The Crucifixion - preface

Illumination, Heroism and Harmony

Preface

The task of preparing teaching-learning material for value oriented education is enormous.

There is, first, the idea that value-oriented education should be exploratory rather than prescriptive, and that the teaching  learning material should provide to the learners a growing experience of exploration.

Secondly, it is rightly contended that the proper inspiration' to turn to value-orientation is provided by biographies, auto  biographical accounts, personal anecdotes, epistles, short poems, stories of humour, stories of human interest, brief pas  sages filled with pregnant meanings, reflective short essays written in well-chiselled language, plays, powerful accounts of historical events, statements of personal experiences of values in actual situations of life, and similar other statements of scientific, philosophical, artistic and literary expression.

Thirdly, we may take into account the contemporary fact that the entire world is moving rapidly towards the synthesis of the East and the West, and in that context, it seems obvious that our teaching-learning material should foster the gradual familiarisation of students with global themes of universal significance as also those that underline the importance of diversity in unity This implies that the material should bring the students nearer to their cultural heritage, but also to the highest that is available in the cultural experiences of the world at large.

Fourthly, an attempt should be made to select from Indian

and world history such examples that could illustrate the theme of the upward progress of humankind. The selected research material could be multi-sided, and it should be presented in such a manner and in the context in which they need in specific situations that might obtain or that can be created in respect of the students.

The research team at the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) has attempted the creation of the relevant teaching-learning material, and they have decided to present the same in the form of monographs. The total number of these monographs will be around eighty.

It appears that there are three major powers that uplift life to higher and higher normative levels, and the value of these ' powers, if well illustrated, could be effectively conveyed to the learners for their upliftment. These powers are those of illumination, heroism and harmony.

It may be useful to explore the meanings of these terms — illumination, heroism and harmony — since the aim of these monographs is to provide material for a study of what is sought to be conveyed through these three terms. We offer here exploratory statements in regard to these three terms.

Illumination is that ignition of inner light in which meaning and value of substance and life-movement are seized, under  stood, comprehended, held, and possessed, stimulating and inspiring guided action and application and creativity culminating in joy, delight, even ecstasy. The width, depth and height of the light and vision determine the degrees of illumination, and when they reach the splendour and glory of synthesis and harmony, illumination ripens into wisdom. Wisdom, too, has varying degrees that can uncover powers of knowledge and action, which reveal unsuspected secrets and unimagined skills of art and craft of creativity and effectiveness.

Heroism is, essentially, inspired force and self-giving and sacrifice in the operations of will that is applied to the quest, realisation and triumph of meaning and value against the resistance of limitations and obstacles by means of courage, battle

and adventure. There are degrees and heights of heroism deter  mined by the intensity, persistence and vastness of sacrifice. Heroism attains the highest states of greatness and refinement when it is guided by the highest wisdom and inspired by the sense of service to the ends of justice and harmony, as well as when tasks are executed with consummate skill.

Harmony is a progressive state and action of synthesis and equilibrium generated by the creative force of joy and beauty and delight that combines and unites knowledge and peace and stability with will and action and growth and development. Without harmony, there is no perfection, even though there could be maximisation of one or more elements of our nature. When illumination and heroism join and engender relations of mutuality and unity, each is perfected by the other and creativity is endless.

The purpose of this monograph, entitled "The Crucifixion", is to present the message of love Jesus taught during the three years of his ministry, as well as to present the dramatic events that culminated in his Crucifixion. This message powerfully opened to humanity Love as it had never been conceived of before. Certainly, we can read of God's love for his creation and humanity in the Old Testament such as in The Law of Moses and The Psalms. But as history tells us, the message of love Jesus brought to humanity was carried beyond its Jewish context and brought to all of humanity by Paul of The New Testament. Paul recognised that the non-Jewish world could not adhere to both the strict Law of Moses, as orthodox Jews had to in order to worship properly, as well as follow the path of the illuminated Love Jesus asked of us. He did away with the Law of an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" by replacing it with the Golden Rule. To demand both would have made it impossible to spread Jesus's truth to all of humanity. Jesus asked us to love each other as God loves us. Here was a great step in the evolution of humanity towards human unity.

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