceptance. This is the first part of the process.
The second part of self-exploration is experiential validation. It
means trying to live according to the proposal. In living, there are
two parts – one is the behaviour with other human beings and the
second is work with rest of nature. When we are behaving with
human being on the basis of this proposal, we want to verify whether
it leads to mutual happiness or not. If it leads to mutual happiness, it
is a right proposal; if it does not lead to mutual happiness, it is not a
right proposal. Similarly, when we are working with rest of nature on
the basis of this proposal, we want to verify whether it leads to
mutual prosperity or not. If it leads to mutual prosperity, it is a right
proposal; if it does not lead to mutual prosperity, it is not a right
proposal.
 What is Self-exploration? What is its Purpose?

Let us ponder over the following points to appreciate self-exploration and its purpose.
1. It is a process of dialogue between “what you are” and “what you really want to be”.
2. It is a process of self-evolution through self-investigation.
3. It is a process of knowing oneself and through that, knowing the entire existence.
4. It is a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling it.
5. It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living accordingly.
6. It is a process of being in harmony in oneself and in harmony with entire existence.
7. It is a process of identifying our Innateness (Swatva) and moving towards Self organization
(Swatantrata) and Self-expression (Swarajya).
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.
Ask yourself this question: “Am I what I really want to be?”
When we look into this, we find that mostly we are not what we really want to be.
These two are different and each one of us is faced with this contradiction. We are
something and we want to be something else. This basic dichotomy, this basic
contradiction has to be resolved. This dichotomy creates a conflict in us, which is
a continuous cause for our unhappiness. What we are today- is the result of our pre
conditionings, our predispositions, our impressions and our beliefs. What we
really want to be- comes from deep within us, that is naturally acceptable to us.
This is something intact in us. It needs to be explored and found out.
“What I am” « “What I really want to be”.
All our unhappiness, all our discomfort, all our unease is because of this
contradiction within – between what we are and what we really want to be. Each
one of us lives with this feeling of discomfort, the unease within that keeps
telling us “something is missing”.
Each one of us is faced with contradictions and problems in various aspects of
life – contradictions within ourselves, in our behaviour with people, in our
interactions and thoughts about society, and in our interactions and notions about
nature. And irrespective of where you are placed: in a nice school, in a great
college, having a good job, having a lot of money etc., this discomfort is
continuously present.
On careful self-exploration, we will find that we are being driven by a number of
assumptions/ beliefs which are contrary to our natural acceptance and they cause
contradiction within us. We have to start looking at these carefully.
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.
We have to start exploring ourselves. Through this process of self-exploration we can
achieve self-evolution (it comes naturally to be conscious about the “time” and value its
importance. Self evolved person doesn’t waste the time in unhealthy comparison with
others). This process of self investigation needs to be started. It needs to start in each one of
us. Once this dialogue within ourselves has been established, and we start evolving – we
become comfortable within ourselves. The very process of being in this dialogue starts
facilitating this self improvement.
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
Ask yourself: Do I want to know myself? Do I want this self-investigation? Am I satisfied in
living my life without having known myself ?– One finds that the need to know ourselves, to
understand the self, is an innate need of every human being. This need to know does not have
to be instilled from outside. Each individual would like to know himself/herself and can carry
out this self-exploration and self-evolution.

As we know ourselves correctly, we are also able to relate ourselves correctly to the things
around us. We can then understand the people we live with, the family we are born in, the
people in society we interact with, in fact all the entities in nature/ existence. Ask yourself
this question: Are you satisfied with just knowing the immediate things around you, or do you
also get curious about the larger reality around you? Each human being wants to know
everything. Once we have known ourselves, we can also know the entire existence. This
process starts with the self, and once we are sure of ourselves, we can, through that, also
know the entire existence.
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. What are the things we live with today? We
live in our families – with out parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, we live in
society – we interact with our teachers, with various people engaged in making
available goods and services in the society. We live with nature – with animals,
birds, plants, insects, materials, etc and of course, the larger existence – all that
space, and all those planets, stars and other entities that are suspended in it.
Do we know our relationship with each one of these entities? Do we know and understand
our relationship with our parents? With our teachers? With the person next door? What
happens when we do not understand this relationship? You would find that this lack of
understanding leads to problems.
We need to start seeing various interactions in which we face problems: for example, the
problem of misunderstanding in relationships, the problem of wars and crime in society,
the problem of pollution in nature, etc. Are these not due to the lack of right understanding
of our relationship at various levels?
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. All the entities in the existence are
characterised by their innateness, by their specific characteristics which are invariant. We
recognize any entity by this innateness.
If you ask yourself, whether you want a definite character or indefinite
character – what is the answer? The answer is, we all want to have a definite
character, a definite conduct. We are not satisfied with having an indefinite
conduct, though we are living with indefiniteness. Example: We can’t be sure
of how we are going to be this evening! We are not sure what our mood will be
tomorrow morning. Sometimes, we are not sure about what mindset we are
going to have the next moment! Are we comfortable with this state of affairs?
Or do we want a definitiveness in our conduct?

