Issue 34 Gurukula Network May 2012
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Gurukula Network VISION OF ANANDA MARGA GURUKULA The Sanskrit word "Gurukula" (pronounced gurukul) has Newsletter and Journal of the following etymology: Gu: darkness; ru: dispeller; kula: Neohumanist Schools and Institutes an institution. Gurukula is an institution which helps students dispel the darkness of the mind and leads to total Gurukula Network is published by the emancipation of the individual and society at large. Ananda Marga Gurukula Ananda Marga Gurukula is engaged in creating an international Global Liaison Office network of Neohumanist Schools and Institutes to hasten the advent of a society in which there is love, peace, understanding, Two yearly issues, published November and inspiration, justice and health for all beings. May, serve as a means of communication for Neohumanist projects around the world. OBJECTIVES OF ANANDA MARGA GURUKULA It is the spirit of Gurukula Network to To serve humanity with neohumanist spirit and to acquire encourage a free sharing of ideas and to knowledge for that purpose. stimulate discussion on educational and global To establish a strong base in Anandanagar and around the issues facing our world. All articles express the world in order to carry on the legacy of its founder for the views of the author, and not necessarily those benefit of future generations. of AMGK. To provide a sound and conducive environment for students for their physical, social, intellectual, creative and spiritual Gurukula Network is open to any and all NHE well-being. related projects. To promote ethical values in individuals and implement these values in the management of projects, schools and institutions. Please send submissions to: To establish and maintain schools and special academic Gurukula Network institutions around the world as well as a cyber-university. AM Gurukula Global Liaison Office To initiate teacher education programs to improve and c/o A. Brim upgrade the quality of education on all academic levels. 146 Honness Lane To promote Tantra, Neohumanism and PROUT (Progressive Ithaca, New York 14850 USA Utilization Theory) as the foundation for building a universal <[email protected]> society. To initiate intellectual dialogues and research for all-round Editor renaissance of society. Arete Brim To facilitate the placement of volunteers across cultures to help build meaningful relationships and to support community and Cover Design social change projects. Brcii. Aradhana Ac. To support the building of a global eco-village network (Master Units) Electronic Version To encourage the development of micro-enterprises for Michele Montenegro sustainability of social service projects. www.gurukul.edu/gknetwork/Issue33 Chancellor of Ananda Marga Gurukula Printing and Mailing Ac. Shambhushivananda Avt., Kulapati Ko Yun Chin <[email protected]> Ac. Harikrpananda Avt. Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar inspired the establishment of Ananda Marga Schools in 1963 out of which grew an Websites international network of schools and the Neohumanist Education Ananda Marga Gurukula system. In 1990 he founded the Ananda Marga Gurukula <www.gurukul.edu> University. Ananda Marga Gurukula also serves as the Board of Education for Neohumanist Schools and Institutes around the Neohumanist Education world. These Neohumanist Schools and projects, some of which <www.nhe.gurukul.edu> are featured in Gurukula Network, are managed by the Education Relief and Welfare Section and Women's Welfare NHE Publications Department of Ananda Marga. www.gurukul.edu/publications NEOHUMANIST EDUCATION Headquarters of Ananda Marga Gurukula Universal Love and Values Ananda Nagar Holistic Development Dist Purulia, West Bengal, India Astaunga Yoga Ecological and Social Consciousness Donations are welcome for AMGK Academic, Practical and Personal Skills Endowment Fund and Gurukula Network as Knowledge of Self and World Applied for Universal Welfare well as schools and projects. Joyful Learning through the Arts Please make checks payable to Culturally Sensitive Approach Ananda Marga Gurukula Integrated Curriculum and send to AMGK Liaison Office address Exemplary Role of the Educators or by PayPal to: <[email protected]> Issue 34 Gurukula Network May 2012 Educational Futures 4 – Keynote Inaugural Address at Future Education Conference – Ac. Shambhushivananda Avt. 6 – Future Education: Philosophical Perspectives and Programs, Conference, Orissa, India Microvita Research 10 – International Seminar on Microvita Research, Udaipur, India Yoga Science and Programs 11 – Consciousness, Cosmology and Evolution – Ac. Dhanjoo N. Ghista and Michael Towsey 14 - Prama Institute News, Asheville, USA 15 – Ananda Marga Yoga Academy of Argentina – Jose Luis Ferrero Music Studies 16 – Prabhat Samgiita