Jeevan Vidya (Co-existentialism) is a new development in human thought that is not connected with any past or existing ideologies or beliefs. It is being presented as an 'Alternative' for humankind. * Jeevan Vidya - Madhyasth Darshan-Coexistentialism has been propounded by A Nagraj of Amarkantak, MP (originally from Hassan Dist, Karnataka) via existential inquest– further details in this website

Jeevan Vidya has proposals for human living at all 4 levels:

a)   At the level of individual
b)   In family
c)   In society
d)   In nature

It is not based on any caste, religion or sect, but on natural laws, on reality – in a way that every human can understand them in his/her own right and live with this understanding. It is thus not a belief system, but a direct, unbiased investigation into reality. We are able to thus resolve various root causes of problems facing mankind such as

a)   stress and meaninglessness in living as individuals, unanswered existential questions, etc
b)   family problems and issues like break up, divorce, etc
c)   problems in society such as strife, communal conflict and hatred
d)   ecological problems like pollution and resource depletion

Over the past 15 years, thousands of people from various walks of life: from villagers to urbanites, academicians to housewives from scientists to politicians of all religious backgrounds have come in touch with it. Based on this success and its ability to provide a universal resolution to human problems, the following steps have been possible in education:

• In education, this input provides a universal basis for human values that supplements and provides direction to the current educational system: by covering the purpose and goals of human living and its entire expanse.
• In Higher Technical Education- Human Values courses based on Jeevan Vidya:
  • IIIT, Hyderabad- Essential part of the curriculum, (a top research university in India for Computer Science)
  • Essential part of Engineering & Professional curriculum in Uttar Pradesh Technical University
  • Essential part of Engineering curriculum in Punjab Technical University
  • Included at National Institute of Technology, Raipur
• In higher education:
  • BA, MA, MPhil courses underway at IASE University, Rajasthan
• In School education:
  • Part of School education curriculum in Chattisgarh state
• Jeevan Vidya based Value Education Workshops are also regularly conducted at: IIT Kanpur, LN Mittal Institute of Technology, Jaipur, and IIIT, Jabalpur
• A book called ‘A Foundation course in Human Values and Professional Ethics’ is based on Jeevan Vidya and is now a prescribed book in UP Technical University and Punjab Technical University. It has been co-authored by Prof RR Gaur, IIT Delhi, Rajeev Sangal, previously head, Computer Science, IIT Kanpur, presently Director, IIIT,Hyderabad, and Prof Ganesh Bagaria, BTech, MTech, IIT Kanpur, now at HBTI, Kanpur. In addition, 2 PhD’s have been granted on this subject, and 2 more are currently underway.
• Various youngsters that are graduates of IIT’s, various National Institutes of Technology, IIM Ahmedabad, other Engineering, Social Science and Medical schools in the country and abroad (Oxford) are currently engaged in the full-time & part-time study and implementation of value education based on Jeevan Vidya. I.e. it has wide academic as well as common appeal.
• A National Convention on ‘Human Values through Jeevan Vidya’ was conducted at IIT Delhi in association with IIT Kanpur and IIIT Hyderabad. This was attended by 70 vice-chancellors and directors including directors of these 3 institutes and inaugurated by the then President, Shri APJ Abdul Kalam. Shri Kalam mentioned Jeevan Vidya as a crucial input in education in his address to the nation on 15th August, 2006. He has personally attended sessions on the same.

The National Convention on value education through Jeevan Vidya at IIT Delhi found the same to be:

• Universal – with respect to time, space & individual
• Secular – is not dependent on any caste, creed, religion or sect
• Rational – in the sense that it appeals to human reasoning
• Verifiable – It can be self-investigated and verified on one’s own right and its results can also be experientially validated via mutual fulfillment.
• Natural for human being – it is naturally acceptable to every human being and there is provision in nature for its fulfilment. I.e. it does not have to be imposed & is realizable.

In our experiment with Technical Education with around 500 institutions, teachers and students, we have found that:

• Students benefit from this in the form of clarity about themselves and their goals in life, social and environmental responsibilities, improvement in human relationships, and instilling self confidence

• Teachers have benefited from having an ability to relate to students and understanding the goal and purpose of education in addition to benefiting in their own personal lives.

• Institutions have benefited from being able to have a holistic view of the purpose and content of education and imbibing new energy in both teachers and students alike, in addition to effectively dealing with issues like ragging, and creating more responsible individuals.

People from all major religious backgrounds: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are associated with Jeevan Vidya. It is thus a force for universal human good and its input as a course in all levels of education is thus with this in mind – to promote universal human values and human good in a universal, rational, secular, understandable and realisable manner.

The ultimate goal is to work towards a happy, peaceful and prosperous society living in harmony with nature, in a way that is devoid of sectarian conflict to fulfill the human goal of

a)   ‘right understanding’/resolution in every individual (leading to happiness/satisfaction/peace)
b)   prosperity in every family,
c)   trust/fearlessness in society and
d)   co-existence with nature.

This is achieved by resolving the ‘four dimensions of human living’ – thought, behavior, work and realization across the ‘four levels of living’ - as individuals, in family, in society and in nature.

This in essence implies that Jeevan Vidya:

• Is not linked to any past or existing ideology, belief system or religion nor does it promote any of these
• Is not affiliated or limited to any caste, creed, religion, sect, gender, geography (space) or time. – It is for all human beings
• Does not talk of “Do’s & Don’ts” and is not a ‘belief system’. Is not something to be ‘learned’ and ‘followed’ – but to be studied and ‘understood’. If we ‘understand’ reality, it naturally comes in our living.
• Has no ‘central organization’ or hierarchy of any nature; Is not an NGO.
• Has no political connections or inclination of any nature.
• Jeevan Vidya is the name for a set of proposals. There is no interest in money or donations of any kind. There are no ‘paid members’ or ‘titles’. Every individual/family associated with the program looks after their own expenses and do not get paid for the time/effort put in – simply because there is no one to ‘hand over money’ and no money existing to be ‘handed over’!

To sum up; Jeevan Vidya provides a universal understanding of human values and human living, that will form the basis of Universal Human Order (From family to world family).