Len & Laura Berlik Foundation Inc, US

The Infinity Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Princeton, New Jersey engaged in making grants in the areas of compassion and wisdom. In the area of compassion it has funded organization workings for health and human services -food banks, the American Red Cross and organizations working for AIDS victims, both in India and USA. In the area of wisdom, Infinity Foundation seeks to promote East-West dialogue and a proper understanding of the Indian civilizational experience in the world, particularly in the United States and India. The world today is grappling with issues arising from globalization, religious conflicts and economic, ecological and cultural challenges. The Infinity Foundation believes that the experience and wisdom on the Indian civilization can play a positive role in an inter-civilization dialogue based on harmonious co-existence rather than a clash of civilizations. The Infinity Foundation seeks to create dialogue that breaks out of the dualities of anti- and pro- globalization forces, of the right vs. the left, of secularism vs. religion, of science vs. spirituality, of economic growth vs. ecological preservation. Globalization can be a positive force but it cannot simply be translated to Westernization of the planet - in cultural norms, in academic frameworks, in knowledge systems and in definitions of progress and patterns of development. To do so has enormous ecological implications in both biological and cultural terms. To create a global family, a "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", requires that indigenous non-Western civilizations get a seat on the table as equals in crafting the frameworks of discourse, rather than simply being used as exotic artifacts to be plugged into an overall Euro-Centric framework. Re-vitalizing the Indic discourse and helping India find its own voice in this dialogue is a key part of Infinity's mission. The Infinity Foundation is a non-operating foundation. It does not produce original in-house works but supports the activities of other organizations and independent scholars. The writings and opinions of Infinity advisors and others associated with it are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Infinity Foundation. Infinity Foundation is non-political and does not locate itself in either the Left or the Right, and seeks to foster new paradigms un-constrained by ideological camps. The Foundation has given over 250 grants for research, education and philanthropy, including grants to leading institutions of higher education, specialized research centers, as well as grants to many individual scholars. It has also organized several conferences and scholarly events in USA and India to bring out a balanced view of the many positive contributions from the Indian civilization.