ES1053

Universal Human values

Anita Joshi
Basic systems of Human society

Shift in education philosophy

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 What is value?
Definitions:
A value is defined as a principle that promotes well-being or
prevents harm. Values are our guidelines for our success--
our paradigm about what is acceptable.
(Paradigm-- a very clear or typical example used as a model
आदश )

Personal values are defined as: “Emotional beliefs in

principles regarded as particularly favorable or important for
the individual.”
Our values associate emotions to our experiences and guide
our choices, decisions and actions.
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 What is value?
“Values are the scales we use to weigh our choices for
our actions, whether to move towards or away from
something.”

Not all values have the same weight or priority. Some

are more important than others and must be satisfied
before others can be addressed.
Dr. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs.
Survival,
security,
social acceptance,
self esteem

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 Types of Values

The five core human values are:

1. Right conduct,
2. Peace,
3. Truth,

4. Love
5. Nonviolence

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 Types of Values: Right conduct
(A) Self help skills:
Care of possessions, (Health, physical
belongings
Diet,
Hygiene,
Modesty,
Posture,
Self reliance

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 Types of Values: Right conduct
(B) Social skills
Good behavior,
Good manners,
Good relationships,
Helpfulness,
No wastage and,
Good environment

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 Types of Values: Right conduct
(C) Ethical skills:

 Code of conduct  Initiative,

Courage Perseverance
 dependability Punctuality
duty Resourcefulness
efficiency Respect for all
ingenuity Responsibility
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 Types of Values: PEACE
Attention, Calmness Patience, Reflection
Concentration, Satisfaction,
Self-acceptance,
Contentment
Self-confidence,
Dignity, Discipline Self-control,
Equality , Equanimity Self-discipline
Faithfulness, Focus Self-esteem
Self-respect
Gratitude, happiness, Sense control
Harmony, humility Tolerance and
Inner silence, optimism, Understanding

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 Types of Values: TRUTH
Values related to TRUTH are:
Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness,
honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and deed),
intuition, justice, optimism, purity, quest for knowledge,
reason, self-analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, synthesis,
trust, truthfulness, and determination

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 Types of Values: LOVE
Values related to LOVE are:
Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration,
dedication, devotion, empathy, forgiveness,
friendship, generosity, gentleness, humanness,
interdependence, kindness, patience, patriotism,
reverence, sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing,
sympathy, thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust

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 Evolution of Human Values
The human values evolve because of the following factors:
1. The impact of norms of the society on the fulfillment of
the individual’s needs or desires.
2. Developed or modified by one’s own awareness, choice,
and judgment in fulfilling the needs.
3. By the teachings and practice of Gurus or Saviors or
religious leaders.
4. Fostered or modified by social leaders, rulers of
kingdom, and by law (government).

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 Means to live peacefully/(happily)
Nurture
1. Order in one’s life (self-regulation, discipline, and duty).
2. Pure thoughts in one’s soul (loving others, blessing
others, friendly, and not criticizing or hurting others by
thought, word or deed).
3. Creativity in one’s head (useful and constructive).
4. Beauty in one’s heart (love, service, happiness, and
peace).

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 Means to live peacefully/(happily)
Get
5. Good health/body (physical strength for service).
Act
6. Help the needy with head, heart, and hands (charity).
Service to the poor is considered holier than the service
to God.
7. Not hurting and torturing others either physically,
verbally, or mentally

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 Objectives of value education
Creating
ethically
grounded
Nurturing leaders
well- Developing
rounded moral
individuals reasoning
Objectives
of Value
Education
Encouraging
civic Building
engagement Character
Promoting
social
cohesion

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Guidelines for Value Education---
Values should be ----

1. Universal
2. Rational
3. Natural and Verifiable
4. All Encompassing all dimensions of human
society and all levels of existence
5. Leading to Harmony

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Guidelines for Value Education--- Values
1. Universal:
It has to be universally applicable to all human beings
for all time and all places.
This implies that values should not change according to
sect, creed, nationality, gender, etc.
2. Rational:
It has to appeal to reasoning; and not be based on blind
beliefs. It has to be open to address the related
questions. It cannot be a set of sermons or do’s and
don’ts.
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Guidelines for Value Education--- Values
3. Natural and Verifiable:
It has to be 'naturally acceptable' to the human
being and there needs to be every provision in
nature for its fulfillment.
It needs to be experientially verifiable, and not
based on dogmas, beliefs or assumptions. It is not
merely an intellectual exercise or information
transfer.

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Guidelines for Value Education--- Values
4. All Encompassing: Content of value education
should be all-encompassing i.e. it needs to cover

All dimensions of All levels of existence-

human being--- • Individual,
• Thought • Family,
• Behavior, • Society and,
• Work and, • Nature/existence of
• Understanding human life.

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Value Education—levels of existence
Individual : My value for myself
Ensuring happiness in self and
health in a body

Family: My value in my family

Feeling of relationship and
prosperity

Society: My value in society

To participate in social
systems for justice, peace
and harmony

Nature: My value in nature/existence ,

Mutual fulfilment 20
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Guidelines for Value Education--- Values
5. Leading to Harmony:
Value/value education ultimately needs to promote
harmony within the individual, among human
beings and with the entire nature.

