SHARED FUTURES-THE INTELLECTUAL SHIFT
Can Nalanda University provide students, faculty, thinkers, and intellectuals a platform to contribute to a different world vision?
By Pankaj Saran
Bodh Gaya and Nalanda arethe sacred land of Lord Buddha. It has an all-pervasive sense of peace and tranquillity; it is coming closer to communion with Mother Nature. Nalanda University is a great shared heritage, a global project to revive one of the world's greatest and most ancient learning seats. The communique released on its establishment reflects its international legitimacy and international foundation endorsed by all the presidents and prime ministers of all the East Asian countries, including China. All the ASEAN countries, including China, Japan, and Korea, agreed to contribute financially to Nalanda. The idea was to have international ownership of this University. Students would come from all over the world to acquire meaningful knowledge. Nalanda is a generational enterprise. It will take time, so the first and the most difficult step is the first step in a thousand-mile journey.
Relevance of Nalanda
Nalanda reminds us that before colonialism, this part of the globe and our boundaries were different; we were a rich, thriving, vibrant civilisation. We were the knowledge holders and the contributors to global innovation, like Aryabhata and many others.The shift in intellectual thinking, which went from here to Europe and America, was a major contributor to Nalanda's decline. We should never allow ourselves to forget history as some of the schools and departments of this University are unique; they don't exist at any university in India.
Today, the world is engulfed in war, conflict and hatred, and nothing seems to be working. The United Nations itself seems to be in a state of complete crisis. Whether you look at Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, or Yemen, all you see is death, destruction, and hatred. No solutions seem to be coming forth on how to stop this madness of war and conflict. Therefore, thinking about our shared values, cultures, and future is a great moment.It's not just a question of reviving;
We need to take a step back and ask ourselves what humanity means. What is the meaning of progress? Is this the meaning of progress that we progress materially, economically but, yet you cannot give up your dislike, hatred, and animosity towards each other? Lord Buddha attained enlightenment here under the Mahabodhi temple and in many other sacred and venerable places in this few hundred square kilometres of territory. Can we provide and create the Nalanda vision for the world? I think the world desperately needs an alternative voice.
The people who are supposed to be global peace and security custodians are at war with themselves today. They don't have time for societies like ours.We have been left to ourselves, and we need to understand this. We cannot look for solutions to others. The solutions lie within ourselves, which is today's intellectual and moral challenge.
Are we intellectually capable? Do we have integrity, the fire inside us, desperation, and the urge to find models? To find solutions to problems.
Life is not equal; some people are fortunate, but there is a vast humanity still suffering and living the life lived a hundred years ago.Who is going to speak for them? Who is going to empower them? Governments cannot do it. We should forget the idea that someone else will do it. There is no one else out there who's going to do it.We have to do it ourselves, and I think Indians, as a whole, should give up this idea that government is the solution for everything. We cannot abdicate our individual and societal obligations to the state. We have to respect the power of the individual and the power of our community and say that the first step in the transformation of societies begins with us.
Before we criticise or blame someone else for our problems, we should leave all that baggage aside and introspect. This is the first step in the process of enlightenment: when you can introspect and go inside yourself. Am I not good enough to be the transformation that society needs? Regardless of Nalanda's starting troubles, we should not give up.
A Regional and Global Effort
We share a common future with many of our regional neighbours.Some of these countries are economic marvels that have proved what economic success means to the world. Many of them are Buddhist countries that have achieved phenomenal socio-economic transformation from which India itself has to learn.
But we can all work and move together because, in this journey that we have embarked upon, there is no big, no small.
We are living in very exciting times as far as Indians are concerned. Ten years ago, for example, this University was nothing—just paddy fields. Today, this huge structure has come up. There are similar stories in every corner of our great land of India, from the north to the south, east to west, and there is a huge amount of restlessness and impatience to transform quicker and earlier than we did in the past. The information revolution and the technology revolution are contributing to empowerment and inclusivity.
Today, you can access the same information globally as you would get sitting at the best University, Oxford University. This is the marvel of technology. From here, we can create change agents and champions of thought.
There is no disadvantage left anymore. If there is any disadvantage, it is in our minds. I would ask us to liberate Our minds and allow our imaginations to run wild, allow ourselves to experiment, make mistakes, think out of the box in a manner that transcends traditional national boundaries and borders and rediscover the idea that humanity is one.
