A Father Prepares for a Dream Mission to the Moon, His Daughter for the Universe
From exploring the vast outer space to embarking on his inner journey, the expedition of Dr. P. Veeramuthuvel, Project Director of Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission, has been scintillating and exciting, to say the least. When we caught up with this scientist-cum-engineer from Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, he spoke to us about the correlation between spirituality and space exploration, as well as the amazing blossoming of his daughter, a student of Isha Samskriti.
Veeramuthuvel anna as a student
A Dream Come True
As a student of engineering, I nurtured a dream – to work in the field of space in ISRO. But it took me some years to get there. After completing my M. Tech in Mechanical Engineering, I spent some years in a private company, and then in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru. During this period, I never lost focus on my ultimate destination – ISRO.
In 2004, I finally fulfilled my dream. Since then, I have had the privilege of working on a string of challenging assignments in a multidisciplinary environment like ISRO. It has been an immense learning experience as I was assigned various projects on remote sensing satellites, the Mars Orbiter Mission, also called Mangalyaan, and more recently, Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3. During this period, in 2011, I joined IIT Madras and completed my Ph.D.
On a Moon Mission
After the success of the Mars orbiter, our focus shifted to the Moon, and I was appointed the Associate Project Director in the Chandrayaan-2 project, in which we faced a setback as we could not successfully soft-land on the lunar surface. Now, the Government of India has given me another mission – Chandrayaan-3. In November 2019, the Chairman of ISRO and the Director of my center appointed me as the Project Director for this next lunar mission.
Before embarking on this momentous and challenging journey, I sought Sadhguru’s blessings. It was my good fortune that I met Sadhguru in person with my wife at the Isha Yoga Center and got his blessings and good wishes for the success of this project. We are aiming to make a soft landing on the lunar surface and become the fourth country in the world to achieve this after the USA, China, and Russia.
Chandrayaan
Inner Experience Versus Space Research
Though space exploration has made progress and scientists across the world are striving hard to explore outer space with the help of cutting-edge technology, what we know about outer space is still very limited when compared to the mystics who have fascinating and profound insights into our inner as well as outer spaces.
We have been sending satellites to the Moon, Mars, and even planned for Venus. I have read the best scientific journals, my research papers have been published in highly reputed journals, and even as the Project Director of Chandrayaan-3, I have spent a lot of time studying how to build a landing vehicle, how to achieve a safe and soft landing on an unknown terrain, and how to master satellite technology. I have seen cutting-edge technology, but still, I would say that our exploration and the information we have gathered about other planets are quite limited.
Listening to Sadhguru speak on these subjects has led me to realize that whatever understanding he has is experiential in nature and beyond whatever understanding we have right now. I believe that Yoga or turning inward is the best way to gain in-depth experiential knowledge about everything – even space. The scientific community, on the other hand, will have to invest a lot of money and time to understand outer space, and even then, the knowledge acquired may be very limited.
Mahashivratri 2009
Launching My Inner Exploration
In 2009, I learned about Inner Engineering from one of my friends, who was also my M. Tech classmate. I saw a marked change in him as he began doing his daily practices. He also told me that he was feeling much better, and that made me think. One day, he took me to the Mahashivratri event. I stayed awake the whole night, participated in the midnight meditation, and felt an intense desire to learn Inner Engineering. The next time the course was being offered, I got enrolled. At the end of the course, on the seventh day, I could feel a lot of changes within myself.
Until that point in time, I was not even aware of all these aspects of my inner space. I continued my practice twice daily for the stipulated 40 days, and I felt wonderful. Then I wanted to explore further – all the advanced courses. The very next month, I attended a Hatha Yoga program and followed it up with Bhava Spandana the month after that.
Since I was the Project Manager for many satellites, I couldn’t get leaves often. So, I planned in advance and visited the Isha Yoga Center on certain weeks where I got a holiday on Friday. On these extended weekends, I attended Isha programs, poojas, volunteered at the Yoga Center, and completed various courses – Shakti Chalana Kriya, Shoonya meditation, and Samyama. Soon afterward, I also joined the Ishanga partnership with Sadhguru and started contributing to various Isha projects for the benefit of people.
Though my work at ISRO now prevents me from volunteering, I regularly do my two-hour practices, and that keeps me stable and far from worries.
Isha Samskriti: The Perfect Liftoff for a Child
After I started visiting the Isha Yoga Center and doing my practices daily, my wife also got inspired and attended an Inner Engineering Retreat at the Yoga Center in 2010. That became a turning point for her, and she became an ardent Isha follower. She has done a lot of volunteering at the Yoga Center. And every day, we start our sadhana together at 5 a.m. with Guru Pooja.
During our visits to the Yoga Center, since 2009, we were quite impressed by the Isha Samskriti style of education and the profound impact it has on its students. This led us to a decision – we wanted to put our daughter in Isha Samskriti. In fact, my wife was keener on following through with this decision.
I have been to the best education institutes like the National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), earned a doctorate, visited many countries, such as the USA and Canada for the Space Studies Program and International Conferences, and now I work in a premier institution like ISRO. But this traditional approach of Isha Samskriti always fascinated me.
Then one day, I heard Sadhguru speak on this topic, and that impressed me even more. He said that Isha Samskriti students are not for the university – they are for the universe. This thought touched me. He also said that given the right atmosphere and support for mental and physical growth, a child will naturally thrive and do the best in any circumstances they are put in.
When I was doing my schooling and later higher studies, I was not aware of that. So I thought that this will be the best way to prepare my daughter for future challenges, even though I know that she is not going to become an engineer or a doctor.
An Optimal Atmosphere for My Child to Thrive
I do miss my daughter when she is away at Isha Samskriti, but I can console myself because I know that she is in a consecrated space. That itself is a blessing, and also the fact that she is doing her best. We enjoy her company during her 21-day annual break, and when it is time for her to leave, I feel very emotional. But, it is for the larger good of our daughter who’s been in Isha Samskriti for six years now.
I see a lot of transformation, every time she visits home. She has no hesitation in doing any work and does everything with full focus and involvement. Whenever she comes home, she tells us about her stay, what new things she learned, like a classical dance form. It was a delight indeed to watch her perform Bharatanatyam for us. All these good qualities and skills that she has imbibed are very heart-warming and encouraging to see. We value her all-round development more than the formal education that most children get.
