WGF iTalks with Kushil Gunasekera

[Music] thank you. [Music] hello and welcome to wgf eye talks. today we have kushil gunasekar with us. he is from Sri Lanka. he is the founder of one of the noblest organizations in Sri Lanka, committed to humanitarian effects, Foundation of Goodness. kushil is a philanthropist and has changed the face of rural Sri Lanka by spreading hope and smiles to millions of needy and poor people. we will explore kushil's personal and professional passions. he is deeply moving and highly impactful and rewarding thoughts and philosophies, and the promises he holds in his heart for himself and countless others out there in the world, all through a session of questions and answers. indeed, yes. same here. thank you. thank you. yeah, yeah. so let's start with the questions straight. yeah. I would try to paint a canvas for our viewers with several bright and inspiring colors of your highly impactful and highly inspirational life. you never know someone in some corner of the world may be waiting for a single day of hope and inspiration to, you know, turn around or transform his or her life, and this interview may serve its purpose. we believe that if we are able to improve even one human being's life, our purpose is served. if we are able to improve more lives, then God has chosen us for a greater purpose. our viewers seek inspiration from personal challenges and triumphs too. so I would, uh, also, you know, slightly touch upon your personal life and future aspirations. okay. yeah, let's start with the questions. in our highly materialistic world, ruled by cutthroat competition, where more positions, expensive positions, and the quickest positions are the only definitions of success, how do you see and define your life?

well, Hasina, I think I always wanted to be a good human being, and I'm always trying to bridge this gap, being born human and ending up being human. so that's the way I would define my, you know, aspiration. I also wanted to be a nice human being, and as I went along, I thought I'll make it one of the nicest human beings that this world has ever seen. so I am working towards that, uh, goal. so, um, yeah, I'm always carrying and sharing. I have, you know, turned from, uh, contribution from competition to contribution. so, um, that's exactly like you touched on, you know, corporate life and, uh, about competition, and, you know, there are people, uh, uh, you know, very greedy about positions. so, and I've always thought this greed begets greed, you know. it's like success, greed, success. and I think, um, you know, it's like a mirage, you know, you follow greed, and then it's never enough. and when you get to the point, the mirage is, uh, the goalpost. so you have to actually work on your, you know, I think mainly the values, you know. so that's how I see, uh, myself being a very joyful, blissful person. uh, I'm never unhappy. um, I'm disturbed. so, you know, I, I know the true nature of things as they really are in life. so I'm really happy to do what I'm doing, uh, uplifting the spirits of other people. so, you know, and and I'm thinking of equality. what I have, they must have too. so that's my desire. so, um, I don't know how much I can do, achieve, or bridge that gap, but, uh, our aim has always been to bridge this urban-rural divide as much as I can. so the journey has started, you know, like 25 years ago, but now it's officially about 24. next year it will be the 25th year of the Foundation of Goodness. um, yeah, so I think caring and sharing and, uh, you know, being good, doing good, um, becoming a very kind, nice, good person is all what I wanted to achieve.

wow, really great. I wish everyone thought like you. no one needs to be a hardcore ascetic in order to lead a good life for themselves or, you know, to set examples for others. a simple disciplined life in order to create a balance between any kind of excess and any kind of deficiency would make all of us great human beings. however, maybe that's the way of life. it's meant to be. human beings don't understand happiness without misery. they wouldn't understand high consciousness without experiencing the lowest form of consciousness. maybe that's how the world is supposed to be and and run.

