International Sahaja Public School: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 04:27, 13 December 2024

The International Sahaja Public School in Dharamsala, India is a school run by the Sahaja Yoga movement. The school was founded in 1990.

Overview

The school is located in the Himalayas, above Dharamsala in the Kangra district, near McLeod Ganj, at an altitude of more than 1700m. Children coming to the school must have previously been brought up in Sahaja Yoga culture and understand the importance of meditation.^[1] Their education is based on the teachings of [H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi].^[2] Students "learn the basic principles of Sahaja Yoga ... the tenets of Hinduism and worship the school’s patron".^[2]

The medium of instruction is English. Subjects (as followed by the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education curriculum) include standard courses as well as English, German, Indian Classical Music (including instruments), and Indian Classical dance.^[3]

Mixed views

Judith Coney reports that the school has accepted children from the age of four and notes that "often very young children are separated from their natural parents for prolonged periods, as they usually stay in India for nine months".^[4] An Indian newspaper article published in 2000 reported that students at the time were aged six and above.^[2]

An official school statement said that the villagers bring presents to the students and enjoy looking after them. A 1995 report on the school by the Austrian Ministry of Justice has said that uninvited visitors 'dropping in' have been refused entry^[5]

A 2000 article in the Indian Express noted that "an aura of secrecy envelops the school and entry is strictly forbidden."^[2] The article quoted a director of the school as saying "...we don’t like the vibrations to be polluted by outsiders. Sometimes we even tell parents not to come here." Students are schooled in 'vibratory awareness'^[2] which practitioners say enables them to detect and treat subtle imbalances in themselves and others.^[6] This is part of the school's vision of fulfilling the students' physical, emotional, intellectual and, above all, spiritual potential.^[7]

According to the school website, Sahaja Yoga education "envisages the development of the child in an atmosphere where the innate qualities, such as innocence and wisdom, are protected and enhanced; where the students imbibe the timeless and unchanging values which come from inner awareness, and are not subject to the vagaries of fashion, religion or national culture."^[8] The Indian Express article noted that the "dormitories are austere, even monastic in appearance".^[2]

They are realised souls, there is God who is looking after them, why are you so much worried about them? Leave them alone! Send them to the Indian school. Then the mothers are sitting there, teachers don't like it, no one likes it. They are just gone there. The mothers. No school allows such nonsense! But in Sahaja Yoga they think they have the right. What right have they got? Have they paid for the school? Have they done anything for the school? What right have they got to go and sit in the school? So the discretion should be, we have to bring up our children according to Sahaj culture. The first of the principles of Sahaja Yoga is fortitude. Sahaja Yoga is not meant for such .... dainty darlings. You have to be soldiers of Sahaja Yoga. - Nirmala Srivastava^[9]

The Austrian Ministry of Justice's 1995 Report on the Sahaja Yoga school comments that "Despite the altitude, eight months of sunshine a year and outdoor activities and sports in the open, the European children appeared pale which was unexplainable to the visitor".^[10] Coney reports that one child arrived home having lost a stone in weight, and so changed in appearance that his mother could not recognise him, although the school had consistently reported that he was 'doing fine'.^[11]

Coney reports that, "whilst there is evidence that some children have enjoyed their time at the Sahaja Yoga school in India, a number of children have expressed unhappiness at being returned to the India school."^[12] The school advises parents not to enroll their children until they are ready.

Regarding discipline, Sukhmani writes that corporal punishment is taboo at the school.^[2] Nirmala Srivastava has advised that parents are allowed to occasionally slap 'extremely difficult' children, but forbids teachers from slapping children or punishing "in such a way that the child gets hurt."^[13] Coney reports that due to instances of children having been beaten, the Headmaster was temporarily dismissed.^[14] The Supreme Court of India banned corporal punishment in schools in 2000.^[15]

With thorough investigation of this subject, the students' reviews have been proven to be trustworthy and this school remains one of the best places for a child's spiritual, physical and emotional growth.^[16]

Attitudes of grandparents

There have been instances of objections by grandparents of children at the school which have resulted in legal action being taken. In Austria, a mother's guardianship was partly substituted, after legal intervention of the grandmother, as she was not willing to take her boy out of the Sahaja Yoga boarding-school in India.^[17] A French Court of Appeal allowed another mother custody of her children on condition that she did not send any of them to the school, again a result of grandparental intervention.^[18]

