Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar lighting the inaugural lamp at the "Manavathe 2015 - Karnataka Education Conference' on Human Values and Life Skills.
Eminent academicians from across the state congregated at The Art of Living International Centre, Bengaluru to attend ‘Manavathe 2015’ – a Karnataka Education Conference on 21st February, 2015. Organized by The Art of Living, the conference drew attention to the importance of incorporating human values, life skills training, Yoga and meditation in the current education system of the country.
The conference was inaugurated by The Art of Living Founder, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar along with Dr. Rajneesh Arora, former Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University, Dr. Chidananda Gowda, former Vice-Chancellor, Kevumpu University, and Mr. Ramoji Rao, businessman, film producer and media entrepreneur.
Addressing the attendees, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, said, “It is education that makes us human, and if it doesn't, we need to look into the causes. It is educationists who can help us in this effort.” He added, “As teachers mentor thousands of youth, they can bring a great transformation in society.”
Dr. Rajneesh Arora observed, “Human values should be universal, rational and experientially verifiable”, while Dr. Chidananda Gowda stated that values are caught, not taught, and advocated that “Instead of holidays in honour of our great personalities, we should have "Value Days" that are based on their lives, achievements and values.
The conference also saw a panel discussion of educationists from various fields on the topic, “Human Values in Modern Education”. The forum, moderated by Mr. Anish Dua, HOD, Guru Nanak University, had Prof. S. Muralidhar, Director, Placement, BTL Institute of Technology & Management; Dr. Rajashekhar Mathapati, State Coordinator, UGC, Dept of Collegiate Education, Bangalore (Higher Education Cell); Prof. C.A. Vishnu Bharath, Vice President, APS Educational Institution; Mr. Gnaneshwar Jayraj Managing Trustee- YDIT group and Mr. Thomas P John, Chairman, T John Group of Institutions deliberating on the need of value-based education.
With the introduction of a program on human values and professional ethics in all technical universities by the Government, the institutions have acknowledged that students can be transformed into successful professionals and leaders with such value-based education. It has been noticed that life-skills training techniques like Yoga and meditation can be extremely potent methods for personality development, enhancement of emotional quotient and employability and also stress related issues and depression in the youth.
Keeping in sync with the same thought, the conference explored ways to improve the emotional quotient of students and its impact on their careers, methods to impart education based on human values, the benefits of Yoga and meditation in personality development and reduction of stress in students. The forum also came across as a platform for dialogue and networking of educationists to share their experiences and practices in the system.