On May 25, 2010 the Hon. Member from the Precinct of Arboria and House Leader of the Amrita Party in the 49th Congress-elect received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York at Buffalo. “Through her leadership of Amrita University, as well as through her humanitarian work, Chancellor Amma exemplifies the value of international collaboration and dedicated public service in the global arena,” said UB President John B. Simpson. “Her personal example and leadership demonstrate the critical importance of international and cross-cultural cooperation, exchange and dialogue, and it is in that spirit we honor Amma with the conferral of the SUNY Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.”
In her address after accepting the degree, Amma said “Spirituality is not religious study. Spiritual education is a training that helps us to truly understand ourselves. It gives us strength and helps us comprehend the deeper realms of knowledge...Knowledge is like a river. Its nature is to constantly flow. Wherever it can flow, it does so, nourishing culture. On the other hand, the same knowledge, if devoid of values becomes a source of destruction for the world. When values and knowledge become one,there can be no more powerful instrument for the welfare of humankind. Today, physicists have even begun investigating the possibility that the essential substratum of the manifest universe and the individual are one and the same. We are standing on the threshold of a new era wherein material science and spirituality will move forward hand in hand...It is Amma’s prayer that we develop the expansive-mindedness to embrace both scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom. We can no longer afford to see these two streams of knowledge as flowing in opposite directions. In truth, they compliment one another. If we merge these streams, we will find that we are able to create a mighty river—a river whose waters can remove suffering and spread life to all of humanity.”
No comments:
Post a Comment