Coney says these instances are confined to the European continent partly because the anti cult movement there has successfully drawn attention to the differences between Sahaja Yoga and the mainstream, resulting in a media attack on the movement.^[19] Coney says in the UK grandparents have been more likely to give parents freedom to bring up children as they wish, in a couple of instances even paying for the child's education at the school.^[19] The enrolment form used in the admission procedure now asks for details of any resistance from family members to the child studying at the school.^[20]

References

^ "ISPS, Dharamshala". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "A School for tradition" Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Indian Express, 24 December 2000, by Sukhmani Singh
^ "ICSE syllabus". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2007.
^ Coney, Judith (1999) Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement, (London: Curzon Press) ISBN 0-7007-1061-2 p159
^ Report on the Sahaja Yoga School, May 1995, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Austria, cited in "Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga" by Judith Coney in Children in New Religions Susan J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman, Rutgers University Press (July 1999) p.117 "It is clear, too, that in contrast to the British children of Sahaja Yogis living in the United Kingdom, those attending the India school have little access to outside influences. A statement made by Sahaja Yogis about the school in India says that 'many women from the village come to see the children, bring presents for them and look after them. The whole village enjoys looking after these children' (Sahaja Yoga 1992b:3). But the Austrian report on the school in 1995 stated: 'People dropping in at the door are—[in a] more or less unfriendly [manner]—refused. Because of that refusal of contact, the domestic and foreign population nearby does not know anything about the teachers, pupils and the daily routine at the school, which is-regarding the rustic surrounding-an astonishing fact.'¹³ The school takes no children other than those belonging to Sahaja Yoga. Access to television and radio is not allowed, and 'the children seem to lack further information of or about their home countries.'¹⁴ Contact between the children and their parents has been limited. The children have been allowed to write home once a week and receive packages from home twice a year; parents may telephone from time to time' by Judith Coney (1999) p161
^ [1] Sahaja Yoga Australia - benefits of Sahaja Yoga.
^ Vision and Mission Archived 25 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, ISPS website, viewed 22 November 2007.
^ "ISPS, Dharamshala". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
^ Srivastava, Nirmala (28 April 1991). Hamsa Puja (Speech). New York City, United States.
^ cited in Judith Coney (1999), Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement p243
^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p164 "One child arrived home from the school having lost over a stone in weight and was so changed in appearance that his mother failed to recognise him at the airport. The school, however, had consistently reported throughout the year that he was 'doing fine'."
^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p166
^ Her Holiness Mataji Shree Nirmala Devi, Sahaja Yoga (1989) p44 "The Sahaja Yogis must respect their children. The teachers must also respect the children. If the children are extremely difficult then the parents can sometimes slap them, but not the teachers. No teacher is allowed to in any way punish the child in such a way that the child gets hurt."
^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p164
^ "Spare rod or be punished, teachers told", The Times of India, 10 August 2007
^ Sahaj, Nirmala Dharma (2022). The Sooth. Harper Collins.
^ Brigitte Schinkele, Rechtsprechung in Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht 45 [1998], ibid., pp. 306-317, cited in Eva M Synek, "The Limits of Religious Tolerance - a European Perspective"
^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p162-3
^ ^a ^b Susan J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman: Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga by Judith Coney in Children in New Religions, page 119, Rutgers University Press, July 1999
^ Enrolment Form^{[permanent dead link‍]}

External links

Official ISPS website

[1] "ISPS, Dharamshala". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.

[sukhmani-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "A School for tradition" Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Indian Express, 24 December 2000, by Sukhmani Singh

[3] "ICSE syllabus". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2007.

[4] Coney, Judith (1999) Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement, (London: Curzon Press) ISBN 0-7007-1061-2 p159

[5] Report on the Sahaja Yoga School, May 1995, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Austria, cited in "Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga" by Judith Coney in Children in New Religions Susan J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman, Rutgers University Press (July 1999) p.117 "It is clear, too, that in contrast to the British children of Sahaja Yogis living in the United Kingdom, those attending the India school have little access to outside influences. A statement made by Sahaja Yogis about the school in India says that 'many women from the village come to see the children, bring presents for them and look after them. The whole village enjoys looking after these children' (Sahaja Yoga 1992b:3). But the Austrian report on the school in 1995 stated: 'People dropping in at the door are—[in a] more or less unfriendly [manner]—refused. Because of that refusal of contact, the domestic and foreign population nearby does not know anything about the teachers, pupils and the daily routine at the school, which is-regarding the rustic surrounding-an astonishing fact.'¹³ The school takes no children other than those belonging to Sahaja Yoga. Access to television and radio is not allowed, and 'the children seem to lack further information of or about their home countries.'¹⁴ Contact between the children and their parents has been limited. The children have been allowed to write home once a week and receive packages from home twice a year; parents may telephone from time to time' by Judith Coney (1999) p161

[6] [1] Sahaja Yoga Australia - benefits of Sahaja Yoga.

