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From YouTube: Radhanath Swami and Dr. Cornel West - 1
Description
Start from 17:30 to escape the introduction.
Princeton scholar Dr. Cornel West and Radhanath Swami, a spiritual teacher, activist and author, in a discussion titled "East Meets West: A Dialogue Between Cornel West and Radhanath Swami". Tuesday, April 19, 2011 in Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall.
East meets west part 1
A
Welcome
soliton,
my
name
is
vineeth
Chandler
and
I
have
the
honor
the
privilege
and
really
the
pleasure
to
serve
as
the
coordinator
for
hindu
life
here
at
Princeton
University
this
evening,
I'm
especially
pleased
and
delighted
to
welcome
each
and
every
one
of
you
and
to,
of
course
welcome.
Our
special
guests
for
East
meets
West.
A
In
just
a
few
moments,
I'm
going
to
have
the
pleasure
of
bringing
out
my
dear
colleague
as
well
as
our
special
guests,
to
kick
the
evening
off,
but
before
I
do
that
I
just
wanted
to
share
a
few
words
really
from
the
heart
I'm
going
to
kind
of
depart
from
the
script
a
little
bit,
because
this
program
is
really
for
me.
It
it.
It
transcends
the
script
so
to
speak.
It
transcends
the
formal
logistics
of
bringing
together
two
great
speakers.
A
A
It's
really
the
fulfillment
of
a
dream
and
I
feel
so
personally
honored
to
be
able
to
share
that
with
everyone
this
evening,
both
dr.
Cornel
West,
as
well
as
His
Holiness,
rather
not
Swami,
have
recently
published
memoirs
and
in
preparation
for
this
evening.
I
was
rereading
those
two
great
books,
the
journey
home
and
brother
West
living
and
loving,
outloud
and
I
was
just
struck
by
so
many
parallels
and
I
think
we
might
hear
about
some
of
those
parallels.
A
A
You've
heard
the
expression
too
good
to
be
true
and
the
more
cynical
or
skeptical
part
of
us
might
think
when
you
read
some
of
these
really
miracles
that
both
of
these
gentlemen
speak
about
in
their
own
share
of
their
own
experiences,
we
might
be
tempted
to
think
it's
just
too
fantastic,
it's
just
too
incredible.
It's
just
too
unbelievable
in
this
day
and
age
of
cold
hard
facts.
A
Here,
I
can't
think
of
a
better
person
to
introduce
and
to
get
us
into
the
mood
of
east-meets-west
than
Paul,
because
everything
that
he
does
is
a
testament
to
the
power
of
bringing
traditions
together,
bringing
people
together
in
dialog
and
working
together
in
celebrating
and
uplift
one
another
I'm
honored
and
touched
to
call
him.
Not
just
a
colleague
but
a
very
deep
heart
friend
and
I
know
that
that
friendship
is
going
to
continue
and
only
grow
stronger,
even
as
his
journey
takes
him
away
from
Princeton
and
on
to
new
and
exciting
chapters
in
his
life.
A
C
And
with
dr.
West
at
a
dinner
and
a
Swamiji
said
as
a
blessing,
it
is
a
great
pleasure
to
be
with
one
of
my
oldest
new
friends
and
I
can
see
already
that
this,
the
we
are
witnessing
a
wonderful
gathering
this
evening,
and
it
is
certainly
my
pleasure
to
have
been
invited
to
participate
in
this
and
I
also
want
to
extend
my
heartfelt
thanks
to
Vinny
Chandra,
who
is
our
Hindu
chaplain
and
our
coordinator
of
Hindu
life.
C
C
So
I
want
to
start
just
by
saying
that
east
meeting
West
seems
like
a
good
thing
to
me.
You
know
we
meet
in
a
lot
of
ways
we
can
meet
on
the
football
field
or
soccer,
as
as
you
Americans
call
it,
and
we
can
meet
in
the
diplomatic
corps.
We
have
met
militarily,
we've
met
in
very
serious
economic
competition,
and
it's
also
good
I
guess
for
East
to
meet
West
on
religion
or
spiritual
matters,
but
I
also
think
we
would
be
remiss
if
we
didn't
admit
that
east
meeting
West
is
also
fraught
religion
and
spirituality.
C
Czar
often
is
not
our
forums
for
differences
and
coming
close
together.
Sometimes
our
perspectives.
The
differences
can
be
amplified
and
those
differences
do
not
always
lead
to
a
deeper
appreciation
or
affection
for
one
another.
