Course Structure
Course Structure and Academic Integration
The course was introduced at Sutex Bank College as a certified, credit-bearing component associated with Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
Education and Sanskar
South Gujarat University — Jeevan Vidya Course
Bringing Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva into Higher Education
Location
Surat, Gujarat
Started
September–October 2023
Domain
Education and Sanskar
Project Lead
Himanshu Pastagia
About the Project
About the Jeevan Vidya Course
The South Gujarat University — Jeevan Vidya Course was developed to create space within higher education for students to examine questions that are often absent from conventional academic programmes.
College education generally focuses on subject knowledge, professional competence and career preparation. These areas are essential, but students also face questions about happiness, relationships, purpose, responsibility and their role in society.
The course introduces students to Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva through a formal academic framework. It encourages learners to examine human aspirations, understand the basis of harmony and explore the relationship between individual wellbeing, family, society and nature.
Unlike a motivational or moral-science programme, the course is structured around inquiry and self-exploration. Students are encouraged to examine the propositions presented, relate them to their own experience and develop clarity through study and discussion.
Core Work
What the Project Does
Impact & Relevance
Impact, Innovation and Student Relevance
The project’s first major achievement was reaching approximately 600 BCA students within a formal higher-education setting.
Challenges & Support
Challenges, Partnerships and SHAPE's Role
One of the central challenges of the programme is engaging students whose immediate attention is often focused on examinations, careers and employment.
Impact & Relevance
Impact, Innovation and Student Relevance
The project’s first major achievement was reaching approximately 600 BCA students within a formal higher-education setting.
The initiative demonstrated that Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva can be introduced not only through voluntary workshops or residential study camps but also through a structured university course with evaluation and academic credit.
Students studying technology and computing are preparing to participate in a rapidly changing world. Alongside technical capability, they also need clarity about responsibility, ethical conduct and the wider consequences of their work.
600
BCA students reached in the first phase
Credit
formal academic course structure
2023
course introduction period
Gujarati
regional-language learning material used
Challenges & Support
Challenges, Partnerships and SHAPE's Role
One of the central challenges of the programme is engaging students whose immediate attention is often focused on examinations, careers and employment.
Young people may initially view subjects related to human values or coexistence as secondary to professional education. The course addresses this through a gradual and participatory approach rather than through instruction based on belief or obligation.
The initiative’s key institutional partnership is with South Gujarat University and Sutex Bank College. This collaboration enabled the course to be formally included within the academic structure and evaluated through examinations.
SHAPE Foundation’s role is connected with strengthening educational initiatives that combine academic learning with right understanding, humane relationships and responsible participation. Through its Education and Sanskar domain, SHAPE Foundation helps bring visibility and institutional support to projects that expand the meaning of education.
Future Direction
Future Direction and Academic Scaling
The successful first phase creates the possibility of expanding the course within higher education.
The wider opportunity is to demonstrate that higher education can prepare students not only for employment but also for responsible human participation. By integrating the course into formal university systems, the initiative can help students connect knowledge, career, relationships, society and nature within one coherent understanding.
Repeating the course for new student batches
Expanding the course to additional colleges
Developing advanced learning modules
Training more faculty members and facilitators
Strengthening regional-language course material
Introducing the course across other academic disciplines
More Details
Key Learning Areas
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The course was introduced at Sutex Bank College as a certified, credit-bearing component associated with Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
Approximately 600 Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) students participated in the first phase. The programme included both introductory and more detailed sessions on Madhyasth Darshan and Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva.
Students were not only exposed to the subject through lectures. They also completed examinations and received grades, giving the course a formal academic structure.
A notable feature of the initiative is the use of the regional language. This makes complex philosophical and human questions more accessible to students and allows them to engage with the subject in a language closer to their everyday experience.
Course literature and study materials were also developed specifically for use at the college level.
Human aspiration for happiness and prosperity
Harmony within the individual
Trust, respect and fulfilment in relationships
Responsibility within family and society
Justice and mutual participation
Responsible use of physical facilities
Harmony between human beings and nature
Understanding coexistence
The role of education in human development
Key Indicators of Success
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The project’s first major achievement was reaching approximately 600 BCA students within a formal higher-education setting.
The initiative demonstrated that Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva can be introduced not only through voluntary workshops or residential study camps but also through a structured university course with evaluation and academic credit.
Students studying technology and computing are preparing to participate in a rapidly changing world. Alongside technical capability, they also need clarity about responsibility, ethical conduct and the wider consequences of their work.
Approximately 600 students reached and graded
Formal credit-bearing course sessions completed
University-linked examinations successfully conducted
College-level regional-language learning material developed
Successful integration within an existing BCA programme
Greater student awareness of ethical and coexistential values
Establishment of a replicable academic course structure
Key Collaborators
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One of the central challenges of the programme is engaging students whose immediate attention is often focused on examinations, careers and employment.
Young people may initially view subjects related to human values or coexistence as secondary to professional education. The course addresses this through a gradual and participatory approach rather than through instruction based on belief or obligation.
The initiative’s key institutional partnership is with South Gujarat University and Sutex Bank College. This collaboration enabled the course to be formally included within the academic structure and evaluated through examinations.
SHAPE Foundation’s role is connected with strengthening educational initiatives that combine academic learning with right understanding, humane relationships and responsible participation. Through its Education and Sanskar domain, SHAPE Foundation helps bring visibility and institutional support to projects that expand the meaning of education.
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University
Sutex Bank College, Surat
SHAPE Foundation (Education and Sanskar domain)
Voluntary coordinators and translators
Future Priorities
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Repeating the course for new student batches
Expanding the course to additional colleges
Developing advanced learning modules
Training more faculty members and facilitators
Strengthening regional-language course material
Introducing the course across other academic disciplines
Conducting student feedback and impact studies
Developing digital learning resources
Building partnerships with universities in other regions
Creating a long-term academic framework for Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is an academic credit-bearing course at Sutex Bank College, Surat, introducing undergraduate students to Jeevan Vidya–Sah-Astitva, values, and relationship dynamics.
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
Approximately 600 Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) students completed the course.
Himanshu Pastagia is the project leader.
Yes, students completed formal examinations, were graded, and received academic credits as part of their curriculum.
Using the regional language (Gujarati) makes complex philosophical and human questions more accessible and closer to students' daily experiences.
Contact Us
Connect with the Project Team
Educational institutions, colleges and universities interested in introducing similar courses can connect through SHAPE Foundation.
Contact
Phone: +91 7068886455
Email: tanya@shape.earth
Introduce the Course
Bring This Course to Your Campus
Help expand values-based consciousness and relationship dynamics education to higher education systems across India.