[7] Vision and Mission Archived 25 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, ISPS website, viewed 22 November 2007.

[autogenerated1-8] "ISPS, Dharamshala". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.

[9] Srivastava, Nirmala (28 April 1991). Hamsa Puja (Speech). New York City, United States.

[10] ted in Judith Coney (1999), Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement p243

[11] Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p164 "One child arrived home from the school having lost over a stone in weight and was so changed in appearance that his mother failed to recognise him at the airport. The school, however, had consistently reported throughout the year that he was 'doing fine'."

[12] Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p166

[Shri_Mataji_Sahaja_Yoga-13] Her Holiness Mataji Shree Nirmala Devi, Sahaja Yoga (1989) p44 "The Sahaja Yogis must respect their children. The teachers must also respect the children. If the children are extremely difficult then the parents can sometimes slap them, but not the teachers. No teacher is allowed to in any way punish the child in such a way that the child gets hurt."

[14] Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p164

[15] "Spare rod or be punished, teachers told", The Times of India, 10 August 2007

[16] Sahaj, Nirmala Dharma (2022). The Sooth. Harper Collins.

[17] Brigitte Schinkele, Rechtsprechung in Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht 45 [1998], ibid., pp. 306-317, cited in Eva M Synek, "The Limits of Religious Tolerance - a European Perspective"

[18] Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p162-3

[Children_in_New_Religions_p119-19] Susan J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman: Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga by Judith Coney in Children in New Religions, page 119, Rutgers University Press, July 1999

