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Wednesday 26 April 2017

My Experience at the Youth Conclave on 'Innovation, Intuition and Entrepreneurship'

19th April 2017 8 AM


I had the privilege and good fortune of attending the Youth Conclave with Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji in Pune this morning.

Apart from being in the company of His Holiness Sri Sri, which was the major draw for most of the attendees, it was the impressive line-up of speakers that had brought more than 2500 youth this early to the Ganesh Kala Krida Mandal. About 25,000 people watched this event live via a webcast.
The theme of this Youth conclave was Innovation, Intuition, and Entrepreneurship.

The first speaker of the day was Mr. Anil Bokil, popularly known as the man behind the revolutionary demonetization move. Mr. Bokil came across a very simple, humble and intelligent human being who had the prosperity of his fellow countrymen behind all his strategies.



He started his address by talking about the technological wave that is encompassing us today and the immediate need to focus on the philosophical realm of life. Honestly, I was not impressed. I thought why is this man of scientific temperament and logic, talking of philosophy while addressing the youth of this country. However, the doubting mind quickly took a backseat when Mr. Bokul shared the philosophy behind the demonetization move.

He said money is a medium of exchange and not a commodity. He explained this concept beautifully by taking the example of a 500 rupee note in his pocket. He said as long as the note lies in his pocket, it is a commodity as no one can use it. It is Mr. Bokil's commodity. But as soon as this note moves into a bank, it becomes a medium. We all were using money or rather hoarding money as a commodity. When we put this money in a bank, it becomes a medium and can be used for funding, giving loans to the needy and generating more money for the economy. Money as a commodity widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Money as a medium helps to bridge this gap.

He also spoke about the footprint of each transaction, the moment it happens in the digital space. This helps in controlling the black money, the sale of drugs and many illegal activities.

He said that Technology brings Passion in life whereas Philosophy gives direction to life.

Indeed, an innovative move with a deep rooted philosophy was made possible using technology.

He stressed the fact that the technological revolution has reached its peak and the world now needs a Philosophical revolution for which India and our youth have to take the lead. Our strength lies in our strong family structure and our human values. Our domain expertise is Philosophy and it's time that we bank upon it.

Indeed an insightful perspective on technology!

The next speaker for the day was Major General Madhuri Kanitkar - The first Lady Dean of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune

A multi-faceted woman - a soldier, doctor, and teacher, all rolled into one - she came to the dais amidst a thunderous applause. She was impeccably dressed in her Army uniform (what looked like a beautiful saree for a soldier)

She spoke on the topic of 'Dreams.' She started her talk by quoting none other than Mr. Abdul Kalam "You have to dream before your dreams can come true."

Major Kanitkar spoke about the importance of finding one's calling in life and directing all the energies towards it. She acknowledged that all of us, at different phases of our lives, are torn between personal aspirations, parental expectations, peer pressure, fear of failure and numerous distractions. She urged us to find our strengths, and use them to achieve our dreams while enjoying the journey. She also stressed the importance of all round development yet keeping our eyes fixated on our goals.

Time, Tongue and Trust are 3 major areas for team building. If you can manage your time well, know how to talk and trust others, you can build great teams. She rightly said that doctors need to have sugar on their tongue and ice on their heads. In fact, all of us need that for facing different situations in life.
She wrapped her session by stressing Confidence in your abilities as a key and this key can be gained by building competence in your chosen profession. She also suggested each one of us should read the book - Blink.

She was given a standing ovation for her achievements.

Next was a panel discussion with an eclectic mix of speakers:

Mr. HR Gaikwad, Chairman, and Managing Director, BVG India Ltd.
Mr. Aniruddha Deshpande, Managing Director, City Corporations Ltd.
Mr. Kapil Apshankar, Director and Chief Architect, DevOps Practice Leader, Cognizant and author of the best-seller - Done! The Art of Managing Priorities

Each one laid stress on innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship by taking a leaf out of their personal lives and sharing interesting anecdotes.

A common thread that unified their conversation was that you don't need to be an entrepreneur to practice it. Entrepreneurship is an attitude, it's about taking responsibility and ownership.

Next came the chief guest of the evening: The master himself.
Suddenly a well-seated audience of 2500+ started rushing towards the entrance. A human chain of volunteers was quickly formed to avoid chaos. What can volunteers do when an overwhelming feeling of love, gratitude and the desire for that one gaze from the master makes even the most intellectual people forget all the discipline and code of conduct.

Sri Sri breezed into the room, waved at us and signaled us to settle down.Without much ado, he said let's get to business. Intuition, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship being the theme, he came
straight to the point and shared an interesting anecdote. He said many years ago, at a course in the USA, he had challenged the gathering to innovate something. The instructions were to create something new. It could be something extremely mundane but it should have a fresh perspective to it. The entries were quite varied. From food items cooked with a twist to garments, everyone had pushed their limits to create and innovate something. But one entry that stayed with him all these years was that of a frail old lady's. She had created a handkerchief and claimed that it had 22 different things that made it the best handkerchief in the world. From the perfect hemming to the appropriate size, she had 22 unique reasons to boast of and proudly claim that her handkerchief was the best in the world. Through this lady's example, Guruji said Americans are best at Marketing and that's what we need to learn from them. Point well explained and grasped for life!

He spoke about learning precision from the Germans, Manners from Britan and Human values from India.

He also spoke about his recent article on NGT vs The World Cultural festival, that showcases how a government organization has done nothing except for maligning a law abiding organization. He simply walks the talk when he says that such obstacles in life give an opportunity to grow deeper in spirituality and finding creative solutions without keeping malice in the heart. Reminded me of Krishna's equanimity in the Mahabharata. By maintaining his poise and calm, and doing everything that should be done, he reminds me of the swan that remains calm and collected above the water and
continuously pedals underneath.

Many more questions were asked by the audience. Regular questions of the youth which guruji answered in his trademark style.

If you wish to go through all the questions, follow #YouthConclave on twitter. I am not noting them here as I found what I was looking for in that handkerchief lady example.

When you meet evolved souls, you do get all your answers. I could overhear others leaving the hall with a similar expression "I got what I came looking for!

The Youth Conclave on 'Innovation Intuition and Entrepreneurship' - was indeed an interesting Event!



1 comment:

  1. It's wonderful that you had an opportunity to meet and listen to some really talented and inspiring people.

    ReplyDelete