HISTORY

HISTORY

Sathya Sai Education in Human Values has its roots in the teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the revered Spiritual teacher of Prashanti Nilayam, India, and Chancellor of the deemed University which bears his name. An example of the noble ideals he professed, Sathya Sai promoted the five human values of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Nonviolence, as the “very life breaths of mankind”. He said that education should “bring out” these cardinal values, and their many value aspects such as honesty, kindness, respect, solidarity, social justice, etc. “To bring out” means to translate them into action.

Way back in 1963, speaking at the Maharani’s Women’s College in Mysore Sathya Sai exhorted: “Education is not for mere living. It is for life, a more meaningful, and a more worthwhile life. Later, in 1969 an educational programme for children entitled Bal Vikas (literally Blossoming of the Child) was established in India, spreading to other countries from 1970 onwards. In 1981 a Conference for overseas teachers drew up the concept of an “Education in Human Values”, known as SSEHV (Sathya Sai Education in Human Values), later coined by the Founder Himself as “Educaere” during the International Conference “Strenthening Values Education”, Prashanti Nilayam, 2000.

Since 1981 several educational conferences have been held and Institutes of Sathya Sai Education and Sathya Sai Schools have been established in many countries outside of India. Today there is a considerable educational network made of Sathya Sai Institutes, Schools, partnership schools and complementary schools and over 100 SSEHV community programmes are taking place worldwide. These schools and institutions operate within the jurisdiction and educational norms of the country where they are located. Detailed information can be found in the Global Overview of Sri Sathya Sai Education (https://www.sathyasai.org/about-us/education/global-overview) and in the SSEHV Global Compendium 2018 (https://www.sathyasai.org/education/ssehv-compendium).  

“Education in Human Values is not a programme that comes from India and that you take back to your country to graft onto a local tree. You must take back the seed of the programme and plant it into the soil of your country, so that an SSEHV tree may sprout and flourish in full respect of its laws and culture”.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       - Sathya Sai