Introduction of Mr Jagdish Gandhi

The Man and His Mission

1. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi founded the City Montessori School (CMS) in 1959 with only 5 students.  Today, CMS is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest school by pupils with over 37,000 students on rolls. CMS has also been awarded the highly prestigious UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2002 - the only school in the world to be honoured with this award. CMS also organizes 27 international events as part of its unique educational philosophy and hundreds of thousands of children from all over the world participate in these events every year.  Consequently, the CMS educational model which believes that "School must be the Lighthouse of Society" and which upholds that nurturing spiritual awareness in children must be the central focus of all educational activities, has grown into a veritable school of thought, impacting schools and educational organisations worldwide. Many schools acknowledge that they have been inspired to follow the CMS example and several emulate CMS educational practices and approach.

2. Under Mr. Jagdish Gandhi’s guidance CMS has Four Building Blocks of Education: Universal Values, Global Understanding, Excellence in All Things and Service to Humanity that address the spiritual (values), human (attitudes), material (knowledge), and physical (skills) to be successful today. These provide a rich and comprehensive context in which CMS programmes have been developed that make a human being both “good” and “smart”, a gift of God to mankind and a pride of the human race. The founders have promoted the view that education can determine whether a child will become the light of this world or the cause of its darkness. When the school is the lighthouse of society, the children become its light.  CMS therefore makes utmost efforts to inspire every child to believe “One day I will change the world and make it a better place.”

3. CMS holds the distinction of pioneering the introduction of Quality Circles (QCs) in education. The basic concept is to ensure development of every student as a Total Quality Person with values of world citizenship. The world’s first Student Quality Circle (SQC) named SQC Jai Jagat (Glory be to the World) was formed by CMS students in 1993. The path-breaking case study not only won a number of awards at various national and international QC conventions in India and abroad but also led to its adoption in several countries abroad including USA, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Australia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia among others. CMS students have since formed numerous SQCs viz., Global Village, Lighthouse, Harmony, World Citizen, Torchbearers etc. A World Council for Quality in Education was also later established in 1999 with a view to nurturing and coordinating the SQC movement worldwid.

4. There are many eyewitness accounts of the CMS’s influence and successes in creating and nurturing a new future through education such as documented in these and other accounts: A Bold Experiment in Teaching Values, Educational Leadership, May 1996, USA, 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, 1999, the Netherlands, Conflict Resolution: 50 Success Stories from Around the World, Oxford University Press, U.K., September 2001 among others are some of these.

The CMS school of thought emphasizes following three types of education:

Material Education is concerned with the progress and development of body through gaining its sustenance, its material comfort and ease. This education is common to human beings and animals.

Human Education signifies civilization and progress, that is to say, administration, charitable works, trades, arts and handicrafts, sciences and great inventions etc. which are the activities essential to man as distinguished from animals.

Divine Education: It consists of achieving divine perfections, and this is true education; for in this state man becomes the focus of divine blessings and the manifestation of words ‘Let us make man in our image and after our likeness’. This is the goal of humanity.

Mr. Jagdish Gandhi believes that meaningful education rests on the following four pillars:

(1)   Knowledge: The object of knowledge is that which is the beginning and the end as well as the source of all knowledge i.e. our Creator. We are created to know our Creator and to love Him. Knowing our Creator means knowing His teachings loving our Creator means obeying the teachings as revealed in the scriptures of one’s religion, what that may happen to be. Therefore, knowledge of our Creator and obedience to His teachings as given in one’s religion constitutes an important lesson taught to CMS students.

(ii)    Wisdom: The ability to make right decisions and choices in the light of teachings of our Creator is true wisdom.  The scale to measure should be the teachings of our Creator as revealed in the sacred scriptures of one’s religion. CMS students are wiser because they are taught to make choices, choose options, take decisions and make judgments in the light of the teachings of our Creator as enshrined in the scriptures of one’s religion.  The result is also reflected in their performances in academic and co-curricular activities.

