Integral Education in the Subjective Age
The following was written for a presentation at one of La Grace (USA) webinars. I share this here as many of us are actively engaged in Integral Education at school or university level. (Anuradha)
What do we mean by Subjective Age and what is meant by Spiritual Education? How do these connect with Integral Education? What is the Paradigm Shift needed? This is what I would like to unpack. What I share today is based on Sri Aurobindo’s chapters in ‘The Human Cycle’ on the Subjective Age.
When reason no longer suffices, the Subjective Age begins. When there is a turn towards a deeper way of knowing, a turning inwards or upwards, or both, the Subjective Age is in process. There is a turning within to find deeper powers. There is an aspiration towards self-consciousness and self-realisation. The rationalistic model begins to subject itself to the ideal of Intuitional knowledge and self-awareness.
We see that in Education, something of this shift began in the early 20th century, with educationists such as John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Rabindranath Tagore. There were, as Sri Aurobindo writes, ‘infant and yet subordinate tendencies’ that carried ‘the seed of a new subjective and psychic dealing of man with his own being, with his fellow-men and with the ordering of his individual and social life.’
The shift towards ‘bringing out of the child’s own intellectual and moral capacities to their highest possible value’ and basing education ‘on the psychology of the child-nature’ led us towards ‘a more subjective system’. The highlights of this shift – in the most progressive educational settings, have been:
- A realisation that each human being is a self-developing soul.
- A learning environment that allows the student to grow freely as an organic being.
- A methodology that encourages self-directed learning on part of the student.
- A curriculum that aims at developing the student’s intellectual, moral, aesthetic and practical capacities.
Yet, in practice this has led to problems of its own, chiefly due to an incomplete or wrong understanding of the first two points, i.e., the individual as a self-developing soul and her growth as an organic being. It is not understood what the soul is and what is its agency in our daily life, in equipping us for a worldly life. Nor is the multiplicity and integrality of the human being understood. This leads to giving freedom to any and every voice in our being rather than systematically encouraging the voice of the psychic, the inner being to come forth and to guide the mind, the emotions, the physical to develop in harmony and to their utmost.
Secondly, even when the different parts of the individual are trained – the mind, the physical, the vital being – it is most often for utilitarian aims, with no bearing on what each one’s inner being is and the direction it wants to take. The issue is with the aims of education. Even though ideologically the shift towards a greater subjectivity is evident, in our instinctive responses, in our methodology, in our curriculum and evaluation system, the emphasis is still on utilitarian aims. Child-centred education may be child-friendly and interesting and holistic, yet it still serves the old aims of education – to prepare the student for a lucrative career and social success.
To direct education towards the evocation of the true self, the psychic entity within, society as a collective has to believe in it, experience it in some measure, have faith and conviction that the development of the human capacities with the psychic, the soul as the leader and guide, will actually enhance the child’s capacities rather than, as is generally feared, make the child unfit for the real world. It will bring out the full potential and lay the foundation for self-mastery and world-mastery. Only then can the aims of education change. Only then can it become a Spiritual Education – an education that holds the soul as the primary entity with the mind, the emotional being and the physical to be perfected as the soul’s instruments for action in the world. Only then can it be truly Free Progress, for the freedom is that of the soul, the psychic being, and that freedom determines both the freedom and the discipline of the mind, the vital and the body, and that freedom leads to a harmonious progress guided by the psychic. This precisely is the scope and meaning of Integral Education – to enable a growth centred around the psychic.
What is the key to deepen, strengthen and hasten this shift towards the Subjective Age? The key, as always, is the Inner Work that each one of us engages in. Unless I believe in the subjective reality of the human being, the inner powers, the psychic entity, the deeper ways of knowing, how can I aim towards them in my work with children? Unless I experience their truth personally, how can I open the way for the children? Unless I make the shift away from utilitarian aims by observing my own stereotypes, atavisms, how can I truly vibrate the deeper aims for education?
Sri Aurobindo points us towards two truths that we have to realise individually and practice:
- The ego is not the self. There is one self of all and our soul is a portion of that universal Divinity. Our fulfilment lies in the flowering of the inner divinity and not in merely developing the egoistic intellect, vital force, physical well-being.
- I am not only myself, but I exist in solidarity with all of my kind – expression of the Divine in universality. The collective and the individual – both have to grow towards and express the Divine, not in isolation or at the cost of each other, but in harmony with each other.
What would education look like in the Subjective Age? Setting out the conditions for the coming of a Spiritual Age that follows the Subjective Age, Sri Aurobindo points towards the subjective approach in education. Here are a few characteristics:
- Revealing and finding the divine self in each human being – this would be the Guiding Aim of Education, of all activities.
