तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु (tEjasvi nAvadhItamastu) - May what we have learnt make us resplendent
The value of knowledge (here specifically “ adhItam ” - that which is learnt) has been elaborated upon in several places, and is intuitively also something that rings true. My school (Birla Vidya Niketan in New Delhi) had the following motto, taken from verse 11 of the ISa upaniSad विद्ययाऽमृतमश्नुते - vidyayA amrutam aSnutE (“They gain immortality through knowledge”) What is immortality here? It certainly does not mean freedom from death in the physical sense. For the person who has acquired true knowledge of the self, it implies freedom from the cycle of births. But what about the impact of one’s knowledge on others? The knowledgeable ones’ name, earned through the impact they make on others, remains long after their physical death - that is their immortality. The respect and name a scholar earns is unique. Saint Tiruvalluvar has again captured this beautifully is one of his kuraLs (adhikAram 7, kuraL 69) ஈன்ற பொழுதின் பெரிதுவக்...