Aum Sai Ram

An Offering at the Divine Lotus Feet of Bhagawan

If I were to teach Human Values to youngsters...

Aim: To sensitize the prospective professionals on the role of Human Values in their professional life and work situation so that they are able to achieve and maintain an optimal balance between their professional goals and organizational needs.

I am excited, delighted, optimistic and eager! I am also apprehensive, a little uneasy and doubtful. I am excited because I have to teach and I am worried because I have to teach! Coming to the other side of the table, I mean the class, after being a student for more than 19 years brings me these mixed feelings. In my experience as a student, I had the good fortune of getting good teachers who could down to my level and then take me from there to their level. So, let me try the same thing here.

If I were a professional (or a prospective professional) who were to be taught Human Values, what would I be thinking, perceiving and expecting? Well, I would have a whole lot of questions! Queries, issues, doubts, problems and a whole lot of them! What are Human Values? Is there any relation between Human Values and our professional life? Is it something philosophical or practical? How can it be applied to professional life? Will it help us to do our jobs better? If it is really useful, how do we learn and practice Human Values? Can Human Values be taught? Is there an institution which teaches Human Values? Where will all this lead us to?

Now, let me come back to the role of a teacher. But before I do that, I would like to place my prayers and my most loving and humble salutations at the feet of my teacher, my guru, my master and lord – Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I am reminded of his famous mahavakya on Leadership (which applies to me as a teacher in this situation) - “To Be, To Do, To See, To Tell”. A good leader must first put into practice what he wants others to, by setting an ideal example himself. It is only then that he has the moral right to tell others.

“What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” ~Karl Menninger

Sri Sathya Sai Baba has further given us guidelines as to How ‘To Be’ a good leader (/teacher)? The following diagram says it all:

“The strength and balance of this structure determines our ability to be effective as leaders” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba

So, this is my first and foremost duty as a teacher of Human Values to youngsters - I must practice before I preach.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” ~ M.K. Gandhi

Now, let’s take the next step, which is to resolve the questions that have been raised earlier.

What are human values?

“Human Values are the positive, desirable qualities of character – such as honesty, integrity, tolerance, responsibility, compassion, altruism, justice and respect – inherent in all human beings. Human values are fundamental to human existence and span across cultures, nationalities and classes. Human values cultivate an environment of trust, transparency, responsibility, caring, respect, cooperation, quality, and excellence. They are the internal motivators for people to do their best in line with good character, morality and ethics.¹”

Let me now quote Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who has been promoting Human Values all his life. He says, “You have to understand the true meaning of these two words, education and human values. Education has two aspects: The first is related to external and worldly education, which is nothing but acquiring bookish knowledge. In the modern world, we find many, well-versed and highly qualified in this aspect. The second aspect known as ‘Educare,’ is related to human values. The word ‘Educare’ means to bring out that which is within. Human values, namely, Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa (Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence) are latent in every human being. One cannot acquire them from outside; they have to be elicited from within. But as man has forgotten his innate human values, he is unable to manifest them. ‘Educare’ means to bring out human values. ‘To bring out’ means to translate them into action.²”

Now let me go to the next question about the relation, relevance and practical application of Human Values in professional life?

“Education without character, science without humanity, politics without principles and commerce without morality are not only useless, but positively dangerous”.

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

I refer to an extract of a paper which appeared in the journal of Human Values which answers the above question in a short and sweet manner! “Values are akin to a beacon. A profession thrives on the values that it subscribes to. A right set of values and a well-aligned value system help professionals effectively navigate through the best and worst of times. Values are the core of any profession. In fact, every individual in an organization is driven by some set of personal, professional and organizational values. Values, therefore, are the core to the existence of every individual and organization. ³”

Next, let’s take a look at the table¹ below, which shows the practical application of the 5 core values in our professional lives.

Practical applications of the core values!

The table points out how to practice these five human values. For example,

1. Truthfulness: speak honestly with co-workers and customers.

2. Righteousness: keep your agreements with your manager and co-workers, as well as customers.

3. Inner Peace: practice equanimity, even in crises, in times of profit or loss, and in times of praise or blame.

4. Love: listen generously and compassionately to others rather than being judgmental

5. Non-Violence: find win-win solutions to problems, rather than winning at another’s expense.

Having said that, a (prospective) professional will say, “Well, that all sounds very good! Infact great! But, how does it help me in my job?”

