One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big
advice on the door on which it was written:
“Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this
company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room
that has been prepared in the gym”.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their
colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know
who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the
company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered
to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated
up.
Everyone thought: “Who is this guy who was hindering my progress?
Well, at least he died!”.

One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when
they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood
nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched
the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it
could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:
“There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your
growth: IT IS YOU.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the
only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and
your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends
change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when
your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go
beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only
one responsible for your life.

“The most important relationship you can have, is the one you have
with yourself”

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don’t be afraid of difficulties,
impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your
reality.

The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection
of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed.

The world and your reality are like mirrors laying in a coffin,
which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to
imagine and create his happiness and his success.

It’s the way you face Life that makes the difference!

- If an egg is broken from outside force .. life ends. If an egg is broken from inside force , life begins. Great things always begin from our inside..

As you know 12 January is celebrated as National Youth Day which is dedicated to Swami Vivekananda, we are planning to organize a youth camp to commemorate this day. This year we are planning to do things on a larger scale such as Exhibition on the life of Swami Vivekananda, distributing booklets on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda to students who will visit this exhibition and our camp.

As earlier years this year also our venue will be Elgin-Chowragee Crossing, besides P.C. Chandra Jewelers, Kolkata.

We invite our Kolkata friends to participate in this program. Please contact for further details our representative and PR Executive Sri Manjit Singh Dada through e-mail – manjitdada@gmail.com or talk to him on his mobile - (0)9830350723.
We request our friends in other cities to conduct such programs for the local youth. We shall provide necessary guidance.

Those who are unable to participate personally but very much enthusiastic about the success of this program can support us financially. Please go to our website http://www.uttishthata.org where you will find button for “Make a Donation” on the left pane or top right hand side of the title bar of out web page.
Cheques, Bank Demand Drafts, Money Orders also are equally appreciated. For these our postal address is:

Swami Vivekananda Cultural Foundation
18B Rammohan Dutta Road
Kolkata 700020, West Bengal, INDIA

Mobile: 9830350723
E mail : svcf@hotmail.com

Your whole hearted support will encourage us to conduct this program successfully.
We also invite your suggestions on this. Any one of you who is already participating in such programs wants to share his experience with us? We shall be highly obliged.

Yours in the service of Swami Vivekananda
Rajan, Moderator

Vivekananda explained the gist of Hinduism by quoting a sloka from Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishad that explains the concept of Universal acceptance of all religions.

Now let us read the complete text of the speech and get transported to the height of Oneness of Being, Jato Mat Tato Path.

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At the World’s Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 11th September, 1893

Response to Welcome

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.“

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

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Hear Swami Vivekananda Speech at Chicago - Welcome Address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUzKoIt5aM

Though it is not the actual voice of Vivekananda, we can feel the power of his thoughts on Hinduism, and his respect for other religions.

Let us celebrate 11th September as Anti-Fanaticism Day

on the eve of Teachers’-Day (05.09.2003)

(few introductory sentences could not be recorded)

To begin with, I am going to talk to you about my father who taught me as a teacher.

