Interviewsand Articles

 

The Invisible Revolution of the Inner-net: Nipun Mehta, founder of CharityFocus, discusses a new kind of organizing that is synch with our spritiual roots.

by Michael Lerner, Apr 17, 2007


 

 

Listen (mp3):   
(Click play button above to start the audio.)


CharityFocus is an all volunteer run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that endeavors to leverage technology for inspiring greater volunteerism and providing meaningful volunteer opportunities for all who want them.

In January 2005, Nipun Mehta and his wife, Guri, anteed-up. They left everything to head on an open-ended, unscripted walking pilgrimage across India to "use our hands to do random acts of kindness, use our heads to profile inspiring people, and use our hearts to cultivate truth." More about Nipun Mehta>>

Some highlights from this talk:

"I really am rooted in impermanence, and I'd like to be even more so, in the deeper layers of my mind, to be rooted in impermanence. And that's really a practice for me. I think a lot of times we tend to find security in permanent things. Oh I've got this; I have this; I can hold on to this. And that tends to be our security and our comfort zone. And over the years I've realized that you can't really hold on to anything. Everything is just going to change, and it's constantly changing. So if you're really going to be a happy person, you need to be rooted in constant change. You need to be okay with things transitioning from one form to another."

"I think that so many times younger people are talked down to; they're talked at rather than talked with. And I think that is sort of the biggest strategic mistake... I actually do see them as me, that is my view. And bowing down to them is no problem, it's not like an exceptional thing that I do. I would do it anytime. I really have that view and I found that works really well—to see them as equals, to see them as co-creators of a shared life that we are doing. And that is true at a deep spiritual level. We are all co-creating."

 

About the Author

Commonweal is a health and environmental research institute where for three decades we have worked at the interface of personal and planetary healing through focused initiatives in the environment, education, and health. The New School seeks to bring together old and new friends and colleagues from all these areas to explore shared interests in life-long learning and service to life.

 

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