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Chitkara University
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Chitkara University Hosts Indian Mythologist, Speaker, Illustrator and Author Devdutt Pattanaik

May 25, 2020 17:40 IST 
Chandigarh, India

Chitkara University hosted world-famous Indian mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik in a Facebook live interactive discussion with students and faculty. The globally renowned speaker Devdutt Pattanaik known for his deeply insightful writing on sacred lore, traditions, folklore, fables and parables and for challenging willful misinterpretations of ancient Indian scriptures, symbols and rituals.

 

Sharing his vast treasure of knowledge, he delved into relevance of back to basics unravelling the Maths of life in a 60-minute power-packed session of unlimited and pure wisdom. He put forward his views on the relevance of Mythology in modern times, especially in areas of Teaching, Management, Governance and Leadership.

 

Answering a query on what is the connection between spirituality and modern education, he very aptly put that modern education focuses a lot on measurable parameters and there is a lot of overlap in measurable and non-measurable e.g. emotions are immeasurable likewise thoughts and sensations too cannot be measured. So in modern education, we have to find a balance between both measurable parameters and non-measurable emotions else, we become mechanist, in addition to IQ (Intelligent Quotient) we also have to need to take a dive into EQ (Emotional Quotient) of  the student as emotions fall in realms of spirituality, hence a perfect balance between both forms the sound citadel of modern education.

 

Highlighting a difference between ancient techniques of education and modern education he said like in ancient days a well-researched teacher was the one who would ask questions which would make students look for the answers making them more inquisitive, knowledge seekers and self-sufficient unlike today’s era of classroom lectures where student expects teacher to know answers and making them dependent. He supports his argument with a relevant example of famous parable Vikram Aur Betaal where king has to answer every question based on purely his knowledge.

 

Answering an ever-intriguing and most sought after ‘life after death question’ he says that nobody on the earth knows this though society is divided where Indian Subcontinent strongly believes in rebirth or living a million lives whereas western world go by the tenet of you only live once.

 

Answering Question of Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro-chancellor, Chitkara University on application of four basic elements of  Maths i.e. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division in human life, he said to answer this question best he will base his answer on element of division as society at large is divided into two views on life, one which says that you only live once so the sum total of your life whatever you perform, achieve , accomplishments of one life given to you and other very divergent view which springs from  Indian philosophy is that there are many lives so whatever you have not been able to do in this life will happen in the next life or rebirth so life is infinite and ever going.

 

Summing up his discourse in an extremely relevant environment he drove him a relevant point that although he believes that lessons from the mythological era should be remembered, yet feels that every age has its own gurus and none of them can be termed relevant to the present day. However, that we should see the principles of the past and apply them to the present times.

 

About Chitkara University

In the year 2002, Chitkara Educational Trust established its Punjab campus 30 km from Chandigarh, on the Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway. In the year 2010, Chitkara University was established by the Punjab State Legislature under 'The Chitkara University Act'. Chitkara University, the best university in Punjab is a government-recognized university with the right to confer degrees as per the Sections 2(f) and 22(1) of the UGC Act, 1956.
 
Chitkara University has been founded by Dr. Ashok Chitkara and Dr. Madhu Chitkara who have been passionate teachers for more than 40 years now. Chitkara Education brings with it a reputation that has been earned through years of serving the career - needs of the student community. It is a reputation for excellence and innovation among coveted employers for preparing graduates who have the knowledge and skills they need for success in their workplace.
 
Chitkara University graduates go on to great careers, as they have their hands on the responsive teaching methodology. Students from around the county are attracted to Chitkara University because of their commitment to teaching excellence, because they conduct research that makes a difference, because of their industry partnerships and because of their tailored courses. This difference has been acknowledged by students, parent, alumni, government, and industry since the inception of the university.
 
Within a decade, most of Chitkara University academic programs are ranked among the top 50 programs in the country which speaks volumes about their string academic heritage, highly committed faculty, extensive industry collaborations, great international connections, and state of the art campus facilities.  

 

For more information, please visit: www.chitkara.edu.in.


 
 
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