March 11, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

“Uphold the nobility of the medical profession. Practice the principles of compassion and selfless service throughout your professional career.”
 

Shri. Tony Chammani, Mayor of Kochi was speaking to the graduating medical students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
 

The graduation ceremony of the fourth batch of medical students was underway at the Health Sciences campus on March 4, 2011.
 

“Medical profession is undoubtedly considered to be a noble one,” he said. “It is also a challenging profession especially in this era of competition and corruption. Every medical practitioner is expected to stand by the ethics of this noble profession.”
 

He reminded the graduates that the sanctity of the profession would be lost if doctors forgot the basic principles.
 

Seated in the hall, in addition to the graduating doctors, were proud parents, friends, relatives, and members of the faculty.
 

Swami Poornamritananda Puri, General Secretary, Mata Amritanandamayi Math, in his benedictory address emphasized that the success of a doctor comes from purity and love.
 

“Amma’s dream is to for all of you to become dedicated and loving doctors,” noted Swamiji. “Intelligence only is not enough for success in life; you need to develop innocence and intuition as well.”
 

Dr. D. M. Vasudevan, Former Principal, Amrita School of Medicine, reminded the young graduates that the motto of medicine is to cure, comfort and console always. Advising them to not stop their journey of education, he humorously said, “This MBBS certificate certifies you to study further.”
 

A few days earlier, these graduates were at Amritapuri to seek the blessings of Chancellor Amma and receive certificates from her.
 

“Amma is our guiding light who has made this auspicious moment come true for us,” stated Dr. Aparna Prathap, student representative of the graduating batch.
 

“These five years we have grown as individuals; we have learned different perspectives of life. We were trained at this temple of learning under the very watchful eyes of our beloved Amma and the invaluable guidance of each and every one of our teachers,” she added.
 

On behalf of those teachers, Dr. Umadethan, faculty representative, spoke.
 

“You are blessed because you could learn knowledge and gain new skills here, you are more blessed because you could imbibe the right attitude, which is an essential quality in your profession,” he said.
 

Dr. Anand Kumar administered the Geneva Oath to the graduating doctors. “This was a long-awaited moment,” said a proud parent, shedding tears of joy.
 

May students were awarded medals and certificates for excellence in academics, research, social activities, sports and arts.