(iii)   Spiritual Perception: Man has two realities: One is material reality and other is spiritual. For becoming a useful member of society he needs a proper balance in both these realities of life. Man, as we see him, is a material being, his perception should be spiritual so that even his material actions become useful for society. He must be a spiritually aware human being and for that he needs to cultivate the divinity within.

(iv)  Eloquent speech: This quality is highly important and necessary for any socially useful person today.  The power of expression should be lucid, fluent, clear, flawless and bold and should extend to both the written and the spoken words. Only then will they be able to share their thoughts and vision and play a leadership role in changing the world for a better tomorrow.

The CMS educational edifice as upheld by CMS school of thought comprises of the following four building blocks:

(i)     Universal values are values like honesty, sincerity, truthfulness, hard working etc that are extolled in all the religions.  These are necessary qualities that are central to a life of fulfillment not only for the individual but also for the society.

(ii)    Global understanding means developing an international perspective and a global vision so that one becomes a true citizen of the world. 

(iii)   Service to the world implies “Do not busy yourself in your own concerns or the concerns of your countries alone. Fix your thoughts upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men.”

(iv)  Excellence in all things implies making pursuit of quality and excellence a habit.  It also implies that one must cultivate purity of heart, fine manners and humility.

The recognition of the success of Mr. Gandhi’s educational model, which is followed in his school CMS, is reflected in the numerous awards and honours that have been showered on CMS and its founders including the inaugural Derozio Award by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi for contributions to “education and human enrichment;” the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2002, the Nuclear Free Future Special Achievement Award 2004, the Quality Pioneers Award by the then President of Mauritius H.E. Cassim Utteem in the year 2000 among many others.  It is also reflected in the views of the CMS alumni sent in long after they passed out from the portals of this hallowed centre of human-making education, acknowledging the importance of spiritual awareness inculcated in them during their years in CMS and crediting the school’s educational model for their professional and personal achievements.  A random selection of extracts from some such letters has been given in the annexure.

The effectiveness and impact of this innovative model of school education is also reflected in the numerous letters from eminent people who visited CMS to take a closer look at what CMS is doing and why it is making such a big impact internationally.

5. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi upholds that we must teach children to be “concerned with the affairs of the age we live in” so that they become proactive agents of social transformation.  Although globalization is bringing the world closer together, absence of social solidarity, universal tolerance and world peace still remains the biggest challenge to human development and CMS has, thus, addressed these issues cutting across boundaries of culture, politics and religion with courage and creativity. Over the years, CMS has made relentless efforts to preserve the values of integrity, respect for human dignity and principled governance, promote and defend human rights and encourage solutions based on inter-religious co-operation and solidarity, democracy and justice towards conflicts that may arise in societies. Till date, all CMS activities — local, regional as well as international – have aimed at, and have even succeeded in making positive contributions towards making the world a better and safer place to live in.  

6. As part of its educational model CMS has developed an extensive divine education programme of co-curricular activities that receives equal emphasis with academic efforts, and aim at inculcating in students a spiritual outlook and global vision. CMS prepares its students not just for exams, but life itself – to become conscious and contributing members of society, proactive agents of change, promoters of divine and upholders of high moral values. The highlights of this programme are:

7. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi believes the true education releases capacities, develops analytical abilities, self-confidence, will power and goal setting competencies and instills the vision that enables one to become a self-motivated agent of social change, serving the best interests of the community. Hence, CMS education encompasses the human and spiritual aspects of education along with material aspects. CMS believes in making all its students “good and smart” – good at heart with high moral values, self-discipline and manners, smart in thought and action being capable of high thinking thereby turning this gift of God to mankind into a pride of the human race.

8. For over five decades now, Mr. Jagdish Gandhi has been relentlessly working towards building bridges of unity and constructing the defenses of peace in the minds of its students as also the general public at large. The themes of “divinity, communal harmony, tolerance towards all religions, world unity” pervade all aspects of school activities. To further the aims of CMS there is a full-fledged World Unity and Divine Education Department in the school. The concept of a global family and the universal brotherhood of mankind are celebrated in all CMS events which are organized with the sole aim of helping children in developing an international outlook and global perspective in keeping with the educational philosophy of CMS. Regular divine education conferences are also held for parents and students to emphasize the idea that our society must be founded on principles of equality and justice.

