Cuttack (Odisha): Arnab Goswami, Republic TV editor-in-chief, said that he aspires India to have a presence in global media.

Goswami was addressing at the 9th Commencement Ceremony of Sri Sri University (SSU), held through virtual platform on Wednesday.

Arnab, who was the chief guest of the event, gave a deep insights and lessons for life to the students. He advised them that to grab and not let go a single opportunity. According to him, tenacity is the key to success and there is no alternative to hard work. He asked them to nurture risk-taking abilities with the readiness to play a fresh inning and it is a process of detoxifying. He shared his professional stories with students and guided to have following qualities viz., loose the fear of losing, maintain naturalness, listen to your heart, do not seek acknowledgements from peers, work for the country, have awareness, find your own way and not to copy, observe what motivates you, the right always wins. He inspired students to have an impossible dream with his word of wisdom.

When asked, how he handles fame, he replied with all humility that, fame will go away one day and looking upon the history makes one humble. He aspires India to have a presence in the global media. He opined that, Sri Sri University is not only giving education but also imparting much more to the lives of students.

The Commencement Day was celebrated to start the academic year 2020-21, with over 600 undergraduate and post graduate students from diverse fields viz., Commerce and Management, Agriculture, Architecture, Yogic Sciences, Osteopathy, Sanskrit, English, Physics, Computer Science, Journalism and Mass Communication, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Psychology and Animation in the presence of esteemed leaders from academia and the industry.
The ceremony started with the guru puja being performed by Narendra Lamba, Director Operations. Then there was singing of Saraswati Vandana and Odissi performance of Ganesh Vandana by the students of Performing Arts.

Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh, Vice-Chancellor, started the Commencement Day with a highly energizing introductory speech. He welcomed all the new incoming batch of students of various disciplines to the happiest campus with his words of wisdom. He told that the new batch of students to awaken their Brahma Shakti, Bishnu Shakti, & Shive Shakti through Gyan Shakti, Ichha Shakti, Kriya Shakti which each one of us are endowed with & we have to discover them through the processes which will start from today onwards in the form of well-structured induction programme.

Rajita Kulkarni, President, Sri Sri University delivered the Presidential Address and said, the challenging time has propelled us to think about the values of life. The pandemic has taken us from vanity to the substance and strength. She advised five immortal values to the new batch students as they are embarking a promising academic journey, viz., Be a learner, upskill always, take care of your body and mind, expand your horizon, stay positive.
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks offered by Prof. B. R. Sharma, Executive Registrar. The ceremony ended with the guests, dignitaries, faculty members, board of governors and students stood for national anthem.
The university, which was, established 2009 but became operational in 2012, by world-renowned spiritual leader, humanitarian and the Founder of The Art of Living, Poojya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji has the vision of integrating the best of Western innovation and the best of Eastern wisdom and values, which is bringing a lot of pride to the state of Odisha. More than 18,000 viewers in the Facebook watched the commencement day live.