Anjali Kumar: My failed mission to find God -- and what I found instead
אנז'אלי קומאר: המשימה הכושלת שלי למצוא את אלוהים - ומה מצאתי במקופ
Anjali Kumar is a Brooklyn-born, first-generation Indian American author, attorney, advisor, speaker and “idea acupuncturist.” Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
right up front that I failed,
gave me a lot of hope.
and significance of our differences.
של ההבדלים בינינו.
by Indian parents -- culturally Hindu,
-- הינדים בתרבותם,
unknown religion outside of India
שאינה מוכרת מחוץ להודו
of just how minority that makes me:
roughly one percent of the US population;
Teddy Bear Factory each year
"טדי בר" בוורמונט מדי שנה
of the Jain religion in America.
my parents then decided,
הורי החליטו,
Let's send her to Catholic school" --
בואו ונשלח אותה לבית ספר קתולי"-
were the only non-white,
in the entire school.
in Flossmoor, Illinois --
בפלוסמור, אילינוי --
that there is a single Supreme Being
to moral shepherding to eternal life.
ועד לחיי נצח.
entirely different.
as individuals,
spending our entire lives
becoming our own godlike, perfect selves.
ודמויי אלוהים.
principles of Jainism
של הג'ייניזם
that no single person
שאף אדם יחיד
of absolute truth,
in your Catholic school.
I was from my peers.
a highly spiritual person,
or a clever play on words,
who checks off the box "none"
about their religious affiliation.
אודות השתייכותם הדתית.
things about Nones are:
religiously unaffiliated Nones
ללא השתייכות דתית
for over one-third of adults
to me about Nones
אודות ה- Nones הוא
with some degree of certainty,
בדרגה מסוימת של ביטחון,
and had found that information out
not-so-reassuring takeaway
people are currently godless,
הינם חסרי אמונה באלוהים,
as easy as I had originally hoped.
קל כמו שקיוויתי בהתחלה.
that on my spiritual journey,
into the spiritual fringe
to keep a fairly open mind,
full of volcanic water
in the convention center --
במרכז הקונגרסים --
heat-infused sweat lodge
וספוגת זיעה
to convene with the dead,
כדי לזמן את המתים,
my deceased mother-in-law
of the hip-hop group The Roots.
של קבוצת ההיפ-הופ "דה רוטס."
she was really happy
היתה ממש מאושרת
on all the pasta I was eating.
בפסטה שאכלתי.
that it wasn't his dead mother
out of South Africa;
בדרום אפריקה;
a 45-minute orgasm --
במשך 45 דקות --
the energy of the universe --
in the Nevada desert at Burning Man,
במדבר נבדה, ב"איש הבוער,"
lie on top of me,
of the Universe to heal my "yoni,"
כדי לרפא את ה"יוני" שלי
at TED -- even TEDWomen --
אפילו ב TED Women --
faith healer John of God
"יוחנן של אלוהים"
a full-trance medium,
למדיום בעל יכולת לטראנס מושלם,
he can talk to dead people.
to channel a very specific group
מתעל קבוצה ספציפית מאוד
whatever's wrong with you.
not have a medical degree
where there is no cutting,
who is thousands of miles away
שנמצא אלפי קילומטרים משם
of rules and regulations.
you can visit John of God
שאתם יכולים לבקר את יוחנן של אלוהים
that you would like fixed,
and doctors to work on your behalf
לעבוד למענכם
לשמור על ראש פתוח.
was kind of weird and inconclusive,
היה קצת מוזר ולא משכנע,
than I already started out.
I came home empty-handed.
to my trip to Brazil,
to some friends
to a couple more people
coffee shop I go to each morning,
שאליו אני הולכת כל בוקר,
next to me on the subway.
of theirs down to Brazil,
to see John of God
apparently told more friends,
and the guys at their coffee shops,
before I left for Brazil
have my email address.
was that I had offered too much
שהצעתי יותר מדי
those messages a few years later,
כמה שנים מאוחר יותר,
three commonalities,
about how they could be reached.
כיצד ניתן להגיע אליהם.
or their friends had told them,
of the three things they wanted fixed,
שהם רוצים לתקן,
and their date of birth.
ולתאריך הלידה שלהם,
like, apartment numbers and zip codes,
כמו, מספרי דירה ומספרי מיקוד,
to stop by their house
לעצור ליד הבית שלהם
or send along a package.
that their wishes were granted
שמשאלותיהם ייענו
that they weren't delivered
was just as curious,
the Muslim, the devout Catholic --
the same three things.
and yes, a few people asked for cash.
וכן, כמה אנשים ביקשו מזומנים.
ultimately a handful of anomalies,
בסופו של דבר קומץ של אנומליות,
for themselves and their families.
ולבני משפחתם.
health issue to be fixed,
asked for good health in general.
להנות מבריאות טובה באופן כללי.
specific subtype of happiness, too --
תת סוג מסוים של אושר, גם --
that could sustain us,
absolutely everything else.
of romantic love,
in epic romantic novels,
ברומנים רומנטיים אפיים,
till the end of our days.
race or religion,
that I really wanted,
of the basic human needs
הצרכים האנושיים הבסיסיים
like Abraham Maslow and Manfred Max-Neef.
אברהם מאסלו ומנפרד מקס-נף.
to the big existential questions
like I had set out to find.
כפי שביקשתי למצוא.
to war or global hunger.
למלחמות או לרעב עולמי.
for absolutely anything,
happiness and love.
a third commonality as well.
their wishes all the way to Brazil,
כל הדרך לברזיל
that we have so much in common
all to hear, especially now,
לשמוע, במיוחד עכשיו,
on the things that make us different,
שעושים אותנו שונים
that I am not a statistician,
שאינני סטטיסטיקאית,
that I just accumulated in my in-box
פשוט צברתי בתיבת הדוא"ל שלי
more qualitative than quantitative.
יותר איכותיים מכמותיים.
with data would tell you,
or demographically balanced sample.
או מדגם מאוזן מבחינה דמוגרפית.
thinking about those emails
חושבת על הודעות דוא"ל אלה
on the bias and prejudice
על ההטיות והדעות הקדומות
or a senseless tragedy
might be insurmountable.
with the opportunity
no matter who we are,
want these things so badly
confused as well --
and email her our deepest wishes,
במייל את המשאלות העמוקות ביותר שלנו,
the remote possibility
by someone who is not a god,
a member of our chosen religion,
look at him on paper,
candidate to deliver.
fractured by religious,
and racial divides,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anjali Kumar - General counsel, author, "idea acupuncturist"Anjali Kumar is a Brooklyn-born, first-generation Indian American author, attorney, advisor, speaker and “idea acupuncturist.”
Why you should listen
Anjali Kumar is the Chief People Officer and General Counsel at Cheddar, author and "idea acupuncturist." She was formerly the Head of Social Innovation and Founding General Counsel at Warby Parker, a transformative lifestyle brand offering designer eyewear at affordable prices while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. Prior to joining Warby Parker, Kumar was Senior Counsel at Google where she was a commercial and product attorney on areas ranging from Google X to YouTube. She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and Fordham University and serves as an advisor to prominent technology companies, luxury fashion brands, consumer products and non-profit organizations including Malala Fund, IDEO.org and organize.org. She serves on the Board of Directors of Happy Money, GloScience Professional, Amplifier Foundation, Edible Schoolyard NY, and GrowNYC and the Guggenheim museum’s Global Innovation Group. Anjali’s first book, Stalking God: My Unorthodox Search for Something to Believe In, comes out January 2018 via Seal Press.
Anjali Kumar | Speaker | TED.com