Address At The Cultural Programme 'sankaram', Chennai

Guardian Angels

I am indeed delighted to participate in the cultural programme organized under the guidance and blessings of Their Holiness Sankaracharyas of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. I convey my pranams to His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal and Jagadguru Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal and I greet the members of the Co-ordinating Committee, Principals, teachers and students of various schools and distinguished guests.

Paramacharya has always been the guiding light in elevating the religions to the spiritual levels. He could see and show us from his enlightened level that there is a common thread of truth in every religion that is love and compassion. India is fortunate to have such great divine personality. His guiding spirit is still with us.

When I was a college student I learnt two important teachings. One is of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who said, ?As a lamp does not burn without oil, so a man cannot live without God?. Another is of Swami Vivekananda who said, ?imagination properly employed is our greatest strength. It goes beyond reason and it is only light that can take us every where?. Each one of you will have similar such inspirational teachings. When I am in this beautiful environment, I thought of sharing a few of my experiences.

Great sons of India

Dear Children, yesterday I visited Visva Bharati. Though there are many good houses in Visva Bharati, Gandhiji preferred to stay in Shyamali, which is a mud hut, when he visited Tagore for a month. While Mahatma Gandhi was taking leave, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore handed over a letter about the Visva Bharati to the Great Mahatma. I would like to read out a few lines from that letter (2 Feb 1940) in order to bring out the care, the visions and the conviction with which both these great sons of India, were bringing up Visva Bharati. I quote,

"And, now, before you take your leave from Santiniketan, I make my fervent appeal to you, accept this institution under your protection giving it an assurance of permanence if you consider it to be a national asset. Visva-Bharati is like a vessel which is carrying the cargo of my life?s best treasure and I hope it may claim special care from my countrymen for its preservation."

While at Kolkatta, I was also happy to inaugurate the heritage centre built around the ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda. The heritage centre is a standing monument for the great work of Swami Vivekananda in creating enlightened citizens. Dear children, I am reminded of a brief exhortation to our people given by swami Vivekananda. ?Teach yourself; teach everyone his or her real nature. Call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self conscious activity?. Swami Vivekananda?s call for self conscious activity is indeed a call for enlightened citizenship.

Dear Children, today morning I was at the Rajghat to pay homage to the Father of the Nation. At this time, it was very appropriate for us to recall the Naokali incident.

First Independence Day incident

India is indeed fortunate and proud to have Mahatma Gandhiji as ?Father of the nation?, who was responsible for getting freedom by his writings and actions, and above all his nobility. When I talk about this great leader with nobility, I would like to go back to my high school days at Ramanathapuram. I would like to narrate one incident to you which fascinated and shaped me when I was a young boy.

On 14th August 1947, my high school teacher Rev. Iyyadorai Solomon took me to hear the mid-night freedom speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. We were all thrilled when Panditji spoke that the mission of independence was achieved. On the next day, that is on 15th August 1947, I had a great experience. An experience of best of education I can think of. In a Tamil newspaper, on the front page, two news items appeared. One item was India achieving freedom and Panditji?s speech. The other news item and the most important one which has been embedded in my memory is about Mahatma Gandhiji walking barefoot in troubled places, removing the pain of riot affected families. Normally as Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi has to be the first to unfurl the national flag on August 15, 1947 in Red Fort. But he was not there at the Red Fort, instead he was at Naokali. Mahatma Gandhi was an embodiment of nobility, elevated thinking and concern for human beings and he was there where there was pain. What an everlasting positive impact of the ideal leadership qualities in the mind of a school boy?

