'Service to humanity is service to God'

Written by Anna da Costa / 09 January 2009 / Read Anna da Costa's latest blog entries.

These inspirational words, spoken by Sri MT Naik, NSS Programme Officer, this morning represent one of the bold messages to come out of the Hyderabad Leadership Summit today, which saw an attendance of 240 young students from six different colleges across the city.

Organised by Chaitanya Kumar and the Hyderabad IYCN team, this was an event, filled with passion, ideas and a tangible energy for action.

With stirring introductions from Dr. Reddy, Vice Chancellor of JNTU, and Dr. Rao, Principal of JNTU, who spoke of how 'climate change is affecting our day to day life, our health on earth, and wellbeing', and reminded us that 'we have a responsibility towards society on all of these issues, to better inform our communities, to ensure a safe and healthy future for the next generation' the event kicked off to a flying start.

Students engaged with one another in creative mimes, 'Dum Charades', around their vision for India, in brainstorming sessions to design projects for their colleges and communities, made presentations to one another about the solutions they have already been implementing or are inspired by, and discussed some of the international and national policy asks that they feel are crucial for India's future.

The outcome was a series of highly exciting projects that each student plans to take forward in their campuses or communities, either as a group or an individual initiative. Ideas largely revolved around campus eco-clubs that would incorporate waste management initiatives, plastic bans, water conservation, research and advocacy around renewable and decentralised energy options, tree planting efforts, the re-promotion of vegetarianism, improved energy efficiency through unplugging devices and switching them off when not in use and crucially, awareness raising at a large around the issues of climate change and environmental unsustainability as well as the multitude of solutions that exist for change. We can all be leaders, and this was voiced again and again in different ways.

The issue of climate equity was also raised, with a heated debate around the historic and current contributions of the G7 towards the current climate crisis. Alongside a strong emphasis on the need for each of these nations to take leadership and effective action on climate change, the importance of moving past blame towards international collaboration and each of us doing what we can was also voiced, with the recognition that we all share the same Earth.

One of the key messages we were left with by one participant was a reminder that what is important is not how much you propose, but how much you implement.

The dynamic energy for this national movement for change was tangible in the air. It was so inspiring to be a part of this, and to hear a multitude of voices engaging in India's future in a positive way.

Something that continues to humble me as I take this personal and collaborative journey across India is the deep spirituality with which so many people approach life and the issues we face. Embodied in this meeting's opening words, God or the Divine, never feels far away. As we search for answers to this hugely complex, challenging and multifaceted problem, a purpose in life greater than our own needs and gratification is often present as a silent acknowledgement.