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Dr. R.Venugopalan: Iconic Education Transformers Of 2021 Award | Excellence In Teacher Training
RNTalks: Good morning, Dr. R.Venugopalan. It’s great to be chatting with you here. Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: I, Dr. R. Venugopalan is known as Maitreya is an Academician, Social Worker, Educator, Poet, Author, Conscious Awakener, Peace Builder, Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer, Spiritual thinker, Mystic, Acupuncturist, Astrologer, Nadi Vijnani, Marma expert, Yoga Shiromani.
I am a holder of 8 world records as the highest educated person. Written 75 highly well-appreciated books, trained more than 2 Lakh people, and provided Free Healing to more than 5 Lakh people, running charity organization Soul Searchers having a reach of 525000 families.
RNTalks: Wow that’s awesome. Indeed it’s a pleasure knowing you. can you share your hobbies that de-stress you and what do you like to do when you’re not on job?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: I love to listen to Music, Read, and Travel.
RNTalks: Even I love to listen to music. It is a great stress buster. Dr. R.Venugopalan, was there ever a time you messed up and felt like you’d failed? How did you bounce back then?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: We have been working with urban poor children in Bengaluru through my Trust named SOUL SEARCHERS for over the last two decades. The biggest challenge for us was to educate children of the moving labor population.
We tried for nearly 2 years but every attempt of ours to reach our goals was rejected by the people.
We continued our efforts and we started working on the TOP-DOWN approach by starting with convincing the parents about the stability and career needs of children, it took us time to bring about a sense of understanding and acceptance.
We contacted builders in the close localities so that the stability in the work of parents was first taken care of.
Post that we formed our own 7 teams led by a leader. The duties of the Leader were to guide the group as well adopt the children for educational purposes.
We took Audio-Video presentations and Animations to train the children for the next year and then we tried to get them admitted to the main schools.
In the next 4 years, we were able to admit nearly 172 children into main schools sponsored by donations and under the leaders.
RNTalks: Wow that is some achievement! What are your views on risk-taking? Have you taken risks in life? How did you learn to embrace risk-taking?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Risks are part of life and we need to take risks but we should also be clear about the goals ahead in life.
This pattern of living a life allows one to go deeper within oneself for the result of the risk is felt, seen, realized and then only one jumps into the path without an iota of remorse or guilt which leads to success
RNTalks: True I believe that you have to get out of your comfort zone and take a few risks in life. You will either be successful or get valuable lessons in life. Dr. R.Venugopalan can you tell me about a recent business/professional setback, if any. How did you recover?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Setbacks are common and natural when we are striving to take many people along who have different mindsets, thoughts, and understanding.
It is not easy for people to gauge the vision and purpose for which they have associated with a team and this results in short-term setbacks.
We too had and still have setbacks but with the passage of time we have found multiple ways to handle the situation and scenario in a way that allows everyone to fall back into the same focus and clarity needed to walk on the path
RNTalks: You know your calm demeanor and will to take on challenges is so inspiring. Now I would like you to think back to five years ago. Did you envision your career as it is today? What are the changes that you can see?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Thank you so much! Our work requires a deep understanding of the human psyche and surely it is not an easy path.
For last more than two decades, we are looking and working with people to bring about a change in the way of thinking and becoming more deeper and transcending the conditional path.
Surely in the last five years, things have changed for the better and it has helped us to meet new people, expand our horizons and connect to the source of inspiration so that we all move in the same direction.
RNTalks: Dr. R.Venugopalan, was there ever a role you applied for and landed, but weren’t 100% qualified to do? How did you proceed from there?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: I have been an academic student and still, now I am a student, So over the last 28 years. With an experience of 30 years of corporate experience including 9 years of Government experience, I have done 3 Medical Degree’s, 12 Master Degree with Hundreds of Diplomas and Certificate courses, that has been recorded in European World Book Record, Exclusive World Book Record, Forever Star World Record, The WAC Global Book Of Records, Cholan World Record and many more.
But the beauty is the utilization of vast knowledge that is by connecting the dots in the most appropriate manner allowing me to give back to society in a fruitful manner by training, lectures, and unique ways of teaching, allowing me to provide training to more than Five lakh people and much free training in schools, colleges, community centers, and corporate sectors and even in the Tihar Jail.
Having written more than 75 books and 5000 articles, that allows people to realize the depth within in a better manner. More than 100 National and International Awards have been received for the training, education, and social causes.
I always believed in my life that success can never be owned, it is rented and every day one should be ready to pay the due.
RNTalks: The more you reveal about yourself the more interesting this conversation gets. Looking back what do you wish you had known before taking your first responsible role?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: When I look back the first important thing I realized is one shouldn’t believe others will follow or do things based on the aspects of friendship.
RNTalks: This is so true. Even I have experienced it at times. In fact, I feel that expectancy breeds discontentment. So, in your journey of life so far which leadership skills were the most difficult to develop?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Team building and Core strength building.
RNTalks: Somewhere at some point in our lives, everyone encounters a difficult boss. Can you tell me about a time when you had a difficult boss? How did you handle the situation?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Yes, I had a boss who was very difficult to work with, for his lack of understanding of work, the pattern of thinking, and looking for use of overcontrol was a big problem for the team to handle.
The way we found was to bring about more and more technical details in a simplified manner for him to understand the ways are not as simple as it looks and has far-reaching repercussions.
