A group of 22 undergraduate and postgraduate students along with two organisers from Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar who were recently in Pondicherry for a study camp visited Sri Aurobindo Society on June 1, 2023 for an interactive session with Dr. Beloo Mehra, Senior Academic Mentor, AuroBharati.

The 1.5 hour-long session focused on the theme – Who is an Aryan and what it means to build Aryan character. Dr. Mehra and Renaissance research assistant, Ms. Biswajita Mohapatra had prepared a small exhibition which they virtually showed to the group as part of the session.

Dr. Mehra while highlighting a few key ideas from Sri Aurobindo’s explanation on this topic led the students into a discussion on what misconceptions we have had regarding the word ‘Arya’. She also gave relevant examples to illustrate what Aryan character means in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s precise description. The interaction also included some points 

on how our education has mostly ignored this role of character formation, and how important it is for the nation-building. A reference was also made to the NEP 2020 in this regard.

Mr. Narendra Murty, who is a volunteer with the Renaissance journal also shared about his writing interests and highlighted how simple jokes and stories can be a great source of wisdom especially on character building.

After the session, the group enjoyed some snacks and juice and took in the sea view from the Society balcony.