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Kalady visit, a dream come true

Staff Reporter

President Kalam sees Sree Sankara as a role model for the youth

KOCHI: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has given a call for convergence of technology and spiritualism to mould better individuals.

Addressing students and academics at Sree Sankara College, Kalady, a few kilometres from here, he said, "Kalady is a well-known spiritual centre, since it is the birthplace of Sree Sankara. His Advaitha philosophy unifies minds and connects people. What inspires me is that during his 32-year life, Sankara gave to humanity the Advaitha philosophy, formed a unique faith and strove for international brotherhood. He visited Kashmir twice. He is a fantastic role model for the youth," Mr. Kalam said adding that it has always been a dream for him to visit Kalady where Sree Sankara embarked on his Advaithic mission.

(Earlier in the day, the President visited the birthplace of Sree Sankara at Kalady, Saradamba Temple and Mahaganapathy Temple.)

"Three people brought about a revolutionary change in India. While Vikram Sarabhai gave a vision to India's space programme in the 1960s, C. Subramaniam, the former Union Food Minister, and M.S. Swaminathan, eminent scientist, together strove to ensure self-sufficiency in food production. Nothing is impossible in the world. Think big and all problems will vanish," he said.

On a question by a student on the approach teachers have to take for making teaching effective, he told her an incident that took place in his school days. Many students were not convinced of how birds fly in the air, despite the best efforts of the teacher. The teacher took them all to the Rameswaram beach and showed them the way birds flapped their wings and flew. And they understood it in full. The teacher gave me a vision: to aim high and fly, he said.

Mr. Kalam also answered queries on superconductivity and black holes. "Dream transforms into thoughts. Thoughts transform into action," he told the students to repeat it and they did it in unison.

A few students got autographs of the President.

Adi Sankara Trust managing trustee B.S. Krishnan recited a verse from Tirukural. "For Mr. Kalam, the journey from a fishermen's village in Rameswaram to Delhi was through `Wings Of Fire'," he said.

Sringeri Math administrator V.R. Gowrisankar said that Sree Sankara's birthday should be observed as `Philosopher's Day.' He presented a memento to Mr. Kalam. The President handed over a graphic representation of the Milky Way to the Principal of the Adi Sankara Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; Revenue Minister K.M. Mani; Lonappan Nambadan, MP; and P.J. Joy, MLA.

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