My father taught me a great lesson when I was a young boy. What was that lesson? It was just after India got independence. At that time, Panchayat board election took place at Rameshwaram. My father was elected as Panchayat board member and on the same day he was also elected as President of Rameshwaram Panchayat Board. Rameshwaram island was a beautiful place with 30,000 population. That time, they elected my father as Panchayat Board President not because he belonged to a particular religion or particular caste or spoke a particular language or for his economic status. He was elected only on the basis of his nobility of mind and of being a good human being. Dear listeners, I would like to narrate one incident that took place on that day he was elected President of Panchayat board. I was at that time studying in School. Those days we did not have electricity and we used to study under rationed kerosene lamp. I was reading the lessons loudly and I heard a knock on the door. We never used to lock the door at Rameshwaram in those days. Somebody opened the door, came in, and asked me where my father was. I told him that my father has gone for evening Namaz. Then he said he has brought something for him, Can I keep it here? Since my father had gone for Namaz, I shouted for my mother to get her permission to receive the item. Since she was also under Namaz, there was no response. I asked the person to leave the item on the cot. After that, I continued my studies. I used to learn by reading aloud in my younger days. I was reading loud and fully concentrating on my studies. At that time my father came in and saw a tambulam kept in the cot. He asked me, “What is this? Who has given that?” I told him somebody came & he has kept this tambulam on the cot. He opened the cover of the Tambulam and found there was a costly Dhoti, Angavastram, some fruits, some sweets and he could see the slip that the person has left behind. I was the youngest child of my father. He really loved me and I also loved him a lot. He was upset at the sight of the Tambulam and gift left by someone. That was the first time I saw him very angry. And also that was the first time, I had got a thorough beating from him. I got frightened and started weeping. My mother embraced and consoled me. Then, my father came and touched my shoulder lovingly with affection and advised me not to receive any gift without his permission. He quoted an Islamic haziz, which states that “when the Almighty appoints a person to a position, he takes care of his provision. If a person takes anything beyond that, it is an illegal”. Then, he told me that it is not a good habit, gift is always accompanied with some purpose and a gift is a dangerous thing. It is like touching a snake and getting the poison in return. This lesson stands out always in my mind even when I am in my seventees. This incidence taught me a very valuable lesson for my life. It is deeply embedded in my mind. I would like to also to mention a writing in Manu Smriti which states that “by accepting gifts, the divine light in the person gets extinguished”. Manu wants every individual against accepting gifts for the reason that it places the acceptor under an obligation in favour of the person who give the gift and ultimately it results in making a person to debt which are not permissible according to law. I am sharing these thought with all of you, particularly the young ones. Do not be carried away by any gift that comes with a purpose and through which one loses one’s personality greatly. Do you think you can follow this in your life? I will be very happy if you can practice this sincerely.

My second teacher, primary school teacher, Sri Sivasubramani Iyer. When I think of my second teacher, I am reminded of my childhood days when I was studying in 8th class at the age of 13. I had a teacher, Sri Sivasubramani Iyer; he was one of the very good teachers in our school. All of us liked to attend his classes carefully. One day he was teaching about a bird’s flight. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard depicting beak, tail, the body structure with the head. He explained how the bird takes the lift and fly, he also explained how they change the direction while flying nearly for 25 minutes. He gave the lecture with various information about lift, drag, how the bird fly in the formation of 10, 20 and 30. At the end of the class he wanted to know whether we understood how the birds fly. I said, “I did not understand how did the bird fly”. When I said this, the teacher asked the other students whether they understood or not. Many students said that they could not understand. He did not get upset by the response since he was a committed teacher. Our teacher said that he would take all of us to the seashore. That evening the whole class was at the seashore of Rameshwaram. We enjoyed the roaring sea-wave, knocking at the sandy hills in the pleasant evening. Birds were flying in the formation of 10 to 20 in numbers. We saw the marvelous formation of birds with a purpose and we were all amazed. He showed us the birds and asked us to see how the birds fly, what they looked like. We saw the wings flapping. He asked us to look at the tail portion with the combination of flapping wings and twisting tail. We noticed carefully and found that the birds in that condition flew in the direction they desire. Then he asked us a question. Where the engine is, and how it is powered. Bird is powered by its own life and the motivation of what it was. All these things were explained to us with in 15 minutes. We all understood the whole bird’s dynamics from this practical example. How nice it was! Our teacher was a great teacher. He could give us a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example available in nature. This is a real teaching. I am sure many of the teachers in schools and colleges will follow this example. For me, it was not an understanding of how birds fly. The bird’s flight entered into me and created a special feeling. From that evening, I thought that my future study has to be with reference to flights and flight systems. I am saying this because of my teacher’s teaching and the event I observed I decided about my future career. Then, one evening after the classes I asked the teacher, “Sir, please tell me how to progress further in learning all about flight?” He patiently explained to me that I should complete 8th class, and then go to high school, and then I should go to engineering college that may lead to education on flight. If I complete ordinary education with excellence, I may do something connected with flight sciences. This advice and the bird’s flying exercise given by my teacher really gave me a goal and a mission for my life. When I went to the college, I took Physics, and then I went to Engineering in Madras Institute of Technology and took Aeronautical Engineering. Thus, my life got transformed as a Rocket Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, and technologist. That one incident of my teacher teaching the lesson, showing the visual life example proved to be turning point in my life, which eventually shaped my profession.

