Education for Total Consciousness

Case Study 1. Anil is a successful businessman. He worked hard and achieved his goals through a systematic approach. He was ruthless in all ways, never considering the feelings of others except how to exploit them. But he ran an efficient office and paid his employees well, he was rich, well settled, and he even gave sometimes to charity, so everyone called him a success. He used to take his wife and children on annual sightseeing trips to other countries and would leave their houses and cars in the custody of his staff. But he found himself unable to stop worrying about the houses, the cars, and the business. When he spent time with his family, he felt pride and satisfaction… but sometimes there was a feeling of loneliness he could not explain. After some time, the growing burden of his responsibilities left him highly stressed and irritable. No one wanted to be near him, yet they made great speeches about him in public. He became unable to sleep without the aid of alcohol or pills. In his old age, he began to increasingly think about his death, wondering whether he would be rewarded in the afterlife for all of his efforts—or could it be that he had missed something important?

Anil is a tragic but typical product of modern education, what we call objective education. This type of education focuses only on transmission of knowledge about the outer world and is concerned with instructing, rather than revealing. Objective education trains young minds to think, look and investigate only the world around them, without any consideration of who and what they are and how they are related to the world. The obsession to look to the objective world for fulfillment becomes a way of life. Rather than finding happiness in the self, there is the constant habit to seek to fulfill our needs and desires with objects. Ultimately, it leads to sorrow and distress, as the hole of desire can never be filled, and the feeling of satisfaction is only momentary.

Objective knowledge has its place, and it certainly cannot be ignored in education. Modern science has achieved great heights through the acquisition of objective knowledge from the subatomic to the galactic levels. Likewise, all the various branches of knowledge are learning greater information about the universe. However, we lose our own orientation in the universe without knowledge of the self, or subjective knowledge. This type of knowledge reveals what it means to be a human being, what we are made of, and where we want to go. In an imbalanced state of education excessively focus on the acquisition of objective knowledge, we think that everything we encounter exists for our own exploitation and satisfaction of our desires. Everything we interact with, even people, become objects to us. Material success becomes the goal of life, but it fails to give us true and lasting happiness. Through objective education, we lose the basic qualities of the human being, and are plunged into sorrow.

(Image for representational purpose only.)

Case Study 2. Divya is a physicist, a wife and mother. She is an active member of her community, and often spends her free time organizing meals or medicine for the poor people in her area. No matter how long her day has been, or how many things she is doing, whenever she has cooked a meal she first looks outside to see if anyone is hungry before she takes her own. She gives them a comfortable seat, a cool glass of water, and a hearty meal. The person always goes away remembering her smile. “Have I met her before? She feels just like my own mother.” They don’t know that Divya has three degrees and a high-ranking position in the science world.

When putting herself to a task, Divya is fully involved in it, though detached from the tendency to feel pride or elation in success, or misery in failure. When Divya makes a decision, it is carefully considered from every angle with detachment and clarity. Every time a problem arises in her life, she feels it is a new chance to remove her ignorance and illuminate her life with greater truth. In moments of calm, Divya’s mind often rests in the vastness of the universe, its glory and majesty. She feels that everyone and everything is Nature itself coming to greet her and bless her. She feels love for every being, and great tenderness for those who are suffering.

Divya received an education that integrated objective and subjective knowledge, otherwise known as Education for Total Consciousness. Whatever was in the textbooks, the teachers linked the topic to a part of Divya’s self, i.e., subjective knowledge. When she learned division in mathematics, she learned about the division of her body’s cells. When she learned the names of rivers, the teachers also taught about her own circulatory system. When she studied stars and galaxies, she realized the light of her own intellect. All of the objective knowledge in the textbook was correlated to her subjective knowledge. Through this, she learned to see herself in everything, and to see the universe in herself. The delicate balance of nature revealed itself to her, thus she strove for balance in herself.

As a student she had the constant perception that she was a part of a vast and beautiful universe of energy, one that is constantly changing, and yet at the same time it is full, perfect, peaceful and infinite. She had great respect and love for her teachers, who helped her to understand herself very deeply, to perceive her weaknesses as well as her strengths, to gain the tools to overcome her weaknesses and to use her strengths in service of others. The effects of her actions on others, and others upon her--the effects of the world upon her, and her upon the world—became her constant vision. She achieved greatness in her studies and later scientific career because of her sharpness of intellect, wideness of vision, purity of emotions, and inner peace. She surrendered to the natural flow of life, and knows that she is deeply cared for.

Education for Total Consciousness in the classroom is relatively simple. Its beauty lies in its adaptability. There is no barrier for culture, belief, religion, region, or language. The ETC method is suitable for any age level, up to university level, and any discipline.

A trained ETC teacher is able to take any syllabus, any textbook and prepare lessons according to the ETC format. S/he engages the students in a variety of learning experiences that gives them both theoretical and practical exposure. Emphasis is given to play and research. Assessments are based on end-unit written and creative presentations, and also daily / weekly observations.

The ETC teacher makes learning come alive by:

- Responding to the individual personalities, situation, time, place and lesson to be learned;

- Cultivating the development of the whole human being; and

- Imparting a holistic integration of subjective and objective knowledge.

The joy of learning is naturally experienced through the ETC process. Lessons never become dry or burdensome to students, because everything learned is well digested and meaningful to them. Children experience greater amounts of positivity, energy, happiness, fulfillment, and confidence in this system. Profound relationships between the student and teacher are developed, as well as between the student and his/her peers, family, society, environment, nation, world, and universe. Teacher satisfaction is high.

A school implementing ETC will make decisions about the type of learning environment, teacher-to-student ratio, training of teachers, campus, playground, facilities, involvement of parents, role of the principal, examinations, programs, activities and social service to enhance all the aspects of the children’s learning.

But most profoundly, the core aspects of ETC can be practiced in any setting, therefore making it a truly universal scheme of learning. Integration of subjective and objective knowledge can happen anywhere, by one who is passionate about achieving the noblest of goals of education. 

Sample teaching aid: Subjective Water and Objective Water

The Isa Viswa Prajnana Trust is pleased to note that many aspects of ETC were included in the new National Education Policy for India, including an emphasis on holistic development of learners, experiential learning, curricular integration, forms of assessment, role of teachers, optimal learning environments, etc.