“Mere acquisition of degrees should not be the objective of students. They should make proper use of the five elements. This is the true value-oriented education the world needs today. Values are for education, education is for life, life is for love, love is for man, man is for spirituality, spirituality is for the world and the world is for peace. So, one should travel from values to peace.” ~ Sathya Sai Baba
About the Education Wing
The Sathya Sai Education program began in India in 1969, with Bal Vikas classes. Bal Vikas means the blossoming of the child, and it was initiated by Sathya Sai Baba as spiritual education for the children of Sai devotees. The program later became known as Sai Spiritual Education (SSE).
SSE classes teach students, from the age of 4 to 18, how to apply Sai Baba’s universal messages in their daily lives. Children are taught about the five human values: love, peace, right action, truth and non-violence. In addition, children come to understand and respect the world’s major religions. SSE classes incorporate a variety of teaching techniques such as: silent sitting, stories, songs, prayers and activities. Currently, SSE is being taught in over 90 countries around the world.
The Sai Spiritual Education Program (SSE) at our centre is held between 9.15 am-11:00 am every Sunday. Parents are required to be present at the Centre while their children attend SSE classes.
Furthermore, an integral part of the program is bhajan satsang, which runs from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm. Children attending SSE are expected to attend bhajans weekly, along with their families. Parents are asked to contact their child’s teacher if they need to miss a class.
Gurus, Parents, and Children
SSE classes are delivered by trained gurus who base their lessons on a syllabus incorporating the core teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. These techniques are there to train the children from an early age to quieten their minds so as to be able to listen to the voice of their conscience. When put into practice the children gain self-confidence, attain excellence and acquire the quality of leadership. Children are provided with opportunities to enact dramas, participate in group devotional singing, practice public-speaking, chant prayers, and take part in service activities, to name but a few. The ultimate goal of the SSE program is to bring out the child’s inherent divinity.
The success of the SSE program depends on a tripartite relationship where parents, children and gurus are all actively involved and working towards the same goal. All three elements are needed for the program to work effectively.
Role of the Parents
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To attend Study Circle at the Centre while their children attend SSE classes.
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To watch their children’s company.
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To be examples for their children by living out Swami’s teachings in the home.
Role of the Children
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To attend weekly classes, and bhajans with a loving attitude.
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To follow Swami’s teachings both inside and outside the Centre.
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To communicate with their parents, gurus and peers.
Role of the Gurus
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Daily preparation as per the Guru’s guidelines.
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To communicate with parents with regards to the children’s progress.
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To prepare classes as per the SSE curriculum.
Importance of SSE
Baba constantly reminds us that it is the children of today who will be the ones to shape tomorrow’s world. If we want our world to be a better, safer and a more ecologically viable place in which to live, then we need to develop in our children a sense of social responsibility and a strong spiritual awareness.
As a means for bringing about this much needed change in outlook, Baba has initiated a system of Values Education which can be taught outside school hours and which thus provides a much-need corrective to the current educational trends. For, as He says, “Present day education develops intellect and skills but does little to develop good qualities”, and asks, “of what avail is all the knowledge in the world if one has not got a good character?”
The Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) model is an inspirational model not an instructive one.
The Aim of Sai Spiritual Education or Bal Vikas is:
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To foster character development and spiritual transformation.
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To inculcate habits of discipline and self-discipline so that students learn to be masters, rather than slaves, of the mind and thus have absolute control over the sense organs.
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To cultivate in children a desire to be of service to all humanity by helping them learn about life and the teachings of Swami.
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To cultivate humility, practice ceiling on desires, and render selfless service.
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To train them to be able to discriminate between right and wrong, between truth and non-truth; that is to always follow the inner promptings of the Divine.
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To help children be fully aware of the Unity underlying all faiths and all mankind.
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To guide all children to have purity and harmony in Thought, Word and Deed.
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To help children realize their conscience and follow that as the path for attaining Divinity.
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To give priority to the development of character, self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
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To foster the understanding and practice of the five inherent human values of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence.
Trained teachers (Gurus) undertake classes using a syllabus that has been developed to incorporate the core teachings of Sathya Sai Baba whilst maintaining the need to reflect the culture of the country it is being implemented in. Children are taught in appropriate groups constituting the Pre-SSE group (4-6), Group 1 (6-9), Group 2 (9-12), Group 3 (12-15) and Group 4 (15-17). In an SSE class, the teacher has to use a judicious combination of the five teaching techniques as prescribed by Sathya Sai Baba to draw out the inherent goodness and divine qualities that are within the child.
They are namely –
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Prayers
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Story Telling
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Group Devotional Singing
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Group Activities
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Silent Sitting
These techniques are there to train the children from an early age to quieten their minds so as to be able to listen to the voice of their conscience. When put into practice the children gain self-confidence, attain excellence and acquire the quality of leadership.
Children are encouraged and provided opportunities such as enacting in dramas, participating in group devotional singing, public-speaking, chanting of prayers, taking part in service activities , to name but a few so as to develop their character, gain self-confidence and attain excellence.
How to get involved
Please feel free contact us for more information if –
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As a parent you are interested in enrolling your child.
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You are interested in becoming a SSE teacher or SSE helper.
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You have computer skills and would like to help out with SSE administrative work.
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You are able to assist in developing teaching aids, lesson plan.