- Discovering and learning through inner, deeper and higher powers, such as self-awareness, intuition, etc. That does not mean the mind will not be developed. Rather, a developed mind will be at the service of the deeper self.
- The scope of education will embrace all knowledge – but the primary thrust will be towards self-finding and self-development, and worldly efficiency, though included would be a consequence rather than an aim.
- Each discipline would be a means to discover the Spirit behind and its action in the world – For instance, Ethics will be explored to develop the divine nature in the human being instead of developing social rules. Same with physical and psychic Sciences, with Art – both these would be directed towards perceiving the Spirit behind the outer form and phenomena. Sociology would look at human beings not as units to be moulded or crushed, but as growing souls needing encouragement to grow. Economics will aim at letting each and every one experience the joy of working as per their nature and have free leisure to grow inwardly, and to create a simple, rich and beautiful life for all. Politics would regard each nation as a group-soul meant to grow according to its own nature, and in harmony with others. And, so on.
One has to deeply reflect on each of these and ask oneself what this would imply in curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation. If inner self-finding is the key along with solidarity with the collective, how should the curriculum and learning environment be structured? What should be the teaching and learning methodology and the dynamics between the students and the teacher, and with each other? What would be the role and method of evaluation and who will evaluate?
I would like to end with a quote from Sri Aurobindo:
“It is not yet realised what this soul is or that the true secret, whether with child or man, is to help him to find his deeper self, the real psychic entity within. That, if we ever give it a chance to come forward, and still more if we call it into the foreground as “the leader of the march set in our front”, will itself take up most of the business of education out of our hands and develop the capacity of the psychological being towards a realisation of its potentialities…
… First deepening man’s inner experience, restoring perhaps on an unprecedented scale insight and self-knowledge to the race, it must end by revolutionising his social and collective self-expression.”1
- Anuradha (The Gnostic Centre, India)
Keywords: Education, Subjective Age, Spiritual Education
1 https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/25/the-coming-of-the-subjective-age
Hi Anuradha, very nicely articulated.
ReplyDeleteCan you think of examples of this deeper approach to education that currently exist?
It would be quite interest to think of the extent to which what is called for here does exist, and to identify what yet has not manifested.
For example, there's Awareness of the Body (I don't recall at the moment if that's the precise name) and Neeltje Huppes' various efforts, along with those of Matthijs Cornelissen.
Now, those are both within the IY community.
Of course there's the various schools started by Krishnamurti nearly a century ago, and I assume many here know that the Mother referred quite positively to Montessori's approach.
One contemporary example I find fascinating is the work of actress Goldie Hawn, based on the research of psychiatrist Dan Siegel. Siegel recognizes "Awareness" at the heart of our experience. From descriptions in various writings of his, it can be seen, I think, that there are elements of both the. psychic being and the Self that he is pointing to (though of course with nothing of the clarity of Mother and Sri Aurobindo's writings - but still, I think this represents a contemporary pointer toward that deeper education)
I believe there are now over a thousand schools around the world incorporating Siegel and Hawn's work. Siegel co-authored a book, 'The Whole Brain Child," which is truly an excellent overview of this whole child approach.
There are no doubt many others contemporary educational approaches that touch on this. Though the movement to incorporate mindfulness in schools and universities is mostly a rather superficial one, there are some within this movement who see much more deeply and clearly are forerunners preparing the way for the new education.
If anyone knows of other contemporary examples outside the IY community, please share your experience and understanding.
I just recalled some aspects of Dan Siegel's work that might be of interest.
DeleteHis watchword is integration. He speaks a great deal in the language of neuroscience, but I'll try to translate into IY language.
The heart of this process he sees as the 'integration of consciousness.". Again, this means something close to but not quite yogic - hints of the Self and psychic being. He has many different practices which, if taken in the right context, really DO involve children engaging in truly spiritual practices. In any case, his work always starts with going within, stepping back and finding the essential consciousness.
After this, there is integration of "upper" and"lower" brain, as well as the "heart" and "gut" brains. Clearly, he is referring to integration with consciousness (always the starting point), as well as the physical, vital and thinking minds, as well as various levels fo the vital.
There is integration of the left and right hemispheres, which Sri Aurobindo alludes to directly in his writing on education, speaking of the "left hand" and"right hand" faculties of the buddhi, which correlate strikingly with the functions of the left and right hemispheres fo the brain.
There's integration of the various selves (meaning the various egos, physical, vital, mental, vital-mental, etc).
There is integration of the individual with the world, and much more.
