Gopal Patel on stage at the TED event in Detroit. Photo Courtesy Jasmina Tomic/TED.

In July, ISKCON News reported that Krishna devotee Gopal Patel (Gopal Lila Das) was invited to speak at TED’s Countdown Summit, the invite-only gathering held in Detroit, Michigan, on July 11-14th.  The event welcomed the world’s top leaders in technology, science, business, government, philanthropy, and faith to explore solutions to the growing problem of climate change.

TED invited 15 religious leaders from multiple traditions to bring their unique perspectives to the problem and solutions for climate change.  Patel, among them, has worked for over a decade to educate and mobilize Hindu communities globally for environmental action and now advises several interfaith and environmental initiatives. He was the only faith-based leader also invited to speak at the TED event, which hosted 40 presenters over the multi-day gathering.

The aim of his presentation was to draw lessons from religion and spirituality that could support stronger environmental action. “Religious and spiritual communities are some of the most enduring social movements in the history of the world. They have adapted to many crises throughout human history and bring a unique voice to this particular challenge,” said Patel. “We explored the unique characteristics of spiritual groups that can support the broader environmental movement, things like community, rituals, and purposeful action in the world.”

That presentation, “The unexpected way spirituality connects to climate change,” has already garnered 450,000+ views and is now available to the public at Ted.com. To follow his service, you can connect through his website or visit his LinkedIn profile.