ABSTRACT
Modern educational institutions, by and large, focus on rationality that forgets intuition and mystery, on technology rather than values, on quantity instead of quality, on consumerism rather than morality, on profits rather than human beings, on economic growth rather than sustainability, and on a monoculture rather than diversity of cultures. Asia was the birthplace and cradle of many religions of the world. This chapter presents the voices of the Hindu Mahatma Gandhi of India, and the Buddhists Ariyaratne of Sri Lanka, and Sivaraksa of Siam (Thailand), who not only spoke and wrote about holistic formation but also actually implemented such holistic, alternative forms of education. All three put their theories into practice by setting up innovative and alternative forms of spiritually based integral education in dialogue with other faiths. The Hindu Gandhi wants people to attain their true self through all-round education, while the Buddhist Ariyaratne and Sivaraksa look at holistic education as a manifestation of one's non-self.
