Q 1. What do you mean by values or human values?
What is value education? Why there is a need of value education?
How does value education helps in fulfilling one's aspirations?
ANS. Character oriented education that instills basic values and ethnic
value in one’s psyche is called ‘Value Based Education’. The subject that
enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is called value
education. Value education is important to help everyone in improving the value
system that he/she holds and puts it to use. Once, one has understood his/ her
values in life he/she can examine and control the various choices he/she makes
in his/ her life. Value education enables us to understand our needs and
visualize our goals correctly and also helps to remove our confusions and
contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove our
confusions and contradictions and enables us to rightly utilize the technological
innovations.
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.
Q 2. Explain the process of value education.
ANS. The process for value education has to be that of self-exploration,
which includes two things: verification at the level of natural acceptance and
experiential validation in living. Self exploration is the process to find out
what is valuable to me by investigating within myself, what is right for me, true
for me, has to be judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the
value of ourselves. Various aspects of reality facilitating the understanding
of human values will be presented as proposals. We need to verify these
proposals for our self and examine our living in this light.
Q 3. What are the basic guidelines for value education? (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human
happiness is called value education. In order to qualify for any course on
value education, the following guidelines for the content of the course are
important:
Universal: It needs to be applicable to all the human beings irrespective of cast,
creed, nationalities, religion, etc., for all times and regions.
Rational: It has to appeal to human reasoning. It has to be amenable to reasoning
and not based on dogmas or blind beliefs.
Natural and verifiable: It has to be naturally acceptable to the human being who goes through
the course and when we live on the basis of such values it leads to our
happiness. It needs to be experientially verifiable, and not based on dogmas,
beliefs or assumptions.
All encompassing: Value education is aimed at transforming our consciousness and living.
Hence, it needs to cover all the dimensions (thought, behaviour, work and
realization) and levels (individual, family, society, nature and existence) of
human life and profession.
Leading to harmony: The value education ultimately
is targeted to promote harmony within the individual, among human beings and
with nature.
Q 4. What do you understand by the value of an entity? What is the value
of a human being? (UPTU 2009-10)
ANS. The value of any unit in this existence is its participation in the
larger order of which it is part e.g. value of a pen is that it can write. Here
writing is the participation of the pen in the bigger order in which pen,
paper, human being, all are present. Value of an eye is that it can be used for
seeing. Value of a vegetable plant is that it gives nutrition to animals and
humans.
The value of human being is the participation of human being at
different level in this order. The participation of the human being is seen in
two forms: behaviour and work. The participation of human being pertaining to
behaviour are the nine values in relationship, viz. trust, respect, affection,
care, guidance, reverence, glory, gratitude and love. Likewise, working with
material things, we have two values: utility value and artistic value. Al these
values are nothing but the participation of the human being in different
dimensions of living.
Q 5. What is the need for value education?
Write a short note on the need for value education in today’s scenario.
(MTU 2010 – 11)
ANS. 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
fulfillment. It also helps to remove our confusions and contradictions and
bring harmony at all levels.
Understanding
universal human values to fulfill 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.
Complimentarily
of values and skills. To fulfill 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 complementarily 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, are 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 them
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.
Q 6. What is the need for value education in technical and other
professional institutions?
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human
happiness is called value education. 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.
Q 7. Ilustrate the content of value education.
What should be the content of
value education to make it complete? How do values relate to our day to day
living? (UPTU 2010-11)
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human
happiness is called value education. The scope of value education includes al
dimensions (thoughts, behaviour, work and realization) and all levels
(individual, family, society and nature – existence). Accordingly, the content
of value education will be to understand myself, my aspirations, my happiness;
understand the goal of human life comprehensively, understand the other
entities in nature, the innate inter-connectedness, the coexistence in the
nature- existence and finally the role of human being in this nature/existence
entirely. Hence, it has to encompass understanding of harmony at various levels
and finally, learning to live in accordance with this understanding by being
vigilant to one’s thoughts, behaviour and work.
Q 8. Values and skill complement each other. Elaborate.
“For success in any Human Endeavour both values and skills are required.”
