Translator: Mike Longley Reviewer: Denise RQ
When we allow ourselves to indulge with nature,
with the mind of a child,
we discover knowledge to wield with what nature offers.
And every momentary experience that we have becomes an epiphany.
Such indulgences and results are discernible to the self
when we discover
that this great idea that we just discovered
could make or break one's life.
And all this happens unintentionally, impulsively,
and in split seconds,
and we sometimes call that the aha! moment.
Every aha! moment follows with an imagination --
an imagination of wonderful results.
Like Einstein said,
"Imagination is more powerful than knowledge."
But these wonderful results
simply follow action.
The ancient scriptures of the East, the Bhagavad Gita, says,
"Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango 'stv akarmani."
"You have the right to perform your prescribed duties,
but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action.
Never consider yourself
to be the cause of the results of your activities,
and never be attached to not doing your duty."
In simple words, it just means
you just have to do what you have to do
without expecting anything in return.
(Laughter)
And never stop from doing what you have to do
because the result is not in our hands.
Imagination and dreams can come into action
when we have complete belief in the cause than have fears;
when we have complete belief in the mission
than have insecurities;
and when our care for the mission and the journey
surpasses our scare.
Because life is fun.
It's just about playing the game, scoring some points.
It's not about winning
because the competition is with the self,
and as long as we're scoring points, having fun,
all we have to do is just what we have to do.
I would like to take you in a journey
of my venture into my company, the Himalayan Dog Chew.
Ten years ago, my brother Suman and his friend Nishes
invited me to a dinner and a beer at their kitchen.
So, three of us are sitting in the kitchen,
and on the table Suman places a hard chew.
It's a cheese made of milk
that people of the Himalayas and the Sherpas chew all the time.
He places that chew on the table and then he says,
"We would like you to sell this for us."
And I was -- and I said,
"Dude, American people are not going to chew this chew.
"It's too hard; it's 'dentist not recommended'."
(Laughter)
And Suman goes, "It's not for American people, it's for dogs."
(Laughter)
And I go, "Really?"
I was bewildered; I couldn't believe him.
And then Nishes calls his dog Kaos.
Kaos is the name of the dog.
(Laughter)
He called the dog Kaos and then gives the chew to Kaos.
Kaos sniffs on it, licks on it, and he starts chewing on it,
and I go, "Whoa, this is something.
"This simple chew made by the farmers out of milk
that would otherwise go bad in the summer
can actually be a product."
And I also thought immediately that if I can't wow the people,
I can at least wow their dogs.
(Laughter)
So our first agenda was to take the chew
to a local dog park in Bellingham,
and this was late 2007.
Three of us went there with a table.
We placed a chew on the table,
and we were waiting for people with dogs to come by
and at least have some interest in our chew.
So this lady was walking with her dog, la, la, la, la,
comes right at the table,
and I pick up a chew and hand it over to her.
And she goes, "What's this?"
And I say, "This is cheese out of milk."
And she goes, "Really?"
Because it's so hard; she just couldn't believe it.
And I said, "It's for your dog."
And she goes, "OK, let me try,"
and then she hands it to the dog.
The dog sniffs it, licks on it, and he started chewing on it,
and she actually removes the chew from the dog and the dog goes
(Imitates dog panting)
(Laughter)
I'm sure the dog was having his wow moment with the chew.
(Laughter)
So we knew this product was going to work,
and we set out a project
to procure these chews from the mountains of Nepal.
And my father convened a group of farmers in Nepal,
and we asked the farmers to produce this cheese, the chew,
out of milk that would otherwise go bad in the summer,
and they go, "We can't sell a lot; people don't eat much."
And we say, "No, it's not for people in America, it's for dogs in America."
And they go, "Really?"
(Laughter)
"OK, let's do it!"
So over the last 8 years, we've been procuring this chew,
but two and a half years ago, my father got really ill.
He was battling a long time with some heart disease,
and two and a half years ago both his kidneys failed.
So I had to return to Nepal for a longer period of time.
I went there to our house, straight to his room.
I open the door; I see him lying on the bed.
I go straight to him, touch his feet, and pay my respect.
My father opens his eyes and says, "Son, you have returned."
I said, "Yes, Dad, I've returned for you."
My father said, "No.
You are not here for me; you are here for Nepal."
And I, I was sort of confused at the time,
but he clarified, and then he said,
"I want you to build 100 libraries."
And I said, "How am I going to do that?"
And he said, "All you have to do is what you have to do."
(Laughter)
"And just put your watch on time."
And I immediately thought
my father hardly had any education.
My mother never went to school.
And this was 60 years ago Nepal.
It was culture, it was a tradition
that you don't send daughters to school and the son does whatever he wants.
So I thought, as a child, they never had a chance to study,
and there are still many children in Nepal who can't go to school
because of either culture or their economic status.
So I thought, "We can build some libraries to send those kids
to at least go and study and read and write alphabets."
So in the first year,
we were able to establish, 76 libraries,
and in the second year, last March,
we were able to do 25 to get 101 in about a year and a half, too.
(Applause)
And this March, we are scheduled to establish 35 more.
But one month ago today, my father passed away.
We, in the family, we know he's not with us,
but I believe he lives with me.
He lives with me with his guidance,
with his philosophy, and with his legacy.
And from his passing away,
and from my adventure with Himalayan Dog Chew,
and from the recent earthquakes in Nepal,
I've come to realize that there is no end to journey in life,
because the destination is the journey,
and we all -- we all die alone, just as we are born.
We come with nothing, and we leave with nothing,
and these two are the greatest aha! moments in our life.
So when we are confident in the self,
we believe, and we trust in something greater than ourselves,
and we take every challenge
as an opportunity to become better, to do better, and trust more.
Every moment in our life can become the aha! moment.
Thank you and namaste.
(Applause)