Sophia Quiz on National Unity Day'18

"There is something unique in this soil, which despite many obstacles has always remained the abode of great souls” ~ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

31^st October is celebrated in India as the National Unity Day. Sophia Club, under the instructions of MUJ, held a Quiz for its members. The president of Club, Payal Mulani; BA Psychology 2^nd year, threw light on the great life of The Ironman of India. 

Before the quiz started, faculty coordinator of Sophia Club, Dr. Prof. Anthony S. Raj inspired the part takers about “Philosophy” as the Love of Wisdom and Wisdom of Love.  All of the members, including Anthony Sir, paid homage to the departed soul of Vallabhbhai Patel.

The quiz was based on the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and contribution towards Independence of India. The questions revolved around India before and after Independence and life of Patel. It was held in two rounds. The first round included all the participants who answered ten questions. All of them fared very well. The top five scorers made it to the final round in which level-up questions were asked.

We got a clear winner, Aman Tongia, B.Tech (Chemical Engineering) 2^nd year.

Dean Proctor of Student Affairs, MUJ, and our dear N.D. Mathur Sir gave his valuable words of appreciation to the Club and its members. We thank him for his presence on the occasion.

The event ended with a group picture and a heartfelt thanks to all the participants, Anthony Sir And Mathur Sir for their efforts and valuable time for Sophia Family. 

Thanking the Student Affairs, MUJ for giving us the opportunity. 

General Body Meeting- 2018

“The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing.”

The General Body Meeting of the Year 2018 was held on 22^nd of September in campus, MUJ. The now President, Payal Mulani, inaugurated the event by welcoming all the philosophy enthusiasts and specially Dr. Prof. Anthony Savari Raj. 

He has been nourishing Sophia from its roots to the very leaf. Being the faculty coordinator of the club, he has been very supportive and appreciative towards its activities and in reminding us that there is always room for better. The former president and General Secretary of the Club, Aparna Singh and Subhoshree Mitra joined us and increased the glory of the event.

Pranav Sirgur; 1^st Year B.tech, a proud member of Sophia, introduced Philosophy as being a broader term than usually used. It is the love of wisdom and wisdom of love; subject for some and a whole lifestyle for others. With that, he also introduced activities of the club: Discussion Forums, Debates, Rainbow Lectures, Guest Lectures, Research Methodology Classes, Harmony Trips, Movie Screening, The journal “Pratibimba”, and many more.

Anthony Sir dedicated his words to explain how this Epicurean Club; Sophia, will help you lead an epicurean life. An epicurean is a person who lives in the moment. Anthony sir defined Epicureanism as “Eat and Make Merry, as tomorrow we shall die”. He said that nothing lies in the reach of human intellect; it is all because of the collisions of atoms. Therefore, life should be passive experiencing what comes by without supposing ourselves to be capable of changing any situation.

On that note, The General boy Meeting was concluded by making the positions of the Core Committee and Organizing Committee open for Stage, Events, Art and Craft, and Promotions.

Sophia family happily and warmly extended its gratitude and welcomed its new members.

Release of The Second Edition Of "Pratibimba"

“Cogito Ergosum: I think, therefore I am”

The product of a thought, our annual journal “Pratibimba” came into being on 13th of April’17. The club released the second edition of its annual journal “Pratibimba” on the 4th of September. Payal Mulani, the current president of the club, greeted the audience and with great enthusiasm and commenced the program.

 The event could not get a better start than the Lighting of the Lamp which was done by Dr. G.K. Prabhu, President of Manipal University Jaipur; Prof. N.D. Mathur, Dean Proctor, Student Affairs, Manipal University Jaipur; Dr. Geetika Tankha, Head Of Department of Psychology, Manipal University Jaipur; Dr. Prof. Anthony S. Raj, Head Of Department of Arts and Faculty Coordinator of Sophia Club, and Aparna Singh (B-Tech ECE 4th Year) Outgoing president Sophia Club, Manipal University Jaipur.

Faculty Coordinator of Sophia Club, Dr. Prof. Anthony S. Raj, took privilege to welcome all the guests. He beautifully summed up what philosophy is and how Sophia Club has promoted Philosophy among the students of MUJ.

Aparna Singh, ECE 4th year, Outgoing President, Sophia Club, proudly stood up to introduce the Journal "Pratibimba" to the guests, tell them that the journal publishes research papers by the students and faculty of Manipal University Jaipur. She also introduced the activities conducted by Sophia Club, from Guests Lectures, debates, group discussions, to the harmony trip. She concluded by explaing that philosophy aims to provide a common platform for all students to exchange their intellectual thoughts and ideas and an outlet for dialogue on philosophical questions important in all walks of life.

