Ignited Minds (6 page)

When the meeting ended both Acharyas called me for a private meeting. Swami Jayendra Saraswathigal inquired about the crashlanding of the helicopter and blessed me. Swami Vijayendra Saraswathigal conveyed to me that the maulvi of a very famous 300- year-old mosque was waiting in the mutt to take me to the mosque. Swamiji suggested that I visit the mosque.

His message brought to my mind an incident in Paramacharya’s time, a decade ago, as told by the former President, R. Venkataraman. Mr Venkataraman showed me the mosque very close to the Kanchi mutt. A few years ago, the mosque jamayath (authorities) and the district authorities decided to relocate the mosque to some other suitable place as its present location was inconvenient both for the mutt and mosque. As a large number of people visit
the historic mosque and there are huge gatherings at the mutt too, the traffic was becoming difficult to manage. The mutt would rebuild the mosque in its new location. Somehow this message reached the Paramacharya. He vehemently opposed the whole idea. He said, ‘In fact, when at 4.30 a.m. the call for namaz comes from the mosque, it acts as a wake-up call for my divine duties.’ And also for many other reasons he was opposed to the relocation of the mosque. He made this clear to both the district authorities and the mutt. The Paramacharya went into mouna vridham– deep silence. Finally, shifting of the mosque was stopped.

I later went to the mosque and met the maulvi and kazi and offered namaz there. About fifty students were learning the Holy Quran. I sat with them and asked them to recite the Alhamthu, the sura that embodies the Quran. In Kanchi, I was privileged to see vedic recitation and recitations from the Quran proceeding side by side. Therein lies the greatness and essence of India. Can
Kanchi’s integrated approach towards learning become a beacon for us and later for the world?

During the discussion in the Sankara College of Engineering among Sanskrit professors, students and teachers, presided over by the Sankaracharyas, it became clear that ancient Sanskrit literature is a storehouse of scientific principles and methodology, even to the extent of there being texts about how to build a viman (aeroplane). Subjects like physics, chemistry, medicine and ayurveda are, of course, well documented. There was a consensus that the work of our ancient scholars and scientists should be thoroughly examined and where possible integrated with modern science.

An invitation came from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning at Whitefield for Prof. Rama Rao and me. The day began with a morning prayer at 7.00 followed by a discourse rendered in poetic form. Its subject was how to remove hatred from our hearts–by sacrificing the ego and substituting love in its place. When Sai Baba
moved amidst the devotees, the effect of his healing presence on people’s pain, difficulties and problems was immediately apparent.

In January 2002, I attended a conference on Medical Technology and Healthcare at Whitefield. All through the conference, which began at 9.30 in the morning and ended at 8 in the evening, Sri Sathya Sai Baba was present. He blessed every presentation and when I finished my five- minute presentation on how technology would transform human life–an example being the cardiac stent that we had made– he got up and blessed me, to the cheers of participants.

I was impressed to see his interest in the conference, as I had been impressed by the speciality hospital at Whitefield that I had visited earlier. He had been told that Chennai was facing a water problem. So, when he announced that he would ensure water flowed to the city, it was more heartening still.

On 3 February 2002, I had an
extraordinary spiritual experience when I visited the Brahma Kumari Spiritual Academy at Mount Abu. The deity of the Brahma Kumaris, Shiva Baba, descended on one of the disciples, Dhadhi Gurzar. Before our eyes, her personality changed. Her face became radiant, her voice became deeper as she talked about the four treasures: Knowledge, Yoga, Virtue and Service. We– I, Sivathanu Pillai, and Selvamurthy–were lucky to be called by her to the dais and blessed. As she blessed us she said, ‘Bharat will become the most beautiful land on earth.’

My interaction with the Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients, popularly known as ‘Dilwalas’, at the Global Hospital and Research Centre of the Brahma Kumari Academy headed by Dr Pratap Midha, clearly illustrated that the mind—body interaction, a subject I touched upon at the end of the previous chapter, is vital for health which is defined as physical, mental and spiritual well-being. My friend Dr W. Selvamurthy postulated through years of clinical work
that yoga and meditation significantly alleviate pain. The experiments, which I had the opportunity of initiating through the Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) when I was Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, include a new approach towards healing through mind— body synchrony. Dr Pratap Midha and Dr Selvamurthy joined together and formulated a unique treatment for cardiac patients. When I reviewed this project, two years back, about sixty patients reported an improved sense of well-being. Now, it has yielded excellent results with 400 patients reporting progress. The treatment included lifestyle intervention with Raja Yoga meditation for stress management, low-fat high-fibre diet for reducing risk of hyper lipidemia and regular aerobic exercise or walking to improve the cardio-vascular and metabolic efficiency. I hope that medical treatment will begin to lay greater emphasis on healing not only the body but also the mind.

