20 Notable Vikram Sarabhai Quotes
Dr Sarabhai, was a scientist, industrialist, manager, institution builder, visionary; all rolled into one. Here is a list of 20 Unique Vikram Sarabhai Quotes.
The Father of the Indian Space Programme, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, was a scientist, industrialist, manager, institution builder, visionary – all rolled into one. He was instrumental not only in the origins of ISRO but many other organisations and institutions. To celebrate his 100th birth anniversary, we are having Centenary Celebrations. On this occasion, here is a list of 20 Vikram Sarabhai Quotes.
Vikram Sarabhai Quotes on Personality Development
My family was very unconventional. All through my childhood, I was brought up on doing what one felt was right rather than what necessarily society thought was appropriate.
I believe that a person who does not have respect for time and does not have a sense of timing can achieve little.
Experience is less relevant than knowledge and the ability to learn and to innovate.
…failure is not about not succeeding. Rather it is about not putting in your best effort and not contributing, however modestly, to the common good.
When you grow up, you don't have to walk step by step like a toddler; you can leap, run, you can take short cuts across the fields. That means you have to start processes, not like a gambler but like a prophet infallibly accurate as to what the consequences will be.
He who can listen to music in the midst of noise can achieve great things.
Vikram Sarabhai Quotes on Science and Technology
A person who has imbibed the ways of science injects into a situation a new way of looking at it, hopefully perhaps a degree of enlightenment with regard to the approach to problems, and this provides leadership which is very valuable ... The experience we know that conditions of work in India within our own specialised scientific fields rarely match the facilities available in several other countries... some get frustrated striving against heavy odds. Others leave the country. But those that can apply their insights to the problems of the community and of the nation discover an exciting area of activity where effort is rewarding even while the results show slowly.
I believe that modern physics owes much of its remarkable progress through recognition of the same concepts (ancient Indian Philosophy) and through the discovery of a mathematical framework within which they could be quantitatively formulated.
Many people suppose that there is the absence of the imaginative and intuitive element in the pursuit of science in contrast to philosophy, literary or artistic endeavour. This surely is a fallacy. What distinguishes the scientist is his compelling urge to test his concepts in terms of observations. He is ready to let his castle crumble to dust on the results of experiments.
The history of science is full of examples which alternate from being extremely practical to being extremely basic in their approach and it through the interaction between the basic and the empirical and practical problems that we find the greatest and most fruitful developments of modern science and technology.
Vikram Sarabhai Quotes on Leadership Style
There is no leader and there are no led. A leader, if one chooses to identify one, has to be a cultivator rather than a manufacturer. He has to provide the soil and the overall climate and environment in which the seed can grow.
One wants permissive individuals who do not have a compelling need to reassure them they are leaders through issuing instructions to others; rather, they set an example through their creativity, love of nature and dedication to what one may call the 'scientific method'.
Vikram Sarabhai Quotes on Development of the Nation
The development of the nation is intimately linked with understanding and application of science and technology by its people.
I have often claimed that I have had but one good idea in my life: that true development is the development of women and men.
In implementing change, we need to apply ourselves to people before we apply ourselves to problems.
The strength of an organisation can be judged by how well it can ride calamities.
If we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies.
India will not have to look abroad for its experts but will find them ready at hand.
The benefits of the uses of outer space treaty accrue only through international cooperation based on interdependence.
To create conditions for the application of science and scientists to the real problems of society, we have to encourage scientists to interest themselves in problems outside their field of specialisation.
A list of 35+ Vikram Sarabhai quotes can also be found on the PRL's website.