Debbie Robins

Executive Coach, Author, Advice Columnist

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When there is no tradition or culture of reflection in society, people act blindly and follow leaders who are also blind. Such an aimless, misdirected society of the ‘blind leading the blind’ endanger themselves and the world by acting disharmoniously with the natural order that sustains all life.^[1]

The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained of the culture of ignorance.^[2]

On Society

These five thousand year old verses warn that a society lacking a culture of reflection is a danger to itself and the world. The texts make a causal link between a society in crisis and the absence of reflective thought. In this sense they are remarkable for their prescience of the current state of affairs.

Elsewhere in the Vedas its authors distinguish between a ‘culture of knowledge’ and a ‘culture of ignorance’. It seems that both ignorance and knowledge are central concepts in Vedic culture that deserve equal consideration. Vedic culture states its aim as the acquisition of knowledge that leads to wisdom or ‘realised knowledge’ through reflection. The question is whether modern society’s accumulation of knowledge has resulted in a culture of wisdom?

When Vedic authors see that the absence of reflection results in disharmonious action they give prominence to thinking over action. It is the quality of thinking and reflection that determines the quality of our actions. At first glance that may seem obvious, but in practice it isn’t the reality we live. Ours is a culture of action, with little time given to reflection. Of course we set goals, consider criteria, assess results and make adjustments where we must. While this may count in some sense as reflection, it often results in unexpected consequences, however knowledgeable or factual our choices.

Why then are we not more reflective? Even if we choose to reflect, do we have the ability or know-how for deep reflection? We wonder what role education can play in creating and fostering a culture of reflection? And what latent potential could be realised by adding reflection to our accumulated fund of knowledge?

The verse claims that a lack of reflection results in ‘disharmonious action with the natural order that sustains all life’. Vedic wisdom thinks of the natural order as a finely tuned integrative harmony. The implication is that one should consider the quality of one’s thought and actions and how they align to the underlying principles in nature that are conducive to life and collective wellbeing. It also implies consideration of the long-term. Our reading highlighted that the Vedic tradition doesn’t treat the concept of a ‘natural order’ as an abstraction, as we might do in Western thinking. The tradition suggests that linking the power of the mind, of consciousness, in reflection to these underlying principles helps us act in a way that provides a quality life that is sustainable in the long run.

Such a quality of action has considerable importance at a time when companies recognise the need for sustainable business practice and strive for corporate social responsibility. Of course companies are principally concerned with realising their business goals and targets and not with cultivating notions of ‘natural order’. And yet, there is a need to research ‘natural order’ and ‘sustaining all life’ so that they become practical and accessible principles for people, organisations and societies. Practical in a way that they can apply them as best practice in daily life. What kind of education and research would that be and who would do it?

Footnotes:

1. Shrimad-Bhagavatam, 7.5.31.
2. Ishopanishad, 10.

The present curriculum considers things that must be taught, rather than the individuals who are to be educated; Our current way of teaching results in a split between body and mind within the individual that does not allow the development of the whole being.”
—Luce Irigaray – New challenges in education

I need an education that teaches me how to live—not just pass exams.”
—Luke (14 yr old English student)

Introduction

The challenges to education are many. Enabling new generations to respond effectively to global change requires the creation of new approaches to knowledge, learning and teaching. The phenomenal nature of future events demands a new quality of thought capable of creating innovative solutions that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. This paper is an initial attempt to inspire reflection on the type of thinking that can help reframe our approach to learning.

To gain new perspective we considered various wisdom traditions and chose the Vedas of ancient India as a cultural resource that emphasises the importance of reflection as essential to effective action. The Sanskrit word Veda means ‘knowledge’ and has resonance with the contemporary development of our own ‘knowledge-society’. The Sanskrit texts cited in this paper are between two and five thousand years old, yet they speak to modern issues with an unexpected affinity. This intrigued us and made us wonder how we lost touch with such an enduring and relevant wisdom. If this calibre of thinking is readily available on matters of knowledge and education, why then does the Guardian write in August 2009, that “education in the state system in England is a 19th century folly”?^[1]

Texts of wisdom

Wisdom tradition texts are ancestral legacies intended to preserve and nurture new generations. Wisdom texts have a special quality that distinguishes them from normal texts: they refer to universal principles and verifiable concepts; their meaning is of deep character and is often layered; and they may be written in a rich language that we don’t immediately understand. This is why the possible meaning of such texts has to be developed ‘out of the text’.

We did not approach the texts for their historical, philosophical or cultural content. Rather, we were motivated by a concern for current global challenges and wondered whether or not these ancient texts could suggest new directions. We wondered if the principles contained within the deeper meaning of the texts would provide new criteria for developing modern education. Could they help us reinvigorate our knowledge systems, nurture discernment or catalyse critical thinking?

Deep reading

We endeavoured to distil the meaning of these wisdom texts and unlock their inspiration through a process of deep reading. This meant reading the original Sanskrit texts with an open and reflective attitude aimed at cognitive, emotional and spiritual understanding. The process of deep reading has historic use in  various cultural traditions and is practiced by scholars, spiritual aspirants and individuals striving for personal development. In deep reading the texts we were taken by their quality, clarity and nuanced meaning. Our initial conclusion is that the Vedic tradition offers new perspectives on education as well as guidelines on creating new methods and approaches to learning. Furthermore, these texts and others like them from other wisdom traditions offer us a rich resource for further study.

Creating inspiration

Wisdom texts are truly inspiring when we apply them to real problems. Achieving a successful application requires that we first understand a traditional text in its own context. This contextual reflection grants insight to the text’s transcultural (or transpersonal) meaning, which we can then apply to a specific problem. The stated promise of wisdom texts is that they will deliver the desired result, when consciously applied following the underlying principles within the texts. The traditional idea is that the texts embody self-consistent truths that are universal and provable by their use.

Our effort to deep read the texts in this paper is an initial attempt to test the premise of the Vedic wisdom texts, firstly in regards to education and latterly for possible uses in the economy, social welfare and the environment. Our idea is that by developing this method we can facilitate the creation of new ways of thinking beyond the obvious and the normative.

To Be Continued…

Footnotes:

1. Yvonne Roberts, SATS results are more than a ‘blip’, The Guardian, Wednesday August 5, 2009

A trip to the USA would not be complete without a visit to my adopted west coast spiritual home of Ojai. I have many dear friends at Ojai and I look forward to meeting them all. If you are in the Ojai region between October 15th and November 7th and would like to meet for a consultation or a coffee, email Lalita at lucy@cranmorefoundation.org to coordinate a day and time.

In November 2010, Bert Mulder and Michael Geary, founders of the Cranmore Foundation, will speak at the Leaders Causing Leaders conference in Los Angeles. Bert is associate professor of information technology and eSociety at Den Haag University (Netherlands) and is a trustee of Cranmore Foundation. Together we will speak and conduct a workshop on the emergence of wisdom tradition design principles and their potential development for application in business. You are cordially invited to attend and I look forward to seeing you there. www.leaderscausingleaders.com