Lebenshilfe
For a long time now, ever since Ganesh Baba was first my teacher, I've considered synthesis a goal, no, not a goal: the goal, the ultimate goal. For Baba, it was the synthesis of ancient and modern science, of the secular and the spiritual, of the East and West, of nature and spirit, of matter and consciousness. Then there's the synthesis of the masculine and the feminine, sacred marriage in alchemy, not to mention ordinary marriage, and the kind of synthesis that produces new ideas and inventions. Synthesis is central to all creation and to the highest aspirations of spirituality.
Not surprisingly, my journey to India was all about synthesis. It was a coming together of years of a vicarious understanding with real life experience; it was the East seen through Western eyes. And, not surprisingly, many of the teachers we met talked, in his or her own way, about synthesis: Atman and Brahman, Prakriti and Purusha, spirit in matter and matter in spirit, bringing light to darkness and darkness to light.
But until I came to Lebenshilfe , it was all only talk.
Lebenshilfe is a school for developmentally delayed children and adults. There are some 440 students, aged 4 to 45, a staff of about 130, and many parent volunteers. The student:adult ratio seemed to be around 8:2:1, 8 students, 2 parents, 1 teacher. The extraordinary thing about Lebenshilfe is the way traditional folk arts, like the Tiger Dance, are used to bring out the best in its students.
Sarah (Saraswathi Devi), the founder and director of the school, has culled the best ideas for special education from around the world and put together a program that carefully assesses the needs and capabilities of each child and provides an individualized program that nurtures the child's talents while supporting his or her weaknesses.
A walk through the campus reveals students working closely with adults in sunny outdoor classrooms,
practicing drums, dance, violin, yoga, woodwork, and embroidery.
Many of the children are from the villages and many come from very low castes. They are all disabled. And at Lebenshilfe they all shine.
Not surprisingly, my journey to India was all about synthesis. It was a coming together of years of a vicarious understanding with real life experience; it was the East seen through Western eyes. And, not surprisingly, many of the teachers we met talked, in his or her own way, about synthesis: Atman and Brahman, Prakriti and Purusha, spirit in matter and matter in spirit, bringing light to darkness and darkness to light.
But until I came to Lebenshilfe , it was all only talk.
Lebenshilfe is a school for developmentally delayed children and adults. There are some 440 students, aged 4 to 45, a staff of about 130, and many parent volunteers. The student:adult ratio seemed to be around 8:2:1, 8 students, 2 parents, 1 teacher. The extraordinary thing about Lebenshilfe is the way traditional folk arts, like the Tiger Dance, are used to bring out the best in its students.
Sarah (Saraswathi Devi), the founder and director of the school, has culled the best ideas for special education from around the world and put together a program that carefully assesses the needs and capabilities of each child and provides an individualized program that nurtures the child's talents while supporting his or her weaknesses.
A walk through the campus reveals students working closely with adults in sunny outdoor classrooms,
practicing drums, dance, violin, yoga, woodwork, and embroidery.
Many of the children are from the villages and many come from very low castes. They are all disabled. And at Lebenshilfe they all shine.
posted by Eve at 6:17 PM
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