Religions should converge: Kalam

MUMBAI: With his trademark infusion of innocence and profundity, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Sunday called for the ‘‘islands’’ of different religious faiths to come together ‘‘for a prosperous, safe India’’.
The President was formally inaugurating Times Foundation, a non-governmental initiative by The Times Group, aimed at raising awareness for the creation of a just and equal civil society.
Speaking at the premises of The Times of India here, Kalam, who said he had prepared to talk on science but had spontaneously decided to switch to spirituality to suit the occasion, described his numerous visits to religious leaders and shrines during his presidency.
‘‘They are beautiful but they are all islands. They need to be inter-connected with love and compassion,’’ he noted, addressing a hall packed with personalities from the political, bureaucratic, business and NGO arenas, as well as children from the city’s municipal schools.
Referring to his recent visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, where he had met the abbot of the Buddhist monastery, the President relayed the wisdom he had received. The secret of serenity, he said, lay in renouncing the ego, which would lead to the removal of hatred and violence and foster peace.
Kalam, who disarmed the audience with his child-like seriousness and professorial manner, even got its members to recite a solemn little ditty, beginning, ‘‘When there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in character..’’
Indu Jain, chairman of the Times Group, said Times Foundation was only walking the roadmap drawn up by the President himself. The Foundation, which will act as an umbrella group for other Times trusts, has a troika of projects catering to community and individual needs, spiritual and material well-being.
The Foundation launch is the end result of two years of work. ‘‘We have built the temple of the Times Foundation brick by brick. Now the idol has been installed,’’ Jain said, adding, with a pun on the presence of deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal on the dais, ‘‘The anant-bhuja deity is now only waiting for the light of life to be infused by the President.’’ Also on the dais was Times Group managing director Vineet Jain.
Jain said it was only fitting that the First Citizen of the country should join hands with other citizens to help realise the goals of the Foundation. These include serving as a platform for the convergence of industry, NGOs and government to bring about policy changes, the i-I or individual to Infinity academy, which seeks to help individuals through self-development courses, and the Wellness programme aimed at providing alternative healing systems.
Times Foundation director Ashoke Maitra said key objectives had been finalised after experimenting with ideas in the areas of women’s empowerment, education, environment and self-development over the past year or so. The Foundation also aims to reward excellence. Other objectives, he added, include helping catalyse social change through capacity building and media support to NGOS, especially rural ones, and reviving art and the ancient sciences.
This inauguration marks the culmination of Jain’s long-held wish and is the first in a series of events, including a 24-hour, 24-raga festival on Guru Purnima (July 13), to be held jointly with the Taj Hotel, leading up to Jain’s 70th birthday celebrations.