State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) 
Jeevan Vidya’s model of Value Education has been introduced and implemented in various formats across India over the last decade. This model of Value Education follows a process of self-verification and building understanding (knowledge) within an individual. The process is for an individual to examine and understand what is ‘valuable’ to one self, and, in turn, for everyone (and everything) else in existence. As we discussed in the previous section, so far, while the intent for Education has been to create well-rounded individuals, what is really happening is that with the focus tipped over towards technical and skill based education with a strong inclination towards commercial success, the part about ‘How to Do’ has been addressed but not the fundamental questions of 'What' and 'Why'. This has created a society in distress.
The proposal of the Jeevan Vidya Model is that How to do, What to do, Why to do (underlying questions for these are How to live, What to do in our living and Why we exist to begin with) are the three basic questions that when addressed, accomplish the complete purpose of Education. Jeevan Vidya’s Value based education very consciously brings to the fore, the importance of knowing what to do by bringing focus on developing right understanding among children and youth. Knowing the difference of right from wrong and having the clarity that values of trust, respect, commitment, responsibility are natural to human beings; makes them confident and conscientious participants of society. Their participation is not limited to only their sphere of work-where they get their earnings from (which is society’s current parameter of success), but at the level of their family manifesting in fulfilling relationships and also at the level of the environment through an attitude of non-exploitation of natural resources.
Why to do is another important question that Jeevan Vidya’s Value based Education proposes to address. It addresses the fundamental anxiety of most human beings, which for many people results in an “existential crisis” later in life. The purpose of education, why students are studying, What they study, why they are living as human beings, why they have relationships, why they have to be conscious citizens of society and the world, what is their relationship with the environment – all these questions help them live consciously, make informed choices about their future and live with a worldview of harmony and a deep sense of ethics. The answer to this why, in essence, is quite simple – to have holistic, happy lives full of prosperity, health and fulfillment in relationships (at all levels of self, family, society and nature). With the two questions addressed above, How to do? becomes easier to tackle. Our current education system already has a strong rootedness in this. Students are being offered a variety of information and skills through various academic and vocational subjects. With the support of a value-based approach, these information and skills will be utilized by the students for living in co-operation (rather than competition), to run their homes well (financially and emotionally) and contribute towards society and nature. Therefore, the proposal of Jeevan Vidya based Value Education is to address three fundamental questions: Why to do? To achieve human being’s ultimate goal of living happily and harmoniously What to do? To build one’s understanding (by recognizing one’s role in existence at the level of the self, family, society and nature) How to do? By equipping oneself with information and skills to achieve the goal.
Jeevan Vidya can be a panacea for all the above mentioned. It has been put forth for human society in the form of a proposal. Jeevan Vidya is a unique educational programme that aims at integrating humans with their environment, nature, and society, thus fostering a paradigm shift in human consciousness. In essence, Jeevan Vidya helps us to recognise that harmony is already there in existence. It does not have to be constructed. One only needs to understand it, to be in it. Jeevan Vidya can motivate teachers and any other education stakeholders to go ahead in life and become a productive member of society.
This programme enables people to think positively and proactively. This programme leads to a better understanding of the other, the laws of the universe and naturally builds competence to accept complete responsibility for one’s own life.
Through Jeevan Vidya we can:
• Enhance humanness, human values and human consciousness.
• Promote ‘consciousness development value education’ in the content of education
• Promote universal world order, human constitution and human mindset
• Inculcate in the people a concern for environment, ecological balance and co-existence
• Develop an environment conducive for human consciousness and human values Overall we can say that through Jeevan Vidya we can make our student, teacher and other stakeholders of education responsible, capable, sensitive and sensible, which is the ultimate goal of education.
Experiences in Value Education based on Jeevan Vidya
“Jeevan Vidya develops tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty in human conduct by enabling self-knowledge that understands harmony in the self and in the entire existence. Jeevan Vidya is a ‘teachable human value based skill’ that can address inherent conflicts within the mind of the individual, within families, in organizations and in public life.”
- President APJ Abdul Kalam’s President’s Address to the Nation, on the eve of 15th August 2006
Jeevan Vidya
We humans are born with an intrinsic need to know, understand and live what is right in the domain of work as well as personal relationships. Based on what we assumed to be true and therefore right, we live, extend and expand the same within our family as well as society. From ancient times, we have established vairous systems of Production, Exchange, Social Organistion & Justice, Education, Health & Nutrition so as to fulfill our material and non-material needs, based on what we believed to be right. We have tried to work and live together since the beginning of time. But the fact remains that we have not yet been able to succeed in achieving a harmonious and sustainable way of coexistence with each other.
The exploitations by humans of their fellow human beings and natural resoruces is presently the way of life for humankind, which is not sustainable in the long run. Which approach is perceivable as well as unpalatable and which raise some fundamental questions that remain largely unanswered. Jeevan Vidya (JV) is a proposal for a harmonious and sustainable way of life for humankind on this planet.
These workshops are a part of an awareness programme about the proposals of Madhyasth Darshan propounded by Shree A. Nagraj (1920-2016) from Amarkantak.
