Chapter 2

Human Values Inculcation

2.1 Process of Inculcation:

It has been universally recognized that human values are closely associated with human
life. They are the guiding principles for day to day living. Every person lives with some values. Though
human beings are born like a clean state, the virtues and vices gets ingrained gradually through parents,
teachers, friends, circumstances and environment. From the early childhood one starts experiencing the
effect of repeated instructions given by parents and teachers, starts observing around him comes across
various incidents and learns lessons through example in the form of parables and stories told to him. The
combined effect of all these can be called as the inculcation. Thus the people inculcate virtues or vices
according to the exposure and ambience they are subjected to. Based on the values inculcated the people
may be classified in the following three categories.

Close to Divinity: Those who think that what belongs to them are also meant for others. These
are the people who possess attitude of sacrifice and spirit of renunciation. Such people are closer
to divinity.
Close to Normality: Those who think that what belongs to them are their sole property and a
matter of their right. Such people are common worldly beings.
Close to Devilishness: Those who think that whatever exists around, belongs to them and they
should acquire it by fair or foul means. Such people do not cherish the least human values and are
threat to the society.

The inculcation of human values should be such that a person grows to achieve the
divinity. If not at least become a good human being. Inculcation is an evolutionary process through which
the human life can be made harmonious, happy, meaningful and enlightened. The process yields self-
awareness, self-awakening and self-actualization at the individual, professional and organizational level. It
is a lifelong process but during childhood, adolescence and youth, the process is fast and rewarding. That
is why it is desirable to inculcate the values at the earliest. It may be stated that: Inculcation leads to
Development, Development leads to Competency, Competency leads to Results, Results lead to success,
Success leads to Satisfaction, and Satisfaction gives meaning and purpose to life. The value inculcation in
a broad sense may occur in the following four ways:

Through parents
Through educational tenure.
Through Friends
Through Society
2.2 Inculcation during Educational Tenure:

After parents, the educational institutions play an important role in inculcating the human values. Figure
2.1 shows some of the basic values which can be inculcated in the educational tenure. It may be observed
that while at school level the values correspond to health, hygiene, discipline, honesty, fearlessness and
mannerism; those at the college level correspond to compassion, dignity of Labor, tolerance, justice,
scientific temper and patriotism.

Discipli Cleanliness Hygienic Living

ne

Values at School
Level

Fearlessness Good Honesty

Tolerance Patriotism Scientific Temper

Values at College
Level

Dignity of Labor Justice Compassion

Inculcation of Values in Educational Tenure

Figure 2.1
The values will get inculcated based on the process of education, education, experience and the
environment the students receive during their life period from 6 to 20 years in the education institutions.
The education for human values will be discussed in next chapter.
 In the past, in India, one of the most potent instruments for inculcation of human values
used to be the story telling. The grandparents and parents use to tell stories full of messages to their
children. These stories were based on various scriptures like famous Panchatantra- the value laden
stories. Now, with nuclear families and economic pressures which do not provide sufficient time for
storytelling, children have been deprived of this great benefit. Instead of listening to stories, they have
been exposed to movies and TV Programmes.

Recognising that the inculcation of values begins from childhood and continues till a
person becomes mature, an early learning is called for. Some basic values get nurtured during the
schooling period while others which call for the interaction on a matured plane with surrounding and
society get developed during the period of higher education. Even thereafter the process continues. In fact
it is the combination of acquisition by head (Knowing), heart (Feeling) and hand (Doing). After attaining
the values, they should be practiced in daily life. Thus the inculcation of values covers all the three
domains- the cognitive, affective and psychomotor that are responsible for building the personality.

2.3 The Two Approaches:

There could be two approaches for the inculcation of values during the educational
tenure.

Direct: This approach is through deliberate and systematic instructions given about the basic
values such as hygiene, discipline, honesty, truthfulness etc to be learnt and displayed. The
implementation may be ensured by the system of rewards and punishments depending upon good
and bad display as per the values prescribed. While implementing this approach the children ought
to be told what is right, what is wrong and what is expected from them.
Indirect: This approach is exploratory in nature. The students are helped to discover values by
themselves through making choices from the alternatives provided and telling them the advantages
and disadvantages out of the choices made. For example, spending the weak-end either by doing
social work, studying, going for a movie, gardening etc. The careful examination of the result of
activities may also be carried out by the learners themselves there by making them understand the
importance of the choices made. This approach will create affirmation towards positive values.

