Convocation Address (2009)

Good Afternoon. If you didn’t know, now you know. My name is Baruti KMT. And I am President of your Global Student Council. I was asked to come before you today to say a few words both to introduce myself and welcome you to the university.

But first off, I must offer profound thanks to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of this great university, for without whom those of us assembled here today would not have the opportunity to experience Consciousness-Based Education and all it offers not only us but the communities we individually and collectively serve.

Please. Thanks also go to the university’s Board of Trustees, the university’s President, Dr. Bevan Morris, our world class faculty, staff, administrators, and to each of you for choosing to assume ownership of your evolution and education by attending this seat of world consciousness.

Welcome, one and all!

Like many of you, I was guided here by a series of events which upon reflection seem magical in their execution yet beautiful in their simplicity. Like many of you I chose to attend this university out of the hundreds of options available for educational growth and career advancement. However, this university was chosen for its unique educational modality – that of Consciousness-Based Education.

That single element provides the opportunity to connect with like-minded people who recognize that to change the world one must first be a change agent; and to be an effective change agent one must have a tool with which to be that change. I quickly learned that tool is none other than the practice of Transcendental Meditation.

Over the last one year, four months, and six days since learning TM, including the eight months to the date of receiving the Siddhis, this journey has taken turns I had not consciously considered but nonetheless have served to place me in situations for rapid growth; thus allowing me to stand before you today.

For each moment and its opportunity for growth, I remain ever thankful. As for my program of study, I am in the Doctoral program in Maharishi Vedic Science and continue to enjoy my rich and rewarding experiences in ways I had not foreseen; but enough about me.

As I look around this room I see the faces of world-class dreamers. Dreamers who, like those who founded and worked diligently for this university, know deep within the core of their being that they too have the capacity to create a better world—a better place for all.

Like you, they knew that as with each great work of art – be it a painting, an architectural style, wonderfully written prose, or an idea so grand it may be believed impossible by many – the responsibility lies in advancing it for those who follow. Even if we nudge it but a step, nudge it we must. For in so doing we serve valiantly the cause of our personal and collective evolution.

On the matter of responsibility and “impossibility” I have learned very well, as Mr. Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, said “Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.”

Now, when I mentioned “dreamers” some of you may have disagreed. But I submit to you it is a very good thing to be a dreamer; as dreams may serve as a guide to a better—to create a better you—and a thus better tomorrow.

It has been said that “Dreams are like the rudder of a ship setting sail. The rudder may be small and unseen, but it determines the ship’s course.” So a life without dreams is like a ship without a rudder.

So I say to you, dream your grandest dream for not only yourself but for all with whom you come in contact. Dream of a world where the needs of all are met in the most efficient way possible. And dream of a day when each will have as you now have, the opportunity to realize, connect, and operate from the deepest most profound aspect of all that was, is, or ever will be.

Go ahead and dream of better you; not better than another, but better than you could have otherwise been. Again, I submit to you dreams and dreaming can be a very good thing.

Speaking of dreams, as president of your Global Student Council I have the privilege of working with a team of great minds. As a team, we’re here. We’re responsible. And we know that this world can be a better place by virtue of our individual and collective actions.

And for that, we are here to assist and serve you in helping you realise the greatest portion of who and what you are. As a team we are here to assist you in remaining ever-connected to that Divine spark which led you to M.U.M.

To that end, seek us out as you have need. And as you come to know us you will learn that we have open hearts, open minds, open ears, and perhaps most important, open hands to help, aid, and assist you in having the best, most rewarding time in, what I like to call, this magical place.

As you seek to remain ever connected to that Divine spark which led you to these shores, know that you are great and possess the capacity to make a significant and lasting contribution to the world and her people. Your time here will be precisely what you envision and thus make it.

As you have heard many times in recent months, you are the change you have been waiting for. Therefore, wait for no one to do the great things in the world you desire to experience. Wait for no one to take the lead and be of service to the best and greatest good for any and all people.

Wait for no one to hear the cries of our human family members who know not of their ever present connection to the guiding principles of life. But, step up to the plate and assume the role you are destined to assume in making this world a better place for all; be that role one of a documentary filmmaker, a sustainability consultant, a world class computer programmer or accounting professional, or even a professor of Maharishi Vedic Science.

Accept the responsibility with the glee of a six-year-old who’s riding a bike for the first time. Never lose your sense of wonderment.

In closing, each of us has a grand opportunity and an equally grand responsibility to do all within our ability to uncover and connect with the deepest aspect of the manifest world – that fundamental basis of all that was, is, or ever will be.

In learning of and connecting with our true selves, we will, collectively and individually, as Maharishi stated, “shine like stars in space” and thus be a shining example of Consciousness-Based Education and all it has to offer to the world and her people.

That being said, from my heart to yours, thank you for your time, attentive ears, and open hearts. And, lastly, welcome home!