So
East
meeting
West
is
not
necessarily
a
recipe
for
we
have
a
we're
sheikah.
We
have
a
great
student
here
who,
who
uses
the
word
delicious
for
things
that
are
kind
of
good
people,
places
things
events,
so
that
was
delicious,
which
I
love
but
east
meeting
West
can
be
a
not
such
a
delicious
fusion.
C
You
know
what
I'm
saying
it
can
be
a
little
harsh,
but
what
we're
trying
to
do
here
tonight
and
already
successfully
is
that
we
are
coming
and
we
are
having
II
meet
West
in
a
very
special
and
beautiful
way,
because
we're
coming
at
it
with
heart
that
desires
the
desires
one.
Another
does
not
desire
x'
to
know
one
another
desires
to
love
one
another
desires
to
gain
in
respect
and
learn
something
from
one
another.
C
We
are
coming
together
with
a
heart
that
is
shared
these
two
wonderful
thinkers,
spiritual
leaders,
intellects
activists
are
coming
together
to
give
us
a
heart
where
East
might
be
swept
and
we
might
share
a
heart
together.
Sometimes
you
have
a
puzzle
in
your
life
and
you
have
that
peace
and
you're.
Looking
for
that
peace,
maybe
tonight
the
person
who
doesn't
share
our
tradition
will
offer
us
that
little
piece
and
we'll
put
it
in
there
and
we'll
say,
I
see
my
tradition
even
more
beautifully.
C
Now
that
I
have
the
whole
puzzle
in
front
of
me
all
the
pieces
may
be
snapping
together
and
this
this,
these
two
wonderful
men
here
tonight
have
both
recently
released
autobiographies,
as
we
need
mentioned.
I
think
that's
very
important
because
we're
not
really
here
working
in
the
abstract,
we're
actually
here
about
lived
life
life.
That's
that's!
That's
difficult!
That's
painful!
That
you're
trying
to
wrestle
through
things
and
they've
both
been
so
honest
about
that
for
themselves
and
that's
where
we
find
one
another
in
our
vulnerability.
C
C
But
that's
never
the
way
it
happens,
and
so
what
we
are
doing
here
is
actually
coming
as
people
each
one
of
you
as
people
are
too
honored
honored
guests
as
people,
and
we
are
here
together
simply
as
sojourners
seeking
and
so,
and
these
two
have
seen
you
know
they
have
been
in
the
street
and
they
have
been
in
the
academy
they
have
been.
Both
of
them
have
had
experience
in
the
east
and
the
west
and
the
north
and
the
south,
and
in
heaven
and.
C
Enough
of
all
of
that,
you
know
what
I'm
getting
at
I'm
getting
at
tonight
is
a
night
where,
if
we
do
this
right,
we
will
all
lead
leave
here
with
hearts
stronger
minds,
clear
love,
more
intentional,
a
little
bit
deeper
in
our
own
faith,
traditions
respecting
one
another
who
have
different
faith,
traditions
and
walking
out
here,
singing
and
dancing.
So
that's
what
I'm,
hoping
for
I
am
I'm
going
to
briefly
introduce
these
two
wonderful
people,
but
I'm
going
to
move
out
quickly,
but
all
I
want
to
say
and
I'll
start
with
dr.
C
West,
who
is
of
course
a
university
professor
here
at
Princeton
is
the
class
of
1943
professor.
He
is
you
know
some
in
a
book
that
will
be
read
for
generations
called
race
matters.
His
last
book,
brother
West,
is
a
wonderful.
If
you're
looking
for
a
meditation,
it's
a
wonderful
place
to
start
more
than
that.
For
those
of
us
who
are
honored
to
be
at
this
university,
he
is
such
a
public
citizen
of
this
university.
He
is
there.
He
is
part
of
our
community.
C
Radhanath
swami
is
also
an
incredibly
teacher,
he's
been
a
30
years
of
bhakti
yoga
practitioner
and
teacher.
He
has,
though
he
is
the
founder
and
director
of
rod
head
Gopinath,
ashram
and
Mumbai
India
and
there's
many
more
things
to
say
what
I
really
want
to
say
is
that,
because
of
his
teaching
because
of
his
his
spiritual
practice,
250,000
individual
souls
are
fed
every
day
in
India.
Now
that's
what
we're
talking
about
when
we
talk
about
spiritual
activism
and
I
want
to
segue
using
that
example
into
our
conversation
tonight.
C
What
we're
going
to
do
is
we're
going
to
start
with
each
of
Swami
ji
and
dr.
