Havi das (Ilan Chester), a disciple of Srila Prabhupada received recently a Grammy Award in Las Vegas for his extraordinary musical career as a musician, singer and composer. Millions of people attended or watched the ceremony while Havi das took the opportunity to include Krishna conscious messages in his speech of acceptance, translated into English in this report.
Havi das: Good morning to you all, many thanks to the directors of the Grammy Academy for this recognition.
Because time is limited, I prefer to show my appreciation, which is extensive in a written form and on social media. But allow me to take this opportunity to offer Venezuela my most sincere gratitude and also send a special loving recognition to my wife Merci Mayorca for her talent, her dedication and her contribution to the work we’ve accomplished together for almost 20 years.
On one occasion Dustin Hoffman asked the Shakespearean actor Laurence Olivier, “What motivates us to do the work we do?” And Olivier responded, “It’s very simple: Look at me, look at me, look at me.” Now that you ‘re watching and listening, I would like to share a short reflection, inspired on sacred texts from India that I consider important.
We speak of democracy, equality and liberty, however since the inception of United Nations in 1945, we humans have fought 140 wars. In World War I alone, 240 million people died. On the other hand, few people know that 65 billion animals are massacred each year in the name of “protein ” or “the great culinary arts”. We sing and speak of love, yet since 1980, we humans have performed 1.5 billion abortions: what to speak of the levels of alcohol, drug and pornographic consumption, racial discrimination, pedophilia, the systematic destruction of the forests, the contamination of our waters, etc. These are all just a few symptoms of the disease…and nature responds; responds because every action that ignores the laws of God and nature, inevitably will generate suffering; individual and collective suffering. Karma reaches a critical point and something happens…conflicts, wars, sickness, earthquakes, tsunamis, miserable governments, etc.
I have a friend, a great devotee of Krishna, who I love and admire. On the occasion of this recognition in Las Vegas, I told him that I wish to say something meaningful and important; something that could benefit anyone who might be listening or watching me. Within 15 minutes he sent me a beautiful text that I totally identify with. He wrote that there are undoubtedly good causes in the world, however the greatest cause is the one that leads us within, to self-discovery. Much deeper than just skin and bones, it’s to find out that we are actually eternal spiritual beings, parts of the divine. As a result of this crucial discovery and now looking outside, he wrote, we will be much more useful in doing good to others, while offering the best version of ourselves to the world.
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=53267
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