Out of the above two approaches the indirect approach is more preferable because it will
help the learners to think critically about the choices one may make later in the life. This approach will
also help them in shaping their personality. However, the role of parents and teachers in this approach will
be more crucial as their advice and help will affect the process of inculcation. Irrespective of any
approach, the process continues throughout the life. If conscious efforts are made with objectivity of
 improving the quality of life by choosing, adopting and practicing the desired values, then one can
become happy. The values without which a persons character will be lacking in primary traits need to be
inculcated without fail. As explained earlier, some of these are meant during early stage of education with
the help of parents and teachers in school. The values including compassion, dignity of Labor, justice,
scientific temper, tolerance and patriotism can be inculcated at college level.

2.4 Values during School Tenure:

2.4.1 Cleanliness:

As the name suggest it is the habit of keeping the surrounding neat and clean. It refers to surrounding
outside as well as inside. It also implies physical mental, environmental and societal cleanliness. Freedom
from dust, dirt and filth is physical form of cleanliness. Freedom from unchastity and guilt is mental
cleanliness. Freedom from pollutants is environmental cleanliness and freedom from corruption and
adulteration is societal cleanliness. Everyone knows the necessity and importance of cleanliness in all
walks of life. However, it is evident that it is yet to be inculcated fully in every individual.

All of us know that a soldier is respected for defending the country. He is also respected
for one more thing i.e. cleanliness which is outcome of rules and discipline. The cantonments are always
kept clean. The cleanliness was utmost followed by Mahatma Gandhi also. He used to ensure that the
place where he stayed with his colleagues was maintained absolutely clean. Once at the time of leaving
the place, he saw the trash scattered in the room which was occupied by the volunteers. He said with
disgust, Were you going to leave the room like this? He further said, Where-ever an army stays it
makes the place tidier than before and then leaves. John Wesley has said, Cleanliness is next to
Godliness. Joseph Addison has said, Cleanliness may be defined to be the emblem of mind.

2.4.2 Discipline:

It is the control ones behavior and actions either through self-motivation or through teaching and
punishment in order to obey the rules and orders. The origin of the word Discipline is from Latin
Disciplina which means Teaching, Learning. The control by training is a military concept which is
more than 500 years old. In usual parlance discipline is referred as the practice of training people to obey
rules or code of behavior using method of punishment. However it is not always punishment, but the
preaching also that work to inculcate the discipline. As Gautam Buddha said, To enjoy good health, to
bring true happiness to ones family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline ones own mind.
If a man can control his mind, he can find way to enlightenment and all wisdom and virtue will
naturally come to him. Learning self-discipline empowers ones will power and enlightens the mind on
the feasibility of success. Discipline is like a seed. When it is sown in the mind, a rich harvest of
 happiness is available in life. It has been found that human brain gets positively activated by the willful
decisions needed for self-discipline.

The process however occurs in subconscious state of mind. One becomes conscious of
such decisions only after they are accepted by the mind. A healthy environment can be a powerful tool for
learning self-discipline. The role of parents and teachers provide positive reinforcement for successful
inculcation of self-discipline by setting specified goals. Regardless of good intentions, some people find
themselves unable to follow self-discipline. It can be said that discipline is what you know needs to be
done, even though you do not want to do. It may be because of non-worthiness of the set goals. In such
cases goals may be redefined. The discipline plays an important role not only in the life of an individual,
but affects the society and nation. A disciplined nation alone can go ahead on the path of success. Schools
have the noble responsibility of inculcating discipline amongst students.

2.4.3 Hygienic Living:

Hygiene has been derived from the Greek goddess of health Hygiea. It is a set of
practices performed for the preservation of health. Sometimes they are different from each other.
Cleanliness is one of the means to achieve hygiene. The practice of hygienic living reduces the
possibilities of spread of diseases. It is a kind of life style and includes various areas of activities such as
food, water, clothes, medicine, home, workplace, public place, transport etc. So far as personal hygiene is
concerned, it begins with body care with cleanliness of all organs. Hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene
reduces the spread of germs causing stomach and respiratory diseases. Hand washing or hand sanitizing
are the desirable practices for a hygienic living.

The following practices will ensure hygienic living conditions:

1) Washing the body every day regularly.

2) Cleaning the teeth at least once a day.
3) Washing hands with soap and keep sanitizing the hands as much as possible.
4) Wearing Clean Clothes.
5) Covering nose and mouth with tissue paper, handkerchief or hand while sneezing or coughing

All these constitute the hygienic living as an essential human value.

2.4.5 Honesty:

Honesty means to be truthful and sincere. It is the quality of being honest to ownself and
others, holding traits of truth. The truthfulness and honesty go hand in hand. Honest people possess a
reputation in the society. Honesty is all about truthfulness of being, and both are used to explain each
 other. Normally a person who is honest will be truthful and a truthful person will possess honesty.
Honesty is based on ones belief. If one believes that what he is saying is true, then he is honest, but the
saying may not be necessarily true, because truth is an absolute concept which is eternal, universal and
needs exploration, whereas honesty is a virtue, a quality, a value to be nurtured, which may leads towards
truth. Thus honesty will bring a person near truth. Alexander Pope has said, An honest man is the
noblest work of God.

