Ayodhya as the “Humanity’s Healing Center”
Sep 20 2010
- Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
“Ayodhya is a divine land which is enriched with the faith of two religions, both of which have been the cornerstone of human civilization. It represents the cradle of human history and its timeless struggles and triumphs. I was thinking what this holy land, would be known for, in future India?”
“I visualize the holy land of Ayodhya to emerge as an unblemished symbol of humanity’s quest for service and beacon of the nation’s spirit of harmonious integrity by the year 2020. I envisage Ayodhya to be the founding place for a state-of-the-art center of multidimensional healing center and a place which alleviates the pain of all forms – physical, mental and spiritual. It should have four essential features.
First, it should develop as a low-cost healthcare center for all age groups which acts as the home for the best health services especially for the poor and elderly of the nation. It should operate on the patterns already existing in India like those where 70% of patients are treated free. It should be a place where hundreds of doctors are dedicated to giving vision to a million visually impaired every year, where multi-dimensional experts give mobility to handicapped and give hope to those in abject despair. It should be a center where Modern medicine finds confluence with the traditional medical systems of Ayurveda, Yunani, Siddha, naturopathy and yoga to heal the body and deliver compassionate healthcare to the needy.”
“Second, it should emerge as a center of excellence for highest quality research which generates technological solutions to a national health problem which afflict the masses. Even as we graduate as the 4th largest economy (PPP) in the world, we still see a time where every second child born in the nation is malnourished and 53 out every 1000 live infants do not live to their first birthday. Similarly, almost half of the worldwide tuberculosis patients are Indians, and anaemic levels in Indian women are amongst the highest in the world, exceeding 60% in some states. Availability of clean water and nutritious food still remains to be the foremost enemies in the lives of the millions. Humanity Healing Center should focus on how such stark realities, which are amongst the most prominent national concerns, can be addressed in an effective, pervasive and cost-efficient manner especially to reach the remote rural sectors of the nation where 700 million people live. It should be a center which, in collaboration with international agencies, researches low-cost preventive vaccine development for diseases which have plagued humanity for ages.”
“Third, the “Humanity Healing Center” would accentuate the amalgamation of physical healing and spiritual healing. It should emerge a multi-religious spiritual platform, with lush greenery vibrant with colourful life of flowers and birds, synchronizes with the best healing for the soul and treats the spirit. With its proximity to multiple rich religions, the Healing Center would derive the best out of all faiths, and use it as a therapy to treat the ailing souls. It would thus be a place of spiritual learning where humans would find proximity with the divinity and the conscience of the human soul shall awaken.”
“The fourth pillar of the Humanity Healing Center would be based on the foundation of imparting value-based knowledge to all from around the world. It would be a crucible for the confluence of diverse faith which would facilitate the youth to imbibe and adhere to values which the nation would be proud of. The question is, can the religions converge at Ayodhya, and lead to the creation of a society which is healed free from corruption and moral turpitude? Humanity Healing Center would be a place where the best moral education syllabus would be a research across the spectrum of multiple religions, and the most efficient methodology to deliver it to the youth be put to practice.”
“Who will create such a center? I propose the center to be jointly created, owned and operated in the Public-Private Community Partnership (PPCP) mode with Government, all parties, organizations, join together with professionals from different fields, retired servicemen and scholars from all communities and all the other stakeholders. The government and private sector may also support the development of the center which would be a symbol of healing to humanity regardless of their colour, religion, caste, gender or nationality.
Thus, we see Ayodhya, in another decade to be the world’s renowned place for the evolution of enlightened citizenship. A place of healing where value-based education is imparted, a place where multiple religions converge along with their shared spirituality and where ideas are unbounded by the shackles of the division and where creativity is unleashed for the national transformation. The unity of people is very important because inimical forces are working against our economic growth, social peace and prosperity, while we are progressing towards a knowledge society.”
“The transformed Ayodhya will have a significant impact on the future of the nation and its one billion people. Today, it stands a defining moment, with consequences which will have far-reaching effects. It is our great opportunity today to shape our present action, based on our aspirations of the future rather than let it be governed by the baggage of hostility from the past. Our future generation will revere us for such an action which will help humanity and not the actions which destroy harmony and peace. It is now the golden opportunity of this generation, to be remembered as harbingers of lasting fraternity and enlightened nation rather than generators of thousand-year conflicts. This autumn, the resolution to create the Humanity’s Healing Center at Ayodhya would be a colossal step to shed the leaves of past and create a future which all communities and above all, humanity and nation shall cherish and be inspired.”
“The people of the nation, the Parliament and the State Assembly may discuss and debate this suggestion and how Ayodhya’s Humanity’s Healing Center may be evolved.”
The speech by Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has been published on www.abdulkalam.com
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