What is human living all about?
What is it that we humans want?
Is there an alternative to the way we are all living today? Can we humans live in harmony with each other? Can we humans be in harmony with nature? Is there a possibility for a sustainable lifestyle? Many of us are asking these questions; some are even attempting to answer them and present solutions to various issues at different levels. In these Jeevan Vidya workshops you will be presented with a set of proposals to consider and examine to find answers to the above quesions.
For example, some of the proposals made in the introductory workshop include:
• All Existence is orderly (harmonious co-existence).
• Each unit (from an atom to a planet) in existence is a harmonious order in itself and is an integral part of universal order of existence in the form of co-existence.
• Existence is purposeful and harmonious co-existence is the purpose. Understanding this harmonious co-existence is knowledge.
• Human being, a unit of knowledge order in existence, has the natural need and capability to understand this inherent purpose and manifest this understanding in their living within themselves, with their family, with society, within the nation and with other nations.
• This knowledge alone can lead to harmony and sustainability in individuals, their relationshiip, in society and on the planet.
B. About Jeevan Vidya and its experiences among people from different walks of life.
We are facing many kinds of problems today: corruption, exploitation and violence in society, strife in family, and lack of satisfaction in the self.
1. What are the current problems, a reflection of? The source of current problems seems to be an emphasis on physical facilities, glamour, consumerist lifestyle and false sense of satisfaction in competition and one upmanship (neighbors envy owners pride). The focus on the external things leads to ignorance about the concern of the self. It leads to a blind race for wealth, position and jobs. Many times, in spite of achieving one's goals, the individual remain dissatisfied, jobs and positions become intellectually and mentally unfulfilling, wealth starts to breed chaos in family, problems continue & plague in society, and imbalance disrupts nature. Physical facilities are needed to lead a proper life, however, there is a need to examine how much physical facility are needed and what is their role? The question is also important, besides physical facilities, what else is important for human life? The lack of attention to relationships leads to strife in the family, inspite of all the wordly successes. It is the human relationships and human values that are a source of our perennial happiness. We all possess the desire for human values and what is needed is to understand them and then naturally live them out. Jeevan Vidya addresses the self in the human being. It draws attention to human need for human relationships, inherent desire to seek knowledge, and the joy that we naturally derive from these. In our current situation, we might be seeking different things. Thus, it brings about a dialogue between what we are and what we want to be. It does not posit happiness in an after-world, but here and now, based on humanness - a desire common to all human beings. Jeevan Vidya is rational, secular and universal.
2. Experiences of earlier Jeevan Vidya Workshops Jeevan Vidya is wholistic, covering a large canvas and it has made a tremendous impact on people from different walks of life. Some experiences are given below. Although, the concern of each of the group is different, what they realize at the end is a need for human values and relationships and that is founded upon the knowledge of the self.
· Young students in engineering at IIIT, Hyderabad Jeevan Vidya workshops have led to a major rethinking among the first year students of IIT, Hyderabad. They have been reflecting on what their goals are, what the place of money in life is, what is they joy one derives in relationship and in seeking knowledge and not merely in jobs and the money they get out of it. They have become relaxed in their self and become more sensitive to relationships with their friends and family, society and nature. CHVTL, SCERT, Delhi 58
· People from different walks of urban life. People from different walks of life are affected by Jeevan Vidya. Many realize the lack of time they give to their family in their relentless pursuit of wealth, and even more importantly, the way they behave with their children, spouse or old parents. Many such people are affected profoundly and come back to Jeevan Vidya workshops with their family members, again and again.
· Criminals in Jail Jeevan Vidya touches criminals in jail most diretly. Those who are seething with revenge, slowly start realizing that in fact their enemies are not bad. They are to be pitied and not hated. In turn, they themselves get depressurized and relaxed. This eventually gets reflected in their day to day behaviour with other jail inmates and with jail authorities. Bilaspur jail experience shows that some of the most violent criminals with worst behaviour inside the jail, got transformed.
· Social Workers from NGOs People working for upliftment of downtrodden in rural and urban areas are greatly affected by Jeevan Vidya. It dawns on them that along with work on employment generation, agriculture, irrigation, health, sanitation, scientific temper, it is also important to work on understanding of the self and on relationship, without which their work and successes are short lived.
Farmers and rural folk Rural folk today are in a state of demoralization. They are being told that they are backward, and need to be developed; that they are ignorant and do not know what is good for them; that they need to study English and without which there is no future. The present political structure and political parties have led to a breakdown of the community decision making. High powered marketing has led to a loss of community life. They do not realize what they possess-clean air, clean water, and stronger possiblity of a wholesome life with fulfilling relationships in family and in the community.
Experience of rural people who attend Jeevan Vidya workshops has been a sense of empowerment and what best they can do at their own place. Rather than treating farming as an unworthy activity, they see value in what they are doing. The importance and necessity of physical labour for all, comes out as a corollary.
Established business men who have done Jeevan Vidya workshops have taken up sustainable or zero-input farming where all the required resources for farming is generated from the farm land itself. Several experiments in renewable energy are also in full swing. They are deriving happiness in farming and physical labour.