66.Swami Vivekananda’s Vision

 

The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS), NIT Calicut   organized    a programme on  National Youth Day (January 12,2024).   Two invited  speakers  delivered  lectures.

Dr. M. V. Natesan, Prof. (Retd.), Department of Vyakarana and Head   of the Department of Education, Sree Sankaracharya University of  Sanskrit, Kalady   delivered a lecture on the  topic ‘Revalued and Restated Philosophy of   Swami Vivekananda’.

 This was followed by a  lecture  on  ‘Swami Vivekananda’s  Contributions for the Development of Science in India’  by Dr. K. Muralidharan, Principal Scientist, Central Plantation Crops   Research Institute, Kasaragod and President, Swadeshi Science  Movement Kerala on the topic,

 Excerpts  from the lecture:

 Dr.Natesan:

To Swami Vivekananda,  Education should be man-making, life-giving, and character-building  leading to nation building. For this he wanted  Darsana  to be the  foundation of education in India.

*Swami Vivekananda  advocated Karma  Yoga, Bhakti  Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga

     * One should control the mind  by avoiding  externals (Yama)  and  preventing the mind from wandering in any direction (Niyama)

*Each soul is potentially divine and the goal should be to  manifest this Divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.

*Understanding  Bharat   knowledge system is  essential.  The various branches include  Science, Darsana, Samskara and  Art. The end of art and science is self awareness.

*If  we  wish to  improve the  quality of  the   youth of today  then we have to ensure that they preserve  purity of character and  should not be addicted to a material way of  life.

Excerpts from the lecture

Dr.Muralidharan

*Swami Vivekananda was a great scientific visionary : “Do not believe a  thing because you read it in a book…Do not believe a thing because another has said  it so…Find out the truth for yourself!...That is realization…”

*Awakening from a trance that followed his deep meditation below an old peppul tree, beside a stream near Almorah (India), he jotted down his vision in a note book: “the scheme of the universe of both micro-world and macro-world are built on the same plan…the whole universe exists in the atom…”

In 1913, a student of Rutherford, Neils Bohr developed a model of atomic structure which was patterned on the solar system, and his model is termed  planetary model of atomic structure. In this model, electrons are orbiting  around a positively charged central nucleus like the planets orbiting around the sun.

*Swamiji  used the language  of science to explain Vedanta:

“…soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere  but the centre is  the same body…God is a circle whose  circumference is nowhere, and whose centre is everywhere, and when we get out of the narrow centre of the body we shall realize God-our true self.”

The  programme  concluded  with  Prof. Sridharan, Chairperson CIKS  offering the vote of thanks. The invited  speakers were also presented with mementoes.  

All participants of the programmes  were  gifted  books  on  Swami Vivekananda.

 The  Chairperson, Prof.Sridharan also announced the formation of   Vivekananda Study Circle, a  forum  with the “objective of providing an opportunity and guidance to the interested persons who seek to acquire a clear understanding of life, values and culture, in the light of the life and the teachings of SwamiVivekananda”.

 

65.Life Skills Conference- 2024

 

The international conference  on ‘Global Synergy for Sustainable Development: Integrating Life Skills  for Systemic Change’  was  organized at Mar Theophilus Training College, Nalanchira, Thiruvananthapuram, India from Jan 4 to 06,2024.  It was attended by delegates  from several  parts of India and abroad. The rationale behind convening  the  conference is that many are now beginning to feel  the pressing need for  a  concerted  evidence-based, and innovative effort to address the complex and  interrelated challenges confronting our world.  In the invited  talks  and  deliberations  several  ideas emerged:

 

Here are a  couple of extracts from  select speeches:

His Eminent Beatitude Cardidnal Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis

quoted  Sree Narayana Guru:

“Act that one performs for own sake

should also aim for the well being of others”

  “Privilege is invisible to those who have it.” Prof Shekhar P. Seshadri

“We all  want to develop  our competencies…we would  like to refine/develop  our interpersonal skills…We want to be able to make informed judgments  and decisions where we encounter problems…we would like to build relationships…think  positively, … think creatively….” -Dr. S. Jaishankar  (Hon. Minister for External Affairs)

You can view the  deliberations  streamed  live, which  is  now available on YouTube.