[20] Enrolment Form^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
-The '''International Sahaja Public School''' in [[Dharamsala]], [[India]] is a school run by the [[Sahaja Yoga]] movement. The school was founded in 1990, its stated mission to "develop [[self-respect]] which leads to [[respect]] for others, a love of [[Nature]], care for the [[Natural environment|environment]], [[gentleness]], [[nobility]], [[honesty]] and [[wisdom]]"<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7 ISPS, Dharamshala<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The school teaches around 250 international students annually and demand for places has outstripped availability.<ref> [http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=63], ISPS website, viewed 25 November 2007.</ref>
+{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
+The '''International Sahaja Public School''' in [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamsala]], India is a school run by the [[Sahaja Yoga]] movement. The school was founded in 1990.
 ==Overview==
-[[Image:ISPS2.jpeg|thumb|200px|A view of the middle building]]
+<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:ISPS2.jpeg|thumb|The middle building]] -->
-The school is located in the [[Dhauladhar|Himalayas]], above [[Dharamsala]] in the [[Kangra district]], near [[McLeod Ganj]], at an altitude of more than 1700m. Children coming to the school must have previously been brought up in Sahaja Yoga culture and understand the importance of meditation.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=63 ISPS, Dharamshala<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Their education is based "on the teachings of [[Nirmala Srivastava|Her Supreme Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi]]"<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/.%5Cfiles%5CProspectus.pdf Prospectus]</ref> and one journalist reported seeing many photos of her at the school.<ref name="sukhmani"/> A newspaper article from the Indian Express reported that students "learn the basic principles of Sahaja Yoga ... the tenets of Hinduism and worship the school’s patron - [[Nirmala Srivastava|Mata Nirmala Devi]]."<ref name="sukhmani">[http://www.hvk.org/articles/1200/148.html "A School for tradition"], The Indian Express, December 24, 2000, by Sukhmani Singh</ref> The article quoted a director of the school as saying that the students, upon coming to the school, "transcend all religions... [and] become more Hindu than Hindus themselves."<ref name="sukhmani"/> The school website reports that there is a full-time doctor in residence. In case of illness, Sahaja treatments and Ayurvedic medicine are given in preference to antibiotics. [http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=14]
+The school is located in the [[Dhauladhar|Himalayas]], above [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamsala]] in the [[Kangra district]], near [[McLeod Ganj]], at an altitude of more than 1700m. Children coming to the school must have previously been brought up in Sahaja Yoga culture and understand the importance of meditation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=63 |title=ISPS, Dharamshala<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=25 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121105525/http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=63 |archive-date=21 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Their education is based on the teachings of [H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi].<ref name="sukhmani"/> Students "learn the basic principles of Sahaja Yoga ... the tenets of Hinduism and worship the school’s patron".<ref name="sukhmani">[http://www.hvk.org/articles/1200/148.html "A School for tradition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312204542/http://www.hvk.org/articles/1200/148.html |date=12 March 2007 }}, The Indian Express, 24 December 2000, by Sukhmani Singh</ref>
-The medium of instruction is English. Subjects (as followed by the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education]] curriculum) include standard courses as well as English, German, Indian Classical Music (including instruments), and Indian Classical dance.<ref>[http://www.cisce.org/cisce/ProgramFile/InfoGallery/HomePage/Click.asp?LinkName=SLB&strLinkName=Syllabus ICSE syllabus]</ref> The school has a science lab, library, art and craft halls, music and dance rooms, and sport facilities including a gym, skating ramp, basketball field, cricket pitch and soccer fields. There is also a computer lab with broadband access to the Internet.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/.%5Cfiles%5CProspectus.pdf Isps Prospectus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The school website states that: "Internet access is available for one hour per week per class in the senior section, as an afternoon activity."[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=14] One video per week is normally screened for juniors and one for seniors at weekends.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=14 ISPS, Dharamshala<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> There is a restriction of video watching to Sahaja Yoga material and suitable classics.<ref name="sukhmani"/>
+The medium of instruction is English. Subjects (as followed by the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education]] curriculum) include standard courses as well as English, German, Indian Classical Music (including instruments), and Indian Classical dance.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cisce.org/cisce/ProgramFile/InfoGallery/HomePage/Click.asp?LinkName=SLB&strLinkName=Syllabus |title=ICSE syllabus |access-date=28 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421224122/http://www.cisce.org/cisce/ProgramFile/InfoGallery/HomePage/Click.asp?LinkName=SLB&strLinkName=Syllabus |archive-date=21 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 ==Mixed views==
-Judith Coney reports that the school has accepted children from the age of 4 and notes that "often very young children are separated from their natural parents for prolonged periods, as they usually stay in India for nine months"<ref>Coney, Judith (1999) ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'', (London: Curzon Press) ISBN 0-7007-1061-2 p159</ref>. An Indian newspaper article published in 2000 reported that students at the time were aged 6 and above.<ref name="sukhmani"/>