Honesty may be inculcated by obeying the dictates of owns conscience and not hiding
the potentialities and limitations of the self from others, by accepting the responsibility of the work carried
out, but admitting owns mistakes and by refraining from preferences and prejudices. Honesty is not only
doing the right thing, it is living with ownself with the choices made. An example of honesty could be the
return of excess money inadvertently paid by the cashier in a bank to the client or handing over the lost
valuables found by a person to the one who lost them. We do come across such incidents where persons
behave in honest manner. This sort of behavior is not by compulsion but with the choice. Honesty always
pays. That is why it is said Honesty is the best Policy. It is also the foundation of a harmonious society.

2.4.6 Fearlessness:

Fear is a kind of emotional feeling which causes change in sensory organs as well in
behavior, such as heart beatings, perspirations, breath etc. It occurs due to danger or risk to life, health,
status, power, security etc. The fear response generates flight or fight tendency. Every living being on
earth has got fear in the form of natural characteristic. The extreme cases of fear can even paralyse the
body functions. Sometimes fear turns into a phobia- a kind of metal disorder caused due to persistent fear
for an object or situation.

Fearlessness is a virtue which can be developed in a human being by the strong will and
determination to fight the fear. It makes a person confident. All the religions of the world advocate the
nurturing of fearlessness. The great people have recognized fearlessness as first requisite for a healthy and
happy life. They say that it is the fear which brings misery, death and all sorts of evils. Mahatma Gandhi
said Fearlessness is necessary for the development of other noble qualities. Swami Vivekananda
said, If there is any word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads and bursting
on the mass of ignorance, it is fearlessness. Arinna Huffington has said, Fearlessness is not the
absence of fear. It is the mastery of fear. It is about getting up one time than we fall down.
Buddhist scriptures often refer to the virtue of fearlessness. Most of the sculptures of Buddha displays his
hand gesture in Abhaya Mudra which means fearlessness in Sanskrit. The Abhay Mudra is made with
the open palm of right hand extending outwards at the slightly above the chest level. It is a gesture of
 fearlessness which dispels fear and accords divine protection. It is said that Gautam Buddha made this
gesture immediately after gaining enlightenment. Once he was about to be attacked by an angry elephant,
he held up his hand in Abhay Mudra which calmed the elephant.

Fearlessness can be inculcated by having faith in God. Wherever there is faith, the fear
dispels. The root cause of fear is distrust. Just as a child is never afraid when the mother is near, so if a
person trusts God he will remain fearless. There is beautiful story of Swami Vivekananda. Once he was
giving a speech in America. His message was, Stand up, Be fearless, God is with you. To test his faith
in God and fearlessness, some people staged a scene during one of Swami Jis lectures. In the middle of
the lecture, gun shots rang out and bullets whizzed past Swami Jis head. The audience screamed and ran
for the cover. Some dropped to the floor out of fear. Only Swami Ji remained perfectly calm and
composed. Later, as the people who staged the incident came to him and asked how he could remain so
calm amidst the gunshots. He told them, The bullet which was not meant to take my life will never hit
me and the bullet which meant to take my life will kill me even if I am protected by 100 guards.
This story conveys the message that fearlessness is an important virtue which needs to be inculcated by
every God believing person.

Parable:

In the forest of Africa, one day a young buffalo approached his father and asked him if
there was anything that he should be afraid of Only lions my son the father responded. Oh yes, I have
heard about lions. If I ever see one, I will turn back and run as fast as I can, said the young buffalo. No
that is the worst thing you would do , said the father. Why? They are scary and will try to kill me, said
the young buffalo. The father smiled and explained If you run away, the lions will chase you and catch
you. And when they do, they would jump on your unprotected back and bring you down. So what should
I do? asked the young buffalo. If you ever see a lion, stand your ground to show him that you are not
afraid. If he does not move away, show him your sharp horns and stomp the ground with your hooves. If
that does not work, move slowly towards him. If that too does not work charge him and hit him with all
the power you have got! That is crazy. I will be too scared to do that. What if he attacks me back? said
the young buffalo. Look around and see our herd. There are so many of us, all armed with sharp horns
and strong huge shoulders, replied the father. If ever you come across such situation we are all here to
save you. However, if you become panicky and run back out of fear we will not be able to help you. But if
you charge and face the lion we will be right behind you, added the father. The young buffalo understood
as how to combat the fear. The moral of the story is that if one is afraid of the situation, he looses, but if
faces it with courage, he can win.

