For a long time children have been taught A for Apple, B for Bat and C for Cat. It worked well to learn the alphabets and also to master the language English. But the learning of the foreign tongue came with increased self-esteem, rather ego that created a foreign language speaking community which gradually drifted away from our age old traditions of Aatmiyata and Compassion so important today to create a caring and just society.
I took this matter to my grandchildren Vasu and Dev in US and Aadeesh and Sanskrit in India to redefine A-Z with a renewed focus on creating a new world order in which Aatmiyata, Compassion and caring concern for man and Mother Nature rains supreme over narrow selfish considerations.
The new normal post Covid also requires a radical departure to our approach to life and to establishing a social framework in which we care for each other and go back to the basics of “Vasudha ev Kutumbakam” as the Vedas ordain, says Prof PB Sharma Vice Chancellor, Amity University Gurugram who is also the Founder Vice Chancellor DTU and RGTU.
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Vasu, Dev, Aadeesh and Sanskrit true to their names and Vedic Sanskaras applied their critical thinking and effective communication algorithms and came out with redefining A-Z in which A stands for Affinity, Aatmiyata, B for Belongingness, Blissful Behavior and Brotherhood and C for Character, Capability, Caring Concern, Commitment and Compassion and D for Duty, Dedication, Devotion, and Divinity and E for Ethics, Enthusiasm, Enlightenment and Excellence, F for Father, Forgiveness, Faith and Family, G for Goodness, Godliness and Giving, H for Harmony, Hope, Happiness and Health, I for Innovation, Intution, Imagination and Intellect, J for Joy and Judgement , K for Keenness, Kindness and Knowledge and L for Life, Love and Living in Harmony , M for Money, Market and Management , N for Nation, Nature and Nobility, O for Optimism, Openness and Oneness , P for People, Performance and Prayer, Q for Qualify , Quick and Question, R for Recycle, Reuse, Resilience and Responsible, S for Society, Science, Spirituality, Simplicity and Sustainability, T for Technology, Transparency and Trust , U for Unity, Understanding and Universe, V for Values, Vision and Victory, W for Wealth, Work and Wisdom, X for X Ray and Xerox , Y for Youth and Yourself and Z for Zen (Gyana).
In fact we need three levels of A -Z . One for children below 5 years of Age where A for Apple, B for Bat and C for Cat will do. But as they grow 5 plus, for 6-15 years old we need to redefine A to Z so as to align them to our age old ethos of Aatmiyata, Compassion, Integrity and Humanism. By doing so, we shall nurture human values in our youth and lay a rock solid foundation for a caring humanity negating terror and inhuman behavior and create a society that shall foster harmony and happiness in abundance meeting the SDGs for creating a world of bliss and happiness all around.
Then only we shall live up to the promise of “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina Sarve Santu Niramaya, Sarve Bhadrani Pashyanti, ma Kaschid Dukh bha Bhavet” made long ago by our Vedic Seers and Sages right at the beginning of the human civilization, says Prof PB Sharma who is the past President of Association of Indian Universities, AIU.