A student during his school life up to 10 + 2 spends 25,000 hours in the school campus. His life is more influenced by the teacher and the school’s environment. Therefore, the schools must have the best of teachers with ability to teach and live teaching and bring moral qualities. Teacher should become a role model. Similarly, the student must be allowed to build himself or herself with the best of qualities and to get ignited with vision for his or her future life.

My third teacher, the design teacher Prof. Dhawan. I would like to share with you another experience with my teacher Prof. Satish Dhawan. First I worked in Delhi with Ministry Of Defense, later I joined Defense Research and Development Organisation in 1958 at Aeronautical development establishment in Bangalore. There, with the advice of the Director, I took up the development of Hovercraft. Hovercraft design needed the development of a ducted contra-rotating propeller. I didn’t know how to design the contra rotating propeller, though I knew how to design conventional propeller. Some of my friends told me that I could approach Prof. Satish Dhawan of Indian Institute Of Science who was well-known for his Aeronautical Research and he would help in designing the ducted contra-rotating propeller. I took permission from my Director and went to meet Prof. Satish Dhawan who was sitting in a small room in Indian Institute Of Science with lot of books in the background and the blackboard on the wall. Prof. Satish Dhawan asked me what the problem was that I would like to discuss. I explained the problem to Prof. Satish Dhawan about my project work. He told me that it is really a challenging task he would teach me the design if I attend his class in Indian Institute of Science between 2 pm. to 3 pm. on all Saturdays for next 6 weeks. He was a visionary teacher. He prepared the schedule for the entire course and wrote it on the blackboard. He also gave me the reference material and books I should read before I start attending the course. I considered this as a great opportunity and started attending the discussions and starting meeting with him regularly. Before commencing each meeting, he will ask critical questions and assess my understanding of the subject. That was the first time that I realised how a good teacher prepares himself for teaching, with meticulous planning and prepares the student for acquisition of knowledge. This process continued for the next six weeks. I got the capability for designing the contra-rotating propeller. Professor told me that I am ready for developing the contra-rotating propeller for the Hovercraft configuration. That was the time I realised that Prof. Satish Dhawan was not only a teacher but, also a fantastic development engineer of aeronautical systems. Later, during the critical places of testing Prof. Dhawan was with me to witness the test and find solution to the problems. After reaching the smooth test phase, contra-rotating propeller went through 50 hours of continuous testing. Prof. Satish Dhawan witness the test himself and congratulated me. That was a great day for me when I saw the contra-rotating propeller designed by my team performing to the mission requirement in the Hovercraft. However, at that time, I didn’t realise that Prof. Satish Dhawan will become chairman, ISRO and I would get the opportunity to work with him as the project-Director in the development of a satellite launch vehicle SLV3 for injecting the Rohini Satellite into the Orbit. Nature has its own way to link to the student’s dream and the real life later. This was the first design in my career, which gave me the confidence to design many complex aerospace systems in future. The Hovercraft could fly just above the ground level carrying two passengers. I was the first pilot on this Hovercraft and I could control and maneuver the vehicle in any direction. Through this project, I learnt the techniques of designing and developing the contra-rotating propeller. Above all, I learnt that in a project problem will always crop up and we should not allow the problems to be our masters but we should defeat the problems. Then, the success will sparkle.

The three teachers in my life, what did they give me? In an integrated way it can be said that any enlightened human being can be created by three unique characteristics. One is moral value system that I got from my father, the hard way. Secondly, the teacher becoming a role model, not only does the student learn but, the teacher shape his life with great dreams and aims. Finally, the education and learning process have to culminate in the creation of professional capability given to confidence and will power to make a design, to make a project, to make a system bravely combating many problems. What a fortune and blessings I had from my three teachers.

Among the listeners, there may be many parents, many teachers and a large number of students. Every one of us in this planet creates a page in human history irrespective of who he or she is. I realise the experience is a small dot in human life. But that dot has a life and light. That light let it light many lamps. My best wishes to all of you on this occasion of “Teachers’ day”.