Strong bonds among religions

During my childhood (Age 10) one experience deeply entered into me that I would like to share with you. Each day when I returned home from my school in the evening, my father would have gone to namaz (Prayer). And my mother would be performing namaz and look angelic. After Thakbhir position, she will recite two suras from Holy Quran. One starts with Alhamdhu, and the other "Lakkum, Theenukum". One day I asked my parents what is the meaning of Lakkum Theenukum? My mother in a graceful voice recited the sura "Lakkum Theenukum Valiyatheen" that is the end of the sura Alkhafbeerun. My father said, ?it means, everyone follows a path. He or she who decides the path is accountable for the actions". My father further elaborated, ?my son, I meet my friends quite often as you would have seen me with Pakshi Lakshmana Shastrigal and Rev Father Bodal.? Pakshi Lakshmana Shastrigal was a great Hindu devotee and the head priest of Rameswaram Siva Temple and Rev Father Bodal had built our Island's first church. In my childhood I was indeed blessed to hear the discussion of the great three personalities. At least once in a week they met and discussed on integration of thoughts from Holy Quran, Holy Bible and Bhagavat Gita. From the essence of their saying, I learnt, whatever religion you are, the path you select will lead you to the bliss, based on your good action. Friends, I would like to share a similar experience which I had three years back when I was a Professor at Anna University.

I had received invitations from many institutions in Rajkot. One invitation was from the Bishop of Rajkot Rev. Father Gregory Karotemprel CMI who asked me to inaugurate the Christ College at Rajkot. On the same day, I addressed the gathering of nearly one lakh students at a function near Rajkot to give the ?Vision of life? to the students community organized by Swami Dharambandhu. Later, I was to go to Porbander to participate in the students meet organized by the Ramakrishna Mission. I was also enriched by the visit to Alfred school, Rajkot, where Gandhiji had his early education. I would like to share with you a divine incident that I experienced during the visit.

As part of the inaugural ceremony of the Christ College, I was invited to the Bishop?s House in Rajkot. When I entered his house, I felt that I had entered into a divine abode, because there was a unique prayer hall, where all religions were connected, respecting each others religious sentiments. When the Rev. Father Gregory Karotemprel CMI, Bishop of Rajkot was explaining to me the significance of his creation of the unique prayer hall there was a phone-call from Swaminarayan temple that I must visit their temple, which was very close to the Bishop?s House. When I told this to Rev Father Gregory, he said, ?I would also like to accompany you?. Then, both of us went to the Swaminarayan temple. When we entered the temple and reached deity of Lord Krishna it was a unique experience. Since it was noon time, normally the temple is closed, but was kept open specially for us on that day. We were all received with the offering of tilak on our forehead. It was a great sight with Rev. Father Gregory, Abdul Kalam, and Y.S. Rajan all having the shining tilak in our foreheads. This incident demonstrated the strength of connectivity of several religions in our country leading to a unique spiritual experience. Actions that followed after that event led to the Surat Spiritual Declaration in October 2003, in which a number of religious leaders played a great role. Now I would like to share with you my experience that I had during my recent visit to Tanzania and South Africa.

Indomitable Spirit and Forgiveness

I met a great personality who was responsible for the freedom of South Africa. He is none other than Dr. Nelson Mandela. Particularly for the young people, you can learn two big lessons from this personality. They are indomitable spirit and virtue of forgiveness.

Cape Town is famous for its Table Mountain; it has got three peaks called Table Peak, Devil Peak, and Fake Peak. Between the peaks it was a beautiful sight throughout the day, sometimes dark clouds and sometimes white clouds embracing the peaks. Table Mountain is very close to the sea coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We traveled by helicopter to Robben Island from Cape Town in 10 minutes by helicopter. It will take 30 minutes by powered boat to reach the Robben Island. When we reached the Island, except sea roaring, the whole island was silent symbolizing the thought: this is the place the freedom of individuals was chained. We were received at the Island by Mr. Ahmed Kathrada, a South African, who was a co-prisoner with Dr. Nelson Mandela. What surprised me was, in a tiny room where sleeping and all human needs have to be fulfilled. It has to be remembered that Dr. Nelson Mandela, who was 6 feet tall was imprisoned in that room for 26 years ? fighting against the apartheid. The major part of his life was spent in this silent Island. He used to be taken for quarrying in the nearby mountain for a few hours in bright sun. This is the time his sight got damaged. In spite of his body being tortured he revealed to the world his indomitable spirit. This is the time he evolved a manuscript of freedom in tiny letters every day, when the jail wardens went to sleep. This small tiny lettered manuscript finally became the famous book of Mandela "A long walk to freedom".