Explain.
What do you mean by values? How
do they differ from skills? How are values and skills complementary? Explain
how production skills and human values are complementary. Give two examples.
(UPTU, 2011 – 12)
ANS. Values means importance or participation and skills means qualities,
training, and capabilities. To fulfill 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. Basically we
must know what really is useful to achieve human happiness, the happiness to al
and for all the time.
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 complementarily 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. So I have to learn the skills to achieve the goal of good
health i.e. food to be consumed, the physical workout to be designed. So
without knowing the meaning of good health, health cannot be achieved and also
it is necessary to make use of the goal to achieve the goal of the goal.
Q 9. Define self exploration. What is the content of self – exploration?
ANS. Self exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by
investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourselves.
We live with different entirety (family, friends, air, soil, water, trees,
etc.) and we want to understand our relationship with al these. For this we
need to start observing inside.
The main focus of self-exploration is myself - the human being. Content
of self exploration is just finding answers to the following fundamental
questions of all human beings:
1. The
Desire/Goal: What is my (human) Desire/ Goal? What do I really want in life, or
what is the goal of human life?
2. Program: What is my (human) program for fulfilling the desire? How to
fulfill it? What is the program to actualize the above?
In short, the above two questions cover the whole domain of human
aspirations and human Endeavour. Thus, they form the content of self-
exploration.
Q 10. What do you mean by your natural acceptance and experiential
validation?
ANS. Natural acceptance is a mechanism of self exploration. Self exploration
is a method to explore ourselves. Natural acceptance is process to understand
ourselves first. Natural acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance
of the self, people and environment. It also refers to the absence of any
exception from others. In other words, Natural acceptance is way to accept the
good things naturally.
Experiential validation is a process that infuses direct experience with
the learning environment and content. It may be regarded as a philosophy and
methodology in which the direct experience and focused reflection of the
individual helps to increase knowledge, develop skill and clarify values. Most
of what we know about our self is not only through our own opinion of our self
but also because of how others view us.
When what we already believe to be true of us is validated by some
situations, phenomena or outcomes. We may term it as experiential validation.
Q 11. Explain the process of self-exploration with a diagram.
“Process of self exploration leads to realization and understanding.”
Explain with example.
ANS. Self exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by
investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourselves.
The process of self exploration is a follows:
First of all we have to keep in
mind that,
Whatever is being presented is a
PROPOSAL.
Don’t assume it to be true
immediately, nor reject it without proper exploration.
Verify it in your own right, on
the basis of it being naturally acceptable to you,
Not just on the basis of
scriptures
Not on the basis of
equipment/instrument data
Not on the basis of the assertion
by other human beings.
Therefore, it is essential to carefully ponder over these on your own
right. Neither accepts these as true immediately nor rejects them prematurely
without proper exploration.
Don’t just accept / reject these
only on the basis of the following:
Because
something like this/ different from this, has been mentioned in scriptures,
Or,
because it has been preached/ denied by some great men,
Or, a
large number of people posses such a view / a different view,
Or it is claimed to have been verified through some physical instrument
or, claimed that this is beyond the domain of verifiability by physical
instruments.
Then what to do
Verify on
the basis of your natural acceptance
Live
accordingly to validate it experientially
If the proposal is true in
behaviour with human leads to mutual
happiness
If the proposal is true in work
with rest of the nature leads to mutual prosperity
Remember,
it is a process of self- exploration, therefore, it has to be authenticated by
us alone by means of verification at the level of natural acceptance and
experiential validation. The process is shown in the diagram below:
 |
| Fig1 |
But this
process is not complete. It will be completed when on verification on the basis
of natural acceptance and testing in our living ultimately results in ‘realization’
and ‘understanding’ in us.
Verify on
the basis of your natural acceptance
Live
accordingly to validate it experientially
o If the proposal is true in
behaviour with human leads to mutual happiness
o If the proposal is true in work
with rest of the nature leads to mutual prosperity
Results
in realization and understanding
On having
realization and understanding we get
o Universality (Applies to all time, space and
individual)
Thus the
proposal is ‘True’. If it fails on any of the two tests, it is untrue.