It was a team effort to train the Team Leader to realize the folly, but surely we never wanted to take a negative approach, so it was a process of learning for both sides and over a period of time we found him change and then we truly found that he is fear of not qualified for the job created this issue. Even after three decades we still are in touch and he has become a close friend.
RNTalks: You know Dr. R.Venugopalan, your positive way to approach things is an eye open for those reading this. What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable and helped you grow?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Learn, expand, create, spread, and then again learn to begin the cycle again.
RNTalks: How did you develop the skill of speaking so engagingly in front of groups?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Being a poet and a storyteller, it was quite easy to talk in front of people. Talking to the mic without anyone in front was a difficult thing for me, but over a period of time that too has come been overcome.
RNTalks: One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is the gift of self-awareness, meaning the ability to see yourself as others view you. How do you think others perceive you?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Perception is relative and dependent upon the need, desire, and love of the person. I am blessed to have many people who love me immensely and deeply.
RNTalks: Dr. R.Venugopalan, is there a skill you’re currently working to enhance, such as project management, long-term strategic planning, delegating, or public speaking?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Creating a better PR approach and being able to talk about myself for the world to know what I need to convey.
RNTalks: There is so much to learn from you! As a mentor what do you think are the 3 main areas for improvement in today’s education system?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: According to me, three main areas for improvement in today’s education system are:
- Teachers should be learners with a passion for newer generations are quite comfortable with electronic gadgets and newer technology. But even now Teachers struggle to enhance their knowledge on the technical front by reading and working with more and more technical gadgets. For a learned person only can say about the status of technological problems and restrictions and also about the advantages of the same
- Education transcending the boundaries should be crucial for with the passage of life one may need to go beyond the traditional pattern of higher education
- Eminent people who have deep knowledge and passion for creating awareness should be the people who have power to create policies based on the trend and also suggestions and recommendation from the people in the field of education and research.
RNTalks: From your point of view, what should be the role of technology in the process of education?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Tomorrow is the world of technology and it has been triggered more strongly due to the covid scenario.
Hands-on training needs people in person, but online in itself has great possibilities for it allows every student to learn-relearn the topics again and again thus creating a deep understanding of the concepts in a better manner.
RNTalks: What do you think should be the main goal of a school principal/education?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: To make sure that education should be supported by the Holistic development of the students who have come to learn
RNTalks: Absolutely agree with you. If you should characterize a great school principal/mentor with three words, which words would you choose?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Learner, Aware and Passionate
RNTalks: You have such vast experience do you think that the school principal should teach? If they should, why?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Becoming a better human being. For most of the academic education is focussed on jobs and career, but there are no course or pattern that allows one to be trained for being humane. This is a subtle topic and a deep one too so a highly experienced person such a subject is truly worth
RNTalks: Dr. R.Venugopalan from your point of view, what should be the relationship between a mentor/principal and the students?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Teacher, Friend, Philosopher, and Guide is the ideal relationship between a mentor/principal and the students.
RNTalks: As a principal, how would you go about building a relationship of trust and collaboration with staff, parents, and students?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: This can be achieved by creating awareness through real efforts and love.
RNTalks: What experiences have you had in working with RTE/low-income and “at-risk” students? What strategies do you use when working with them to give them an even platform of growth like other privileged students?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: I have been working with the Low-Income group for the last 30 years and surely it is a tough thing.
RNTalks: What is your opinion about the new education policies and ever-changing scenario during COVID time?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: The new education policy is a wonderful and new horizon for all seekers of knowledge for it allows those who seek to learn to expand and reach higher horizons through the path of inner quest and passion.
The covid scenario turned the way of learning in India from the normal cycle and pattern of education to the online mode allowing more and more innovative ideas for providing education through audio and video mode.
RNTalks: Can you please share your top 3 innovative ideas that you have implemented in your teaching in the past two years during the Pandemic to improve the wellness quotient of your students.
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Sure, I would love to. I feel…
- All the pattern of learning begins with memory and we powered the memory through audio and video presentation in a live interactive session with lots of auditory medium for support and clarification of doubts
- It is not easy to comprehend the expanse of Consciousness, so while educating we used tools in real life at Body, Mind, and Emotional levels to bring the depth of the learning in the most subtle manner so that it becomes embedded in the memory with visuals and experience they have lived through
- Yoga, Stress Management and Meditation at deeper levels for relaxation was introduced with greater emphasis for the learners to connect with themselves in the most natural manner without getting affected by the external mediums
RNTalks: Give one example of your teaching experience where your teaching and interaction with students has changed the direction of at least one life for the better.
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Our teaching has been starting from the grass root levels and urban poor, thus we started with training them to serve and share the morsel of food and happiness with their families and society going through such life.
The happiness of children and contentment seen was so deep that they became volunteers of charity activities and training.
RNTalks: Do you have any role models in your life?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: My Guru, parents.
RNTalks: This teacher’s day you received the prestigious RSRA: Iconic Education Transformers of 2021 Award at RNTalks Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Awards under the category of Excellence In Teacher Training. Please accept our heartiest congratulations on receiving the award. How do you feel about it?
Dr. R.Venugopalan:
RNTalks: WOW, that’s awesome! Dr. R.Venugopalan, on behalf of RNTalks, I wish you all the best for your future in mentoring. Any special message or any suggestions you would like to share with your visitors/fans which you think would help them evolve as an individual?
Dr. R.Venugopalan: Be ready, aware, and be inquisitive for only then does life transforms.
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