(23HS01) – UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES – 2:

UNDERSTANDING HARMONY AND ETHICAL

HUMAN CONDUCT

UNIT – I:

INTRODUCTION TO VALUE EDUCATION

1 What is meant by aspiration? How do you fulfill aspiration?
Aspiration generally refers to a strong desire, ambition, or goal that
motivates you to pursue something significant. It’s about aiming high
and striving for personal or professional achievements that align with
your values and dreams.
To explore into the question of basic aspiration, ask yourself the
following questions:
• Do you want to be happy?
• Do you want to be prosperous?
• Do you want the continuity of happiness and prosperity?
The answers are yes.
The basic human aspirations are happiness, prosperity and its
continuity.
Let us explore further by asking ourselves the following questions:
• Are we happy?
• Are we prosperous?
• Is there continuity of the two?
Let us continue the exploration further. Let us find out if our effort is
for:
— Continuity of happiness and prosperity?
or
— Just for accumulation of physical facility?
When we try to find out if we have fulfilled our basic aspiration, it is
not always so affirmative. There is quite a gap between our basic
aspiration and our state of being.
When we reflect on all the effort we are making, we can easily see
that we are generally working for accumulation of physical facility!
The basic problem is that we have assumed that ‘happiness and
prosperity will automatically come when we have enough physical
facility’.
This is something we need to explore in our own life. Where are we
putting in our effort?
If continuity of happiness and prosperity is not achieved by just
accumulating physical facility then what else is essential to do? Let’s
try to find out by asking this question to ourselves:
Is the unhappiness in my family
 More due to lack of physical facility or
 More due to lack of fulfilment in relationship?
When you explore into it, you will find that the major reason for the
unhappiness in the family is the lack of fulfilment in relationship and
not just the lack of physical facility.
 Now to look at the investment of your effort, find out:
 How much time and effort you are investing for physical facility,
and
 How much time and effort you are investing for fulfilment in
relationship?
Generally, most of the time and effort is being invested for physical
facility, assuming that everything is going to be fine when there is
enough physical facility, and there will be no unhappiness in the
family.
The problems are more due to lack of fulfilment in relationship, and
we are investing major part of our time and effort for physical facility.
With this discussion, the conclusion that we want to draw out of this is
a very simple one:
For human being physical facility is necessary, but
relationship is also necessary.
2 Physical facilities are necessary for human beings;
relationship is also necessary. How do you justify these
statements?
When we try to find out if we have fulfilled our basic aspiration, it is
not always so affirmative. There is quite a gap between our basic
aspiration and our state of being.
When we reflect on all the effort we are making, we can easily see
that we are generally working for accumulation of physical facility!
The basic problem is that we have assumed that ‘happiness and
prosperity will automatically come when we have enough physical
facility’.
This is something we need to explore in our own life. Where are we
putting in our effort?
If continuity of happiness and prosperity is not achieved by just
accumulating physical facility then what else is essential to do? Let’s
try to find out by asking this question to ourselves:
Is the unhappiness in my family
 More due to lack of physical facility or
 More due to lack of fulfilment in relationship?
When you explore into it, you will find that the major reason for the
unhappiness in the family is the lack of fulfilment in relationship and
not just the lack of physical facility.
Now to look at the investment of your effort, find out:
 How much time and effort you are investing for physical facility,
and
 How much time and effort you are investing for fulfilment in
relationship?
Generally, most of the time and effort is being invested for physical
facility, assuming that everything is going to be fine when there is
enough physical facility, and there will be no unhappiness in the
family.
 The problems are more due to lack of fulfilment in relationship, and
we are investing major part of our time and effort for physical facility.
With this discussion, the conclusion that we want to draw out of this is
a very simple one:
For human being physical facility is necessary, but
relationship is also necessary.
3 Summarize the basic guidelines for value education.
For any input to qualify for Value Education, the following guidelines
for the content of the course are important:
Universal: It has to be universally applicable to all human beings for
all time and all places. This implies that values should not change
according to sect, creed, nationality, gender, etc.
Rational: It has to appeal to reasoning; and not be based on
dogmas or blind beliefs. It has to be open to address the related
questions. It cannot be a set of sermons or do’s and don’ts.
Natural and Verifiable: It has to be 'naturally acceptable' to the
human being and there needs to be every provision in nature for its
fulfillment. It needs to be experientially verifiable, and not based on
dogmas, beliefs or assumptions. It is not merely an intellectual
exercise or information transfer.
All Encompassing: It needs to cover all dimensions (thought,
behaviour, work and understanding) and levels (individual, family,
society and nature/existence) of human life.
Leading to Harmony: It ultimately needs to promote harmony
within the individual, among human beings and with the entire
nature.
4 Illustrate the need for value education.
