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Issue 61 – January 2026
The Neohumanist Institute Taiwan

The Neohumanist Institute Taiwan

An overview of the main activities of the past six months
By Rutger Tamminga

NHE in China

Nanjing Conference

In the past five months we have had an avalanche of activities, both extensive and intensive. By extensive I mean introducing the Neohumanist education concepts and vision to a new audience. In Nanjing we had the opportunity to give a three-hour presentation to over six hundred people, organized by the publishers of our four-book series Baby’s World, a curriculum centered on songs, stories, art, kids’ yoga, quiet time and the Neohumanist values of universal love. Of all the publications I have had the chance to make, I think this one most completely reflects the extensive scope of NHE. It is therefore fulfilling to see teachers in so many cities embrace these practices. As a follow-up we did an intensive three-day workshop, training 230 teachers, also in Nanjing.

Circle of Love workshop participants, Chengdu

Chengdu Five Day Storytelling In Schools Workshop
On the platform of Storytelling In Schools, we had an intensive workshop for five days in Chengdu, with a hundred attendees. Every morning we started with Quiet Time and kidsyoga activities, and then went into storytelling. Each day had a different theme: Circle of Love stories, The Values of Love stories, Multi-curriculum stories, and so on. Over the course of the days together the teachers expressed the desire to learn not just the methods, but also the psychology of education. So we decided that we should start a six-week course under the banner of “Grow Me Free! – Nurturing Universal Love in Children” – which introduces P.R. Sarkar’s concepts of education. It focuses on five topics:
  • Growing the Heart
  • Self-reflection
  • Positive Classroom Culture
  • Neohumanist Teaching Strategies
  • Celebrating Outcomes

We have eighty attendees and the discussions so far have been lively. I feel glad that the teachers want to go deeper into the philosophy of education, as previously they used to be more focused on the practice.

Kidsyoga & Yoga Psychology in Malaysia

Malaysia Yoga for Teenagers – Love is Everywhere Team

Our yoga friends in Malaysia are most amazing! This time they organized my program two times: once in June and then in September. Though we did some kidsyoga teacher training sessions, the more exciting part is the workshops on yoga psychology, for adults as well as for teenagers. The teachers in Malaysia have started using elements of yoga and quiet time for teenagers as part of an anti-bullying program, similar to the teachers in Bali, Indonesia where we have ninety government schools applying aspects of yoga.

Malaysia Kidsyoga Teacher Training

While kidsyoga teacher trainings have been given in Malaysia for many years, we see a revival in the application, with more teachers committing to teaching special needs kids or in kindergartens, and after class programs in elementary schools. Every end of the year, the “Love is Everywhere” team organize a charity give back program, and this time this covers ten cities in Malaysia. Proceeds will be donated to a welfare program.

Taiwan

While we have increasingly more regular classes in the Juei-Ai Gurukul Building, in this period the most impactful event was Dadaji Shambushivananda’s visit. He stayed with us for one week, initiating many people, attending our retreat (with forty attendees) in Ananda Jyoti, and overall vibrating whoever met him. With Dadaji the programs got a different dimension, and many of the brothers and sisters were deeply inspired.

Taiwanese are a deeply spiritual and sacrificing people. The activities in Juei-Ai reflect that, with different groups organizing their activities with us. These include calligraphy, mindfulness, singing bowl, Ayurveda classes, ecological programs, and social service/community groups. It is a very warm feeling to have so many different people coming together in our center.

Mohamukta gave three singing bowl sessions in Juei-Ai and at the largest hospital in the area, for the doctors and nurses/ staff, to help them relax and find their calm. The program was well received and in subsequent months Mohamukta will begin to offer more programs for patients as well.

Kaohsiung Conference for Government Teachers

During this time, I also had the chance to share storytelling activities with teachers of English in government schools. In Kaohsiung forty teachers attended and in Chiayi, sixty. I have hope we can further promote storytelling in the classroom as a way of helping the new generation develop their inner connection. The organizer in Kaohsiung mentioned that he feels the importance of the narrative in bringing human values back to the heart of education.


Special Needs classes, Taichung, Taiwan

Online

During this period, I finally got to putting up a website, https://neohumanistinstitute.tw/ The purpose of the website is to develop an audience for our activities outside the Chinese speaking community.

Publications

During this time, we published a book introducing sixteen points to the Chinese speaking audience. We also published a book on Prana Sadhana, which we are using to train ‘Meditation Coaches’ – people who can support others to learn meditation practices.