Kindness to the Planet

RICKY KEJ is a 3-time Grammy award-winning composer, an environmentalist, UNESCO-MGIEP Ambassador for Kindness, UNICEF Celebrity Supporter, UNCCD Land Ambassador, and an Ambassador for the Earth Day Network. He performed and spoke to the crowd at the International Rising with Kindness Youth Conference at Kanha Shanti Vanam in August 2022. Here are some excerpts from his message.

- RICKY KEJ

I’m Ricky Kej, musician and environmentalist. These two pillars define my life. I believe in the ancient Sanskrit phrase, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which literally means, “The world is one family.” It also means coexistence, and it means kindness. It is the base of the Indian traditions, Indian civilization. We often think it means peaceful coexistence between the Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Parsees, Jains, etc. – different cultural groups within the human species – whereas it actually means a lot more than that. Somewhere along our journey, we have completely forgotten that we are not the only species on this planet. We are just one among millions of species. So, true