New Delhi : The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the people to fight against divisive forces that seek to divide society on lines of religion, region, language, caste, creed or colour. He said that in the 75th year of our independence, every Indian must take a pledge to further strengthen unity and harmony in our hugely diverse society.
Addressing the students and teachers of Sri Aurobindo International School, Hyderabad after inaugurating the photo-exhibition on the life of Sri Aurobindo, the Vice President emphasised that bridging all divisions was necessary for the greatness of India’s future. Highlighting the positive aspects of religion, he said that if everyone follows one’s religion in true spirit, there will not be any religious conflict.
Reiterating Aurobindo’s vision for India’s spirituality, Naidu said that a reawakening needs to come about in terms of India’s rich legacy of spiritual wisdom which would need to be recast into new forms and expressions to make it globally relevant and in keeping with the contemporary times. Stating that Bharat Mata needs to delve deep into her own treasures he exhorted the Indian youth to be independent and original in their thinking, drawing upon native sources instead of being content as poor imitators of the west. The Vice President also called for rewriting Indian history with an Indian perspective to instil a sense of pride in our glorious cultural heritage among the younger generation.
Recalling Aurobindo’s clarion call to re-establish the greater cultural and spiritual India, Shri Naidu said that spirituality is the master key of India’s great culture whose greatness needs to be rediscovered by reliving it in our daily life. The Vice President also said that GDP growth and wealth creation are not an end in themselves, rather they are means to bring happiness in people’s lives which should be our ultimate aim.
Describing Aurobindo as a great revolutionary Yogi, philosopher, poet and freedom fighter, the Vice President said that he remains an eternal source of inspiration for every Indian. “Through his speeches and writings, he not only kindled a strong desire for complete independence among the masses but also focused on spiritual regeneration of the nation”, he added.
Referring to Aurobindo’s message to the nation on the day of Independence, in 1947, Shri Naidu said that his words were of great purpose and relevance at the individual, national and global level even today. Noting that Aurobindo wanted Asia to regain a great role in the progress of human civilization, he said that building a prosperous and united India will be crucial for the rise of Asia.
Naidu termed spirituality as the master key of India’s great culture and called for rediscovering its greatness by reliving it in our daily life. “The entire mankind needs to realise that what is required today is not mere physical wealth but spiritual wealth as well,” he said.
The Vice President said that the establishment of Auroville at Puducherry represents Sri Aurobindo’s vision for world unity. Responding to a student’s question, he said that reforms were needed in the United Nations so that it becomes a truly representative organisation where the soul and heart of the nations come together. Expressing disapproval of some nation’s mentality to consider themselves as superior to others, he said that equal respect for all is a prerequisite to bring unity of mankind. “Separate identities are going to be there but these identities should not divide us,” he said.
Recalling Sri Aurobindo’s vision, the Vice President said that the goal of education should not be limited to building careers for earning a livelihood but it should aim to build sons for the Motherland to work and to suffer for her. He underlined that it is the sacred duty of teachers to ensure that their students imbibe noble spiritual ideals of our ancient Indian wisdom and take pride in Indian culture.
Stressing that education is not just for employment but for enlightenment, the Vice President called for making India a Vishwa Guru again. “India should become Vishwa Guru not to dominate the world but to give knowledge and to spread light,” he said.
Quoting Shri Aurobindo, Shri Naidu said that India can realise its full potential only by a system of National Education and urged the youth of India to work towards turning Shri Aurobindo’s dreams into reality. He further said that uplift of all human beings is at the core of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings and called for consistent efforts to spread his vision across India and the world. He lauded Sri Aurobindo International School for inspiring children with the spiritual teachings of Sri Aurobindo.
He appreciated the school forputting up a beautiful photo-exhibition on the ‘The Sacred Journey of Sri Aurobindo’s Life’ on the occasion of his 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations. Students of Sri Aurobindo School made presentations in Sanskrit, Telugu and English and gave lively rendition of Sri Aurobindo’s life through Burrakatha. Shri Naidu appreciated the performances by the students depicting India’s glorious culture, rich traditions and the message of Sri Aurobindo.
RamachandruTejavath, Advisory Member Celebration Aurobindo, Special Representative of Telangana, Prof. T. Tirupati Rao, Chairman Governing Body, Chancellor of Manipur University, Dr.Chhalamayi Reddy, Principal, Sri Aurobindo International School, teachers, staff and students were among those present on the occasion.
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