Heartfulness Education Life's Potential Program:

Heartfulness Education Life’s Potential Program:

HEARTFULNESS EDUCATION LIFE’S POTENTIAL PROGRAME: AN INITIATIVE FOR POSITIVE CHANGES IN SOCIETY

Published in Research Reinforcement , A Peer Reviewed International Refereed Journal, ISSN 2348-3857 Impact Factor (IIJIF) 5.454, Vol. 8, Issue 1, May 2020 – October 2020, pp. 124-130

Author – Rekha Khandelwal, Assistant Professor, Tagore Public Law College, Jaipur ( Rajasthan)

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Abstract

Today, the family environment, today’s education system and, society are responsible for all negative impacts in society. They are failing to teach children, the value of life. The whole life is an education and constantly teaches the human beings something, it should only have the art of learning. There is need to develop the art of learning so that he can learn from every moment of life and keep moving forward. There is a need to strengthen the children internally, so that they do not panic under any circumstances, Today children are bored with school, unhappy, living under stress, dependent on medicines and becoming depressed, even also doing suicide. Today is the time to ask the children for their needs & problems and accordingly analyze the education system. There is available a ‘HEARTFULNESS EDUCATION LIFE’S POTENTIAL PROGRAME’ I have studied all literature relevant it and have used interview method for data collection and after analysis all data the findings and conclusions are that if the Help program is applied properly it is possible to develop the entire personality of the youth and can bring positive changes in society.

Keywords: Heartfulness, Young Generation, Education, Stress

Introduction:-

Today, while reading the newspaper, suddenly I noticed that a medical post graduate student committed suicide. My mind was very upset; I was forced to think why such news that an engineering student got suicide, a medical student got suicide. Etc. has become quite common in newspapers. Why educated youth is taking such a step today even when he/she is talented and hard-working, because only due to his/her talent, he/she has reached here. After much thought and detailed study of all such news, the reason that I understood is that they lacked inner peace, inner happiness, and ability to fight against adverse situations. Because if they had inner peace, happiness or ability to fight in adversity and internally they were stronger, then they would not have taken such steps, but would have remained unaffected or immobile like a mountain. After all, what is the reason for all this? Today, the family environment, today’s education system and, society are responsible for all this. They are failing to teach children, the value of life. Education does not mean that some formal or professional degree is acquired; rather the whole personality has to be developed. The whole life is an education and constantly teaches the human beings something, it should only have the art of learning. There is need to develop the art of learning so that he can learn from every moment of life and keep moving forward. The education that children receive today has failed to develop their effective personality. Today there is a need to strengthen the children internally, so that they do not panic under any circumstances, if they face challenges then accept them. They should not panic or run, but compete strongly. Do not die from the roar of a lion, you have to die, so why die before time, but also fight firmly.

Today, there is a need to keep children connected with nature so that an inner peace, happiness and patience will always be there. They should not be afraid of small problems but can remain internally calm and find solutions to the problems. Stress or depression should not dominate them. Every child has a different talent. The need is to identify the talent in him or her, to develop confidence and decision-making ability in the child, to let the inner talent come out. Education should try to make his personality effective so that he can also listen to the voice of his heart and make harmony with the mind and to let them choose the direction of their career on their own, when they choose a career based on their inner talent and interest, they will also perform well in it, enjoy it and then they will not consider it as a burden and will definitely be successful. There is no need to be disappointed if the failures are at hand, but to accept the failure and stay strong keep moving forward without stopping until the goal is achieved. They should think of the failure as the primary key to success. In today’s competitive era, when children choose their careers under the pressure of family in a competition, they lose their inner happiness. Sometimes even in adverse circumstances, they take steps like suicide. So it is necessary that they should always be happy inside, and have the freedom to express their feelings. A music loving person cannot be happy after studying medical or engineering. Similarly a doctor cannot be happy by becoming a singer or artist; therefore, children should be allowed to choose the direction of their career based on their heart’s voice and interest, Priority should be that children remain happy. That is, children should be developed with their inner talent, Choice, Nature, Happiness Self-Decision Making Power and be able to choose the right direction of career too. In the development of the personality of the children, parents, society, educational institutions and teachers also play a very big Role. Through proper education, children can develop all the qualities that are necessary for a happy life. But what do we see today in the name of education, is it really educating children or has education been made a business? Today educational institutions have become like a factory where children are like raw materials and they are product as pressed to prepare, ready to move on with the competition, they find an environment from which they are exposed to stress. “Increasing stress levels pushing students into depression or even to the extreme step of suicide in some cases is a major cause of concern that has shifted people’s focus on factors contributing to the alarming situation.”[i]

