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International Journal of Children's

Spirituality
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Spiritual Development and Education: a

contemplative view
a
Lois Duff
a
Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences, University
of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BS16 1QY. E-mail:
Published online: 12 Mar 2014.

To cite this article: Lois Duff (2003) Spiritual Development and Education: a contemplative view,
International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 8:3, 227-237, DOI: 10.1080/1364436032000146502

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 International Journal of Children's Spirituality • Carfax Publishing
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Vol. 8, No. 3, December 2003

Spiritual Development and Education: a

contemplative view
LOIS DUFF
Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences, University of the West of
England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BSJ6 JQY. E-mail: Lois.Duff@uwe.ac.uk
Downloaded by [New York University] at 15:00 10 May 2015

ABSTRACT The 1988 Educational Reform Act requires the curriculum to make a
contribution to the spiritual development of school children. This article explores three
aspects of spirituality, awareness, self-knowledge and transcendence. Explications draw on
the teachings of selected spin'tual teachers from the contemplative tradition. Their under-
standing of these aspects offers valuable insights into the meaning and form of spiritual
development in education. A central theme is that spiritual development starts with work on
the self, it involves an inner search, which begins with thought control, requires mental
silence and results in a freedom from desires and egoist motives. Emphasis is placed on the
process of understanding ourselves and with this a clear distinction is made between
mechanical and self-knowledge, a distinction that ultimately changes the meaning of
intelligence. Education has a role to play in encouraging the right balance between these
distinctions. A central theme is that the function of education is to cultivate an intelligence
born of an atmosphere that allows children the freedom to face the world, understand it and
not just cmifornz 10 it. Recem research is beginning to describe aspects of spin'tuality and
education that have much in common with the material presented in this paper. A number
of techniques and exercises are described and their applicability for schools considered.

Introduction
The statutory requirement to promote spiritual development in schools has gener-
ated a diverse body of literature on definitions of spirituality, on who or what can
provide a framework, and appropriate structures to employ in education. Great
uncertainties prevail as defining spiritual development in a secular and pluralistic
society is proving to be a difficult challenge. The inevitable question has been raised
of what is the primary task of education? This has led some to conclude that we need
a better balance between meeting the legitimate requirements of an educational
system and paying attention to nurturing spiritual growth in children.
The paper sets itself the ambitious task of examining selected aspects of spiritual-
ity and exploring how they might inform the debate on spiritual development in
education. Awareness, self-knowledge and transcendence are described using ma-
terial from the contemplative or meditative traditions. While writers on spirituality

ISSN 1364-436X print!ISSN 1469-84'55 online/03/030227-11 CO 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOl: 10. I 080/ I 3644 36032000146502
 228 L. Duff

have drawn on a wide range of literary material, there appears to be a dearth of

papers that singularly draw on these sources for the purposes of examining spiritual-
ity in education. The attempt made here is not a comprehensive round up of these
traditions but more to give an indication or flavour of what is contained in these
sources. Secondly, the material comes from a special group of individuals, recog-
nised as sages and even spiritually enlightened human beings, G. I. Gurdjieff, Jiddu
Krishnamurti, Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Swami Vivekananda. They communicated
their wisdom to the world with the aim of providing insights into locating the origins
of, and solutions to, the ordinary problems of living. Their language and expression
tended to have what I would describe as a type of 'neutrality'. They avoided
advocating one form of religious tradition over another, and spoke of universal
truths common to all religions. The quotations are in no sense offered as authority
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for what they say. The aim of this paper is to try to examine and interpret what has
been said about spirituality and how this may or may not fit into the debate on
spiritual development in education.

