Turning Points (12 page)

I think it was in 2006 that the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell Fontelles, called on me at Rashtrapati Bhavan. During our discussions, he talked to me at length about a topic that is close to my heart, the Evolution of Enlightened Citizens, which he had read about on my website. He asked me numerous questions on the subject. The questions were thoughtful, deep and purposeful. After our discussion, he invited me to address the European Parliament, which had 785 members representing twenty-seven member states of the European Union. The parliament is the only directly elected body of the European Union. He also requested that I address the parliament before his term as president ended in December 2006. However, because of my various commitments during 2006, I was unable to
give the address till 25 April 2007. By that time Hans-Gert Pöttering had taken over as president from Fontelles.

As the address was an important one, I started preparing well before the commencement of my tour. I had several brainstorming sessions with friends, intellectuals, political leaders, scientists and the youth. I also composed a poem, ‘Message from Mother Earth’, especially for the occasion. The poem is a reflection on how the European nations, which went through many brutal wars as they fought one another, successfully converged to form the European Union with a focus on the economic development, prosperity, peace and happiness of all the member nations. It is indeed a pioneering initiative in regional cooperation.

When I reached the European Parliament on the morning of 25 April, I was welcomed by the president and his colleagues. It made for an impressive sight to see the 785 representatives of the European Union, and the overflowing visitor’s gallery.

My address on the occasion, titled ‘Dynamics of Unity of Nations’, emphasized the need for a confluence of civilizations, based on India’s historical experience, instead of a conflict of civilizations. My speech highlighted the evolution of enlightened citizenship, which has three components: education with a value system; religion transforming into spirituality; and societal transformation through national development. I also spoke on the necessity of achieving energy independence in India and Europe and outlined a mechanism for its realization. My lecture was cheered periodically. At the end of my address, I recited the poem that I had composed specifically for the occasion, with the permission of all the members.

As I completed reading my poem, I was touched by the moving and spontaneous response from every member of the parliament. The standing ovation I received was indeed a tribute to our nation. In response, I conveyed the greetings of the one billion people of India to the citizens of the European Union countries. During his concluding remarks after my address, President Pöttering said, I quote, ‘Mr President Abdul Kalam, in the name of European Parliament, I want to thank you for this most important and inspiring speech. This was one of the extraordinary speeches we have ever heard from a statesman, scientist and a poet. This is unique. All the best to this great nation India, all the best to our cooperation between the great nation India and the European Union, all the best Mr President.’

After my address, many members wanted to discuss specific aspects of the speech with me. The general observation was that India is a great nation and is rich in human values.

I consider my address at the European Parliament as a very important one in the context of promoting unity of minds throughout the world. My address was quoted in many countries and reached a global audience through numerous websites, including YouTube.

After I returned to India, I addressed Parliament and expressed the European Union’s willingness to work on a number of missions such as energy independence and building a World Knowledge Platform, so that India could take these initiatives forward.

When I went to Greece, I made a special trip to Socrates’ cave. People rarely go to this cave because it is in a hilly and difficult region. At my request, a visit was arranged. When I went there, I spent a few minutes in the cave with only a flickering light that I was given. I was alone for these five minutes. I was in a meditative mood. I wondered why Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers of the world, swallowed poison to take his own life. I remembered his words that the value of what he preached was more important than his life. Suddenly in that dark cave, one could see like a bright light the legacy of reason that he left to the world.

I went to Switzerland in 2005. When I landed, a surprise was awaiting me. The vice president, after receiving me, said that his country had declared 26 May 2005 as Science Day to commemorate my visit. This was indeed an unexpected gesture on the part of the Swiss government. When I met the president, I thanked him for it. He told me that he had read two of my books,
Ignited Minds
and
India 2020
. Impressed, he had briefed his cabinet on my
accomplishments in space and defence science and the cabinet decided to celebrate my visit to Switzerland by declaring a Science Day. I had the opportunity while there to visit scientific laboratories and meet with researchers, students and academics. I also went to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, which was where Einstein first studied when he came from Germany. There I visited the Bose-Einstein laboratory where six scientists were working on Bose-Einstein condensate experiments. Here also I had the opportunity to address the faculty and students and talked on the topic ‘Technology and National Development’. I concluded my talk with Sir C.V. Raman’s exhortation to students, ‘We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that will carry us to our rightful place under the sun, a spirit which will recognize that we, as inheritors of a proud civilization, are entitled to a rightful place on this planet. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing can hold us from achieving our rightful destiny.’

I cannot omit to mention Dr Nelson Mandela, whom I met in 2004. There are two big lessons one can learn from this great personality: The indomitability of the spirit and the virtue of forgiveness.

Cape Town is famous for its Table Mountain; it has got three peaks called Table Peak, Devil Peak, and Fake Peak. The peaks presented a beautiful sight throughout the day, as drifting clouds, sometimes dark and sometimes white, embraced their tops. We travelled to Robben Island from
Cape Town by helicopter. When we reached the island, we were received by Ahmed Kathrada, a South African who was a co-prisoner with Dr Mandela. It surprised me to see the tiny room where Dr Mandela, who is six feet tall, was imprisoned for twenty-six years for fighting against apartheid. A major part of his life was spent on this island. He used to be taken for quarrying in the nearby mountain for a few hours in bright sun. This is when his sight got damaged. In spite of the torture he underwent his spirit remained indomitable. In that small room, when the wardens went to sleep, he wrote what eventually became a famous book,
Long Walk to Freedom
.

It was a great event for me to meet him in his house in Johannesburg. When I shook his hand, I felt that I was touching the hand of a mighty soul. When he got up he discarded the walking stick; I became his support. There is a big lesson that we can learn from him. It is there in one of the Thirukkurals too. ‘For those who do ill to you, the best punishment is to return good to them.’

My association with trains goes back to my childhood days, when I used to collect newspapers thrown from the train for distribution to Rameswaram town. Train journeys are a good way to see your land and smell its fragrance. Sometimes when the fog comes in there is a certain intimacy to the landscape as you see patches of fields and villages from up close. One can use the transit time to understand problems
and find solutions to them. All in all, a train journey is quite pleasurable and I decided to activate the presidential train.

The Presidential Saloon consists of a pair of twin coaches that are reserved for exclusive use by the head of state. The coaches have a dining room that doubles as a visiting room, a lounge room or conference room and the president’s bedroom. There is also a kitchen and chambers for the president’s secretaries and staff as well as the railway staff who accompany him. The coaches are luxuriously appointed with teak furniture and silk drapes and cushion covers.

The coaches saw some use in the 1960s and early 1970s. There was even a tradition of having the president on the completion of his term use the coaches for his outbound journey from New Delhi to wherever he had decided to settle down. The last president to use the coaches in this way was Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, in 1977.

The coaches were not in use after that, an account of security concerns possibly, but maintenance was kept up. When I used the train on 30 May 2003 for a 60 km journey from Harnaut to Patna it was after twenty-six years that they were put to use. The coaches were renovated and provided with modern equipment such as satellite-based communication systems and I tried to make as much use of them as I could, thrice in all.