Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Vice-Chairman, Mata Amritandanandamayi Math and President of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, addressed the distinguished audience at the second day of the New Indian Express’s ThinkEdu Conclave. The theme of the event was  “RISE India (Research, Innovation, Skills and Entrepreneurship in Education”, and was held  at ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, on January 18, 2018.

“Education goes beyond the classroom and into life, while spirituality is often present when we seldom realise.” said Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri at his keynote address. He added, “There are two types of education- education for a living and education for life. While education for a living is studying to become a scientist, a doctor or such; education for life is understanding the essential principles of the life, nature of the mind and world. This is spirituality.” 

Explaining that spirituality is not linked to any religion, he further added that every one of us is practicing spirituality without realising it as such, “It is nothing different from the world or the worldly life.” Therefore an amalgamation of both the components would result in a great education. And with great education, comes a certain power — power of science, economics, business and more. And rather than using power for corruption, he suggested that we use it in the service of others. “We must move away from the mantra of today’s generation, which tends to always ask ‘What’s in it for me?’, where no one does anything unless they are paid for it or gets something in return,” he said. “It is the collective job of both parents and teachers to encourage students to ask the right questions. The deeper the questions, the better the answers,” he added. 

The event was inaugurated by Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India. The other keynote speakers included Shri. Prakash Javadekar, Union HRD minister and Shri. Kiran Bedi, Puducherry Lt Governor. The speakers and panelists included directors and heads of institutions, politicians, educationalists, and societal policy makers.