Aspects of Spirituality
It is useful to consider how awareness, self-knowledge and transcendence have been
understood in current writings. These concepts can be found in many works on
spirituality in education, either expressed as a set of aspirations or forming part of
a wider list of spiritual aspects, but descriptions of how to explore these dimensions
are much harder to find. This undoubtedly reflects the difficulty of achieving such
states of being, which by necessity go beyond words, and therefore border the
category of 'the inexpressible'. A related difficulty is expressing a state of being,
many of us, myself included, may not have necessarily experienced.
The ideas self-knowledge and transcendence are part of a list of spiritual aspects
in the discussion paper Spin"tual and Moral Development, issued by the National
Curriculum Council (NCC) in 1993 (reissued as SCAA, 1995). In this document
reference is made to beliefs, a sense of awe and wonderment and to experiencing
feelings of transcendence, defined below.
Feelings which may give rise to belief in the existence of a divine being, or
the belief that one's inner resources provide the ability to rise above
everyday experiences. (NCC, 1993, p. 2)
This definition, as we shall see, identifies closely with those given later in this paper,
as does the definition of self-knowledge, given in the first line of this phrase.
An awareness of oneself in terms of thoughts, feelings, emotions, responsi-
bilities and experiences; a growing understanding and acceptance of indi-
vidual identity; the development of self-respect. (NCC, 1993, p. 3)
A difference in understanding might be said to exist with the terms individual
identity and self-respect; they are not specific aspects immediately associated with
the contemplative tradition. Identity would not typically be identified with con-
sciousness and self-respect has overtones of personality rather than spirituality.
 Spiritual Development & Educatiorz 229

Spiritual awareness and self-knowledge are the terms used in the OFSTED Hand-
book (1995) for guidance in inspection, but like the NCC, they are not explored in
any great depth.
Beck ( 1991) lists thirteen characteristics of a spiritual person including awareness,
which he defines as awake and enlightened. He also refers to having a sense of the
transcendent in life. Evans ( 1979, 1993) describes a set of aspects relating to a
spiritual individual and mention is made of the idea of contemplation. This is
described as being in a state where one disciplines the attention so that gradually one
moves away from being pre-occupied with the self, an idea reflected in this paper,
as are some of the ideas in the work of Newby (1996). Here he describes spirituality
more as an outcomes-based approach, i.e. what a spiritually mature individual
would look like. He also usefully describes prerequisites for spiritual maturity.
Newby states that when one has spiritual maturity, one is self-critical and has a
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desire for self-understanding and knowledge. Wright (2000) describes self-aware-

ness as the exploration of our inner space (p. 9). The work of Hay (1998) offers
material that perhaps bears the closest resemblance to some of the ideas presented
in this paper. Some general aspects are discussed here and developed later in the
paper. He posits the concept of awareness sensing or 'being aware of one's aware-
ness' (1998, p. 60). Examples of this experience are broken down into attending to
the 'here-and-now', tuning or feeling at 'one with nature', having a feeling of flow
or something which transcends the self; and focusing on the 'felt-self-being aware
of our bodies as sources of spiritual knowledge. Hay emphasises the hidden-ness of
our other nature and on the need to create conditions to no longer 'ignore the
obvious'. Exercises devised to bring out and release children's spirituality are
suggested in the work and this is a similar approach to the one offered in this paper.
A thorough introduction to the contemplative philosophies would provide a useful
basis upon which to understand the material presented here, but space prevents this
from happening. This means, among other things, that the material requires care in
interpretation as the quotations are taken out of context and they represent only a
part of a wider body of literature. For the purposes of our debate, it is useful to
highlight some relevant central themes. The first of these is the importance given to
action relating to thought control. This idea is developed from the argument that
some of the problems of living stem from the way our mind operates. The idea is
that the thought patterns of the brain with their conditionings of tradition, education
and culture, need to be controlled if we are to develop our spirituality or conscious-
ness. The second theme is that spirituality begins with work on the self and this
begins with the action of establishing mental silence. Vivekananda makes the
following statement.

