Introduction to Value Education: Understanding Human Values

Introduction to Value Education

• Value education is about understanding human aspirations and what is truly valuable in life.
• The value of an entity is its participation in the larger order of which it is a part.
• The value of a human being is its participation towards mutual fulfillment (harmony) starting from within themselves, then extending in their family, society, and nature.

Key Takeaways

• The content of value education has to be universal, rational, natural, verifiable, and leading to harmony.
• The process of value education has to be a process of self-exploration, rather than being prescriptive.
• The basic aspiration of a human being is continuity of happiness and prosperity.

Three Requirements for Happiness and Prosperity

• Right understanding is the prime requirement for happiness and prosperity.
• Fulfilment in relationship is the second requirement.
• Physical facility is the third requirement.

Human Consciousness

• Human consciousness is living with continuous happiness and prosperity by ensuring right understanding, fulfilment in relationship, and physical facility in the correct priority.
• Holistic development is the transformation from animal consciousness to human consciousness.

Characteristics of Value Education

• Natural and Verifiable: Value education has to be 'naturally acceptable' to the human being and experientially verifiable.
• 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.

Understanding Human Values

• The value of human being is to ensure mutual fulfillment in the larger order.
• To understand human values, we need to study the human reality along with all that is there in the entire nature/existence.
• The content or scope of study has to be all-encompassing, covering all dimensions of human being and all levels of human living.

Human Aspirations

• The basic aspiration of a human being is continuity of happiness and prosperity.
• Whatever we think, whatever we do is with some end state in mind, and that end state is our basic aspiration.
• The answers to the questions "Do I want to be happy?", "Do I want to be prosperous?", and "Do I want the continuity of happiness and prosperity?" are in the affirmative yes.

Explore the significance of value education and the importance of understanding human values. Delve into the concept of human aspirations and the value of participation in the larger order of life.