Sathya Sai Education in Human Values: An Update

The report presented here is based on two talks by Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Advisory Board member, Ronne Marantz, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in May 2000.

Recently, Dr. Goldstein, as Chair of the SSEHV Foundation, felt that regional conferences taking place around the country would offer a good chance to bring people up-to-date on Sathya Sai Education in Human Values. He asked all the members of SSEHV Foundation Advisory Board to speak at retreats around the country.

Service, education, and devotion are all the same. Now we will have the opportunity to take our devotion and service into the realm of working with children. Sathya Sai Education (SSE) and Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) are two wings of one bird. Baba says SSEHV will take you to goodness; SSE will take you to God.

It is important to call the program by its complete name, SSEHV (Sathya Sai Education in Human Values), not just EHV. Sometimes people are tempted to leave the name off. It seems that so much could be done without the name. But it’s essential to keep the name. It is only prejudice and ignorance that creates hesitation to use this program with its full and appropriate name.

How do we bring the program into secular education for children? How did we develop a program that could be used in public schools? First, we examined what we could not do in the public schools:

We can’t speak of the unity of faiths. We can’t speak of Sathya Sai as an avatar. We can’t foster devotion. We can’t use prayer.

On the other hand, we examined the function and role of prayer. Prayer takes your consciousness to the highest level. It brings awareness of higher ideals and noble aspirations.

We use quotations and thoughts in place of prayer. We emphasize the unity of the human family, reverence for life under God and the five human values. The values are rooted in aspects of Western psychology and the development of human potential: physically, emotionally, intellectually, morally and spiritually. The words moral and spiritual can be used in schools in this country.

The most important part of SSEHV is life application—the connection between home and school at the end of each lesson. We should remember that 3HV—head, heart, and hand—is the essence of what the program needs to communicate.

SSEHV in the United States

In 1981 there was a Bal Vikas Guru Training Camp in Prasanthi Nilayam, where the concept of SSEHV was introduced. In 1983 we established the SSEHV Foundation, established committees and began writing a curriculum. The first draft of a SSEHV Curriculum was published and sold at the bookstore in Prasanthi Nilayam. Sai devotees, who were professional teachers, began using SSEHV in their classrooms. In the late ’80s to early ’90s, there were many regional trainings for devotees. We also gave training programs in public and private schools in: Arizona; Nevada; California, New Jersey; Florida; New Mexico; Georgia; New York; Hawaii; Missouri; Illinois; and Texas.

We went into individual schools when we were invited. We do not simply call a principal or a superintendent of schools. Connections were made in natural and “organic” ways. On one occasion a Sai devotee was an active and respected member of the PTA. On another a Sai devotee was a member of the school board. We only go if we’re invited, if there is an open and wholehearted desire to receive, and a willingness to use the full name.

When l was doing my doctorate in the late 1980s, I had the good fortune to do research on the SSEHV Curriculum in eleven public schools in Chicago, Long Island, and San Diego. Thirty-five teachers took part in the study with the full support of their principals. They were not Sai devotees. The results showed that the program changed their teaching and the climate of the class changed for the better. They became more committed to teaching human values and saw that the program could affect character development in their students. “l’m kinder,” said one. “It is what I thought teaching would be when l first became a teacher,” said another.

ln the 1990s, the SSEHV Curriculum has been undergoing revisions. The final edition will be available in the Sathya Sai Bookstore in Tustin, California, in late August.

Three years ago the SSEHV Foundation formed an SSEHV Advisory Board, with 4 committees: Elementary, Secondary, Post-Secondary, and SSEHV for the Community. This year a fifth committee, the Sathya Sai School Committee, was formed. The School Committee is developing national guidelines for Sai Schools in this country. If an individual or group wants to start a Sai School and believe they have sustainable resources, they will be able to submit a proposal to the School Committee.

The Sathya Sai School Committee (SSSC) is developing guidelines that will shape the mission of the school, the legal requirements, program, facilities, staff development and other essential aspects of a model Sai School. Any school using the name Sathya Sai will need to be supervised under the auspices of the SSEHV Foundation.

A group of devotees in New York and Connecticut are currently working to start a school. It is hoped that it will open in September. The Sathya Sai School Committee is guiding and supporting them in their effort to conceptualize an appropriate framework and foundation. Most importantly, in March of this year, Swami blessed this project. The school will be tuition-free for children of non-Sai devotees who experience economic hardship. It will be called the Sathya Sai School of Greater Hartford.

At this time there is going to be a new wave of SSEHV Regional Workshops with more opportunities for people to become involved. Coming up in the next year will be the SSEHV 75th Birthday Initiative. Workshops will be held in every region. The dates and locations are still to be determined. A group of 20 core trainers are meeting in August to formulate a cohesive plan for similar workshops in all regions. Small groups of these core trainers will lead the workshops.

Each conference will feature a general session with a keynote speaker and breakout sessions for three groups:

1. One for devotees who are relatively new to the Sai Organization and SSEHV.

2. One for those who believe they may have an opportunity to do SSEHV in the community. (A new SSEHV Community Manual is being developed.)

3. One for professional educators and related fields who work in public or private school systems.

It is very important to remember that SSEHV is a program for children between the ages of 6 and 15. Swami says, “Quality, not quantity,” so in working with children, we need to work heart to heart, one to one. lt doesn’t have to be grandiose. At the regional workshops, we’re going to talk about how we can help you do that.

Teaching and learning have both become mechanical routines. They have lost the freshness and joy which vitality alone can give. The value of the teaching process lies in raising the level of consciousness of the learner; in heightening the sense of wonder and awe, and in emphasizing the unity of one with all. Educators must pay attention not merely to the material and intellectual progress of the pupils, but also to their moral and spiritual progress.

~ Sathya Sai Baba~