So now let’s take a look at, what does each of these human values look like when expressed in the typical workplace⁴?

1. A professional would tell the truth about errors or delays, even if it meant a temporary reprimand.

2. An employee would do his or her best quality work, even if no one were watching.

3. An executive would continually strive to find creative new ways to deliver goods effectively and efficiently, without adding undue costs to his or her customers.

4. A sales person would actively seek to serve people rather than hide behind bureaucratic rules.

5. A manager would seek to keep the environment clean and unpolluted by wastes from the business.

Don’t you agree with me that any/all of the above will help you do your job better, will help you climb up the organizational ladder faster and will help you not only in your professional life but in your personal life as well. Infact, a lot of people in the corporate world refer to these skills as ‘soft skills’ and professionals with these soft skills are in great demand today.

I hope, by this time, it’s very clear about the relation, relevance, practical application, necessity and impact of Human Values in professional life. Let’s now turn to the next logical question.

Can Human Values be taught?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, “Human Values are latent in every human being; one cannot acquire them from outside. They have to be elicited from within. Educare means to bring out human values. ‘To bring out’ means to translate them into action”

So, then how does one ‘bring out’ the latent Human Values? Well, from my modest experience at the Sri Sathya Sai University, I can relate a few personal learning experiences that I have gained from the Sri Sathya Sai System of Integral Education (SSSSIE) which focuses on ‘bringing out’ these latent Human Values. The SSSSIE aims at the integrated and holistic personality development of students in the physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual domains. The Pan Indian character of the University comes alive in the Hostel where students from all backgrounds, castes, regions, religions and social strata, live together in harmony. The self reliance departments in the hostel are a good example of fostering Human Values. These are departments run by the students themselves. All aspects of the Hostel’s functioning are taken care through these which include activities such as plumbing and electrification, gardening, general stores, cooking, computer and other multimedia facilities, library, books and publications, dispensary and so on. Through this, the dignity of labor is appreciated and it also provides the students to contribute to the institution through the best use of those talents which he or she is endowed with.

The annual Grama Seva is another excellent way of fostering Human Values. This exercise plays a major role in sensitizing the students to the realities of rural India. For students like me, who have come from metropolitan cities and who have no exposure to the rural life style, it is a real eye opener. We learn what it means to have two square meals a day, we learn the joy of getting new clothes, we learn the satisfaction of smiling and being smiled at, we learn and experience what it means to love and be loved.

This is just a glimpse of what happens at the Sri Sathya Sai University. I now intend to bring together my learning experiences and propose a formal Institution for Promotion of Human Values in Professional Spheres.

Let us now see how some of these ‘blocks’ work and interact with each other under this framework. The idea is that professionals who are interested in ‘getting trained’ in Human Values can join the Training Program at this institute. The training program will have both specific and generic components. The specific one’s would focus more on the professional part, the generic ones will be common for all professions. After all it’s a human being who is performing different professional roles.

• Training Program for Professionals: To get a quick idea of such a training program, one can refer to the training programs conducted at the Management Centre for Human Values at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. Dr. S.K Chakraborthy, the founder of the centre, writes, “The goal (of this training program) is that in a management setting these practices will have repercussions on business life, more specifically in respect of the individual - improved cooperation, non-attachment to the selfish rewards of the work, increased creativity, service to the customer, improved quality, cultivating self-discipline, and enhancing generosity.⁵” One can also look at self guided training programs such as the one developed by the Global Dharma Centre⁶.

Other than the specific training focussed on the profession, there are other activities that help foster Human Values. Most of them have been inspired by the SSSSIE and I’ll relate to the same.

