A group of 10 students and 1 faculty member from Flame University, Pune visited Sri Aurobindo Society in the last week of February for a series of educational events and interactions. This visit was part of their ongoing research project on Integral Education. On behalf of Sri Aurobindo Society, SAFIER (Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research) was the coordinating vertical.

On February 26, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Senior Academic Mentor and Renaissance Editor, conducted a 4-hour session with the students on the theme – Indian Culture and Integral Education. The session included presentations, discussions, stories, short videos, reflective interactions, and some experiential activities.

The following main topics were covered:

• Introduction to Sri Aurobindo as a Professor & educationist
• What is the need for national education in a globalizing world?

• What is the inherent connection between education, cultural identity and nation-building?
• Can we identify the essence of being Indian?
• What are some of the key insights we can gain from the educational heritage of India?
• How should we understand the aims of education as per the Indian vision of what an individual is and the aim of human life?
• How can we understand culture from the perspective of Sri Aurobindo?
• Why merely the inclusion of adding a few things related to Indian culture will not make our education Indian in spirit?
• In what ways can we understand Integral Education as a new form expressing the spirit of ancient educational vision of our rishis?
• What does education have to do with cultivating the powers of the soul? Can we identify four key powers or values which we must cultivate?
• What is Brahmacharya? And how is it connected with the emphasis on physical education in Integral Education?
• Introduction to the Mother as an integral educationist (with some history of Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education)
• Introduction to the book “On Education”
• What are the three Principles of True Teaching according to Sri Aurobindo? How do we understand them in the context of our work as students and teachers?
• How can we apply the concept of Panchabhuta in understanding Education?
• What is the role of vital education in cultivating a finer aesthetic sensibility and cultural appreciation?
• What are some areas of progress I need to work toward?

In addition to a short 10-minute break, students were also provided a 30-minute break with refreshments during the session.