He has 17 million followers across social media, his videos and posts are viral, and his debut book has sold over half-a-million copies. It was none other than Gaur Gopal Das, the urban monk, in conversation with Vidya Singh, the princess of Vijayanagaram, fitness columnist, and more,” at the 11th edition of The Hindu Lit for Life.
What triggered him to become a monk was when he realised that though he was phenomenally good at his work as an engineer, he wasn’t satisfied by it. “I realised I felt fulfilled by working with the lives of people. I decided to combine my spiritual calling and my wanting to be fulfilled by my work. That is the journey from an engineer to a monk,” he said.
Gaur Gopal Das during the conversation with Vidya Singh at Music Academy in Chennai | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran
He elaborated on how he managed to hold people’s attention, despite short attention spans in the digital era. “People are besieged by problems every day, and in their stressful lives, humour works like magic. A Sanskrit quote is unlikely to resonate with Gen-Z. Hence, relevance is important, as well as to be contemporary, whether it is to do with language or jargon.” He further explained how coming down from the guru pedestal, and connecting with people, as well as giving practical solutions to people’s problems, over philosophical counsel, made all the difference.
In his book, Energise your Mind, he brings out analogies from the movie, “Titanic”, to explain how to deal with life’s problems. “Identify the icebergs. What factors causes one disturbance? Often, we address the symptoms and not the cause. The next is navigating through troubled waters — once the cause is identified, it is important to find solutions.” He also stressed on the importance of building one’s mental immunity much like how one builds one’s physical immunity.
The session ended with a Q and A with the audience.
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The Hindu Lit for Life 2023 is powered by Life Insurance Corporation of India in association with Ajay Toothbrushes. The Associate Partners are NITTE Education Trust, Hindustan Group of Institutions, State Bank of India, Sai University, and Vivek’s. Jewellery Partner: Joyalukkas. The Mobility Partner is Hyundai, Banking Partner is Indian Bank Realty, the Author Lounge Partner is VFS Global, the Realty Partner is Casagrand, the Knowledge Partner is SSVM Institutions, the Bookstore Partner is Higginbothams, the Gift Partner is Anand Prakash, and the Water Partner is Repute.
