What Is Spiritual Education

After becoming a swami, Paramhansa Yogananda's first public activity was to establish a school for young boys. He began his teaching career in 1916 in the village of Dihika, Bengal, with only seven students “I was determined to build a school where young boys might grow into complete manhood.” He relocated the school to Ranchi a year later and established the Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalaya, which is still operational today. The first Ananda school was formed nearly sixty years later, in 1972, at Ananda Village, based on Yogananda's educational ideas and directions. The original Ananda School, which began with only seven pupils, now has a site with seven classrooms and ninety students, as well as branch schools in Palo Alto, Portland, and Seattle. The following article is based on a discourse given by Swami Kriyananda, in which he outlines the Ananda Schools' Education for Life system.

In my life, I've tried to apply Yogananda's primary principles to a variety of disciplines, including business, the arts, relationships, growing families, schools, and communities. Yogananda cared deeply for children's education, yet he said very little about it. We've taken what he's given us through the years, thought on it, and utilized what we've learned in the Ananda School classrooms to enhance our understanding and attunement to Yogananda's vision for spiritual education.

At Ananda, we're working on a system called Education for Life, which is desperately required in today's world. We are instilling in our children what Yogananda referred to as an essentially atheistic vision of life, which is the source of many of our world's ills. When we strictly prohibit all spiritual teachings and higher values, our children learn that there are no such things as higher values, and that there is no such thing as God. Children have a natural desire for values and ideals, but our society provides them with a universe and a life in which they are unable to believe. The cynical lessons of modern education are so ego-oriented, as well as money and job-oriented, that it's scarcely surprising that youngsters grow up cynical and furious at the universe. That is the fault of our culture for allowing such things to occur.

The goal of spiritual education is to help children realize their divine potential and to prepare them for life by providing them with the tools they'll need to keep learning throughout their various experiences.

We don't mean religious education when we talk about spiritual education. What we mean is that we want to teach kids that being good to others and working toward lofty goals will make them happier. A child who has a small bag of dates and eats them all by himself is not nearly as happy as a child who shares his dates with others. In every scenario, we can see that selfish people are unhappy, whereas selfless people are content. They can use this knowledge not only at school, but also at home and in other situations. This is spiritual education if we can bring this type of teaching to youngsters.

Spiritual education also serves to develop a person on all levels. We are triune beings made up of body, mind, and soul, and we are incomplete if any part of us is starved at the price of the others. It's an intriguing truth that people who write, for example, as a mental activity, will frequently engage in some form of physical activity to keep themselves grounded. Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda's guru, offered him a broom when he first had an experience of cosmic consciousness, adding, “Let's sweep the porch together.” We need to figure out how to maintain these worlds in sync with one another. We become unbalanced in some way if we let one go in favor of the other.

We must help our children develop their characters and minds while also preparing them to live successfully in this world through their education. We don't want kids to go out into society and discover that they can't relate to what's going on. They must have access to the facts that are a part of our modern education. They don't, however, need to be taught those truths in such a way that they believe there is no worth in anything. Today, there is a lot of attention on the wrong things. Spiritual education is based on preparing students for society in a way that allows them to maintain their idealistic outlook.

Assume you have children who have learned to love everyone and to appreciate the beautiful things in life. When kids venture out into the world, they may encounter prejudice, criminal behavior, and a variety of other undesirable experiences. Will they be able to deal with the situation? This is most people's main concern when it comes to spiritual education. The answer can be found in people who live their lives with love. It's not as if they become illiterate or lose their ability to comprehend reality. In fact, the broadest understanding comes from a love-centered perspective, while the smallest understanding comes from a hatred-centered perspective. You can only relate to the lowest level if you're on it; if you're on the highest level, you can relate to all levels. To demonstrate that this is true, we can point to examples of people who live this way and are significantly more capable of dealing with life's numerous obstacles. People who are full as human beings tend to be more successful, in my experience. Even in the way that worldly people define success, a spiritual education can assure better success.

Rajarsi Janakananda, Yogananda's most advanced disciple, is a suitable example. He was the chairman of numerous major corporations and the owner of a number of others. He had the clarity, tranquility, and centeredness to step back from the stress and excitement and see the path to resolving challenging problems. His success was due to the fact that his consciousness was anchored in God and the desire to do the right thing.

Children are born with various inclinations, strengths, limitations, and educational requirements. The assembly-line method to teaching, in which the same information is more or less poured out to everyone, is one of the bad elements of modern education. There is no philosophy; all that exists is data. Small classes, in which the teacher can get to know each kid individually, are critical for providing particular attention and determining each child's natural level of comprehension.