They tend to take away the children from the joy, from the nature, which hampers the children from developing inner talent. They create models externally just like a machine in which there is no harmony between his free will, heart and brain. Today we are living in a revolutionary era in which human society is going through a rapid change. If we want this change to bring positive results in future, then we have to understand the need of our young generation. Because the young generation of today is the future of tomorrow’s country, the need of today has changed. Therefore, we must also change the pattern and modalities going on in our educational institute, children need an environment so that they can live every moment of their lives with inner peace and happiness. We need to rethink the old structure of education which is still being adopted for education. If children are to be educated in a true sense, then it is very important to reach the child’s heart, his interest and his brain. “According to Swami Vivekananda, what is education? Is it only to read books? No, or to give different types of knowledge. That is not even that. The training by which the influence and expression of willpower is controlled and becomes beneficial is called education. Now think whether it is education, as a result of which, willpower is constantly pressed forcefully for generations, or even almost killed. Is it the education which is affecting not only the new ideas but also old ideas disappearing one by one? Is it education that is slowly making a person a machine? In my view, it is better to do wrong as a human being motivated by free will and intelligence, than to do right as a machine-man. Then can it be called a society which is made up of a collection of humans who are like mud- piles, or lifeless machines? How can such a society be a successful society?” Today children are bored with school, unhappy, living under stress, dependent on medicines and becoming depressed, even also doing suicide. Today is the time to ask the children for their needs & problems and accordingly analyze the education system.

The Heart Fullness education trust has helped by analyzing the problems and needs of the youth generation and prepared a Help -Connect Program. This program will be much useful for the above purpose.

Objects:-

1. To make a bright future of country by strong & positive energetic young generation.

2. To provide a joyful environment to the young generation in education system.

3. To release today’s young generation from stress.

4. To prevent the suicides done by the young generation.

5. To develop the overall effective personality of the youth.

Hypothesis:-Whether the heartfulness experience life’s potential program is useful in removing stress in young generation.

Heartfulness – Experience Life’s Potential (HELP PROGRAME)

“The Heartfulness Experience Life Potential is a 16 week certificate course for students of grade 10 to grade 12, on life-skills and values that equip them with Heartfulness practices, skills and knowledge for quality educational outcomes.

HELP Program retrieved on May, 7, 2020 frromhttps://heartfulness.org/education/help/

Our Vision

Our vision is to enable teachers and students to live a balanced, purposeful, happy life through heart-based practices, so that they are equipped to contribute to sustainable school reform and community citizenship.

HELP is a 16-week certificate course for Students on life-skills and values that equip them with Heartfulness practices, skills and knowledge for quality educational outcomes.

Theory of Change

The Need

It is a well-known saying that “Our Children are our Future”. These children, under the current system of school education, are largely being nourished by their lecturers.

The result-oriented, examination based education system puts a lot of pressure on students to focus only on academic results, leading to a stressful life.

While students develop well and become subject-matter experts, most of them lack the basic life skills. There is little time to focus on values and morals.

A slow downfall in the moral standards of today’s youth is quite visible in our current society.

The Intervention

HELP: ‘Heartfulness–Experience of Life’s Potential.” Impart the Heartfulness methods to students through a 16- week certificate course.

The course will cover:

– Heartfulness tools and techniques.

– Essential life skills like managing stress, time, conflicts, habits, etc.

– Basic human values and positive relationships.

Impact–Improved Concentration and Focus in students.

– ‘Centered 1 Students’: where ‘centeredness’ is defined as a person who is self-confident, emotionally stable and well balanced.

– A life where stress is well managed, leading to a joyful and happy society.

– Students displaying values of compassion and respect for each other.

