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'You deal with Google, I with God': When IIT batchmate met Sundar Pichai

While tech leaders chase productivity hacks to fight stress and ageing, IIT Bombay graduate-turned-monk Gauranga Das says spirituality is the real solution. At the India Global Forum 2025 in London, he shared a memorable encounter with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, sparking a wider conversation on mental health, digital addiction, and inner peace. When Gauranga Das met batchmate Sundar Pichai? Gauranga Das, a former IIT Bombay student who renounced his promising engineering career to follow a spiritual path, recalled meeting Sundar Pichai, his IIT contemporary, years after graduation. While they never interacted during college, Pichai was quick to compliment the monk's youthful appearance during their reunion. The monk's witty response, 'You deal with Google, which creates stress. I deal with God, who releases stress,' drew laughter and sparked reflection among attendees. Gauranga Das on the mental health issue The anecdote served as a powerful entry point into Gauranga Das's broader commentary on digital overuse and the mental health crisis. Citing alarming statistics, he said over 230 million people globally are addicted to social media, and in India, 70 per cent of teens spend an average of 7 hours online daily. He warned that 1 in 7 people worldwide suffer from mental health issues, fueled in part by excessive screen time and constant digital engagement. Who is Gauranga Das? Gauranga Das is a globally recognised spiritual leader, environmentalist, and educator. An alumnus of IIT Bombay, he is currently a senior monk in the ISKCON Governing Body Commission and director of the Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV), a model for sustainable living that won the UNWTO Award in 2017 and holds accreditations from UNEP, ECOSOC, UNCCD, and CBD. Apart from his environmental work, he plays a key role in leadership and education. He is a board member at the Govardhan School of Public Leadership, which prepares aspirants for India's civil services, and heads the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre, which preserves ancient Vedic scriptures and offers postgraduate programs in philosophy. He is also the author of 'Art of Resilience' and 'Art of Focus'. Gauranga Das's insights at the India Global Forum 2025 emphasised the urgent need to balance digital life with spiritual grounding, an idea that resonated across the tech and wellness communities alike.