needs and visualize our goals correctly and also indicate the direction for their fulfilment. It also helps to remove our confusions and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels.
Ø Understanding universal human values to fulfil our aspirations in continuity. Values form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviours and actions. Once we know what is valuable to us, these values becomes the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to understand the universality of various human values, because only then we can have a definite and common program for value education. Then only we can be assured of a happy and harmonious human society.
Ø Complimentarity of values and skills. To fulfil our aspirations both values and skills are necessary. When we identify and set the right goals and produced in right direction. This is known as value domain, the domain of wisdom, and when we learn and practices to actualize this goal to develop the techniques to make this happen in real life, in various dimensions of human endeavor (struggle). This is known as domain of skills.
Ø Hence, there is an essential complementarity between values and skills for the success of any human endeavor. For example, I want to lead a healthy life. Only wishing for good health will not help me keep my body fit and healthy and without having understood the meaning of health, I will not be able to choose things correctly to keep my body fit and healthy.
Ø Evaluation of our beliefs. Each one of us believes in certain things and we base our values on these beliefs, be they false or true which may or may not be true in reality. These believes come to us from what we read, see, hear, what our parents tells us, our friends talk about, what the magazines talk of, what we see from TV etc. Value Education helps us to evaluate our beliefs and assumed values.
Ø Technology and human values. The present education system has become largely skill-based. The prime emphasis is on science and technology. However, science and technology can only help to provide the means to achieve what is considered valuable. It is not within the scope of science and technology to provide the competence of deciding what really is valuable. Value Education is a crucial missing link in the present education system. Because of this deficiency, most of our efforts may prove to be counterproductive and serious crises at the individual, societal and environmental level are manifesting.
rising problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides, stress, insecurity, etc.
Ø At the level of family: breaking of joint families, mistrust, and conflict between older and younger generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, etc.
Ø At the level of society: growing incidence of terrorism and naxalism, rising communalism, spreading casteism, racial and ethnic struggle, wars between nations, etc.
Ø At the level of nature: global warming, water, air, soil, noise etc. pollution, resource depletion of minerals and mineral oils, etc.
All the problems are a direct outcome of an incorrect understanding, our wrong notion about happiness and prosperity and their continuity – this is an issue for serious exploration.
