Our Founder, Padmabhushan Shri K. J. Somaiya founded Somaiya Vidyavihar on the 9th of September 1959. He later founded the Girivanvasi Pragati Mandal, The K. J. Somaiya Medical Trust, Girivanvasi Education Trust and sister institutions to make great citizens of India and the World. In the words of Swami Vivekananda, “We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet." We have now grown into a multi-disciplinary and multi-campus education institution with over 1500 faculty, and 38,000 students.
Our motto is: ज्ञानादेव तु कैवल्यम् । Knowledge alone liberates. Liberates from poverty, from hunger. Also to liberate one from the attachments that bind us to small-mindedness. Knowledge also provides opportunity. To make the life lived more meaningful. In the service of one’s family, one’s community, one’s समाज, country, and indeed the world. Bearing in mind that there is no religion other than the life lived in the service of humanity, न मानुषात् परो धर्म:। We will strive to provide access and opportunity to build a more inclusive society.
Our education in any subject will reflect its timeless fundamentals, its current context, and applications. There is so much scientific discovery taking place, at the intersection of fields, of biology, computing, medicine, the social sciences and everywhere else. We will provide students and faculty with an environment to engage this world, to discover new truths, make new applications to create and share knowledge.
Our education will also be experiential. With projects that are 'real' and those that complement the learning inside the classroom. Our students and faculty will be at the cutting edge of change, to incubate companies, to create NGOs, and pursue any field of their passion.
Our education will also be holistic. Sports and physical exercise must be a firm part of the curriculum. For students to develop a love for sports, for recreation, for health, for teamwork, for competition. Our education will also instill an appreciation for art and culture.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjun asks Krishna how is one to control one’s mind that is as fleeting as the wind. Krishna responds that it can only be done through practice and discipline. वैराग्येण तु कौन्तेय अभ्यासेन च गृह्यते । We will strive to teach our students to learn to stay calm in our turbulent world.
And our education will also include the ancient Indian tradition, its culture, its depth, and its knowledge. We must keep the connection with our mother tongue and our languages. Languages are storehouses of culture, and the loss of a language takes with it much learning, stored through it over the ages.
Finally, our education will help students lead a full life, to fall in love with life.
Our dream, is to build a world class research and teaching institution, that is global in the reach of its ideas, and universal in its service. Welcome to our community.
Samir Somaiya