Time: At least two periods or till the teacher is satisfied.
Learning objective: To make the students realise the difference between knowing and believing.
Start the class with mindfulness – ask the students to focus on their breath for 2-3 minutes.
Direction of Discussion (For Teachers)
Often we believe things we have heard and consider the information received from various mediums to be understanding or knowledge. We believe a lot of things to be true without actually knowing them. But we do not trust them completely as they could either be right or wrong.
Once we evaluate and process information we have come to believe and tested it out in our living, that lived experience gives us the confidence to adopt it as a part of our life. When information that is right and complete, it becomes a part of our behaviour and living, then it is called ‘understanding’. Similarly, recognising the facts the way they are on the basis of proof (which comes from lived experience) is called ‘knowing’.
Through this story, the students would be encouraged to not just ‘believe’ things they hear but try to ‘know’ them/understand them through evaluation.
Story
A youth in his quest for knowledge went to stay in an ashram. After 15 days, the youth got bored and felt there was nothing new he could learn there. He felt that the old guru at the ashram repeats the same things every day as a pattern. He got bored listening to them again and again. He decided that the next morning, he would leave the ashram.
That night, he saw a new young monk who’d come to the ashram. After dinner, at a meeting with all the students of the ashram, the new monk spoke about very detailed and subtle elements of knowledge. The young man was impressed by the conversation and thought to himself, “How knowledgeable and informed this person is.” Even the guru was astonished. At that time, the new monk asked the guru, “How did you find my discourse?”
The guru smiled and said, “Beta, I was waiting to listen to you for long but you have not said anything till now.” The new monk got angry and said, “Probably, you cannot hear. I have been speaking constantly for the past two hours.”
The guru said, “The texts within you were speaking, your beliefs were speaking, but you didn’t speak at all. Some words were being repeated within you like an instrument. There was nothing you lived or knew. First, learn to analyse that information and believe yourself, feel and know from your experience. When it will become what you have known, I will say you are speaking.” On listening to this, the young man started thinking to which level are his beliefs known by him? Is he also considering things he has just heard as knowledge?
Day 1
Proposed questions for discussion
1. Has it ever happened that we repeat things we’ve read or heard without understanding them?
2. When in class, do we believe subject knowledge without knowing and testing?
3. What should be done to understand subjects instead of just believing them?
At home – Observe, Enquire, Understand (for students)
Day 2
Start the class with mindfulness – ask the students to focus on their breath for 2-3 minutes.
1. We sometimes see and hear that some people who may not be able to read or write have the capability to discover new things. Do you know such people? Where does this ability come from? Discuss.
2. Trust comes by recognising something and believing it, not without recognising and believing it. How? Share with an example.
3. Share with an example from your life what things you trust and what you believe but do not trust?
Ask the students to sit quietly for 1-2 minutes and reflect on the essence drawn from the day’s discussion.
Learning objective: To make the students realise the difference between knowing and believing.
Start the class with mindfulness – ask the students to focus on their breath for 2-3 minutes.
Direction of Discussion (For Teachers)
Often we believe things we have heard and consider the information received from various mediums to be understanding or knowledge. We believe a lot of things to be true without actually knowing them. But we do not trust them completely as they could either be right or wrong.
Once we evaluate and process information we have come to believe and tested it out in our living, that lived experience gives us the confidence to adopt it as a part of our life. When information that is right and complete, it becomes a part of our behaviour and living, then it is called ‘understanding’. Similarly, recognising the facts the way they are on the basis of proof (which comes from lived experience) is called ‘knowing’.
Through this story, the students would be encouraged to not just ‘believe’ things they hear but try to ‘know’ them/understand them through evaluation.
Story
A youth in his quest for knowledge went to stay in an ashram. After 15 days, the youth got bored and felt there was nothing new he could learn there. He felt that the old guru at the ashram repeats the same things every day as a pattern. He got bored listening to them again and again. He decided that the next morning, he would leave the ashram.
That night, he saw a new young monk who’d come to the ashram. After dinner, at a meeting with all the students of the ashram, the new monk spoke about very detailed and subtle elements of knowledge. The young man was impressed by the conversation and thought to himself, “How knowledgeable and informed this person is.” Even the guru was astonished. At that time, the new monk asked the guru, “How did you find my discourse?”
The guru smiled and said, “Beta, I was waiting to listen to you for long but you have not said anything till now.” The new monk got angry and said, “Probably, you cannot hear. I have been speaking constantly for the past two hours.”
The guru said, “The texts within you were speaking, your beliefs were speaking, but you didn’t speak at all. Some words were being repeated within you like an instrument. There was nothing you lived or knew. First, learn to analyse that information and believe yourself, feel and know from your experience. When it will become what you have known, I will say you are speaking.” On listening to this, the young man started thinking to which level are his beliefs known by him? Is he also considering things he has just heard as knowledge?
Day 1
Proposed questions for discussion
1. Has it ever happened that we repeat things we’ve read or heard without understanding them?
2. When in class, do we believe subject knowledge without knowing and testing?
3. What should be done to understand subjects instead of just believing them?
At home – Observe, Enquire, Understand (for students)
- Students should discuss the story at home and understand the thoughts and views of their family members.
- Students should be asked to be aware of their thoughts and feelings so that their experiences can be shared honestly.
Day 2
Start the class with mindfulness – ask the students to focus on their breath for 2-3 minutes.
- Get some students to repeat the story.
- Some other students can share their storytelling experiences at home in small groups. Some of them can share it with the entire class.
- The first day’s discussion questions can be used again for the remaining students.
1. We sometimes see and hear that some people who may not be able to read or write have the capability to discover new things. Do you know such people? Where does this ability come from? Discuss.
2. Trust comes by recognising something and believing it, not without recognising and believing it. How? Share with an example.
3. Share with an example from your life what things you trust and what you believe but do not trust?
Ask the students to sit quietly for 1-2 minutes and reflect on the essence drawn from the day’s discussion.
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- Alexander and Diogenes
- The Mind Palace
- Rabia’s Needle
- What is real and what is fake?
- How much land?
- Ego’s room
- Turban
- My Identity
- Arunima Sinha
- Socrates’ three questions
- Three labourers, three perspectives
- Serene water
- Who is speaking?
- The kite string
- A big man
- Brother, not a burden
- All together
- Sugar in milk
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