Celebrating 20 Years of Growth and Transformation
By Didi Ananda Anuraga
On March 25, 2005, Tonrak Ananda Marga School in Thailand was inaugurated in collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Education. Initially registered under the name Baan Unrak School, it later adopted its current name, reflecting its deep connection to the Neohumanist teachings of Ananda Marga. We have around 280 students. We have three kindergartens from 3 to 5 years old with a total of around 50 students. At 6 they enter primary school. We have 6 levels of primary. Our primary school has 193 students. Then we have 3 levels of junior high school with a total of about 40 students. 30% of the students are from the Baan Unrak Children’s home. https://kalyan433.wixstudio.com/mysite/tonrak
As we approach the 20th anniversary of our school’s journey, I am inspired to reflect on the rollercoaster of experiences that have shaped us.
Recently, I listened to a discourse by Sohail Inayatullah titled “How Educators Imagine the Future,” which sparked a wave of inspiration for me to write about our school’s evolution in light of his powerful insights.
Sohail’s Four Key Questions:
- Imagination: What is impossible today, but, if possible, would change everything?
- The Solution: Tell a Different Story, the correct metaphor of the school and the teacher.
- The Used-Future: What do we continue to do today, even though we know it’s not working?
- Future vision: What emergence can I anticipate seeing by 2040?
1. What is impossible today, but, if possible, would change everything?
It seems impossible today to influence the life of our teachers toward a vegetarian diet and a more spiritually guided outlook. Yet, if this were possible, it would revolutionize everything. The journey of self-transformation begins when the mind is nurtured by spirituality—not rigid dogma, but by flowing waves of pure, enlightening spirituality. Adopting a vegetarian diet aligned with Neohumanist principles would open hearts and minds, creating smoother transitions toward this path of growth.
Another seemingly impossible shift is transforming the authoritarian mindset of teaching. Despite repeated efforts, the entrenched, teacher-centered model continues to dominate. A truly democratic school cannot thrive under an authoritarian framework. We often speak of student-centered education, but it feels like trying to straighten a dog’s tail—no matter how hard we try, it always curls back to its original form.
Then, there’s the challenge of money. The task of securing enough funds to meet all our needs is at present impossible. Yet, if we had the financial resources, it would transform everything. We could create more classrooms for alternative projects and activities, complete much-needed repairs and maintenance, and ensure that all teachers and staff receive salaries that fully support their personal needs.
2. The Story: The metaphor reflecting the school and the teachers.
One metaphor is already presented in the name of the school. Another metaphor would be that Tonrak Ananda Marga School is ‘A garden where minds bloom’. Imagine the scenery of a garden where all minds work together to shape the landscape of moral values, knowledge and wisdom, a movement in unison where all minds think democratically—where every child’s thought and opinion are respected and valued, worthy of consideration, analysis, and discussion. In this environment, classrooms are student-centered. Learning unfolds through personal interests, collaborative discussions, sharing of ideas, explorations, and enriching excursions. Teachers, acting as guides, support the students, while the students lead the way. The guides ensure that the journey remains grounded in moral values, with every step directed toward a higher purpose.
What is the goal of this transformative journey? The goal is spiritual. It is the pursuit of enlightenment, and the path to this goal is paved with knowledge, wisdom, service, love, curiosity, exploration, moving in unison with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding
3. The Used-Future: What do we continue to do today, even though we know it’s not working?
We still adhere to outdated systems: a classroom per grade, a desk and chair for each child, where they should sit in silence, listening to the teacher, copying from the blackboard. These hours, these days, are wasted in the precious years of their childhood. We persist with teacher-centered methods, where every child learns from the same textbooks, colors the same drawings, and is measured against standardized norms and grades—graded from A to F, where failure is inevitable for some. Yes, it is a bleak picture, and unfortunately, it is often a bleak reality.
In this environment, scolding becomes the tool to maintain silence, and secret slaps on the fingers are used to reprimand those who still dare to be free. But thankfully, there are moments of freedom—moments when children can explore, play together, work on tasks, and research, rather than just copy. However, traditional teaching methods still dominate, and they do not foster the well-rounded development children need to live with purpose in today’s world.
