On 5th June 2025, twelve faculty members from Auro University, Surat, participated in an immersive one-day workshop on Integral Living — an approach based on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's vision of Integral Yoga. The workshop was facilitated by Shivakumar and Priti of SAFIER, the Integral Education initiative of Sri Aurobindo Society. The sessions included interactive presentations, experiential activities, awareness exercises, and an insightful interaction with Shri Pradeep Narang, Chairman of the Society. It was a transformative day blending learning, reflection, and soul-touching inspiration.
Key Highlights:
- Introduction to Integral Living & Integral Education – The approach, relevance & modern context
- Experiential Activity – Flower meditation & reflections on inner self
- Awareness Games – Focus, awareness, and play-filled introspection
- Closing Reflection – Group sharing & meditation
- Special Interaction – Shri Pradeep Narang, Chairman, Sri Aurobindo Society
Flow of the Program:
Welcome & Context
Shivakumar and Priti set the tone with a warm welcome and an inspiring overview of the Ashram, Auroville, and the context of Integral Education in our life. The teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother came alive through real-world relevance and soulful reflections.
Glimpsing the Soul
A unique activity invited participants to intuitively choose a flower and contemplate on the message it communicated through a value. The Mother’s quotes on flowers deepened the experience, blending the Soul-presence in Nature and the Inner-Soul presence beautifully.
Awareness Through a Game
Post-lunch brought playful yet powerful awareness-building activities — exchanging beanbags and tennis balls in a unique way, beanbags balanced on heads, conscious walking paths, and laughter in between! These activities enabled the participants to heighten their awareness and feel the power of concentration, presence, and inner discipline.
Reflection & Dialogue
At the conclusion, there were many honest sharings, heartfelt realizations, and thoughtful insights. A closing meditation anchored the learnings of the day.
The Takeaway
Shivakumar and Priti across the day helped participants connect with the invisible yet powerful force of the inner Truth, known as ‘the Psychic Being’ in Integral Education. From an immersive flower meditation to help connect to one’s Inner being, to a heightened awareness with the beanbag and tennis ball, the day was a journey inward. The participants left with a renewed sense of awareness, clarity of purpose, a deep curiosity and some insights to weave an Integral, more Conscious and Soul-based Living into their personal and professional lives. They also realized that as educators, embracing Integral living in their own lives would eventually reflect positively in the education of their students at the university.
