India always contributed to global understanding of universe: Ex-ISRO chief Somanath

Ahmedabad: India has always been a great nation contributing to the global understanding of the universe from the time of the Vedas to modern-day scientific advances, former ISRO chairman S Somanath has said citing some ancient texts.

Addressing the 60th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad on Saturday, Somanath also emphasised the need for a connection between research organisations, academia and industry, which he, however, added remained a "distant dream".

"On this occasion, I would like to highlight the rich and glorious knowledge tradition that India had, which has now been brought to light. From the Vedas to the modern-day scientific advances, India has always been a great nation contributing to the global understanding of the universe," he said.

Science and other forms of human knowledge progressed considerably in this part as the world's first source of knowledge, providing scientific insight into astronomy, geography, mathematics, metallurgy, and philosophy, far ahead of other places during those times, he said.

Somanath said the ancient scripture 'Mahasalila', a Sanskrit textbook on primordial soup from which the universe came out, speaks beautifully about the scientific way of the creation of the universe.

"The 'Surya Siddhanta', to which I am so much connected, has planetary motions, orbits, etc. The sun, moon and planets are all described beautifully and the calculations in it are reasonably accurate to present day standards," he said.

"The knowledge of those times was very advanced compared to the modern science of that time. Also, Indian philosophy not only emphasised material progress but also gave emphasis on spiritual progress, which was seen as essential to holistic human development. This balance is what makes India very unique for its contribution to scientific and spiritual advancements in the past," he said.

Somanath said that at ISRO, there is always talk of finding solutions to the problems of people and society, a narrative created during the time of Vikram Sarabhai.

"Supporting societies, finding solutions to the problems of agriculture, water resources, nation building became very important at that point in time. Even today, though we are doing similar work, the connection between research organisation, academia and industry is still a distant dream," he said.

People graduating from this institute must focus on this particular point as the connection between research organisation, industry and academia is so important for the nation, Somanath said, adding this connect must grow substantially for India to become a very powerful country in the future.

The former ISRO chief advised graduating students to be voracious readers and to learn to work as a team.

"Alone you can go fast, but in the company of others you can go very far. If you want to be a leader, the first thing is to become a follower of someone, a mentor, somebody who will be able to guide you, help you. Identify that mentor and stick with him for a sufficiently long time," he said.

Somanath also asked the students to take risks in life because it is the only way to break barriers.

"Prepare well for opportunities. Opportunities will definitely knock on your door, but if you are waiting for it, many a times you won't even notice it," he told the gathering.

Asking the students against appearing very important, Somanath said this is not a characteristic that will endure in the long run.

The growth of technology has made lives much more comfortable and people have more spare time to enjoy life but whether we are achieving that goal remains a big question, he said.

"Even after having all the technologies, we still have huge challenges, like issues of mobility, food and nutrition, managing pandemic, health care, life span extensions. Many other dangers of technology are still looming large. Among all this, you need to survive and thrive. That is going to be a huge challenge for all of you," he said.

"Being aware of technology and its impact on society becomes very very important for each one of you," Somanath added.

He said developing the right kind of leadership is very important, and very difficult as well.

"If you want to be a great leader and make an impact in whatever you do, then you need to become a good follower. And that must be based on a sound principle," he said.

"To unlock the potential of our nation, we must continue to innovate and collaborate, and innovation does not happen in isolation. It requires a culture of curiosity, a strength to face failure, and an insatiable hunger to seek action," he said.

Each failure highlights the strength to find out better solutions and reach greater heights, Somanath added.