Teaching Values by Example

The following are excerpts from Bhagavan Baba’s valedictory discourse that He gave to the National Symposium on Value Orientation in September 1987.

“Human values cannot be learnt from lectures or text‑books. Those who seek to impart values to students must first practice them themselves and set an ex­ample,” declared Bhagavan Baba, Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in His valedictory address to the National Symposium on Value Orientation in Higher Learning held at Prasanthi Nilayam from Sept. 24 to 26, 1987. The Symposium, in which vice‑chancellors and educationists from all over India participated, was the first of its kind organized on a national basis. The vale­dictory meeting was held in the Poornachandra Auditorium, which was filled to capacity with devotees, besides the educationists.

In His discourse, Bhagavan said:
A society without values will cease to be human. The more human values are cherished, the better will be the growth of society, the nation, and the world. We cannot rest content with an educational system that is confined to academic achievement. It has to promote simul­taneously human virtues. The main pro­blem of our education is how to adapt the spiritual and cultural traditions we have inherited from the past to the needs of daily life today.

The relationship between the indivi­dual and society has to be rightly under­stood. Why should the individual serve others? What claims does the society have on the individual? When we examine these issu­es, we realize that the individual can find within himself unity (aikamathyam), control (swadhenam), knowledge (jnanam), and power (shakti). These four help to make society move forward.

Values in Vedanta

How are human qualities to be promoted in society? Society is made up of individuals. No man can be an island to himself. Living amidst fellow human beings, man has to sow the seeds of love, rear the plants of harmony, and offer the fruits of peace to society. Thereby his humanness is manifested. In the Ashtanga Yoga (the eightfold yoga), this figures as the first among the different disciplines: yama [outward sense control], niyama [inner sense control], asana [seated posture], pranayama [breath control], pratyahara [detachment], dharana [power of concentration], dhyana [meditation],and samadhi [inner communion]. Yama calls for the observance of the following practices: ahimsa (non‑violence), sathyam (truth), astheyam (non‑stealing), brahmacharyam (celibacy), and aparigraha (non‑acquisitiveness). These are the five human values to be cultivated, in the language of Vedanta.

Ahimsa does not mean, as is commonly understood, not causing harm to others. It really means that one should not cause harm to anyone in thought, word, or deed. This is the most important human quality. Only when this has been developed will one be qualified to practice and experience truth.

Truth does not mean merely telling the facts as one sees or knows them. Truth is that which does not change with time. It must be spoken with complete purity of mind, speech, and body.

Astheyam means refraining from stealing what belongs to others. Even the thought of taking another’s property should not arise in the mind. Nor should one tell others to commit theft. This is the third human value.

The fourth is brahmacharyam. Observance of Brahmacharya means that whatever one thinks, says or does should be filled with thoughts of Brahman. To be ever immersed in the consciousness of Brahman is Brahmacharya. All thoughts, words, and deeds should be dedicated to the Divine. When the thoughts, which are the prelude to action, are centered on God, they are unlikely to go astray.

Aham (the ego) arises from the atma [soul]. Thoughts are produced by the ego and give rise to speech. Hence all actions are based on the atma. All thoughts, desires, and speech emanate from the atma. When all these are sanctified by dedication to God, the consciousness of oneness with Brahman (Aham Brahmasmi—I am Brahman) ensues. That Brahman is prajna (constant integrated awareness).

The acquisitive mania

The fifth practice is aparigraha. This is usually interpreted as not accepting other’s property as gift or gratuitously. This is not the correct meaning. It really means performing actions without expecting any reward, without any acquisitive motives, and in a completely selfless spirit. Today because all actions are done out of self‑interest and desire for acquiring wealth, they lack true human quality Even worship, religious ceremonies, pilgrimages, and the like are done with some kind of expectations and not in a spirit of disinterested devotion.

People today are totally immersed in self‑interest. Multiplying desires without limit, they are becoming demonic beings. They are not content with having what they need for essential purposes. They wish to accumulate enormously for the future. They are filled with worries and discontent. Thereby they forfeit their happiness here and in the hereafter. Birds and beasts are content to live on what they can get. Man alone is afflicted with insatiable desires. Birds and animals have no desire to hoard or to exploit others. But man is a prey to these vices. He forgets his natural human qualities and behaves worse than animals. When these tendencies are given up, the inherent divi­nity in man will manifest itself.

Values and faith in God

Human virtues cannot be acquired from others. They cannot be nourished by the mere study of books. Nor can they be got [readymade] from teachers. They have to be cultivated by each person and the resulting joy has to be experien­ced by him.