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Day One: 04/01/2024

Inaugural session,  Symposium I: The Prospect and Retrospect of Life Skills Education in SAARC School Systems, Teen Talk: Life Skills for Personal and Academic Excellence, Nilavilakku (Cultural Programme)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV59iwVBADg

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Day Two: 05/01/2024

Panel Discussion III: Fostering Self-Reliance and Employability Through Life Skills

                             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq1T-Obbf3A

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Day Two: 05/01/2024

NGO Conclave: Life Skills Education for Social Empowerment and Inclusion

                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdFDyWciwY

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Day Three: 06/01/2024

Symposium III: Integrating and Mapping Life Skills in School & Higher Education Curriculum,

Focus Group Discussion: Life Skills in Teacher Education System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEyLUHeL2mg&t=10793s

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Day Three: 06/01/2024

Valedictory function

                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq7x-6PpC88

 

 

64.Release of ‘The Journal of Social Empowerment’

 

To honour  and disseminate  the writings of the  Hindu sage and social reformer,  Chattambi Swamikal (1853-1924),  recently the   Shri Vidyadhiraja  International Study and Research Centre   was set up   in his birth place, Kannamoola, Thiruvananthapuram.  Yesterday, Sep 05,2023,  four books and two journals  were  released at a function held in the centre.

 As  Associate  Editor, of the Journal of Social Empowerment,   I had  penned an article entitled ‘Empowerment initiatives for the public :  Critical review of  100 years  old official documents of the state of Travancore’.

 

Abstract

European   and Indian historians   who studied the lives of the people of  Kerala have  documented the  plight of the backward communities particularly  of the  nineteenth  and the early twentieth  century.  Thanks  to social reformers like  Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamy and  Sri Ayankali,  a slow  transformation happened in the lives of  members of the backward   communities. One significant contribution of these leaders was the attempt at sensitizing  their  communities to the need for education for empowerment.

There  are  several  definitions of  empowerment and  writers  like Adams  have  pointed out  the perils of focusing on just one  definition. A minimal definition of empowerment  which   one  may adopt  could be one which implies the capacity of individuals, groups and/or communities to take control of their circumstances, exercise power and achieve their own goals. (Wikipedia)

The  investigator   while  attempting  a  review of  narratives  of empowerment in Kerala, noted the emergence of a pattern.  Most such narratives  seldom  presented the empowerment process  as  the coming together  of  two parties- one desirous of  empowerment   and the external agency making the realization of  empowerment a smooth process. For instance, narratives of empowerment particularly by the newly  empowered   attributed their success  entirely  to  own  sacrifices  punctuated  by   struggle  and  oppression. Similarly there  are  narratives  that  project the view that it was solely  by conversion  to  Christianity that  certain depressed classes  became empowered. And in modern times we have  come across assertions that it was  open  resistance to the indignities  of inequalities  through grass root level political  struggles  that  empowerment happened in Kerala. A critical reading of such narratives gave the investigator the impression that  such narratives  are slightly biased,  or even lopsided.

But when the investigator  stumbled upon certain official documents,  published 100 years ago, in the  southern state of Travancore,  a  completely different picture began to emerge. The entries in the documents underscored the  enlightened vision of the  rulers  who assiduously attempted  empowerment of own subjects through policies and  legislations.  This prompted  the investigator  to  engage in a quest for historical truth.

This paper  attempts    a  review of  three significant official documents  published  one hundred years  ago. The review  besides providing  an insight into the socio-economic  conditions of the 19^th and early 20^th century,    reveals  how   the   vision,  the  passion and the  sense of  concern for  the well-being of own people displayed by the  rulers of the  state of  Travancore, opened up an avenue for empowerment. This   along with the  steps initiated  for   transforming  the  educational  scenario  led to  a  complete transformation  of the socio-economic well being of  the backward  communities in  Kerala. The  investigator  concludes  by attributing the  current status quo  and the  privileges  which the  once  termed  backward communities enjoy now, partly to  the vision,  initiatives  and support provided by the rulers of the state of  Travancore.  

