Nine start-ups have made it to the Unicorn Club in the first four months of 2021 and like every year, many of them are founded by IITians. With IIT alumni having an ‘annual revenue responsibility’ of around USD 1 trillion globally (as per an observation by IBEF), we can’t help but wonder – Do all IITians opt for entrepreneurship after graduation? Well, not necessarily. As atypical as it may sound, many of them have even gone on to build a career in yoga, meditation and other ancient Indian disciplines.
Acharya Prashant is one such figure. An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, he worked as an IRPS officer before getting into spirituality. With his beliefs deeply rooted in Advait Vedanta, he promotes veganism and is an environmental activist as well. Acharya is also the founder of Prashant Advait Foundation, a non-profit socio-spiritual organization, and writes books on spirituality and hosts several podcasts. One of his works is the recently launched ‘Shastra Kaumudi’, an online course on Upanishads and Gita for Indian nationals and foreigners alike.
Though, not as established in the spiritual community as Acharya Prashant is, Rajat Khare is another such IIT Delhi alumnus. An active Vipassana practitioner, he cites yoga and meditation to be instrumental in transforming his personal and professional life. He started practicing yoga a few years back. Since then, in his bid to inspire and educate others, he has been writing about yoga, especially Vipassana, on his social media page Rajat Khare – Yoga.
Other IITians who have deviated from the typical IIT route are the well-known Khurshed Batliwala and Swami Mukundananda. While the former is an author, speaker, personal coach and teacher of meditation for the Art of Living, the latter is a spiritual leader and Vedic scholar. By choosing a route that is atypical of an IITian, these individuals have proven that balancing your career and inner wellbeing is crucial in life.
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