Integrated education – human values – university as role-model – awareness – spirituality

Abstract: Degrowth societies need indivduals with a profound sense of responsibility, grounded in human values, emphazising the importance of social welfare and being aware of the physical and spiritual interdependence of nature, man and society. Already in the late 1960s an integral educational system has been developed in India by the Indian spiritual teacher and social reformer Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Schools and colleges charge no tuition or entry fees for any of the courses offered; the university offers medical treatment to all staff and students. Spread all over the world, Sathya Sai schools and colleges teach not only secular academic kowledge but also character development, human values, awareness, spiritual self-knowledge and responsibility for health, environment and society. The educational philosophy of Sathya Sai schools and university campuses may serve as role-models for a new kind of integrated education improving social welfare in the national economies of western Europe.