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Planting of peace tree in London, 2nd of September 2010

A ceremony for the planting of the United Kingdom's first World Peace Tree.

"I hope it will further bring the communities together when they come to visit the park and see this tree as a symbol of unity and peace."

"Peace is needed in the whole world very much. Mutual understanding, respect, harmony, and love are missing. So peace, Mahatma Gandhi said, there is no way to peace. Peace itself is the way."

Community leaders and a spiritual ambassador gather in a London park for a tree-planting ceremony. The Mayor of Brent welcomes His Holiness Swāmījī, who has planted similar trees globally, and highlights the tree as a symbol for the borough's diverse community. Swāmījī speaks on the significance of the day, linking the act to environmental protection and universal peace, concluding with prayers for harmony.

Filming location: London, UK

Thank you very much for coming to this planting of the UK’s first World Peace Tree. We are honored to welcome the renowned world peace ambassador, His Holiness Bishwaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Paramahaṁswāmī Maheśwarānanda, to London and to Queen’s Park, and the Honourable Mayor of Brent, Mr. Harbhajan Singh. Thank you for coming. His Holiness Swāmījī has planted over thirty peace trees in locations around the world for his followers, from Slovenia to Sydney, Australia, and this is the first World Peace Tree to be planted in the UK. There will be further peace trees planted next week in Birmingham and in Edinburgh. I am very grateful to Karina and Swāmījī for giving me this opportunity to come here and witness the first World Peace Tree. As stated, it is dedicated to the local community. We have a diverse community, and this tree is a symbol of the unity of the various communities. I hope it will further bring the communities together when they come to visit the park and see this tree as a symbol of unity and peace in the world, and locally as well in our borough. This is a great borough, as Swāmījī is now aware. I believe we have the largest diverse community in this borough than anywhere else in the UK, perhaps in the world. Relatively, we all get on very well here, all the communities, and I am grateful to you. I am also thankful to all of the people who have come here to witness this, and I am very grateful to Swāmījī for having chosen this part of our borough to plant the tree. It is a great park, as you can see here, for the community, which is used every day. Thank you. Thank you very much to all of you. My colleague, the director, Reverend Fergus Cappy, has a long friendship with Swāmījī, and we indeed have a long association with Yoga in Daily Life. We have so much in common: faithfulness to ancient, tried and tested traditions; trying to develop deeper spirituality; and calling others to do the same; and modeling the sort of friendship and dialogue without which peace in the world is not possible. So may this beautiful tree prosper and grow and fulfill our wishes. May our friendships prosper and grow, and may world peace have a chance. Thank you so much. Indeed, today is a very great and significant day, as we are planting a tree because today is the incarnation of God Kṛṣṇa, Janmāṣṭamī. You know, millions of people are celebrating today and thinking about the cosmic light, so may... We can say, "Honor to Lord Kṛṣṇa and honor to the entire planet," to protect the environment, because trees are our life. No tree, no life. Someone said, a wise American Indian, "When the last tree will be chipped off and the last fish will die, oh human, then you will realize that you can’t eat your dollars." And so, I’m also very happy that here in this part of London, especially, the respected mayor of this part of London is working very closely with the environment, protection of the environment. Peace is needed in the whole world very much. Mutual understanding, respect, harmony, and love are missing. So peace, Mahatma Gandhi said, there is no way to peace. Peace itself is the way. And also the sisters of the Brahma Kumaris, their first slogan is "Om Śānti." Peace, peace, peace. And this tree may remind us as a symbol of the peace that we need: peace on the earth, peace in the water, peace in the atmosphere, peace in the vegetation, peace in the supreme consciousness, and peace within us. Om Śānti, Om Śānti, Om Śānti, Om Śānti.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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