Key  words:  Backward classes, Education,   Empowerment,  Travancore, Vision

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Cover  page of antique  books  which formed the primary source of the  study

 

 

63.Film and Life

 I  am very selective  in  watching films. This is particularly so during Film Festivals.  As a principle, I  view only  three  films  on a  single day  and in extreme cases  view four with  a  gap for rest between films.

 Normally,  I choose  the films to watch by reading the  Handbook supplied prior to the Film Festival.  The one which  concluded recently (27^th International Film Festival of Kerala 9-16 Dec 2022) was no different.

 The first film I chose to view was Life in Silence.(La Vida En El Silencio) Mexico/2022/Colour/125’/Spanish

Director and Screenplay: Rodrigo Arnaz

 

Sometimes  films are chosen  based on earlier reviews  which I have  read,  awards won previously,  and of course the  name of the Director.  In this case however it was the summary which  lured me to watch the film. The summary in the Handbook reads:

 “A young musician who is a single parent battles everyday to communicate with  his autistic son through music, until one day the kid’s  mother  shows up after eight years of absence, only to reveal  that he is not the kid’s biological father.”

 I must  admit  that  it was my   background in Education as a discipline  and  the  relationship between  music  and communication which  made me  choose the film for viewing.  But  after watching the film, I found that the summary  did not  capture  the  essence of the film so  I thought  I should write  about it. So here goes:

 A  devout  father  patiently  looks after  his  autistic  son  who  only communicates  by  uttering the sound “aaannnnn” in a high pitch voice. For the father, each day is a struggle in trying to  bathe/dress  and feed the boy. The child is sent to a special school where lucky for  the father,  an understanding  Special Education teacher  takes  care of the  child. 

 

There is one  scene in which  the  father  meets  an old  lady who adores  the  child and father.  I guess it is either the man’s mother or  elderly aunt (?) The father asks   :  Don’t  you think that my son  sees me only as  a robot that feeds  him every day? To this the elderly lady who is very understanding by nature,  replies  that  even though the boy doesn’t talk  he  feels  everything!

The father is a musician but does not have a steady job. He  plays  live music in several restaurants to earn a living. But unable to pay  for the tuition fee, the son is kicked out of school.

 One  day  while  feeling low, the father  plays on the piano an adored possession which he has in his home.  The son is  rarely receptive to music, and on that particular day the child  seats  himself beside his father and  plays  just  one  key ‘G’ continuously at  regular  intervals.  This the father notices  and  tries to catch  the boy’s  attention by  playing other  keys  during the intervals thereby  creating a musical note. But  sadly for the boy,  the  sound it produces when he  presses the key or  utters ‘aaannnnn’ is the sole thing that matters. The  rest for  the father and the viewer  is  nothing but ‘silence’.

 So  what is the message of the film?  The father was  trying to add  interesting  aspects of  life  for the boy when  it  remains  silent even though the father’s own life is full of silence  as he has to take care of an autistic child  after  being ditched by  his wife.

 Perhaps the  film  was  indirectly  giving the message  that  it up to us to add variety to  a life in silence. As an extension I would like to add that the  Smart Phone we all have  access to and without which it is hard to live is like  the piano that provides  music.  When one  opens ones  Facebook page  one gets  addicted to it . But the Smart Phone also has other apps,  for news, for games,  for learning a new language, for entertainment and what not…If one discreetly chooses the different apps (Keys for Piano) one gets  a variety of  input!  But it is  up to  individuals to choose how to add variety to the  input  available on ones  Smart Phone…In short one has to choose  discreetly.

 The child acted  so well  and deserves an award.  The  message of the film  thrilled me… Hope you  too will like the film.  Do watch the  official trailer to get a feel of the film:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvJcY38-rwk&ab_channel=PrimeVideoM%C3%A9xico