BHARATI PAWASKAR
TGLIFE: Life at ISKCON and now, out of it - has anything really changed?
Shubha Vilas: The whole idea about change is to see how you can reach out to a wider audience. When the world sees a monk associated with a religious organisation, they have a negative preconception. Scepticism keeps them away and the attire of a monk becomes a hurdle in connecting with people. The world really needs knowledge but for it to accept the knowledge, the packaging has to be right. My aim is to serve the society and share my knowledge with them. I feel I can serve better by making myself more accessible to them. For that purpose alone, I have changed only my attire. But my inner self, my core ideologies and my connection to ISKCON remains the same. So what I was doing before and what I’m doing now, is exactly the same. Only, my outer appearance and attire has changed. From the organisational point of view, I am still a part of it. I am still heading ISKCON Goa.
TG: What are your plans now?
SV: My plans are to develop courses that transform people. Because I see today a lot of educational material devoid of transformational elements. There is lots of information, but no knowledge. I want to help people transform their lives for the better “ a transformation of the consciousness that percolates all levels of life. So the first course I created was for IIM, Ranchi - The Leadership Course. A full-fledged course of 20 sessions of two hours each.
Now I am developing a value based course for children for Indian and international schools. It is a Student Effectiveness Course. Next in line is a Life Course, for one and all. It will deal with all aspects of life - relationships, success, failures and one’s own self-image.
I’m looking at two levels of teachings. First, I go out to them - institutes, schools, people and teach them level 1 of what knowledge is. Then if they wish for deeper transformational knowledge, they come to me.
TG: What made you turn to writing?
SV: I have no idea how I started writing. All my life I have been reading a lot, an avid reader from childhood. The characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata always fascinated me. Those are the characters children connect with easily. When I started teaching values to children at Gopal Garden School in Mumbai, I found that the books children read were junk. It would make my blood boil. Then I realised that they read junk because only junk was available to them. Instead of blaming anybody else, I had to do something myself. And the seed of writing was planted. I began by writing my favourite story Ramayana, the 1st volume and I never imagined it would get published.
TG: So you want to demystify those historical characters for children and the youth?
SV: Yes, I am doing exactly that. Look at ‘Perfect Love’ - they are love stories. I have taken a topic appropriate to draw youngsters to the book. My next book will be on friendship. A lot of my books are read by youngsters. Generally this age bracket would never read Ramayana or Mahabharata. They would never read a scripture because they cannot connect with them. I write them in the form of stories in contemporary language, so they can connect with the stories easily.
TG: Do you think our youth are directionless?
SV: A big yes to that! In cities like Mumbai, youngsters are into weird kind of habits. Sheesha parlours, hookah cafés are prominent now in all metros. Hundreds of youngsters go there just to smoke. Smoking, vaping, drugs are rampant. Not surprising because youngsters always look for excitement in life. If there is no positive excitement, they will always find it in a negative way. The challenge is to create excitement. How do you create excitement? I am working on games for kids of all age groups, before they get addicted to video games. Most children don’t play board games because there is so much excitement in video games. I am going to create a whole range of intellectual games. With every game they will learn something new. I am reviving many of the traditional, forgotten games, trying to modernise and present them. I will be re-creating modern games like Monopoly such that they are based on ancient wisdom. I am working on how to spiritualise entertainment and teach children values through games.
TG: Where do you see yourself and the world, 20 years from now?
SV: I see myself not alone but with an army trained to do exactly what I am doing. I want to create a whole set up of people who are trained to speak, to write and to do what I am doing. This is not a one man job or a one time job. It needs to go on. And that too extensively on a war footing. The whole endeavour should not die with me. I have already started a company - Deja Veda Edu Training Foundation. From November onward I will be based in Goa.
I appeal to all leaders in society, in education, corporate, government…from all walks of life. Please join me so that together we can create an impact in a big way. I want students who have learnt from me to take up the mantle and help others transform too. I wish to train teachers who will ultimately teach their students.
TG: What is your ultimate goal?
SV: At the end of my life, I want to have the satisfaction of having at least tried. Whether I succeed is not in my hands but trying surely is. Adharma or negativity will always be present in life. The point is how much positivity you can create around you. Before changing the environment outside, we need to change the environment inside. When you clean the environment outside, people will dirty it again, because their heart is dirty. If you clean their hearts they will never dirty their outside. I will continue to work on that level - I insist on cleansing the inner environment.
