ISKCON monk and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das revealed several facets of his personal life in Rajat Sharma's 'Aap Ki Adalat' show and advised social media reel makers "not to lose peace and life in their quest for success."
Asked by Rajat Sharma how he became a big hit on social media with millions of followers, while it takes years for people who make reels, Gaur Gopal Das replied, "First thing, 'Be at the right place, at the right time'. When we started our social media journey, it was not a big space. There were very few social media influencers. The growth was easy compared to what it is today. So, to say that we have achieved big will be incorrect. We were at the right place, at the right time.
"Second thing, consistency. Do whatever is your passion. We regularly post our content on social media. We do not waver and say that this one is not going well, let's take something else, or if the second one doesn't work, take the third one, or the fourth one. How can you achieve excellence?
"Third thing, authenticity. If someone else is doing something, what's the use of copying that person? We have this 'comparison ka keeda ' in our minds in India. Watching others and copying them is not authentic. Be original, not a photocopy. God has made each of us different. Nobody's fingerprints match. Like fingerprints, make your imprint unique. To compare with others' imprints is a difficult task.
"Number four. Do not run after numbers. The entire social media has made us run after numbers. Run after impact. If you get the impact, numbers will come. Even if numbers don't come, your content has impacted somebody's life, touched someone's heart. Imagine you are a makeup artist, and after getting your tip, somebody gets selected and his life changes."
When Rajat Sharma pointed out there had been a recent spate in numbers of people losing their lives while making reels, Das replied: "There is a couplet by poet Bashar Nawaz, "ख्वाहिशों के बोझ में बशर ,तू क्या क्या कर रहा है, इतना तो जीना भी नहीं ,जितना तू मर रहा है". To achieve success, one should not lose peace or life. If you lose life or peace, what's the use of success? Successful social media influencers and celebrities should speak about this...The number of those who die while making reels is less compared to those who undergo mental depression daily while making reels. It is the responsibility of those who are leaders in this space to tell people the truth."
Gaur Gopal Das mentioned a sad incident in his life when his father passed away in 2009. He expressed regret for not apologising to his father before he died.
"My father was a chain smoker and his health deteriorated. My mother and I persuaded him to stop smoking, but he didn't listen. I then decided not to speak to my father. My papa implored me to speak to him, but I refused. Two years later, my papa fell at my feet to seek forgiveness. My mom told me to forgive him. She said, even fathers may commit mistakes. I agreed to speak, but after a week, I left home to become a monk. I used to go from the ashram every year to meet him, but I never said sorry to my papa. In 2009, when I returned from a lecture tour in London, my mom rang me up at 1.30 am. She was weeping. No need to say, my papa had died. I took a pen drive of my London lectures and placed it in the still hand of my father. I put my head at his feet and said, 'Papa sorry, I should have never done this to you.' "
On atrocities on Hindus
On the persecution of Hindus, including ISKCON devotees in Bangladesh, Gaur Gopal Das appealed to all to raise their voices against the violence that is being perpetrated there.
He said, "There are conflicts everywhere. From homes to countries. Do not go after who is right and who is wrong. Decide, what is right and what is wrong. Wherever there is injustice, we must raise our voices. Is violence right? Is killing somebody right? Is taking away people and their rights right? So, raise your voice against justice. The world suffers not only because of violence by bad people, the world suffers more because of the silence of good people. Good people remain silent. Support the right cause and fight for justice."
