Rajaji’s Introduction to Bhaja Govindam
Since my childhood, I grew up listening regularly to M.S. Subbulakshmi’s Bhaja Govindam and Vishnu Sahasranamam. The cassette began with an introduction by C. Rajagopalachari, which I never fast-forwarded—I always let it play. As a boy, I didn’t fully grasp the meaning of those words, but his deep voice and precise accent stayed with me.
Vivekananda’s Epiphany in Kanyakumari
In December 1892, Swami Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari and meditated for three days on a rock where the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean meet—now the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. It was here that he realized Sanatana Dharma was eternally resilient, needing no rescue. He realised that his purpose, instead, was to awaken the youth and inspire them to serve their country.
Initial Goals
I founded INDIC Academy (INDICA) with a mission—to preserve, protect, and promote Indian Knowledge Systems, culture, and traditions. Since my background was in entrepreneurship, I had set myself a number of quantitative goals.
I dreamed of nurturing a thousand authors steeped in Indic thought, of consecrating 108 Adi Shankaracharya vigrahas worldwide, and of enabling scores of PhDs. Around that time, I watched a series called Silicon Valley on Netflix, where a character spoke of “three commas”—that is, a billion. I coined a phrase: three comma thinking, as I wanted to decolonise a billion Indians. These were my early ambitions—quantitative and audacious.
True Goal of Goals
While today we are recognised as a leading institute for IKS—having conceptualised, curated, and conducted several pioneering initiatives—we have also experienced multiple failures over the years. In fact, we could even conduct a three-day symposium or host a *festival of failures* to discuss them in detail.
One important lesson these failures taught me was to stop looking at numbers. What we set out to do was not something physical, but to bring about a subtle shift—a transformation of the mind. In other words, the true goal of our goals cannot be measured with numbers and, therefore, should never be quantitative. I realised that quantitative goals aimed at societal change were often driven by one’s ego.
Push vs Pull
This realisation brought clarity about the concept of push and pull. To push is to impose our ideas on a world that may not even desire them. But a pull is when there is a definitive demand—even if it’s only from one seeker.
Inner Transformation Is the Only Goal
What, then, was the true goal of trying to promote IKS? Is decolonisation the only aim, or is there something in IKS that is of enduring value, even today?
This examination has taught me the true essence of IKS something valuable not just to us Indians, but to the world at large. Our wisdom was meant for the wellbeing of every being. It is not merely an external body of objective knowledge a collection of texts or traditions to be preserved or pushed down reluctant throats. It is, in fact, meant to guide an inner pilgrimage of transformation for health, happiness, and harmony.
Importance of Shraddha and Bhakti
Meanwhile, during this journey, I realised the importance of shraddha and bhakti when seeking IKS. I finally came to understand the true import of these words by Rajaji:
“When intelligence matures and lodges securely in the mind, it becomes wisdom. When wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes bhakti. Knowledge, when it becomes fully mature, is bhakti. If it does not get transformed into bhakti, such knowledge is useless tinsel. To believe that jnana and bhakti knowledge and devotion are different from each other, is ignorance.”
I have since come to paraphrase this insight as follows:
“We must use the intellect to conquer the mind, and then use the mind to transcend the intellect.”
The Goal of Serving, Not Saving
Lastly, we embraced the importance of serving—of being a sachiva. Serving transforms you, saving doesn’t. Saving is driven by ego; serving nurtures humility.
INDICA’s purpose, therefore, is not to ‘save’ or even push any mission, but simply to serve those who come to us, drawn by their own longing for IKS. One seeker or a change maker at a time.
Our target has shrunk from a billion to just one and now our journey ahead for the next decade and beyond is to simply fulfill the seeker’s quest and nurture the changemaker’s purpose.
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Hari’s Curries – A Buffet of Reflections
April 2nd is the Founding Day of INDICA