This verification leads to realization of the
truthfulness of the proposal and it becomes part and parcel of my
understanding. It is reflected in my thoughts and in my behaviour.
Q 12. What do you mean by self-exploration? What is
the need for self-exploration?
What do you understand by self exploration? Where
does it take place – self or body? (UPTU 2009-10)
Explain the concepts of natural acceptance and
experiential validation as the mechanisms of self exploration.
What is the mechanism of self exploration? And as a
result what do we get in the end and how? (2011)
ANS. Self exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by
investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourselves.
For self exploration we need two expects:
1.
Natural acceptance: Natural
acceptance implies unconditional and total acceptance of the self, people and
environment. It also refers to the absence of any exception from others. Once
we fully and truly commit ourselves on the basis of natural acceptance, we feel
a holistic sense of inner harmony, tranquility and fulfillment.
2.
Experiential validation:
Experiential validation is a process that infuses direct experience with the
learning environment and content. It may be regarded as a philosophy and
methodology in which the direct experience and focused reflection of the
individual helps to increase knowledge, develop skill and clarify values.
Self
exploration takes place in the self and not the body.
Q 13. Ilustrate the purpose of self exploration.
ANS. Self exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by
investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourselves.
The purpose of self exploration is:
1.
It is a process of dialogue
between “what you are” and “what you really want to be”: It is a process of
focusing attention on ourselves, our present beliefs and aspirations vis-Ã -vis
what we really want to be (that is to say, what is naturally acceptable to us).
If these two are the same, then there is no problem. If on investigation we
find that these two are not the same, then it means we are living with this
contradiction (of not being what we really want to be) and hence, we need to
resolve this contradiction this conflict within us.
It is a
process of discovering that there is something innate, invariant and universal
in all human beings. This enables us to look at our confusions and contradictions
within and resolve them by becoming aware of our natural acceptance.
2.
It is a process of self evolution
through self investigation: It successively enables us to evolve by bridging
the gap between ‘what we are’ and ‘what to be’. Hence, the self exploration
leads to our own improvement, our self evolution – we will become qualitatively
better.
3.
It is a process of knowing
oneself and through that, knowing the entire existence: The exploration starts
by asking simple questions about ourselves, which gives our clarity about our
being, and then clarity about everything around us.
4. It is a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in
existence and fulfilling it: It is a process of becoming aware about our right
relationship with other entities in existence and through that discovering the
interconnectedness, co-existence and other in the entire existence, and living
accordingly.
5. It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living
accordingly: It is a process of discovering the definitiveness of human conduct
and human character and enabling one to be definite in thought, behaviour and
work.
6. It is a process of being in harmony in oneself and in harmony with
entire existence: This process of self exploration helps us to be in harmony
with ourselves and with everything around.
7. It is a process of identifying our innateness and moving towards self
organization and self expression: This process of self exploration helps us to
identify our swatvaand through that acquiring swantantrata and swarajya.
Swatva: Innateness of self – the
natural acceptance of harmony
Swatantrata: Being self-
organized – being in harmony with oneself
Swarajya: Self-expression, self-
extension – living in harmony with others
The
swatva is already there, intact in each one of us. By being in dialogue with
it, we attain swantantrata enablingus to work for swarajya.
Q 14. What do you understand by the terms svatva, swatantrata and
swarajya?
What is innateness (svatva), self organization
(swatantrata) and self expression (swarajya)? How are they related to each
other?
ANS. This process of self exploration helps us to identify our swatva and
through that acquiring swantantrata and swarajya.
Swatva means innatenes of self –
the natural acceptance of harmony.
Swatantrata means being self-
organized – being in harmony with oneself
Swarajya means self-expression,
self- extension – living in harmony with others
Swatva -> Swatantrata-> Swarajya
The swatva is already there, intact in each one of us. By being in
dialogue with it, we attain swantantrata enabling us to work for swarajya.
