1002 Proud Aloysian Graduates/Post Graduates Rejoice at St Aloysius College {Autonomous}-Mangaluru VIII Graduation Ceremony
Yes, it’s true- Graduation Day fills the heart with mixed feelings. Fulfillment and sadness, anxiety and eagerness, say goodbye to the secure life within the College walls and get ready to explore a new world altogether. 25 May 2018, the management and staff of St Aloysius College, parents, teachers, relatives and friends of the students gathered here in large numbers for the VIII th Graduation Ceremony.. It was a great occasion in the lives of all the students. It was also due recognition for the outstanding work of the principal/staff/teachers and also a pretty emotional day for the parents.
Just looking around, the happy smiling faces says so much about the environment at this prestigious 139 years old institution. No doubt, the college places great value on community, learning, fun and a youth-centered approach. The credit for the success and educational growth of these students should go to the principal and lecturers of this institution. A graduation ceremony is a pageant celebrating the transition from student to graduate and marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in their life.
The VIII Graduation Ceremony of St Aloysius College-Mangaluru began with invoking God’s blessings through a prayer song rendered by College Choir, followed by welcome address by Rev Dr Praveen Martis Sj, the Principal of the College, who also introduced the Chief guest of the occasion-Rev Dr Sebasti L Raj Sj- Pro Vice Chancellor, St Xavier’s University, Kolkatta {who also delivered the Convocation Address}; and guests of honor-Rev Dr Stanislaus D’souza Sj-Provincial of Karnataka Jesuit Province; Rev Fr Dionysius Vaz Sj-Rector of St Aloysius Institutions; Dr A M Narahari- Registrar of the College; among many other guests present on the dais.
In his welcome address, Rev Dr Praveen Martis Sj said, “St Aloysius College in nits 139th year is an institution that strives towards the formation of young men and women committed to their values of life, concern for the deserving and conscious of the happenings in the world. When we think of the purpose of higher education, first we must be clear of what type of human society we desire to create, and then determine what kind of College/University is required to make that possible. This is the crucial question we all must ask as St Aloysius College plans and prepares itself to become a University. Jesuit Education at St Aloysius College is characterized by four qualities, namely Utility, Justice, Humanism and Faith. Our College over the years, has grown by leaps and bounds, and with lots of academic programmes and infrastructure facilities provided here are of world-class quality and the student caliber is easily comparable to the best in the country”.
“He that imposes an oath makes it, not he that for convenience take it”- and it was the honor for SAC Rector Fr Dionysius Vaz Sj to administer the Oath to all the graduates, who all repeated after him, with pride, dignity, with gratefulness, and recapitulated it, committing themselves to be better youth of the nation. India’s former President Late APJ Abdul Kalam once said, “Dreams is not what you see in sleep, but is the thing which doesn’t let you sleep”- and he also said, “The future belongs to those who believe in these dreams”- and now it was time to honor all the graduates and Post Graduates with a medal and graduation certificate – while the names of all the graduates were read everyone walked to the stage to be honored by the chief guest. It was also time to honor the top graduates/PGs.
FOLLOWING IS THE CONVOCATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BY REV DR SEBASTI L RAJ SJ:
Introduction
In an educational institution, the academic growth of the students is important. But there is something which is even more important, namely, the all-round growth of the person, through an effective promotion of basic human values. I am of the firm view that the topmost responsibility of education, more particularly higher education, is to build and promote these basic and cherished human values, along with academic excellence. Every educational institution needs to give high priority to value-building. This is much more so in a Jesuit higher educational institution, such as St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru.
In other words, what is important for the students of Jesuit Higher Educational Institutions is that along with the academic degree one gets, each one becomes a mature and responsible person, at the end of three or five years of student life. I do hope that all of you, who are about to receive your academic awards today, are persons who will carry home not only your degree certificates but also a heart that has been transformed because of your association with this esteemed college for the past few years. It is my hope that each one of you will return to your home as a transformed person who has imbibed the cherished values and has acquired a clear direction for your future.