2.4.7 Good Manners:

 It is said that manners make the man. They form the visible layer of human personality.
Manners are the pattern of expression, action and response of a person in a particular situation. Sometimes
manners are considered to be the behavior that superficial in nature not necessarily reflecting persons real
thoughts and intentions. Good manners refer to behavior of a person showing politeness, courtesy, respect
and social culture. The first impression about the person is formed on the basis of manners. A good
mannered person is respected and esteemed wherever he goes. Emily Post has said, Manners are a
sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no
matter what fork you use. Good manners are similar to laws but there is no punishment if one does not
follow except that other people may not accept a bad mannered person. However, in Britain, good
manners are observed to such an extent that if someone says something impolite to somebody, the police
gets involved. It is said that good manner will take a person where money cannot take him. Good manners
form an important part of personality. To inculcate good manners one needs to develop various etiquettes.
Manners and etiquettes usually go together but are different from each other. While manners express the
inner character, etiquettes are adherence to accepted social rules or code of conduct. Good manners
encompass etiquettes. The inculcation of good manners begins at home where parents teach the children
to learn the etiquettes as they learn the language. There are three important ways by which good manners
may be inculcated:

Customs norms of society of doing the things in particular ways.

Common Sense- things which make sense to most people.
Consideration thinking about the way the other person feel.
Clarence Thomas has said, Good manners will open doors that best education cannot.

One golden rule to inculcate good manners is very easy to follow and that is do unto others as you
would have them to unto to you. Good manners enable a person to establish better relationship and
understanding with others. They need to be inculcated as an essential human value.

2.5 Values during College Tenure:

2.5.1 Compassion:

It is the feeling and response in the form of sympathy to all living beings that are
undergoing sufferings. It is consciousness and awareness for helping the others in the time of distress. The
word compassion originated from Latin Compassio meaning Sympathise. Arthur Schopenhauer has
said, Compassion is the basis of morality. Dalai Lama said, If you want others to be happy,
practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion. The value of compassion cannot
be over-emphasised. It is through practice of compassion that one can achieve the self-fulfillment and
happiness. Gautam Buddha has said, Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has
their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little. All major religious traditions carry basically
the same message that love, compassion and forgiveness are the three most important virtues a person
should possess and practice as a part of daily life. All great philosophers and thinkers have expressed that
compassion is the awareness of a deep bond between oneself and all other living beings. In todays
technological world, compassion may be considered as a spiritual technology that connects all of us.
Absence of compassion will disconnect the people with each other. Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said, It
ll becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the compassionate, if we in turn
will not practise elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures. The principle of compassion
is that =- do to others what you would have them do to you.

Sympathy, pity and empathy are similar emotional feelings. But compassion encompasses
all the above in it. Compassion is a great virtue. It was compassion which made Kailash Satyarthi and
Malala to win the 2014 Noble Prize for their struggle against suppression of the children and young
people for the right to education. Mr. Satyarthi felt that despite the global concern, the governments and
citizens still lacked empathy for others around the world. He urged, Let us inculcate and transform
individual compassion in to global Compassion Based on keen awareness and the
interdependence of the things and people we look around, the inculcation of compassion can be brought
by creating an appropriate ambience in educational institutions. If the students are made to feel that their
emotional needs are being taken care of, then they will become certainly responsive to the emotional
needs of others. The compassion may be nurtured amongst the teenagers by adopting the following:

Making them feel that they are loved and cared.

Telling them about acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Helping them to put themselves in others places.
Helping them to understand the consequences of their actions.

Parable:

This is an ancient Chinese parable about an old man who knew that he would die soon.
He wanted to know what heaven and hell were like. He went to a wise man in his village and asked Can
you tell me what heaven and hell are like? The wise man led him down a strange path, deep into the
 countryside. Finally they came upon a large house with big rooms and went inside it. They found lots of
people and many tables, with an incredible array of food. The old man noticed a strange thing all the
people were very weak, unhealthy and hungry. Each of them having chopsticks about 4 feet long tied in
their both the hands. They were trying to get the food into their mouth but could not do so due to such
long chopsticks. The old man said to the wise man. Now I know how the hell looks like. Will you please
show me what heaven looks like? The wise man led him to another large house similar to the first. They
went inside and saw many people with the same kind of long chopsticks tied to their hands but quite
strong, healthy and happy. This puzzled the old man and he asked, How these people are so happy and
well fed? Please explain me. The wise man replied, Here the people are feeding each other. The old
man understood the difference. The moral of the story is that compassion for others makes one happy.