The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for
human happiness is called value education. Need for value education
is:
Correct identification of our aspirations. The subject which
enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is
called ‘value education’ (VE). Thus, VE enables us to understand our
needs and visualize our goals correctly and also indicate the direction
for their fulfilment. It also helps to remove our confusions and
contradictions and bring harmony at all levels.
Understanding universal human values to fulfil our aspirations
in continuity. Values form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviours
and actions. Once we know what is valuable to us, these values
becomes the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to
understand the universality of various human values, because only
then we can have a definite and common program for value
education. Then only we can be assured of a happy and harmonious
human society.
Complimentarity of values and skills. To fulfil our aspirations both
values and skills are necessary. When we identify and set the right
goals and produced in right direction. This is known as value
domain, the domain of wisdom, and when we learn and practices to
 actualize this goal to develop the techniques to make this happen in
real life, in various dimensions of human endeavour (struggle). This is
known as domain of skills.
Hence, there is an essential complementarity between values and
skills for the success of any human endeavour. For example, I want to
lead a healthy life. Only wishing for good health will not help me keep
my body fit and healthy and without having understood the meaning
of health, I will not be able to choose things correctly to keep my body
fit and healthy.
Evaluation of our beliefs. Each one of us believes in certain things
and we base our values on these beliefs, be they false or true which
may or may not be true in reality. These believes come to us from
what we read, see, hear, what our parents tells us, our friends talk
about, what the magazines talk of, what we see from TV etc. Value
Education helps us to evaluate our beliefs and assumed values.
Technology and human values. The present education system has
become largely skill-based. The prime emphasis is on science and
technology. However, science and technology can only help to
provide the means to achieve what is considered valuable. It is not
within the scope of science and technology to provide the
competence of deciding what really is valuable. Value Education is a
crucial missing link in the present education system. Because of this
deficiency, most of our efforts may prove to be counterproductive and
serious crises at the individual, societal and environmental level are
manifesting.
5 Outline the content of value education.
The value of an entity is its participation in the larger order
of which it is a part. The context is always the larger order. Value
has to do with the participation of a unit in the larger order. E.g. a
piece of chalk is a unit. The classroom is the larger order for this unit.
The value of chalk is that it can be used to write on the blackboard
for the desired functioning of the classroom.
The value or role of a human being is its participation in the larger
order. E.g. my role in living with the other human being is to ensure
the feeling of respect in the relationship. Interestingly, I feel happy in
fulfilling my role; and it is fulfilling for the other as well!
This value is worth understanding, worth thinking about, worth living.
The value of human being is to ensure mutual fulfilment in the larger
order1, i.e. in the entire nature/existence, but starting from within
themselves, then extending in their family and in the society.
Hence, to understand human values, we need to study the human
reality along with all that is there in the entire nature/existence
which constitutes the larger order. We need to explore and
understand things as they are; so that we are able to recognise and
fulfil our participation with them.
That means the content or scope of study has to be all
encompassing, i.e.
 It has to cover all dimensions of human being – thought,
behaviour, work and realisation.
  It has to cover all levels of human living – individual, family,
society, nature and existence.
Accordingly, the content of Value Education has to be to understand
human being, human aspirations, happiness; understand the goal of
human life comprehensively; understand the other entities in nature,
the innate inter-connectedness, the harmony in the nature/existence
and finally the role of human being in this nature/existence.
Continuous Happiness and Prosperity as Basic Human Aspirations
Whatever we think, whatever we do is with some end state in mind.
That end state is our basic aspiration.
6 What do you mean by natural acceptance and experiential
validation? Explain.
Natural acceptance has to do with something fundamental, something
related to our purpose, something related to our basic desires. When
we ask a question related to these, we get a definite answer from our
natural acceptance. For example,
 Is happiness naturally acceptable or is unhappiness naturally
acceptable?
 Is it naturally acceptable to live in relationship or in opposition?
 What is naturally acceptable – to nurture your Body or to exploit
it?
For all these questions, we get a definite answer when we refer to our
natural acceptance.
On the other hand, we have an acceptance for our likes and dislikes,
assumptions, pre-conditionings, beliefs, world-view, perspective, etc.
but these may or may not be naturally acceptable to us.
Of course, all acceptances are not wrong. Passing them through our
natural acceptance will validate them and contribute to our self-
confidence.
Some of the characteristics of natural acceptance are:
 It does not change with time
 It does not change with place
 It does not change with the individual
