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Part 1: A Gathering for Peace on the Adriatic Coast In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared and decided to observe the International Day of Non-Violence each year on the 2nd of October. This was the birth anniversary of Mahātmā Gandhi. As you know, Mahatma Gandhi helped lead India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. We are so lucky to be here today for this auspicious event. We are on the beautiful Adriatic coast in Croatia, and at the moment, hundreds of people are arriving and taking their place, filling the hall. We have set up this temporary hall on this beautiful coastline to accommodate these hundreds of dignitaries. The President of Croatia, Professor Josip Ispović, has granted his patronage for this event. Participating will be celebrities, spiritual luminaries, political and social humanitarian leaders, artists, and scientists. This event today was organized by the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. Over the years they have organized a series of international peace prayers, the first of which was held here in Croatia in this historical town of Umag. It was actually on the 21st of September in 2001, and more than 1,000 people and honorable guests lit candles here at the seacoast. Just now, the founder of the Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council has arrived, Paramahaṁsa Swami Maheśvarānanda. Everyone is just taking their place now. In order to maintain the numerous peace initiatives which started here in Umag and expanded all over the world, we are inviting you today to join us in spreading this idea of peace, our thoughts and prayers for peace, on tolerance and non-violence as the only viable future of mankind. So stay with us today over the next couple of hours as we celebrate this one day, the day of non-violence. The Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council was founded by His Holiness Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Paramahaṁswāmī Maheśwānanda, who, as you saw, has just arrived now in the hall. This council was established in commemoration of His beloved Master, His Holiness Dharmasāmrāṭ Paramahaṁśrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī, who lived from 1923 to 2003. You might be able to see a picture of Swami Madhavānandajī up the front on the right in the orange. This council was established in his honour. It is a non-governmental, humanitarian, and charitable society that pursues the betterment of humanity’s welfare. One of the council’s central aims is to support these international forums, which inspire dialogue between individuals, nations, and cultures on topics of peace, ethics, spirituality, education, health, youth, and environmental sustainability. You can see how popular these events are; the hall is completely full. The council is an instrument to advance unity and peace by disseminating the messages of Mahātmā Gandhījī. His message was, "Be the change you want to see." And the message of Sri Swāmī Mādhāvānandajī is "One in all and all in one." So you have an idea of what the program is for today. From now until about midday, over the next one and a half hours, we have representatives from all over the world here to share their thoughts, prayers, and dialogue about world peace and non-violence. After this, we will be moving to the historical town of Umag Center to plant a peace tree. This evening, we are back here on the amazing Adriatic coast, where we will be having peace prayers and placing our candles into the sea. After this, which I’m sure will look beautiful—hundreds of lit candles floating into the ocean—we will be blessed to have an actual lecture by the founder of the World Peace Council, Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maheśvarānanda. His lecture will be on world peace and the present situation. This is a lecture definitely not one to miss. This is not the first time that Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maheśvarānanda has planted a peace tree. The World Peace Council has this initiative of planting peace trees around the globe, which are aimed to remind people of their unity with nature and the environment. Swāmījī has stated that peace trees in numerous places and parks will stand forever as a symbol of peace among religions, cultures, and nations, and all who are seeking comfort and relief shall find peace and harmony under their branches. It was nine years ago now that the first World Peace Prayer took place, also here in the Croatian city of Umag in September 2001. Even then, local authorities and His Excellency Agarwal, Ambassador of India, they are starting now. We are celebrating today a day of non-violence and the birthday of Mahātmā Gāndhī, the day which is declared by the United Nations Assembly to be a day when non-violence is practiced. This gathering is organized by Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council and Yoga and Daily Life Creation Union from Zagreb, initiated by His Holiness Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maheśvarānanda. At the very beginning, may I invite His Holiness to light the candle and to start this gathering. It is very important to blow this symbol. We are here on the beach, on the Adriatic