New Delhi, 30 November 2023
The 6th International Conference of Multinational Enterprise and Sustainable Development (MESD'23) Association, with the theme - Sustainable Business Strategies, Models and Values: Role of MNE Strategy, National Policies and Global Partnerships was held on 29 and 30 November, 2023 at the University of Delhi. It was a brilliant confluence of students, research scholars, policy makers, industry delegates and educators, and this evening, Thursday 30 November, the two-day conference concluded with Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai presiding over the Valedictory Session as the Chief Guest. Shri Rajeev Kher, (Former Commerce Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India) Dr. S P Sharma (Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary General PHD - Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Prof. Rabi Narayan Kar (Principal, Shyam Lal College - University of Delhi), Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh (Head and Dean Department of Commerce - University of Delhi) and Prof. Niti Bhasin (Department of Commerce - University of Delhi) also shared stage at the Valedictory Session. The event was hosted by the Department of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce and Business, University of Delhi in partnership with Sri Sathya Sai University For Human Excellence, SSSUHE.
Addressing the students, makers of this country and the world, who were part of the gathering about Sustainability which was the main theme of the conference he said, “India always stood for Sustainability. Whenever we did something, we always thought if the next generation would be able to continue it, in the smallest to the biggest way. Sustainability was never a discussion or a debate; it was part of the Indian way of life.
When Gandhi Ji was asked to summarise his philosophy of life in three words, he quoted from the Isavasya Upanishad and said ‘Tena Tyaktena Bunjitha’ - Consume with a sense of sacrifice; don’t consume more than your need and leave the rest for others who are more needy. The second part of the same shloka, says - ‘Ma Grdhah Kasya Svid Dhanam’ - Do not take another man’s wealth; this means, do not take from the pool of resources which you don’t need. Such wonderful concepts from our scriptures kept our society sustainable. Even if we had the money to buy or the power to acquire, or the position to grab, we never did it. We always took only what was needed, and sacrificed for the sake of others.
Therefore, even in today’s time and age, Sustainability is equal to sacrifice - if we are willing to sacrifice a bit of our wants and desires, and share what we have with more people, we will become sustainable. So, in one simple phrase - Sustainability is ‘give more and take less’.”
Sri Madhusudan Sai giving the valedictory speech as chief guest at the 6th MESD'23 Conference at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
Sri Madhusudan Sai went on to talk about the different sects in the society - the capitalists (who take more and gives less), the socialists (who give more and take more), the minimalists (who take less and give less) and the spiritualists (who give more and take less). He said, “the need of the hour is spiritualism; and in one word, spiritualism is selflessness - to think about others before we enjoy anything and this is the scriptural injunction we bring forth as India. While we say Recycle, Reduce and Reuse, I would like to add the fourth R - Refuse. Simply refuse what you don’t need.”
“Can there be a more solid and fool proof formula for Sustainability?”, he asked everyone.
Concluding his riveting talk, Sri Madhusudan Sai said, “the whole world talks about environmental, social and economic sustainability. Everything boils down to whether we are willing to sacrifice a bit of our wants and desires for the greater good of all. Thus, the most important value is sacrifice. In the Valmiki Ramayana, the model of sustainability as Ramrajya has been mentioned were all abided by dharma which is - doing the right thing; no one uttered a lie, all were free from greed and happy doing what they had to, and thus, everything was driven by sathya (truth) and dharma (righteousness). So, let us dream of a developed nation based on the Valmiki Ramayana for equitable and happy societies.”
The evening concluded with Sri Madhusudan Sai giving away certificates to the best research abstracts that were submitted as part of the two-day conference.
September 12th, 2023
