TeaTimeTreats: DHARMA IS COMPASSION IN ACTION

DHARMA IS COMPASSION IN ACTION: KAILASH SATYARTHI 

TURN APATHY INTO EMPATHY, LET DIVIDE & HATRED GIVE WAY TO PEACE 

AvinashSingh 

If sharing a virtual stage with Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi was a singular honour his crystal clear perspective on compassion and religion had a spellbinding effect, that took you to a journey in trance!

Last evening was no different! Mr Satyarthi's 40-minute keynote address at the 4th Yuva SustainabBECOME ility Conference, left you numb when he told the nation that "Dharma is compassion in action," and bemoaned that 'divide' and 'hatred' were the new normals and every other leader and country was posing to be superior. 

The event organised by Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability in celebration of the Earth Day. 

The co-recipient of 2014 Nobel Peace prize with Malala Yusafzai, for his struggle against the atrocities, skavery and trafficking of children, Mr Satyarthi listed that compassion is equality, it is mindful solving of problems, not sitting idle and watching suffering unleashed by power mongers and ensuring your actions were in the right directions like planting of trees, ecology and indulging in rightful studies.

Presented by AIR Podcast editor Naina Gautam and convenor of Voices of Bharat Rajiv Tikoo, Mr Satyarthi implored and urged young minds to spend 40-second extra time every day for cancer patients and have nots to provide them improved healing, solace, joy, happiness and peace.

The acclaimed activist who recently launched his book 'Karuna: The Power of Compassion', as also Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion sought to clarify "Sustainability is Dharma, the universal righteousness that holds, sustains and keeps you going. Dharma in action is Karma."

He called upon the youth to know that you are 'the today' of the nation, the leaders of tomorrow. He went on to add: "The most ills Mother Planet is facing today are manmade and as 'putras' of 'Mata Prithvi,' you need to warranty that apathy must turn into empathy, carbon emissions are reduced and world divided by hatred, greed, merciless and unkind become a place of peace, mutual progress and peace.

He sometime back had assembly of 15 top judges of the country to convey that justice must reach the last mile, the farthest of India's rural masses. He wanted millions and millions facing displacement worldwide because of differences, discord and disconnect, must end. 

He insisted that every human in the world has right to contamination free water, better ecology, inclusive growth and compassionate education. Education must make everyone aware, more connected physically (not virtually), rightful actions. All these karmas have to be part of our padegogy, he quipped. 

Education, the social activist bemoaned, was pushing us into cut throat competition. The result has been that many a young mind have health and depression issues. He was for compassion circles working with all universities and their affiliated units. A beginning in this direction was made in Bhutan, he informed.

"We all need to be aware of dangers of data being turned into algorithms, fake identities and deep fakes being created and presented. He lamented that fake data was being commonly used in wars. He was for teachers developing compassion quotient alongside IQ and EQ. "The youth, must put off their marriages and other plans for some time and work for climate crisis facing the world because of our lifestyles, polluting the air, water and earth," he emphasised.

Ms Naina Gautam had wonderful Q n A session with the celebrity known for Bachpan Bachao Andolan on behalf of the students. 

The star list for the conference, conducted by Dr Manisha Pandit, included Dr N C Wadhwa, DG, MREI, Prof Nupur Prakash, VC NorthCap University, Mr Raj Bhatia, CMD Bony Polymers, Dr Harpreet Kaur, Principal Mata Sundri College, Prof L Ramesh, Jt Registrar, MGR Educational n Research Institute, Prof Seema Agrawal, Principal, Kanoria Mahila College, Jaipur, Mr Geet Kapur, Founder, QuantumShift, Bengaluru, Dr Vikas Rajput, Director, Parallel Living Research and Consulting, Ghaziabad, Prof Meenakshi Narula, Director, JIMS, Dr Richa Yadav from Haridev Joshi, University of Journalism, and Dr Prithvi. 

And as the echoes of compassion lingered, Prof Avinash Singh too moderated a session—proving that Dharma, when set in motion, turns every voice on the stage into Karma.