Sai Spiritual Education model is inspirational in nature and purpose, and not delivery of specific educational material.
The Aims of Sai Spiritual Education are:
- To foster character development and spiritual transformation.
- To inculcate habits of discipline and self-discipline so that students learn to be masters, rather than slaves, of the mind and be able to manage themselves.
- To engender in children a desire to be of service to humanity by helping them learn about life and teachings of Sathya Sai Baba.
- To cultivate humility, elicit practise of Ceiling on Desires, and render selfless service.
- To train them to be able to discriminate between right and wrong, between truth and non-truth; that is to always follow the inner promptings of the Divine.
- To help children be fully aware of the Unity underlying all faiths and all mankind.
- To guide all children to have purity and harmony in Thought, Word and Deed.
- To help children realise their conscience and follow that as the path for attaining Divinity.
- To give priority to the development of character, self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
- To foster the understanding and practice of the five inherent human values of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence.
The Education Wing
The Sai Spiritual Education Wing offers weekly classes to children between the ages of 4 to 17 in Sai Centres or in regional classes. Trained teachers undertake classes using a syllabus that has been developed to incorporate the core teachings of Sathya Sai Baba whilst keeping the focus to reflect the culture of the country it is being implemented in. Children are taught in appropriate groups to facilitate effective teaching and peer learning.
In a SSE class, the teacher utilises the five teaching techniques as given by Sathya Sai Baba to draw out the inherent goodness and divine qualities that are within the child. These are:
- Prayers
- Story Telling
- Group Devotional Singing
- Group Activities
- Silent Sitting
These techniques are there to train the children from an early age to quieten their minds,thus learning that they may manage their own minds. This also produces an internal quietude which enables children to listen to the voice of their conscience. When put into practice the children gain self-confidence, attain excellence and acquire the quality of leadership.
Children are encouraged and provided opportunities such as enacting in dramas, participating in group devotional singing, public-speaking, chanting of prayers, taking part in service activities. This develops self confidence from a very early age, and builds their character.
