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Good morning,

Last week, OFSTED’s Chief Inspector said that in England there are now hundreds of unregistered schools. A recent newspaper article highlighted one such school, found to be teaching anti-state agendas, recruiting unqualified teachers, whilst failing to cover the curriculum, in poor classroom conditions. The school also had leaflets rejecting Covid vaccinations.

If unregistered schools are allowed to continue it could undermine trust in the education system. The same thing can happen in religion and spirituality, when extreme interpretations of doctrine can turn some people away from religion altogether.
At the heart of the Vedic system of spiritual teaching lie three principles which ensure that what’s being taught is rooted in theology, and the message is not corrupted.
The first principle relates to whether the knowledge is beneficial. The Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the core texts in Hinduism opens with the question ‘what is the best thing for all people in all times’? This helps to ensure that the material being shared is universal and uplifting rather than divisive or oppressive. The second principle is called Parampara or disciplic succession. This asks if the knowledge that’s being taught is truthful; for example every teacher themselves has a teacher… so there’s a clear understanding of how spiritual practice aimed at spiritual growth is properly rooted in tradition. The third principle is that of enquiry and dialogue; to create a culture of thoughtful questioning from the student, and thoughtful response from the teacher.

Any education system, spiritual or otherwise is potentially harmful if it’s not underpinned by a desire to at least see most people helped most of the time, a clear sense of where the knowledge came from, and a culture of dialogue and improvement. Sometimes new ideas emerge that rightly challenge tradition, especially when there’s evidence of exploitation, abuse or when people have been kept in the dark.
But even new ideology should be rooted in healthy motives, with proper theological oversight, and taught in a caring and collaborative environment. It feels really important to me that those of us on a spiritual path apply the same level of quality control to our spiritual education as we would with anything else, so that we can all draw on the riches that come from a religious education that is thoughtful, transparent and truthful.

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