There is a French phrase, Joie De Vivre’ which literally translated means Joy of Life. Life is meant to be enjoyed, every moment of it. But this joy does not spring from a passive existence and becomes available only by leading an active and a full life. Beginning from a child to a grown-up and indeed, at every age we remain in a constant stage of learning. Every incident in our life is an experience and that teaches something. It is entirely up to an individual to convert that experience into a life-long learning.
At a younger age, learning happens at home, then in school/University, and thereafter in an active social environment that covers a large space from home to work, and everything that we stay engaged in.
There exists a symbiotic relationship betweenjoy and learning. We learn when we are happy and joyful, and any kind of learning then leads to joy. It is also important to note that learning emanating from a joyful situation lasts much longer than otherwise.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
Man’s capacity to achieve great, and sometimes seemingly impossible tasks cannot be overemphasized. Undoubtedly a marvelous miracle of nature, he has been endowed with a strong body and a superior intellect, and he occupies the highest rung in the evolutionary ladder of all creations. His thoughts and vision that emanate from his mind and intellect, empower him to perform immensely difficult tasks and this faculty ensures continuous development. We need to pause here for a moment and reflect that if his body is weak, fragile, and unhealthy, it will be impossible for him to lead even a normal existence, leave alone attempt any difficult job that he may be required to perform during his life’s tumultuous journey.
It is axiomatic to state that a sound mind needs a sound body, and that alone underlines the overarching importance of health and well-being. It must be stated that it is not enough to have a healthy body alone, although one would concede that it is an essential condition, it is equally important to experience a state of well-being. This, therefore, underscores the significance of a healthy mind and intellect. We must all understand that we need to follow a healthy protocol in terms of our eating habits, sleep schedule, lifestyle, abstinence from innumerable temptations and allurement our world offers, it is as, and indeed more important to keep our intellect healthy. Long-standing research has established that a major component of our health-related problems is psychosomatic in nature, and hence our intellect should remain in possession of positive thoughts, with frequent rounds of brain detoxification.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
here is an old adage that in very simple terms says that “Necessity is the Mother of invention.” It is equally true that in normal times when life is cruising at a normal pace, everybody’s normal desires and expectations are being largely met, there is a general environment of relative peace and tranquillity; nothing of any great consequence happens. Everyone is in their comfort zone and there is a general sense of complacency. While everything that normally happens in a routine manner keeps happening, there is no war, no urgency and people develop a marked propensity to lead their lives in a happy and satisfied fashion. The history of mankind is a witness to the fact that nothing of great consequences has ever been achieved in peacetime, barring a few exceptions. Human beings need a crisis, an inspiration, and a rush of adrenalin to achieve something of substance, of value that provides a sustainable support system to society at large. If this crisis assumes a universal dimension such as the Pandemic caused by the Coronavirus, it galvanizes the entire humanity into collective action.
This is exactly what is happening at this point in time in the world’s history. A tiny virus is holding the entire mankind to ransom with its lethal and unfathomable composition, bringing down a large chunk of humanity in its sweep with a bewildering speed. But this has also united the world’s scientific and medical community as never before in their chase to create a cure by developing the right vaccine.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
All civilizations the world over, have thrived, developed, and indeed Aflourished on the strength of Knowledge built on the paradigm of a structured (formal or informal) educational system. Education enlightened, created a purpose, and enhanced the basic cognitive functions of the entire humanity. In other words, it empowered people to unravel the mysteries of the universe and improve their quality of life. The pursuit of this objective is relentless and will never stop. Not content with discovering the resources and wealth, hidden under the vast landmass and oceans of the planet earth, mankind continues to seek extraterrestrial bounty from the hitherto unexplored territories.
All this requires full use of existing resources, grit and determination, and above all, profound knowledge which can only be built on the foundation of Education. There is thus no gainsaying the fact that the new challenges for development, would inevitably require new thought processes and strategies in molding the systems and elements of education. This is where the relevance of Education 4.0 assumes significance. The new paradigm is not only about literacy and numeracy. It is about developing and honing a new set of skills, of design thinking, problem-solving, and competency to handle multiple jobs that will emerge in the new eco-system, largely because of technological disruptions.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
Every parent has a vision in the context of what his or her progeny should grow up to be, and assiduously works towards achieving that vision. Somewhere down the line, this becomes an overarching ambition because of over possessiveness and concern for the welfare of the child and his or her future. Some parents also tend to impose their own will on the child’s future callings, under a mistaken impression of the child being their own extension.
Every parent has a vision in the context of what his or her progeny should grow up to be, and assiduously works towards achieving that vision. Somewhere down the line, this becomes an overarching ambition because of over possessiveness and concern for the welfare of the child and his or her future. Some parents also tend to impose their own will on the child’s future callings, under a mistaken impression of the child being their own extension.
This is where many parents make a mistake in assuming the role of an architect of their child’s future. Every child is unique in his own way. He may possess a similar composition of the DNA acquired through a biological process, but he is not necessarily the same xerox copy of his parents.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
The most valuable emotional state sought after by the entire mankind relates to happiness. In the hierarchy of human needs, once our survival is fully secured, we seek happiness in all our endeavours. We also develop a general propensity to perform tasks that give us happiness and having completed them, look for happiness in the result or reward there of.
Interestingly, this phenomenon is unique to human beings. Animal and other living beings are not affected by this. For instance, a dog or a horse may show loyalty, anger, hunger but never ever betrays an emotion called happiness.
Happiness is quintessentially experiential in nature and therefore is dependent upon series of experiences that each one of us goes through. The agree ability of that experience and our perception decides whether it has given us happiness or otherwise.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
Something that can be measured can also be managed, is axiomatic. But perhaps this largely pertains to the realm of material space. But subtle experiences like happiness, depression, sadness or stress are not measurable on any scale or yardstick and therefore defy management per se.
The causation of these experiences are also multi-dimensional and pose serious challenge for a correct diagnostic analysis which does ordinarily lead to cure and relief.
Phenomena such as happiness or stress are essentially perceptive in nature. These are not visible on their own strength but make their impact visible on the subject who is going through that experience. Some people look happy and others look stressed out, are the usual statements that we often hear in our conversational episodes. Again these experiences are not floating around in the environment, nor are they bacterial or viral infections that we catch on from the external space. These experiences are quintessentially an internalized phenomenon which is a product of our own thought process.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra
One of the most remarkable features of mankind and civilisations has been to constantly evolve and move forward. This process is relentless and indeed, inexorable. From being a petty hunter and gatherer to agriculture and then to Industry, humanity has come a long way in fully exploiting the inherent desire and potential, to improve and evolve. The underlying process and the phenomenon that has pushed us to a level of unprecedented growth, especially in the last century is nothing but “ENTREPRENEURSHIP”. While 18/19th centuries belonged to an era of inventions, discoveries, germination of new ideas and concepts, the last one saw the growth of applied sciences leading to technological leap. ‘Invent’, ‘innovate’ and ‘create’ became the buzzword and the Industry was quick to respond. The really smart ones saw immense possibilities in creating a business venture that produced products, processes or services and marketed it for profit.
This really was the genesis of what is commonly described as entrepreneurship. The fundamental elements have remained unchanged but there however, are several new paradigms to choose from. The essential constituents of a sustainable model of entrepreneurship would necessarily comprise, a new idea, relevant technology, keen observation and assessment of the market needs, initiative and risk-taking capabilities. Management of all these parameters in an imaginative manner, with right mix of hard work and initiative succeeds in creating a business enterprise.
From the desk of Editor
Vinod Malhotra