yeah, I mean, the thing is this. I think a lot of us are expecting people to change, and we remain unchanged. that's the issue here. we don't look at ourselves, how to improve and strive for excellence, and, you know, how to take this journey for the good of ourselves and for the good of others. so unless we, you know, self-assess ourselves, you know, on a daily basis, like how we have a, you know, um, probably clean ourselves externally, we never look into our mind as to how we have this envy, jealousy, hatred, um, you know, all these greed and everything that goes in. we never try to take them out. so they keep fighting inside you, and you go from that to us. so you need to also look at yourself first because you have to get this individual happiness, you know, by yourself. you can and leave it to others. you know, we don't, we criticize others, but we don't criticize ourselves to do a self-assessment. so if you do this as an exercise every day, then obviously you're going to be better than you used to be. that's the idea. so, um, I think in life, you know, you have to take a call about, you know, good things are hard to do, right? right? so, I mean, it's, it's, if you sell it, let's say, if you, um, you know, like destroy your house, or if you, um, you know, like build, build the house, you will never have it in the front page. but if you break a house, you will have it in the front page, right? right? so it's also like if you steal, then, you know, you'll have it in the front page of the print media. but if you, if you're generous, if you're kind, if you have done a great deed, it's hard to get in there. so, you know, so I think there's less competition in that area, but people don't know. so they go with the flow. many follow the floor, you know. you have, you have to be able to swim upstream. that is what matters the most. you have to do things differently. that's that's what it is, you know. um, you know, and I think for me, there has been no trigger to do good. you know, there are a lot of people I have seen, which is great. I mean, if there is a cancer in the family, then they meet themselves for cancer. if there are kidney issues, they'll, you know, go there and do something for kidney patients. you don't really need a trigger, you know, right? right? you know, so I think in all of us, there are inherent good qualities in us. let's say, absolutely, kindness, forgiveness, patience, you know, so many things are there. so we can work on those. um, Hasina, you'll be surprised. I never studied. uh, I, I failed. I, I failed past my high school. so, but I, I only played a lot of sports because I was mad about cricket. oh, all right, okay. so I played a lot of cricket. I'm on first class. so, oh, wow. but, but I just did sports, and my mother was really angry with me for not studying. but I, I think it's just not studies alone, you know. I, I started to evaluate what good qualities I have. so I put them together and I followed them to the letter because I had to excel in something. so I thought, Alexa, what qualities I have and how I can actually take it to another level. that's great. yeah, that's is what I worked on. yes, yes. because I feel that, you know, education is mandatory, right? it can make you rich, it can make you resourceful, it can make you have great knowledge, but it does, it cannot necessarily make you a happier person, right? become happy, you have to have values. you know, if you don't have those values, you can't be a happy person. have you, have you seen so many qualified, you know, people, you know, when they are aging, they are unhappy, they are dissatisfied, they are discontent. so these are the issues they have to battle with. so if you know life ahead, and if you know what it actually, you know, is out there, the true nature as it is, then you will begin to really look at all these areas and try and address them, you know. you have to be a learned person, but at the same time, same time, for example, I always say to people, intelligence, intelligence is one thing, wisdom is another. you know, intelligent people can also resort to unwholesome activities, but people who are wise have this fear and shame. so they will not resort to anything wrong, because they'll fear, they'll have this shame. so there is a vast difference between being intelligent and wise. so if you are not, if you're not wise, and if you don't cultivate wisdom, okay, you can stray. so a lot of people I see, yes, are qualified, you know, to the extent, but if you're unkind, you know, what is that, what is the point of your education? if you're an unkind person? yes. or if you're a selfish, if you're not caring, if you don't want to share, you know, if you don't have patience, if you don't, if you're not humble, so I think all these characteristics are so important to share one's life, right? yeah, so that's that's, uh, but I, but I always try to follow in terms of being wanting to be a good person. yeah, that that's what it is.

great. actually, see, ultimately, it's, it's education. you know, it doesn't necessarily, you know, need to come with some sort of certificates, through some sort of certificates. so education is something like which you, you know, good values and stuff, which you instill in yourself. so what you are just telling me that you failed in exams, you know, I mean, initially, yeah, in initial exams and all, um, in the initial part of your life, but obviously, I mean, that's totally okay. at the end of the day, what kind of person you are, that's what, you know, makes you. I'm not saying this because I didn't really study, but as you know, I've seen a lot of people pass exams but fail their life, right? no point then. I mean, you have to have a balance, right? yeah, pass exams as well, and then you have to also be a happier person, right? if you're not happy, people around you are not going to be happy. absolutely. so you, you have to love yourself first before you love others, right? so, you know, you, because if you love yourself, then you will have less speech, you will be, you know, not harming anybody. all right, you, what does not please me, won't inflict upon another. so, you know, you will, if you love yourself, so you have to first love yourself, right? then you treat other people's also, it's with same respect. yeah, that's that's the key. yes.

so if I start speaking on goodness in life, you know, in the real sense of being humans and in philosophical connotations, I'm sure I would be speaking for hours, explaining, invoking, justifying, and calling for the extreme need of goodness in communities, societies, nations, and the entire world. that important. at the same time, I'm also absolutely sure that inherently good human beings need not be even asked to do good in their lives. they could do it naturally, just like you. yeah, everyone in this world must understand that it's not easy what you are doing. probably you had other choices, and if you are doing it, you are one of the noblest men on earth. you are the man who has been living goodness, spreading goodness, and infecting all with the noble notion of goodness in there and others' lives. you founded Foundation of Goodness in 1999. it couldn't have been possible without an inherent foundation of goodness within you. what prompted you to turn towards goodness? what all goodness have you been able to spread through your foundation since its inception in Sri Lanka and beyond?

