In Conversation with Rajeev Mehrotra (Award-Winning,TV Producer-Director)

Compassion is what we experience and not what we think: Rajiv Mehrotra- Award-Winning Writer, TV Producer-Director & Documentary Filmmaker

In another episode of the webinar series “Be the Best Version of Yourself” hosted by?SOIL Institute of Management, Rajiv Mehrotra, an Award-Winning Writer, TV Producer-Director, Documentary Filmmaker?and The?Trustee/Secretary of “The Foundation for Universal Responsibility” (HH Dalai Lama),?who?is best known as the former acclaimed host of "In Conversation", one of?India's longest-running talk shows?on public television,?spoke about his spiritual journey and emphasized upon the motivation behind the thoughts, the essence of compassion and the need to manifest compassion to emerge as the best.

Read on for highlights from the conversation.

On the defining moments of his life

While answering the first question asked by Sh. Anil Sachdev,?Founder & Chairman?of?SOIL Institute of Management,?on what instances had been the most significant and defining moments in his life, Rajeev talked about how his encounter with various people in life helped him nurture and grow. Among all the others, his meeting with his holiness Dalai Lama at his Monastery in Tibet, after several attempts and failure, left him in a state of serendipity. This helped him to discover the subtle dimensions of life, which further led him to bridge the subtle with the gross. For him, it had been a reinforcing and a reaffirming moment for the spiritual journey he had embarked upon.?

As a disciple of his holiness Dalai Lama, he underwent to discover the internalized and subtle experiences of life. Recalling some of his moments with his holiness, he stated “Sometimes I felt nothing is happening even after so much practice”, only to get an answer “What's the hurry!” from his Guru. It was then, he realized that people are in such a hurry to achieve everything instantly, forgetting that evolution is nothing but subtle and requires perseverance and patience.

Musings upon the Self

Giving a deeper thought to the tagline of the series, Rajeev?further stated that the Self is traditionally seen as an illusion but it is very real. People look at truth as relative or absolute. At a functional level, there exists reality, but at the larger level, it all depends upon the perspective of the observer. To make things clear, he related this to the phenomenon as observed in the Slit Experiment of Quantum Physics, wherewith the falling of light, the atoms form a particular pattern, but the moment an observer is put, it changes. This “Analysis of the Self” further helps one to come together and celebrate diversity. The moment one accepts and actively looks that there exists no single reality, the problem with another person’s experience of reality shuns.?

Adding to the observations made by Rajeev, Sh. Anil Sachdev highlighted the importance and impact of one's thoughts. “Your world is nothing but your thoughts” he shared, to which Mr Rajeev added that it’s not only the thoughts that make the difference but also the motivation behind those thoughts. The matrix of causes and motivation further manifests themselves into Karmic deeds.

In his interview with J.R.D Tata

On being questioned about his significant interview with?J.R.D Tata?and his learnings from him, Rajeev reiterated his attempts to interview?J.R.D Tata?and finally meeting him in Delhi. “It was a lesson in the way he engaged with people that he encountered,” said Rajeev. It was the conduct and humanity of JRD Tata that impacted him even after so many years. He further emphasized how a person learns so much from whom people are rather than knowing what they say or do.??

Rajeev’s thoughts on compassion

According to Mr Rajeev, the greatest strength of our civilization is method and wisdom. While wisdom is taught, it remains meaningless unless our deepest reflexes or responses are activated. The method is what brings this all together. It's a process of refining sensibility and nurturing compassion. To this Anil added about SOIL’s primary focus on compassion and its initiative where the students work with an NGO once a week to do?Seva?and experience compassion.?

Adding further, Rajeev stated that compassion softens the self away from I, ME, and MYSELF and nurtures a person from within. Thus, compassion is not just a virtue or a moral that is taught, rather, it is something very practical. “Compassion is what we experience and not what we think” he quoted.?

The Collective Consciousness vs. the Individual Agency

On being asked which one among collective consciousness and individual agencies is more important to lead the journey of humanity. Rajeev replied that at a micro-level, it is the individual agency that works whereas at the macro level the contribution of everyone exists. Like in the environment, it is the collective consciousness that has a greater impact. Thus, it is the intermingling of these two that forms the future. Further, it is the intention and motivation that would help us to contribute to the larger consciousness.

Awareness and Accountability to our Interconnectedness amidst Health Emergency in COVID

When asked how observation of health emergencies in COVID shall help to promote awareness and accountability to our interconnectedness. Rajeev clearly established that it won't help unless it generates some compassion for the people suffering. “Unless one is in the state to manifest the compassion into concrete action. Unless it pimples a person's impetus to make a difference or at least feel other people’s pain, it is useless” he quoted.

Awareness can only be bought by understanding the true nature of reality, which should be unobstructed or unfiltered by thoughts, prejudices, and assumptions. Thoughts lead to sensation, which connects thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. This is evident in the sense that by adopting one posture, one can facilitate experiencing that person's mental state.?

Practical ways of Celebrating Diversity

Rajeev accentuated that one can achieve celebrating diversity by first seeing all sentient beings as wanting happiness and avoiding suffering. Further, it is essential to look at both the commonalities as well as the diversities as each one of us has different dispositions. Realizing our own disposition and then choosing one's own path while appreciating the different ways of the other is what constitutes celebration.?

Towards the end of the conversation, Anil concluded and summarized the learnings from Rajeev upon the value of compassion as an experience and not merely a thought. The importance of focusing on the motivation behind the thoughts and the necessity to enable the manifestation of compassion especially to stay strong during the dire times of COVID. His resilience and in-depth knowledge about the spiritual being and compassion as a source of power greatly inspired him.

By Aneesh Trakroo