Prof. Vishawanth Karad
Founder, WPC Youth Mission
When I was studying in the government Engineering College in Pune, I came across a small booklet containing the quotes of the Great Noble Son of India Swami Vivekananda. I was thoroughly impressed and fascinated by the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. Thereafter, I read all the works of Swamiji that I could lay my hands on. Later on, the MAEER's MIT Group of Institutions, Pune was established on August 05, 1983. Since I belonged to the devotional Warkari sect of Maharashtra, I was also influenced by the teachings of Philosopher Saint Shri Dnyaneshwar and Philosopher Jagadguru Saint Shri Tukaram Maharaj. In addition to this, I also had the good fortune of being blessed by my elder sister, a true example of sacrifice and devotion, Tyagmurti Poornabrahmayogini Smt. Prayag Akka Karad. It was under the influence of all of this that I took up the noble task of building ghats on the banks of the river Indrayani at Alandi, which brought in a major transformation to this major pilgrim town of India.
All the great saints, sages and seers of the world, because of their renunciation, sacrifice, devotion and dedication to understand the Ultimate Reality / Truth of the Universe, while worshiping the knowledge divine, could develop positive energies and achieve the highest status. The places where these great visionary saints and sages worshiped the Knowledge Divine in quest of the ultimate truth, achieved Divine Status as Pilgrim or Spiritual Centers, which in the modern times are perceived as "Positive Energy/Divine Knowledge Centers."
This verse very distinctly speaks about Philosopher Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara's own purpose of writing this treatise on Geeta i.e. Dnyaneshwari, and says that he wants to clearly know and understand the "Ultimate Truth" – "The Ultimate Reality" – "The Ultimate State of Matter" as enunciated in the Vedas. He further states that the "Ultimate Truth" is nothing but pure intelligence / consciousness, the Knowledge Divine, the true nature of the Soul – Atman.
It is highly revealing that on the same lines, one of the greatest scientists of the world, Dr. Albert Einstein, later in his life, very assertively says that – The Entire Universe is a manifestation of pure intelligence and consciousness. Further, he says, “I believe in God – who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of the Universe. I believe that intelligence is manifested throughout Mother Nature. The basis of scientific work is the conviction that the world is an ordered and comprehensible entity and not a thing of chance.”
All this led to the conferment of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance in the 1995 on MAEER’s MIT Pune, which was the first such Chair in the Asia-Pacific region. During these years, I pursued with great diligence my dream of igniting the pride and esteem of India in the minds of students by imparting to them value based universal education, which was lost through the regressive education system employed by our British rulers under the directive of Lord Macaulay, through the various institutes of academic excellence established by the MAEER's MIT Group of Institutions, Pune.
Today, whenever I meet any youth, I first think how much of an Indian he is!
Of course, I am not averse to adopting everything that is good from the western world, be it discipline, punctuality, tidiness and many other qualities. However, one should not forget that one is an Indian at heart. With these thoughts in mind, the Youth Mission of World Peace Centre (Alandi), MAEER's MIT, Pune, India was established in the year 2000. Today, its National Coordinator is Dr. S. N. Pathan, former Vice Chancellor of Nagpur University and currently the Vice President of Indian Council of Cultural Relations, New Delhi. He is a richly experienced academician as well as an administrator with great organizing skills. The philosophy behind World Peace Centre (Alandi) is to bring together all peace-loving citizens of the world under one roof, transcending the boundaries of caste, creed, religions and nationalities. The entire human race should be happy and peaceful. The youth should invest their energy in establishing the Culture of Peace in the world.
Swami Vivekananda had once said that in the 21st century, India will emerge as the Knowledge Corridor of the World and will show the pathway of Harmony and Peace to the entire mankind. I appeal to the empowered and cultured youth of India to bring this dream to reality by coming together on the platform of ‘Youth Mission’.
Come be a part of this global noble mission of World Peace!