so I'm really humbled by your very kind sentiments, you know. uh, I am actually, uh, I'm a bit speechless because I don't want to speak about myself, uh, too much. so, but all I can tell you from my younger days, I saw this inequality, and, you know, I, I came into the city from a village. but when I went back from the city to the village, I, I realized that, you know, unfortunately, uh, there's this big gap, the the disparagement. so it was huge, and that intrigued me a lot as to why, you know, some, uh, really, you know, uh, prospering, and the others are not. but they had equal mindsets, you know. uh, they were clever people, very talented, um, you know, they had, you know, the skill set, um, they, they had the talent, but they just didn't have the opportunity. they didn't have, you know, the facilities, the training, not the exposure. so when I started to, um, realize that, I felt I'm going to actually, uh, come back, uh, to my village, come back to my village, and then also try and do something, uh, to impact the lives of others, who are having this innate talent but not having the opportunity. so, um, and that's what inspired me, uh, because I think, uh, because I think I had a lot of compassion, uh, and kindness, that when I saw somebody struggling, you know, I wanted to reach out because I think seeing the plight of others defines compassion, and it's easy for someone to be able to, you know, help if you're asked, but helping others unasked, you know, is actually, uh, the kind of compassion that you want to basically get into. so, um, so I, I started the foundation because in 1999, because I wanted to make that, you know, thing, I want to make something happen for the good of other people who are, you know, downtrodden or undisturbed or, uh, marginalized communities. so I decided in 1999 that I'm going to go back to my village. I was a very, I had a successful business at the time, trading sugar. so, I could easily set aside my resources and, you know, start everything begins small. nothing ever great is achieved without taking that one step at a time, and then, you know, you keep going, and and kindness kind of multiplies in abundance, you know. so, and and kindness is something that is never out of fashion. so, you know, if you have kindness, then there's a lot of kindness that is attracting you as well. so I think, you know, I, I wanted to make a difference in my village. I, I wanted my village and the two adjoining villages to succeed. so I, I promised myself, I'm going to commit to uplift these three villages. that's how I started. but never did I comprehend ever that, you know, today we are in 975 villages. last year, we served 307,000 plus people as beneficiaries. so the key here is doing something with purity of intentions, you know, that's the most important thing. nothing expected in return, you know, the purity of intentions. you actually go without any agendas, you know, you, you do it unconditionally, without conditions, and then peace also begins to flourish because you don't expect anything in return. so, so I mean, yeah, these are some of the things that, and as I said, you know, people don't really understand that there are a lot, lots of blessings in abundance that accrue to you when you put something into the universe. it parks itself and gives it back to you at the time you need it, you know. just imagine my flight. I, I'm like, for the last 15 years, I have to raise a million dollars US every year, and I'm still smiling and, you know, not being bothered. people asking me, aren't you stressed out? you have to. I said, no, I'm doing something divine, and I'm doing it correctly. my conscience is clear. so I think the universe has seen it, then it keeps connecting me from from all over the world, various people, including yourself, you know. I, I wouldn't have been able to connect with you and your, you know, prestigious World Growth Forum if I probably didn't do what I'm doing today. so I'm grateful, and that's what keeps me going, you know, that's the well, that's poured into my passion, and that keeps making me go, you know, one step further.

awesome. good men are humble, even after doing magnificent, you know, noble things on such a great skill and such high levels, and on such a high level. your humility makes you even nobler than what people generally see. it's good to see and spread the word around the world all that the Foundation of Goodness is doing under your insightful guidance. I'm young, and I'm sure a lot is waiting to come my way that would enhance my learning and understanding more, driving me towards more goodness and more positivity. I'm sure the world deserves better, and people, you know, if people like you have dedicated their lives to spread goodness, more and more people will try to be good and, you know, do better. thank you for that wonderful answer.

no, no. I also think that you mentioned about humility. I think that's a very, very important quality in one's life. I think it reminded me of a doormat, you know, however much people, you know, um, you know, erupt their feet on that doormat, it stays firm, doesn't get disturbed. so it's, it's like that. you have to be like a doormat, you know, no matter, no matter who who tramples you, you know, you remain the way you are. so that's what matters the most. yeah.

wonderful. thank you. thank you for that very nice answer. yeah.

in the increasingly intense and unending stresses of today's modern life, yeah, which is forcing all of us to be highly selfish and mean, being human is one of the biggest needs of every human being. to transform our world into a world of goodness, forget serving others, we are not even serving ourselves in the right sense. we are cursing, torturing, and killing ourselves on a daily basis, and then, of course, the worst we feel in our body and mind, we make our others feel even worse by our words and deeds. we are simply a sorry lot of human beings, a sorry world. we are, you know, entangled in complex circles and spheres of, I would make you feel bad, you make someone else feel bad, someone else, you know, will make someone else feel bad, and on and on. if every human being decides to serve others, wouldn't we be all serving each other? isn't that the world we all want, consciously or subconsciously? isn't that the world we all want, consciously and subconsciously? isn't my happiness related to yours? isn't everyone else's happiness related to everyone else's? wouldn't or all of us be happy and together if all of us start serving others? aren't we all here for the same purpose? have you found the real meaning of life? have you found the real meaning of being human? how can you dedicate your life to serving humanity?