• Service Activities: Youth activity circles for community projects

Learning from the example of the Self Reliance Departments in our hostel, I propose the following: Young professionals (or to be professionals) should be inspired to be part of community projects which solve community problems. Such projects will not only help them develop themselves (teach them team work, tolerance, etc) but will also evolve them as concerned community citizens. . It will also provide them ample opportunities to blossom forth their latent talents, capabilities and creativity. The role of the Institute will be to identify community projects and facilitate and encourage the youth to get involved in the projects. Such an activity can form a huge youth force to effectively solve community problems in the country. These community projects can be of two types:

1. General problems like cleaning the streets, spreading general awareness etc

2. The other can be developed so as to apply the expertise/knowledge of the youth. E.g. IT students/professionals can develop some software which can be useful to the community (for e.g. in rural areas), engineers can develop technical and engineering solutions to existing problems, commerce graduates can help develop budgets, raise funds etc, arts graduates may help in raising literacy levels etc.

• An Integrated Approach

Through the means of interactive workshops, presentations and personal counselling professionals should be exposed to:

• Integrated Personality Development

• Career Counselling

• Lifestyle Management

thereby ‘enabling’ them to equip themselves with the required tools for transformation.

• Integrated Personality Development is the development of the Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Spiritual aspects of the individual through activities like Yoga, Pranayama, Study Circles, Meditation, Bhajans, and Service Activities etc. The participants should be exposed to both the theoretical and practical aspects.

• Career Planning/Counselling

Career Counselling and Career Planning Activities can be undertaken to talk about:

• Various career options including service oriented jobs

• Promote social entrepreneurship

• Need to develop soft skills: Positive attitude, team spirit, self confidence and tell them how one can develop the same through various option that the institute offers like social service activities, Yoga, etc

• Lifestyle Management

The youth should be made aware about the need of Lifestyle Management in today's fast paced world. Further they should be exposed to its various aspects such as Time Management, Regulated Life Style, Weekend recreation, Productive utilization of spare time, Balanced/Regulated Diet etc.

• Rural Internships / Gram Seva Activities

This is inspired by the annual Gram Seva that takes place at the Sri Sathya Sai University. It’s a macro level approach to sensitize the youth towards the Nation and specifically the rural areas through the means of ‘Rural Internships’. The Institute can organize these one/two week rural internships, wherein the youth can be taken to rural areas and can be involved in Gram Seva activities. The university/organization may make it mandatory for its students/employees to participate.

• The Human Values Festival

This festival celebrates the spirit of ‘Human Values’ and will promote the same through the means of various events, competitions etc. Other than the usual competitions, the spirit of the festival will be showcased through various theme based events like:

• Workshops, Panel Discussions, Case studies discussing Human Values at the workplace.

• Cultural events - Music, Dance, Drama, Debates, Movie Shows etc (bringing out the theme)

• Sports events

This idea is inspired by the annual sports and cultural meet at the Sri Sathya Sai University. The learnings from this event are virtually endless. Everyone gets his own share of lessons; Lessons in team work, brotherhood, mutual cooperation, hard work, detachment, unity and harmony. One gets to learn how to get along and work with different kinds of individuals. Also, all of us are involved with various kinds of activities and we get to learn and showcase a variety of talents and skills.

• Media

The institute activities will generate lot information which should be disseminated widely through various communication mediums like radio, television, print media and web. Specifically, a web portal should be developed which can run as a common thread for activities happening across the country (/world). The portal will also act as a starting point for initial awareness and encouragement for the new comers.

Thus, the institute needs to adopt a multi pronged approach to meet its objectives. Once this ‘movement’ catches on with the Youth, it’ll have a snowballing effect and will show its presence throughout the country and then maybe across the world!

I would like to conclude with the last question of where will this all lead us to? Well, nothing better than to conclude with the words of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

“Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character; when there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home; when there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation; when there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.”

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

References:

1. Human Values in water education, UN Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT.

2. Educare is Human Values, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 33;

3. Madhavi Mehta, Value Orientations of HRD Professionals in India, Journal of Human Values 2005; 11; 103.

4. William C. Miller, How do we put our spiritual values to work, Chapter 5, New Traditions in Business, 1990, New Leaders Press, California.

5. Chakraborty, 1991, pp. 19-20). Chakraborty, S.K. (1991). Management by Values. Delhi: Oxford University Books.

6. www.globaldharma.org

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