At a conference on Entrepreneurship in Healthcare at which I recently spoke, I had the pleasure of meeting the irrepressible and multifaceted Subroto Bagchi, writer, entrepreneur and philosopher, whom I have the honour to call my friend. The conference itself was excellent learning and sharing. Subroto in his inimitable way, held the audience enthralled as he shared his wealth of experiences in starting and scaling Mindtree. And when we were chatting afterwards, he reached into his briefcase and handed me a book which he recommended I read. Somewhat presumptuously I thanked him for it, whereupon without batting an eyelid and with utmost graciousness he inscribed a message on its first page and presented it to me.
The book, which I have just completed reading is titled ‘Illuminated Spirit’ and is by Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy the founder of the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, today a household name in many spheres. The book has an engaging foreword by Daniel Goleman, himself the author of a brilliant work titled Emotional Intelligence, in which he coined the term EQ or emotional quotient. It is based on a series of lectures delivered by Dr V, as he is affectionately called, at Harvard Divinity School.
What is inspiring about the book is the author’s central theme, based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, that spiritual conduct is the way to both professional and personal fulfilment. This is exemplified by the own personal experience following his being afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis which significantly disabled him, which he was able to overcome and train as an ophthalmologic surgeon and perform thousands of eye surgeries, rise to the position of head of department at a medical college, then start a small eye hospital and steer it to where it is the largest eye hospital in the world and the fulcrum of an eye care system which treats 1.4 million patients a year, 2/3 of them for free. It is clear that it is from his inner spiritual strength that Dr V has drawn the inspiration to create this model which combines service, caring and modern technology.
Dr V discusses fascinating concepts relating to consciousness, describing higher levels of awareness defined by terms such as overmind and supermind.
I find these particularly intriguing from the perspective of what he has described as the ability of the mind to transcend the ego, connect with a universal consciousness and in doing so achieve what may seem to others to be unrealistic or impossible goals. The true greatness of his words lies in the fact that he has practiced what he says and the remarkable results of his efforts are there for the world to see.
For the inspiration derived from this book I am grateful to my equally inspiring friend and role model, Subroto Bagchi.