Having heard only about Ashish Merchant, President of the National Council and never having had the opportunity to meet a ‘President’, it almost felt like being invited for a prestigious award ceremony. Don’t blame me! The term Mr. President can have that effect on you as well!
For once in a lifetime comes an opportunity of meeting someone holding a key post. I was on cloud no 9 as I was getting dressed to make an impression. The breakfast session laid a wholesome and a succulent menu of appetizing dishes in the buffet area, but the mind was starving for more; the much anticipated interaction with Man of the hour.
Indeed, there rarely comes an event that fuels the mind, tantalizes our taste buds, and tugs at our emotional drawstrings all at the same time. No sooner than Mr. Merchant, stepped in, we were instantaneously awed by his aura. Armed with a gentle demeanor and an electrifying smile, Mr. Merchant took no time in weaving everyone in a tapestry of his conversational skills. The interaction was both stimulating and enlightening.
The President had interesting anecdotes up his sleeve and maintained the tempo of the talk all throughout the session, shared some interesting insights into philosophies of great men like Daniel Kahnman. This strongly established a fact that if one wants to grow and gain a deeper understanding of things; it is important that one reads and vows to continuously upgrade himself. No wonder he could hold the conversation at its highest peak without ever letting our attention span and eyes leave him… lest we wanted to treat ourselves with another helping of the chicken sandwich.
The meeting was a melting pot of ideas, steaming with thoughts that opened doorways to new knowledge, new skills and new philosophies and environments throbbing in a globalised world. It gave us all a glimpse of how if we learn to have an open mind, the world will truly be ours.
The breakfast session was a platform to share views and opinions about the various AKDN projects taking place across the length and breadth of the country as well as the work undertaken by the Imamat. The goal was to create a sense of awareness about AKDN programs, its outreach and outcomes, to foster a sense of belonging, ownership, love and pride among the youth of our community and to understand the rationale for various Imamat endeavours.
The President drew parallels and illustrated metaphors as he addressed the questions that came to him. Finding meaning to your life experiences, you will be able to develop a harmony with your inner self and the outside world. He emphasized the importance of building inner resources and inner thoughts in order to give meaning to experiences.
We wish programmes like this keep happening time and again so that we too can learn how to be a greater version of ourselves so that we can be more useful to our community and the world at large. So when program gets announced in your region, don’t bat an eyelid, just say yes to be a part of the program!!
