"I am happy to be amongst you to participate in this ceremony to dedicate the ancestral home of former President K.R. Narayanan for the establishment of the Nava Jyothishree Karunakara Guru Research Centre for Ayurveda and Siddha. This is a noble gesture by a gracious family, which is doubly significant because of the purpose for which the building is being used - which is the promotion of our traditional systems of medicine, Ayurveda and Siddha. Just as Shri Narayanan symbolizes human achievement through intellectual endeavour, Ayurveda and Siddha represent the pinnacles of Indian traditional scientific enquiry in the area of healing. Today's event is truly a homage to our tradition of giving primacy to knowledge.

The remarkable story of Shri K.R. Narayanan's success in the face of adversity is both a tribute to his own innate courage and wisdom, as much as it is to the defining ideals of our sacred Republic. In recognizing and honouring the achievements of this very remarkable former President of India, we not only honour Narayanan-ji personally, we honour all that he stands for.

It is instructive for our youth to study the life and achievements of Shri Narayanan, for the lessons we can learn from that study. As a student, it was his rare qualities of perseverance combined with high intellectual capabilities that made him stand out among his peers. As a diplomat, Narayanan ji served in many important missions abroad, including in our neighbourhood. He had many firsts to his credit, including the distinction of being hand-picked to be India's first Ambassador in China after a gap of over 15 years. And of course, in the higher echelons of government, Shri Narayanan has held most important offices prior to becoming the President of our Republic. As President, he brought rare intellectual ability, rare dignity and his unique brand of wisdom to this highest Office in our land. For every Indian, his presence in Rashtrapati Bhawan was an enduring source of pride. We salute you, Sir, for what you have achieved, and for the high ideals, standards you have set for all of us to emulate in life. and on this rare occasion I would like to pay tribute to Gowriamma for the inspiration she has provided.

I find it most appropriate that through the dedication of the ancestral home of Shri Narayanan to the Shantigiri Ashram, we are linking the extraordinary life of President Narayanan with the efforts of the Shantigiri Ashram, both in terms of what they seek to do for society and for the cause of indigenous systems of medicine. The work that you are doing in blending the ancient medical precepts of Siddha and Ayurveda has great relevance in our modern age. One common aspect to both the sciences of Ayurveda and Siddha is the focus on compassion for one's fellow man, and in a compassionate vision of the world. In his "Legacy of Charaka", Dr. M.S. Valiathan wrote "Ayurveda owes its call not to selfish glaos of worldly pleasure, but to compassion for fellow beings. in seeking to know my legacy, you have but seen the leaves of a universal tree, too vast to your eyes". Both systems are based on a fundamental harmony between humankind and sacred environment. Siddha and Ayurveda see the universe as the macrocosm within which we must all function.

It is an ironic part of our rediscovery of our own heritage that we have begun to learn of the benefits of our traditional systems of medicine through diffusion from the west. Today, we witness a dramatic revival in the international medical community in the sciences of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and other systems of medicine, but we in India do not as yet give adequate importance to this inheritance. As we all know, our traditional medical systems emphasize the merits of preventive rather than curative medicine. Therefore, given the vast size of our population and our urgent need for innovative health care solutions, we should examine our inheritance in the field of healing for the possible answers that we may obtain for the future. All over the world there is a growing recognition that the western hospital oriented system of medicine is proving to be much too expensive and a waste of resources. We must use our ancient traditions creatively to ameliorate suffering and disease among our people.

As I see it, the challenge before us today is to recognize the rational principles that were intrinsic to these systems of knowledge. We have often gone wrong in trying to validate one system of knowledge with the normative postulates of another. These are complete systems in their own right, and it must be our effort to explore the contemporary relevance of this great storehouse of knowledge which is our proud inheritance.

I am sure that this Research Centre that is being set up for Ayurveda and Siddha in the ancestral home of esteemed Shri K.R. Narayanan and Gowriamma and their family would contribute to enhancing our knowledge in these areas of traditional medicine. Knowledge is all about giving, and through this gracious act, the family of Shri Narayanan and Gowriamma has reinforced our belief in the Indian tradition of the gift of knowledge, which is the greatest gift of all."