I think, uh, you know, while as you were saying, a lot about, uh, these areas which has a lot of negativity and toxic, uh, kind of background, you know, what I really feel is that each one has to cultivate peace. you know, that is the key. and today, I think inner peace is the new value, you know. so, you know, in a chaotic world, if you can't work out your peaceable, you know, um, I think inheritance, that's that's a lost cause because, uh, at the end of your life, you know, you want to live a very peaceful life, right? so you, you, you, you want to, um, negotiate to live a life of, you know, clarity, peace, serenity, tranquility, and be calm, you know, that's that's what matters the most. um, so I don't know. I, I felt that, uh, ego here is one of the most destructive, uh, nuclear weapons that we can ever see. it's one's ego. it's not, it's not the nuclear bombs or nuclear, you know, power that one country has over the other. it's one's ego that triggers the nuclear bomb, you know. so ego is a very destructive, you know, trait that we have. so the opposite of ego is what we talked about is humility, you know. so, we have to be able to, you know, obtain that peace into our lives. that is but so if you, if you have that peace into you, you know, you will be thinking, you know, non-harm to oneself and non-harm to the other. what does not please me, how can I inflict upon another, which I spoke earlier as well, you know. so those are the things, you know, that the more I gave, trust me, the more was mine to give, you know. so the, the more I started to share, the more I had on my open to share, you know, the more I care for others, uh, the more I could care for others. so that's the story. so if you are also, like I said before, if you look at your own self, and if you put this jigsaw puzzle together, you know, fix the pieces, then you can lead by example. people around you are amenable, very amicable, you know, you're a peace-loving citizen. so things come following you. so that's what I think we need to do in this world. we can't probably change the world, but we can be changing agents, you know. so we, we can show the world, this is the way to go, you know. um, you know, there is always, there's a saying, no, greatness is not found in possessions, power, prestige, or wealth, rather in service, humility, character, and goodness. so, yeah, so these are the things that one needs to, you know, cultivate, you know, but without blaming others, you know, our job whole life, as I said, is blaming others, but, you know, you have to first blame yourself for what you have done and what you have not done well, and what you have done well, you have to, you know, make it happen more. what you have, what you have not done well, then you can eliminate, you know, time and again by self-reflection. so I think, uh, if you can get this ego part, why do people go to war? because of an ego, right? you know, so I want to be the best, I want to be, you know, when, when you can't even control yourself, how can you control another? example, when you get a headache or when you get a stomach ache, I can't, I can't control myself, right? so I have to go to the doctor or I have to take medicine. but I can't just say, okay, headache, go away, or the stomach ache, you know, please go away. my back ache, you know, go away. I can't. so when you can't control yourself, how on earth could you control someone else? you just can't. so you have to realize, look, you know, if you think with reality, then I think you can make much better progress.

that's right. that's beautiful. you are absolutely right. you know, there's a time when I was exploring, um, how to make a difference in the world, and through my efforts, you know, to create a better world in whatever small or big way I could, I was lost. it is difficult to find the right direction and the right path. finally, I just started in a small way, what I knew and what I felt I could do in the best way, and here we are. I'm sure I'm on earth for a purpose, and I'm contributing to my purpose by doing what I'm doing. um, yeah, thanks for clarifying so many aspects. I pray all human beings start being human and together, let's all enhance as much positivity in the world as possible while eliminating as much negativity as possible.

yeah, I mean, it's us who can change ourselves. it's not about trying to change other people first. the effort is to change us, you know, and when we change ourselves, people around us also will try to do the same. so that's, as I said before, you know, we, we try to remain unchanged, and we want to change someone else. so that's that's what it is. yeah.

right. uh, before I move further, pardon me for my style of asking questions. I just include all aspects of a question into one. yeah, so you may be able to answer in n30, missing minimum of facts and aspects. you don't have to answer the way I am asking, but please try to answer as comprehensively and as deeply as possible. right. your passion to serve others makes you different. your own Foundation of Goodness makes you different. your renunciation of materialism makes you different. every act of your kindness and every thought of your goodness makes you different. how did you evolve into the kushil gunasekara we see today? what transformed you? what are your thoughts and philosophies? what, why your thoughts and philosophies when you are growing up? what do you generally do in a day? what keeps you busy? what makes you get up and spread goodness in life? yes, whole lot of questions to answer. I even forgot from what you said to the end, but, um, some of the gist that I picked up is, I think, um, you know, a good human being necessarily must have kindness and compassion. that that is very important, you know. and a very peaceable person, you know, easy to talk to, just not get angry, asserting the truth, giving even if you have little to give, you know, these are the things that inspire me, you know. as I said, giving unasked, you know, it's easy to give when somebody asks you, but giving unasked, you know, seeing somebody in trouble on the road, stopping and saying, you know, I wish you a blessed life, and, you know, here's loving kindness, and what can I do for you, and do it the way I can, you know. it's not, it's not to wait for the right time and say, I am poor, so therefore I can't help another person, you know. you can go and talk, you can smile, you can, you know, have a comforting word or two. so these are the things that, so my life has evolved, Azina, because I took little steps towards this aspiration, and you have no idea how unexpectedly and mysteriously things started to gather around me, you know. I, I was, I was my mother told me that at the age of 10, that when I was eating, when somebody knocked at a, you know, gate and wanted a plate of rice, I wanted to actually go and give it to that, that person. so my mother was pretty worried that, you know, I would eat, and she went and gave him a plate of rice. but, you know, so seeing others' misery, struggles, and hardships, you know, I, I am broken up. I am awake, then, you know, I'm aware. so that has helped me evolve to who I am today because as I keep going, I never thought, you know, people will rally around me, come together, work hard, and, you know, serving humanity is also a particular art, you know. it's a way of life, you know. it's life. being an engineer or an accountant or a doctor or scientist, whatever, you have to have a passion, and your passion cannot be copied. you can copy the work, you can copy one's style, but you cannot copy your passion. so if you have that passion, every day I wake up, I'm waking up to help somebody. so, you know, my, my, I think Swan is on on on this Zoom call as well, and she's a head of communications, and she knows how many calls I get for a day. I have about 200 WhatsApp messages every day, you know. so I have to juggle around my life somehow. but, you know, the key is both sides, the donors from one side, the beneficiaries from another side. so, and matching them and facilitating to make both parties happy is really blissful and hard to, hard to, you know, um, describe the feeling that you have, the feel-good factor. so, um, you know, every day when I have, you know, open my mail, there is someone saying, to feel, can we do this? um, I, I have this resources that I can help you with, not necessarily monitoring it, but even somebody will say, I am very good at coding, and someone will say, I'm very good at planetary health, someone will say, agree entrepreneurship, some someone says STEM education. so I say, come, let's go, you know, let's do it. so it's a positive, you know, vibes and the energy that you bring. and I have always thought that, um, you know, this 10 most powerful two-letter words, and that is, if it is to be, it is up to me. the 10 most powerful tools that are words that I ever learned. if it is to be, it is up to me. so, you know, it's me. when I get these chances, one thing, as you know, I never say no and can't. my, my, my staff and my colleagues and my associates are always, you know, very worried thinking, where we are going, what will be the end goal, because whatever that comes my way, I say, let's do it. I'm sure we can find a way. so that has also attracted, you know, us to be who we are today. so, it's not a journey that, you know, came to me. I, I remember when I was like 24, 25 years ago, I used to dream of Oprah, you know. I, I used to see her, you know, all the TV shows, you know, her talk shows, and get mesmerized by her generosity and her spirit of, you know, warmed into cancer. but suddenly, the rise and the fall, both came from a very unprecedented tragic tsunami, you know. it hit us badly to put all that we had done right to the ground, and, you know, and then said, build back better. and that journey is far superior because step by step, it's not getting a whole lot of things at once and say, now you do it. it is then you can be complacent. but here you go from grassroots level, step by step, understanding everyone's difficulty along the way. so I think that has given me a a sense of purpose in and a meaningful life, you know, to be content with what I have, you know. people are always, you know, the brightest of people have always been content, you know, with what they had, you know. so they didn't, they didn't say, okay, I need more and I want more. and there are people, but there's a limit because people don't understand that, um, you know, everyone, there are a lot of, um, poor people. I've seen so content, so fulfilled, you know, so peaceful, whereas I've seen lots of wealthy friends of mine who are not happy, dissatisfied, discontent, you know, and not, you know, sometimes oriented in the right direction. they have too many headaches. so you're talking about renunciation, you know, that's that's one of the most important things to let go. letting go is getting more, not, you know, grabbing everything and holding on. the less you have, the simpler life is. so that's that's what I think I can tell you with this question you asked so long.

