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The Ethics of Spiritual Education

Spiritual Education must be delivered and pursued ethically. It must be remembered at all times that spirituality and religion are complimentary and not in competition with each other. Religion seeks to build communities of human beings while spirituality seeks to knit all beings into one family. Spirituality seeks to highlight the universality of the essence of religion. It regards all religions as different paths of perceiving one reality.

It must be remembered at all times that the over-arching spiritual ethic is the ethic of our underlying oneness through  the oneness of our deepest essence. Good is what makes for this oneness, and evil is what makes for separation or division.

The goal of building one family with mutual respect, love, understanding and rich coexistence cannot be served by shaking a seeker’s faith in his or her particular religion. We need to work on the principle that one’s personal salvation or liberation lies in the single-minded pursuit of one’s chosen religion and everyone must have the freedom of pursuing their salvation or liberation in their chosen ways. The important conclusion of spiritual endeavour is that it is senseless to bring in the element of exclusivity in one’s religion while downgrading others. This conclusion needs further elaboration because what is advocated here is not merely tolerance of other religions but mutual respect and acceptance of other religions. This can be ensured only when there is no seed of intolerance at all in the pursuit of a religion.

It is true that civilized secular societies have ensured that there are constitutional mechanisms in place where there is no scope for religious intolerance to raise its ugly head. But our objectives go one step further. What is advocated is true spirituality that transcends all differences, including religious differences, and where there is no room for intolerance of any kind. According to Meister Eckhart, “Everything pertaining to the spiritual realm is inclusive and unitive by nature, whilst matter is by nature exclusive and implies separative particularity; the more spiritual a thing is, the more inclusive and thus universal it is, and the more material a thing is, the more it excludes other things by the very rigidity of its specific contours.”

It is our position that the spirituality that lies at the core of every religion is “inclusive and unitive by nature” and we therefore present the following ethical criteria for teaching such spirituality:

  1. The over-arching ethic is the ethic of underlying oneness of all. Good is what makes for this oneness, and evil is what makes for separation or division.
  2. All educational material, lectures, seminars, practices, etc. will be equally applicable to the whole humanity, irrespective of religion, belief, faith, race, gender and culture, and without discrimination of any kind whatsoever.
  3. All educational material, lectures, seminars, practices, etc. will use extreme caution and sensitivity and refrain from affirming, diminishing, or denying any religion, belief, faith, race, gender and culture explicitly or implicitly
  4. All educational material, lectures, seminars, practices, etc. will acknowledge due academic credits to ideas and concepts used from any religion, belief, faith, race, gender and culture.
  5. The approach used to research, develop and deliver the curricula shall be based strictly on academic considerations.
  6. There shall be absolutely no PREACHING and no PROSELYTISING.
  7. All educational material, lectures, seminars, practices, etc. will promote tolerance, understanding, love, and respect for all human beings without any discrimination.
  8. The educational material will be complementary to the existing educational systems.
  9. The educational material will incorporate the totality of human experience with a multi-disciplinary approach.
  10. All educational material, lectures, seminars, practices, etc. will be mindful of the individual need and right to the exclusive practice of one’s chosen religion with undivided devotion and surrender in following the path of one’s personal salvation or liberation.
  11. The educational material will promote the use of natural and environmental resources with respect and responsibility.
  12. The educational material will promote positive personal involvement in improving the human condition through oneness, education, nonviolence, understanding, respect, love and service.

New Cohort and Coursework Scheduling

 

Ubiquity University requires a SHEN coursework certificate worth 16 credits for their MASc degree, 24 credits for a combined MASc/PhD, and 13 credits beyond MASc for a PhD degree, a credit being one hour of engagement for a 15-week semester. 

To understand how SHEN plans for you to qualify for various SHEN Coursework certificates, you need to understand the following:

  1. SHEN divides a calendar year into three 10-week academic terms, 
  2. The academic terms begin on the third Monday of January, April, and September, 
  3. An academic term is followed by a free period,
  4. New students are admitted three times a year in the three academic terms, 
  5. Participating students take a minimum of one 3-hour/week course in each term (2 credits), 
  6. A course is scheduled for three hours per week, usually in one continuous session,
  7. MASc level certificate requires 8 30-hour  courses,
  8. Combined MASc/PhD level certificate requires 12 30-hour  courses,
  9. PhD level certificate requires 5 30-hour courses and 1 45-hour course after their MASc.
  10. The maximum number of participating terms required to qualify for a MASc level certificate is 8, for a combined MASc/PhD level certificate is 12, and for a PhD level certificate is six after obtaining a MASc level certificate. 

Here is a pictorial view of the above coursework scheduling description.

  

New Cohort and Course Scheduling