In this address, therefore, I would like to touch upon a few cherished values that we need to promote and safeguard in today’s context. These values are very important for our country and the world at large, in which you will have to traverse and prove yourself to be a success story.
1. Upholding Constitutional Values:
India is privileged to have one of the best Constitutions in the world, thanks to the foresight and the far-sightedness of the great Founding Fathers of our Constituent Assembly – Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, Vallabhai Patel and many others, including one of the illustrious sons of Mangaluru, Fr. Jerome D’Souza, a Jesuit priest from this soil, and who was an alumnus of St. Aloysius School here. The Preamble to the Constitution of India is a classical piece, highly valuable, which summarizes the gist of all that a country should stand for and work towards, namely, the four pillars of basic and human values – the values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. The dream of the Constitution of India is to promote and effectively sustain these four pillars: Justice – social, economic and political; Liberty – of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality – of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation.
In fact, the Preamble integrates beautifully the great values acclaimed proclaimed throughout the world and by all religions. Moreover, all these values are deeply rooted in our own cherished traditions. These are the foundational values, which enable any society, any organization, any nation, any family, any institution, any individual to move forward. Without these foundational values, there will be only chaos and conflicts, destruction and disaster. Unfortunately, there are tendencies in our own country, as well as in other parts of the world, to trample these foundational values and to impose on the people certain inhuman practices and systems. We need to resist such a tendency with all our might. This is not the duty of those in authority alone. This is the basic duty of every citizen, particularly every educated person. Hence, every educational institution in our country should teach these cherished values to the students and ensure that they imbibe these in their personal life.
2. Safeguarding and Promoting the Pluralistic Ethos of India:
India is a land of multiple religions, cultures, languages and customs. This pluralistic reality should be respected and promoted. None of us should indulge in anything that goes against this pluralistic edifice that is India, as this is fully recognized by the Indian Constitution itself, which is the very life of the nation. However, even after 70 years of its independent life, India is still in turmoil.
We need a process that will go beyond party or power politics and focus on the objective of enabling the citizens to understand and accept the unique nature of our society – multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual society. This process also should resist the attempts by certain sections of society, which try to undo this beautiful and rich mosaic, and which has been recognized fully by our Constitution.
Fortunately, there are some attempts by some interested persons and groups to take steps to promote such an ethos. Such efforts are very vital for the unity, stability and harmonious co-existence of a pluralistic India. As a Jesuit alumnus, it is the responsibility of each graduating student of St. Aloysius College to promote such an ethos everywhere and support those who are making efforts to safeguard and promote this ethos.
3. Imbibing the Jesuit Values:
Excellence and Magis are two values of the Jesuit education paradigm. Besides, forming men and women for others is another important focus of Jesuit education. You must have received some inputs on these values during your college days. These are very essential for success in life and let me explain each one briefly:
a) Excellence invites you to excel not only in your studies and examinations, but in your life, in your character, in your human relationships, in your performances wherever you are. The spirit of excellence in all aspects of life should be the guiding mantra for every Jesuit alumnus. For a Jesuit alumnus, for that matter for every educated person, there is no room for lethargy or half-hearted performance. As an educated person, your aim has to be always for the best, the most excellent — in your personal life, in your family life, in your performance at your workplace, in business, in social responsibilities, in relationships, etc.
b) Magis implies that one should always keep moving upward, doing things better than before, not being satisfied with what one has achieved. You need to aspire for greater things, better things, more useful things, more relevant things – by being ever open to anything beyond what you already have. Magis is just the opposite of stagnation and status quo. An educated person, much more so a Jesuit alumnus, should imbibe these two values of excellence and magis throughout your life and you should teach the same to your children and you should spread these values wherever you are.
c) Men and Women for Others: A very important focus of all Jesuit educational mission is preparing men and women who are willing to work for others. We speak of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the corporate sector. The Jesuits speak about preparing men and women for others. It means that men and women, being social by their very nature, should become fully aware of their social responsibility and be prepared to spend their time, energy and even resources to help those who are in need. Further, this means that those who pass out of the Jesuit educational institutions should imbibe the important social value of serving others, helping others, empowering the marginalized, contributing to the establishment of justice, equality, peace, harmony and brotherhood and sisterhood. This is a basic inner disposition – willingness to be of service to others – regardless of what status or position one may occupy in life. As you complete your studies in St. Aloysius College, and move into your post-student life, each one of you should be filled with this desire to be of service to others. Thus, you can legitimately feel proud that you are a man or a woman for others.
