Seminar of Vice Chancellors on Value Education and Ethics

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Source: http://pavanaputra.tripod.com/news/seminar-vice.htmSai Ram website: http://www.sairam.ar.cx/

 

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Seminar of Vice Chancellors on Value Education and Ethics

SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE of Higher Learning was requested by the University

Grants Commission to host its Golden Jubilee Seminar of Vice Chancellors

devoted to "Value Education and Ethics".The historic Seminar was inaugurated by

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Revered Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute

of Higher Learning in the morning on Tuesday, October 28th with His Divine

Discourse. The inaugural function was also addressed by Dr. Arun Nigavekar,

Chairman, University Grants Commission, Sri S.V. Giri, Vice Chancellor, SSSIHL,

Dr. G. Venkataraman, former Vice Chancellor, SSSIHL and Justice Ranganath

Mishra, former Chief Justice of India. Dr. Nigavekar' expressed his gratitude

to Bhagavan, and prayed for His blessings for the success of the Seminar. He

also stressed how SSSIHL which had the unique distinction of actually putting

into practice a value-oriented educational system under His Divine guidance,

was the most suitable venue for the

Seminar.

 

In His inaugural Divine Discourse, which gave the most appropriate direction to

the deliberations of the Seminar, Bhagavan declared that education without

values was not only useless but certainly dangerous. He emphasised that Love

was the basic ingredient of all human values be it Dharma, Sathya, Santhi or

Ahimsa. Love is God and God is Love. Clearly, no system of values is meaningful

unless it is God-centred. Drawing a distinction between information, knowledge

and wisdom Bhagavan explained how the power of discrimination leads a student

from one to another, through a system of true education. Only such a system of

education aiming at character building would ensure a happy world. But today

man had forgotten that he had three layers of existence - mind, body and Atma

(MBA). While most are only conscious, some experienced conscience, and very few

live in consciousness. The Atma indeed is consciousness. It was indeed

reassuring to hear Bhagavan's declaration

that spiritual knowledge and self-transformation were within everyone's reach.

Education must inspire students to enquire "Who Am I?" This was the key to

everything else. With these inspiring words, Bhagavan blessed the deliberations

of the Seminar.

 

The Seminar was attended by 25 Vice Chancellors from reputed universities across

the country from Himachal Pradesh in the north to Kerala in the south and from

Orissa in the east to Maharashtra in the west. The variety of universities they

represented was quite rich in many ways. Women's universities, agricultural

universities, deemed universities (State and Central universities), and open

universities were all represented at the Seminar.

 

In addition to the inaugural and the valedictory functions, the deliberations of

the Seminar were spread over several sessions devoted to policy framework and an

operational model; integral approach to education and educational philosophy;

science, technology and value inculcation; service orientation and responsible

citizenship; management education and value orientation; and the basic role of

teacher education.

 

The afternoon programmes on the first two days held in Sai Kulwant Hall in the

Divine Presence of Bhagavan Baba consisted of recapitulation of the day's

proceedings in the Business Sessions, followed by presentations by the students

of SSSIHL These presentations showed how inculcation of values formed an

essential ingredient of the Institute's educational process. On the first day,

three students Sri Deepak Anand, Sri Sanjay Mahalingam and Sri Jaipreet S.

Bhandari led by one young faculty member Sri Srinivas Srirangarajan made a

marvellous presentation of the purpose, modus operand! and spiritual dimensions

of the "Grama Seva" programme involving teachers and students of all the three

campuses. On the second day, five students of the Institute Sri Shashank Shah,

Sri Y. Sriranganatha Raju, Sri V. Jagannandan, Sri S. Jagadish Chandra and Kum.

Deepti Bhagia spoke in English, Sanskrit, Telugu and Hindi.The loftiness of the

thoughts, lucidity of expression and the

emotional touch of the feelings flowing from their hearts held the entire

audience in rapture and total admiration. The students outlined what they were

learning at the Institute to enrich their lives and how this type of education

would make them better citizens of tomorrow in the service of the country and

the world.

 

On the third afternoon (on 30th October), Prof. V.S. Prasad, Director NAAC

(National Assessment and Accreditation Council) and two of the Vice Chancellors

Prof. K. Sudha Rao and Prof. N. Jayasankaran expressed their sense of fulfilment

on visiting Prasanthi Nilayam and how much they had learnt about true education

during their three-day stay in the Divine Presence of Bhagavan. Afternoon

functions in Sai Kulwant Hall started with soul-stirring vibrations of

exquisite Veda chanting on all days.

 

The Vice Chancellors were of the unanimous view that Sri Sathya Sai Institute of

Higher Learning should be recognised as the National Centre of Excellence for

Value Education and, in a step-by-step process, the success story of Integral

Education of the Institute should be disseminated for wider adoption in the

country's Higher Education system.

_____

SOURCED: SANATHANA SARATHI NOVEMBER 2003 EDITION PG NOS 351-352

 

Attached photo

Sitting with Bhagavan (from left to right) Justice Ranganath Mishra, Justice

Malimath, Sri S. V. Giri and Dr. G. Venkataraman.

 

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