When I was a college student, I learnt two important teachings.
Sri Ramakrishna says-"As a lamp does not burn without oil, so a man cannot live without God." A lecturer wrote this beautiful teaching in a blackboard, I was very much impressed. A professor of Aeronautical Engineering used to tell us a saying of Swami Vivekananda that "Imagination properly employed is our greatest strength, it goes beyond reason, it is the only light that can take us everywhere."

My respected Swami Nikhileswaranandji was talking to you in nice Hindi - very beautiful Hindi, likable Hindi, I feel, I must similarly talk to you in Tamil but very few of you know Tamil so I took the option of talking to you in English. However I am going to start with a Tamil poem written by Shri Subramaniam Bharati about 100 years ago. He wrote this while he was writing an epic , 'Panchali Satakam' based on the story of Mahabarata. Before writing the epic, he wants the blessing of Saraswati. I would like to share these six beautiful lines in Tamil with you.

"The scientists say that particles of the atom are ceaselessly orbiting, the astronauts say that all the planets are in orbit, all the stars are in orbit, I see the birds are also flying always in orbit, o mother Saraswati bless me so that my body and mind ceaselessly orbit around your feet and I am able to perform this work with your strength."

Yesterday I was in Rajkot. I visited the place where Mahatma Gandhi stayed and also the school where he studied. Today I am blessed to be in Porbandar , the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi who is a great personality not only of India but who is a great leader of the whole world. Today I had also the privilege of meditating in the room where Swami Vivekananda stayed for four months in Porbandar. I have a dream. These two great cities should be connected not with two lane road but with eight lane road and on both sides all along the road there will be gardens , spiritual Vrindavan with cultural centres on one side and technical gardens with scientific and technical institutions on the other side of the road. I personally believe these two cities should be great cities in the world map. Mahatma Gandhi gave us political freedom and Swami Vivekananda gave us spiritual freedom. And two great souls lived in two great cites! I was delighted to walk in these two cities.

Yesterday I met about 500 high school students in Rajkot.
I met one girl studying in 10+2. I asked her ,
"what will you do afterwards?"
She replied "I want to become a doctor","for what?", I asked
she didn't say that she wants to become rich or famous doctor.
She said, "I want to remove the pain of people." Such a powerful statement can come if the base of the land is very powerful.
Such statement can only come from a place like Porbandar or Rajkot.
Another boy I met.
I asked, "what do you want to do"
He said, "Uncle, I want to become a scientist "
I asked, "what will you do as a scientist"
He replied, "I want to make my country No 1."
so friends, great minds can be found among young people below 20 yrs. They are full of imagination.
Somebody asked me "What is your mission?" I answered, "I want to go to rural places to meet 100 thousand high school students by 2003."
I have visited many places Orissa, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya. I have visited Gujarat many times.
So far I have met about 22,000 high school students, I have to go a long way, by 2003 I have to meet 100000 students. You can ask me ,"Why? What is the purpose behind it?" I told you what happened yesterday in Rajkot I want to share their imagination which is so powerful. I want to be benefited by it. Secondly I want to talk to them, I can convince the young mind for national development and the love of nation.
One child asked me "Uncle, tell me what influenced you in your young age?"
Since I am at Porbandar where Mahatma Gandhi was born I want to share an incident. I was in VIIIth Std I was the monitor of my school. It was 14 Aug 1947. My teacher said that 12 O'clock midnight we are going to get freedom. I was to bring all students to the school to listen to the commentary on radio. Exactly at 12 O'clock the British flag was lowered and the Indian flag at Red Fort was hoisted. It was a beautiful experience. Panditji spoke in Hindi & English but I could understand neither because I knew only Tamil.

Next Day there were 2 photographs in the newspaper. First photograph was showing Panditji hoisting the flag. The second photo was my school education, my collage education and my life education; and what was that photograph ? Second photograph was showing Shri Mahatma Gandhi walking barefoot on the streets to remove the pain of the people as there were novakholi riots. Can you see the nobility of the leadership? Others were celebrating their success in the Red Fort. Mahatma Gandhi was not doing that. That clearly indicates he gave the position to other leaders but he removed the pain of the people. He was a great leader. That photograph had the beautiful influence on my life. We have to have nobility of life, nobility of leadership and nobility in whatever we do.