In his discourse, Sohail speaks of the “monsters”—both those within and those outside of us. In Tonrak School, the monsters outside are the traditions that are strongly indoctrinated into the child’s mind—traditions that demand obedience, discourage questioning, and reinforce conformity. The media is another monster, feeding children lies and distracting them from the real, living world that surrounds them. While many minds are lost in the superficial world of media, narcissism takes hold, overtaking the living world.
What about me? What is my metaphor and my monsters?
My metaphor is that of a goddess, holding a watering can filled with nutritious values, her heart like the sun, radiating undying love while making sure the movement of the garden always is on the right path of learning and flourishing in joy. Everything begins in the mind, as Shrii P. R. Sarkar always said—so why not hold this dream close to my heart?
When I started the school 20 years ago, I had no real knowledge of education. I thought teachers knew everything, and I simply wanted to create a space filled with love and care. At that time, I worked in an Ananda Marga children’s home and I witnessed how children would hide to avoid going to the regular school. Teachers would beat them for not being properly dressed, for homework they didn’t do as they didn’t understand, or being in Grade 1 and not even knowing why they were being punished. Many of the children were refugees and immigrants and treated like second-hand human beings. Shrii P. R. Sarkar wants schools so I jumped in, driven by the desire to make a difference.
And so began this rollercoaster journey. I quickly learned that teachers didn’t have all the answers. The teachers at the start of our journey came for the job and salary, caring more for their own lives than for the students. There were times when teachers formed rival groups, even attempting to take over the entire Administration of the school, with secret meetings and half of the teachers on their side. And where was I? Lost in the middle of it all, unsure of what to do, but holding on to my dream and acting accordingly.
Through what seemed like magic, conflicts eventually resolved. Year by year, things moved forward, and by Grace, keeping that dream alive, the school blossomed into a community rooted in unity and cooperation. The values my spiritual master instilled in me—’Never give up’ and ‘Unity is the treasure’—became our foundation.
And what about my monsters?
Yes, I have my monsters too. There is my anger, which has softened with age. But perhaps my greatest monster is my sense of inferiority, which never seems to leave me. As a friend, it has made me humble, introverted, and presented endless opportunities to surrender. As an enemy, it has kept me hidden in the shadows, never allowing me to believe I can do something worthwhile.
4. What Emergence Can I Anticipate Seeing at Tonrak Ananda Marga School by 2040?
As someone who is not very technical, it is challenging for me to fully imagine a future immersed in technology and artificial intelligence. However, being based in Thailand, I found Sohail’s concept of personal Buddha holograms particularly intriguing. Of course, such technology comes with its risks, depending on how the holograms are programmed. They could either promote dogma, traditionalism, and keep the mind stagnant, or they could embody the pure teachings of Lord Buddha, guiding individuals toward divinity. Given the direction the world is heading, it seems inevitable that technology will play a significant role in education.
Using my imagination, I can envision a future where each student has a personalized hologram, programmed with knowledge and wisdom that inspires them and shapes their path toward Neohumanist living. Schools could evolve into community centers where children and adults learn, explore, and grow together—creating a dynamic landscape that fosters living and progress in harmony with one another, the world, and the entire ecosystem.
Assessments? In such a living, evolving community, where AI accesses neohumanist teachings and serves as a guide for the journey, the need for traditional assessments seems obsolete. Assessments, with their focus on grading and comparison, belong to the factory-model education of today—not the future. When I first began my studies with Gurukula at NHCA, I was eager to understand how we would be graded. I wanted a clear mark to reflect my understanding and mastery of the content. However, as the study progressed, my perspective shifted entirely. What we were doing was an ongoing process of landscaping Neohumanist knowledge and understanding, collaborating with each other’s unique skills and abilities. Each of us was contributing to the creation of this landscape as we moved forward, rather than being judged by static, numerical assessments.
At Tonrak Ananda Marga School, we have reached a level where teachers actively collaborate and work together on plans and projects. I see a bright future for our school based on these values. The next steps will involve engaging parents, local schools, and the broader community, to create an even stronger, more interconnected learning environment.