Random Acts of Kindness: Om Swami & Puneeta Roy

Om Swami has touched the lives of millions through his bestsellers on spirituality and wellness. With an MBA from the University of Technology, Sydney, he has built and exited multi-million dollar businesses. An unconventional monk, he’s the brain behind the fastest-growing meditation and kindness movement in the world, Black Lotus. Om Swami writes on his blog twice a month and stays away from all forms of social media.

Puneeta Roy is a media professional with over 30 years of experience. Her interest in expressive arts has led her to conduct workshops with young people using theatre and the arts as tools for self-exploration and transformation. As the Founder Trustee of The Yuva Ekta Foundation, her vision of equity and social justice has translated into the creation of several such platforms. The past decade has ignited a deep interest in emotional intelligence especially in the labyrinth of human relationships, even as the exploration of one’s own self moves towards greater awareness and compassion.

Almost ten years ago, Om Swami renounced material wealth and left for a spiritual quest to Varanasi where he was initiated into the path of renunciation by a Naga saint in a little village. Soon after, Swami spent 13 months in intense meditation in the Himalaya. In conversation with Puneeta Roy, Founder Trustee of the Yuva Ekta Foundation, he discusses his latest book The Book of Kindness, which suggests a definitive means to achieving true happiness: through the path of kindness.

THE JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Described as the 'greatest literary show on Earth', the Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of ideas.
The past decade has seen it transform into a global literary phenomenon having hosted nearly 2000 speakers and welcoming over a million book lovers from across India and the globe. Our core values remain unchanged: to serve as a democratic, non-aligned platform offering free and fair access.
Every year, the Festival brings together a diverse mix of the world's greatest writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people and entertainers on one stage to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.
Festival Co Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, alongside Producer Sanjoy K Roy and Teamwork Arts, create a platform for an array of speakers to debate, discuss and present their ideas in the annual five-day programme set against the backdrop of Rajasthan's stunning cultural heritage and the Diggi Palace in the state capital Jaipur.
Past speakers have ranged from Nobel Laureates His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, J.M. Coetzee, Muhammad Yunus and Orhan Pamuk, Man Booker Prize winners Ben Okri, Howard Jacobson, Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Michael Ondaatje, Paul Beatty and Yan Martel, Pulitzer Prize winners Andrew Sean Greer, Benjamin Moser, Colson Whitehead and Jhumpa Lahiri, Sahitya Akademi winners Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, M.T. Vasudevan Nair as well as the late Girish Karnad, Mahasweta Devi and U.R. Ananthamurthy along with literary luminaries including Amish Tripathi, Chima¬manda Ngozi Adichie, Vikram Chandra and Vikram Seth. An annual event that goes beyond literature, the Festival has also hosted Amartya Sen, Amitabh Bachchan, the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Fry, Thomas Piketty and former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
The Jaipur Literature Festival is a flagship event of Teamwork Arts, which produces over 33 highly acclaimed performing arts, visual arts and literary festivals across more than 40 cities globally.

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