There is a need to understand this definite conduct in a human being and how
it can be ensured. The process of Self-exploration will enable us to identify the
definitiveness of human conduct and to live accordingly.
6. It is a process of being in harmony in 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.
The process of Self-exploration helps me live in harmony within myself and in
all my interactions with the world around.
7. It is a process of identifying our Innateness (Swatva) and moving towards Self
organization (Swatantrata) 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. 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.
Swatantrata : Being self-organised : Being in harmony in oneself
Swarajya : Self-expression, Self-extension : Living in harmony with others, and thus participation
towards harmony in the whole existence
Ask yourself this question: Are you self-organized right now? Are you able to be in harmony with
others?
So, through this process of Self-exploration I begin by identifying my innateness (Swatva), what I
really want to be. Then, living accordingly enables me to being in harmony within myself
(Swatantrata) and finally being in harmony with the whole existence (Swarajya).
Understanding Natural Acceptance – the basis for Right Understanding

Natural acceptance has to do with something fundamental, something related

to our purpose, something related to our basic desires. When we ask a
question related to these, we get a definite answer from our natural
acceptance. For example,
 Is happiness naturally acceptable or is unhappiness naturally acceptable?
 Is it naturally acceptable to live in relationship or in opposition?
 What is naturally acceptable – to nurture your Body or to exploit it?
For all these questions, we get a definite answer when we refer to our natural acceptance.
On the other hand, we have an acceptance for our likes and dislikes, assumptions, pre-
conditionings, beliefs, world-view, perspective, etc. but these may or may not be naturally
acceptable to us.
Of course, all acceptances are not wrong. Passing them through our natural acceptance
will validate them and contribute to our self-confidence.

Some of the characteristics of natural acceptance are:

 It does not change with time
 It does not change with place
 It does not change with the individual
 It is uncorrupted by likes and dislikes or assumptions or beliefs
 It is innate, a part and parcel of our being; we don’t need to create it
 It is definite
The Basic Human Aspirations
Continuous Happiness and Prosperity

Make a list of all that you want in your life and reasons for wanting them.
Let us say, you want to be the first ranker in the class. Now, behind this desire to get the first rank, is there a
more basic desire? Why do you want to get the first rank? If you keep asking this question, you will find that
there is a basic desire. What is this desire, is it to be happy?
You will find that each of your wants emerges from the basic aspiration to be happy.
This also implies that every human being is continuously trying to do things to make him/her happy, and every
human being is capable of feeling this happiness in himself/herself spontaneously. It is intrinsic to all of us. We
are all working for it continuously in different ways as per the level of our understanding. Sometimes, we
succeed, many times we don’t. But we still keep trying throughout our life for happiness.
Thus there are two basic aspirations of every human being: continuous happiness and prosperity.
 Happiness Unhappiness
The state or situation, in which I live,
The state or situation, in which I live,
if there is harmony / synergy in it, if there is disharmony / contradiction in it,
then it is Naturally Acceptable to me to be in that
state / situation
then it is not Naturally Acceptable to me to be in that
(and I want to continue to be in that state / situation) state / situation
(and I want to get out from that state / situation)

To be in a state / situation which is Naturally

Acceptable is Happiness
To be forced to be in a state / situation which is not
Naturally Acceptable is Unhappiness
To be in a state of Harmony / Synergy is Happiness
To be forced to be in a state of Disharmony /
Contradiction is Unhappiness
Happiness = To be in Harmony
Unhappiness = Disharmony
 Happiness Continuity of Happiness
State / Situation in which I live
or expanse of my being:
The state or situation, in which I live, 1. As an Individual Human Being
if there is harmony / synergy in it, 2. As a member of a Family
then it is Naturally Acceptable to me to be in that state / 3. As a member of Society
situation 4. As an unit in Nature/Existence
(and I want to continue to be in that state / situation)

Continuity of Happiness
= Harmony at all levels of being i.e.
To be in a state / situation which is Naturally Acceptable 5. Harmony in the Human Being
is Happiness
6. Harmony in the Family
7. Harmony in the Society
To be in a state of Harmony / Synergy is Happiness 8. Harmony in Nature/Existence

Happiness = To be in Harmony
To facilitate understanding of the harmony at all levels of being
1. Harmony in the Human Being
2. Harmony in the Family
Proposals
3. Harmony in the Society
4. Harmony in Nature/Existence

