Ideas are the offspring of human experience. The idea to organize Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN) is no exception.
Several Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. founders were born in India before 1947. This organization's existence today can be traced back to 1947 when India was partitioned into two countries on religious grounds.
India is a pluralistic country where diverse people live together, free to practice their own religions. They coexisted for centuries in 'peace' but perhaps never succeeded in building lasting bonds of humanity between the populations. As a result, unrest on both sides of the partitioned land resulted in large-scale rioting, butchery, rape, and homelessness in a shameless orgy of religious hatred.
We were told that the identity savagery of 1947 in India was an act of the uneducated masses and things would improve with the spread of modern education. But the truth is that the human condition has not improved in the intervening years.
Recent historical events between 1947 and now all around the world indicate that humanity's hearts and minds are no closer today than in 1947 India and Pakistan. The promise of education remains unrealized because our educational systems have failed to address the question of raising human consciousness to perceive our common humanity. This perception is necessary to build bridges between the hearts and minds of the people living in today's global village.
We witnessed identity madness, which affected us deeply. We dedicate our lives to unifying and inclusive spiritual education to ensure that it will never repeat itself anywhere in the world.