Address

Namaskar, Good Morning to all of you. Professor Murli Manohar Joshi, Tripathi Ji, S.K. and S.E. Tripathi Ji and Smt. Kumud Bansal and all the teachers, families and some students who are here, for all of you my greetings on this Teachers' Day.

I was thinking, for next five minutes what I can share with you on this great day. Only I can recall my teachers, who were teachers in the Primary School, who were teachers in the Secondary School, who were teachers in Colleges. The four persons come to my mind: one is Sivasubramaniya Iyer, he taught me in 4th class in Rameswaram. And then Aiyadurai Soloman, he taught me Science in Schwartz High School, Ramanathapuram, and Totadri Iyengar. Professor Totadri Iyengar taught me Mathematics in St. Joseph's College, Trichy, and Professor Pandalai taught me Aeronautics in MIT, Chennai. These are the three teachers. Yesterday, I was thinking what is those four great teachers gave you ? to you ? to me. What did they give me?

So, I would like to summarise. They taught me very interesting thing. You know a child, growing child, always asks at any event, "you give me, what you can give me." The child will say, "you give me, what you can give me." When I grow as a teenager, I will say, "leave me alone, I will do everything.", a teenager will say that. When I grow as an adult, then probably some sense has come in, "then let us do it together, let us do it together", that's a type of adult view. But what is next? Can you grow as a leader in any field; science, technology, mathematics, then when you grow a leader, then what you learn is "what I can give you." The leader, one of the characterstics is, "what I can give you". When the child starts, "what you can give me", when the leader says, "what I can give you", that's real education. The Primary, the Secondary Education, building the leadership from Primary Education to the Secondary Education.

Fortunately, nearly half of ? five million teachers, you are representing five million teachers for one billion people. My greetings to all of you, because the reason is wherever you are, that ? a ? that five million teachers, my greetings to them since they make children ? children to a leader. Children give you ? give to? "what I can give" is the great lessons, the great expectations, the teachers can give to the students, my greetings to all of you.

Friends, I have ? I am one of the avid reader of Dr. Radhakrishnan's work, and from young age . I read very interesting ? he defines education ? I think it's apt today. What our Human ? Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary and Higher Education, and what they have introduced ? National Award for teachers. I was talking to both Hon'ble Minister and also to the officials, that the teachers do a great life change. From " what you can give ", to "what I can give". And the society and the respect in society, they interface the society, teachers' own community, not only they are just children, for educated, being educated they are family, even they interface with family, so that type of community, the teaching community, primary, secondary education. About half a ? nearly five million teachers, they need all the support of the country, recognition of the country and they are

Now friends, this ? the definition is our ancient book ? says what is education? And ? particularly somewhere Dr. Radhakrishnan has highlighted this definition of education. "Education imparts intellectual culture". "Education imparts intellectual culture". What is that intellectual culture? That is the ? when the child, it comes out of education, it acquires intellectual culture. That intellectual culture secures capacity and stability in the child's mind. As he grows as a student the intellectual culture transforms the ? the person, personality of grown ups to secure the capacity and stability in their minds. That means they are strong, they can differentiate what is good, what is bad and they integrates mind ? integration of minds. Now, if you have intellectual culture, secures capacity and stability, capacity and stability enable to secure ? secure prosperity. Because, prosperity differs person to person, but the capacity and stability enables ? that's acquisition of knowledge enable to the prosperity of a person and the family. Now, this prosperity ? where does it lead us? Prosperity gives the security, enables to confirm righteousness, of harmony, confirm righteousness. Which is in turn secures happiness.

You can see the education giving intellectual culture, finally leaders, beautiful life and happiness. I wish you all very happy life as a teacher and transform the children as enlightened citizens.

Wish you all the best, God bless you.