I welcome the graduating class of 2021, perhaps more popularly known as the COVID class (pause). You are a special group. You didn’t have a normal high school year. Unlike any other before, you lived through a pandemic and braved the isolation and the uncertainty it brought. Through it all, you exuded tenacity and resilience—qualities that will take you far.
The world is in crisis. We do not know all the impacts yet to come. Some ask how we would go on. To cope, humanity has to cooperate more than ever before. Only if we are bound by love, can we overcome the insurmountable challenges we will encounter. With love and caring in our hearts, we can conquer.
Graduating class, this is your day. You are entering a new phase in your life that calls for applying what you have learned in Shanti Bhavan to the real world outside.
I have a few parting messages for you. You must be tired of my preaching but bear with me.
Forget what went wrong yesterday. Look for what is right today. And strive for what you want tomorrow.
Remember, there are no strangers amongst us. Enjoy the differences in us. Be inclusive. In the process, the power of love will embrace you.
This year’s motto ‘Bound by Love’ exemplifies the spirit of this place. Shanti Bhavan was built on love. The great philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, ‘To fear love is to fear life.” Don’t be afraid to love generously.
When you leave this place that has been your home for the past many years, leave a little bit of your heart behind.
My dear children, I wish you love.
Namaste.
Dr. Abraham George
