Making life sublimeFrom Being to Becoming [Archives:2003/637/Education]

By Dr. M.N.K.Bose
[email protected]
Associate Professor of English,
Faculty of Arts, Ibb
This was the essence of the talk delivered by Professor Thakur in the Embassy of India auditorium on Friday, 17th May 2003 under the joint auspices of the India Embassy Club and the Intellectual Forum in Sana'a with Mr. O. P. Bajaj of the Embassy of India as the chief guest. Foregrounding the comparison between geet (music) and the Gita (the Music of life), when Professor Thakur elaborated on the hitherto unraveled similarities between the two, the audience marveled at the novel interpretation presented in the simplest way bilingually – in English and Hindi – for the benefit of the mixed audience. As Dr.A.K. Sharma, in his introductory remarks pointed out, Professor Thakur was the torchbearer leading the 200-odd Indian men and women, who had come from Aden, Hodeidah, Taiz, Ibb, Saddah and Dhammar along with the members of the Club to listen to him, into the 'journey of life' to achieve the 'harmony between the inner self and the outer world', which is the goal of one's life, whatever his/her belief is. This is essential in these days of turmoil when everyone is disturbed by the 'psychological noises' within oneself and tries to eliminate them. Rendering profusely from the Gita, reciting Urdu poems, quoting instances of dissonance and disharmony from the lives of Madame Curie, Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler and quoting inspiring instances from the life of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), Professor Thakur injected the message into the audience's minds that the dynamic togetherness of all kinds of material resources, prowess, fame, brilliance, wisdom and asceticism is the concept of life and the great scriptural text suggests the way to achieve it. This is the central theme of the Gita, one of the greatest works produced in the Indian soil about 2000 years ago. Professor Thakur, who has joined the great interpreters of India's ancient scriptural texts such as Shree Sankaracharya, Shree Madhusudan Saraswathy, Mahatma Gandhi and Balagangahdara Tilak, to quote a few, with his book on the Gita, which is going to be published soon, with his inimitable and eloquent presentation, left the audience enlightened and enriched; those who have read it will read it again and again and those who haven't, will start reading it. To adapt Blake's words, the audience 'saw eternity in two hours' during the talk by Professor Thakur.
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