Thank you.

This intense longing — becoming mad after realising God or getting the knowledge of the Self — is real spirituality. The irresistible madness which the Gopis had for the Lord, Shri Krishna, yea, it is intense longing like that which is necessary for the realisation of the Self! Even in the Gopis’ mind there was a slight distinction of man and woman. But in real Self-knowledge, there is not the slightest distinction of sex.

Such love indeed is necessary for Self-realisation. There must be fretting and pining within the heart. Now from His playful life at Vrindaban come to the Krishna of Kurukshetra, and see how that also is fascinating — how, amidst all that horrible din and uproar of fighting, Krishna remains calm, balanced, and peaceful. Ay, on the very battlefield, He is speaking the Gita to Arjuna and getting him on to fight, which is the Dharma of a Kshatriya! Himself an agent to bring about this terrible warfare, Shri Krishna remains unattached to action — he did not take up arms! To whichsoever phase of it you look, you will find the character of Shri Krishna perfect. As if He was the embodiment of knowledge, work, devotion, power of concentration, and everything! In the present age, this aspect of Shri Krishna should be specially studied. Only contemplating the Krishna of Vrindaban with His flute won’t do nowadays — that will not bring salvation to humanity. Now is needed the worship of Shri Krishna uttering forth the lion-roar of the Gita, of Rama with His bow and arrows, of Mahavira, of Mother Kali. Then only will the people grow strong by going to work with great energy and will. I have considered the matter most carefully and come to the conclusion that of those who profess and talk of religion nowadays in this country, the majority are full of morbidity — crack-brained or fanatic. Without development of an abundance of Rajas, you have hopes neither in this world, nor in the next. The whole country is enveloped in intense Tamas; and naturally the result is — servitude in this life and hell in the next.

If you want any good to come, just throw your ceremonials overboard and worship the Living God, the Man-god — every being that wears a human form — god in His universal as well as individual aspect. The universal aspect of God means this world, and worshipping it means serving it — this indeed is work, not indulging in ceremonials. Neither is it work to cogitate as to whether the rice-plate should be placed in front of the God for ten minutes or for half an hour — that is called lunacy. Millions of rupees have been spent only that the temple-doors at Varanasi or Vrindaban may play at opening and shutting all day long! Now the Lord is having His toilet, now He is taking His meals, now He is busy on something else we know not what. . . . And all this, while the Living God is dying for want of food, for want of education! The banias of Bombay are erecting hospitals for bugs — while they would do nothing for men even if they die! You have not the brain to understand this simple thing — that it is a plague with our country, and lunatic asylums are rife all over. . . . Let some of you spread like fire, and preach this worship of the universal aspect of the Godhead — a thing that was never undertaken before in our country. No quarrelling with people, we must be friends with all. . . .

Spread ideas — go from village to village, from door to door — then only there will be real work. Otherwise, lying complacently on the bed and ringing the bell now and then is a sort of disease, pure and simple. . . . Be independent, learn to form independent judgments. — that such and such a chapter of such and such a Tantra has prescribed a standard length for the handle of a bell,– what matters it to me? Through the Lord’s will, out of your lips shall come millions of Vedas and Tantras and Puranas. . . . If now you can show this in practice, …then only I may have some hope. . . .

I am giving you a new idea. If you can work it out, then I shall know you are men and will be of service. . . . Make an organised plan. A few cameras, some maps, globes, and some chemicals, etc., are needed. The next thing you want is a big hut. Then you must get together a number of poor, indigent folk. Having done all this, show them pictures to teach them astronomy, geography, etc., and preach Shri Ramakrishna to them. Try to have their eyes opened as to what has taken place or is taking place in different countries, what this world is like, and so forth. You have got lots of poor and ignorant folk there. Go to their cottages, from door to door, in the evening, at noon, any time — and open their eyes. Books etc., won’t do — give them oral teaching. Then slowly extend your centres. Can you do all this? Or only bell-ringing?

