Spiritual Embryo

by Rizka Amanda, S.Psi

For this month's article, I’m going to take you on another fun adventure. In this article, I’m excitedly introducing you to Spiritual Embryo. Together we’ll learn about what is Spiritual Embryo? Is it part of our developmental stage as a human? What’s the difference between Physical Embryo and Spiritual Embryo? Sit comfortably and happy reading.

Centuries ago Maria Montessori introduced the concept of Spiritual Embryo. One of the articles from montessoriapproach.com said, “Maria Montessori describes the baby born as a spiritual embryo after completing its development in the womb. The period between 0-3 years is the stage of spiritual embryos. Physically, he/she needs someone else, he/she can’t move on his own, he/she can’t stand or eat. But deep inside he/she has got the power of the person he/she will be in the future”. Maria Montessori introduces the concept of “spiritual embryo” explaining that the newborn has to do a psychological work as the embryo did physical work. She insists on the word “formative” and calls the postnatal period, a “formative period” which it makes the baby in a kind of “spiritual embryo” (Robin, 2019). Hilson also said Montessori developed the concept of the spiritual embryo at the turn of the century. She suggested that man develops through two successive embryonic stages – the first (physical embryo) in the prenatal period from conception to birth and the second during the period from birth to around three years. She called this second stage ‘the spiritual embryo’ and regarded it as the most significant phase in the life of the child (Hilson, 1982). From these three definitions, we can conclude that as helpless as a newborn can be, they are actually born with their own inner compass that could guide them in the future. Their Spiritual Embryo guide them to know what they want, what they need, what they like and dislike.

The Spiritual Embryo is a very interesting topic for me personally since it was quite close to what my religion taught me. Let me take you real quick to how Muslims see Spiritual Embryo. There’s one Hadith who said “Each one of you is constituted in the womb of the mother for forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (each person's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him...” (Sahih al-Bukhari no: 3036). This is very interesting how Muslims have a similar point of view about the Spiritual Embryo which I strongly believe other religions must also have similar massages about the Spiritual Embryo. What I want to deliver is we have often been stuck in the perspective that newborn is weak small human, we often selfishly think that we as an adult have all rights to shape them as what we like, we unconsciously shape—or worst, decide—their future. We often forget that deep in their soul has laid their own inner compass that already has all the arrows pointed at the directions that we as an adult, as a parent, as a teacher, as caretakers only have one job: facilitate their needs so they can fully grow as what the arrow from their compass pointed at.

Resources:

http://www.montessoriapproach.com/spiritual-embryo/ https://themontessorifamily.com/the-spiritual-embryo-a-chapter-from-the-absorbent-mind/ https://montessoridigital.org/file/2005/download?token=vxz1WT5J https://www.islamicity.org/19988/when-a-human-soul-enters-the-fetus/