Dear Friends

A few days ago, we had the 4th convocation of Somaiya Vidyavihar University.  What a lovely day.  

A graduating student - Sunetra Mukherjee summed it up beautifully

Dear Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Good things eventually come to an end, and today truly feels like the end of an era. Convocation is not just about receiving a degree, it’s about saying goodbye to a place that became a part of me.

A library that held not just books but endless answers waiting to be found, labs that tested both my patience and my curiosity, sports fields that taught me the joy of pushing limits, while music and culture filled my soul with colors beyond textbooks. And in between it all, the lush green campus, serene, alive, and comforting, stood as a gentle reminder that growth is as much about roots as it is about wings.

It was not just a university, but a universe in itself, complete, vibrant, and unforgettable.

This chapter closes with a heavy heart, but also with immense gratitude. And though I leave today, a piece of me will always belong here.

Samir Somaiya Counting on your emails, each filled with lessons, care, and guidance.

31011322024 signing off

Dr. Kakodkar - one of the main visionaries behind India's Nuclear programme was our Chief Guest.

The world keeps changing, and I was thinking about what I should say to the graduating students. I had just returned from Kazakhstan, where I had been invited by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to speak on 'Future Synergy. - Dialogue for the Future.'

In Kazakhstan, we were assembled to discuss the future. Somaiya Vidyavihar has worked in the field of Interfaith Dialogue since the early 1990s, and my father who pioneered the effort and initiative - Dr. Shantilal K Somaiya was closely associated with the then President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev from the very start when he started The Congress for the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. President Nazarbayev was keen to invite leaders from various religious groups to come together to speak with each other to promote and strengthen interfaith harmony in the world, and enhance inter-civilizational and inter-cultural dialogue.

As we look around us, and more so in the larger world around us, we see crises of climate change, war, and income inequalities. In these times and in all times, we need people, groups, or countries to work together to address these global challenges.

It was in this context that I thought about what I should say to the graduating class of the University.

https://www.somaiya.edu/en/convocation/

(Dr. Kakodkar's speech starts at 1:27:30, and my talk starts at 1:47:00)

I wanted to summarise it here.

I often start with quotes from Sanskrit or Urdu. This time, I decided to quote a few lines from a recent movie. A quote from Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning 

wher Luther says:

'Like it or not, we are we are masters of our fate

Nothing is written,  and our cause, however righteous pales, in comparison to the impact of our effect. 

Any hope of a better future comes from willing that future into being.  A future reflecting the measure of good within ourselves.  All that is good inside us is measured by the good we do for others. We share the same fate, the same future, the sum of our infinite choices.  One such future is built on kindness trust and mutual understanding.  Should we choose to accept it.  Driving without question towards a light we cannot see,  Not just for those we hold close but  for those we’ll never meet.'

It is important that the students who have come to Somaiya Vidyavihar have all willed yourself to come here, and as you stay here, enjoy, but as you graduate you will confront an uncertain world. And one that grows more uncertain.

Your education here should equip you with three attributes or qualities

1. पेशा (excellence in)
2. सोच (wide)
3. चरित्र (integrity of)

To be great citizens of India and the world.

In the education system of today - we need to not focus only on the vocation (although necessary), but also on cultivating character and an exposure to wide and wider thinking.

In today’s more uncertain world - where now 

1. Climate change continues to manifest itself, 
2. inequalities seem to be widening, and 
3. The geo-political theatre of the world is fraught with greater risk.

How does one respond to these challenges.

For thinking about a warming climate and our individual response:

Climate Change

A future in which we take care of the world.  

In the अथर्व वेद - the भूमि सूक्त (Bhumi Sukta) states that we are children of the earth, and that she is our mother:

(https://greenmesg.org/stotras/bhoomi/bhoomi_sukta.php)

माता भूमिः पुत्रो अहं पृथिव्याः ।  

The earth is my mother and I am her child.

This is the spirit and love we must have for the earth.  As a child who loves his/her mother.  As a child who as he/she grows up has a deep sense of responsibility for his/her mother.