+Judith Coney reports that the school has accepted children from the age of four and notes that "often very young children are separated from their natural parents for prolonged periods, as they usually stay in India for nine months".<ref>Coney, Judith (1999) ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'', (London: Curzon Press) {{ISBN|0-7007-1061-2}} p159</ref> An Indian newspaper article published in 2000 reported that students at the time were aged six and above.<ref name="sukhmani"/>
-An official school statement said that the villagers bring presents to the students and enjoy looking after them. A 1995 report on the school by the Austrian Ministry of Justice has said that uninvited visitors 'dropping in' have been refused entry<ref>Report on the Sahaja Yoga School, May 1995, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Austria, cited in "Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga" by Judith Coney in ''Children in New Religions Susan'' J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman, Rutgers University Press (July 1999) p.117 "It is clear, too, that in contrast to the British children of Sahaja Yogis living in the United Kingdom, those attending the India school have little access to outside influences. A statement made by Sahaja Yogis about the school in India says that 'many women from the village come to see the children, bring presents for them and look after them. The whole village enjoys looking after these children' (Sahaja Yoga 1992b:3). But the Austrian report on the school in 1995 stated: 'People dropping in at the door are—[in a] more or less unfriendly [manner]—refused. Because of that refusal of contact, the domestic and foreign population nearby does not know anything about the teachers, pupils and the daily routine at the school, which is-regarding the rustic surrounding-an astonishing fact.'<sup>13</sup> The school takes no children other than those belonging to Sahaja Yoga. Access to television and radio is not allowed, and 'the children seem to lack further information of or about their home countries.'<sup>14</sup> Contact between the children and their parents has been limited. The children have been allowed to write home once a week and receive packages from home twice a year; parents may telephone from time to time."</ref>, and that because of the unfriendly reception, foreign and domestic neighbours do "not know anything about the teachers, pupils and the daily routine at the school, which is-regarding the rustic surrounding-an astonishing fact."<ref>Report on the Sahaja Yoga School, May 1995, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Austria, cited in ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' by Judith Coney (1999) p161</ref>
+An official school statement said that the villagers bring presents to the students and enjoy looking after them. A 1995 report on the school by the Austrian Ministry of Justice has said that uninvited visitors 'dropping in' have been refused entry<ref>Report on the Sahaja Yoga School, May 1995, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Austria, cited in "Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga" by Judith Coney in ''Children in New Religions Susan'' J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman, Rutgers University Press (July 1999) p.117 "It is clear, too, that in contrast to the British children of Sahaja Yogis living in the United Kingdom, those attending the India school have little access to outside influences. A statement made by Sahaja Yogis about the school in India says that 'many women from the village come to see the children, bring presents for them and look after them. The whole village enjoys looking after these children' (Sahaja Yoga 1992b:3). But the Austrian report on the school in 1995 stated: 'People dropping in at the door are—[in a] more or less unfriendly [manner]—refused. Because of that refusal of contact, the domestic and foreign population nearby does not know anything about the teachers, pupils and the daily routine at the school, which is-regarding the rustic surrounding-an astonishing fact.'<sup>13</sup> The school takes no children other than those belonging to Sahaja Yoga. Access to television and radio is not allowed, and 'the children seem to lack further information of or about their home countries.'<sup>14</sup> Contact between the children and their parents has been limited. The children have been allowed to write home once a week and receive packages from home twice a year; parents may telephone from time to time' by Judith Coney (1999) p161</ref>
-A 2000 article in the Indian Express noted that "an aura of secrecy envelops the school and entry is strictly forbidden."<ref name="sukhmani"/> The article quoted a director of the school as saying "...we don’t like the vibrations to be polluted by outsiders. Sometimes we even tell parents not to come here." Students are schooled in 'vibratory awareness'<ref name="sukhmani"/> which practitioners say enables them to detect and treat subtle imbalances in themselves and others.<ref> [http://www.sahajayoga.org.au/] Sahaja Yoga Australia - benefits of Sahaja Yoga.</ref> This is part of the school's vision of fulfilling the students' physical, emotional, intellectual and, above all, spiritual potential. <ref> [http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=18 Vision and Mission], ISPS website, viewed 22 November 2007.</ref>
+A 2000 article in the Indian Express noted that "an aura of secrecy envelops the school and entry is strictly forbidden."<ref name="sukhmani"/> The article quoted a director of the school as saying "...we don’t like the vibrations to be polluted by outsiders. Sometimes we even tell parents not to come here." Students are schooled in 'vibratory awareness'<ref name="sukhmani"/> which practitioners say enables them to detect and treat subtle imbalances in themselves and others.<ref>[http://www.sahajayoga.org.au/] Sahaja Yoga Australia - benefits of Sahaja Yoga.</ref> This is part of the school's vision of fulfilling the students' physical, emotional, intellectual and, above all, spiritual potential.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=18 Vision and Mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125071139/http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7&subpage=8&subsubpage=18 |date=25 November 2007 }}, ISPS website, viewed 22 November 2007.</ref>
