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S. Singh: Address to Summit 2022, Session VIIIa
Written by Hon. Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda University, India
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My co-panelists, ladies and gentlemen, Namaste, and good afternoon to all of you.
I will comment on a session that has dealt with family, women and youth, and I cannot ignore what has come earlier and I think was very relevantly said.
Now in this context, I thought I will begin my comments by sharing a small story from one of the Upanishads. This is a text about 7000 years old. All Upanishads are a commentary on teacher-student interaction. This story deals with a youth and his mother. This was at a time when students would go in quest for a good guru, a good teacher, not a good university as we do in present times. So this student, the little boy, was in quest of a guru. When he finds one, he goes up to him and says, “Can I be your pupil? Would you accept me as your student?”
And the teacher asks him, “My dear, what is your name and what is your father’s name?” He gives his name and then says, “I don’t know my father’s name.” The guru says, “Can you run back to your mother, your family, and ask about your lineage?” He quickly runs back to his little hut and asks his mother, “Mother, may I know my father’s name? I’ve never known. I’ve never asked.” And the mother looks at him and says, “Well, I served in many homes and I had many masters, so I don’t know who your father is. Go tell this to your guru.”
He runs back to the teacher and says, “Since my mother does not know and I don’t know who my father is, would you still accept me as your student?” The guru says, “What’s the name of your mother?” “The name of my mother is Jabbala.” The guru says, “From today you will be known as Sakkam Jabbala, which means preserver of truth.” Now, truth and courage come from this woman who is the mother. That’s the family tradition that is required for peacekeeping and as peacemakers.
One or two points here that I wanted to bring to your attention is mothers and women are known as natural nurturers. Today, the world is getting to a stage where it’s calling for everyone to be nurturers. It’s not gender specific. Men are also called to be nurturers. I think this is a quality that comes deeply. It’s innate to women. And this has to be adopted, to be accepted, to be nurtured within every human being.
Second, women are natural problem solvers, and that’s the reason why they can be peacekeepers. It’s important that we look at this aspect where we are all called to be problem solvers. The third point is that women need to be free of guilt and stop lamenting because we cannot have it all. Let’s not lament about that. Let’s celebrate what we have, what we can do for the world, how we can contribute to the world.
The last point that I have is perseverance, how perseverance, courage and forgiveness are the qualities that can help the world, the globe today. Rev. Moon had declared the end of the 1990s, the end of century, as an era of the women of the world. Now, this is in part of the new century as well. That is where I would celebrate Mother Moon for having that perseverance and courage to take forward the role of women to the world, and how we can save the world through our natural qualities of protection, of nurturing, of perseverance, of giving, of forgiving. These are the qualities, and that is where she continues to lead the campaign for world peace through women leadership as well.
For me, it need not necessarily be gender specific. We are all together working towards world peace. Thank you for it.
I wanted to end with a small poem called “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, an Afro-American poet. But I’m told I do not have time. If you can, Google this poem and read it. Thank you.
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