The world sorely needs today human values. Attempts are being made to pro­mote these values in the educational field. But they cannot be promoted through materialistic, worldly or scientific means. Without developing devotion to God no human quality can grow. The first requi­site is faith in God. Doubts are raised whether God exists or not. Those who affirm that God exists and those who deny are equally incompetent to say anything about God if they know nothing about the nature of God. To assert the existence of that which does not exist is ignorance. To deny the existence of that which exists is folly. God is omnipresent. There is no need to search for Him anywhere. Every­thing that we see is a manifestation of God. Wherever we are there is God. There can be no greater folly than to deny the existence of God when the whole cosmos bears witness to His handiwork. Everything in creation must be viewed as a manifestation of God. Only with this basic faith can one develop one’s human personality.

Satya and dharma

Human values cannot be promoted merely by repeating the words satya, dharma, shanti, prema, and ahimsa. The Vedas declare: Sathyam vada, Dharmam chara (Speak the truth; adhere to right conduct). In practicing dharma, there should be no­ “marma” (secret desires). Actions per­formed with such secret motives result in bondage. Truth and right conduct should be adhered to with pure intentions. Both of them are rooted in the eternal. A righteous life leads to peace. Love is to be experienced in the depths of peace. Love should find expression in non­violence. Where love prevails, there is no room for doing harm or violence to others. All these basic values have to be demon­strated in action and not limited to preaching.

Many educationists and vice‑chancellors are present here today. Their vision is turned outward toward the external physical world. I am concerned with the Inner Vision. It is not possible to recon­cile the physical and the internal spiritual vision. The heart cannot be transformed by lessons in a classroom. The world cannot be changed by mere preaching. Only through action and practical example can the impulse for change be intensified. When one leads a disciplined and regula­ted life, the lesson will be learnt without any teaching. The people will follow of their own accord. This applies to human values also. Only when they are practiced by teachers and elders will students practice them.

Practice and precept

Those who seek to impart the values of sathya, dharma, shanti, prema, and ahimsa to others must first try to prac­tice them themselves wholeheartedly. To imagine that values can be instilled by teaching is a mistake. Such learning will have no permanent effect. Educationists must take note of this fact. If transforma­tion is to be affected in students, the pro­cess must start from a very early age.

To propagate human values, it is advisable to keep as far away as possible from the powers that be. It is not possi­ble to promote sacred values through the help of governmental authorities. Some well‑intentioned leaders may formulate commendable schemes. But there is a frequent change of men in the seats of power. What, then, happens to human values? It is essential to be self‑reliant and stand on our own legs. Only when you are untrammeled and independent can you propagate these sacred values freely and effectively. Educationists should try to set up an independent body for the formulation and implementation of edu­cational policy, free from control or inter­ference by the Government. Only then will the movement for the promotion of human values succeed.

If there is unity among educationists, any undertaking can be successful. Today unity is lacking in colleges and univer­sities. Students and teachers are at loggerheads. How, then, is national integration to be promoted? When there is no unity or harmony at home, how can there be national unity

Those in power operate under their own compulsions. They can take over properties and enterprises, but they can­not promote values. They may occupy temples and take over temple properties, but they can exercise no control over God. Governments may exercise control over men, but they have no hold over men’s qualities.

Educational institutions must pro­mote the spiritual outlook among stu­dents. When students acquire spiritual values, human values will grow in them of their own accord. Human values are not things to be implanted from outside. They are within each individual. They have to be manifested from within.

Human values are in everyone. What we need are persons who will provide the sti­mulus and the encouragement to bring them out. If the feeling that the divinity that is present in everyone is one and the same, is promoted among all, human values will sprout naturally in every per­son. To have this sense of spiritual one­ness is the prelude to experiencing the highest bliss.

Educational institutions should teach students to adhere to truth and to dis­charge their duties as a sacred obligation. Students should not allow success or failure to ruffle their minds unduly. Courage and self‑confidence must be instilled in the students.

Bend the twig and bend the tree, says the proverb. The molding of character must start with children at the earliest age. Begin developing human values from the primary school. Some are concerned about our living in a “secular state”. Secularism really means equal respect for all faiths and beliefs. There should be no hatred toward any faith. Other creeds and beliefs should not be condemned or derided. Some time ago, there was an absurd idea that Sathya Sai educational institutions were religious institutions. Sai educational institutions are based on equal respect for all religions. They are wedded to unity and harmony.

Whatever studies you may pursue, do not give up your faith in God. To give up God is to give up life itself. Life is God. Truth is God. All that you do as an offering to God will be an expression of human values.

The educationists and vice‑chancel­lors who have assembled here have come to some decisions as a result of their high‑minded deliberations. They are firmly convinced that human values have to be promoted. Whatever their limita­tions, they should strive to the extent possible to implement their decisions. The Divine is installed in their hearts. It is enough if they follow the promptings of the Divine. They are bound to achieve their objectives. If faith in God is strengthened, all values will develop in due course. Sublimate your lives by remembering, worshipping, and adoring God.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Oct. 1987