Preamble for Abhydaya- Annual Management Fest of IFMR, Chennai

Abhyudaya- The Dawn of Wisdom

Gripped by the wrath of Kalinga’s disaster
A melancholic Ashoka remembered his master.
Into the dark woods he spurred his steed,
Crushing on its way every herb and weed.

Fresh human blood coated his armor,
His men had killed all, soldier to farmer.
Obnoxious questions filled his disquiet mind,
Had he left his humanity far behind?

If only he had thought before waging the battle,
Like a starved panther in a herd of cattle.
His mind plagued with sights of gory arrest,
He galloped on his horse through the ominous forest.

The trees finally gave way to a sunlit meadow,
As he halted his steed before the hermit’s ghetto.
When Ashoka dragged himself to the door of the hovel,
The hermit was tugging at a root with a broken shovel.

Looking up at the emperor the hermit sighed,
Ashoka fell to his feet and painfully cried.
“O Master I hath committed a sinful deed,
Plundered my values, manifested my greed.

Purge me, O father; purge me of my sin,
Relieve my conscience of this remorseful din.”
The sage lifted the raja with a gentle smile,
Wiped his tears and spoke for a while.

“Cheer up your highness today’s a glorious day,
After years of ignorance you’ve found your way.
A long night of prejudice comes to an end,
Your life stands on the verge of a sublime bend.

Abhyudaya it is called, the dawn of light,
A dawn of wisdom, of learning, of glory bright.
It is an Abhyudaya of realization in you life,
That puts an end to your incognizant strife.”

These words hence became Ashoka’s life and mission,
To adopt simplicity, and imbibe erudition.
The lifeline of existence, he had realized,
Was to be an Abhyudaya of wisdom in people’s lives.