During my previous visit to the Brahma
Kumari Spiritual Academy at Mount Abu, Sister Usha had given me the task of interacting in a group discussion with thirty Brahma Kumaris who had recently joined. It was a pleasure to look at their bright faces bubbling with enthusiasm. In a post-dinner session when I asked them in turn about their mission in life, the reply was unanimous: to serve the people through spiritual endeavour. Dr Selvamurthy and I were moved to recite a Tamil poem composed 1,000 years ago by Awaiyar which in translation reads thus:

‘It is rare to be born as a human being
It is still more rare to be born without any deformity
Even if you are born without any deformity
It is rare to acquire knowledge and education
Even if one could acquire knowledge and education
It is still rare to do offerings and tapas
But for one who does offerings and tapas
The doors of heaven open to greet him.’

I then narrated to the Brahma Kumaris how the Bishop at Thumba allowed transfer of the land belonging to the church for setting up a space research station (as given in chapter three of this book). What is the conclusion to be drawn from this story? I asked them. The Brahma Kumaris responded by saying that our civilization is rich, which leads to forward thinking, harmony and better understanding. With such a great nation and people, why are there communal clashes? I think that when a nation doesn’t have a vision, small minds take over its affairs.

The unification of science and spirituality will be essential to take the benefit of science and technology to mankind. In 1911, Sri Aurobindo wrote in the
Song of Humanity
‘A time will come when the Indian mind will shake off the darkness that has fallen upon it, cease to think or hold opinions at second and third hand and reassert its right to judge and enquire with perfect freedom into the meaning of its own culture and tradition.’

That is the future we need to work towards as we shake off the shackles of poverty.

There was one message common to all the places I visited–there is a higher self within you that transcends the limitations of the physical world. I felt the presence of this higher self in my father.

I have learned over the years to maintain my equanimity regardless of circumstances. I have faced failures and disappointments without feeling defeated. I wish to live the rest of my life at peace with myself and others. I have no wish to engage in quarrels with others.

This is the challenge before the individual as he tries to transcend his limitations.

At this point, I recall a sura from the Holy Quran.

‘O Prophet, you proclaim to the people
Who do not accept your preaching,
What you worship, I do not worship,
And what I worship, you do not worship;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The result of your actions belongs to you,
The result of my actions belongs to me.’

What we are, what we believe in, is ours alone. Once we have trust in the wisdom that created us, we can develop a faith that sustains us through our lives.

Indians are well versed with the concept of higher self, or perhaps highest self is the preferable term. For generations our ancestors lived their lives by this concept. But for many today, rooted perhaps too deeply in the material world, this idea sounds lofty and spiritual. For me it has been a cornerstone of the way I live.

On one occasion, as I was leaving for Bangalore, I spoke to a friend of mine and told him that I would be talking to young people and whether he had any suggestions. He did not offer any suggestions as such, but offered me these nuggets of wisdom.

‘When you speak, speak the truth; perform when you promise; discharge your trust … withhold your hands from striking,
and from taking that which is unlawful and bad …

‘What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful and to remove the wrongs of the injured …

‘All God’s creatures are His family; and he is the most beloved of God who tries to do most good to God’s creatures.’

These are the sayings of Prophet Mohammad. My friend who told me this is a greatgrandson of a Deekshidar of Tamil Nadu and grandson of a Ganapathigal (vedic scholar). He is none other than Y.S. Rajan.

Such an outlook is possible only in our country. Let us remember the Rig Veda: ‘Aano bhadrah kratavo yenthu vishwathaha.’ That is, ‘Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.’

I recall an event that took place in my family. My grandfather and greatgrandfather were called Ambalakarar–noble leaders– in Rameswaram. This island has the privilege
of being known as the place where Lord Rama is said to have launched his campaign against Ravana. The island celebrates this event by organizing his marriage with Sita– his divine counterpart. My greatgrandfather would provide a floating platform for the occasion to carry the decorated vigraha through the holy tank named Ramar Theertham. The tank is very deep. The floating platform with vigraha, bedecked with beautiful gold ornaments, of Lord Rama is taken round a small mandapa at the centre of the tank. Then and now, all of Rameswaram assembles for the occasion.

