When Success Is Not Enough: Dr. Abraham George on Purpose, Service and Shanti Bhavan

In this episode of What’s Your Story? The New Earth Grid, Manini speaks with Dr. Abraham George, social entrepreneur, author and founder of the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project.

Dr. George’s journey has taken him from serving as an artillery officer in the Indian army to building a successful career in finance and technology in the United States. After nearly twenty-five years in business, he returned to India to confront poverty, discrimination and the lack of opportunity available to children from marginalized communities. 

In 1997, he founded Shanti Bhavan, a residential education programme built around a radical commitment: support every child from early childhood through school, university and the beginning of their professional life. The organization now operates two residential schools and provides education, healthcare, housing, meals, mentorship and long-term guidance to children from some of India’s most underserved communities. 

This conversation explores the difference between achievement and fulfilment, why meaningful change requires long-term commitment, and what happens when compassion is supported by strong and accountable institutions.

Dr. George also reflects on the experiences behind his memoir, Mountains to Cross: Finding Life’s Purpose in Service, which traces his path from the Himalayan battlefield and the corporate world to a life centered on education, justice and service.

In this conversation

We discuss:

• The experience of serving in the army and how it shaped his understanding of courage and responsibility 
• Leaving India and rebuilding his life in the United States 
• Building wealth, professional success and an international business career 
• The moment conventional success stopped feeling sufficient 
• Returning to India with the intention of addressing systemic inequality 
• Why he chose education as a way to break intergenerational poverty 
• The creation of Shanti Bhavan and its long-term residential model 
• Why helping a child requires more than paying school fees 
• The sacrifices involved in building an institution that can survive beyond its founder 
• The effect Shanti Bhavan graduates have on their parents, siblings and wider communities 
• His work in rural healthcare and environmental health 
• The meaning of service, fulfilment and socially responsible leadership 
• Why he wrote Mountains to Cross 
• What he hopes the next generation will understand about success and purpose 

Dr. George’s work also extends to rural healthcare through the Baldev Medical and Community Center, journalism education and environmental-health advocacy that contributed to the removal of lead from gasoline in India. 

His story asks a difficult but essential question:

What are we willing to build once success is no longer only about ourselves?

About Dr. Abraham George

Dr. Abraham George is a social entrepreneur, philanthropist, educator and author. He is the founder and CEO of the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project and the author of Mountains to Cross: Finding Life’s Purpose in Service.

His work has focused on education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, environmental health and the creation of institutions that give marginalized communities access to lasting opportunity.

Shanti Bhavan was featured in the Netflix documentary series Daughters of Destiny, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth. The series follows five students over seven years and documents the effect of long-term education on their lives and families. 

Connect with Dr. Abraham George

Official website
https://www.drabrahamgeorge.com

Mountains to Cross: Finding Life’s Purpose in Service
https://www.drabrahamgeorge.com/mountains-to-cross-book

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abraham-george-519315274

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dr_abraham_george/

All author proceeds from Mountains to Cross support the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project. 

Learn more about Shanti Bhavan

Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project
https://www.shantibhavanchildren.org/

Support Shanti Bhavan
https://www.shantibhavanchildren.org/donate

Dr. Abraham George’s Shanti Bhavan profile
https://www.shantibhavanchildren.org/team-member/dr-abraham-george

About the podcast

What’s Your Story? The New Earth Grid explores the people building new ways of leading, creating, educating, healing and serving.

These are not only conversations about ideas. They are conversations with people turning those ideas into institutions, communities and working alternatives.

Subscribe for more conversations with the makers bringing a new grid online.

You can email us @[email protected]

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