To understand & to live in harmony at all levels of being

1 a) Verify the proposals
5. In the Human Being on the basis of your NATURAL
6. In the Family ACCEPTANCE

7. In the Society 2
b) Experiential validation
by LIVING ACCORDINGLY
8. In Nature/Existence
Right Understanding
Right Feeling
Question(s) 1: Happiness Response

What is happiness? Is it a mental state, sense of Happiness is to be in a state of harmony. Certainly, it is

freedom, self-satisfaction in life, bliss, harmony in state of the self, the consciousness. When we are in a
mind, etc.? state of continuous happiness, it includes peace,
satisfaction and bliss in the self.

When we are happy, we are in a state of harmony

What is the sign to recognize that one is happy? within and this reflects in terms of the harmony with
world outside. So, these are the two main indicators
that one is happy. On the other hand, if we are
unhappy, we are in a state of contradiction within and
this reflects in terms of the contradiction with world
outside.
 Question(s) 2: Happiness Response

Don’t you think that issues like happiness in continuity There are two things to be considered- 1. is it
are merely imaginary or impractical. We have been desirable? and 2. is it feasible? We all desire for
talking about such issues for ages, and it is impossible happiness in continuity, definitely. As regard
to define it and ensure it. feasibility, we have people who realised this
relationship, harmony and co-existence, and the
state of bliss emerging out of it. We can also
verify this by understanding relationship and
harmony and living in it; any small effort in this
direction makes us happy to that extent and it
shows the possibility that if we can understand
these in their completeness and live with these
in continuity, we too can ensure the continuity of
happiness, that state of bliss in ourselves.
Question(s) 3: Happiness Response

We are talking about ‘want’ of happiness. But We are talking about ensuring the continuity of
traditionally, we have been saying that this ‘want’ is happiness, which is ensured by understanding of
the basic reason for unhappiness. harmony and my living with feeling of harmony
within. This is something which has to be ensured
within and not to be obtained from outside. When
we try to get it from outside, that creates the
problem. So, what is being said is that if you try to
get continuity of happiness from outside, you are
bound to fail, be in trouble.
 Prosperity

Prosperity – The feeling of having / producing more than required Physical Facility
A prosperous person thinks of right utilisation, nurturing the other
To ascertain prosperity, two things are essential:
(a) Correct assessment of need for physical facilities, and
(b) The competence of making available more than required physical facilities (through
production).
Wealth is a physical thing. It means having money, or having a lot of physical facilities, or both.
Prosperity is a feeling of having more than required. Prosperity is a feeling of having more
than required physical facilities; it is not just physical facilities.
Question(s) 4: Prosperity Response

Food facilitates to nurture our body, therefore we are

Why are we calling food also as a physical facility? It is calling it as physical facility. In fact, real purpose of
the basic need of a human being. physical facility is to serve our basic needs.

You can go for it, but, be clear that it will never lead to
If I feel happy by accumulating and indulging in continuity of happiness and prosperity
physical facilities, why should I not go for it?

We have to distinguish between the physical needs

and the need of the self. Physical needs, which relates
to the needs of the body, can certainly be identified.
Question(s) 5: Prosperity Response

When we say prosperity is the feeling of having My physical needs I can identify, and that much I
more than required, how do I decide how much have to produce anyway. However, I have to
more? produce more to share with others- my relatives, my
friends and people who need in the society. Of
course, while producing more, we have to make
sure that this production is through a cyclic and
mutually enriching process with the rest of nature
 Question(s) 6: Prosperity Response

The right understanding is not going to be With right understanding, I can identify my need for
ensured in a day or two. So, how do I make the physical facility. Most of the times we find that we
right program to ensure enough physical already have more than what is required. So we can
facilities? feel prosperous. In case we have less, we can work
better with right understanding to produce more. As
far as relationship is concerned, the major issue there
is that of feelings and that can be ensured through
right understanding

If prosperity is a feeling, can’t I simply have it Not by minimising my needs, but, by rightly identifying
without working much for physical facilities by my physical needs. If I do that, I find that it is very less
minimising my needs? and it is possible to produce more than that. As we
mentioned, we are already producing more than what
is required for all people. by minimising my needs?
Question(s) 7: Prosperity Response

How can the feeling of prosperity ever be When I can identify my need of physical facility, with
continuous as it is dependent on the availability of right understanding, I can also see that there is
physical facilities which are temporary? enough provision for it in the nature and human
being has enough potential to produce more than
what is required. This clarity gives rise to feeling of
prosperity in continuity.

