Cognizant Solutions

Saturday 15 May, 2004 — Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus

On 15 May, Amma inaugurated a satellite network that connects the four Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham campuses of Amritapuri, Cochin, Coimbatore and Bangalore. It is a large joint project involving the Indian government and leading IT industrialists. One of the partners is Cognizant Technology Solutions, a large international software company. The aim is to improve the learning and teaching possibilities through virtual classrooms.

In his speech during the inauguration, Cognizant's vice president, Mohan Narayanan, promised to strongly support the project, offering industry insight, student counseling and job placement for Amrita University graduates.

“This project is very significant because we want to work alongside educational institutes," he said in an interview with Amritapuri.org after the inauguration. "We want to align them to the goals and needs of the industry-sector. We want to support by helping and grooming the student. We chose the Amrita Campus because of the quality of the campus and the facilities and the quality of teaching that we saw there. Our company is based on the same values. We hold very high ethical values in the way we conduct our company and the way we do our business. It means we do it in an honest way and the people appreciate us for that. We tell them what we can do and what we cannot do. When there are problems, we go to the root and discuss it openly with our clients. When we cannot deliver, we are open about it, and our clients appreciate that. It has made our business grow from a two-million-dollar company in 1993 to a 360-million-dollar company in 2003. We went from a staff of 20 to 11,500 employees.

“I only met Amma briefly before in Chennai. Amma has a vision that none of us have. She knows much more than we do. How can we normal people understand what She is? If I could understand, I would also sit on a peetham!”

Cognizant's director of research, Vaidya V. Nathan, has been closely involved with the project set-up. When we asked him about the project, he said it was an extremely important development. "Just recently, Goldman-Sachs reported that India has the potential to become the third largest economic power in the world within the next 10 years. China has the potential to become the major industry producer in the world; India can become the same in the service industry. This whole project was conceived and developed in three months time, and it shows the enormous drive of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Our company is watchful in choosing our partners, but here we see a great potential!”

What makes the Amrita University so special?

“Amma is such an inspiring figure. For years, there was a brain-drain when the young and aspiring brains went abroad to make a career and make money. Someone like Amma can be the force that pulls them back. Material is only so much. Spiritual satisfaction is something else.”

“Amma is a lot more than words can express. She has many dimensions. Last night me and my family had the opportunity to get Her darshan. She talked about family life and family values. It was very inspiring because She made it all so simple. And the beautiful thing was that, as we were walking out, my nine- and 13-year-old children were summarising and quoting Her words! There are many people who know a lot, but there are only a few who know everything. Amma is one of them.”

How does Amma inspire you in your work in the business world?

“In the business world, it is very important to be honest. It is also very challenging because the competition is very strong, yet it is the only way. The last few years there were some big financial scandals in the industry, and it showed that there have been people who lost that honesty. Being in business requires that you are in touch with the world. Now how can you be in touch with the world if you are not in touch with the world within? Amma teaches the importance of this inner world. For me that is the inspiration.”

—Devadath