It was a great event for me to meet him in his house in Johannesburg. Dear friends, I would like to share with you, when I entered Dr. Nelson Mandela?s house, I saw his three dimensional form with cheerfulness: the mighty man who got the freedom for South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid. And also a person when he became the President of South Africa he gave the people freedom to move, freedom to live in South Africa to those people who specialized in apartheid and ill-treated and put him the jail for 26 years. Dr. Nelson Mandela accepted them as equal citizens. I felt that I am touching the hand of a Mighty Soul. When he started walking he used to have a walking stick, he discarded the walking stick; I became his support ? walking stick. Dear friends, a big lesson that we learnt from this personality Dr. Nelson Mandela which is explained in one of the Thirukkurals written 2200 years before.

which means, for those who do ill to you, the best punishment is to return good to them.

I had another unique experience, a few years back, that reveals how a single leader can inspire a large population. I happened to meet, in Delhi, the grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhiji, Mrs Sumitra Kulkarni. She narrated to me an incident about her grandfather, which she personally witnessed.

Nobility in Mind

Each day, as you all are aware, Mahatma Gandhiji used have prayer meeting at a fixed time in the evening. After the prayers there will be a collection of voluntary gift for harijan welfare. The devotees of Gandhiji used to collect whatever given by the people of all sections and this collection is counted by the supporting staff of Gandhi family. The amount so collected will be informed to Gandhiji before his dinner. The next day, a bank man will come for taking this money. Once the bank man reported that there was a discrepancy of few paise in the money given to him and the money collected. Mahatma Gandhiji, on hearing this, went on fast telling that this is a donation for the poor and we have to account for every paise. Dear friends, his act of righteousness should be practiced by all of us. On this day, let us rededicate ourselves to practice righteousness in all our thoughts and actions. Now I would like you to recite with me the divine hymn ? Righteousness :

Where there is righteousness in the heart,

there is a beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,

there is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home,

there is order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,

there is peace in the world.

Friends, we can see a beautiful connectivity between heart, character, nation and the world. Now I would like to discuss with you my interaction with the young innovators whom I met in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Young Innovators

As a fellow teacher, I can state that the teachers are the backbone of any country, a pillar upon which all aspirations of the country are built to become realities. In my Independence day speech, I put education as a central theme. Education is the learning process and leads to creativity. The creativity is indeed the result of the education process and the environment of the school and above all the teachers? capability igniting the minds of the students. The essence of it can be seen in the following verses: Learning gives Creativity, creativity leads to thinking, Thinking provides knowledge Knowledge makes you great. I would like to share with you particularly the teachers, about the nine young innovators from various schools of our country. I met them at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 2nd September 2004. Their innovations were:- Madv Pathak of Jabalpur has innovated a system to prevent the soiling of railway tracks. Other innovations include herbal pesticide tablets for storage of food grains by Priyanka Guleria of Sionty Village in Punjab, low calorie biscuits made from banana peels by Rucha Joshi of Nanded, Maharashtra, herbal formulation for controlling growth of larvae by Janaki Preeti, Chennai, a toy lazer for educational applications by Sudhanwa Hukkeri of Belgaum, Karnataka, a software programme for embedding of text through audio signals by Pardiwalla of Mumbai, Maharashtra, an optically controlled wheel chair by S. Harish Chandra of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, advanced audio video coding of data by Kyan Pardiwala of Mumbai and a novel devise for lifting the surface water of the river by Jaydeep Mandal of Murshidabad.

The group was chosen following a rigorous selection process and the innovations had the largest number of footfalls at the Tokyo Exhibition. The process of selection and sending the group abroad was co-ordinated by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The Role of Teachers: Capacity Building

This example shows how many of our teachers have successfully groomed young students who can innovate and create innovative gadgets, which are relevant to the society. The success of your students is a testimony to your great service. I am sure that each one of you would create many such innovators. For participating in the nation building tasks, the capacities required to be built among the students by the teachers are: The capacity for research or inquiry, the capacity for Creativity and Innovation, particularly the creative transfer of knowledge, the capacity to use high technology, the capacity for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the capacity for Moral Leadership. The aim of the teacher should be to build character, human values enhance the learning capacity of children through technology and build the confidence among children to be innovative and creative which in turn will make them competitive to face the future.

