President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday emphasised the need for all human beings to live in harmony with nature.

“In our tradition, it is believed that trees, plants, mountains, rivers all have life and not only humans but also all living beings are children of nature,” she said while addressing the 12th convocation of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University at Baripada, Odisha.

The world, she said, was facing huge challenges of global warming and climate change. India has set an example for the world to adopt a nature-friendly lifestyle, which is called Lifestyle for the Environment or LiFE, she noted.

Addressing the graduating students, the president said that receiving a degree did not mean that the education process has been completed. ”Education is a continuous process,” she added.

She said that after getting higher education some of them would do a job, some would do business and some would also do research but thinking of giving a job was better than thinking of doing a job. She was happy to note that the University has set up an Incubation centre and provided assistance to the students, alumni and common people in setting up start-ups.

The president said that competition was an inevitable side of life. One has to face competition in every walk of life. She said that students should always keep trying to succeed in the competition and for that, they should keep acquiring higher skills and move towards greater efficiency. They could turn the impossible into possible with their willpower.

Murmu said that competition was a natural side of life, but cooperation was the beautiful side of life. She told students that while moving forward in life, when they would look back, they would find that some people in society were not very capable of competing with them.

She advised students to hold the hands of deprived ones and bring them forward. She said that a healthy society could be built through generosity and cooperation. She urged students to think not only of their own happiness and interest but also about the welfare of the society and country.