One year, my greatgrandfather was witnessing the event when a mishap took place. The vigraha toppled down and sank. Without any hesitation or prompting, he jumped into the tank and recovered the vigraha as the entire town watched. The temple priests instituted muthal mariathai (first honour) for our family. There was a special prayer in the Rameswaram mosque to thank the Almighty for the recovery of
the vigraha and to bring God’s grace on our family.

I have always considered this incident as a shining example of human brotherhood and harmony, specially significant in today’s context. Could not each of us help nurture such a brotherhood wherever we happen to be?

On 15 August 1947, my high school teacher, Rev. Iyyadurai Solomon, took me to hear the midnight freedom speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. We were all moved to hear him say that we were free. Banner headlines announced the momentous event in next day’s newspapers. But alongside the report of Panditji’s speech in the Tamil newspaper I read, was another news item, one that has been embedded in my memory. It was about how Mahatma Gandhi was walking barefoot in Noakhali, to help assuage the pain of the riot-affected families there. Normally, as Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi should have been on the ramparts of Red Fort, the first one to unfurl the
national flag. Instead, he was at Noakhali. Such was the Mahatma’s greatness, and what an everlasting impact it left on the mind of a schoolboy!

Having sensed the pulse of the young, and armed with the wisdom of the elders, I thought deeply about my own experiences with technology projects where people worked on problems that were new and demanded efforts that were unprecedented. What really makes one succeed in the face of difficult tasks? We have talked about the importance of having a dream and of commitment, of hard work and having the spiritual strength to persevere through difficulties and failures. Is there anything missing in the cycle of creation?

Our spiritual wisdom has been our strength. We survived as a nation the onslaughts of invaders and the numbing effects of colonialism. We have also learnt to adjust to the rifts and divisions in our own society. But in the process of all the
adjustment, we also lowered our aims and expectations. We must regain our broad outlook and draw upon our heritage and wisdom to enrich our lives. The fact that we advance techonologically does not preclude spiritual development. We need to home-grow our own model of development based on our inherent strengths.

I do not care for liberation, I would rather go to a hundred thousand hells, ‘doing good to others (silently) like the spring’, this is my religion.

Swami Vivekananda

Walking has been an essential part of my life. Wherever I go I make it a point to walk five kilometres in the morning. I am particularly attached to seeing the beauty of the sunrise, the light that precedes its arrival and my ears are tuned to the songs that
birds sing to welcome the dawning of a new day on this planet. Each time I experience these phenomena–the cool breeze, the singing of the birds and the arrival of the sun–I am filled with awe at how nature brings together all the elements that go into making this moment possible and feel thankful to God.

I have been fortunate in that my work has taken me to very many beautiful places that opened up my mind to the cosmic reality. One such was Chandipur in Orissa.

From Kolkata, the distance to Balasore is around 234 km and Chandipur is 16 km from the town. The name means the abode of the Goddess Chandi or Durga. The beach here is surely among the finest in India. At low tide the water recedes three kilometres as the tides follow their rhythmic cycle.

The lonely beach, the whispering of tamarisk trees and the cool breeze create a feeling of extraordinary calm. I used to walk on the beach to the mouth of the river Suwarnarekha. The river’s vast spread and the bewitching, ceaseless ripples of its water
were hypnotic in their effect. It was a feeling as close to bliss as I have ever felt.

We started test-firing our missiles from the Sriharikota Range of ISRO but needed our own missile test range. The Interim Test Range (ITR) was established in 1989 as a dedicated range for launching missiles, rockets and flight test vehicles. A number of missiles of different class including the multi- role Trishul, multi-target capable Akash, the anti-tank Nag missile, the surface-to-surface missile Prithvi, and the long-range technology demonstrator Agni have been test-fired from the ITR. BrahMos, the Indo-Russian joint venture set up to develop supersonic cruise missiles, has also been tested at this range. The ITR has also supported a number of other missions such as testing of the multi- barrel rocket launcher Pinaka and the pilotless aircraft Lakshya.

The ITR has also been made capable for testing airborne weapons and systems with the help of sophisticated instrumentation. Thrust areas include tracking long-range missiles, air defence missile systems, weapons
systems delivered by the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), multi-target weapon systems and high-acceleration manoeuvrable missiles.

The ITR extends 17 km along the seacoast where a number of tracking instruments have been deployed along the flight path of the test vehicles. Some of the significant test facilities at the ITR are a mobile and fixed electro-optical tracking system, mobile S-band tracking radar, fixed C-band tracking radar, fixed and mobile telemetry system, range computer, photo processing system, meteorological system and range safety systems. An expert system has been developed for aiding safety decisions during launch. The ITR is slowly but surely growing into a world-class range.