My business is the field of Biorefining.  Using agriculture feedstocks to make food, fuel, chemicals and materials.  And to work with farmers to restore soil carbon, since the extractive mindset will  not help the future generations - only regenerative agriculture will.  Just think about that - people who come after us are the next generation.  We need to think regeneratively.

People ask me of our business - Is it practical?  Is it economical?  My answer to that is - Do we have a choice?

GeoPolitics and War

While the world continues to grapple with violence, and wars that affect lives and livelihoods.

We cannot solve the wars in the world, but in our own worlds, we will also face our own battles and our own wars.

So in our daily lives we can be mindful of living in a way that helps us navigate these challenges and keep calm and sane. Let us not forget that as the Gita starts

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे

The world is also a field of battle, and that battle is often played out in your mind.

For that - I quote Gandhi
'An Eye for an Eye will only make the whole world blind'

And his other quote

'I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet'

Powerful quotes to live by. Think about them.

Only yesterday someone called me with a genuine issue at work, and for which he said he wrote a strong email (but in a tone that offended).

To that I remember my father’s advice

'Always stick to the issue (do not make it personal)'

And - remember - 'if you do use the wrong tone - then the substance will be lost and your behaviour will be what is remembered'

And for those taking offence - why take offence - who will carry the load (of the offence)?  I remember someone mentioning to me that he had been offended by an occurrence a few years ago.  And I asked him - and you are carrying that offence (or that load) all these years?

Widening Inequalities

We see widening inequalities around us. If we are indeed children of the same mother earth, then we are members of the same family.  We should strive to make the world better for all of us.

Remember - Dharma is what holds Society together.  

My grandfather (our Founder) always liked the quote -  न मानुषात् परो धर्म (no religion greater than - or other than service to humanity)  

and from our prayer

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः

सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु

मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

1: Om, May All be Happy,

2: May All be Free from Illness.

3: May All See what is Auspicious,

4: May no one Suffer.

5: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

So let us be conscious of our commitment to our common home. To ourselves as one family.  And let us work for our shared future for all humanity and all living beings.

And Shanti is uttered three time. For peace in the heavens, on earth and within oneself.

Cosmic: आधिदैविक

Earth: आधिभौतिक

Internal: आध्यात्मिक

Back to Luther -  Let us work together to make 'One such future, built on kindness, trust, and mutual understanding.  Not just for those we hold close but also for those we’ll never meet.'

As Iqbal wrote

'खुदी को कर बुलन्द इतना कि हर तकदीर से पहले 

खुदा बन्दे से खुद पूछे बता तेरी रज़ा क्या है'

Let us Will this future into being

So finally, things to live by:

When I joined my father and grandfather in our family business on the 1st of January 1993, my grandfather - Padmabhushan K J Somaiya took me to my desk and  gave me a talisman on the first day of work

1. 'Speak the truth
2. Stand by your word
3. Do not lose your mind (or temper)
4. Do not do anything that would make your mother ashamed of you'

He referred to my mother.  Not he, my grandfather - but my mother. 

Let that mother be your mother, your country and also the earth, 

Let her also be your Alma mater - Somaiya Vidyavihar 

In many ways, we try to create on the campus the world we wish for ourselves everywhere.

A beautiful world.  Full of nature, greenery, sport, music, books, teachers, friends and above all dreams.  Good dreams

Before I end - a blessing from the Atharva Veda

'ॐ....

अभयं मित्रादभयममित्रात्, अभयं ज्ञातादभयं पुरो यः।

अभयं नक्तमभयं दिवा नः, सर्वा आशा मम मित्रं भवन्तु।।'

भावार्थ ...

Let me not fear friend nor foe, not what I know and what I do not know (yet to come).

Let me not fear night nor day, let all directions be my friends.

मुझे मित्र से भय न हो, अमित्र अर्थात शत्रु से भी भय न हो। जो मालूम हो गया है उससे भय न हो और जो आगे आने वाला है उससे भी भय न हो।हमे रात में भय न हो, दिन में भय न हो।सब दिशाओं के वासी प्राणी मेरे मित्र हो जाये।

Be fearless - करो फतेह'