Collective Celebrations
Season of celebrations complemented the monsoon this August. Together they showered vibrancy in our school spaces and filled it with colours of flowers, music and dance. Keeping the essence of these festivals of establishing connect with each other, co-existence with nature, acceptance of all beings and reflecting over what freedom means, children and facilitators enhanced the festive spirit.
Induction Programme
A walk through the premises, absorbing and understanding how each space contributes to the learning experiences of children is an initial connect made by a facilitator in Shikshantar. Further, to deeply understand the process and build linkages with the philosophy and practices, an Induction Programme is facilitated for new facilitators every academic year in the months of April and May. The fresh perspectives and open interactions is a welcomed learning for old team members also.
Sessions included educational philosophies and work of educators and thinkers such as Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, His Holiness Dalai Lama, Aurobindo and the Mother. Sharing of classroom experiences, interactive discussions, group work, case vignettes and power point presentations guided the facilitators to reflect on the application of theories and philosophies in classrooms. Children’s anecdotes and observations shared by the facilitators helped in widening the understanding. Experiences of resources such as art, music, dance and sports also provided them an understanding of the importance of integral education and holistic development of children.
Opame and Rejoice
Buddha’s mind and body both find space in the Shikshantar ethos, therefore children spontaneously gravitated towards ‘Opame’ being a name for one of their new group of Class VII. As an emanation of which, Venerable Kabir Ji has been kind enough to oblige our children of Grade VII with an illuminating session on ‘Opame and Rejoice’.
The session was held on Thursday, 9th May, 2019 from 11:30 – 1:00 pm in Vajah Bevajah.
In an interactive session with Venerable Kabir ji our ever-curious children set on a journey to find out the true meaning of various emotions of life. The questions were a reflection of the affliction free psychic being of the children.
As children not many of us have pondered over the true meaning of happiness. We witnessed such thoughtful curiosity arise from the minds of twelve years olds. In an interactive session with Venerable Kabir ji, children inquired about the true meaning of happiness.
”Is there anything as everlasting happiness?” was asked by one child. Kabir ji kindled our consciousness in his response: such happiness can be experienced when the mind is free of all conflicting factors. He further suggested that one can experiment and experience it personally.
“What is the greater happiness – one of our own or that of others?” was another question from our children. Kabir ji advised to awaken our inherent wisdom; we have the answer in us, we only need to look deeper within ourselves for the answer; meditation can help us in this endeavour.
The question on happiness resurfaced after a short meditation. A child introspected, “When we were asked to think about the good things we had done for others, surprisingly, it was mostly the negative things, times when we were rude to others that came to our mind first. We seem to be naturally drawn towards negativity.”
A pursuit to understand meditation and what to reflect on while meditating was the evident subsequent question. With his natural ease with children, Kabir ji enlightened us about two kinds of meditation that can be imbibed in our daily routine.
As this interactive session continued, we witnessed deeper introspection among the learners, and out of such introspection arose questions that makes one wonder at the insight of these blooming buds at Shikshantar.
“Is mind the soul?”
“If the soul lives on, then does anybody ever die?”
“I need more clarification on the understanding of mind, soul and spirit.”
Humorously and meaningfully, Kabir ji addressed and satiated the eager young citizens of the world.
Learners were further enlightened on the true meaning of ‘Opame’ – infinite love, compassion, kindness without bias. ‘Opame’ could be one person or many of us together.
Thus, strengthening our bond with Opame, rejoicing in the glory of this infinite light, we eagerly look forward to many such interesting sessions with Kabir ji.
Kabirji Talk
Venerable Kabirji facilitated a session/teaching on ‘Why are you being educated – from a perspective of Jiddu Krishnamurti and Buddha’.
It is indeed a significant event, when educators stop and deliberate on ‘Education’ and attempt to understand its etymology, its defintion, its purpose and the future direction that it needs to be nudged into.
‘Why are we being educated?’ was the topic on which Venerable Kabirji recently spoke to the students, teachers and staff of Shikshantar.
The session started with looking at the meaning of the word ‘Education’ in different languges. While its Sanskrit equivalent ‘Shiksha’ means ‘to train the mind based on the authentic parampara’, the Latin verb from which it is derived, ‘Educare’, means ‘to draw out or bring forth’.
Through sharing of words by thinkers like Sri Aurobindo, Jiddu Krihnamoorthy, Kabirji aquainted his audience with the meaning of education in its truest sense- that which relates to self-awareness, an understanding of one’s emotions, a liberation from the constraints of the mind, that which leads to Nirvana and Moksha. This education rests on the premise that every individual holds within himself/herself a pure seed which when provided with optimal opportunities grows and flowers into a balanced and happy human being. The purpose of education, according to Gandhiji, has to be a development of the head, heart and hands.
Once the tone of the talk was set, it didnt take long for all in the room to realise that contemporary education in the country had departed far away from the ideals, lending truth to Sri Aurobindo’s words of 1909 that ‘Education in India is immitative, self-forgetful and fake’.
The gravity of the situation was very well communicated through Kabirji’s choice of words and the seriousness on his face and in his voice. All educators present in the room went back with a sense of responsibility, of being change-makers, in helping realign education to be meaningful, contextual and authentic, focusing on the development of the psychic being.
‘Investigate what genuine love is’, were the parting words of Kabirji.
And the starting point of a new journey for all teachers.
Babbla Aur Bapu @ Sabarmati Ashram
‘Babbla Aur Bapu @ Sabarmati Ashram‘, a theatre presentation by Sanskaar Rang Toli, the Theatre-in-Education company of National School of Drama was staged at Shikshantar on Thursday, 25th April for Classes V and VI and on Friday, 26th April for Classes VII and VIII.
Directed by M.K. Raina, this play explores Gandhian Narain Desai’s narratives of being a child at Sabarmati ashram. Narain Desai is a renowned performer of Gandhi Katha. The play opens windows into Gandhi’s ‘Nai Talim,’ a form of education and social revolution. According to M.K. Raina, it is a play about how Gandhi’s life and ideas that transformed the children who knew him. These are the ideas that contemporary school children should also know. Minimalism, which is symbolic of Gandhi’s philosophy, is reflected through this play.
Raina’s stage comprised of a charkha and a desk while the costumes worn by the actors were made of khadi, according to the rules of the ashra. Incidents of Bapu going on long walks, running and playing with children, are depicted in the play. M.K. Raina has turned Desai’s memoir into a musical play.
Children of middle school enjoyed the play and learnt about finer nuances of theatre. Children had an interactive session with M.K.Raina and raised many pertinent questions related to the story line of the play.