The mind must be made to quiet down. It is rushing about .... Why should
the mind think thoughts I do not want it to think? I am, as it were, a slave
to the mind. No spiritual knowledge is possible so long as the mind is
restless and out of control. (Myren & Madison, 1993, p. 135)

Distinguishing between different types of knowledge is an important theme. Without

 230 L. Duff

control the mind becomes burdened with information, and acts as a hindrance to
discovering the truth-knowledge that comes from within. What is suggested below
is the need for balance between two types of knowledge.
The function of education is to give the student abundant knowledge in the
various fields of human endeavour and at the same time to free his mind
from all tradition so that he is able to investigate, to find out, to discover.
(Krishnamurti, 1970, p. 147)
Gurdjieff expresses the same idea.
All great schools, all great systems of thought, all great religions have
always striven to give man two freedoms: inside freedom (from vanity,
self-love, etc), and outside freedom (from 'education', etc). (Anderson,
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1962, p. 55)
Vivekananda suggested that a perfect state had come when individuals have their
own religion, not bound by sect or traditional form and where they are allowed the
free self-adaptation of his/her nature. In other words when individuals are able to
follow their own path and pursue the development of their own nature, then we have
the beginnings of spiritual development.

General Principles of Spirituality

The aspects of spirituality selected for further examination, awareness, self-knowing
and transcendence, could be thought of as three stages of development. Although
they are not sharply distinguished or separate, they are to an extent successive. They
may be viewed in a number of ways. They are general statements of principle, they
represent broad directions of effort or they can be seen as movements of the mind.
They do not represent fixed systems that have to be followed as a routine. As stated
before, the focus is on thought control. Three movements are identified: to observe
one's thoughts, to controls one's thoughts and to master one's thoughts.
Exercises are described for each aspect. It is important to point out that these are
only suggestions in how to begin 'work on the self. Aurobindo makes this very clear.
You must realise a sort of method, which will be personal to you-it is
useless to convince others to adopt the same method as yours, for that
won't succeed. Everyone must find his own method. (Dalal, 1992, p. 82)

Awareness
This is a word frequently used by writers on spirituality and it has many meanings.
We understand it as something we are awake to, even, are conscious of, beyond the
everyday existence. It could be described as knowing our relationship with the
world, ideas and people. It is different to transcendence as it is more concerned with
relationship. Krishnamurti suggests that awareness does not mean specialisation of
that relationship.
 Spiritual Development & Educatio11 231

On the contrary, it demands a full recognition or awareness of the total

process of relationship. (Krishnamurti, 1970, p. 67)
We could interpret this as becoming aware of two types of responses, the superficial
ones of the mind and the inner responses. He argues that the problem for humans
is that we develop what he calls 'capacity'. So, for example, we see something
beautiful, identify with it and we develop a capacity. Awareness is not based on
creating this 'capacity'. Krishnamurti (1970) refers to the awareness of oneself being
tested in the action of relationship-the way we talk and the way we behave. To be
aware is to watch your self without identification, without any comparison and
without any condemnation (p. 68). Being aware has the quality of passiveness. Being
passively aware is about letting the experience tell the story without interpretation.
Being aware is doing so without choice, once choice comes in conflict arises. Put
another way, being aware of the motives of that action. He emphasises that to be
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aware that we are 110t passive is a good starting point. Aurobindo also defines this
aspect of spirituality.
To observe the thought, the first movement then is to step back and look
at it, to separate yourself from your thoughts so that the movement of the
consciousness and that of thought may not be confused. (Dalal, 1992,
p. 41)
Awareness here refers to revealing the process of our own thinking and of our own
inner nature. How can this be achieved? Throughout these teachings there is a
strong emphasis on the role of experimentation (rather than discipline) and that
certain practical exercises can assist. Self-observation is one such exercise. Au-
robindo makes a distinction here. We should not go over in our minds the various
movements and reactions of the day as this will not lead to progress. What one needs
to do is to find something within oneself in whose light you can be your own judge.
Establish an ideal, and then ask yourself was your day's behaviour, thoughts and
impulses in keeping with this ideal. The exercise he suggested for improving
awareness was that which consists of standing back from one's thoughts and looking
at them. Gurdjieff suggests that the aim is about separation of the thoughts creating
a new centre within ourselves.
The exercise of self-observation produces a deposit in higher centres-
higher mental, higher emotional, higher physical. It helps you to accumu-
late a force. (Anderson, 1962, p. 61)
Although it sounds obscure in these terms it is possible that some of us do this in
the normal course of our lives. How many times do we hear ourselves 'saying', 'I
could see myself thinking about that ... '? Or, I am thinking, therefore 'myself is
different from my thoughts. Or asking the question, is that thought truly me?
Another exercise is visualisation-a technique that allows us to create pictures or
ideas without words. Think of your mind as a house, a kind of objective image of
your inner being. Each room represent a ditTcrent aspect of you. Imagine visiting
each room and exploring those aspects of yourself that you find there. Some of these
aspects will be chaos and some will be in order. What are we trying to achieve here?
 232 L. Duff