Course Outline

The HELP program is a 16-week certificate course for students of Intermediate Education in Andhra Pradesh. This course will be delivered as weekly sessions, with one-hour per week as the delivery mechanism. Every session will cover a unique topic on life skills and values, followed by practical experiential session on Heartfulness tools and techniques. A typical session breakup is as follows:

20 minutes: Topic-related presentation and discussion

30 minutes: Experiential session on Heartfulness Meditation tools

10 minutes: Q&A and follow-up

Topic-related presentations will be guided by high-quality video content. Topics will include various elements of science, activities, stories, quotes and morals, which are built into the presentations. The video will equip the presenter with interactive tools to engage with the students and communicate the message in a subtle yet powerful way, where the students learn by listening and engaging actively. Every session will cover a unique topic on life skills and values, followed by practical experiential session on various techniques.

About Heartfulness Education Trust (HET)

Heartfulness Education Trust (HET) was born from the vision that the most effective way to transform society in a generation is to provide teachers with the opportunity and tools for change and empowers them to transform their students. HET comes under the umbrella of a group of organizations, including Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM), Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation (SMSF), and Heartfulness Institute (HFI). Together they work towards social transformation by offering Heartfulness methods for individual change. Our self-development programs in schools and colleges are creating a culture of values for both teachers and students, through practical methods of relaxation, introspection and meditation.

Success Story of HELP Program

Board of Intermediate Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh Recommendation

BIE (Board of Intermediate Education) has issued a government recommendation addressing the Principals of all Government Junior Colleges, Government-Aided Colleges, and Private Unaided Colleges to incorporate the Heartfulness programs for all their students, in order to reduce stress and nurture ethical and moral values. It further mentions that, such meditation workshops on Heartfulness have already been conducted for more than 50,000 students in the academic year (2017-2018) and these workshops have resulted in:

• Considerable reduction in stress and anxiety levels;

• Improved concentration and memory;

• A more balanced state of mind; and

• Curbed the unfortunate tendency of suicides in some residential junior colleges.

This letters from the AP government requests all principals to utilize the services offered by the Heartfulness team and help schedule and facilitate the 16-week program for their students.

Scope

The overall scope of the above-mentioned government recommendation actually covers about 3,000 colleges and more than 10 lakh students. During the academic year 2018 – 2019, the HELP Program will cover most of government junior colleges, government-aided colleges and private colleges totaling around 500 colleges and 2 lakhs students across all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh.” [ii]

“Vijaywada: The Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) along with Heartfulness Educational Trust has come up with a new programme, a 16-week certificate course in life skills for Intermediate students. During the District Collectors’ conference on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao launched the handbook of the course. The programme is made available in all government junior colleges, government-aided colleges, and private unaided colleges to incorporate the Heartfulness programmes for all their students to reduce stress and nurture ethical and moral values. This course will be delivered as weekly sessions, with one-hour per week as the delivery mechanism. Every session will cover a unique topic on life skills and values, followed by practical experiential session on various techniques. Speaking to TNIE, BIE commissioner B Udaya Lakshmi said, “For the first time, we are coming up with such a initiative. The aim is to develop good nature among the students with constructive thinking, confidence and reducing stress levels and suicidal tendencies among others. Topics will include various elements of science, activities, stories, quotes and morals. As of now, 797 junior colleges across the State with 2.5 lakh students are being trained. Our target is to reach five lakh students. Upon the completion of training, an e-certificate, (electronic certificate) will be issued to the students. This is not under the Intermediate curriculum.”[iii]

“Meditation is known to help reduce stress and improve concentration besides several other advantages. The Board of Intermediate Education has decided to engage trainers and volunteers from the Heartfulness Centre in Vijayawada to help stress-ridden students in junior colleges to tap into these benefits. Secretary of the Board of Intermediate Education B. Udayalakshmi, in a letter to the managements of junior colleges across the State, has said that in view of the incidents of suicidal tendencies seen among stress-ridden students, trainers and volunteers of Heartfulness Institute would conduct a series of workshops to reduce stress levels, nurture ethics and moral values, which, in turn, would help prevent suicidal tendency among the young learners” [iv]

The pictures retrieved on May 7, 2020from https://heartfulness.org/education/help/

The pictures (May 7, 2020) retrieved from https://heartfulness.org/education/help/

Data collection from a group of 50 of heartfulness meditation practioner using interview method in Jaipur zonal Ashram