- Swami Vivekananda

[Source: Selected portions from the complete Works of Swami Vivekananda ]

Sister Nivedita and Monks serving plague affected poor in Kolkata:

“We are living in the past. No other society gloats so much about the past as we do, with as little current accomplishment.” - N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY

Full text of the talk — Role of Western values in contemporary Indian society — delivered at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management on October 02, 2002 by Chairman of the Board, Infosys Technologies Limited, Bangalore, India.

Ladies and gentlemen:
It is a pleasure to be here at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. Lal Bahadur Shastri was a man of strong values and he epitomized simple living. He was a freedom fighter and innovative administrator who contributed to nation building in full measure. It is indeed a matter of pride for me to be chosen for the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for Public Administration and Management Sciences.

I thank the jury for this honor. When I got the invitation to speak here, I decided to speak on an important topic on which I have pondered for years - the role of Western values in contemporary Indian society. Coming from a company that is built on strong values, the topic is close to my heart. Moreover, an organization is representative of society, and some of the lessons that I have learnt are applicable in the national context. In fact, values drive progress and define quality of life in society.

The word community joins two Latin words com (”together” or “with”) and unus (”one”). A community, then, is both one and many. It is a unified multitude and not a mere group of people. As it is said in the Vedas: Man can live individually, but can survive only collectively. Hence, the challenge is to form a progressive community by balancing the interests of the individual and that of the society. To meet this, we need to develop a value system where people accept modest sacrifices for the common good.

What is a value system? It is the protocol for behavior that enhances the trust, confidence and commitment of members of the community. It goes beyond the domain of legality – it is about decent and desirable behavior. Further, it includes putting the community interests ahead of your own. Thus, our collective survival and progress is predicated on sound values.

There are two pillars of the cultural value system - loyalty to family and loyalty to community. One should not be in isolation to the other, because, successful societies are those which combine both harmoniously. It is in this context that I will discuss the role of Western values in contemporary Indian society. Some of you here might say that most of what I am going to discuss are actually Indian values in old ages, and not Western values.

I live in the present, not in the bygone era. Therefore, I have seen these values practiced primarily in the West and not in India. Hence, the title of the topic. I am happy as long as we practice these values - whether we call it Western or old Indian values.

As an Indian, I am proud to be part of a culture, which has deep-rooted family values. We have tremendous loyalty to the family. For instance, parents make enormous sacrifices for their children. They support them until they can stand on their own feet. On the other side, children consider it their duty to take care of aged parents. We believe: Mathru devo bhava - mother is God, and pithru devo bhava - father is God. Further, brothers and sisters sacrifice for each other. In fact, the eldest brother or sister is respected by all the other siblings. As for marriage, it is held to be a sacred union - husband and wife are bonded, most often, for life. In joint families, the entire family works towards the welfare of the family. There is so much love and affection in our family life. This is the essence of Indian values and one of our key strengths. Our families act as a critical support mechanism for us. In fact, the credit to the success of Infosys goes, as much to the founders as to their families, for supporting them through the tough times.

Unfortunately, our attitude towards family life is not reflected in our attitude towards community behavior. From littering the streets to corruption to breaking of contractual obligations, we are apathetic to the common good. In the West - the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand - individuals understand that they have to be responsible towards their community.

The primary difference between the West and us is that, there, people have a much better societal orientation. They care more for the society than we do. Further, they generally sacrifice more for the society than us. Quality of life is enhanced because of this. This is where we need to learn from the West.

I will talk about some of the lessons that we, Indians, can learn from the West. In the West, there is respect for the public good. For instance, parks free of litter, clean streets, public toilets free of graffiti - all these are instances of care for the public good.

On the contrary, in India, we keep our houses clean and water our gardens everyday - but, when we go to a park, we do not think twice before littering the place. Corruption, as we see in India, is another example of putting the interest of oneself, and at best that of one’s family, above that of the society. Society is relatively corruption free in the West. For instance, it is very difficult to bribe a police officer into avoiding a speeding ticket. This is because of the individual’s responsible behavior towards the community as a whole.