thank you so much. and, you know, you are doing tremendous work. however, you make it sound so easy. or of course, at your level of consciousness and inherent goodness, it becomes easy. your story and your life are highly inspiring. the youth must listen to you, especially those who are seeking directions to a fulfilling and meaningful life. um, I remember I had visited Jamia Hamdard University in New Delhi, India, and in the huge foyer, they have a huge board where the following are written, like, choose your direction carefully. if you are running, and if you are running in the wrong direction, you would go wrong faster. yeah. and you speak so softly, yet every word makes a hard impact. he also speak so convincingly. no, your goodness is infectious too. I wish more and more people try and become good human beings by imbibing your style and philosophy of life.

yeah, I think ruthless is the one investment that never fails, and I realized that long ago. so, um, that's why I keep doing more and more good. um, I've sacrificed a lot of things. I mean, I sacrificed, uh, you know, gave and gave up my job, which is very, very lucrative. um, you know, I, I wanted to, you know, do good for people because we live in a third world where the disparity is huge. so, you know, I had to take this journey on, and I never ever imagined today, you know, where we would be. but, uh, yeah, so, yeah, yeah. thanks very much. thank you.

we've all grew listening from our parents and teachers that we must invite good values to be good human beings. when we grew up, I don't know how many of us grow as good human beings by the time we are adults or by the time we reach old age, the age of reflections. I don't know how many of us desire to be good human beings and desire to live a different life when we know that we are we are left with only a few more years or a few days of our life. but we let our experiences and acts of others define our life in such a powerful way that instead of living our life, we end up forced to think, speak, and act in ways that we may not like or expect or dream when we were kids. does the problem lie in our parents or teachers or system, or are the goals of good values we are given not attractive enough or powerful enough to let us stick to them, or are we making everything more complex and more difficult for nothing? what are good values, and what good values do you suggest we all must aspire and be inspired to pursue?