Living in contradiction, means we are not self-organized and living with
pre-conditionings where we have assumed certain things, have accumulated
desires without having first evaluated them, then it means we are partantra. On
the other hand, when we identify our innateness, what we really want to be and
establish a dialogue with it, it enables us to start living with this harmony,
it starts expressing itself through our harmonious behaviour and work, and it
naturally extends to our participation with the surroundings. This is working
towards swarajya.
Q 15. Self exploration is a
process of dialogue between ‘what you are’ and ‘what you really want to be’.
Explain and illustrate.
ANS. Self exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to me by
investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourselves.
It is a process of focusing attention on ourselves, our present beliefs and
aspirations vis-Ã -vis what we really want to be (that is to say, what is
naturally acceptable to us). If these two are the same, then there is no
problem. If on investigation we find that these two are not the same, then it
means we are living with this contradiction (of not being what we really want
to be) and hence, we need to resolve this contradiction this conflict within
us. It is a process of discovering that there is something innate, invariant
and universal in all human beings. This enables us to look at our confusions
and contradictions within and resolve them by becoming aware of our natural
acceptance.
Q 16. How can we verify proposals on the basis of our natural
acceptance? Explain with example.
What do you mean by your natural acceptance? Is it
innate, invariant and universal? Explain (UPTU 2011 – 12) “Natural acceptance
is innate, invariant and universal.” Explain this statement with an example.
(MTU 2011 – 12) ANS. Natural acceptance implies
unconditional and total acceptance of the self, people and environment. It also
refers to the absence of any exception from others. Once we fully and truly
commit ourselves on the basis of natural acceptance, we feel a holistic sense
of inner harmony, tranquility and fulfillment. Actually natural acceptance is
way to accept the good things naturally. Learn everything that is good from
others, but bring it in, and in our own way absorb it; do not become others. We
can easily verify proposals in the basis of characteristics of natural
acceptance mentioned below:
a. Natural acceptance does not change with time. It remains invariant
with time. For example our natural acceptance for trust and respect does not
change with age.
b. It does not depend on the place. Whatever we have accepted, in our
life, at any time of our age, does not change, even if we move from one place
to another one.
c. It does not depend on our beliefs or past conditionings. No matter
how deep our belief or past conditioning, as long as we ask ourselves the
question sincerely, as long as we refer deep within ourselves, the answer will
always be the same.
d. This natural acceptance is ‘constantly there’, something we can refer
to. Natural acceptance is always there. Whatever we do, this natural acceptance
is within us, it is telling us what is right.
e. Natural acceptance is the same for al of us: it is part and parcel of
every human being, it is part of humanness. Though each one of us, may have
different likes and dislikes and means to live and to react etc. but if we go
deep in our mind the purpose of our work, behaviour, efforts etc. are based on
common goals like need to be happy, need to be respected, need to get
prosperity. So our basic acceptance remains the same.
Q 17. What is happiness?
ANS. Happiness may be defined as being in harmony/synergy in the state/
situation that I live in. “A state or situation in which I live, if there is
harmony in it then I like to be in that state/situation. The state of liking is
happiness.” Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by
contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy. Happiness may be described as
consisting of positive emotions and positive activities. There may be three
kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. In other words, freedom
from want and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of
one’s place in the universe or society, inner peace and so forth. Happiness is
the state of mind, where we feel good in most of the walk of life.
Q 18. What is the meaning of prosperity? How can you say that you are
prosperous?
ANS. The
feeling of having or making available more than required physical facilities is
prosperity. Almost all of us feel that wealth alone means prosperity and try to
explain this phenomenon on this nonexistent or half fact. We are trying to
achieve happiness and prosperity by maximizing accumulation and consumption of
physical facilities. It is becoming anti-ecological and anti-people, and
threatening the human survival itself. For prosperity, two things are
required-1. Identification of the required quantity of physical facilities, and
2.
Ensuring availability / production of more than required physical facilities.
We can be prosperous only if there is a limit to the need for physical
facilities. If there is no limit what so ever be the availability the feeling
of prosperity cannot be assured.
Secondly, just assessing the need is not enough. We need to be able to
produce or make available more than the perceived need.