It was a hot and humid midnight sometime in July 1995. We were going through the results of the fourth consecutive successful flight of Prithvi. People’s faces were lit up with success. There was a mood of celebration. More than thirty of us, representing 1,200 hard-working team members, were pondering over the
question–what next? Lt. Gen. Ramesh Khosla, Director General Artillery, suggested that the Army needed a flight test on a land range with the accuracy of impact at the final destination within 150 meters. This is called Circular Error Probability (CEP) in technical terms.

We opened a geographical map of India. There were five tiny dots at a distance of 70 to 80 km from ITR. These are the Wheeler Islands. We could not go to the Rajasthan desert for obvious reasons. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are far away. At 2.00 a.m. we decided that Wheeler Islands were the right choice for the missile impact test. Now the search for a suitable island started. A helicopter was used to survey the area. Someone proposed asking the fishermen to guide us to the islands.

My two colleagues, Saraswat and Salwan, drove to a place called Dhamra. From Dhamra, they hired a boat for the day for Rs. 250. By the time they reached the island it was almost dark. Salwan had carried fruits for eating during the journey but these
eventually became their dinner. There was no option but to stay on the island. It was a beautiful night but my friends, neither familiar with the sea nor used to being marooned on a deserted island, spent it rather fearfully–though they won’t confess it and claim instead that they enjoyed it. Early the next morning, they began their survey of the island, which is about 3 km long and 800 metres wide. To their surprise, they saw on the eastern side of the island a Bangladesh flag flying atop a tree with huts nearby. The island was probably frequented by fishermen from the neighbouring country. My friends quickly removed the flag.

Things moved fast thereafter. The district authorities, including forest and environment officers, visited the island. Soon after, I got the Defence Minister’s clearance to acquire the islands. The formalities were gone through with the Orissa government and the forest department to transfer the land. I personally met the concerned senior officials to make the file move to the desk of the Chief Minister. I also wrote a detailed letter
to the Chief Minister explaining why we needed the islands for DRDO work, specially for use as a range for experimental purposes.

We had already done preparatory work before moving the application. There were typical questions about fishing activity in the vicinity, the disturbance that might be caused to turtle migration and above all the cost of the islands. Within ten days we got an appointment from the Chief Minister. I had heard a lot about Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, particularly about his days as a pilot and his friendship with President Sukarno. When I entered the Chief Minister’s chambers with Maj. Gen. K.N. Singh and Salwan, he welcomed us warmly. To me he exclaimed, ‘Oh my friend Kalam, I have followed your work from the time of Dr Sarabhai to now. Whatever you ask, I will give.’ In my presence he signed the Orissa government’s decision to give to DRDO all the four islands and said, ‘Kalam, I have given the approval you asked for, I know you will use it well. Your mission–the missile programme–is very important to the country. Anything needed
from Orissa will be yours.’ Then, suddenly, he held me and gave me a very affectionate hug. He said in a demanding tone, ‘Kalam, you have to give me a promise and assurance to the nation. The day India makes its own ICBM I shall be stronger as an Indian.’ There was silence. I had to respond immediately. Biju Patnaik was a man with a tremendous personality and deeply impressive as a leader too, one whose love for the nation transcended politics. I looked straight into his eyes and said, ‘Sir, we will work for your mission. I will discuss your thought in Delhi.’

Some forty years ago, the daredevil Biju Patnaik piloted his Kalinga Airways plane into Jakarta to find Indonesian President Sukarno in the first flush of fatherhood. Sukarno’s wife had delivered a baby, and the family was searching for a name for the newborn girl when Bijuda called on them.

Sukarno explained the problem on hand to the visitor from India. Biju Patnaik cast his mind back to the clouds that had greeted the baby’s arrival and suggested the Sanskrit
equivalent for them. Sukarno’s daughter was promptly christened Megawati and thus the daughter of the leader of the world’s largest Muslim nation got a Hindu name. For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.

Many years later, after several political upheavals, Megawati Sukarnoputri would become first the Vice President and then the President of Indonesia.

Lament, my friend, at the passing away of a generation of politicians with a voice, vision and reach that went far beyond our borders. Lament at our State-sponsored, abnormal and paranoid fixation with a particular country that has blinded us to the rest of the world, including the Third World, which we used to head not so long ago. And weep softly at what we have reduced ourselves to in the comity of nations. For a large country with a billion people, a country with a thriving industry and a large pool of scientific talent, a country, moreover, that is a nuclear power, India does not count for as much as it should. In terms of our influence in world
affairs, probably no other country is so far below its potential as we are.

