“The core of life is spirituality and the youth must bestow devotion to their value system for professional success,” said S.S. Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, at the special convocation on the occasion of Mahamaham at the SASTRA University here on Wednesday.
He also launched the SASTRA founder-chancellor S. Ramachandra Iyer centenary celebrations.
The celebrations, being organised throughout the year and as part of the events, the university will offer free surgery to around 150 children requiring critical cardiac, neural, ENT and other surgeries, educational scholarship, competitions to nurture nationalism, spiritualism and humanism besides other charitable activities. The university handed over a cheque for Rs.25 lakh to Sri Ramachandra Hospitals, Chennai, for the conduct of free surgeries. Three eminent personalities hailing from the erstwhile composite Thanjavur district were conferred with Doctor of Letters (honoris causa). They included former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami for his outstanding administrative service in upholding bureaucratic and democratic values, namasankeerthanam expert Udayalur Kalyanarama Bhagavathar for propagating the traditional Bhajana Sampradaya and renowned archaeologist Kudavayil M. Balasubramanian for his scholarly contribution to temple architecture and Tamil language.
Sastra university Chancellor R. Sethuraman welcomed the gathering that included prominent citizens of Kumbakonam like Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the City Union Bank.
