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A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power within India New Delhi: Viking Penguin Books India, 2002.

1. THE DREAM AND THE MESSAGE Spirituality must be integrated with education. Self-realization is the focus. Each on of us must become aware of higher self. We are links of a great past to a grand future. We should ignite our dormant inner energy and let it guide our lives. The radiance of such minds embarked on constructive endeavour will bring peace, prosperity and bliss to this nation (summary).

Dream, Dream, Dream/Dreams transform into thoughts/And thoughts result in action (p.1). What I do know is that there is no greater power in heaven or on earth than the commitment to a dream. Dreams hold something of that energy which lies at the heart of all things and are the binding force that brings the spiritual and the material together (p.19).

2. GIVE US A ROLE MODEL Nation’s wealth is the young generation of the country. When they grow, who can be the role models? Mother, father and elementary schoolteachers play a very important part as role models. When the child grows, the role models will be national leaders of quality and integrity in every field including politics, the sciences, technology and industry (summary).

It is said that nature gave us this instinct because the need to achieve, like the need to reproduce, the need to eat, the need to drink and the need to breathe, is simply too important to be left to chance. History shows the hunger for achievement is a highly evolved one and undoubtedly the strongest one. We tend to forget it but it underlines much of our experience. Most important, without it, how would we learn and grow, aspire to greater perfection? (p.36).

3. VISIONARY TEACHERS AND SCIENTISTS Vision ignites the minds. India needs visionaries of the stature of J. R. D. Tata, Vikram Sarebhai, Satish Dhawan and Dr Verghese Kurien, to name a few, who can involve an entire generation in mission-driven programmes which benefit the country as a whole (summary).

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now – Goethe (p.40).

4. LEARNING FROM SAINTS AND SEERS Our spiritual wisdom has been our strength. We survived as a nation the onslaughts of invaders and the numbing effects of colonialism. We have also learnt to adjust to the rifts and divisions in our own society. But in the process of all the adjustment, we also lowered our aims and expectations. We must regain our broad outlook and draw upon our heritage and wisdom to enrich our lives. The fact that we advance technologically does not preclude spiritual development. We need to home-grow our own model of development based on our inherent strengths (summary).

For the society to prosper there are two important needs. They are: prosperity through wealth generation and cherishing the value system of the people. The combination of the two will make the nation truly strong and prosperous (p.70). Spiritual strength is important. And along with this, we must have economic strength for strength is respected in the world. A combination of both is necessary. And to achieve both, there is only one answer – sweat! Hard work is a must (p.78). If you increase material wealth alone, man will be lost in luxury and worldly pleasures. Spirituality will guide him back; help him rise above mundane pleasures. (p.79). One should remember that when man gain extra money and power, more than what is necessary, then he invites ruin, restlessness and destruction. He loses control (pp.79-80). One who possesses the magnanimity of the river, the kindness of the sun and humility of the earth is closest to God. The noblest character is possessed by one who is graceful in poverty, content in hunger, cheerful in grief and friendly in hostility – Khqaja Sahib (p.81). It is rare to be born as a human being It is still more rare to be born without any deformity Even if you are born without any deformity It is rare to acquire knowledge and education Even if one could acquire knowledge and education It is still rare to do offering and tapas But for one who does offering and tapas The doors of heaven open to greet him – Awaiyar’s Tamil poem (p.91). When a nation doesn’t have a vision, small minds take over the affairs (p.92). There is a higher self within you that transcends the limitations of physical world (p.93). 5. PATRIOTISM BEYOND POLITICS AND RELIGION There are success stories among failures. There is hope among chaos, promise among problems. We are one billion people with multiple faiths and ideologies. In the absence of a national vision cracks at the seam keep surfacing and make us vulnerable. There is a need to reinforce this seam and amalgamate us into one national forum (summary).

Why is it India never invaded other countries with a few exceptions in the Tamil Kingdom? (p.111). Strength respects strength and not weakness. Strength means military might and economic prosperity (p.112). Three factors are invariably found in a strong nation: a collective pride in its achievements, unity and the ability for combined action. For a people and a nation to rise to the highest, they must have a common memory of great heroes and exploits, of great adventures and triumphs in the past. If the British rose to great heights it is because they had great heroes to admire, men like Lord Nelson, Wellington. All nations which have risen to greatness have been characterized by a sense of mission (p.113).

6. THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY Ancient India was a knowledge society that contributed a great deal to civilization. We need to recover that status and become a knowledge power. We must learn from our mistakes to achieve a better standard of life. A developed India will supplant a spirit of defeat with the spirit of victory (summary).

Wisdom is a weapon to ward off destruction; It is an inner fortress which enemies cannot destroy (Thirukkural 421; p.119). Knowledge has always been the prime mover of prosperity and power. The acquisition of knowledge has therefore been the thrust area throughout the world (p.121). In the twenty-first century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Efficient utilization of this existing knowledge base can create wealth for us in the form of better health, education and other indicators of progress. Whether a nation qualifies as a knowledge society is judged by how effectively it deals with knowledge creation and knowledge development (p. 122). The areas of becoming a knowledge society are: information technology, biotechnology, space technology, weather forecasting, disaster management, telemedicine, tele-education, technologies utilizing traditional knowledge, etc. (p.123). Visionaries don’t age (p.127). The fact that there is net migration from the villages to cities shows the disparities in living standards between the two. Near zero net rural-urban migration is a mark of development. Rural development is the only solution (p.128). Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. Ignited minds are the most powerful resource on earth, and indeed a great power waiting to be tapped (p.137). 7. GETTING THE FORCES TOGETHER We need to adapt the implementation of our programmes and policies into a mission mode to succeed. Progress cannot be swift and far-reaching if the path is full of potholes. The abundant national resources, human and material, remain to be fully utilized (summary).

Progress is rapid wherever there is an efficient administrative set-up, a high level of education and minimum political interference in development activity (p.138). The key to success lies in connectivity (p.140). The only way to equalize the flow is to develop the rural areas and bring life there on par with that in the cities (p.144). Another aspect of a developed country is global competitiveness of its industry (p.150). Transparency is a cornerstone of development. A country’s competitiveness is defined as the ability of a national economy to achieve sustained high rates of economic growth (p.156).

8. BUILDING A NEW STATE The way to development is through purposeful activity. The young especially have to be guided properly, so that their lives find a proper direction and their creativity is allowed to flower. To facilitate this, certain educational reforms must be initiated. With regard to improving the pace of development, Center-state efforts should be coordinated in a few key areas and efforts across sectors and organizations integrated and taken up in a mission mode. The mindset must change, showing willingness to take pragmatic risks. Success will follow (summary).

Unless development is directed towards state-based industries, working on huge national missions through centralized planning will not do much for real prosperity (p.171). Central and state projects integrated as mission mode operations will bring rapid development at minimum cost (p.173). For entrepreneurs survival depends on performance. And the better they performed, the richer they became (p.175). I realised that if something is at stake, the human mind gets ignited and working capacity gets enhanced manifold. Challenges throw up opportunities. There is always a risk involved when we venture into something new. After all, the process of birth itself is a risky affair (p.177).

9. TO MY COUNTRYMEN We need to realise that missions are always bigger than organizations, just as organizations are always bigger than the individuals who run them. Missions need effort and the mind provides the purpose (p.180). The motive force has to be love for the country. We need a vision that is shared by the entire nation (p.183). Taking responsibility also means a willingness to exercise our abilities to the fullest (p.186). Ignite your minds and think big (p.187). Competitiveness and innovation are the two pillars of industrial growth. Transform the nation into a knowledge society with IT as the linking tool (p.188).

VOCABULARY Cadre of value-based citizen; low-fat high-fibre diet; aerobic exercise; faces bubbling with enthusiasm; nuggets of wisdom; to help assuage the pain; feeling of extraordinary calm; ceaseless ripples of its water; comity of nations; pool of scientific talent; humiliating military defeat; consortia; paramount; subservient; powerhouse of creativity; storehouse of mineral wealth; dotting the roads; hubs of business activity; talent pool; forestry products; bounden duty; value addition.