Hello I am Ankit Sisodia. I am 22 years old. I hail from India,
which can be rightly said to be first and foremost, the country of
Peace. I was born in 1986 and in the 1990's the country saw a lot
of social change, with the middle class growing and expanding. I
was lucky to attend one of the finest schools of India, Delhi
Public School.
The motto of Delhi Public School is "Service before Self". And
since its inception, the values that the school instilled in its
students were of Freedom, Independence and Interdependence,
Co-operation and Sharing and most importantly Secularism. By
Secularism I mean that students were not distinguished on the basis
of Caste, Creed, Colour, Religion and Sex. It was an enlightening
experience because as a student I saw that the older generation had
pre-conceived notions which were hard to change.
I was born in to the Religion of Jainism. Jainism along with
Buddhism has its roots in ancient India, about 2500 years ago. Its
basic views are based upon Non-Violence, to humans and animals,
Vegetarianism, and a strong urge to stay committed and disciplined
while worshiping God. As a young boy it was hard to understand the
logic and reason behind such strong beliefs which are hard to
follow in a modern world. For instance, it says no to eating when
there is no Sunlight. My grandmother, who is complete devotee, has
been practicing this way to God, even though she has multiple
diseases in the form of Cancer, Diabetes, Parkinson's Disease etc.
She is 80 and has been a role model for all the family members.
I do not intend to champion the cause of Jainism but I intend to
tell you that a determined effort along with a determined way of
Life goes a long way in maintaining Peace of Mind, and ultimately
Peace in the Country. We often get distracted from negative aspects
of Life but if we start cherishing Life's simple joys and letting
go of our Ego, we will see that Joy lies in Peace, and Peace lies
in Joy.
I went to Banaras Hindu University in the city of Varanasi, a holy
city to Indians of all faith, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam
and Christianity in that order. For Hindus the city defines the
world as it is believed to be one of the oldest surviving cities of
the world. Gautum Buddha gave his first sermon in that city and in
Jainism one out of its 24 TirthAnkaras was born there. I was
blessed to receive such an enormous amount of energy and am truly
proud of all what I have learned.
I intend to study the nature of Human Migration, its pros, cons and
how things can be done better for Humans to explore opportunities
beyond man-made borders and boundaries.
A born activist has to spread the word of how to maintain peace,
calm and true silence when the world seems to be full of noises,
unheard of before the 20th century.