Education that transforms

A small group of women, inspired by Sathya Sai Baba, have been providing a free course on Education in Human Values for teachers and educators since 2005. The course is based on the five fundamental values proposed by Sai Baba: truth, right action, peace, love, and nonviolence. It has been developed for teachers but is open to anyone. The key is in putting what is taught  and experienced in this course into daily practice and discovering its amazing transforming power.

The Seed

The Sathya Sai Organization of Uruguay began participating in the Sai Baba’s Educational Program in Human Values in 1987. From that moment, supported by the love of Sai Baba and by the vision of two women devotees, the program began to spread, first within the Sai Organization and then outward as a service in the wider community.

In 2000, the World Education Conference on Human Values took place in India, with attendees representing many countries from around the world, most of which were from the teaching profession. Sai Baba clarified the primary role of education in the transformation of the world. Many hearts were touched by the miraculous power of unselfish love that was manifested in a thousand ways during this conference, essentially through the simple wisdom contained in the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) Program.

Twelve Uruguayans participated in this conference and returned home with a firm determination to deepen their understanding of the Master´s teachings about education and share what they had learned and experienced in India.

So, a small group of women got together and prepared a course suitable to train educators in Human Values. Many Sai devotees have attended this course, and additional members joined the pioneering group. Soon they felt that this wonderful self-transformational tool, which had brought so much joy and purpose to their lives, should be shared with society.

The group had only a few qualified teachers, and they wondered if they had what was needed to be able to stand in front of other trained teachers and tell them about this Human Values Program. But the seed had been planted in their hearts, so, in spite of their initial doubts, they started their task enthusiastically, being certain that what they were doing was both noble and valuable to all.

The desire to share this education program with other teachers is based on the certainty that everything that is good is already inside ourselves and that the fundamental work of a teacher is to prepare the land and help remove the “weeds” – such as bad thoughts, emotional habits, or learned habit patterns. The main task for a teacher is to be a good example for children, accompany them with love, and watch them flourish.

Germination

The first course was delivered in March 2005. Today, the course comprises 18 two-hour lessons; the first hour of each lesson covers the theoretical elements on which the program is based, and the second hour is a practical-style workshop that includes the five teaching techniques proposed by Sai Baba.

These weekly classes are free. The course materials and course venue are provided by the Sai organization. Free snacks for students are available during the mid-class breaks. These resources come from the women, Sai educators who make up the team, and donations from Sai devotees who understand the goodness that animates the program, who know that the course reaches others as a gift that may inspire them and allow them afterward to practice it in their different fields of specialization.

Already, more than 500 people, including school teachers, school directors, professors, psychologists, parents, and grandparents, have experienced a profound transformation in their lives, based on understandings gained from this course. This includes the understanding of themselves and their students as integral beings that constantly unfold on five levels: the physical, the vital force, the emotional-mental, the intellectual, and the spiritual levels.

The five teaching techniques proposed by the program cater to the diverse needs of each of these five levels of the persona, assisting in a concrete and dynamic way. Thus, in an almost imperceptible way, children are nurtured in the process of learning. But, transformation starts in oneself, in the teacher, because, as is already well known, it is not possible to offer what one does not have. Therefore, the fullness of the program accrues to every participant equally – for young or old, teacher or student, improving the vocation of the teacher and infusing the classroom environment with pure and conscious joy.

The fruits

• The cultivation of human values alone is education. Cultivate the heart to raise a harvest of truth, righteousness, peace, and love. This crop has to be raised in your heart and should be shared with others.
  Sathya Sai Baba, 24 March 1958

The response has been fantastic! Many public and private schools within Montevideo and up-country Uruguay have asked for visits from the Sai educators to share this program with them, through teacher conferences or practical workshops.

In 2009, the Oriental Cultural Association – a humanitarian nonprofit association in Uruguay, which annually offers acknowledgments to individuals who work for human rights and peace in society – for the first time in its history, awarded their “Merito Oriental a la Paz” to an organization; the Merit for Peace, as they expressed it at the award event, in the field of Education, was handed to the Uruguay Sri Sathya Sai Baba Organization for its promotion of Human Values in an unselfish way in society.

In 2012, the Cervantes School (a private educational institution), whose director had previously attended the Human Values course, offered the use of their school so that the Sai Organization could deliver its training course in Human Values to teachers coming from all over the country. Of course, the Sai educators carry out the task as always, free and open for everyone. Doing this in an educational institution has created great interest and expectation from the attending teachers. In 2013, further major participation is anticipated.

Thanks go to Sathya Sai Baba – this Master from India, creator and founder of free schools, high schools, and universities – as his inspiration continues to inspire the hearts of his volunteers so that love blossoms in their (our) lives. Self-reflection is never missing; neither is creativity or team work. Respect for all opinions is a constant, enriching element, and in our sharing, many times tears hover when we discover that the more you give, the more you receive, because you learn by teaching, and you teach better by learning to see the best in others.

Additional Info

For more information about this program, contact:

Mrs. Mónica Granati
President, Sai Organazation in Uruguay.
moniananda@yahoo.com

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