Foundation for Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship, located at Delhi has embarked upon a plan for educating and training school children (classes 6 th to 8 th) on the understanding and adoption of Non-violence as way of life.
»» Education for Sustainable Development through Non-violence
Sustainable Development has been the goal of modern society. The idea which is self explanatory has been defined in the World Commission on Environment and Development
(Brundtland’s report), Our Common Future, as
"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own need"
Education is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable development, linking as it were, the present learners with future protagonists. The essence of learning or education lies in its practice.
Interdependence qualifies life on this planet. Nature treats life and death with evenness. This being so, the desire to live which is universal, is the foremost desire, fundamental right of all living beings, not only human beings. Respecting this foremost desire leads to peace and dignity of life. This forms the crux of philosophy of ahimsa or non-violence; something which Mahatma Gandhi drew from to draft and execute a national movement. The reference to ahimsa is found in many texts of all religions.
Ahimsa teaches not just abstinence from physical violence but concern for all living beings, minimizing aggressiveness, developing amity and tolerance. Ahimsa, it has been argued, is a mental state. FUREC offers training in ahimsa using interesting, interactive workshops so as to intervene, least intrusively, to transform the mental state of the person. This is a crucial component in education for sustainable development, and comes in three stages of awareness, understanding and putting into practice.
Ahimsa leads naturally to another fundamental principle: That of ekam sat bahuda veprah vadanti or the multi-dimentional aspect of truth. The principle of non-absolutist approach teaches tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
Concern for and acceptance of, the possibility of the existence of the opposite view makes way for a less possessive psychology. To negate desire would not only be unrealistic but also detrimental to human progress. Accepting the material world as necessary and important, emphasizing the importance of the principles governing matter and alongside advocating voluntary limits to having or consumption, is best described in the words of Mahatma Gandhi who says:
"There is enough for everybody’s need, not everybody’s greed."
»» The Workshop
A special Training Programme converted into two day (80 minutes each day) workshop for school children (classes 6 th to 8 th) is designed to be conducted by highly trained and motivated teachers. The workshop besides utilizing latest teaching aids, will be innovative and class oriented. This will help children to comprehend and digest the various facets of practice of Non-violence in our daily life. The focus of workshop will be maximum class participation and students assessing for themselves their attitudinal inadequacy in understanding the various aspects of Non-violence. |
