The Sage: A P J Abdul Kalam, Personal Reminiscences.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931 - 2015), a great son of India, a glittering jewel of India, Bharata Ratna, is no more.

2003 January Indian Science Congress Annual Conference was jointly hosted by Bangalore University (with me as its Vice Chancellor) and ISRO (with Dr. K Kasturirangan as its Director). 5000 delegates attended the five day Conference that was held at the Jnanabharati Campus. As is customary, the Prime Minister of India, Sri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee at that time, inaugurated the Conference. Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, the President of India at that time, delivered a special lecture on the third day of the Conference. At the end of his lecture, as he was about to leave the place, he looked searching for somebody, it was me, he just wanted to express his appreciation on how well the arrangement was made, I was thrilled to be part of his blessing that day.

Year 2005, it must be. Inauguration of a multinational funded, first of its kind in the country, Project  on Psychooncology aimed at psychological relief for cancer patients at St. John's Hospital Auditorium. The Project was granted with the vision and help of Dr. Abdul Kalam to Dr. Brinda Sitaram. Brinda Sitaram was my student at her Post-graduation, she often used to say and has even written about it that she was inspired to take up Psychology only after hearing a lecture from me in the Institute of World Culture when she was 15 year old. Obviously, she must have told the same to Dr. Kalam. Dr. Kalam had come to St. Johns to inaugurate the project and while he was sitting on the dais, I believe he has asked the Organisers whether the man who inspired Brinda Sitaram is here. I was taken to the dais to receive the greetings from Dr. Kalam.  It was indeed another occasion to receive his blessings.

I am often impressed by his writings, his book Ignited minds is one of my favourite. His narrative style and the powerful stories he depicts are at once inspiring and mind expanding, I have often quoted from this book in my lectures.

He was a man of very simple living - sleeping on a simple mat and his favourite dishes being sambar and curds rice. He was a man of total dedication to the cause of the Nation, inspiring people, especially youth with lofty ideals and ideas. His death too was in the midst of the mission he lived all his life: delivering a lecture on Creating a Liveable Planet Earth for the staff and students of IIM, Shillong.

May the departed Soul attain its sadgati, the rightful exalted place.

Fast and Furious

Fast and Furious.

Corruption charges against anti-corruption bureau. Anti-corruption bureau orders enquiry against itself on the corruption charges by an agency whose corruption charges this anti-corruption bureau is investigating. Public are to believe that the enquiry would be fair and just. Years ago, a minister had ordered an enquiry on the charges against himself by his own department secretary. Forgetting for the moment the tragedy lurking in these instances, it is indeed hilarious.

AAP is yet another agency whose sole plank is anti corruption is itself riddled with corruption: a member was caught taking bribe to grant a seat to contest election; a minister is caught flaunting fake degrees; the deputy chief minister caught with over speeding vehicle and going even faster to avoid the police who noticed it, instead of stopping the vehicle, paying the fine and acting on his driver.

The centres meant to clean the society are dirtying it beyond redemption. Every crook and the criminal, rogues and rowdies, would be happily dreaming that they can get away with their even heinous crimes by bribing judges and ministers, officials and politicians, leaving the hapless and helpless victim suffering agonies.

Sociocultural values that binds and foster society have deteriorated 'fast and furious'.

Labelling People

Yoga not Needed in Education and Social Welfare ?

Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education says that he is healthy without doing Yoga and schools have no problem not practicing Yoga and hence doing Yoga need not be mandatory in schools. Social Welfare Minister of Karnataka State says that Yoga is for the rich and the lazy as they lead sedentary life and is not needed for the labourers working in farms as they indulge in lots of physical activities as a routine, and even in schools the students should be encouraged to do sports and not Yoga. Both the Ministers, obviously go by the popular misconception on Yoga as a health and fitness exercise, a misconception often contributed, among others, by the public posturing of many Yoga practitioner themselves.

Yoga is not a health and physical fitness exercise alone. In fact, the physical exercises, the asanas  and pranayamas, physical postures and breathing exercises, are only two of the eight 'limbs' of Yoga, although many present day practitioners have taken only two or three 'limbs' and call it Yoga. What is worse, there are national and international sports event that are called Yoga competition which is actually competition only in bodily postures, yogasanas, and not Yoga proper.

The Yoga proper involves External and Internal Purity/yama niyama, Bodily Postures/asanas, Breathing Exercises/pranayama, Elimination of Distractions/pratyahara, Focusing/dharana, Meditation/dhyana, and Tuning In/samadhi. Yoga acts on body, mind, intellect and spirit. Its purpose is to raise our Consciousness to the higher reaches of human potential and experience oneness with all the beings-living and nonliving- that exist. If we do not practice Yoga in its entirety, practice it as only physical exercise, although undoubtedly we derive lots of benefit in health and fitness, we miss the enhancement of Consciousness and realisation of full human potential.

Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education has missed out on these vital dimensions of Yoga when he says that there is no problem in schools by not doing Yoga; the real purpose of education is to help realise and achieve full potential of the pupils about which present day education is doing nothing. Similarly, the Minister for Social Welfare must see that realisation of human potential contributes immensely to the development of sociocultural upliftment and enrichment of our people. I hope both the Ministers shed their misconception soon on Yoga as only for physical fitness and health.
      

Ills of 'Standardisation' Society

Copying the Model

Power of Behaviour Reinforcement