9. It is noteworthy that academics have never suffered in the broad spectrum of CMS activities; on the contrary CMS philosophy has been instrumental in the academic success of CMS students. The academic performance of CMS students has been par excellence with over 90 percent students having always procured first division marks and large numbers qualifying every year for admission to various engineering, medical and other professional colleges both in India and abroad. Also, students selected for National Talent Search merit scholarships from CMS comprise the largest number from any school in India besides constituting nearly two and a half times the total of all Lucknow schools combined; the number of successful candidates steadily increasing over the years. Thousands of CMS alumni are today placed in top positions in India and abroad. Sans exceptions, all past pupils give ample credit to CMS for wholesome personality development while talking about their success stories.

10. For over five decades now, Mr. Jagdish Gandhi has been actively working towards building bridges of unity, promoting international understanding and constructing the defenses of peace and divinity in the minds of its students as also the public in general. All school activities, starting from the daily school assembly to educational programs to international events, are basically unity and divine education exercises. The Divine Education Assembly marked by all-religion prayers and recitals from all religious scriptures every morning is unique to the school. The all-religion prayer is an integral part of every CMS event; be it in-house activities, international conferences or public rallies. Of course, initially constant opposition was witnessed from fundamentalist factions of society in this regard with even some parents objecting to their children being made to participate in prayers from religions other than his / her own. However, CMS has remained undeterred and continued the practice as a means of inoculation of young minds against religious prejudices. Needless to say, the attitude towards the CMS all-religion prayer has changed over time.  

11. The World Peace Prayer Ceremony (WPPC) is an integral part of all CMS events and a means of disseminating CMS philosophy. In fact, every CMS function begins with a spectacular and stimulating World Peace Prayer Ceremony as a practical exercise in teaching peace. In a typical WPPC, children dress up in the national costumes of all the UN member countries and holding aloft their respective national flags, they pray, one by one, first for divine in the country they are representing followed by divine in the world and finally ending with the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” These colourful ceremonies promote and foster feelings of brotherhood and unity, the pre-requisites for divine.

12 . Mr. Jagdish Gandhi believes that the recognition of being the world’s largest school and award of UNESCO prize for Peace Education places greater responsibility upon himself , his school and its students making them virtually the spokesmen for the 2 billion children of the world. Therefore a vital part and mission of CMS is the upholding of “Right to a Safe Future” in the UN Declaration of Rights of the Child which was adopted by the United Nations General assembly on 20th November, 1989. In this regard, besides petitioning the UN Secretary General Dr Kofi Annan, CMS has also been garnering support for the same from world leaders and policy makers the world over. CMS school of thought believes that inclusion of the aforesaid right would be the first step in the direction of protecting our environment facing the danger of an eco-catastrophe. It would also be a stepping stone for ridding the world of the increasing threat of a possible nuclear holocaust.

13. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi believes that without meaningful education society has no sure basis and an individual lacks direction. It is this lack of meaning in education that is afflicting our youth today and is the cause of most of the ills plaguing the society today, resulting in rising crimes, declining moral values and increasing stress, tensions and unhappiness in the society today.  Schools where children spend 15 or more years of their life can help provide meaning and direction to the child. This school of thought enjoins the school to not only prepare the child for the world but also prepare the world for the child.  It therefore becomes the duty and obligation of the school to educate the child, guide the parents as well as provide direction to the society at large.

In the microcosm of the city of Lucknow, despite there being a serious decline in values since they started the school, CMS founders have shown that schools can create a new reality.  With a creative approach to promoting a meaningful education, this temple of learning, the school, is transformed into a temple of enlightenment.  The CMS founders have put into action their belief that a school should lead others in society. Through their school, the founders have tested the hypothesis that when a school provides meaningful education (which is defined in detail and is articulated and implemented as a fully integral part of CMS education), it becomes a lighthouse of society. By providing a meaningful education, CMS has taken on a leadership role and by demonstrating the effectiveness of their lighthouse model, CMS philosophy is not only a valuable experiment, it has helped millions to acknowledge the importance of a meaningful education with schools worldwide emulating the CMS example.