2.5.2 Justice:

Justice has been considered as one of the highest human value from the time immemorial.
It has been followed in all forms of societies. Understanding justice varies according to cultures. Various
interpretations of justice have been made since ancient times. One such interpretation is the mutual
agreement of everyone concerned. It is associated with equity, equality, human rights, and fairness. Justice
is defined in terms of three domains.

Outcomes: This is also known as distributive justice and pertains to fairness of outcomes.
Process: This is known as procedural justice and involves fairness of allocation process.
Interactions: It concerns fairness of treatment one receives from others.

As a human value justice lies at the centre of relationship between people, it provides
ability to live in harmony with each other. It brings dignity of human rights. Justice operates as a virtue in
individual and social life. From a religious point of view it can be said that justice is rooted in divine.
From societal point of view this value focuses on relationship among human groups and is called social
justice. Justice strives to uphold the rights of people; it allows them to use freedom and provides equal
opportunity to permit use of ones possessions and properties.

In a society where justice prevails, the power, wealth and resources are evenly distributed
and used. The progress of a society is measured by the extent to which its members are ensured equitable
access to justice. Legal justice is another vast domain which takes care about the welfare of people in
every country in the form of judicial system comprising of courts from lowest to highest level.

The inculcation of value of justice begins from family in which all the members are given
equal rights and lead the life full of dignity. Then comes the educational institutions where respect for the
rules is taught and students trained to obey the rules of the institution. They are not discriminated on the
 basis of cast, creed, colour and status of their parents in the society. They are treated judiciously all the
time for the award of welfare benefits, and are recognized for their ability and efficiency. Justice can be
cultivated through kindness and honesty in dealing with others and by abiding rules and regulations.
Honouring the promises and commitments made, being impartial and upright in dealings with others, and
refraining from expressing contempt and hatred towards others are some of the premises of justice. Thus
by continuous exposure of judicious acts and fair treatment given to the teenagers the justice can be
inculcated.

Illustration:

Abraham Lincoln was a very capable lawyer. He used to accept only fair and just cases.
One day when a client came to him he listened for quite some time and then looking abstractly, declared
Well you have a pretty good case in technical law, but a pretty bad one in equity and justice. You will
have to go to some other lawyer to win this case for you. I could not do it. All the time while standing in
the court, talking to the jury, I would be thinking, Lincoln you are a liar. This will be against my
principle. The moral of the story is that justice should be sought for a right cause. Lincoln believed in
preventing unnecessary litigation and observed this in his practice. Who was your guardian? He asked a
young man who came to him to complain that a part of the property earlier given by the guardian to him
has been withheld. The young man replied Enoch Kingsbury. Lincoln said, I know Mr. Enoch
Kingsbury. He is not the man who would like to cheat you. I cannot take this case. I advise you to drop the
subject. And the young man dropped. The moral of this illustration is that justice is not based on
technicalities but moral principles and truth. Benjamin Disraeli said, Justice is truth in action.

2.5.3 Dignity of Labor:

It is a feeling which indicates that all jobs are equally respectful. Whether a job involves
physical or mental Labor, it carries the same dignity. Accordingly, no occupation is considered inferior to
other. The word Labor generally implies physical work done with hands. In ancient times, physical work
or manual Labor was looked down upon .Earlier the society treated the manual worker as an inferior
being. The well to do persons in the society called free -citizens used to be engaged in fine works of art
and literature. The down trodden people used to be made slaves and made to do the manual work. Slavery
existed in almost all countries of the world for hundreds of years. A manual worker therefore became
victim of this practice. Now the slavery no more exists in any civilized country, but still some people
belonging to the economical upper class think it below their dignity to do the manual work. Such people
employ servants to do the house hold jobs.
 In India, Mahatma Gandhi preached dignity of Labor to his colleagues and followers. In
Sabarmati Ashram where he used to live with his wife and colleagues, he taught them to clean night soil
with their own hands. He used to say, work whatever its kind may be, if performed honestly and sincerely
is worthy of praise. Manual work is in no way inferior to mental work. A country cannot materially
prosper if its people do not respect the manual Labor; because wealth depends upon production in
agriculture and industry and this requires manual Labor. That is why the manual Labor should be
respected and given equal importance as of mental Labor. Inculcation of dignity of Labor amongst
youngsters can best be done by setting examples before them by role play. The sharing of personal
experience of the people belonging to manual and mental Labor categories can go a long way in bridging
the gap of misunderstanding between manual and mental Labor. The dignity associated with physical
Labor has to be inculcated first in thinking and then imbibing in value system. We need to remind
youngsters that India was known as Sone ki Chidiya because of the wealth that was being created by the
goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters and others who were doing the manual Labor. Nowadays, the call has
been given to youth of India to acquire skills for the jobs which will require the combination of head and
hand. It is heartening to note that the young generation has endorsed this call and they are readying
themselves to take up jobs involving manual Labor with a sense of pride. This is indeed a great change
which should be welcomed by one and all.