And 5 year old children are learning these things as an essential, "integral" part of their education in thousands of schools.
Rather remarkable, I think!
Thank you Don. Yes, within the IY community there have been individuals and institutions that have tried / are trying to work with this approach - in India and internationally. But, as you rightly point out, there are individuals or set-ups who may not be aware of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, or of Integral Education, but feel impelled or have evolved through their own wisdom and experience something akin. As I wrote, at the end of the day, 2 factors are crucial - the AIM (even holistic growth or integral growth is the aim, it is a means towards a larger aim) and the CONSCIOUSNESS of the educator/facilitator. And again, these two things are not limited to IY community. It would be interesting to start compiling a database of like-spirited, similar in aims educational set-ups or individuals. Methodology itself may be any. As we all know, Sri Aurobindo used the lecture method himself (not considered student-friendly at all now!) - it is the Consciousness that is the central thing.
DeleteThank you for this article Anuradha. My experience in Switzerland is that some alternative schools, often small, are the closest to Integral Education. It is often one person who gets inspired to create a school and then organizes it. It feels that they move towards integral education just because it is the most logical thing to do. Often, those individuals have a rich inner life.
ReplyDeleteSome other alternative schools get lost along the way, often because of the limitations of the vision or capacities of the leader.
So it feels to me that there must be thousands of small schools in the world that, not necessarily knowing about Mother and Sri Aurobindo, move towards the education we dream about.
Thank you so much for this additional info, Fabrice. I'd love to hear more details about the specific schools you see as moving towards this more integral education.
DeleteRich inner life... that is the key I suppose. But also bridging that inner life with outer excellence - that is the challenge we face. The time spirit itself seems to be moving us in that direction - all over the world, still in pockets as you say, but definitely.
DeleteThanks Anuradha. You have framed this issue quite nicely. One thing that I wanted to add is that education begins at home and with parents and care-takers before the child enters elementary education at about age 7 or so. This is the age where minimal mastery of linguistic ability is reached. On the other hand, this is roughly the age where the ego begins to get fully formed. Before the age 7, one might assume that the soul or psychic is still uncovered and potentially governs the life of the child.
ReplyDeleteEgo formation is a threefold process. In the first couple of years (psychomotor stage) the physical ego begins to form. After that the vital ego emerges and the child feels a sense of agency and volition. Next comes the mental ego, where cognitive processes help shape the child's sense of self ( self-image and self-esteem). This progressive ego formation coincides with gradual covering up of the soul (sense of Self) except in individuals with a greater psychic development or potential who continue to have intuitive access to something of a subjective sense of self. In such individuals this sense causes alienation from the socially conditioned environments that continue to suppress psychic development and could at some point flourish and result in some kind of spiritual awakening.
My point is that by the time the child goes to school it may already be too late. It is up to parents, and caretakers, as well as preschool educators to help the child in ways that ego-formation is receptive to, rather than obstructive to, psychic development.
I agree - thanks for pointing that out - the parents' role is so crucial. These days I am studying a child born in the family 22 months ago. I could actually observe the vital ego and exerting one's will in contradiction to the adult will - coming to the fore quite early on. The response of the child to No showed this shift most - interesting to see the play of the ego and how it asserted itself gradually over a few months, and then over a few weeks. So this seems to be happening much earlier now - perhaps due to the evolutionary push!
Deletebeautifully stated picture of the relationship of ego development and covering up of the soul (and the possibility of at least less covering up with the early childhood support of parents, preschool, etc)
DeleteI just wanted to add one more thing - the old African proverb "it takes a village."
Sri Aurobindo at one point said that temperamentally, he was a Communist, but by this he meant something almost the opposite of the state sponsored Socialism so common in the 20th century; rather, a kind of communistic libertarianism. The Catholics have an approach remarkably similar to what he describes in the Ideal of Human Unity - they call it subsidiarity (I'll get to how it relates to the early education of the child in a moment)
Subsidiarity is what E F Schumacher was advocating in his book "Small is Beautiful." Always look to the smallest scale possible for any activity. This may sound like modern libertarianism, but the modern movement makes small or local control into a dogma.
Schumacher notes, the smallest "possible" or "appropriate," which comes close to Sri Aurobindo' "Divine/Communistic Anarchy."
So back to the child - the child needs the crucial, as-enlightened-as-possible support of parents and caretakers
AND
the entire community within which that child lives - the neighbors, friends, storekeepers, etc.
AND
that community needs support of surrounding communities - and you can keep expanding that until all the earth (and ultimately, all universes) is recognized as an organic community of interlocking localities.
So we get directly from the child to the Infinite!