Studies: Brasil and Argentina – Manfred Molz Sustainable Living 18 – Master Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Didi Ananda Carushila NHE Studies, Programs and Presentations 19 – Service-Learning: Bringing Neohumanism to Life – Matt Oppenheim 22 – The Story of Harmony Home Nature Arts Camp – Ruai Gregory 25 – Finding Relationship as a Base for Neohumanist Classroom Practice – Marcus Bussey 27 – In-Service Workshop at the River School Australia – Marcus Bussey 28 – The Transference of Consciousness through Storytelling – Tang Taminga 30 – Spiritual Guidance and its Communication – Teacher Training Den Bosch, Netherlands 31 – NHE represented at the Revolutionar Portugal Conference – Lisbon, Portugal 32 – NHE presented at Teacher Education for Peace and Harmony Conference – New Delhi, India 33 – PCAP - (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Plants) – Ananda Nagar, India Global NHE School News 34 – Nairobi Sector - Ghana 34 – New York Sector - USA 35 – Delhi Sector - India 37 – Kahira Sector – Egypt 37 – Hong Kong Sector - Taiwan Upcoming Events and Publications 38 – Participatory Humanitarian Managers Training Program – Sweden – June 2012 38 – Yoga Educators Conference – Sweden – July 2012 39 – Economic Democracy Conference – USA - October 2012 39 – Publications 3 Conference held at Utkal University, February 22 -24, 2012 Future Education Philosophical Perspectives and Programs Keynote Inaugural Address by Ac. Shambhushivananda Avt. Conference sponsored by Center of Advanced Studies in Philosophy (CASP) of Utkal University and Neohumanist Education Research Institute (NERI), Sweden Honorable Chairperson, Esteemed Guests of Honor, Students and members of the Faculty of Utkal University, representatives of all affiliated colleges from Odhisa. It is an honor for me to be present here today to partake in the academic deliberations on the challenges of future education. Future is always uncertain... yet, future is always in our hands. We make it by what we do and what we do not. We are going through difficult times in the world when not only individuals face economic collapse, but entire nations face bankruptcy. The “peak of everything “ scenarios are quite real and billions of people face daily hardships. A critical evaluation of current pedagogy at this time is therefore very befitting for all of us. In order to make it even more meaningful, it is important to remember the old saying of the sages: “Sa’ Vidya’ Ya’ Vimuktaye,” Knowledge is for liberation; physical, mental and spiritual. If we can begin to align our educational endeavors with the perennial search for human liberation and social justice, we may come closer to establishing “heaven on earth”- a peaceful, productive and prosperous world for all its inhabitants. I laud the pioneering efforts of CASP of Utkal University, a leading center of advanced studies of philosophy in India, for hosting this international conference and to go beyond the old traditions and rope-in perspectives, which may seem a little far-fetched and beyond the current map of ideas. It is here that creativity may unleash and enable us to see the world with new lenses than what we are ordinarily used to. Information is not knowledge and not all knowledge is essentially endowed with wisdom. There cannot be a better forum than the Faculty of Philosophy to culture this search for wisdom in the educational and related scientific domains. We now know that one human brain, which runs with less than 25 watts of electrical power, is potentially capable of storing information equivalent to 1019 bits of information. So if even one brain could be properly harnessed, it could make the entire information-networks superfluous. Despite the advancements in the quantum of information, knowledge and analytical abilities, we are still like infants trying to fathom the wisdom of the unseen power, to understand the unexplained regions of the seemingly limitless mind and the physical world spectrum lying beyond the known bounds of relativity. At these crossroads of this world of ignorance lies our pathway for further human advancement. It is indeed the challenge of each generation to bridge this gap between the known and the unknown, between matter and abstract, between crude, subtle and the causal worlds. This work cannot be the prerogative of a few research institutes or a few lone worshippers of the spirit, but must be shared by the enlightened human beings endowed with a searching mind. In this group effort of the human species lies the seed of an emerging renaissance for a happier and a progressive world. It is here that a reflection on our educational principles, curricula, methodologies and reforms of all sorts can be immensely useful. While on the one hand we are the embodiments of the Cosmic Spirit capable of all that can be called