Friends, I want to tell you that you are living in India, that is a developing country. I want all of you to live in developed country, developed India. For that there is a plan of action, a Vision Document.

Technology Information Forecasting & Assessment Council, (TIFAC), of the country has brought a 20 volume document on how to transform India into a developed country. The document states that 300 million people, 1/3rd of people of India are living below the poverty line. To remove that poverty, it is necessary to double the GDP, the gross domestic product, the rate of growth. To double the GDP, five areas have been identified, these are:
(1) Agriculture & Food Processing
(2) Education & Health Care
(3) Information & Communication Technology
(4) Infrastructure Development, and
(5) Critical Technology.

A lot of people are needed to work for this Mission. The mission papers are with the Government and I hope will get approved any moment. Then hundreds of thousands of million people will have to work for it.

On the midnight of 15th October 2001, my friends asked me to issue two messages to the people who wish to interact with me. I said my message is only for the people below 20 years of age. Only those below 20 years should answer or discuss the questions. The two questions are the following :

(1) India is a developing country, compared to the developed G-8 countries. And the first question is, as a young girl or boy, how do you contribute to make your country, India, a developed country?

(2) Second question, when can I sing a song of India. When you sing a song of India you are happy. If you are offered good education, if you have good employment, if you have got vision in life and values, you will sing a song of India?

Both, transforming India into a developed country, and singing a song of India, is inter-connected, inter-related.

So, my friends I put two questions on the web-site. Within three weeks, I received 100s of thousands of answers from within India, and also from outside India/abroad. I am not going to talk to you all the 100s of questions, but four I have selected.

Four young people of below 20 years have told me how they will contribute for this country for transforming this developing country into a developed country.

One 16 years boy from Shillong, Meghalaya, says that he wants to become a teacher to remove the darkness of ignorance and illiteracy by the light of education. Or, he would become a soldier to defend the country. So either, he will remove the darkness of illiteracy or he will defend the country.

The second question, is answered beautifully by a 15 year old girls from Kottayam in Kerala. She says that she is like a flower, but she does not want to remain a flower. She defines that a flower gives perfume, beauty, and also honey. She wants to make a garland of flowers to work for creating the unity of the minds.

See the fertility, the imagination of the two young persons.

Third one, a boy from Rajasthan, wants to work like an electron. An electron, ceaselessly, continuously goes in orbit. The boy wants to contribute for the country by continuously working for the country.

The fourth boy, a 16 years boy from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, wants to sing a song of India to wish that India gets strength to put aside economic and technological sanctions put against India by other countries, indicating that he wants to work to make India a great country.

Now what can you do. You all are like the four young boys or girls from Meghalaya, from Kerala, from Rajasthan, and from USA. The message that these four young boys and girls have given is that they will work for removing the darkness of illiteracy, or defend the country, or work for the unity of minds for this Nation. Or ceaselessly work like an electron or give the Nation, the economic and technological strength.

Now friends, you all can correspond with me on my e-mail ID : apjabdulkalam@yahoo.com. You must answer the two questions that have been posed on my web-site on the Internet. The question is, how will you contribute for this country?

I have written, in English and Tamil, "The Song of The Youth". Swamiji is going to administer the Hindi translation of the oath that I shall give you in English. You have to repeat every sentence.

"The Song of The Youth".
As a young citizen of India,
Armed with technology and knowledge and love for the Nation,
I realize, I realize, Small aim is a crime.
I will work and sweat for a great vision,
The vision of transforming India,
Into a developed nation, and economic power with value system.
I am one of the billion citizens of India,
Only the vision will ignite the billion souls.
It has entered into an ignited soul,
Compared to any resource, that is the most powerful resource,
On the earth, above the earth or under the earth.
I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning,
To achieve the vision of developed India.
(A P J Abdul Kalam)