After Pokhran II, the West speaks about India and Pakistan in the same breath. Is it not in our national interest to demonstrate to the world that we can think of a world beyond Pakistan, that we are a qualitatively better, more mature and secular country with a greater commitment to the values of democracy and freedom?

During March 2002, I was teaching about 200 final year students of engineering at Anna University and I gave a series of ten lectures on ‘Technology and Its Dimensions’. On the final day of the interaction, there was a discussion on Dual Use Technologies. One of the students raised a question.

‘Sir, I have recently come across Dr Amartya Sen’s statement that the nuclear weapon test conducted in May 1998 by India was ill conceived. Dr Amartya Sen is a great economist and a Nobel laureate who is much respected for his ideas on development. A comment from such a personality cannot be ignored. What is your view on his comments?’

‘I acknowledge the greatness of Dr Amartya Sen in the field of economic development and admire his suggestions, such as that thrust should be given to primary education,’ I said. ‘At the same time, it seemed to me that Dr Sen looked at India from a Western perspective. In his view, India should have a friendly relationship with all countries to enhance its economic prosperity. I agree, but we must also bear in mind India’s experience in the past. Pandit Nehru spoke in the United Nations against nuclear proliferation and advocated zero nuclear weapons in all the countries. We know the result. One should note that there are more than 10,000 nuclear warheads on American soil, another 10,000 nuclear warheads are on Russian soil and there are a number of them in the UK, China, France, Pakistan and some other countries. The START II and the recent agreements between the USA and Russia only talk about reducing the number of nuclear warheads to 2,000 each and even these agreements are limping. Nobody takes the reduction of warheads in
serious terms. There should be a movement by those who are against the May 1998 test in America and Russia or other Western countries to achieve zero nuclear weapons status. It is essential to remember that two of our neighbouring countries are armed with nuclear weapons and missiles. Can India be a silent spectator?’

India has been invaded in the last 3,000 years by a succession of conquerors, including the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese, either to enlarge their territory or to spread a religion or to steal the wealth of our country. Why is it India never invaded other countries (with a few exceptions in the Tamil kingdoms)? Is it because our kings were not brave enough? The truth is Indians were tolerant and never understood the true implications of being ruled by others for generations. But after the long independence struggle when we got our freedom and the country got united and has physical boundaries, is it possible to remain with economic prosperity as the only goal? The only way to show the strength of the country
is the might to defend it. Strength respects strength and not weakness. Strength means military might and economic prosperity. The decisions and policies of the United Nations Security Council are dictated by the countries who possess nuclear weapons. How is it we did not get a seat in the Security Council so far but now other nations are recommending that India be made a member?

In this regard, there is another incident I would like to narrate. My friend, Admiral L. Ramdas, who retired as the naval chief, told me that he and a group of people would hold a demonstration before Parliament protesting against the nuclear test carried out in May 1998. I replied to my friend that he and his group should first demonstrate in front of the White House and the Kremlin against the large quantity of nuclear warheads and ICBMs there.

I call to my people to rise to greatness. It is a call to all Indians to rise to their highest capabilities. What are the forces which lead to the rise or fall of nations? And what are the factors which go to make a
nation strong? Three factors are invariably found in a strong nation: a collective pride in its achievements, unity and the ability for combined action.

For a people and a nation to rise to the highest, they must have a common memory of great heroes and exploits, of great adventures and triumphs in the past. If the British rose to great heights it is because they had great heroes to admire, men like Lord Nelson, say, or the Duke of Wellington. Japan represents a fine example of national pride. The Japanese are proud of being one people, having one culture, and because of that they could transform a humiliating military defeat into a triumphant economic victory.

All nations which have risen to greatness have been characterized by a sense of mission. The Japanese have it in large measure. So do the Germans. In the course of three decades, Germany was twice all but destroyed. And yet its people’s sense of destiny never dimmed. From the ashes of the Second World War, it has emerged a
nation economically powerful and politically assertive. If Germany can be a great nation, why can’t India?

Unfortunately for India, historic forces have not given a common memory to all communities by taking them back to their roots a millennium down the ages. Not enough effort has been made in the last fifty years to foster that memory.

I had the fortune of learning many of our religions in the country from my childhood, in high school and then onwards for nearly seventy years. One aspect I realize is that the central theme of any religion is spiritual well-being. Indeed it should be understood that the foundation of secularism in India has to be derived from spirituality.