yeah, I mean, I think people must understand that the day we are born is the day we get our death sentence, but we don't know how and when. so if you don't know how and when, and when death strikes, you know, you have to be able to live today like your last day, right? so if you are living, if someone tells us that it is your last day, would you do anything bad? I don't think, right? you would want to do something good. so if you are aware that you have, because some, you know, if you take 100 years, there's always somebody who has died in the first year, second year, third year, fourth year. so you don't know, you can die anytime. so we have to live today like our last day, then you will be a good person, you know. so, and unfortunately, people leave it still very late, you know, they'll give some excuse or the other, you know, either, you know, my kids are going to school, so I have to see to their studies, then comes the grandkids, and then they get involved with that, then it's too late. so then your faculties are very fair, so then you can't do the goodness that you want to do in that kind of background, you know. you, you need to be doing good every single day. I know people get caught up in their corporate life, you know, and they compete and compete and compete, but they also need to realize we need to contribute as well, you know. um, contribution brings a lot of peace, you know, a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, you know, a lot of this. so I think it's very important for them to realize that this, this life of ours is so brittle. the other day, I was reading that, um, you know, when Turkey was struck by that very unfortunate earthquake, there is a gentleman who owned 33 buildings, 33 skyrise buildings, and it took only 17 seconds to make him homeless, crying on the road with two loaves of bread. that's all he had, but he had 33 buildings. 17 seconds, you know. so that's how, you know, so brittle is so fragile, this life is. so we need to be reminding these things, you know. um, you know, tomorrow you can, you can be powerful today, but you can be, you know, not so powerful tomorrow. so you need to do good things with your power, you know. you, you can't do it for, you know, my own gain or for the gain of my family or whatever, but we are, we are, we are a world, you know, we are a family is sitting around everywhere, you know. so we need to go and reach out to them and, you know, do the best we can. I mean, coming back to values, I think it's also important parents impart because parents are the first teachers, right? so the children follow the parents. if children see the parents are getting angry, um, you know, having a lot of hate, a lot of jealousy, a lot of envy, then the pain, the children also have a way of picking these things up, you know. so they also cultivate these bad threads. then comes the teachers. the teachers are the role models for the kids. they look at you, you know. so I mean, I remember when I was growing up, I used to look at my own parents and my teachers, you know. so I picked up a lot of good things from them, you know, and started to follow them, you know. so that's the way I think you have to, you know, work out your your life. you can't leave it till too late because, you know, you can die anytime and you haven't done any good, but your intention was there, but you couldn't believe it.

oh, absolutely. and also, I think you asked about good values. what, what I would suggest, uh, we must all inspire to achieve and inspire. I think in my, in my opinion, there is generosity, there is kindness, there is compassion, there is gratitude, uh, there is humility, there is forgiveness, there's patience, helping others, you know, discipline, you know, um, so, so many different aspects. now, those are the very qualities that I person to get that human degree.

great. thank you so much for this wonderful answer. and yes, good values do help, you know, all human beings of all ages. yeah. and and that's the only way you can be happy. you know, I mean, you know, you can be grumpy, you can, your moods can change, you know, all that, but when you know the life's reality, then you bring back yourself and say, okay, you know, it does happen. these things also haven't expired yet. good times expire, bad times expire. so you hang in there, you know, nothing is forever, you know. so you, you have to know that everything is subject to change. when the tsunami struck, you know, I had 30 feet of about 10 meters, you know, waves coming at us, you know. I was there myself, so, so managed to save us, but probably had a journey today, and everything was in brewing debris and double in just a few minutes, you know. so, so these are the things that people need to be aware, you know. you can be the top level today, you can probably go down in 17 seconds, right? so that's that's how we have to assess our life.

yes, absolutely. thank you. there is something that has intrigued me and which I wanted to include in this interview is a childhood friend is cricket, your childhood passion. how did you meet and how did you accept being his manager? um, how are you associated with cricket and so many national and international cricket celebrities?

yeah, I mean, that's a very good question. he's very much younger to me. so I, I was not his childhood friend, but I think we played for the same cricket club. but more than that, I was secretary of a Sri Lankan cricket from the interim committee, not an elected body. I was chosen to, um, play a role in shaping administration in cricket. and at that time, I was the secretary of the under 19 cricket World Cup, and Murli was also playing, you know, in the height of his career. and he is a very generous person. he's very kind-hearted. he, he is very sensitive to the needs of others. so when he saw me what I was doing in my village, he came one day and said, you know, I would like to do what you are doing, and can we join hands? and I was inside me waiting for that kind of, you know, pledge from him. so I said, let's do this together, and I'm very happy. and then he also was the first ever sportsman to appoint, um, you know, manager in Sri Lanka, and I was blessed to inherit that, you know, probably that award or recognition or whatever. so, and he said, I want you to be my manager. so, and now it's over 20 odd years, and we still have remained, you know, intact. and sometimes, you know, managers part, coaches part, and he was a, he was a Tamil, and I was a Sinhalese. so this also gave us, you know, a lot of reconciliation effort that we both put together. and in the Foundation of Goodness, he worked very hard, and with his standing and worldwide stature and fame, you know, he, he had also attracted a lot of celebrities. and I think because we were doing this very well with one cricketer, and because of my cricket background as well, lots of the others drawing. so it's been a wonderful journey. it's been remarkable working with him. he's, as I said, he's he's really, really, um, helpful when it comes to, you know, helping poor people, you know, rise and become independent. I mean, he's he's sponsored. we have, uh, many Village heartbeat empowerment centers around the country. he has, he and his brothers and the company together has sponsored for Village Hardware Empowerment Centers in the key estate community, so who are really downtrodden. so I salute him for his charitable work, and we have had a very, very special journey together. and I am still considered, you know, like his manager time and again, and he's also actually giving back a lot to the Foundation of Goodness through his engagements, whether it's endorsement, whether it's question and answer session, whether it's coaching, you know, various ways in which he's approached for appearances, you know, he gives it back to the Foundation of Goodness. so it's been a terrific journey within.