Q 19. What is the difference
between prosperity and wealth? What is more acceptable to us and why? What do
you understand by prosperity? What is the difference between prosperity and
wealth? How are the two related?
What is the meaning of
prosperity? How does it difer from possession of wealth? Explain with examples.
(UPTU 2009 - 10)
Differentiate between prosperity and wealth with examples. (MTU 2010 –
11)
ANS. Prosperity is a feeling of having more than required physical
facilities; it is not just physical facilities. Almost all of us feel that
wealth alone means prosperity and try to explain this phenomenon on this
nonexistent or half fact. Wealth is a physical thing. It means having money, or
having a lot of physical facilities or both. This is a very important
distinction. We mostly fail to make this distinction today. We keep working for
wealth, without realizing that the basic desire is for the feeling of
prosperity, to have a feeling of having enough. Prosperity is more acceptable
to us because wealth is just a part of prosperity. We are trying to achieve
happiness and prosperity by maximizing accumulation and consumption of physical
facilities. It is becoming anti-ecological and anti-people, and threatening the
human survival itself. A person has lot of money, but does not want to share
even a bit of it. The person ‘has wealth’ but feels ‘deprived’. If one felt
prosperous he/she would have shared what one has, since there is lot more than
enough wealth anyway.
Q 20. What is your present vision of a happy and prosperous life?
ANS. We are
trying to achieve happiness and prosperity by maximizing accumulation and
consumption of physical facilities. It is becoming anti-ecological and
anti-people, and threatening the human survival itself. Some of the
consequences of such trend are summarized below:
At the level of individual – rising
problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides, stress, insecurity,
etc.
At the level of family – breaking of joint families, mistrust, and conflict between older and
younger generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, etc.
At the level of society – growing incidence of terrorism and naxalism, rising communalism,
spreading casteism, racial and ethnic struggle, wars between nations, etc.
At the level of nature – global warming, water, air, soil, noise etc. pollution, resource
depletion of minerals and mineral oils, etc.
All the problems are a direct outcome of an
incorrect understanding, our wrong notion about happiness and prosperity and
their continuity – this is an issue for serious exploration.
Q 21. What do the abbreviations given as SVDD, SSDD and SSSS signify?
ANS. To achieve our basic aspirations we need to work for right
understanding as the base on which we can work for relationship and then
physical facilities. Today we are not working according to this that why we can
see that there are two kinds of people in the world:
1.
Those that do not have physical
facilities/ wealth and feel unhappyand deprived. i.e. SVDD: Sadhan Viheen Dukhi
Daridra – Materially Deficient, Unhappy and Deprived.
2. Those
that have physical facilities/ wealth and feel unhappy and deprived. i.e. SSDD:
Sadhan Sampann Dukhi Daridra
– Materially Affluent, Unhappy
and Deprived.
But these are states we don’t
want to be in. We want to move from this to third category i.e.
3.
Having physical facilities and
feeling happy and prosperous i.e. SSSS: Sadhan Sampann Sukhi Samriddha –
Materially Adequate, Happy and Prosperous.
Presently, as we look around, we find most of the people in the above
two categories called SVDD and SSDD, while the natural acceptance of all human
beings is to be in the category of SSSS.
Q 22. “Physical facilities are necessary and
complete for animals, while they are necessary but not complete for humans.”
Comment.
Explain how physical facilities are necessary but
not complete for humans while they are complete for animals. Physical
facilities are necessary but not complete for human being. Do you agree with
this statement? Support your answer with reasons and examples. (UPTU 2011-12)
ANS. 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 fulfill 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 fulfill
our needs. Hence we can say that for animals – “Physical facilities are
necessary and complete.” For humans “Physical facilities are necessary but not
complete.”
Q 23. What are the requirements to fulfill basic human aspirations?