 It is uncorrupted by likes and dislikes or assumptions or beliefs
 It is innate, a part and parcel of our being; we don’t need to
create it
 It is definite
As we refer to our natural acceptance, we become self-referential.
To conclude, the complete process of self-exploration yields right
understanding as the tangible outcome.
Right understanding obtained through self-exploration can be
recognised as follows:
1. It is assuring
2. It is satisfying
3. It is universal
 Time: It holds good for all time – past, present and future
 Space: It is the same at all places or locations
  iii. Individual: It is the same for every human being
7 Illustrate the process of self-exploration.
Whatever is stated here is a proposal; do not assume it to be true or
false, right or wrong. Verify it – verify it on your own right, on the
basis of your natural acceptance. This is the first part of the process.
Whatever is stated is a proposal
– Whatever we state here, is a proposal. Don’t accept it as it is, or
assume it to be true.
Verify it on your own right
– You need to rigorously verify all the statements and proposals
being made here in your own.
Don’t just accept or reject it
– on the basis of scriptures
– on the basis of instruments
– on the basis of others
On the basis of Scriptures:
By this we mean, let’s not compare what is being proposed here with
what is written in some book, something that you have read or are
reading i.e. we think we know certain things, because we have read
about it somewhere, and remember it now. However, we are not
talking about a comparative study between what we have read and
what is being proposed here. Rather, we are talking about verification
of these proposals directly within yourself.
On the basis of Instruments:
Don’t assume these proposals as being true or false based on the
conclusions somebody might have given after conducting
experiments with physical instruments. The instruments only give
information about some physical phenomena, but the conclusions we
make are based on our own perception about the phenomena. Such
perceptions also need to be subjected to self-verification.
On the basis of others:
Again, you may have heard something that some great person has
said. You may believe what this person says to be true, and hence
end up comparing what is being proposed here with what you
remember as being stated by that personality. This would not mean
verifying in your own right; it would mean accepting on those great
personalities’ right.
8 Differentiate between happiness and prosperous.
Happiness:
As stated earlier, the proposal for happiness is:
“The state or situation, in which I live, if there is harmony / synergy in
it, it is Naturally Acceptable to me to be in that state / situation”.
“To be in a state / situation which is Naturally Acceptable is
Happiness”.
 i.e. “To be in a state of Harmony / Synergy is Happiness”.
i.e. Happiness = Harmony.
Some exploration will show that when we are in a state of harmony
within, we feel happy because that state is naturally acceptable to us.
When we are in a situation with the outside world in which there is
harmony, we feel happy as the feeling of being in that situation is
naturally acceptable to us. This state or situation of being in line with
natural acceptance is happiness
Prosperity is the feeling of having more than required
physical facility.
There are two basic requirements:
1. Right assessment of the need for physical facility, along with its
required quantity.
2. Ensuring the availability/production of more than required
physical facility.
We can have a feeling of prosperity only if we are able to do the right
assessment of our physical needs. The right assessment of physical
needs, along with their required quantity, will come through right
understanding. Without that right assessment, the feeling of
prosperity cannot be assured, regardless of the availability or
accumulation of physical facility that we may have been able to do.
Just assessing the need is not enough. We need to ensure the
availability or production of more than the required quantity. This
requires skills, technology and production. With both of these, right
assessment and availability, we have more than required physical
facility
9 "Physical facilities are necessary and complete for animals,
while they are necessary but not complete for humans."
Comment.
Physical facilities are necessary and complete for animals, while they
are necessary but not complete for humans. It is easy to verify.
For Animals: Animals need physical things to survive, mainly to take
care of their body. For example; cow will look for food when it is
hungry. Once it gets the grass or fodder. It eats it, sits around to chew
at leisure. Hence, we can say that as long as animals have physical
things, they are largely fine. They don’t desire other things like
knowledge or a peaceful animal society or getting a good MBA.
For Humans: While physical facilities are necessary for human
beings, they are not complete by themselves to fulfil our needs. Our
needs are more than just physical facilities. We all have other needs,
other plans, perhaps we think of going to a movie or reading a book,
or go to college, or watch some TV, or spend time with family and
friends….. this list is endless. Thus it is easy to see that while physical
facilities are necessary for us human beings, they are not complete by
themselves to fulfil our needs.
Hence we can say that for animals – “Physical facilities are necessary
and complete.”
 For humans “Physical facilities are necessary but not complete.”
10 Distinguish between 'human consciousness' and 'animal
consciousness'.
Giving all priorities to physical facilities only, or to live solely on the
basis of physical facilities, may be termed as ‘Animal
Consciousness’. Living with all three: Right understanding,
Relationship and Physical facilities is called ‘Human
Consciousness’.

