Lecture on Compassion at the Artha Forum, Silicon Valley, by Radhanath Swami (Album with photos)
Radhanath Swami spoke recently at the home of Damodar Reddy, an entrepreneur and Founder of Sutisoft Inc., on the topic “Conscious Entrepreneurship – Deepening the Human Connection” as part of an event organized by Artha Forum. Artha Forum is a platform dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs, professionals and business leaders and bringing to them the relevance of ” Earn with Integrity, Spend With Compassion”. The event was attended by approximately 80 guests, including executives from Apple, Google and other important Silicon Valley companies, including Sushant Patnaik and his wife, Namrata, and the CFO from Pulse Secure. Dr. James R. Doty (Stanford Neurosurgeon and Direction of Stanford CCARE) attending as a Special Guest of Honor.
Dr. Doty gave the introduction, expressing that his happiness and his adoration for Radhanath Swami who began his talk by sharing his experiences of joining the counter culture movement as a youth as a way of searching for meaning and purpose in life. He was witnessing so much hatred and discrimination in the name of God and religion, and was inspired by the words of Mahatma Gandhi to “Be the change you want to see in the world”. His experiences lead him to realize that although externally there may be different methods and approaches to different religions, the underlying essence of all true religion is compassion. “In Sanskrit, its called Karuna. This is the foundation for a happy and meaningful life.”
Speaking to the group of leaders Radhanath Swami shared the idea that, “People don’t love you for what you have, your material attachments or position. People really love you for what you are. People love you because of how you have loved them and others. What really is meaningful in life? When you live a life of value and compassion, then your life is meaningful. It’s the greatest need today.”
“The quality of a truly enlightened person is that he sees everyone with an equal vision irrespective of their color, creed, nationality, complexion etc. Actual knowledge is to see the sacredness of every living being. When we recognize the sacredness of our own life, who we really are, the divine child of God, then we can appreciate the sacredness of every other living being. When we harmonize of our mind and body with our own self, then we can see that everything is sacred. We understand that we are not proprietors, but simply caretakers. We are caretakers of each other and the environment. Environmentalism is an eternal sacred principle. Everything we have is nature’s gift and we are simply caretakers.”
“The body is always changing. Who are we really? The living force within our body known as atma, is our real self. When we connect to our true self, we realize that we all have the potential to love. When we water the root, it naturally extends to the branches etc. Similarly connecting to our inner self, naturally extends to all beings. The real key to inner fulfillment is to connect to our real self and to live with integrity. We need to put quality time aside to cultivate our own internal awareness and inspire transformation of heart. The universal principle of all religion – to love God with all your heart and soul.”
Radhanath Swami then shared his appreciation of the entrepreuner, Rajeev Srivatsava and the example of his life, business and the spirit of service and compassion. He concluded with the message, “Every living entity has a certain beautiful quality, and as we grow through our experiences we can appreciate the divinity within every living being. Every part of the body is assisting all other organs of the body. Similarly, for the body of humanity to be happy, we have to appreciate the value that we all have. Compassion is to bring the best out of people to whatever capacity we have, by our example. Compassion doesn’t make us lazy. Real compassion makes us truly active.”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/twDHMv