Paths Are Made by Walking

2012's Baccalaureate speaker at the University of Pennsylvania was an unconventional choice for an Ivy League school. To address their newly-minted graduates, aspiring to dazzling careers, they picked a man who has never in his adult life applied for a job. A man who hasn't worked for pay in nearly a decade, and whose self-stated mission is simply "to bring smiles to the world and stillness to my heart". This off-the-radar speaker launched his address with a startling piece of advice. Following up with four key insights gleaned from a radical 1000 km walking pilgrimage through the villages of India. As he closed his speech, the sea of cap and gowned students rose to their feet for a standing ovation. What follows is the full transcript:

To Drive or Be Driven?

Some like to drive their cars themselves, while others like to be driven around. What about the psychological experience of driving or being driven around?

Most spiritual seekers realize sooner or later in their lives that living from one deadline to another is no way to live. It can never bring total fulfillment. And isn’t that what most of us are doing most of the time?

Religions of the World: Same or Different?

It is simplistic to say that the religions of the world are all same. They are clearly not. But it is also simplistic to say that the religions of the world are so different that they share nothing at all in common. That is not true either. Religions do share much in common, but opinions can vary about what it is that is shared among religions and where it is that they differ.

Our Addiction to the Cosmic TV

It might seem like the TV appeared on the face of this earth only a few decades ago. Not quite. The TV has been here for as long as the “here” has been here. Clearly, I am not speaking about the tiny box (not so tiny these days) in most urban households the world over. I am referring to the huge box spanning our mind and the senses. It is so huge that not only can we not think outside the box, but we cannot even see beyond it.

Bathing the Lord

When I was offering the ritual bathing water (snāna) during the worship some days ago, a thought came to my mind. Water can be seen as representing matter (since its potentiality is identified with one of the five primal elements) and the offering of snāna, besides being water for bathing, represents also a material sheath to cover the Spiritual Being, who is of the nature of pure consciousness. Only when clothed in matter can God become tangible and accessible to the human mind and senses.

Krishna: The Stealer

Through charming stories, songs, and anecdotes, the baby Krishna is depicted as a stealer of butter. His personality is so endearingly lovable and it is so easy to fall in love with him that he is also often called a stealer of hearts.

The Consciousness of Consciousness

I wouldn’t be able to see the chair unless I was conscious that I was seeing the chair. There cannot be any perception without consciousness. I am conscious of the chair in front of me, but am I conscious that I am conscious of the chair in front of me? Do I have consciousness of the consciousness of the chair? Can I experience consciousness itself?