On the contrary, in India, corruption, tax evasion, cheating and bribery have eaten into our vitals. For instance, contractors bribe officials, and construct low-quality roads and bridges. The result is that society loses in the form of substandard defence equipment and infrastructure, and low-quality recruitment, just to name a few impediments. Unfortunately, this behavior is condoned by almost everyone. Apathy in solving community matters has held us back from making progress, which is otherwise within our reach. We see serious problems around us but do not try to solve them. We behave as if the problems do not exist or is somebody else’s. On the other hand, in the West, people solve societal problems proactively.

There are several examples of our apathetic attitude. For instance, all of us are aware of the problem of drought in India. More than 40 years ago, Dr. K. L. Rao - an irrigation expert, suggested creation of a water grid connecting all the rivers in North and South India, to solve this problem. Unfortunately, nothing has been done about this. The story of power shortage in Bangalore is another instance. In 1983, it was decided to build a thermal power plant to meet Bangalore’s power requirements. Unfortunately, we have still not started it. Further, the Milan subway in Bombay is in a deplorable state for the last 40 years, and no action has been taken. To quote another example, considering the constant travel required in the software industry; five years ago, I had suggested a 240-page passport. This would eliminate frequent visits to the passport office. In fact, we are ready to pay for it. However, I am yet to hear from the Ministry of External Affairs on this. We, Indians, would do well to remember Thomas Hunter’s words: Idleness travels very slowly, and poverty soon overtakes it.

What could be the reason for all this? We were ruled by foreigners for over thousand years. Thus, we have always believed that public issues belonged to some foreign ruler and that we have no role in solving them. Moreover, we have lost the will to proactively solve our own problems. Thus, we have got used to just executing someone else’s orders.

Borrowing Aristotle’s words: We are what we repeatedly do. Thus, having done this over the years, the decision-makers in our society are not trained for solving problems. Our decision-makers look to somebody else to take decisions. Unfortunately, there is nobody to look up to, and this is the tragedy. Our intellectual arrogance has also not helped our society. I have traveled extensively, and in my experience, have not come across another society where people are as contemptuous of better societies as we are, with as little progress as we have achieved. Remember that arrogance breeds hypocrisy. No other society gloats so much about the past as we do, with as little current accomplishment.

Friends, this is not a new phenomenon, but at least a thousand years old. For instance, Al Barouni, the famous Arabic logician and traveler of the 10th century, who spent about 30 years in India from 997 AD to around 1027 AD, referred to this trait of Indians. According to him, during his visit, most Indian pundits considered it below their dignity even to hold arguments with him. In fact, on a few occasions when a pundit was willing to listen to him, and found his arguments to be very sound, he invariably asked Barouni: which Indian pundit taught these smart things!

The most important attribute of a progressive society is respect for others who have accomplished more than they themselves have, and learn from them. Contrary to this, our leaders make us believe that other societies do not know anything! At the same time, everyday, in the newspapers, you will find numerous claims from our leaders that ours is the greatest nation.

These people would do well to remember Thomas Carlyle’s words: The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.

If we have to progress, we have to change this attitude, listen to people who have performed better than us, learn from them and perform better than them. Infosys is a good example of such an attitude. We continue to rationalize our failures. No other society has mastered this art as well as we have. Obviously, this is an excuse to justify our incompetence, corruption, and apathy. This attitude has to change. As Sir Josiah Stamp has said: It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.

Another interesting attribute, which we Indians can learn from the West, is their accountability. Irrespective of your position, in the West, you are held accountable for what you do. However, in India, the more ‘important’ you are, the less answerable you are. For instance, a senior politician once declared that he ‘forgot’ to file his tax returns for 10 consecutive years - and he got away with it. To quote another instance, there are over 100 loss making public sector units (central) in India. Nevertheless, I have not seen action taken for bad performance against top managers in these organizations.

Dignity of labor is an integral part of the Western value system. In the West, each person is proud about his or her labor that raises honest sweat. On the other hand, in India, we tend to overlook the significance of those who are not in professional jobs. We have a mindset that reveres only supposedly intellectual work. For instance, I have seen many engineers, fresh from college, who only want to do cutting-edge work and not work that is of relevance to business and the country. However, be it an organization or society, there are different people performing different roles. For success, all these people are required to discharge their duties. This includes everyone from the CEO to the person who serves tea - every role is important. Hence, we need a mindset that reveres everyone who puts in honest work.