14. In pursuance of its objective of inculcating a spiritualized global perspective in children, CMS organizes 27 international events. These include MACFAIR (mathematics & computer fair), QUANTA (science competition), ICSQCC (student quality circles convention), GEOFEST (geography & environment festival), CELESTA (music & culture fest), WORLD PEACE FESTIVAL (UN Day), COFAS (computer fair & seminar), ROBOTICS and ASTRONOMY OLYMPIADS – all aimed at providing an opportunity to children from varying nationalities to assemble on one platform and experience cross-cultural interaction. It is during the inter-mingling that children themselves realize that people all over the world share same hopes and fears, have similar needs and aspirations which helps them understand the oneness of all humankind. 

15. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi promotes divine awareness even through its sports events. For example at EXSPO, an international sports meet held by CMS every year besides sports competitions between various national and international teams sportspersons from all over the world witness the unique presentations and programs like World Peace Prayer , All religion prayer and programs on discourses of Mr. Gandhi which are inspiring programs adhering to the beliefs of CMS of divinity in education, unity, world peace and brotherhood.

16. Even a regular scientific event like robot making competition – BEAM Robotic Olympiad – is utilized for peace and divine teaching in CMS. The robots are given names like SIAS (Strive for International Amity & Security), POPOE (Promote Peace on Earth), TEI-BOC (The Earth Is But One Country) and STUIB (String The Universe In Brotherhood) with the sole aim of inculcating in children a life-long commitment to peace and divinity. CMS robots have won several medals in various International BEAM Robotic Olympiads held in UK, Canada, USA and India since 1990.   

17. Scores of International Days like the United Nations Day, Commonwealth Day, SAARC Day, Ozone Day, Earth Day, Anti-Genocide / Rwanda Day and Human Rights Day are also organized by CMS with the sole aim of promoting peace and divinity. Besides generating awareness about the particular day and its cause, these days are also marked by a wide variety of competitions on the twin themes of world unity and peace. None other than the UN Secretary General Dr Kofi Annan sent a personal note to CMS praising the school’s efforts for the Peace Millennium Festival.

18. Another unique activity organized by Mr. Gandhi at CMS is simulated or mock World Parliament sessions wherein children playacting as leaders of various countries of the world group together to form the World Government and discuss issues threatening the very survival of life on our planet. Issues discussed include the growing arms threat, ever-increasing ecological imbalance, increasing social tensions and violence with the participants deliberating on ways and means to ameliorate these. The central theme of all discussions again focuses on how to ensure lasting world peace through complete education that has divinity at its core.

19. One of the most unique initiatives of Mr. Gandhi is Aao Dosti Karein (Come, let us be friends). This Indo-Pak conflict resolution project came into existence three years ago when the Indian and Pakistani armies were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in Kargil a border area between India and Pakistan. To begin with, CMS students mailed about 4000 letters to 35 schools in Pakistan whose addresses were downloaded from the Internet as a friendly initiative much to the shock and surprise of hardliners on both sides. At a time when mutual relations were abysmally low, CMS also successfully managed to host the first group of Pakistani children’s delegation despite a horrendous visa process and snapping of all transportation links between the two countries. The number of exchange visits has since increased and the response to letters is overwhelming. In fact, the letters being received from Pakistani children are not just candid but also smack of a sense of responsibility and determination to change the face of things for better. Undoubtedly, mind-sets are changing and conversions of hearts taking place thereby rekindling a spirit of mutual trust and unity. The ultimate objective of the exercise is to mobilize public opinion in both countries and compel respective governments to pursue good and friendly neighbourly policies. Alongside, the interaction between Indians and Pakistanis is also facilitating inter-religious co-operation and tolerance to a great extent. Besides the ever-growing Indo-Pak Children’s Pen friends Club, a large number of Pakistani delegations have also since visited CMS.

