IOS online lecture on Human Development based on Wisdom and its Correlation with Modern Science

New Delhi: An online lecture on “Human Development on Wisdom and its correlation with Modern Science”, was organised by the Institute of Objective Studies on September 4, 2021. The lecture was delivered by Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh, CEO and director of Foundation for Quality India.

Popularly known as Lead Man of India, Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh is professor emeritus at ST. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru and advisor to the Association of Health Care Providers of India (AHP) and Consortium of Accredited Health Care Organizations (CAHO).

Delivering the lecture, Dr. Venkatesh said that human beings were constantly involved in building their society across the globe from the time immemorial. While society in true sense was the blend of information, knowledge and wisdom, which were transient part of the process to accomplish the tree virtues, viz., the combination of information gathered on day-to-day basis with individual and cumulative experience, acquired knowledge, accumulated and applied for mutual benefit which gradually developed, and the timely application of evolved wisdom applied from time to time for the betterment of everyone. He held that human development had four stages. The four stages of human development based on science were, development of brain, mind, personality and self. The first stage, he said, was the physical development of human body. It started with a small fetus which was developed in the womb. It took months to fully develop. What was required for a healthy body was good nutrition and good water to the pregnant lady. Music too played a positive role in the development of the body. Referring to the survey done on 100 pregnant women he noted that it showed that music was found to be very soothing to them.

Dr. Thuppil Venkatesh observed that calm and quiet atmosphere too was a contributory factor to the development of a healthy body. In the process, skin of the new born was growing along with the growth of brain. From the time of inception, brain developed and any damage to it could not be regenerated. Underlining the importance of water, he said that it was the most essential component of human development. He said that it was the brains development that created good mind. If one had a developed mind, he could make anything. The complexity of the mind could not be determined by medicine. This was so because different people had different minds. According to him, human activity was the second stage of human development. He listed six activities in a human being that were unique. This could be better explained by the fact that a grandson might not have the some traits as his or her grandfather. This could apply to friends as well. Explaining personality development as the third stage of human development, he said that this had two components – the way one covered himself, like clothes and the way of talking. While the clothes reflected the impression and the opinion about one’s clothes, the way of talking gave some idea about the personality about his ancestors. He opined that knowledge made one develop his personality. Wisdom led to humility which came from simplicity, mind and personality, he noted.

Commenting on the fourth stage of human development, Dr. Venkatesh, said that it was social development, which also included introspection. He observed that one should have intent instead of intention. In this respect, introspection was very important. Similarly, physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development played a big role in the overall development of a human being. Information and knowledge were used for the development of mind. Man was made of emotions and that was the reason why it led to collapse in some cases. He said that spirituality was beyond religion, and to sustain oneself, some spirituality was a must. He enumerated the activities that nurtured human development. There were playing a fair game - only learning, earning and returning. He maintained that quality learning was important but it could not ensure 100 percent achievement. Earning was essential to sustain family but there should be no illegal earning. By return, he meant return of what one owed to others to the right person before the final return. Answering the question as to how the entire concept of human development impacted societal development, he said that it contributed a lot to the way one could see the world as a beautiful place to live. He ended the discourse by urging not to argue but discuss. He was happy to note that large number of people attended the session.