Spirituality in Special Education: A Mirror of the Ancient Indian Society

Although traditionally not an area of service delivered by special educators, the area of spirituality for persons with disabilities is receiving more attention as a quality-of-life outcome. With reference to Indian culture and education system, this particular component was existing in olden times but in a different way. The literature review examined the extent to which ancient educators were given the responsibility of the holistic development of children irrespective of their cast, creed and ability with equal attention. The results indicated that in tune of curriculum adaptation and modification along with bringing changes in the instructional strategies would bring the outcome expected. It has become a need of today to design a framework in which special education professionals may look beyond a sole focus on academic outcomes and they impart the knowledge which is really worthwhile and more global in nature for their students. Many authors have conceptualized spirituality as a personal experience of an individual searching for meaning, a higher quality of life that is accomplished through regular chanting of sacred mantras for their inner peace, harmony and connectedness to others.