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 Value of a human being
What is value of a human being? (मु य/ कमत)
Your participation (contribution in a family/society)
What is valuable to a person?
• You feel happy when others respect you
• Others feel happy when you express respect to
them
Living in accordance with human values leads to
mutual happiness i.e. you happiness and happiness of
other human being.---This leads to understanding a
concept of harmony
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 Happiness and prosperity*
In case of human-human interaction and in case of
human-surrounding interaction living in accordance
to human values leads to mutual prosperity.
Happiness:
• To be in a state of liking is happiness
• To be in a state of harmony is happiness
Prosperity: Feeling of having more than required
physical facility. To live with continuous happiness
and prosperity, the program is 'to understand & to
live in harmony at all levels of our living / existence’
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 Value Education--- A journey

Co- Existence of Self and Body

Human
i.e. Consciousness and Material(Physical
Being body)

Purpose Continuous happiness and Prosperity

(Happiness is to be in a state of harmony)
of our
being
Program To understand and to live in harmony
(at all levels of being – human being, family,
(Plan) society, nature/existence)

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 What do we want in reality?

Do we really need
the physical
facilities?

We need to
explore.

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Value Education—self exploration

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 Moving towards Value Education
Decide our values
• Do you want to decide your values of your own
rights? Or Do you want somebody to decide for
you?
• If I lack understanding then I may accept what
others say –Parents, Teachers, Doctors, Lawyers
Whether to accept as it is or with knowledge is a choice.
So Right understanding is the most important value.

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 Moving towards Value Education
If you are not able to decide for yourself then
1. somebody else will decide for you what is
valuable for you and what is not.
2. Unconsciously you keep accepting these
things as values
3. You get busy with how to implement them,
how to realize them, materialize them

Like– deciding what to wear, what to eat, what to study and

much more….
Commercials do have a lot of impact on us..
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 Basic Human Aspirations
Whatever we think, whatever we do is with some end
state in mind. That end state is our basic aspiration.
Having physical facility
Being Happy
Being Prosperous
Through right feeling in relationship, based on right
understanding, we can ensure mutual happiness.
Happiness for ourselves as well as happiness
for others.

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 Basic Human Aspirations

Ask yourself:
• Do I want to be happy?
• Do I want to be prosperous?
• Do I want the continuity of happiness and
prosperity?
We have a natural acceptance for continuity of
happiness and prosperity.

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 Basic Human Aspirations
We have a natural acceptance for continuity of
happiness and prosperity.
Natural acceptance—
• Natural acceptance is process to understand
ourselves first. Natural acceptance implies
unconditional and total acceptance of the self,
people and environment. It also refers to the
absence of any exception from others.
• Natural acceptance is way to accept the good
things naturally.
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 Basic Human Aspirations
Natural acceptance—
• Naturally acceptable human values
include respect, honesty, fairness,
responsibility, compassion, and equality.
• One of the most significant factors that
contributes/influences to the natural
acceptance of human values is culture.

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 Basic Human Aspirations
There is always a gap between our basic aspiration
and our state of being.
Are we happy?
Where are we putting all our efforts?
• To accumulate wealth, physical facilities..
Is the unhappiness in my family
▪ More due to lack of physical facility or
▪ More due to lack of fulfilment in relationship?
For human being physical facility is necessary, but relationship is also
necessary.
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 Basic Human Aspirations
While physical facility alone may suffice for animals,
it is not adequate for human being to be fulfilled.
Under this condition, one is living with ‘animal
consciousness’.
There are generally two kinds of people today:
1. Those lacking physical facility, unhappy and
deprived
2. Those having physical facility, and yet unhappy
and deprived
Try to find out where you are – at 1 or at 2?
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 Basic Human Aspirations
In relationship, what is generally happening today is
something like this:
Every time when there is fight, we want to resolve it.
But a fight takes place again.. Why?

We can conclude that for fulfilment of human being–

Physical facility, Relationship and Right-understanding
– all three are necessary.
What are the skills required to fulfil the aspirations?----
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 Relationships
• Great relationships are not great because they
have no problems.
• They are great because people care enough
about the others to make relationship work.
• Every individual needs to be mature enough to
nurture the healthy relationship

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 Maturity--- need of healthy relationship
What is Maturity? (Rumi –a 13th century philosopher)
1. It's when we stop trying to change others and
focus on changing ourselves.
2. It is when we accept people as they are.
3. It is when we understand that everyone is
correct according to their own perspective.
4. It is when we learn to “let go”.

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 Maturity--- need of healthy relationship

5. It is when we are able to not have

"expectations" in a relationship, and we give of
ourselves for the pleasure of giving.
6. It is when we understand that what we do, we
do for our own peace
7. It's when we stop showing the world how smart
we are.
8. It's when we stop seeking approval from others.

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 Maturity--- need of healthy relationship

9. It's when we stop comparing ourselves to

others.
10.It is when we are at peace with ourselves.
11.It is when we are able to distinguish between
"needs" and "wants" and we are able to let go
of that want.
12.Spiritual maturity is gained when we stop
attaching "happiness" to material things!

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Objective of value
education is this
transformation

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 Thank you

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