Sathya Sai Baba says, “You must study to become steady. See to it that the Divine Love in your heart is steady. The goal of education should not be to just acquire theoretical knowledge but to practically apply it in your life. Birds and animals lead life without ‘studying’ but your education must result in you developing a strong and good character”

“The end of education is character.”

 

The Education Wing of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organisation SSSIO in Barbados was created initially in 1986. It is dedicated to providing an education in Human Values, Unity of Faiths, Moral Living and sowing the seeds of spirituality in children ranging from ages of 6 to 17 years. Smaller groups of similarly aged children are created and taught together. These age groups are as follows:

• Group 1 – 6 to 8 years
• Group 2 – 9 to 11 years
• Group 3 – 12 to 14 years
• Group 4 – 15 to 17 years

We support the children on their journey through life by providing weekly classes on Sunday mornings. These run concurrently with the official school terms in Barbados.

This program was initially called ‘Bal Vikas’, which means ‘The blossoming of human excellence’.

The name has subsequently been changed to “Sai Spiritual Education” in 1995, to emphasize the universality of the program. A unique approach to education called ‘Educare’ is used to align the heart, head and hands.

 

The aims of Educare are:

• To teach the children to love God
• Character development and Spiritual growth
• To foster discipline and help the children learn to control their minds
• To inspire in them a desire to serve all humanity as we are all God’s family
• To practice a ceiling on desires as well as reverence for nature and their environment
• To train them to know the difference between right and wrong and follow their conscience
• To foster Unity that underlies all Faiths and show that all religions are pathways to One God.
• To encourage purity and harmony in thought, word and deed

Classes include:

• Prayers
• Storytelling, with question-and-answer sessions
• Group activities including role playing scenarios and fun games that aid with understanding of a moral or value being taught
• Group devotional singing in English and Sanskrit
• Fun games and activities used to reinforce the value being taught
• Simple meditation practices otherwise called ‘Silent Sitting”

Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings and messages are also used to enhance their learning experience.

 

A key focus of the education wing is to provide a platform for the children to explore how to incorporate the 5 Humans Values of Peace, Love, Right Action, Non-violence and Truth, practically and consciously in their daily lives. We try to teach them to live each value in thought, word and deed.

 

Special activities are held for the children outside of these classes as well.

• Service activities where they learn to offer of their time without any expectation of reward e.g. clean up activities or packing of food or hampers for the needy.
• Special retreats during the year
• Tree planting
• Sports days

Annual play – All ages come together, to put on a play which is based on a special topic that has been decided on as the theme of the year

In keeping with Sai Baba’s teaching of the Unity of all faiths, our classes teach the children about a multitude of religious festivals from all different faiths. We strongly believe that all religions teach the same Human Value principles with differing stories and settings. We aim to teach the children to always be understanding and inclusive of all the religious paths seeking to emphasise the similarities between them.

At its heart, the Education wing seeks to provide a strong moral and compassionate foundation within each child as they grow from tender children to young adults. This morality is based on the 5 human values of Peace, Love, Right Action, Non-violence and Truth.  The compassion is based on an understanding of their specific religion and other religious paths and the practice of service to others.  We seek to give them the tools to begin and foster their spiritual journey in life.