The aim is to discover the motivating force behind all our thoughts and actions. The
idea is not to get rid of the motivating force when we find it, but to use it to study
ourselves.

Self-Knowledge
Knowledge that leads to self-understanding is clearly important. Self-knowledge or
'one's own going into' is a way of inspecting our values and attitudes. This is not
about developing blind faith, for that alone will not take us beyond ourselves.
Self-knowledge is different from mechanical knowledge-that which enables us to
do things-self-knowing is not about judgement. Krishnamurti held strong opinions
on the meaning of intelligence. Urging us to rethink our understanding of the word.
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Intelligence is not mere capacity of design, remembrance and communi-

cation; it is more than that. One can be very informed and clever at one
level of existence and quite dull at other levels. There knowledge, however
deep and wide, does not necessarily indicate intelligence. Capacity is not
intelligence. Intelligence is sensitive awareness of the totality of life; life
with its problems, contradictions, miseries, joys. (Krishnamurti, 1977,
pp. 96-97)
Krishnamurti made the strong assertion that we need to change our views on the
meaning of knowledge.
Ignorance is not the lack of knowledge but of self-knowing; without self
-knowing there is no intelligence. Self-knowing is not accumulative as
knowledge; learning is from moment to moment. It is not an additive
process; in the process of gathering, adding, a centre is formed, a centre of
knowledge, of experience. In this process, positive or negative, there is no
understanding, for as long as there is an intention of gathering or resisting,
the movement of thought and feeling are not understood, there is no
self-knowing. (Krishnamurti, 1977, p. 97)
Self-knowing begins with an idea that we need to have a process of understanding
ourselves. This is not an isolated process; it involves looking more closely at
relationship. He stresses that there must be the intention to understand. We must
discover for ourselves as no one can give us self-knowing, nor can be attained
through a book. So long as there is an intention to discover, then this is enough.
Self-knowing relates to knowing yourself as you are, not as you would like to be.
This requires an alertness of mind, honesty and virtue. The fundamental under-
standing of oneself does not come through knowledge or through the accumulation
of experiences, which Krishnamurti claims is merely the cultivation of memory. The
understanding of oneself is from moment to moment.
Is there a method or a system for self-knowing? The problem is that the following
of a system will merely produce an outcome created by that system. This, Krishna-
murti explains, is not the same as the understanding of myself. He goes on to state
that there is no single method for gaining self-knowledge. This is because we all
 Spiritual Developmem & Education 233

want an assured result so we follow an authority, a system a teacher, this gives us a

feeling of security. This feeling is wrong as it is based on desire and this is not the
same as self-knowledge. Being creative is not based on authority, it is a state where
the individual is not thinking about themselves.
Learning about yourself is never the same as accumulating knowledge
about yourself. Learning is active present and knowledge is the past.
(Krishnamurti, 1977, p. 11 7)
It appears that self-knowledge is a core foundation upon which to begin the process
of spiritual development. How is to be achieved? My understanding is that we must
begin to know the patterns of our own thoughts. Exercises that encourage the
process of self-knowing are aimed at not just becoming aware of our motives behind
our thoughts, but actually trying to control our thoughts. For example, asking the
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question, why did I think that? What made me respond like that? Where did such
a thought come from? Another exercise Aurobindo suggests is 'stepping back'.
You must always step back into yourself-learn to go deep within-step
back and you will be safe. (Dalal, 1992, p. 123)
A related exercise is about watching over our thoughts. Make distinctions between
thoughts that are useful and those that are harmful. This is about developing
discernment and judgement and learning how bad thoughts arise. A related exercise
involves making a list of all the facts we know about ourselves. This is a starting
point because from there, we can then begin on our unknowables. In other words,
observing the type of thoughts that arise and using them as an indication of the
general tendencies of our character. It can be thought of as like a filtering process.