Indians become intimate even without being friendly. They ask favors of strangers without any hesitation. For instance, the other day, while I was traveling from Bangalore to Mantralaya, I met a fellow traveler on the train. Hardly 5 minutes into the conversation, he requested me to speak to his MD about removing him from the bottom 10% list in his company, earmarked for disciplinary action. I was reminded of what Rudyard Kipling once said: A westerner can be friendly without being intimate while an easterner tends to be intimate without being friendly. Yet another lesson to be learnt from the West, is about their professionalism in dealings. The common good being more important than personal equations, people do not let personal relations

interfere with their professional dealings. For instance, they don’t hesitate to chastise a colleague, even if he is a personal friend, for incompetent work. In India, I have seen that we tend to view even work interactions from a personal perspective. Further, we are the most ‘thin-skinned’ society in the world - we see insults where none is meant. This may be because we were not free for most of the last thousand years.

Further, we seem to extend this lack of professionalism to our sense of punctuality. We do not seem to respect the other person’s time. The Indian Standard Time somehow seems to be always running late. Moreover, deadlines are typically not met. How many public projects are completed on time? The disheartening aspect is that we have accepted this as the norm rather than the exception.

In the West, they show professionalism by embracing meritocracy. Meritocracy by definition means that we cannot let personal prejudices affect our evaluation of an individual’s performance. As we increasingly start to benchmark ourselves with global standards, we have to embrace meritocracy. In the West, right from a very young age, parents teach their children to be independent in thinking. Thus, they grow up to be strong, confident individuals. In India, we still suffer from feudal thinking. I have seen people, who are otherwise bright, refusing to show independence and preferring to be told what to do by their boss. We need to overcome this attitude if we have to succeed globally.

The Western value system teaches respect to contractual obligation. In the West, contractual obligations are seldom dishonored. This is important - enforceability of legal rights and contracts is the most important factor in the enhancement of credibility of our people and nation. In India, we consider our marriage vows as sacred. We are willing to sacrifice in order to respect our marriage vows. However, we do not extend this to the public domain. For instance, India had an unfavorable contract with Enron. Instead of punishing the people responsible for negotiating this, we reneged on the contract – this was much before we came to know about the illegal activities at Enron. To quote another instance, I had given recommendations to several students for the national scholarship for higher studies in US universities. Most of them did not return to India even though contractually they were obliged to spend five years after their degree in India. In fact, according to a professor at a reputed US university, the maximum default rate for student loans is among Indians - all of these students pass out in flying colors and land lucrative jobs, yet they refuse to pay back their loans. Thus, their action has made it difficult for the students after them, from India, to obtain loans. We have to change this attitude.

Further, we Indians do not display intellectual honesty. For example, our political leaders use mobile phones to tell journalists on the other side that they do not believe in technology! If we want our youngsters to progress, such hypocrisy must be stopped.

We are all aware of our rights as citizens. Nevertheless, we often fail to acknowledge the duty that accompanies every right. To borrow Dwight Eisenhower’s words: People that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. Our duty is towards the community as a whole, as much as it is towards our families.

We have to remember that fundamental social problems grow out of a lack of commitment to the common good. To quote Henry Beecher: Culture is that which helps us to work for the betterment of all.

Hence, friends, I do believe that we can make our society even better by assimilating these Western values into our own culture - we will be stronger for it.

Most of our behavior comes from greed, lack of self-confidence, lack of confidence in the nation, and lack of respect for the society. To borrow Gandhi’s words: There is enough in this world for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed. Let us work towards a society where we would do unto others what we would have others do unto us. Let us all be responsible citizens who make our country a great place to live. In the words of Churchill: Responsibility is the price of greatness. We have to extend our family values beyond the boundaries of our home.

Finally, let us work towards maximum welfare of the maximum people – Samasta janaanaam sukhino bhavantu. Thus, let us - people of this generation, conduct ourselves as great citizens rather than just good people so that we can serve as good examples for our younger generation.

Thank you.

N.R. Narayana Murthy