yeah. thank you. wow. I'm not a passionate follower of cricket, though my mother is. it is religion for her, you know. my cousin is mad after Murali. okay. there are several enthusiasts in my family who love and adore Sri Lankan cricketers. I wanted to get some insights from you on cricket for them, more than for my own personal interest.

yeah, I mean, like you said, cricket is like a religion, you know. yeah, in in Sri Lanka as well. and I know how much India loves cricket, and how how much we love the Indian, you know, because they play, plus the cricket we play, it's always aligned, you know. I mean, you know, India is like our big brother. so, you know, we play some very completely perfect. but, you know, you mentioned about he, he and I do the same school. oh, wow. as well. and yeah, I mean, okay, all these cricketers, yeah, I mean, I think it's these guys who have put Sri Lanka also on the map, world map, because of their sterling, um, you know, very exclusive performances. so I think you need to give them that credit for taking Sri Lanka and winning a World Cup, you know, which is amazing. absolutely. yeah.

thank you. thank you for that answer. so, so what's the road ahead? what, what new initiatives you or Foundation of Goodness are working on?

well, you know, we have now 14 village heartbeat empowerment centers, in addition to the flagship venue that we have in in my village. we have a flagship venue called the Center of Excellence. it's named after the donor who's the King of Trade called OYOB from Australia. it was previously the Natalie Born Cricket Club. now it's the OYOB Center of Excellence. and then we have a sports academy as well, you know. we could be one civil society organization that has a lot of sports profile in our activities. um, so, and then we have 14 other village empowerment centers. and I think, um, my goal by end of this year is to get to 20 village art with empowerment centers, so that 20,000 can study different subjects at any given time, free of costs. yeah, so, and then also play sport. and, um, and I have also something that I'm working on. Sri Lanka has never won a gold medal at the Olympics. so I am, I think by 2028, I'm trying to find a way how to win this elusive gold medal. so that's one of my inspirations. I don't know.

how whether it will come come to pass or this dream realized, but uh on my own, uh with the founders of goodness, uh infrastructure, we are working on having a plan towards this goal.

And then number three is, I want to leave a legacy behind, which we are again working on for children to inculcate good values by introducing a children's goodness care, you know. So because they are all playing, you know, uh either shooting or accelerating fast cars or something like that. So I want to create a children's goodness game so that you remember those days you used to play Snakes and Ladders. So you know, you can go to 99 and you still come down from that snake and you know, so so good qualities take you up in life and the bad qualities bring you down in life. So that's the um, we are experimenting something how to teach kids when you do good things, how good comes back to you and when you do bad things, how the bad things can affect your journey. So those are some of the things that I have in mind. So that's that's so they are.

Then my last uh goal I have is, I've already started something called The Good Life Institute. Um, so the theme is to be Better Than I Used to Be. To be better than I used to be. So it's all about the mind management, you know. The mind is your CEO. So if you, if the CEO doesn't work properly, then the rest of the faculty is also don't work in the same direction to become a happier person. So it's about mind management. It's about, uh, you know, being Better Than I Used to Be. It's about also enhancing one's gross individual happiness, you know. We need to, we need to enhance our gross individual happiness. So these are the things that I'm working on and hopefully, uh, then my life might come to an end, you know. So and then I'm done. But at least I want to leave a legacy because I think whatever we do for others, you know, die is alone with us. But whatever we do for, whatever we do for us dies alone with us and whatever we do for others remains immortal. We are that's that's the story. Yeah.

Awesome, awesome. All the best. All the best, uh, for all the noble goals that you have set. You know, we regularly receive the newsletter of Foundation of Goodness. Yes, we know what all the Foundation of Goodness has done in the past and we all feel good in the heart about all you, your foundation and everyone associated with the foundation have been doing dedicating their lives to noble causes. Uh, we also understand that, uh, it's not easy, you know, to do such work. When even thinking about good of others is difficult for most human beings, and doing is absolutely extraordinary what you guys have been doing. So, you know, it's really great. Yeah.

Thanks very much. You know, we are inspired day in day out. I have, like, I can't do it on my own. I have a very good team of directors and then it flows down into others. Uh, so they also believe in the cause of serving humanity. So it's a, it's a great collective team effort. Uh, and we are enriching humanity as to the best of our ability and it's, uh, giving us a lot of bliss at night and, you know, uh, it's very peaceful when we think and rejoice in advancing years that we did these things. It's just not to brag about ourselves, but to feel good when you see somebody on the road who comes and tells you, sir, you know, you taught me this trade, today I'm doing so well. Uh, you know, and I said, yeah, great. You know, and nothing is expected in return. Everything is unconditional. But all they have to do is to do community aid work, pay forward. That's it.

Thank you. Here, youth in the world have the power to change evil to good. Old people have the wisdom to direct and drive the power of youth. Please share your message for youth and old people. There are weak and strong people in the world in various senses. We can know, uh, where to make the effort and a strong, um, are capable of making successful efforts. Please share your message for weak and strong people.