What is the program to fulfill the basic human aspirations? Explain (MTU
2011 – 12)
Explain the basic requirements to
fulfill human aspirations. Give the correct priority among them. (UPTU 2009-10)
Three things are needed in order
to fulfill basic human aspirations–right understanding, right relationships and
physical facilities. Explain meaning of each one of these. (UPTU 2010–11)
Right understanding has first priority to fulfill basic aspiration. How
can you explain it? (2011)
ANS. Our basic aspirations are happiness (mutual fulfillment) and prosperity
(mutual prosperity). Happiness is ensured by the relationships with other human
beings and prosperity is ensured by working on physical facilities.
Right
Understanding: This refers to higher order
human skills – the need to learn and utilize our intelligence most effectively.
Good Relationships: This refers to the interpersonal relationships that a person builds in
his or her life– at home, at the workplace and in society.
Physical Facilities: This includes the physiological needs of individuals and indicates the
necessities as well as the comforts of life. It means the feeling of having or
being able to have more physical facilities than is needed.
In order to resolve the issues in human relationships, we need to
understand them first, and this would come from ‘right understanding of
relationship’. Similarly in order to be prosperous and to enrich nature, we
need to have the ‘right understanding’. The ‘right understanding’ will enable
us to work out our requirements for physical facilities and hence correctly
distinguish the difference between wealth and prosperity. With nature as well,
we need to understand the harmony in nature, and how we can complement this
harmony.
Q 24. What do you mean by animal and human consciousness? Explain with
the help of a diagram.
Distinguish between ‘human consciousness’
and ‘animal consciousness’. How “shiksha and sanskar” are helpful in raising
man to “human consciousness” level. (UPTU 2010 – 11)
What is the difference between
animal consciousness and human consciousness? How does the transformation take
place in a human being? (MTU2011 – 12)
ANS. Giving al priorities to physical facilities only, or to live solely on
the basis of physical facilities, may be termed as ‘Animal Consciousness’.
Living with al three: Right understanding, Relationship and Physical facilities
are 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 al 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. Oral 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.
Q 25. “To be in a state of
harmony is happiness”. Explain this statement and illustrate with two examples
from your day to day life.
ANS. Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment,
love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy. Happiness may be described as consisting
of positive emotions and positive activities. In other words, freedom from want
and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of one’s
place in the universe or society, inner peace and so
forth. Happiness is the state of mind, where we feel good in most of the
walk of life. One important characteristic of this is feeling is that we like
to continue this feeling. Or in other words,
“The state/situation in which I live, if there is harmony/ synergy in
it, then I like to be in that state or situation.” i.e. “To be in a state of
liking is happiness.”
If we explore our life we will
find that respect is a state of harmony between two human beings.
When I respect the other and the other respects me, I like to be in that
situation. It gives me happiness. Take other example, when there is harmony in
my thoughts and feelings, I feel relaxed and I want to be in that situation.
This feeling is happiness.
Q 26. There are many problems
manifest today at the level of individual, family, society and the nature.
Identify some of these problems humans suffer from. (UPTU 2010 – 11)
ANS. Today we are generally trying to achieve happiness and prosperity by
maximizing accumulation and consumption of physical facilities. This effort is
giving rise to many problems manifest today at the level of individual, family,
society and the nature. These problems are: At the level of individual– Rising
problems of depression, anxiety, suicides, stress, insecurity, increasing
health problems, lack of confidence and conviction etc.
At the
level of family– Breaking up of joint families,
mistrust and disharmony in relationships, divorce, generation gap, dowry
deaths, neglect of older people etc.
At the
level of society– Growing incidences of terrorism,
violence, communalism, racial and ethnic struggle, corruption, adulteration,
sex-crimes exploitation, wars between nations, proliferation of lethal weapons
etc.
At the
level of nature– Global warming, weather
imbalances, depletion of mineral and energy resources, deforestation, soil
degradation etc.
Al the problems are a direct outcome of an incorrect understanding, our
wrong notion about happiness and prosperity and their continuity.
Q 27. Critically examine the prevailing notions of happiness in the
society and their consequences.
What is happiness and prosperity?
Are they related to each other? Can happiness be obtained without prosperity?
Explain.
What is prosperity? Is it different from happiness?
What are the basic human aspirations? Explain. (MTU 2010 – 11)
What is the outcome when we try to identify relationship based on the
exchange of physical facilities?