Life is made richer by teaching youngsters kindness, concentration, willpower, character strength, truthfulness, and other higher traits. These are extremely crucial to a person's growth, yet they are not taught in public schools nowadays. The ultimate goal of life isn't just to find work. So many people live like this and ultimately die, not of old age, but of severe dissatisfaction with their lives. Money won't buy you happiness if you don't know how to be truly happy.

Spiritual education prepares people for the rest of their lives. How many people marry and then divorce because they don't know how to communicate with their partner? They haven't been prepared for that. neither for the sake of life.

Education, properly defined, is the process of increasing one's awareness. It's a warm-up for the real learning that happens after we leave school, when we're in the midst of a never-ending struggle, on the front lines of life's battleground. We can lead children to long-term happiness by providing them with the tools and knowledge they need to make the best decisions possible. They will then be able to attain the kinds of spiritual wins that define success in the genuine sense.

What is the importance of spirituality in education?

We advocate for spiritual principles to be taught in schools because we feel that if a child understands the purpose of spirituality in life, he or she will learn better. By incorporating this value, we can help the child's mind, body, and spirit grow, which will help them build their personalities.

What is your definition of spiritual?

Spirituality is defined as the awareness of a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater total of which we are a part is cosmic or divine in nature. True spirituality necessitates the opening of one's heart.

What is spirituality as a student?

The university we know is made up of people from all walks of life, and spiritual backgrounds are no exception. Many people are obviously devoted about their spiritual life and would be delighted to keep them going while studying. According to studies, about 90% of the world's population is religious, demonstrating how important it is for most students to have a healthy spiritual life.

What is spirituality, exactly? Spirituality is frequently associated with religion or religious belief. Meanwhile, spirituality is defined by Wikipedia as “the reformation process aimed at recovering the distinctive form of man orientated toward the image of God as portrayed by the sacred scriptures of the world's founder religions.” The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Holy Trinity, gave this to the early Christians. The introduction of mental life into spirituality was made possible by the broadening of this feature in medieval times. In this current day, however, both esoteric and religious spiritual traditions are used together. Regardless, the religious concept of spirituality continues to have the greatest impact on humanity.

Some people find it more difficult to continue the highly religious activities they used to practice as a student with numerous classes to attend and many papers to turn in. Some students are also depressed because they lack a parent or guardian to encourage or inspire them to participate in religious activities. Work or other activities, particularly joyful ones, can sometimes deplete a student of spiritual zeal. Peer pressure can have an affect on people's spiritual lives because many people want to do what their friends do because there is no one to supervise them at university. Another element that contributes to the decline of spiritual life is the lack of spiritual programs, places, and teachers or leaders.

Both kind of spirituality have numerous advantages. To begin with, it aids in the attainment of virtue because some spiritual activities encourage people to have excellent values. There are laws and norms in most spiritual activities. Christianity, for example, contains the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” love your neighbor as yourself, greatest commandments (love of God and love of mankind), ten commandments, and so on. Other religions, like Christianity, contain commandments that encourage individuals to love and be decent. Spirituality, on the other hand, can be a loving ethic that guides a student's dedication to assisting others. It can also be a measure of equanimity, indicating how well a student can find meaning in adversity, perceive each day as a gift, and feel at ease. It can also increase a student's eagerness to participate in charity activities such as community service and unreservedly aiding others. It can also help to counteract social vices, strengthen morals, and promote good health.

Recognizing the importance of spirituality in the lives of students, the school has established spiritual groups and programs to aid in the spiritual development of students and the community at large. The Christian Union, the Jewish society, the Muslim society, Yoga, and the Catholic society are only a few of them. These societies gather on university grounds, particularly in the Stag Hill campus's Quiet Centre.

There are more areas for spiritual elevation outside of the campus. The Stag Hill campus is only a short distance from Guildford Cathedral. There is also a Baptist church near the school, a Catholic church in Guildford town centre, and a mosque in Woking called Shah Janhan.

Finally, because of the importance of spiritual growth, students are encouraged to identify with the university's clubs and religious organisations. This will not only improve their spiritual life, but it will also have a significant impact on their schoolwork, community service, and personal lives as Surrey students. Participate! Surrey, be spiritual!

Why is spiritual development important?

Spiritual development clearly enables you to act naturally with honesty, integrity, and truthfulness, as well as to live in ways you never believed possible. Spiritual growth is critical for your mental and, of course, bodily well-being.

What is spiritual development in physical education?

SPIRITUAL – When students exercise, they have a better awareness of the body's capabilities, which leaves them in awe of the body's capabilities. Dance and sports like Gymnastics allow students to express themselves creatively by conveying sentiments and emotions in their performances.

Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 25.8 million people in the United States, or 8.3 percent of the population.