From the diagram we can say that:

For animal, physical facility is necessary as well as complete –
whereas for human beings it is necessary but not complete.
Working only for physical facilities is living with Animal
Consciousness.
Working for right understanding as the first priority followed by
relationship and physical facilities implies living with Human
Consciousness.
There is a need for transformation from Animal
Consciousness to Human Consciousness. It can be accomplished
only by working for right understanding as the first priority.
This transformation from Animal Consciousness to Human
Consciousness forms the basis for human values and values based
living.
The content of education is the understanding of harmony at all the
four levels of our existence – from myself to the entire existence.
Right living or sanskar refers to the ability to live in harmony at all
the four levels of living. This dimension of society works to ensure
‘right understanding’ and ‘right feelings’ in individual. Or all
encompassing solution called samadhan in every individual and
ensures that our succeeding generation have both the content and
the environment available to work towards achieving their goal of
continuous happiness and prosperity.
11 What is value education? Discuss the process of value
education.
Human Values can be understood by an appropriate process of self-
discovery, because they are potentially there in each and every
human being. There is already a natural acceptance for values in a
 human being. It is only that we have to discover them or become
aware of them. Thus, the process for Value Education has to be that
of self-exploration, and not of giving sermons or telling dos & don'ts.
Whatever is found as truth or reality may be stated as a proposal and
every student is to be encouraged to verify it on his/her own right.
You can check if you want to be able to decide on your own right or
you want somebody else to decide for you? This somebody may be a
group of people; it may be the society or the education system, etc.
If you are not able to decide on your own right then:
 Someone else is programming you (deciding what is valuable
and what is not valuable for you)
 Unconsciously you keep accepting those things as values
 You get busy with how to implement them, how to realise them
and materialise them
This process of Self-exploration has to be in the form of a dialogue – a
dialogue between the teacher and student to begin with; and finally,
within the student – between ‘what I am’ and ‘what I really want to
be’, which is the innate natural acceptance
12 How do right understanding, relationships and physical
facilities help in fulfilling the aspirations of human beings?
Right Understanding, Relationship and Physical Facility
Human being wants to live with continuous happiness and prosperity
and this is possible by ensuring right understanding, fulfilment in
relationship and physical facility in the correct priority. This is living
with ‘human consciousness’.
On the other hand, if one is living for physical facility alone, and not
ensuring right understanding and right feeling in relationship, s(he)
feels unhappy and makes others unhappy too. This is one outcome.
The other outcome is that if the right understanding is missing, one is
not able to identify the need for physical facility. Now, if we are not
able to identify our need for physical facility then regardless of how
much physical facility we accumulate, we never feel that we have
enough. We want more. This feeling of not having enough is the
feeling of deprivation. As a result, one is deprived, exploiting and
depriving others.
While physical facility alone may suffice for animals, it is not adequate
for human being to be fulfilled. Under this condition, one is living with
‘animal consciousness’.
There are generally two kinds of people today:
1. Those lacking physical facility, unhappy and deprived
2. Those having physical facility, and yet unhappy and deprived
Try to find out where you are – at 1 or at 2?
Whereas we really want to be is in the following state, i.e.
3. Having physical facility, happy and prosperous.
It is easy to see that we naturally want to be in the state 3, of having
more than required physical facility, happy and prosperous. However,
today we seem to be at 1 or 2 and our effort is generally for 2. You
can see that what is called development today largely takes us from
‘1’ to ‘2’.
Now, if we are able to ensure all three, i.e. right understanding,
relationship and physical facility, in that order of priority, let us see
the outcome (refer to fig. 3-5).
 Through right feeling in relationship, based on right
understanding, we can ensure mutual happiness – happiness for
ourselves as well as happiness for others.
 With right understanding, we can identify the need for physical
facility. We can also learn how to produce using a mutually
enriching production process. Once we are able to ensure the
availability of more than required physical facility, we have a
feeling of prosperity; isn’t it?