Ancient Indian thought illuminates that education originally referred to the quest for understanding the Self, one’s being.  The following beautiful verse from the Upanishads illustrates this.

“Yajnavalkya, what light has a man?”
 “He has the Sun as his light.  With the Sun as his light he sits, goes about his work and returns home.”
“When the Sun has set, Yajnavalkya, what light has a man then?”
 “He has the moon as his light”
“When the moon has set, Yajanavalkya, what light has a man?”
 “Fire as his light”
“When the fire has gone out, what light has a man?”
 “Speech is his light.  That is why even when you can not see your own hand you can go towards where you want”
 “When the Sun has set and the moon has set and the fire has gone out, and speech has fallen silent, what light has a man then?”
 And Yajanavalkya said: “His own self is his light with his own self as his light he sits, goes about his work and returns home.”

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.3)

Whatever education is about, it is about human development.  It is not just learning how to read and write.  There is learning: responsibility, how to be emotionally poised to deal with difficult situations, respect for the self with an attitude of trust and confidence, awareness of human equality.  Also learning to share with the community, generously giving back what you have learned.

Upstairs at Ashray

The second floor of the Ashray Social Centre houses a primary school for 80 students up to 5th grade.  At Ashray we pay special attention to the girl child, encouraging participation and continuation until fifth grade.  Upon completion of fifth grade we search for sponsors to ‘adopt’ our children so they can continue their education integrated in other private schools in the neighborhood.  To fulfill the further educational needs of the very poor, a coaching academy was required.  In India the vast majority of education is private.  Our children go to school with those from much wealthier backgrounds. 

Tuition Classes

Investment in education is expensive.  To ensure that the children pass their formal exams we provide a coaching institute.  This program runs in the evenings accepting only very poor children as students.  Coaching fees are usually exorbitant.  Ashray charges a mere 50 Rupees for a month of coaching.  The fees are waived for those who cannot pay.  We work on a pay it forward system. These poor students are asked to tutor their younger peers, which as it turns out, is an enriching experience for both parties.

Creatively Teaching

Ashray’s energies are focused on stimulating the children to enjoy learning in creative ways.  We often have foreign volunteers who come to teach and in doing so enrich the children’s lives through creativity.  We integrate health into education by emphasizing nutrition & hygiene - improving the immune systems and brain function of our children. We provide a nutritious daily meal.  Introducing the plethora of wonderful fruits and vegetables Mother India has to offer.  Monthly our children venture out to our co-operative garden where they enjoy sowing and reaping the fruits of this wonderful earth.

Benares School Fund

The Benares School Fund is one of Ashray’s monthly donors.  This Dutch fund enables underprivileged children in Varanasi, to receive an education. Regular sponsors in The Netherlands pay all of the school expenses of a child: school fees, books, uniforms, school meals, and some essential regular medical treatments such as de-worming and cataract prevention vitamins.

Occasional donations are used by the foundation to support schools in buying school materials and paying teachers salaries. Ashray monitors the pupil’s school results and their well-being. We regularly report to the foundation. At the moment 86 children are going to school thanks to the Benares School Fund.

http://www.benaresschool.nl/

Come Inspire Our Children

We invite volunteers to come and bring their expertise to enlighten our children to the many facets of knowledge about Art, Culture, Dance, Drama, and Music or any other subject.