Transcendence
Transcendence is perhaps the most essential quality of the spiritual. Religious people
usually mean something that is beyond the physical world. Transcendence is a state
that goes beyond the normal feeling of living. It could be described as being in a
state where we are free from attachments to the physical world.
If is at all possible or appropriate to explain how transcendence is different from
awareness and self-knowing, one could describe the process like this. Firstly to
observe one's thoughts (awareness), then to watch over and control one's thoughts
by examining hidden motives (self-knowing) and from there as self-knowledge
grows, to master one's thoughts or to be detached from those thoughts so much so
that we are beyond them (transcendence). Aurobindo makes it very clear that all
these states are within us.
The spiritual process ... is a self-creation ... not a making of what never
was, but a bringing out of what was implicit in the Being. (McDermott,
1987, p. 75)
The following are a set of ideas and phrases which try to capture this most
indt·finable of concepts. Firstly, it is where the mind has become inactive or without
 234 L. Duff

Table 1. Exercises for growth

Spiritual aspect Aim Exercise

Awareness Becoming aware of the Self-observation, visualisation of

spiritual part of immediate thought, becoming
being human aware of oneself in relationship
(thought observation)
Self-knowledge Isolating the spiritual Self-observation, stepping back
part of being human distinguishing between two types
(thought control) of knowledge, thought filtering
Transcendence Freeing oneself from Exercises in peace, calm and
egoic motives tranquillity, widening the
(mastery of thought) consciousness, meditation
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response to external stimuli, but it is not mere mental inactivity but more a feeling
that the mind has surrendered. Vivekananda's words help here.

Hold to the idea, 'I am not the mind, I see that I am thinking, I am
watching my mind act,' and each day the identification of yourself with
thought and feeling will grow less, until at last you can entirely separate
yourself from the mind and actually know it to be apart from yourself.
When this done, the mind is your servant to control as you will. (Myren &
Madison, 1993, pp. 59-60)

It is when we have this detachment and cease to exert our will over our thoughts; we
can say there may be the beginning of transcendence.
There are a number of exercises that can be done to encourage self-transcending
action. Trying to break the habit of seeing ourselves as owners of objects, ideas and
experiences, which are separate from others, but rather to develop a 'vision of
sameness'. Exercises involving concentration are invaluable. These could take a
number of forms-focussing on one object without following an idea or an attach-
ment to it. This is like concentrating on 'nothingness' and is recognised to be a very
difficult task. Another practice is widening the consciousness. This is like trying to
identify oneself with all things on the earth. The easiest way is to identify with
something vast for example the oceans, the stars and the sky. What is being achieved
is a feeling of no limits, of mental stretch and of widening oneself.
Meditation is often an important aspect of the contemplative traditions. There are
many kinds of meditations and in some philosophies meditation is an integral
technique in the process of spiritual development. The central idea is not to follow
through an idea, but to try to control the 'chattering brain'. Recent attempts have
been made to study the relationship between meditation and learning. McLean
(2001) concludes that meditation can be appropriately incorporated in schools as
part of the provision for spiritual development, and/or as a process-based practice for
enhancing effective learning. It is recognised here that despite its benefits, it is not
possible for everyone to meditate profoundly and regularly at school.
 Spiritual Deve/opmem & Education 235

The exercises in Table 1 are only suggestions. Space prevents the development of
these exercises into material appropriate for the classroom.

