KOCHI: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said along with ‘gross national income’, we must focus on how science and technology can foster greater ‘happiness’ and better quality of life as well as harmonious, inclusive societies.
Naidu was speaking at a function to honour young talents with the Adi Shankara Young Scientist Awards 2018 at the Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology. “The award is a testimony to the inquisitiveness, ingenuity and innovative initiative inherent in young India. This gives us hope India will be able to regain its rightful place in the comity of nations. The advancement of human knowledge occurred in our country because of the ‘spirit of enquiry’, the ability to question, the ability to research and the ability to arrive at the truth,” said Naidu.
He said to achieve excellence, one needed to have three qualities. “First, the willingness to learn from every person, institution and learning resource we can access. Second, the ability to probe, analyse and synthesize and third, to find out-of-the-box solutions to problems at hand,” Naidu said.
Hailing Adi Shankara as a great philosopher and an extraordinary poet, Naidu said, “Adi Shankara expounded the ‘Advaita’ philosophy. He said human beings can attain divinity through knowledge. The ultimate goal is to experience the Sat-chit-ananda, the state of bliss consciousness that emanates from truth and higher consciousness,” said Naidu.
Knowledge must lead to wisdom: Vice-President Naidu said knowledge must lead us to become wise and we must have the wisdom to use the knowledge we acquire to improve our lives. “Ultimately, we are all seeking ‘ananda’. This is what we talk about when we speak of ‘gross national happiness’. We should draw inspiration from the best in the Indian tradition and remove the deadwood that has accumulated over many years to revitalize our country,” said Naidu.
“We have to be receptive and should not only be proud of good ideas we have inherited but also be willing to listen to wise words from others,” said Naidu. He said complacency and mediocrity were big no-no. “We have to set our sights higher. A new India beckons all of us. We should and can make it happen,” said Naidu.
He also congratulated the award winners and said such awards needed to become a part of our education system where, in each of our millions of classrooms, scientific temper is fostered and creativity is carefully nurtured. “Therein lies the future of our country,” he said.