This benediction was composed by His Holiness Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamy, the Sage of Kanchi, Known to all Indians as the "Paramacharya". It was rendered at the United Nations on Oct. 23, 1966 on the occasion of the UN day, by Bharat Ratna Smt. M.S.Subbulakshmi.The concert was recorded and made available for the public through 33rpm disks. Considering the significance of its message and the superb manner in which it was rendered, the Acharya site has decided to provide audio clips of the benediction (from the original recording) for the benefit of the viewers.
mp3 format (~1900Kb) Real Audio format(~1400Kb)The Acharya (1894-1994) was revered by people all over the world for the simplicity in his life and his profound knowledge of virtually every subject of concern to humanity. Very few had known about his deep and extensive knowledge of linguistics and the importance of the subject in understanding the basis of the scriptures of the country. He had mastery over several world languages as well. His lucid presentation of linguistic aspects of Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, English, Greek etc., along with the connections to History, Names of villages and places, etymology, was sheer joy to those who listened to his discourses.
We have named our Web site "Acharya" in honour of this great saint and scholar of India. The IIT Madras project reflects in a small way, the harmony he stood for, in bringing together the people of the country, in a manner that modern science and technology blend appropriately with the great cultural heritage and tradition of India.
In respect of "Maitreem Bhajata", the three "da"s, damyata, datta and dayadhvam represent qualities which humanity should nurture for ever. The greatness of this concept is seen in T.S. Eliot's incorporation of the same in his monumental work, "The waste land".