Conclusion

Education in its real sense is the pursuit of truth. It is an endless journey through knowledge and enlightenment. Such a journey opens up new vistas of development of humanism where there is neither scope nor room for pettiness, disharmony, jealousy, hatred or enmity. It transforms a human being into a wholesome whole, a noble soul and an asset to the universe. Universal brotherhood in its true sense becomes the sheet anchor for such education. Real education enhances the dignity of a human being and increases his or her self-respect. If only the real sense of education could be realized by each individual, and carried forward in every field of human activity the world will be so much a better place to live in. My best wishes to all of you for success in your missions.

May God bless you.

Questions asked by Various Students from Chennai during the Cultural Programme ?Sankaram?

1. There are so many distractions today. How can we overcome this and come up to hold responsible position as students?

-S. Lakshmi, 10th St., Sri Sankara Mat. Hr. Sec. Shool, Thiruvanmiyur.

Ans. Distractions are part of life. As responsible students, you have to recognize your strength and interest. Select a goal, work hard and succeed. While working to achieve the goal you will definitely encounter some problems. You should not be defeated by the problem. You should defeat the defeatist tendency and excel in your mission. This is how you can succeed in your life.

2. ?Chandrayan Mission? ? It is great that you have already launched India?s first Mission to the moon ? ?Chandrayan?. It will explore the helium ? deposits in moon, which would further lead to development of fusion reactors. But will the project be cost effective? And how long will it take to complete the Project. And how will the helium deposits be transported to earth?

- S. Arun, 12th Std., Boston Matriculation Hr. Sec. School, Nandanam.

Ans: Chandrayan Mission is planned for the year 2007. This mission will put a 525 kg satellite orbiting around the moon at an altitude of 100 KM above the moon. This satellite will help in remote sensing the moon. Purpose is to investigate the terrain of the moon. It is a cost effective proposition because the space craft technology is already available and also the launch capability is available with us. Transportation of Helium is not planned at present.

3. Gandhiji dreamt of ?Ram Rajya?. How and when we will achieve it?

- J. Gayathri, 10th Std., Sri Sankara Vidyalaya Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Urapakkam.

Ans. We have 540 million of young people in our country. They are a mighty force. They should create a movement of promoting righteousness in the 250 millions homes. Our vast natural resources and the human resource put together will definitely transform India into a prosperous, happy and peaceful country as dreamt by Gandhiji. The signs for this have already started. Our Prime Minister has declared the necessity for passing the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament at the earliest.

4. Why do you believe in today?s generation for making India a developed country?

- B. Aishwariya, 12th Std., Kalamandir Mat. Hr. Sec. School, West Mambalam.

Ans. I believe that I can ignite the minds of the youth. Ignited minds are the most powerful resource on the earth, under the earth and above the earth. Once we succeed in igniting the minds of our youth, transforming India into a developed country is a very easy task.

5. Can you please suggest some measure to groom our students into young Scientist which will help in avoiding brain drain?

- M. Agasteesh, 9th Std., Sri Sankara Vidyalaya Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Pammal.

Ans. We should not be worried with some amount of brain drain taking place in the country. Our professional colleges are producing three hundred thousand engineers and the medical professionals every year. If 10% of them go out to different countries, we are not going to suffer. Their connectivity with families and their institutions will definitely enrich our working system. It is also essential for us to improve the infrastructure available in our laboratories to enable the Scientist to carry out state-of-the art research in India itself. This is already taking place in many of our laboratories.

6. What other things do you think is necessary for schools to impart to students other than education so as to help them face the challenges of the world and be a better citizen of the country?

- Apoorva Sundaram, 10th Std., Jaya Jaya Sankara International School, Nazarathpet.

Ans. The school must provide an opportunity for developing a multi-faceted talents among students like proficiency in games, debate, communication ability, entrepreneurship, are of living, development of cultural values etc. and these activities must become part of the school curriculum.