-According to the school website, Sahaja Yoga education "envisages the development of the child in an atmosphere where the innate qualities, such as innocence and wisdom, are protected and enhanced; where the students imbibe the timeless and unchanging values which come from inner awareness, and are not subject to the vagaries of fashion, religion or national culture."<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The Indian Express article noted that the "dormitories are austere, even monastic in appearance".<ref name="sukhmani"/>
+According to the school website, Sahaja Yoga education "envisages the development of the child in an atmosphere where the innate qualities, such as innocence and wisdom, are protected and enhanced; where the students imbibe the timeless and unchanging values which come from inner awareness, and are not subject to the vagaries of fashion, religion or national culture."<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7 |title=ISPS, Dharamshala<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121105531/http://www.isps.edu.in/site/index.asp?pageid=7 |archive-date=21 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Indian Express article noted that the "dormitories are austere, even monastic in appearance".<ref name="sukhmani"/>
 <blockquote>They are realised souls, there is God who is looking after them, why are you so much worried about them? Leave them alone! Send them to the Indian school. Then the mothers are sitting there, teachers don't like it, no one likes it. They are just gone there. The mothers. No school allows such nonsense! But in Sahaja Yoga they think they have the right. What right have they got? Have they paid for the school? Have they done anything for the school? What right have they got to go and sit in the school? So the discretion should be, we have to bring up our children according to Sahaj culture. The first of the principles of Sahaja Yoga is fortitude. Sahaja Yoga is not meant for such .... dainty darlings. You have to be soldiers of Sahaja Yoga. - [[Nirmala Srivastava]]<ref>{{cite speech
 | title = Hamsa Puja
-| author = Srivastava, Nirmala
 | first = Nirmala
 | last = Srivastava
 | authorlink =
 | date = 1991-04-28
-| location = [[New York City]], [[USA]]
+| location = [[New York City]], United States
 }}</ref></blockquote>
-The Austrian Ministry of Justice's 1995 ''Report on the Sahaja Yoga school'' comments that "Despite the altitude, eight months of sunshine a year and outdoor activities and sports in the open, the European children appeared pale which was unexplainable to the visitor"<ref>cited in Judith Coney (1999), ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' p243</ref>. Coney reports that another child arrived home having lost a [[Stone (mass)|stone]] in weight, and so changed in appearance that his mother could not recognise him, although the school had consistently reported that he was 'doing fine'<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p164 "One child arrived home from the school having lost over a stone in weight and was so changed in appearance that his mother failed to recognise him at the airport. The school, however, had consistently reported throughout the year that he was 'doing fine'."</ref>.
+The Austrian Ministry of Justice's 1995 ''Report on the Sahaja Yoga school'' comments that "Despite the altitude, eight months of sunshine a year and outdoor activities and sports in the open, the European children appeared pale which was unexplainable to the visitor".<ref>cited in Judith Coney (1999), ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' p243</ref> Coney reports that one child arrived home having lost a [[Stone (Imperial mass)|stone]] in weight, and so changed in appearance that his mother could not recognise him, although the school had consistently reported that he was 'doing fine'.<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p164 "One child arrived home from the school having lost over a stone in weight and was so changed in appearance that his mother failed to recognise him at the airport. The school, however, had consistently reported throughout the year that he was 'doing fine'."</ref>
 Coney reports that, "whilst there is evidence that some children have enjoyed their time at the Sahaja Yoga school in India, a number of children have expressed unhappiness at being returned to the India school."<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p166</ref> The school advises parents not to enroll their children until they are ready.
-Regarding discipline, Sukhmani writes that corporal punishment is taboo at the school.<ref name="sukhmani"/> Nirmala Srivastava once said, "If they answer back give them two slaps, that's allowed" and that "other people ... have every right to smack if a child misbehaves."<ref>Sahaja Yoga Internal Circular 3, 7, cited in Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p152 "Sahaja Yoga children have to be extremely well-disciplined... If they answer back give them two slaps, that's allowed... If you do not teach them they will be disrespectful to other people and other people will smack them, then you won't like it. But they have every right to smack if a child misbehaves, because children must know how to behave themselves."</ref> On another occasion she encouraged parents and teachers to respect children and wrote that parents are allowed to occasionally slap 'extremely difficult' children, but forbade teachers from slapping children or punishing "in such a way that the child gets hurt."<ref name="Shri Mataji Sahaja Yoga">Her Holiness Mataji Shree Nirmala Devi, ''Sahaja Yoga'' (1989) p44 "The Sahaja Yogis must respect their children. The teachers must also respect the children. If the children are extremely difficult then the parents can sometimes slap them, but not the teachers. No teacher is allowed to in any way punish the child in such a way that the child gets hurt."</ref> Coney reports that there have been 'instances of children having been beaten' leading to the temporary dismissal of the Headmaster<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p164</ref>. The [[Supreme Court of India]] banned corporal punishment in schools in 2000.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Spare_rod_or_be_punished_teachers_told/rssarticleshow/2269835.cms "Spare rod or be punished, teachers told"], ''[[The Times of India]]'', 10 August 2007</ref>