ANS. Happiness may be defined as being in harmony/synergy in the state/
situation that I live in. “A state or situation in which I live, if there is
harmony in it then I like to be in that state/situation. The state of liking is
happiness.” Whereas prosperity is the “feeling of having or making available
more than required physical facilities”.
In the current scenario, we are generally trying to achieve happiness
and prosperity by maximizing accumulation and consumption of physical
facilities. This is an attempt to achieve happiness through pleasant sensory
interactions. The physical facilities are not seen in terms of fulfilling
bodily needs but as a means of maximizing happiness.
This has resulted in wrong assessment of wants for physical facilities
as being unlimited. But this pursuit is self-defeating. Neither can we hope to
achieve continuous happiness through sensory interactions nor can we have
prosperity, as it amounts to trying to fulfill unlimited wants through limited
resources. This effort is engendering problems at all the levels. It is
becoming anti-ecological and anti-people, and threatening the human survival
itself. Some of the consequences of such a trend are summarised below:
1 At the level of the individual – Rising problems of depression,
psychological disorders, suicides, stress, insecurity, psycho-somatic diseases,
loneliness etc.
2 At the level of the family – Breaking of joint families, mistrust,
conflict between older and younger generations, insecurity in relationships,
divorce, dowry tortures, family feuds, wasteful expenditure in family functions
etc.
3 At the level of the Society – Growing incidences of terrorism and
naxalism, rising communalism, spreading casteism, racial and ethnic struggle,
wars between nations, attempts of genocide, fear of nuclear and genetic
warfare, etc.
4 At the level of nature – Global warming, water, air, soil, noise, etc.
pollution, resource depletion of minerals and mineral oils, sizeable
deforestations, loss of fertility of soil. It therefore, calls for an urgent
need for human beings to correctly understand happiness and prosperity as well
as the sustainable way to achieve these.
Q 28. “Right understanding +
Relationship = Mutual fulfilment; Right understanding + Physical facilities =
Mutual prosperity.” Illustrate the above with two examples for each.
How do right understanding, relationships and physical facilities help in fulfilling the aspirations of human beings?
Ans. Our basic aspirations are
happiness (mutual fulfillment) and prosperity (mutual prosperity). Happiness is
ensured by the relationships with other human beings and prosperity is ensured
by working on physical facilities. Relationship refers to the interpersonal
relationships that a person builds in his/her life – at home, at the workplace
and in society. Physical Facilities includes the physiological needs of
individuals and indicates the necessities as well as the comforts of life. It
means the feeling of having or being able to have more physical facilities than
is needed.
Today we are unable to have fulfilling relationships al the time: in
family, outside family, and as a society– in the world at large. If there is a
problem in relationship, we feel uneasy, it bothers us. Even if we are
interacting with someone, and something we said or did of ends them, it makes
us uneasy; i.e. we want mutual fulfillment in relationship. Similarly, we want
to feel prosperous, but end up working only for accumulation of wealth. We want
to enrich nature, but are exploiting it, destroying it. But our natural
acceptance is that we want to live in harmony with nature.
The reason behind these problems is that we have to focus on one more
aspect, i.e. right understanding. Right Understanding refers to higher order
human skills – the need to learn and utilize our intelligence most effectively.
In order to resolve the issues in human relationships, we need to
understand them first, and this would come from ‘right understanding of
relationship’. Similarly in order to be prosperous and to enrich nature, we
need to have the ‘right understanding’. The ‘right understanding’ will enable
us to work out our requirements for physical facilities and hence correctly
distinguish the difference between wealth and prosperity. With nature as well,
we need to understand the harmony in nature, and how we can complement this
harmony.
Thus we can say that when we use right understanding with relationships
it gives us mutual fulfillment because if we have right understanding, then we
can be happy in ourselves and work to have fulfilling relationships with humans
and mutual prosperity with nature. If we do not have the right understanding,
then we have problems. Thus, our happiness depends on the fulfillment of these
three basic requirements.
Right understanding +
Relationship = Mutual fulfillment.
Right understanding + Physical
facilities = Mutual prosperity.
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