Jim Carrey’s personal life has been what I will politely call eccentric over the past decade or so, most recently making headlines for his refusal to support a film that he willingly starred in over protests of violence. So while it’s totally normal for celebrities to appear and make commencement speeches at universities come spring — as Charlie Day recently did at his alma mater — it’s a little bit more unusual for Jim Carrey to give a speech at a small Hindu college in Iowa to 285 graduating students.
According to Wikipedia, the Maharishi University of Management features a “consciousness-based education system that includes the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique.” OKAY THEN. Video of the speech is below, but here are some highlights, compliments of the Des Moines Register:
“Excuse me if I seem a little low energy tonight, today – whatever it is,” Carrey said. “I slept with my head to the north last night.”
Hindu humor! Love it!
Carrey also shared personal stories about his childhood. He said his father could have been a comedian but chose to be an accountant because he wanted a stable job. Carrey’s father later lost his job, which taught Carrey an important lesson, he said.
“I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love,” Carrey said.
Good advice to live by, no matter what religion you practice. So, I guess Jim Carrey is Hindu now? Makes as much sense as anything Jim Carrey does. All I can say is thank god he didn’t go with Scientology.