1 Non-Hispanic Blacks aged 20 and up account for 4.9 million (18.7%) of the total. 1 Complications of type 2 diabetes, such as cerebrovascular illness, renal failure, and amputations, are substantially more common among African Americans than in non-Hispanic Whites.1

With proper diabetic self-care, these problems can be decreased or avoided. Diabetes therapy relies heavily on self-care knowledge, skills, and activities. The intricacy of sustaining and managing daily self-care activities, such as exercise, food change, and medication adherence, makes diabetic self-care difficult. The American Association of Diabetes Educators2 lists seven diabetes self-care behaviors: being active (physical activity and exercise); eating healthy (diet composition and caloric content); taking medications; monitoring (e.g., blood glucose, weight, blood pressure); problem solving, particularly for blood glucose (high and low levels, sick days); reducing risks (to reduce diabetes complications; smoking cessation); and healthy coping (psychosocial adaptation). These behaviors have been recognized as measurable results of effective diabetes education and should be practiced at both the individual and population level to accomplish the targeted outcomes of diabetes complications prevention and physical and psychological well-being.

Spiritual and religious beliefs and activities can either help people cope with a chronic illness by providing support, confidence, and hope, or they might obstruct successful coping by causing them to ignore self-care activities in favor of prayer and/or meditation.

3 While there is evidence of a link between spirituality and hypertension self-management4, few research have looked at the impact of spirituality on diabetes self-management.

5 As a result, less is known about how spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as social support, influence diabetic self-care among African American adults. 6 Spirituality is an important source of emotional support; God is perceived as central in providing strength to deal with daily challenges; God is frequently called upon for help in controlling diabetes; and a strong belief in God, prayer, meditation, and support from church members were all sources of support in previous studies concerning spirituality, religion, and diabetes in African Americans. 3, 5, and 8 Religion and spirituality were linked to better glycemic control in Black women with type 2 diabetes in one study,9 while religion and spirituality were linked to a lower likelihood of lifelong smoking among African Americans in another. 10

Because of the foregoing findings and a gap in the literature, we decided to look into the possibilities of incorporating spiritual and religious views into diabetic self-management. Spiritual views encompass a connection to a higher being as well as an existential outlook on life, death, and the nature of reality. 11 Religious practices/rituals such as prayer or meditation, as well as interaction with religious community members, are examples of religious beliefs. While spiritual and religious views have a lot in common, the authors decided to look into both of them because they are commonly brought up when dealing with disease. It's also necessary to look into both of these concepts because some people consider themselves spiritual but don't necessarily believe in religion. While religious beliefs and practices are more easily measured, the authors intended to look at the larger context of people's belief systems, specifically their perspectives on life's meaning, disease, and existential concerns. 13 The Systems of Belief Inventory (SBI) was chosen to measure these constructs due to the requirement to examine both spiritual and religious beliefs and practices in the process of coping with an illness.

The researchers wanted to see if there was a link between (a) spiritual and religious beliefs and practices and social support, and (b) diabetic self-care activities in African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Because African Americans have numerous diabetes inequities, this is an essential topic (i.e., highest rates of diabetes, diabetes complications, and diabetes-related mortality rates). 14

Because little is known about how spiritual and religious beliefs and practices affect diabetes self-care in African American adults, this study looked at the relationship between spirituality, religion, and diabetes self-care activities in this population, such as diet, physical activity, blood glucose self-testing, and foot care behaviors. Because some evidence suggests a link between spirituality and religion and lifetime smoking in African Americans10, a negative link between spirituality and religion and smoking was hypothesized. It was expected, in particular, that those who scored higher on spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, as well as social support, would engage in more diabetes self-care activities and smoke less.

What are the 3 elements of spirituality?

In their eternal wisdom, all shamans, healers, sages, and wisdom keepers of all centuries, continents, and peoples claim that human spirituality is made up of three aspects: connections, values, and life purpose. These three components are so strongly linked that it may be difficult to tell them apart. Take a minute to ponder on each facet of human spirituality to determine the state of your spiritual well-being if this is possible. This will be a three-part monthly series, starting with relationships.

Internal (your domestic policy)—how you deal with yourself, how you nurture the relationship with yourself and your higher self—and external (your foreign policy)—how you relate, support, and interact with those people (and all living entities) in your environment—are the two categories of relationships.

What criteria would you use to assess your internal relationship, and what steps could you take to improve it?

How would you assess your external relationships, shifting from the perspective of domestic policy to international policy?

How do I become spiritual?

Seven Ways to Boost Your Spiritual Well-Being

• Examine your spiritual foundation. You are merely asking yourself questions about who you are and what you mean when you explore your spiritual essence.