At a young age, such issues are quite motivating. Such issues are important in all age; when we are
But as we grow up, we start going with the masses. young, we are enthusiastic about taking up these
Isn’t it true? issues. However, if we are not clear and successful ,
then as we grow old, we loose that enthusiasm in
general not only on such issues.
Question(s) 8: Prosperity Response

Such discussions on prosperity have been there for It can be resolved if

ages, still people are accumulating and exploiting. Can 1. we have right understanding and feelings at the
it ever be resolved? individual level (mainstream education)
2. identification of physical needs and production at
the family level,
3. a system in the society which supports and
promotes this.

It is easy to see the limit of need for physical facility. If we can see and do it at the level of physical
But very difficult to see in monetary terms. Don’t you facility, that is important. Money is just a means for
think so? exchange of physical facility, though it seems to
have occupied a supreme position
We thus seem to have quite a problem in
our hands on both these fronts: l
Relationship with humans: We are
unable to have fulfilling relationships all
the time: in family, outside family, and as
a society – in the world at large
Physical Facilities: a) We want to feel
prosperous, but end up working only for
accumulation of wealth. b) We want to
enrich nature, but are exploiting it,
destroying it.
Why Are We in This State? Living with Wrong
Assumption
What could be the possible reason for the issues we have in relationships?
“Do I understand human relationships? Do I know what are the other person’s expectations
from me”? The answer is, “I mostly don’t”, ‘I am not sure about this” OR “It depends, It
changes from time to time,” etc. This seems to be our problem. We seem to be interacting
with a lot of people, we keep getting ourselves into trouble in our relationships, but we don’t
seem to understand the first thing about relationships- the expectations! It may seem like a
trivial thing, but it is very important. Problems in relationships can really disturb a person’s
state of mind to a very large extent. We live a significant portion of our lives in relationships.
Excitement and Escape – Not Happiness

Temporary

Consciousness
Excitement

Animal
Temporary
Escape from
Unhappiness
Happiness 1 Response

Happiness = harmony
Is there any difference between excitement and Does not depend on the outside
happiness?
Can be continued

Excitement may or may not be harmony

Depends on the outside
May not have provision of continuity

Excitement is momentary, you can not have the

continuity of it. If you look at yourself when you are
excited, you will find that you in in a excited condition,
not in harmony within.
Unit 1 – Introduction to Value Education

-Understanding Value Education

- Self-exploration as the Process for Value Education
- Continuous Happiness and Prosperity – the Basic Human Aspirations
- Right Understanding, Relationship and Physical Facility
- Happiness and Prosperity – Current Scenario
- Method to Fulfill the Basic Human Aspiration
Recall

Value Education:

Value education is a subject that impart the knowledge and skills in human beings about what
is universally valuable and how to live in the state of continuous happiness and prosperity.
Recall

Need of Value Education:

• Correct identification of our aspirations.

• Understanding universal human values to fulfill our aspirations in continuity.
• Complimentarily of values and skills.
• Evaluation of our beliefs.
• Technology and human values.
Recall

Five human values that are expected in all human beings:

• Right conduct social skills (good behavior, good manners, environment awareness etc.), ethical skills (courage,
efficiency, initiative, punctuality etc.) and Ownership

• Peace (equality, focus, humility, optimism, patience, self-confidence, self-control, self-esteem )

• Truth (accuracy, fairness, honesty, justice, quest for knowledge, determination )
• Peaceful co-existence (compassion, consideration, morality, forgiveness etc.) and social (brotherhood, equality,
perseverance, respect for others, environmental awareness )

• Discipline (regulation, direction, order)

Recall

Content of Value Education:

• 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 coexistence in the nature- existence
and finally the role of human being in this nature/existence entirely.
Recall

Guidelines of Value Education:

• Universal
• Rational
• Natural and Verifiable
• All encompassing
• Leading to harmony
Recall
Recall

Self Exploration:
• Self exploration is the process
to find out what is valuable to
me by investigating within
myself, what is right for me,
true for me, has to be judged
within myself. Through self
exploration we get the value of
ourselves.
Recall

Purpose of self exploration:

1. It is a process of dialogue between “what you are” and “what you really want to be”.
2. It is a process of self-evolution through self-investigation.
3. It is a process of knowing oneself and through that, knowing the entire existence.
4. It is a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling it.
5. It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living accordingly.
6. It is a process of being in harmony in oneself and in harmony with entire existence.
7. It is a process of identifying our Innateness (Swatva) and moving towards Self organization
(Swatantrata) and Self-expression (Swarajya).
Recall

Basic Human Aspirations:

• Continuous happiness
• Continuous Prosperity
Fulfillment of Basic Human Aspirations:

• Right Understanding
• Right feeling