This has to be a different kind university since it is to be named after Sri Aurobindo

Do not calculate from the mind. If you want to calculate from the mind and build an institution, which the mind approves of, you should go to America or to England. But if you want to build an institution keeping yourself open to the light of the spirit, then you have to do it in a different way. Now in one of the messages received for this occasion, the gentleman who sent the message said that he was happy that, one more Sri Aurobindo university was coming up. My earnest prayer to the Divine is that, let this not be one more Sri Aurobindo University. There can not be many Sri Aurobindo Universities; there can be only one, and that university may not have a specific geographical location.

Very often people ask you, do you have any blue print for this university? Have you made any plans? Do you know about the facilities that are going to be provided at this new university? Do you know what kinds of buildings are going to be built for this university? My answer to all these questions is that it is better not to know the answers to all these questions in very much in advance. You see that if there is too much light from the outside, then you tend to switch off the inner light. But if there is darkness everywhere and you have to walk the path, you have to light up the inner lamp. This is particularly true of spiritual enterprises. And this university that is going to come up here, will, I hope, depend entirely on this inner light – the light that is received from Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

This is not going to be a university which will seeks contribute something to science, to engineering, to agriculture and so on. We have universities which have been doing this, some outstanding examples being Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge, to name a few. These are some of the best universities the mental civilization has produced. They have produced some of the most distinguished people. But please remember that directly or indirectly it is these universities which are responsible for the condition of the world to day. You know that the five permanent members of the United Nation are producing 90% of the world's armaments. If there are wars to fight, you have a wide choice of weaponry available to you. You can buy American arms, French arms, British arms, German arms, Russian arms, now may be even Chinese arms. It there is destruction, devastation, economic exploitation and denial human rights, ecological devastation in any part of the world, you can be sure that it is all brought about directly or indirectly by the products of these universities.

Of course these are wonderful institutions of higher learning.. Science and technology have been developed by these universities in a spectacular manner for which we are all in awe and admiration of them. But have we paused to ask what ultimate use is made of all this science, how much of it is used for the upliftment of man, and how much for his enslavement, for denying him a decent living, and a chance to live a dignified life in freedom? Poor countries are enslaved by rich countries with the help of science, technology, globalised commerce and political gangsterism. These rich countries in their turn are enslaved by their individual ego, national ego, ideological ego, and in more recent years even by religious ego. This is the game that is going on. And I do not want the university that is going to be inaugurated here today to be another Harvard or another Oxford in this sense. This has to be a different kind university since it is to be named after Sri Aurobindo, who stood for a light higher than that of the intellect. 10:59 PM

S R I A U R O B I N D O U N I V E R S I T Y Inaugural Speech by Dr. M. V. Nadkarni on 4th April, 2007 At SRI AUROBINDO SHREEKSHETRA, DALIJODA Session on: 2/27/2007 at 3:33:10 PM From: Matrubhaban, Cuttack "Gadadhar Mishra" ctk_matrubha@sancharnet.in 11:13 PM