20. Living up to its motto of Jai Jagat (Glory be to the world), CMS facilitates international exposure and cross-cultural interaction for children with a view to overcoming barriers of caste, colour, creed and language. Every year the school organizes Children’s International Summer Village (CISV) camps and International School-to-School Exchange (ISSE) programmes. As member of the UK-based CISV Society, CMS has been hosting CISV camps in Lucknow since 1993. In a typical CISV camp, delegations from about a dozen countries, each consisting of two boys and two girls and an adult leader, live together for four weeks. Every year, CMS also sends several student delegations to participate in CISV camps all over the world. CMS also organizes mini-CISV camps with a view to providing international exposure to those children who are unable to go abroad for personal reasons. CMS is also a member of the International School-to-School Experience, a sister organization of CISV, which facilitates exchange visits between schools from different cultures. A typical ISSE exchange is between two schools whose delegations comprising of 10 students and two teachers, spend three weeks in each other’s school as guests. CMS has ISSE exchanges with schools in USA,Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, Japan and Iceland.

21. CMS students are strong advocates of a just and peaceful new World Order and have been corresponding with the United Nations Secretary General Dr Kofi Annan in this regard. They have appealed to Dr Annan to initiate the process of the formation of a World Government at the earliest. They even collected one hundred thousand signatures in support of their campaign to put forth their case forcefully.     

22. CMS upholds that non-violence should be observed even against the environment and is concerned about the growing environmental deterioration. From time to time, CMS students participate in environment conservation projects with the objective of promoting environmental awareness among the masses and inspiring them to join hands in this regard. It is noteworthy here that the ‘Clean Gomti” campaign wherein CMS students joined community volunteers to clean up the Gomti river in Lucknow proved to be a source of inspiration for students of Riverlands School of Australia who subsequently emulated the project in their country. CMS students also organize a massive campaign against noise pollution every year during Diwali time in India. The campaign aims at persuading children, as also the public at large, to resist from lighting high-decibel fire crackers and celebrate a pollution-free Diwali.   

23. Such is the commitment for peace and divinity in CMS that even the weekly-off day (Sunday) is utilized to organize special seminars on them. Organized by the World Unity & Peace Education Department of CMS, the seminar is attended by hundreds of children on a regular basis. The seminars are marked by personality development classes in general with a special emphasis on grooming of children as divine education promoters.    

24. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi organizes a large number of contests like Essay Writing, Painting, International Peace Poster, Peace Quilt and International Peace Greeting Card competitions on a regular basis with the sole objective to generate peace and divine awareness and to enhance children’s knowledge about humanity’s common cultural heritage.

25. Mr. Gandhi personally supervises construction of peace floats based on the twin themes of unity of religions and peace which are also effective peace education tools for promoting peace awareness among the masses. CMS Peace Floats are a regular feature of the annual Republic Day Parade at Lucknow and are avidly watched and appreciated by the multitude of people thronging the parade route in Lucknow as also millions of others viewing television. It is noteworthy that CMS floats have won the coveted Governor’s Trophy for the Best Float of the Republic Day parade a record number of 19 times during the last 26 years on the basis of its thematic content and visual appeal.   

26. Adhering to the advocacy of proactive behaviour by CMS philosophy CMS students also take out peace marches from time to time with a view to promoting divine awareness among the public at large. Their role as peace harbingers was widely acknowledged when Lucknow remained peaceful even as the whole of North India was in the grip of communal riots following the infamous demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. CMS students have also taken out peace marches whenever war clouds loom over the country or region. A massive peace march was also taken out when international terrorism raised its ugly head on September 11, 2001 with the attack on the World Trade Centre in USA. . Also during the recent Shia-Sunni tensions in the city, Mr. Jagdish Gandhi organized a press conference of Shia and Sunni clerics in his school on 6th April 2007 to issue a joint appeal to their respective followers calling for peace.

27. The role of CMS as a peace harbinger has since gained such credibility that a London-based NGO, Peace Direct, even invited CMS Founder-Manager Mr. Jagdish Gandhi, a CMS staffer and two CMS students on a ten-day long tour of United Kingdom in October 2004 so that they could visit some sensitive places in UK which have experienced or are experiencing racial and religious tension and deliver talks, discuss about ways and means to engender and sustain peaceful relations. The series of meetings addressed by the CMS delegation has since come to be known as Lucknow-UK Dialogues.