Illustration:

One day Napoleon Bonaparte walking with his generals came across a very narrow bridge
which allowed only one man at a time to cross. They saw a Laborer carrying a heavy load on his back just
entering the bridge from the other end. One of the Generals accompanying Napoleon shouted at the
Laborer and ordered him to get off the bridge so that the Emperor could pass through. Napoleon
reprimanded the General and asked the Laborer to continue crossing the bridge. While waiting Napoleon
told the General, The Laborer working no matter how insignificant may appear to be, the fact that he is
doing the Labor is important. I may be the Emperor, but at this moment I am not working and hence the
Laborer has priority over me. I can wait but he should not because he is carrying the load. That was the
respect for dignity of Labor which Napoleon had in him. Great people have always understood the dignity
of Labor. In Young India of September, 1921, Mahatma Gandhi wrote, Our children should not be so
taught as to despise Labor. It is a sad thing that our school boys look upon manual Labor with
disfavor. There is an incident about Mahatma Gandhis visit to riot ravaged Noakhali in West Bengal.
The Muslim League fanatics littered the narrow lane of town through which the Mahatma was to pass
with human and animal faces, so as to sabotage his peace march. When Gandhi Ji saw the filth in his path,
he did not side step and avoid the filth, nor did he ask his workers to clean up the path. Instead, he swept
 off the filth with palm fronds and then walked down the cleaned path. This is also an example of power of
dignity of Labor. Bapu believed that it is the duty of every person to perform physical labor every day. He
called it Bread Labor paying for what one consumes by way of physical labor. He himself would not eat
unless he spun one hundred and fifty yard length of Khadi Yarn everyday. Till his death, he performed
Bread Labor.

People do not realize the importance of the menial tasks. Think about dishwashers in a
restaurant. They are considered to be on the lowest rung. They have no say in affairs of restaurant. But
their job is most crucial. If the crockery and cutlery is not clean, no amount of tasty food or good service
of waiters would be able to prevent loss of clientele of the restaurant. The same is true with cleaners of
operation theatres in hospitals. There are similar other examples.

If a civil society wants to prosper, it can only happen when every citizen recognizes and
performs with sense of pride the most menial and insignificant tasks. That is dignity for labor. Martin
Luther King has said, All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be
undertaken with painstaking excellence.

2.5.4 Scientific Temper:

It is one of the important human values of modern era in which we are living in.
Scientific temper is a way of thinking and doing using scientific approach. It is characterized by unbiased
observation and rational logic. Analysis and discussion are an important component of scientific temper.
Jawaharlal Nehru in his book The Discovery of India wrote, what is needed is the scientific
approach, the adventurous and yet critical temper of science , the search for truth and knowledge ,
the refusal to accept anything without testing and trial, the capacity to change previous conclusions
in the face of new evidence, the reliance on observed facts and not on the pre-conceived theory, the
hard discipline of the mind- all this is necessary, not merely for the application of science but for life
itself and the solution of its many problems. Nehru further wrote, Scientific temper goes beyond the
domain in which science is normally done, and deals also with the consideration of ultimate
purposes- beauty, goodness and truth. He believed that, It is the science alone that can solve the
problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening
customs and traditions, of vast resources running to waste, and of a rich country inhabited by
hungry people.

Charles Darwin said, Freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual

illumination of mens mind which follows from the advance of science. Development of scientific
temper is enshrined in the Constitution of India as one of the fundamental duty of Indian citizens.
Scientific temper removes the dogmas rooted in ignorance, enable oneself for fearless search of truth and
bring with it true internationalism. The scientific approach depends on observation, hypothesis, prediction
and verification and if need be the modification or rejection of hypothesis. The scientific temper makes
use of the scientific approach and ultimately leads to the following

Objectivity
Rationality
Truthfulness
Sincerity

Inculcation of scientific temper is perhaps one of the prime needs of India today because
in spite of the great scientific achievements made by the scientists of the country, the establishment of
large number science and technology education institutions, a considerable section of society is still
caught in the quagmire of superstitions. The development of scientific temper can be made by
encouraging spirit of enquiry, so natural in children and youth.

