An article I wrote for CMS Assemblies, exactly one year ago.
On the 27th
of July this year, not only our country but the world lost a very important
man. We knew him as the Missile Man of India, Our 11th President. We
knew him as a writer, a scientist, an administrator, a leader, an
environmentalist. We knew him for his scientific innovations, his research, for
his myriad awards and honors from universities and institutions all around the
world. With all these accomplishments in just 84 years of life, he once said
that he only wanted to be remembered for one thing. He said that after his
death, he simply wants to be remembered as a teacher. This was his true
passion; in fact, he was delivering a lecture on “the Livable Planet Earth” at
the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong, when he suddenly died of a
heart attack.
It was only
after his Presidency (in 2007) that Mr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam dedicated almost all
his time to teaching. He became a professor of Aerospace Engineering and taught
information technology at different universities and institutes around the
country. However, he did not only teach science. He dedicated most of his
lectures to inspiring his students to think for themselves. Our current
President Mukherjee said that Abdul Kalam “had a special love for children and
sought to constantly inspire the youth of our country through motivational
speeches and personal interaction.” Upon the news of his death, lots of people
around the country were forwarding parts of his inspirational speeches. Here
are a few of his famous quotes:
“All birds find shelter during the rain,
but eagles avoid rain by flying above the clouds.”
“All of us do not have equal talents, but
all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”
“Don’t read success stories; you will get
only message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success.”
“The best brains of the nation may be
found on the last benches of the classroom.”
“No matter what is the environment around
you, it is always possible to maintain your brand of integrity.”
Instead of just
forwarding these quotes on facebook or whatsapp, or writing them on chart paper
to put around our school, why don’t we apply these to our daily lives. A.P.J
Abdul Kalam also said that “You cannot change your future, but you can change
your habits, and surely your habits will change your future”. So if we want to
make our lives and future better, it all starts now. It all boils down to our
attitudes, the virtues we inculcate in our lives; the way we treat others and
the way we treat ourselves. He said “Your best teacher is your last mistake” so
why don’t we start learning from our mistakes, and correcting ourselves. Now is
the chance to set ourselves on the right track, and move forward together, to
bring our country and the world towards a better and brighter future.