28. CMS has set up the first peace museum in India. The museum features all peace-related literature and other materials from various parts of the world. The museum was formally inaugurated by none other than the Gandhi of Sri Lanka, Dr A T Ariyaratne, on December 10, 2004.  

29. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi organizes World Unity Satsangs (non-denominational religious gatherings) every Sunday at CMS wherein spiritual heads and religious leaders address the gathering on the need for tolerance, non-violence and world peace and how to work to realize this aim. Some of the most famous names in India have addressed the public from the CMS portals. These include Sri Sri Ravishankar and Dada Vaswani among others. Several well-known musicians and singers have also rendered devotional hymns at these gatherings. CMS Founder-Manager Mr Jagdish Gandhi’s talks in these satsangs are telecast daily on various television channels like Aastha, Sanskar and Sadhna. The continuous flow of mail from all over in itself speaks for the tremendous audience response. These satsangs have entered their seventh consecutive year now.

30. At CMS children are taught to be concerned with affairs of world and to view themselves as self-appointed sentinels of the rights of world’s two billion children and generations yet-to-be born, and to strive for safeguarding their future. Besides appealing for the inclusion of a “Right to a Safe Future” in the UN Declaration of Rights of the Child, CMS students have also been trying to impress upon the heads of state and chief justices of the world the need for the formation of a World Government and the urgency for initiating such a process.  

31. Mr Jagdish Gandhi school believes that school is a building with four walls with tomorrow inside and that the destiny of man and mankind is shaped in the classrooms.  CMS upholds that humanity has passed through the stages of infancy and youth and is now about to enter the age of maturity as symbolized by the physical and emotional integration of all human beings in one global village. Therefore education must prepare children for the role of world citizenship and that a modern school should take up a leadership role and concern itself with the affairs of the age in which we live.

In pursuance of this belief, CMS sees itself, as the self-appointed guardian of the welfare of world’s two billion children and as well as generations yet unborn.  The school has therefore been running a campaign for ensuring a safe future for the world’s children by demanding elimination of over 37,000 existing nuclear bombs as well as launching of globally coordinated efforts for conserving the earth’s environment and ecology.  As part of this campaign, Mr. Gandhi has been convening a series of international conferences of chief justices of the world 2001. Last year CMS organised the 7th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World from 7th to 12th December 2006.  This campaign has drawn support from numerous presidents, prime ministers, chief justices and Nobel laureates.

32. Mr. Gandhi’s vision and mission is also propagated daily through national and international television channels like Aastha, Sanskar, ETV and Sadhna and also on local cable TV networks in Lucknow.  These educational programmes have acquired admirers spanning cities all over India and Nepal and numerous letters from people are received saying that they eagerly watch these regularly.

33. The impact of Mr. Gandhi’s philosophy can be seen in the tremendous success of CMS students in all fields including the exceptional results in board examinations.  In fact no other school has produced as many doctors, engineers and other professionals of consequence as CMS .Thus, over the last forty-eight years; CMS has had a tremendous impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of CMS students and their families.  Unfortunately, the hundreds of letters of admiration that he has received over the years from former students and their parents have not been preserved nor recorded.  Only some letters that have been received recently are available.  This unique idea of visualizing a school as a CMS school of thought and thereby developing a new model of education has successfully impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands people over the last five decades.

34. The achievement profile of CMS students is second to none and they regularly win prizes in numerous international and national events. Every year a large number of CMS students and staff visit foreign countries to participate in educational activities while CMS hosts more than a thousand foreigners who come to participate in 27 international events that CMS organizes. Thus a gigantic number of people have till date been exposed to the CMS philosophy and beliefs. It is estimated that during the last five years, at least 200,000 children have participated in CMS events and thus have been exposed to activities inspired by CMS philosophy and beliefs. This veritable school of thought has also inspired numerous individuals and organizations all over India and abroad. Schools in India, particularly those in and around Lucknow, keenly observe CMS and are eager to learn its innovations. Moreover, the model has drawn praise from some very eminent persons as the following quotes prove: