ACHARYA DEVO BHAVA
Prof Sudarshan delivered the 1986 Benjamin Bailey lectures in the library hall. A few minutes into the speech I sat bewildered. Oh God! a human being can talk like this? The speech was a profusion of philosophic, esoteric thoughts supplemented lavishly by quoting from the scriptures, vedas and the world of literature. I lost track of the speech but was still keenly listening and enjoying the beauty of the language and the air of mysticism he had created. The lecture was over in an hour but I felt like floating in the thin air.
Now the question-answer session followed with Mr George Issac as the moderator. With a masters in economics from Oxford he once addressed himself as the only intellectual in Kottayam! (Arundhathi Roy is his niece)Mr Issac invited the audience to ask questions. The first man to come forward questioned some of the remarks by Prof Sudarshan and even alleged blasphemy. He accused Prof Sudarshan of speaking against God. Prof Sudarshan answered very politely and was unusually humble. Probably emboldened by the polite answer another man came forward and made some scathing attacks for which too Prof Sudarshan gave gracious answers. When a third man walked up to ask a question I told myself: "If it is a question on similar lines then the man is walking to the gallows". The third man had hardly completed. Prof Sudarshan grabed the microphone (I could see the fire in his eyes) and made the following demolishing statement: "I am a Physicist. I am the ACHARYA of Physics. I cannot think and talk like ordinary people".
There weren't anymore questions and you could hear a pin drop.
I slowly stood up , bowed my head, folded my arms and could hear some inner voice telling me:
"Acharya Devo Bhava".
Prof Sudarshan delivered the 1986 Benjamin Bailey lectures in the library hall. A few minutes into the speech I sat bewildered. Oh God! a human being can talk like this? The speech was a profusion of philosophic, esoteric thoughts supplemented lavishly by quoting from the scriptures, vedas and the world of literature. I lost track of the speech but was still keenly listening and enjoying the beauty of the language and the air of mysticism he had created. The lecture was over in an hour but I felt like floating in the thin air.
Now the question-answer session followed with Mr George Issac as the moderator. With a masters in economics from Oxford he once addressed himself as the only intellectual in Kottayam! (Arundhathi Roy is his niece)Mr Issac invited the audience to ask questions. The first man to come forward questioned some of the remarks by Prof Sudarshan and even alleged blasphemy. He accused Prof Sudarshan of speaking against God. Prof Sudarshan answered very politely and was unusually humble. Probably emboldened by the polite answer another man came forward and made some scathing attacks for which too Prof Sudarshan gave gracious answers. When a third man walked up to ask a question I told myself: "If it is a question on similar lines then the man is walking to the gallows". The third man had hardly completed. Prof Sudarshan grabed the microphone (I could see the fire in his eyes) and made the following demolishing statement: "I am a Physicist. I am the ACHARYA of Physics. I cannot think and talk like ordinary people".
There weren't anymore questions and you could hear a pin drop.
I slowly stood up , bowed my head, folded my arms and could hear some inner voice telling me:
"Acharya Devo Bhava".
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