Synopsis
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the two persons I have never met but have acceptedas my revered teachers who have been my guides through my life, and at every step while writingthis book. One of them is the legendary Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, who needs no introduction. Theother teacher is Acharya Krishnaji Keshav Kolhatkar, who has explained Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra inMarathi in his book entitled Bharatiya Manas Shastra. I am yet to fi nd another presentation on YogaSutra anywhere near the masterly presentation by Acharya Krishnaji Keshav Kolhatkar. I bow toboth Mirza Ghalib and Acharya Krishnaji Keshav Kolhatkar in utter reverence and gratitude.Had I not experienced a dark and restless night of turmoil, I would never have known whatsunrise really means. That said, that is exactly how we human beings are supposed to identify andlearn values in our lives. Everyone steps into the fairyland of his youth, holding lofty dreams inhis feeble fi sts and aspires to reach the zenith thereon. Though fulfi lment of every dream is notguaranteed; if one chases them with an open mind, he is assured of fi nding the gems of human valuesstrewn along the path of his life. In today’s materialistic world, though everyone looks for values inothers; only a few of them think in terms of enriching their own conduct and behaviour with suchvalues. For those who are not naturally inclined towards values, life as a teacher, ultimately teachesthem through compelling circumstances and life experiences, irrespective of whether they like it ornot. However, the process of learning from life experiences is so slow that by the time one reallylearns and assimilates such values, it is rather too late in life to practice and enjoy the benefi ts interms of fulfi lment, peace and harmony. It is, therefore, wiser of sensible human beings to voluntarilylearn human values before harsh life experiences teach them the hard way. In the absence of trueknowledge and right understanding of the purpose of life, human beings consider themselves astheir own masters and aspire to shape their lives the way they individually desire. Consequently, wesee everyone going in his own direction and causing disharmony within the collective existence.The fi rst and primary value we human beings must understand is that true fulfi lment, peaceand harmony is a collective need of humanity rather than a few individuals. Technology is verypowerful and has been created by the human mind to bring prosperity and fulfi lment to the collectivehuman existence. Therefore, it becomes obligatory that technology proves itself benefi cial to thehuman community on the whole. For this to happen, technocrats responsible for the advancementof technology must be endowed with the holistic understanding of the entire existence. This veryunderstanding must have prompted GBTU into introducing a foundation course on human values inits engineering curriculum. Acquainting budding technocrats with human values at a stage of theirlife while their minds are still impressionable and open to learning will surely have positive as wellas far-reaching implications on the future course of technological developments in India.When I was approached by Vikas Publishing House for writing this book, I was not very surewhether to accept or reject their offer, but a glance at the syllabus of GBTU, systematically drawnmodule-wise to guide a beginner from the stage of individual awareness to the ultimate stage ofuniversal understanding, compelled me to accept the offer. Please note that the scriptural wisdomquoted and referred to in this book must not be construed as religious inputs.
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