sometimes we we live in a society where
we we're quite able to be have the
feeling that we're independent and you
put yourself in a vulnerable situation
where you sort of as well as relying on
your own resilience you did have to you
did encounter the generosity of
strangers which is part of this
beautiful human nature and I I wonder if
that is a question what have you
discovered about human nature in your
because I cannot mention your 86 years
83 years 83 so sorry okay
I am 83 year young and I don't think
about my age and when I look back the
monkhood you talked about at age 18 I
became an activist by following the
engaged work of madnes Gandhi because
Mahatma Gandhi came to me in my dream
and at that time I was in Rajasthan and
Rajasthan had lots of sand dunes and so
in my dream Mahatma Gandhi was standing
on the top of a sand dune high and I was
below there looking up to him and he
says you don't have to escape from the
world you have to be engaged with the
world like high teachers here engaged
Buddhism he said the same thing he said
you have to make the world a beautiful
place he'll transform the world
and that dream made me so unsettled
although I had taken the bow for life
the Jains don't have this short-term bow
so I had taken the valve for life but I
was so inspired I said I'm not really
breaking the bow
I'm only disrobing myself there was my
excuse
so one night after midnight I ran away
escaped from the monastery
and when to live in this Gandhian ashram
as an activist and what Gandhi taught me
and not Gandhi himself but Gandhi's
follower Renova taught me that if you
act in the world with a motivation an
intention of love and you act to serve
then your activism is act of love and
that made me be an activist so I joined
Vinoba Bhave walking in villages asking
landlords to give land for the poor and
that was also my peace activism that
I've went around the world and so from
the age 18 to 83 I have been an activist
but I have no burnout had no
disappointment I had no frustration I am
ad inspired as energetic as determined
as when I was eighteen or twenty six
when I went around the world because of
this idea that activism is not something
to achieve it is something to offer and
when you are offering something as a
gift
even when Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned
he said I'll go to prison like a bride
and a groom goes
to reading chamber that's the act of
love and so what I had learned during
this activism of my life is that it is
not in my hand what Trump will do it is
not in my hand but Modi in India or
Boris Johnson in England or what they
will do but here in my hand to be in the
service of humanity and what happens
what result that's not in my hand but
actually is in my hand I will keep
acting out of love with the sense of
service so activism has been a journey
and activism is a journey and not a
destination
so if activism will act of love and a
journey then you are a pilgrim a pilgrim
you are always on a pilgrimage of
activism of life and every moment I live
as an activist in the service of peace
non-violence environmentalism ecology
climate crisis resurgence magazine
meditation is activism
gardening is activism cooking is
activism so for me every action is act
of love and that is what I learned from
Gandhian ashram and a Gandhian attitude
and that's also in comes with very
traditional
a Hindu philosophy or bad Vegeta in the
dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna
and Lord Krishna says to Arjuna fruit is
not your wish or desire what happens
from your action you cannot control
whatever you achieve from your action is
a gift but action itself has its
intrinsic value and that's what has
inspired me in my life another pair
[Laughter]