Another effective way of developing scientific temper is through experimentation,

demonstrations, role play, quizzes, model making etc. In fact scientific temper needs to be inculcated as
an attitude, a way of life. However, precaution need to be taken in not equating scientific temper with a
belief in materialism the precept that world works with physical state of matter only and to say that
prayer or meditation can improve the recovery from an illness is unscientific or superstitious is not in tune
with the scientific temper because it has not been verified by experimentation. It may be said that
scientific temper is a frame of mind which has inquisitiveness for knowledge, which can be acquired by
observation, experimentation and examination. It is an adventurous attitude engaged in pursuit of truth,
keeping aside the established system of thinking, and is not limited to scientists only. May be that a
scientist does not display scientific approach in daily life. Such a scientist will not be called as a person
having scientific temper. The following premises involve the spirit of scientific temper.

That the problems of humanity can be understood and solved in terms of knowledge gained
through application of method science.
That the method of science can provide viable way of acquiring knowledge.
The knowledge gained through application of method of science is more close to truth.

Parable:

This is the story of those days when Brahmins in India were considered most knowledgeable
persons. In a village, lived four Brahmins who grew together. Three of them treated themselves as erudite
 scholars while the fourth who was a simpleton was considered as a dullard by the other three. One day the
four Brahmins decided to go the city to earn some fortune by using their knowledge. There was a forest
which they had to cross before reaching the city. As they passed through the forest, they saw bones of a
lion scattered around. One scholar suggested that they should test their knowledge and skills. All agreed.
One of them said he could put the bones together and make the skeleton of the lion. The other said he
could cover the skeleton with muscles and skin. The third said he could breathe life into it. The two
started working to test their knowledge. When the lion was almost ready, the scholar who said he could
breathe life into it wanted to test his knowledge also. The dullard, fourth Brahmin objected, saying it
could be dangerous. But the third scholar insisted on testing his knowledge, because the other two
successfully tested theirs. Realising the possible consequences, the dullard fourth Brahmin quietly
climbed up a tree to see what followed. And he saw what he had anticipated. The three scholar Brahmins
were killed by the lion. The moral of the story is that the three scholars possessed the scientific knowledge
but did not possess the scientific temper. It is the scientific temper that makes science to deliver. William
James has said, Our esteem for facts has not neutralised in us all righteousness. It is itself almost
religious. Our scientific temper is devout.

2.5.5 Tolerance:

It is the ability and capacity to accept the opinion or behavior of others which may be different
than ones own. In a sense sometimes tolerance means bearing with the disagreeable and unacceptable.
But this is negative type of tolerance. The positive and real tolerance is accepting and respecting willfully
the difference in opinion, belief, culture of others with which they live their lives. Tolerance develops the
capacity for recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others that are different from our own
beliefs and practices. The real tolerance arises from understanding, empathy and compassion of others. All
religions of the world preach tolerance. However, tolerance towards evil is never preached. The Vedas of
Hindu religion firmly declare that in battle against evil there is no place for tolerance.

Today the tolerance as a human value has become very important in view of the diversity,
urbanization, cross cultural interactions and changes in social structures. It has assumed the form of
practical humanism which means mutual acceptance and understanding of socio-cultural differences,
multi dimensional business dealings and communications. Tolerance has become an obligatory
requirement for sustenance and development. One of the most important benefits derived from tolerance
is peace. It can avert war, genocide and other horrendous conflicts. Even in families, tolerance plays a
very positive role. Some of the positive things that accrue out of tolerance are as follows:

Increased understanding and unity

 Increased circle of influence
Reciprocal respect and less worry
Enriched lives

The inculcation of tolerance as a human value needs to be an integral part of an education system.
Helen Killer has said, The highest result of education is tolerance.

Education for tolerance should therefore aim at helping young people to develop capacities for
accommodating views of others, independent thinking and ethical reasoning. The difference in religions,
cultures, traditions and ethnicities should not become the cause of conflict but the treasures of tolerance.
In the year 1995, UNESCOs Member states adopted a declaration of Principles on Tolerance The
Declaration affirmed that, Tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference of the rich variety of our
worlds cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance recognizes the
Universal rights and fundamental freedom of others. Kofi Annam, former Secretary General of
United Nations said, We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among people of the
world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world
divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must
work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.

Illustration:

Once Chhatrapati Shivaji, a famous king during the reign of Aurangzeb in India, was riding his horse in
the forest for hunting. While he was going suddenly a stone hit his head. Being a king, he became angry,
thinking who had the audacity to throw a stone at him. He was looking around to see who did this, but
could not see anybody. Slowly, an old woman came in front of him and told it was she who threw the
stone. When Shivaji asked the reason, she said I wanted to pluck the mangoes from this tree, but I could
not reach them. Hence, I threw the stone to hit them. But unfortunately it hit your head. Please forgive
me. Shivaji thought If a tree, which is not a highly elevated living entity, can be so tolerant and merciful
to give sweet mangoes even when hit by anyone; being the king should I not be more merciful and
tolerant than the tree. Thinking this way, he not only excused the old woman but gave few gold coins to
her. The moral of the illustration is that tolerance can be practiced in every walk of life.

