Life appears pleasant and desirable if there is a breeze of positivity whistling past our brain. This positive force allows us to look at the new dimensions of life with air of optimism. After reading the book “My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions” by Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, I too was swayed by his profound philosophy towards life. He continues to inspire millions of Indians with his honest and deep revelations. The vignettes of his life continue to ignite our spirits, add wings to our aspiration and fire our imaginations.
The book is basically a memoir where Dr. Kalam fondly ruminates on all the incidents and people who made a great impact on his life. It is indeed very rare to find a true genius to be highly unassuming. It is a humbling experience to understand the personality of ‘People’s President’ who formulated India Vision Strategies for 2020. All his virtues and traits are truly infectious. His contemplations, opinions and veracity about life are awe-inspiring.
A
man with a humble beginning from Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, making it to the
highest acclaims of the country in itself is a phenomenal achievement.
His reminiscences about failing to achieve his dream of becoming a pilot,
his astounding success in launching different missiles and satellites and death
of loved ones- his parents & brother-in-law. All these incidents have
helped him to explore philosophical dimensions of life. Science is exploratory and the validity of truth
is often ascertained by facts. Hence Scientists in general are very practical
and so averse to spiritual way of thought. But here we find a genius in Kalam,
fondly called as India’s ‘Missile Man’ to be an epitome of spirituality. Whenever
he tumbled in life with a failure or a loss of dear ones, he would find solace
in the sacred books like Bhagavad Gita, Quran and Bible. His spiritual musings
can be traced to his firm faith in God inculcated by his parents at a young
age.
In
reference to his life in Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) under tutelage of
Prof. Srinivasan, he emphasises the importance of devoted teachers in
chiselling the intellectual attributes of students. He prods on his initial
days at ADE, while designing prototype hovercraft, Nandi. The early inhibitions
of a small-town guy with middle class roots stayed with him for a long time,
but he always pushed himself hard, worked incessantly for three years and the
result was an astounding success. The life of rocket scientist, he says is full
of ups and downs. He recounts the days of failure of SLV-3 first launch that
changed his ways of thinking and brought him close to existential issues. Often
failures of great magnitude bring a fundamental change in our self and our ego
witness great change. People discover the reserves of courage and resilience
only during obstacles. He particularly rewinds two incidents where he
experienced a gamut of emotions ranging from relief, guilt, humiliation and
gratitude. Once he along with his colleague had a close encounter with an
explosion in lab. But for swift action of his colleague & friend, Sudhakar,
both of them could have succumbed to fire. This incident had left with an
incredible humbling experience. Another was fateful death of eight officers who
died during the testing of Avro ASP aircraft which crashed mid air. This was a
heart-wrenching experience that left Kalam in profound sadness. He reiterates
political rhetoric alone doesn’t build nation unless backed by sacrifice, toil
and valour. These are the virtues that go in true-nation building. The book
takes the reader through his eventful eight decades of journey and makes us
truly appreciate that this journey og his has been lived not just for him but
for countless others too.
In
the book he expresses his gratitude and reverence to Pakshi Lakshmana
Sastrygal, Reverend Iyadurai Solomon, Ahmed Jalalludin, Dr. Vikram Sarabai,
Professor Satish Dhawan and Dr. Brahm Prakash and many others like them who
have shaped and moulded his character, thoughts and intellect. The deep desire
to share his encounters of life in this book is to help others in the same
situation to understand vagaries of life.
While
as a scientist of exceptional ingenuity and knowledge he is the Pioneer of
rocket science in India. On the other hand, his profound understanding about
life is highly motivating. He is perhaps the most humble human being for he
believes that values of humanity can alone offer true succour. Here is an excerpt of a deep and insightful
saying that speaks volumes about his profound understanding about essence of
life. “Joy is fleeting, whereas true happiness and calm can
come to us only after intense pain, when we have confronted ourselves in the
mirror of our souls and understood the self.” The book is full of snippets
that can captivate any enthusiastic mind.
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