It is no use holding the younger generation guilty for the erosion in social values, said Art of Living (AOL) movement founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
“Give them an opportunity to learn and understand the lessons of social values and spirituality, then things will be different”, said the spiritual leader, at the Convergence, an interactive session with scientists organised by the Swadeshi Science Movement at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in the city on Thursday.
“I hold politicians responsible to a large extent for the corruption and crime that has over taken the society,” he said, as a reason for the current situation of the country.
According to him, good people did not want to come out of their comfort zone and were not bothered to bring about a change. This had to change, he said.
Speaking on the conflicts between neighbouring countries, Mr. Ravi Shankar said even as common people were tired of terrorism and wars, those with vested interests such as arms dealers and mafia wanted the conflicts to continue to make profits.
The question of convergence of spirituality and science did not arise in India because spirituality here was very scientific, he said. The line of thoughts of Vedanta was always logical. Counter points were always considered and such aspects proved to be good for scientific temper. For all these reasons and to keep superstitions and narrow mindedness at bay, scientific discussions should be brought into the classrooms, he said.
The interaction was preceded by a panel discussion, attended by eminent scientists such as former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisations G. Madhavan Nair, Principal Secretary, Science and Technology Department, V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, President of Swadeshi Science Movement V.P.N. Nampoori, former Chairman of KSCSTE C.G. Ramachandran Nair among many others.
Mr. Shankar also presented the Swadeshi Innovation award to A. Ajayaghosh, scientist, NIIST, and C.A. Jayaprakash, principal scientist, CTCRI, Thiruvananthapuram.
After this, Mr. Shankar attended the ‘Anandotsavam 2013 held at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, where thousands, who follow the AOL movement, congregated. The meeting began with bhajans, after which nearly 500 dancers, practising the ‘Natyayoga’ module under the AOL, performed at the venue. It was attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and Ministers V.S. Sivakuamr and K. Babu , MLA K. Muraleedharan among others. Mr. Chandy, offering support for the future endeavours of the spiritual leader, called Mr. Shankar a symbol of human love.