Spiritual Development in Education

There are a number of problems associated with trying to explain what transcen-
dence, self-knowledge and awareness mean through the use of the written word.
Meanings become distorted and individual experiences are known to be unique. The
quotations used are open to interpretation and the exercises are only suggested
starting points. The important question as far as the debate on spiritual development
in schools is concerned is, can these general principles be of any value? Can we really
see the average restless eleven-year old developing self-knowledge through mental
silence and eradicating all desires? The answer is no, not under the present
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educational structures, but this is not to say that the principles are impossible to
integrate into education. In olden times in India children were educated by their
gurus or spiritual teachers who instructed them equally in the physical, intellectual
and spiritual domains. It is possible that such structures could become part of our
schools in a couple of decades.
The general principles in this paper have a contribution to make in the debate
about spirituality in education. They provide a benchmark. They are a starting point
from which to gain insights into the self. We learn the virtues of mental silence and
how to transform ourselves from the inside. These principles tell us what spiritual
development is not. It is not really about development of the personality, personal
identity, self-respect, morals, religion, beliefs and values. These aspects may be
associated with spirituality, but they are not the central focus. The principles stress
the importance of the need to control external stimuli and to develop the inner life.
If this is practised the implication is that children will have the space to think for
themselves without the burden of mental conditioning.
A central idea implied from this, is that spirituality cannot be taught. Gurdjieff
once said that one cannot be taught spiritual development; one can only create the
conditions wherein development can take place. At the school level this implies
some sort of facilitator, capable of devising practical methods to make children
aware or to create the conditions for the development of awareness. School children
would then be encouraged to find their own path of discovery. At present there are
no structures that allow this type of education.
A number of common themes are beginning to emerge between the work of Hay
and the principles and exercises described here. The first is the acknowledgement of
the difficulty in trying to apply these ideas.
The notion of transcendence is closely associated with ideas of spirituality,
but it is not always easy to see how to talk in a practical way about this with
children. (Hay, 1998, p. 66)
Hay's research allows him to generate a multiple-point plan in terms of teacher's
responsibilities. The first point refers to helping children keep an open mind
(p. 163). This is about becoming aware of the extent to which rules and external
 236 L. Duff

influences make children conform. This is not unlike the principles expressed in the
sections on awareness and self-knowledge. There is a strong feeling from both
sources that education should help children to become as aware of the inner
responses as they are of external stimuli. The second point refers to helping children
explore ways of seeing (pp. 165-168) allowing them the freedom to experience
things without social and mental conditioning. This is not out of line with the ideas
of self-knowing expressed here in that distinction is made between the burdensome
mechanical knowledge and seeing the world through knowledge of the self. The
third point emphasises encouraging personal awareness and getting teachers to help
children become 'aware of their awareness' and to reflect on this experience
(p. 155). There is a strong feeling from both sources of the importance of a learning
process based in the moment and not just a learning process based on past
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experiences or future ideas.

Conclusion
The philosophical ideas expressed in this paper are drawn from the published works
of individuals from the contemplative or meditative tradition. Spiritual development
is defined under three general principles, awareness, self-knowing and transcen-
dence. An explication at what these concepts mean and practical guidance on how
to achieve them has been attempted. This understanding of spirituality appears to be
a far cry from where we are at present. However on closer inspection similar ideas
are already being expressed in recent research. If it is accepted that these ideas have
a contribution to make, a strong message emerges. Spirituality begins when we work
on ourselves, develop a 'vision of sameness', observe our thoughts and discover the
other part of our being.
It is important to value two sources of knowledge. One is intellectual (or mechan-
ical) knowledge and the other is self-knowledge. Self-knowledge seems to be as
important if not more important than the former. An educational system that allows
both types of knowledge to develop in at least equal share of the school timetable
would seem to equate to the view expressed here of spirituality in education. If these
ideas were accepted, this would mean a change in current thinking on the primary
aim of education. Without this change, it is unclear how these aspects and exercises
could be developed into our present structures, or whether schools are the appropri-
ate environment for such development. We do not know enough about the nature
of children's spirituality (and may never know) to say whether these exercises would
be appropriate. Further research examining the extent to which these ideas could be
incorporated into children's school life needs to be undertaken.

Acknowledgements
Kind permission to use quotations was granted from the Krishnamurti Foundation
Trust Ltd, the Krishnamurti Foundation of America and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Trust.
 Spiritual Development & Education 237

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