Education for Life

at
 It is the primary vision of Amrita University
to provide value-based education and mould
You Have students through a system of wholesome
Reached learning, so that their endeavor to achieve
progress and prosperity in life is matched by an
the Right ardent desire to extend selfless service to
society, one complementing the other. Thus, the
Place university‘s activities are based upon a deep
understanding of our values and culture.
 Recap
● There are two types of Education,
○ Education for Livelihood
○ Education for Life (E4L).
● Education for life is as important as education for livelihood.
● When we study in college, it helps us to get a job so that we can
earn a living. We can become a doctor, a scientist, an engineer or
whatever we want. We may go on to attain wealth, possession and
fame. All of this comes from education for livelihood.
● When our plans fall apart, when we face failure and loss, when we are
knocked down, education should help us get back on our feet.
● Education for life is spirituality. It helps us to gain a deeper
understanding of the world, our mind and our emotions, as well as
those of others.
 You Have Reached the Right Place

This is in alignment with the

educational outlook of our
Chancellor, Amma, Satguru Sri
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi,
“Education for Life, not just
education for a living.”.
 You Have Reached the Right Place
“Amrita university has a major role to play in
transforming our society into a knowledge society
through its unique value-added education system.”
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam

“When all our sages, saints, Vedas and Puranas have

discussed about “happiness and welfare everywhere”, then
the question comes, “what can be the way towards that
all-encompassing happiness?” Amma has showed us that
way today.”
Sri Narendra Modi
Honourable Prime Minister of India
 You Have Reached the Right Place
“What makes Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham students
special? Western science leads to knowledge. Eastern
science leads to understanding. AVVP has both Western
and Eastern traditions in education.”
Dr Lee Hartwell, Nobel Laureate

“When I look at what Amrita is, its mission, the hospitals, the
various campuses, there is a close synergy between what
Princeton wants to do and what Amrita is doing. Our
faculty will be interested in collaborative research with Amrita
for the possibility of working on a real life problem.”
Dr. Maria Klawe
Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Princeton University
 The Motto of our University is
“Śhraddhāvān labhate jñānaṁ”
“Only Seekers endowed with Śhraddhā can obtain Knowledge”

श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानं तत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय: |

ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति ||
śhraddhāvān labhate jñānaṁ tat-paraḥ sanyatendriyaḥ
jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śhāntim achireṇādhigachchhati
Bhagavad Gita 4.39
If you have śhraddha, you will attain knowledge (jnanam). Attained through
true devotion and by commanding the senses. When you get this jnanam, in
no distant time, you will achieve supreme peace.
 Śhraddha
Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ defines ‘Śhraddha’ as ‘Āstikyabuddhi’, meaning
‘intense interest, towards the subject and positive mindset endowed with
love and faith’.
Amma says, “Shraddha entails both love and faith. When you have
love and faith, alertness in all your actions will automatically follow.
Life brings unexpected experiences. Unless we are alert and vigilant at
every moment, we cannot overcome those experiences and face them
boldly. An individual’s situation in life is like that of a soldier in a
battlefield. You can imagine how alert and watchful a soldier has to be in
the midst of a battle. An attack could come from any direction. If the
soldier isn’t extremely alert and constantly on the watch, the soldier
could be killed. In the same way, life can bring you any kind of experience
at any given time. You need a great deal of śhraddha to be able to
welcome those experiences and to stay unperturbed in all circumstances.
This is what spirituality teaches us.”
 Science and Spirituality
● For the achievements of science to benefit everyone, people
need to learn how to love, to be compassionate, and to
cultivate noble qualities.
● It is true that scientific advances have greatly contributed to
the progress of humanity. They have helped increase our
material comforts and sense of well-being
● How many people who fully enjoy technological advances
are able to sleep peacefully at night? There are countless
people who live in air-conditioned rooms, and yet who cannot
sleep without sleeping pills. Doesn’t this prove that scientific
advances alone cannot give you peace of mind?
 Science and Spirituality
● Science, which is meant to increase the material comforts of
people and help them, is instead turning into the death knell of
humanity. In the hands of selfish people, technology is used to
exploit their fellow beings. Instead of peace and love,
competition and violence are thriving in the world.
● Viewing the situation from all angles, we can clearly see that
putting spiritual principles to work in our daily life is the only
way to bring about fundamental changes in today’s world.
● We are not in any way criticizing or belittling scientific discoveries,
but they shouldn’t dry up the wellspring of love within us. We
have improved the external world, but the inner world is
withering away.
 Science and Spirituality
● Amma became interested in research after observing the people
here in this coastal village. Here fishermen did not have bank
balances. If they had a good catch, they ate, otherwise they starved.
In a hundred families, one person might have had a government job.
● Many had heart diseases but were either unaware of this or did not
have the money for treatment. People who could have otherwise lived
upto 80 died at 40, because they could not afford to buy a stent.
● Seeing this, Amma felt that if a cost-effective stent could be
produced as a result of research and development, many people
could be helped. That is how the research activities began here.
 Making A Difference

Amrita Mind Brain Center

To develop novel engineering solutions for neurological and psychiatric
conditions and disorders by harnessing technologies and methods for
exploring brain function.

Innovating to fight against COVID-19

Amrita’s Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs collaborated with Megara
Robotics, a private enterprise in Chennai, to develop Prabha, a low-cost remote-
controlled sanitization robot that can systematically disinfect rooms with
ultraviolet rays.

The United Nations awarded Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham its second UNESCO
Chair - UNESCO Chair for Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation &
Development - on June 12, 2020. Through this new Chair, the university will
build sustainable communities by designing a curriculum based on experiential
learning. This curriculum will enable the academic community to implement
sustainable solutions among vulnerable and rural communities.
 Making A Difference

Wireless Sensor Network for Landslide Detection

Amrita Oceannet: Internet Connectivity to Fishermen at Sea

Amaran: Semi Autonomous Coconut Harvesting Robot

Jivamritam: Community-Based Solution for Clean Drinking Water

Amrita Water Distribution System - Water Management In Rural India

Solar-Based Rural Electrification System

Amrita Rural India Tablet Education

 “It is Amma’s prayer that we develop the expansive-
mindedness to embrace both scientific knowledge and
spiritual wisdom. We can no longer afford to see these
two streams of knowledge as flowing in opposite
directions. In truth, they complement one another. If we
merge these streams, we will find that we are able to
create a mighty river—a river whose waters can remove
suffering and spread life to all of humanity.”
Amma.
Making A Difference