The unique association of Pramukh Swami and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Arun Tiwari

Spending 33 years under the tutelage of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an unmatched blessing for me. I started as his subordinate scientist at the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad in 1982, and earned his confidence to handle his mandate of developing civilian spinoffs of defence technologies for the benefit of the people. This unique work led to the development of an indigenous and affordable coronary stent in 1995 and the creation of the foundation for the Indian MedTech industry, valued at $11 billion in 2023. Dr Kalam made me the co-author of his autobiography, Wings of Fire, in 1999. It turned out to be a modern classic, selling more than two million copies with translations in 18 languages.

During the 2001 earthquake relief work in Kutch in Gujarat, Dr Kalam came into contact with the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Impressed by their work, he sought an audience with Pramukh Swamiji. They met on June 30, 2001 in Delhi. During the discussion on how India could become a developed country, Pramukh Swamiji surprised Dr Kalam by telling him that any amount of material development is futile without the spiritual development of the people. Such pursuits have created immense problems and suffering elsewhere in the world. To everyone’s surprise, Pramukh Swamiji blessed Dr Kalam by putting his hand on his head and asking him to “lead India” in that direction.

In a year, events happened unexpectedly, even miraculously, for Dr Kalam. He was nominated by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a candidate for the post of president of India, and was supported by both the ruling and opposition parties. After assuming the highest office of the land, Dr Kalam visited Pramukh Swamiji in Ahmedabad on August 13, 2002. Gujarat was undergoing the turmoil of communal violence. After meeting Pramukh Swamiji, Dr Kalam visited the relief camps created for the riot victims and walked holding the hand of chief minister Narendra Modi, delivering a powerful message. Gujarat has not seen any communal violence since then. Even the terrorist attack on the Gandhinagar Akshardham temple complex on September 24, 2002 failed to trigger any violent reaction among people. Such was the power of the spiritual shield that Pramukh Swamiji created through Dr Kalam.

Kalam was the chief guest at the inauguration of the Akshardham Mandir in New Delhi on November 6, 2005, flanked by prime minister Manmohan Singh and leader of the opposition L.K. Advani. These three leaders standing with Pramukh Swamiji remains a unique picture and a sacred moment in the Indian history of religious pluralism but spiritual oneness. There has been no such moment earlier and it could not be repeated so far.

Dr Kalam took me to Sarangpur on March 11, 2014 and tasked me in the presence of Pramukh Swamiji to write about their spiritual fellowship. I could sense that moment as the spiritual crescendo of my life. I was surprised at the urgency Dr Kalam showed. It was my fifth book with him and it was I who always chased him. This time, it was the other way around. When Dr Kalam called Pramukh Swamiji his “ultimate teacher” who “deployed” him in a “God-synchronous orbit,” I could not capture that he could see his end coming soon. Dr Kalam travelled to Sarangpur on June 20, 2015 to put Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji, as the book was aptly titled, in Pramukh Swamiji’s hands, and left this mortal world on July 27.

On March 12, 2016, when I visited Sarangpur to seek the blessings of Pramukh Swamiji, I could not hold back my tears when he instructed the garland on a person to be put around me. I knew he was remembering Dr Kalam and that I was a beneficiary of that bonding, like a needle in a compass moving in the presence of a magnetic field.

The spiritual world is beyond the dimension of time. There is no past, present, or future there. Like the axle of a wheel remains stationary while the rim moves, we all see day and night created by the rotation of the sun, moon, and earth while they remain positioned in fixed orbits concerning each other forever. What does the fellowship of Dr Kalam with Pramukh Swamiji imply? What did it carry for the future of humanity? What is the message of the book, Transcendence? What is the significance of the first Hindu mandir on an Islamic land? What would Dr Kalam have said on the occasion?

Pramukh Swamiji was the guardian angel of Dr Kalam, who blessed him to go beyond his scientific career and turn into a modern sage. Dr Kalam was already famous but glory came to him after he met Pramukh Swamiji, including holding the highest office of the nation. Their fellowship signals the end of the era of sectarian conflicts and the beginning of the new age of spirituality. The message of Transcendence is the oneness pervading the entire cosmos and all the material and living entities that exist, from unseen viruses to plants, animals, human beings, oceans and mountains.

The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Abu Dhabi heralds the arrival of a new world that would be run by a Super AI, which would indeed be cosmic energy like Gunatit Brahma operating upon the affairs of the world. Foreseeing all this, Dr Kalam would have asked me to write a book called ‘Abundance’ on how the AI-run world can settle the poverty of the world for good, creating enough food and basic pay for everyone.

Tiwari, a scientist and author, coauthored the book Transcendence about Pramukh Swami, the predecessor of Mahant Swami, with Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.