4. Spiritual Dimension of Life
A prominent scientist from Yale University stated in one of his talks to the students of Loyola University of Chicago, some years ago, that he was busy writing a book on spirituality. He further explained why a scientist had to be busy writing a book on spirituality. According to him, spirituality is the bedrock on which human civilization and scientific progress have to be built. He was absolutely right and most of us will accept that spirituality is essential for our life.
India is a land of spirituality. Practically all of us believe in God, all of us pray and all of us take part in certain religious rituals. We may belong to different religions, but we all have the same or similar practices, though these vary according to different religions. The spiritual dimension of our life is very important in shaping and guiding our behaviour and our values. However, our religious beliefs and practices should not be mere ritual fulfillment, but a source of inner strength to practice the values we spoke about earlier.
So, the invitation to each one of you is to give due importance to the spiritual dimension of your life, not merely in the external fulfillment of some rituals, but in the actual practices and promotion of the values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Religious beliefs and practices should lead to communal peace and harmony, respecting the beliefs and practices of different religions, without interfering in their practices or imposing anything on them.
Conclusion
As students, you were privileged to live a protected life. However, in the post-student stage of your life, you are thrown into the world of competitions, complexities and contradictions of different types. You cannot escape it, but you have to face it, whether you like it or not. It is in such a situation that your values, your personal convictions, your formation and training, that you received during your student days and your spiritual convictions will come to your support and assistance. The values you have imbibed will stand by you and give you the necessary direction and inspiration, to shape your life and find your way to succeed and make genuine and lasting progress.
Therefore, as you are graduating from St. Aloysius College, carry with you not only your graduation certificate but also another certificate, namely, the certificate of foundational values. You may not get a paper certificate for this, but this certificate has to be written in the heart of each graduating student. If at all you are going to find meaning and purpose in life, that will be very much based on what is in your heart rather than what is written on a graduation certificate.
Even those who have certificates of high distinction, need to realize that there is a more important certificate hidden in their hearts – the certificate of human values. This you will realize as soon as you begin your post-student life – in the world of business, in the family, in various other transactions and engagements.
Former President, late Dr. Abdul Kalam, an illustrious Jesuit Alumnus, from St. Joseph’s College, Trichy, was a gem, a model to each Jesuit student. He was a model for values, a model for hard work, a model for positive and daring thoughts, dreams and visions, a model for positive thinking, a model for dynamism in life. He has made a mark in the history of India, although he hailed from a very poor family.
This should convince everyone participating in this Convocation Function, that our origin and humble beginnings do not matter, but what we make of ourselves and what we become is what really matters. Hence, you should not encircle yourself in the past, no matter what it was. Instead, you should always be a person of hope and confidence, while being alert and open to the realities of the world around you. A well-balanced combination or integration of all these aspects – hope, confidence, openness and alertness — will make you bold in your march forward until you reach where you want to reach.
Finally, my dear young friends, like Dr. Abdul Kalam, I would like to appeal to you to dream dreams, to see visions, to march forward and to resolve firmly to make an impact in your family, in your surroundings and, if possible, in the whole nation and even in the whole world. I also appeal to you to be a person of values, to be a person of spiritual convictions, to be a person willing to help and serve others and to be a person of excellence and magis in every aspect of your life.
I wish each one of you great success in all your endeavours and undertakings. May God be a source of strength to each one of you and may He walk with you in your efforts to realize your dreams and visions.
