“Sankara Nethralaya strongly advocates all round development of an individual’s personality and I am indebted to my Alma Mater for the ideologies and knowledge imparted to me during my schooling at the Ramakrishna Mission High School” recalled Dr.SS. Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya in his welcome address at the Guest Lecture by revered Sri Gautamanandaji, President, the Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, at the Sri.V.D.Swami Auditorium on 6th Nov 2013.
Introducing the 84 year old agile, Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, Dr. Badrinath said, the Sage joined the Ramakrishna Movement in 1951 with initial spiritual training under Swami Ranganathanandaji and was ordained as a monk in 1966 by Swami Vireshwaranandaji, the tenth President of the Order, he highlighted that the Swami had worked among the tribal and rural people of Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for 20 years promoting value-based education and also served as the General and Executive Member of the Central Board of Secondary Education and the National Council for Educational Research and Training, New Delhi.
Addressing the packed gathering, Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj started off eloquently quoting Kenopanishad
यस्यामतम् तस्य मतम् मतम् यस्य न वेद स: |
अविज्ञातम् विजानताम् विज्ञातमविजानताम् ||
Which translates as
“If one thinks that “Supreme God Head” is beyond doctrine, he has a perspective of it;
He who thinks It is within (his) doctrine, does not know.
Wise men say they do not (fully) know. Unwise claim they know it well;”
Just as it is impossible for the camera with its limitations to capture the entire world by its click, nor a vessel to contain the Ocean, it was impossible to conceive the Infinite in terms of finite quoted the Swami, drawing simple yet profound examples to give the audience, a glimpse of the Infinite.
Vedas, Vedangas and the Upanishad innately elucidate that the God Head, could not be defined by the Sense organs or organs of perception, but felt by direct experience and becoming one with it.
Quoting profusely from Pathanjali’s Yoga Sutra and Swami Vivekananda on the concept of God as “Man’s inner hankering to find someone who is free beyond the laws of nature” the Swami drew excerpts from the Theory of re-incarnation, cause and effect and the laws of Karma that bound one and all.
He subtly capsuled the subject of the day “Is there God”; to the understanding of “Supreme Consciousness” and “Awareness” that propelled every simple move in this World and concluded his brilliant lecture saying “Human being is thus an abstract of God Himself”.
Following the lecture, the Swamiji blessed and presented the ‘Young Women Scientist award’ instituted by Smt. Sreerangamma N Narayana and Smt. Radhamani N Anantha Endowment to Ms.L Dhanurekha of the L&T Microbiology Department, the Ram Dhingra Educational Trust Awards to the wards of Sankara Nethralaya employees and recognition awards to the members involved in the Fast Track Cataract Surgery service project and the team responsible for customizing the donation appeal advertisements to be telecast in Zee TV – US, belonging to the Multimedia, Content and Web Development teams.
The function concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Ms. Sudha Mohan, Senior Manager, HR.