Sadhguru is a world-renowned yogi, mystic, and visionary, and on October 15 he was honored during a ceremony at LMU with the Doshi Family Bridgebuilder Award.
The Doshi Family Bridgebuilder Award is given annually along with a $10,000 stipend to an individual or organization dedicated to fostering understanding between cultures, peoples, and disciplines. It was established in 2005, along with the Navin and Pratima Doshi Professorship of Indic and Comparative Theology held by Christopher Key Chapple. Chapple served as master of ceremonies for the evening.
Pratima and Navin Doshi’s remarks opening the ceremony praised Sadhguru for his social revitalization, education, and environmental work through which millions of people have been given the means to overcome poverty, improve their quality of life, and achieve community-based sustainable development.
Hundreds of guests packed Hilton Auditorium to see the presentation of the award, as well as hear Sadhguru’s keynote lecture “Earth Sense.” He was joined in conversation by Terry Tamminen, accomplished author, policy consultant, and CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
The discussion focused on our escalating ecological problems and what needs to be done to stop them. Soil, for example, has been degraded by intensive farming as our human footprint and the demand for food has increased. Sadhguru and Tamminen emphasized the importance of healthy soil and the need for sustainable soil initiatives and management.
They also made a case for shifting our worldview from worrying about the economy and the problems of today to preserving resources and ecological functions for tomorrow. After all, our economy is only sustainable if it respects the ecosystem on which it depends.
Finally, they touched on the role policy-making must play in any long-term solution. “Right now, individual actions are important to create changes that benefit ecology, but true turnaround will come only when nations make changes to existing policy,” Sadhguru said.
In addition to LMU, Sadhguru has also spoke at Oxford, London Business School, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and MIT. During the talk, his ascription of yogic practices to contemporary life and issues was clear and he even encouraged guests to further explore LMU’s M.A. in Yoga Studies.
Please check out a portion of the event and lecture in the video below.