Wes.
Will
each
speak
for
about
10
to
15
minutes
on
the
topic
of
God
love
and
spiritual
activism,
from
your
own
tradition,
God
loves,
spiritual
activism
and
I.
Think
one
of
the
best
ways
to
proceed
in
an
evening
like
this
is
to
not
assume
knowledge.
C
You
know
come
at
it.
You
know
really,
assuming
that
we
don't
really
know,
because
many
of
us
don't
and
and
I've
been
a
up
in
a
Christian
a
long
time
but
I
you
know
hearing
you
talk
about
Christianity
I'm,
going
to
learn
something
so
don't
assume
anything
for
both
of
you
enjoy
this
and
and
so
we're
going
to
we're
going
to
have
each
of
you
speak
and,
and
then
we're
going
to
have
some
Q&A
that
have
already
been
filled
out.
So
without
any
further
ado,
I
want
both
of
you.
C
C
D
D
B
D
And
I
was
sitting
on
a
dirt
floor.
In
a
simple
tea
stall,
there
were
five
or
six
very,
very
poor
people
who
are
squatted
down
drinking
tea
and
I
was
one
of
those
four
people
and
something
happened
that
changed
my
whole
perspective
of
life.
A
boy
walked
in
perhaps
sixteen
years
old,
in
desperate
poverty.
D
D
D
D
D
Wanted
to
see
a
change
in
the
world,
but
what
could
I
do?
I
read
that
famous
quote
of
Mahatma
Gandhi
that
we
should
be
the
change
we
want
to
see
in
the
world
and
even
though
I
was
rebelling
revolting,
demonstrating
I
saw
within
myself
the
same
basic
core
disease
that
was
the
cause
of
the
people.
I
was
revolting
against
and
I
realized
that
if
we
want
to
change
the
world,
we
have
to
change
our
heart.
D
B
D
D
Bhakti
is
the
path
of
service
with
devotion.
As
a
way
of
expressing
our
love
for
God,
there
was
a
beautiful
passage
in
a
special
book
called
the
srimad-bhagavatam
that
deeply
affected
me:
Savai'I
panchal,
but
o
dharmo
yato
bhaktir
at
hoaxer,
j,
ahoy,
Tiki,
opera
Theodore.
You
got
no
super
acidity
that
the
supreme
Dharma
or
religion
is
that
which
awakens
loving
devotional
service
to
the
Supreme
Lord
to
awaken
within
us
the
genuine
inspiration
to
be
an
instrument
of
God's
compassion
within
this
world.
D
When
I
was
young,
I
heard
a
statement,
if
we
do
not
have
an
ideal
were
willing
to
die,
for,
we
have
nothing
very
meaningful
to
live
for
and
I
understood
the
strongest
deepest
foundation
that
could
create
stability
and
integrity
in
any
situation
in
this
world
and
the
highest
ideal
is
love
unmotivated
in
interrupted
love
in
the
Bible.
It
is
said.
The
first
commandment
is
to
love
God,
with
all
your
heart,
mind
and
soul,
and
the
natural
result
of
that
is.
You
will
love
your
neighbor
as
yourself.
D
D
And
when
we
love
God,
we
naturally
spontaneously
learn
to
love
every
living
being
because
we
understand
our
relationship,
para
dukkha,
Duque.
This
is
the
quality
of
an
actually
enlightened
person,
according
to
the
Vedas
that
one
sees
another
person's
suffering
to
be
my
own
suffering
and
another
person's
happiness.
To
be
my
own
happiness.
D
D
B
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
He
didn't
go
for
himself.
He
came
here
simply
for
the
purpose
of
being
an
instrument
of
God's
love
when
he
was
asked
by
a
journalist.
We
have
our
own
religions
here.
Why
have
you
come
he
shared
his
heart.
I
have
not
come
here
to
convert
I've
come
to
enlighten
to
remind
you
of
what
we
forgotten,
that
love
of
God
and
compassion
toward
every
living
being
is
our
very
essences
within
all
of
us.
It
simply
must
be
revived,
awakened.
D
D
And
wherever
you
put
me,
I
am
what
I
am?
Can
I
I
began
the
talk
by
explaining
I'm,
very
honored
to
be
with
all
of
you,
especially
considering
you're,
all
some
of
the
greatest
bankers
from
the
great
one
of
the
greatest
banks
in
the
whole
world
and
I
haven't,
had
a
bank
account
or
sign
to
check
in
40
years.