+Regarding discipline, Sukhmani writes that corporal punishment is taboo at the school.<ref name="sukhmani"/> Nirmala Srivastava has advised that parents are allowed to occasionally slap 'extremely difficult' children, but forbids teachers from slapping children or punishing "in such a way that the child gets hurt."<ref name="Shri Mataji Sahaja Yoga">Her Holiness Mataji Shree Nirmala Devi, ''Sahaja Yoga'' (1989) p44 "The Sahaja Yogis must respect their children. The teachers must also respect the children. If the children are extremely difficult then the parents can sometimes slap them, but not the teachers. No teacher is allowed to in any way punish the child in such a way that the child gets hurt."</ref> Coney reports that due to instances of children having been beaten, the Headmaster was temporarily dismissed.<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p164</ref> The [[Supreme Court of India]] banned corporal punishment in schools in 2000.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Spare_rod_or_be_punished_teachers_told/rssarticleshow/2269835.cms "Spare rod or be punished, teachers told"], ''[[The Times of India]]'', 10 August 2007</ref>
+With thorough investigation of this subject, the students' reviews have been proven to be trustworthy and this school remains one of the best places for a child's spiritual, physical and emotional growth.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sahaj|first=Nirmala Dharma|title=The Sooth|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2022|language= }}</ref>
-In Austria, a mother's guardianship was partly substituted, after legal intervention of the grandmother, as she was not willing to take her boy out of the Sahaja Yoga boarding-school in India.<ref>Brigitte Schinkele, ''Rechtsprechung in Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht'' 45 [1998], ibid., pp. 306-317, cited in Eva M Synek, [http://www.jsri.ro/old/html%20version/index/no_3/eva_synek-articol.htm "The Limits of Religious Tolerance - a European Perspective"]</ref> A French Court of Appeal allowed another mother custody of her children on condition that she did not send any of them to the school, again a result of grandparental intervention.<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p162-3</ref> The enrolment form used in the admission procedure now asks for details of any resistance from family members to the child studying at the school.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/files/Enrollment_Form.pdf ENROLMENT FORM]</ref>
+==Attitudes of grandparents==
+There have been instances of objections by grandparents of children at the school which have resulted in legal action being taken. In Austria, a mother's guardianship was partly substituted, after legal intervention of the grandmother, as she was not willing to take her boy out of the Sahaja Yoga boarding-school in India.<ref>Brigitte Schinkele, ''Rechtsprechung in Österreichisches Archiv für Kirchenrecht'' 45 [1998], ibid., pp. 306-317, cited in Eva M Synek, [http://www.jsri.ro/old/html%20version/index/no_3/eva_synek-articol.htm "The Limits of Religious Tolerance - a European Perspective"]</ref> A French Court of Appeal allowed another mother custody of her children on condition that she did not send any of them to the school, again a result of grandparental intervention.<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p162-3</ref>
+Coney says these instances are confined to the European continent partly because the anti cult movement there has successfully drawn attention to the differences between Sahaja Yoga and the mainstream, resulting in a media attack on the movement.<ref name="Children in New Religions p119">Susan J. Palmer, Charlotte Hardman: ''Growing Up As Mother's Children: Socializing a Second Generation in Sahaja Yoga'' by Judith Coney in ''Children in New Religions'', page 119, Rutgers University Press, July 1999</ref> Coney says in the UK grandparents have been more likely to give parents freedom to bring up children as they wish, in a couple of instances even paying for the child's education at the school.<ref name="Children in New Religions p119"/> The enrolment form used in the admission procedure now asks for details of any resistance from family members to the child studying at the school.<ref>[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/files/Enrollment_Form.pdf Enrolment Form]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 39: / Line 47: @@
 ==External links==
+{{portal|Schools}}
-*[http://www.isps.edu.in/site/ Official ISPS website]
-*[http://www.clevr.com/pano/860 Panoramic view of ISPS]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071120221804/http://www.isps.edu.in/site/ Official ISPS website]
-*[http://www.misterian.com/blog/images/2008/12/20081218_DSC_4636.html December 2008 Panoramic view of ISPS]
+{{coord missing|Himachal Pradesh}}
-*[http://www.sahajayoga.org/swan/view/swan_106_2003.asp Testimonials from alumni] (positive, official [[Sahaja Yoga]] website)
-*[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010421/windows/main2.htm A school where students learn to give] Article in the Tribune of India, April 21, 2001.
-*[http://www.hvk.org/articles/1200/148.html A School for tradition] Article by Sukhmani Singh in The Indian Express, December 24, 2000.
-*[http://www.sahajayoga.ca/quebec/English/SYand/children.htm Extracts from Education Enlightened]
 [[Category:International schools in India]]
-[[Category:Kangra]]
+[[Category:Schools in Kangra district]]
 [[Category:Sahaja Yoga]]
+[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1990]]
+[[Category:1990 establishments in Himachal Pradesh]]