Yeah, I mean, I, I personally don't think that, uh, I know there are, you know, we can classify them as weak and strong, but they, I mean, every time, um, I had a disaster or adversity, you know, I blossomed because when disaster strikes or when adversity strikes, you know, people think, people get depressed and think, okay, I'm done. These things come to me. And but that's the time you put your best foot forward, right? So, um, and and they also need to learn these eight worldly conditions. Uh, if you don't learn this, um, then they can easily get, you know, depressed and sad and unhappy. And so they need to know that you can't avoid praise or blame. It's going to get to you, no matter even if you are the most powerful person in the world, you're going to get praise or blame. You're going to, you will have, you know, um, joy or sorrow. You will have victory or if it will, you'll have gain or loss. So if you know this ahead, right? So then you can manage your expectations. But, but if you don't know these things ahead, then you can get shaken, you can get disturbed. So if you want to be equanimous and remain undisturbed, then you have to be able to understand this worldwide, uh, worldly conditions, which is a phenomena, you know. So that's how we did.

So I mean, you know, anyone, whether it's a youth or or even the elderly, you know, whatever we do, we have to do it with some systems, some standard quality, you know, with discipline, not compromise your ethics and integrity, you know, you have to be highly principled, you know, all this you have to, you have to be able to package this together. Then when you do this, you know, you become a qualitative person, you know, no shortcuts. You don't compromise with anything. You deliver the best outcome and you wait for the good results. And then, you know, attention to detail is the key, you know, whatever we do, we have to give attention to detail. Then only it's not micromanaging, but making sure that because word of mouth is very powerful. I'll tell you the Foundation of Goodness has got more donations and donors alike from worldwide because word of mouth. We can be on social media, we can do newsletters, we can, you know, create websites, you know, we can do all these things, but it's the word of mouth. Someone who donates to us will go and say, hey, work with the Foundation of Goodness because they give you a feedback. They are on the ball. They don't delay to respond, you know, so many things. So word of mouth is the best rule of marketing. So and I think this is what, um, you know, people have to learn that challenges can bring the best in you and raise the bar every time. That I have been challenged, I raised my bar, you know, so I, I said my, when, when I had adversity, whether it's, let's say, tsunami or whether it's COVID or whether it's economic strike or our, you know, internal conflict, you know, every time, you know, I said, I'm going to put my best for best foot forward. This is going to go away in at some point in time. So we'll create that path to succeed and flourish greatly. And and, you know, last year when people told me that due to economic strife and COVID, you know, impacting, you will never be able to do the kind of charity that you're doing, we did the best in terms of charity lasting. And I can see the trend still continuing. So it's about believing in yourself, doing it right, you know, if you do it right with, you know, with yours, with your organizational skills, you know, as I said about the standards and, you know, doing it really well to the core, I think you'll lead the rest of the universe and you keep going. That's that's what it is. So it's about constantly believing in yourself and to be better than I used to be. That's that's that's the formula and the secret has, you know. So yeah, I've taken a lot of your time, you know, so thanks.

But I'm absolutely loving it. You know, it's great talking to you. You are a man of great heart and wisdom. I wish maximum people to listen to learn and understand what you are doing and make efforts to be good human beings involved with noble causes. Uh, we all hear on a daily basis, we should be, uh, good human beings. We should do good to others. We should help others. We all try to be happy on a daily basis. Doing good to others is such a simple way to be happy and to, you know, evolve into a good human being. It's easy. All of us must try doing it.

Yeah, I mean, you know, that's why I'm saying it's, it's about making things happen. It's not about watching things. Learning in the classroom is one thing. Doing research and theory is another, but translating that into action. You know, we get mesmerized by people who speak beautifully, but there are plenty talkers, seldom doers. So we need people to do things, make things happen, make things happen good for the people who are down. Certain whom we have today, you know, how many are in India and in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, there, you know, there are so many lacking these opportunities. But when you give it to them, they excel in life, right? Yeah.

Kushil, thank you very much for this interview. Thank you very much indeed as well. Yeah, talking to a man of wisdom always helps, you know, enhancing my learning and you have thrown light on several perspectives of life which are so important for everyone. However, most of us so ignorantly and conveniently miss the deeper meaning of life which may so simply, you know, ease our journey. But, um, we, we have ourselves made life and everything within it complex for nothing. So I can understand so much here more myself after, you know, after this conversation with you. It was a great experience talking to you.

Yeah, I mean, thanks very much for those lovely sentiments. We live to learn, you know, every day. I'm learning myself every day, something or the other, you know, so, uh, good to be humble and, you know, keep going as we can. And I can always say that, you know, uh, whatever we do, as I said, you know, I said only because, but you know, and no beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart, you know, right? So much as kindness and doing a favor for someone who cannot repay them. Please.

So and then also, and also you have created something called the World Growth Forum. And, and that itself for me gives that impression that I need to grow. So you, so you're given us a forum to keep growing towards the better to impact others' lives. Wow, absolutely. Yeah, great. Yeah. Personally, I and the entire team of All Good Forums wish you the best in life. And I'm sure your way of life, your various initiatives and endeavors and your your passion to transform the world for better, for good, would always go a long way in inspiring a large part of the world. Thank you very much for talking to All Good Forums. Good day to you. Bye-bye. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. [Music]