Cuttack : Sri Sri University hosted Dr. James R. Doty under its Global Leadership Series (GLS) on the theme Compassion, Social Connection, and Health.
Dr. Doty, an M.D. is the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. Dr. Doty is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Doty is a celebrated author and his book titled “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart”, is a New York Times bestseller which has now been translated into 40 languages and editions.
In his initial remarks, Dr. Doty shared that human values viz., compassion, love, and social connection are not luxury but are necessities of life. The vagus nerve, which is the tenth cranial nerve and the longest, is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system. It is responsible for control of mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate among other things. Breathing techniques and meditation help in stimulating the vagus nerve and help in improved health and well-being.
Dr. Doty further stated that the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for “fight and flight” response. Cortisol or stress hormones are released in case of emergencies. This means that one is breathing more quickly and heavily, which is helping to move nutrients and oxygen out to the major muscle groups. This increases the blood pressure and the heart rate. This may be beneficial for the short term to take up an emergency, but it leads to many health hazards in the long term. Dr. Doty emphasized that learning scientific breathing techniques allow the individual to remain calm in a storm and enable one to remain empathetic and compassionate to others.
Dr. Doty inspired all the participants with his exceptional life story of challenges and transformation. He propounded that by establishing positive social connections, one can improve the quality of their life. He narrated beautiful experiences from his life about the significance of social connections. Dr. Doty reiterated that the World would be a better place if everyone sees from the lens of compassion and love.
Dr. Doty also answered a few questions from the audience and shared tips for the youth for building a sustainable future filled with love and compassion.
Prof. (Mrs.) Rajita Kulkarni, President, Sri Sri University and Prof. (Dr.)Ajay Kumar Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Sri Sri University graced the programme along with students, Faculty and staff members of Sri Sri University. It was appreciated by one and all as participants acquired the tools and techniques to remain in an equanimeous state of mind and acquire timeless values. Sri Sri University organizes such global leadership series for the benefit of the society.
Being bestowed the title of one of the fastest Emerging Universities in Eastern India, Sri Sri University thrives to impart holistic and value-integrated education to develop visionary thinkers with social-consciousness and summative call for Learn – Lead – Serve. As part of its vision to bring the best of the East and the best of the West under one umbrella and create the best confluence of both the worlds, Sri Sri University curates platforms for its students that are unique, unprecedented, and path breaking. Aligned with the mandate of NEP 2020 of reflecting global citizenship, Sri Sri University’ GLS reaches out to global leaders who have significantly contributed to shape the world of science, arts, business, and politics. It gives an incredible opportunity to the students of Sri Sri University to connect and learn from the stalwarts of varied fields.
The programme was a great success and more than 500 viewers joined Zoom and Facebook.
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