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Integral Education (IE) is a universal paradigm for growth and development pioneered by the poet, yogi, and seer Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, the Mother. It is a "complete education" (Purna Shiksha) that views the child not as an object to be molded, but as a soul with its own unique nature and capacities.

We have travelled to another conception of the child as a soul with a being, a nature and capacities of his own who must be helped to find them, to find himself, to grow into their maturity, into a fullness of physical and vital energy and the utmost breadth, depth, and height of his emotional, his intellectual and his spiritual being.


- Sri Aurobindo

What is Integral Education?

Integral Education is a unique approach where children embark on a journey of self-discovery and self-development to achieve their full potential in an atmosphere of love and harmony, without competing against others.

Mother with children

Knowing Integral Education 

The Five Principal Aspects of Education

To be truly complete, education must address the five principal activities of the human being. These phases usually succeed each other chronologically but continue to complete one another throughout life.

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  • Physical – A healthy, strong body that expresses beauty and harmony.

  • Vital – Refined senses, emotional intelligence, and a strong, disciplined character.

  • Mental – A keen, quiet mind capable of concentration, organization, and creative imagination.

  • Psychic – The psychological centre of our being, the seat within us of the highest truth of our existence. It is the "pivot" of education; discovering this inner guide and through it, the deeper aim of one’s life.

  • Spiritual – The culmination of the process; achieving spiritual perfection and spreading it to the collective.

Why is Integral Education Needed?

The current educational system often focuses only on a small part of the mind, emphasizing rote learning and memory. In such systems, the child is often treated like a "robot" stuffed with information without regard for their inherent nature.

Integral Education offers a different paradigm:

  • It accepts the learner as a unique, complex, and evolving person.

  • It values the inner, subtle aspects of growth, not just quantifiable data.

  • It replaces "hammering" a child into a prearranged form with a process of free and natural growth, aided by the Psychic.

The Three Principles of Integral Education

These fundamental principles serve as the foundation for the Integral Education classroom environment, and gives the approach to be adopted by the facilitator:

1.

“Nothing can be taught”: The teacher does not impart knowledge but shows the student how to acquire it for themselves.

2.

“The mind* must be consulted in its own growth” [mind* here indicates the inner nature]: Education must be induced to expand according to the child’s own nature, not a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum.

3.

“Work from the near to the far, from that which is to that which shall be”: Learning must begin from the child's present context—their surroundings, heredity, and habits—to ensure genuine development.

The Role of the Facilitator

In an Integral Education setting, the teacher is not an instructor or taskmaster, but a helper and guide. Their role is to:

  • Suggest, not impose, and encourage the pupil in the process of perfecting their own instruments of knowledge.

  • Educate themselves first, becoming conscious and masters of themselves to provide an effective example.

  • Create a psychological environment that is loving, beautiful, and harmonious to support the blossoming of the psychic being.

"The first thing to do, in order to be able to educate the child, is to educate oneself, to become conscious and master of oneself so that one does not set a bad example to one’s child."


- The Mother

Video Introduction to Integral Education

  • Role of Education in Human Unity | Invocation, Auroville, August 2023

    Here is an insightful introduction to Integral Education by Shivakumar & Priti of SAFIER, Sri Aurobindo Society, during the programme Invocation held in Unity Pavilion of Auroville on 21 August 2023. They shared their views on how education can contribute to achieving Human Unity.

  • Practicing Integral Education | At Auroville, November 2023

    Plenary Talk with Q & A on Practicing Integral Education by Shivakumar, SAFIER, Sri Aurobindo Society, to a group of Teachers from Schools in Auroville.

  • Science of Living — An Introduction by Shivakumar | Sri Aurobindo Society, April 2019

    Interaction on the “Science of Living” by the Mother, as an introduction to Integral Education, by Shivakumar, SAFIER, Sri Aurobindo Society, to a group of Teachers from Seth M R Jaipuria School, Lucknow.

  • Integral Education for College Students by Shivakumar | Pondicherry University, March 2023

    Talk by Shivakumar of SAFIER, Sri Aurobindo Society, on the occasion of the Sri Aurobindo Chair Inaugural Seminar on Celebrating Life & Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, held at the Pondicherry University. 

  • Developing a Curriculum, based on Integral Education Approach | Shivakumar, SAFIER

    Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER) – the Integral Education wing of Sri Aurobindo Society – interacted with the teachers of Adyar Theosophical Academy (ATA) School in Chennai, in June 2023, on the approach to curriculum development based on the Integral Education as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

  • Antaram 2018: Shiva Kumar on "Understanding Education"

    Shivakumar from Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, delivered a keynote inaugural talk on the topic ‘Understanding Education’ at the education conference ‘Antaram – A Meaningful Pause for Solutions in Education’ held at the IIT-Delhi on June 9 and 10, 2018. About 250+ young change-makers, committed to nation-building, participated.

Here's a link to the full Youtube playlist: Integral Education (SAFIER)

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