2.5.6 Patriotism:

It is the love for country and willingness to sacrifice for it. It also means a sense of
loyalty, obligation and responsibility to the country to ensure that it remains free and independent from
any form of colonialism. The word patriotism has originated from Latin Patriota meaning Countryman.
Patriot is a person who exerts himself to promote the well-being of his country. Patriotism as a human
value is the collective wisdom of the countrymen to uphold the culture and dignity of their nation not only
against the outside oppression but inside injustice. With the help of patriotism a nation builds its future to
co-exist with other nations of the world. Thus the universal human welfare results from the co-operative
nationalism. However, history shows that at times the leaders of some countries, in the spirit of excessive
patriotism which is termed as Chauvinism invaded other countries and some cruel kings even tormented
their own countrymen for egoistic and power pursuits. In present times most of the countries in the world
are democracies where governments are elected by the countrymen. With the spread of science and
technology, information revolution and international trade and commerce, the interdependency amongst
nations has increased and chauvinistic tendencies are declining. The patriotic people are looking for
establishment of truth, tolerance, peace and justice amongst their countrymen. They are becoming
increasingly aware of the inequalities of the society and arising the awareness of people to fight the
atrocities. The true patriotism evokes loyalty to countrymen, creates respect for each individual and
reserves anger for things which are dangerous to peaceful co-existence. It makes the people to learn how
leaders can become facilitators rather than deciders. It makes them to understand value of freedom.

The inculcation of patriotism can be done through the education system because it
transforms the todays youth into tomorrows citizens. Remembering and honouring the sacrifices made
by the patriots for the freedom and security of the nation is yet another way to inculcate the value of
patriotism. Involvement and active participation in celebration of national festivals and other important
national events will enthuse the youngsters and enable them to imbibe the patriotism. The youngsters need
to be told, Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Illustration:

There was a boy of 12 years age in the year 1918 during the freedom struggle in India.
His name was Chandrashekhar Tiwari. One day while the boy was sitting in his class of the school; he
heard few slogans from outside. He took the permission from the class teacher and went outside to see
what was happening. He saw a sage leading a group of persons and raising the slogans for the
independence of the country and saying Vande Mataram. Suddenly the situation changed. Some British
policemen came and attacked the group and started hitting men and women in it including the sage. The
young Chandrashekhar seeing this could not keep himself unconcerned. He picked a stone from the
ground and petted it on the British Officer. The stone hit the officer. The policemen rushed to catch the
boy but he ran away from the place. Next morning, the police came to Chandrashekhars school and
arrested the young boy. He was submitted to the court. The judge asked the boy to tell his name. The
brave boy told his name as Azad which means freedom. The judge was surprised. He asked the boy to
tell his fathers name. The boy replied saying Swadheenta. The judge with anger asked Tell your
address. The boy laughed and replied Jail. Then the judge gave him the punishment to be whipped
with the leather rope 20 times. The boy told the judge that he is prepared for even more punishment but
would chant Vande Matram and he did so. The boy was taken to the jail where he was undressed and
whipped. With each whip the boy shouted Vande Mataram. The boys skin tore with the beating but not
a single drop of tear came out from his eyes. On the other hand with every whip his voice became louder
to utter Vande Mataram. After the beating, the dress was returned to the boy, but he could hardly wear it
due to bleeding. The body flesh had come out. The boy was given 20 paisa for bandaging the wounds. He
returned the money and told that the same may be given to Queen Victoria by telling her it was given by a
young Indian patriot. The boy was none other than the great freedom fighter of India whose name became
Chandrashekhar Azad. The moral of the illustration is that patriotism generates sense of pride, and
resoluteness to fight oppression. The inculcation of value of patriotism is not always emotional as said by
Adlai Stevenson, Patriotism is not short frenzied outbursts of emotion, but tranquil and steady
dedication of a life time.

Questions for Learners

1. What do you understand by the term Value Inculcation?

2. What is the role of parents in the process of inculcation of values in a child?
3. Name the values which can normally be inculcated during the period of school education.
4. Name any two values which you think can be inculcated without the help of teachers or
parents.
5. Which is the most difficult human value to inculcate and why?
6. Narrate any incident you have come across when you seen a person displaying a particular
human value.
7. Name the values which can normally be inculcated during the period of college education.
8. In your opinion what are the different ways by which human values can be inculcated?
9. When was the value of scientific temper acknowledged? Name the country it originated.
10. How do the social media affect the inculcation of human values?
11. Can the human values be imbibed through social media Yes or No? Give arguments in
support of your answer.