THE AUTHOR

Vijay Eswaran is the Founder and Group MD of the US$ 700mn QI Group headquartered in Hong Kong . Founded in 1998, QI Ltd today, boasts of over a million customers in more than 190 countries worldwide. The QI Group has 18 different subsidiaries in industries ranging from e-commerce, numismatics & jewellery, travel & leisure to media & telecommunications among others. In Nov 2006, Vijay Eswaran was awarded the honorary title of Dato' by the Sultan of Pahang in Malaysia in recognition for his contribution to the economic growth of the State.

Born in Penang in Malaysia , Vijay Eswaran belongs to a Malaysian family of Indian origin. He learnt the value of mouna or Silence at a young age from his grandfather, for whom it was a way of life.

“A lot of people of that generation practiced mouna in various forms. My grandfather observed mouna vratham , and I learnt elements of it without really understanding its depth then,” he says. However, when it was further enforced by his family guru , it became a greater part of his life. According to him, our mind, being the single most powerful invention ever, has a lot stored inside it, which needs to be harnessed. And this can only be done by understanding the value of silence, “to touch it, dwell in it, and draw upon it”.

“In doing this practice, we address the assault on our senses and the insanity that prevails around us,” he says.

He should know. A successful businessman, at the helm of a global conglomerate, he has been practicing the Sphere of Silence for the last 18 years, attributing much of his personal and professional success to it.