Swami Shubha Vilas Prabhu of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) who was in Goa to speak on ‘Life Apps’ that help a person to live life mindfully
Photo Credits: shubha vilas
TGLife: You hold a degree in engineering and law. What inspired you to join ISKCON?
Swami Shubha Vilas Prabhu: My association with ISKCON began in 1997-98 when I was a first year student. To me, spirituality seemed to be not just emotional or fanatical but a logical and systematic type of approach which could sustain a logical thinking. Our Vedic culture has lot to offer in terms of practical life situations. Unfortunately, we never really had the opportunity to access that knowledge. Most of the times that knowledge is packaged in a tough or inaccessible way, with predominating rituals and jargon and is narrated in a language that is not very conducive for a modern person to understand. I felt that I could really package it well for modern world where laymen had no access to spirituality.
TGL: Are you in touch with your family?
SSVP: Yes, very much. In fact, ours is a spiritual family. We all are connected to ISKCON and to each other. My father Advocate Badri Narayanan took the lead, the first step to enter spirituality and we followed him. We all came together to ISKCON however my father took it very seriously right from day one.
TGL: You have written the best-selling book series known as Ramayana - The Game of Life. What is it about?
SSVP: The series distils thought-provoking life lessons through the gripping narrative of the story of Ramayana. The first two books in the series and my recent publication ‘Open-Eyed Meditations’ are the best-sellers. I am working on the fourth book in the series and also on a separate book on Hanuman.
TGL: You seem to be a different type of swami, a writer, a story-teller who travels a lot and meets people from all walks of life, from youth in premier institutes across the globe to top-level management in corporate houses. You cater to everyone…
SSVP: My role as a guide and a teacher to school children remains close to my heart, teaching foundational values through masterful storytelling. Generally the audience finds my talks motivating because they are applicable to life, related to life. I offer practical tips on how to live life spiritually. People don’t spend time unless they get value for it as modern lifestyle is hectic, with no time to relax, sit and think. When they attend my talks they get practical solutions. That makes sense.
TGL: What is your message to the world, especially the youth?
SSVP: Basically there are two ways to see life - to go through life and to grow through life. Youngsters today should look at not just going through life but growing through it. They should look for having more depth in life.
TGL: What about today’s education? Does it not teach the required life skills that make a person successful and happy in life?
SSVP: I am of the opinion that today’s education system is incomplete, because it equips our children with PQ (physical quotient) and IQ (intellectual quotient), that is useful in developing physical fitness and personality. It does not offer EQ (emotional quotient) and SQ (spiritual quotient). EQ is about how to deal with complicated situations and complex relationships in life and how to deal with these two. People struggle a lot with these things and are confused about what is right and what is wrong. What you need is good attitude, to understand what morality is and what ethical behaviour one should adopt which is SQ. Today’s education system makes us more intelligent but doesn’t help us nurture morality. We have to look beyond PQ. If your body is fit and mind is weak, it can drag you down, but if your mind is strong and body weak you can still cope and carry on with life. So to be a successful person having a balance between all four Qs is important.
TGL: What does a spiritual life offer?
SSVP: Life is uncertain. You never know when you will die. The question is not how long you live but while living how much you have contributed. It doesn’t matter how long one lives. The quality of one’s contribution should be so intense that the person should be remembered for life time. One moment of a perfect consciousness is better than a lifetime with wrong consciousness. Spirituality helps us to develop the right consciousness. There are four things to look forward in life - live, love, learn and leave a legacy.