Prof. N.D. Mathur, Director, Student Affairs, MUJ, was then invied on the  for his words of felicitation. He, in his speech, metaphorically summarized what a philosopher actually is, taking in consideration the fact that Philosophy is the mother of all other disciplines. He appreciated Sophia for being an active club, encouraging philosophy enthusiasts.

The release of "Pratibimba" was done by Dr. G.K. Prabhu, Prof. N.D. Mathur, Dr. Prof. Geetika Tankha, Dr. Prof. Anthony S. Raj, Ms. Roshani Babu (Professor, Department of Philosophy), Mr. Robin (Professor, Department of Philosophy). They showcased the cover page of the journal by cutting of the ribbons on the journal. They were assisted by Aparna Singh and Subhoshree Mitra (Outgoing General Secretary, Sophia Club). With that, a copy of the journal was gracefully handed over to the guests and the faculty.

Honorable President, Manipal University Jaipur, Dr. G.K. Prabhu addressed the audience with his words of blessing. He appreciated the scale of efforts being made by The Sophia, and all the other cultural clubs on focusing over the significance of extra-curricular activities in the campus. He very precisely explained why a leader should posses the skill of suffering and gaining experience. He emphasized on the fact that Experiencing is a Skill.

The event was successfully concluded by Subhoshree Mitra, 4th year, IT, and outgoing General Secretary, Sophia Club. She thanked the guests and faculties for their valuable presence.

-Subhoshree Mitra, General Secretary

Sophia Club organized a lecture which was held in March,2018 and our guest lecturer was Swami Shri Hari Prasad and along with our own HOD, Dept. of Arts, Prof. Dr. Anthony Savari Raj. 

After an opening and welcome by Sophia Club’s Vice President Sadvansha Munshi. Anthony sir welcomed Swami Ji, he then with a gleaming face, told us about his friendship with him and how open and big a heart he had. Swami Ji then started his lecture first by briefly explaining the four purusharthas, Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. He started the lecture with slight humour and told us that each separate person has his own understanding of these purusharthas and he could only impart to us what his own understanding was, we were free to learn and form and understanding of our own. To understand them we should know the words of the scriptures themselves, everybody does not believe and those who do believe, they believe in only some of them.

Swami Ji then explained dharma and how the four pillars which guided it, principle of righteousness, honesty of purpose, truthfulness and not hurting others. Following these life moves forward in a proper way. Dharma is culture 

specific; every place has their own traditions which they follow. Dharma has few more shastras under it, but to study them would take time. Then there is artha shastra, which dictates what a person aims in his life and how to achieve it. Many people have similar aims in life but they are never the same. Each person has a different outlook to life. How one achieves success in life and the morals which guide us to the right actions done in a proper way. A narrow mined person will take his decisions viewing those close to him as family and a deeper and more understanding person will take the same decisions viewing the entirety of the population and mother earth as his family. Kama, the next shastra gives us the knowledge about not only physical pleasure but it also explains love for other people and the world. It explains all types of pleasure in life and thus has 64 further shastras under it. There exist shastras even for cooking and enjoying food. It guides people to understand that if there is a thing in your life you will enjoy it and if it is not present you won’t mind its absence. Finally there is moksha, which makes you ask yourself questions like who you are to yourself, what is the most important thing for you and may more. By observing yourself you can achieve moksha. Experiences in life are only to show you where you are and where you can go from there, they are not meant to tie you down. All of these shastras have negative effects if overly done, Kama can make a person only strive for physical pleasure, dharma can restrict your view to only what you believe in and artha can give you frustration when you compare yourself to others. All the shastras therefore have to learnt and not overdone.

He concluded his lecture by telling us that we shouldn’t keep asking questions and we should look for answers ourselves instead. We need to liberate ourselves from ideas which control us and make us their slaves. Nobody can free a slave who doesn’t want to be freed; only you yourself can strive for liberation in your life.

The lecture followed a quick Q & A sessions where Swami Ji gave us answers which opened our minds more. The vote of thanks was given by Robin sir; he thanked Anthony sir for planning this event and thanked Sophia Club for their work to prepare a suitable stage for that lecture and making this event successful and meaningful. 

All students walked out realising that they had now been given a torch which would help them shine some light on their lives and guide them on their journey of life.