coast. This is the place where this symbol of peace and unity comes from. I will blow out this candle as a sign of the beginning of this event. I have not practiced for a long time. I hope I will succeed. I would like to warmly welcome our honorable guests: Pradeep Singh, the Ambassador of India to Croatia; Prof. Dr. Ankica Marinović; Avoyeev, President of Croatia, Prof. Dr. Ivo Josipović; Mr. Mauro Jurman, the Vice Mayor of the City of Umag; His Excellency Dino de Belluj, former Ambassador of Croatia to India; our host, director of the hotel complexes here in Umag, Irene Kaligari; Dr. Dejan Dinevski, Vice President of the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council; Swami Chidanand, representative of Yoga and Daily Life and representative of all the organizations of Yoga and Daily Life in Serbia; Swami Vivek Purī, the President of Yoga and Daily Life Creation Union from Zagreb; Silvia Braja, the Representative of Swami Mādhavānanda International Fellowships from Vienna; Swami Permanant, the Representative of Yoga and Daily Life India; representatives of the City of Umag and representatives of all media; all our distinguished guests from all over the world, and all the other guests from all over the world. Now, may I invite the vice mayor of Umag to give a welcome to the guests. But before that, I should announce that all the speakers are going to light their own candle as a symbolic contribution to the World Peace and Non-Violence Day. I would first like to give the floor to the mayor of the city of Umag, and at the same time, each of the participants will light a candle. Vice Mayor of Umag: To the representatives of the President of the Republic, Mr. Josipovic, dear Mr. Swāmījī, dear ambassadors of the Republic of India, good afternoon to all the guests who are here and all the visitors of this important meeting. I didn’t plan to talk, so I’m sorry I didn’t prepare in advance, but I just want to congratulate you for coming here and celebrating the day of non-violence. It is an important day for all humanity, because I think that non-violence is something important that we celebrate today. We see that there is too much violence in the world, that we simply do not approach each other as people. And I think that such a meeting is important in order for all of us to get closer and live in harmony among people, with nature, with the sea, and so on, and this wonderful thing that we have today. It wouldn’t take much longer, because, I repeat, I didn’t prepare anything special, so I would like to once again use this opportunity to greet this large group of our valued guests who came to our exhibition, recognized the exhibition as a place where we live in harmony with friends and nature. Thank you once again, and I hope that we will see you in the exhibition in even larger numbers, and that this movement of non-violence will find more and more friends around the world. Thank you. Host: May I ask Mrs. Irena Kaligarić to give a word and greet the guests. Irena Kaligarić: Your Holiness, respected guests, and all the other people of goodwill, I am very honored that I can greet you all here in front of our company, and in my personal name, and from the deepest part of my heart, to wish you welcome in our complex and in our city. Maybe today is just a normal day for most people, but it’s not for us. We are celebrating an anniversary today. Today is the 10th anniversary of your first coming here to Umag, of you good people who are promoting peace and harmony between everyone. Let today’s world peace prayer be one more step towards world peace and harmony between everyone. Our wish is that this is not the last time that we are meeting here, and that we are meeting every year, like we were meeting the last 10 years in Umāc, the city of non-violence and of peace. If you will let me now, I will tell one great thought of Mahātmā Gandhījī: "Be the change you want to see," and that is what is written there. Host: I invite Dr. Dejan Dinevski, the Vice President of Śrī Mādhavānanda World Peace Council, to light the candle and give a speech. Dr. Dejan Dinevski: Praṇām Swāmījī, distinguished guests, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council, the organiser of today’s event, is a non-governmental, humanitarian, and charitable organisation that is established for the betterment of humanity’s welfare. Its aim is to support the dialogue between nations, cultures, and religions on the topics of peace, ethics, spirituality, education, health, youth, and environment. Its mission is to support peace and harmony between nations, and to do as much as possible to promote peace and social health for everyone. In its history, it held many peace prayers around the world, but the very first peace prayer was held here on the 21st of September 2001 for Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. At that time, about a thousand participants lit the candles and put them into the sea. And after that, many peace prayers followed. One of the major events that the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council is organizing is the World Peace Summit. From 2002 onwards, the World Peace Summits happened all around the world, in many countries. But in October 2005, it was also organized very successfully in Zagreb. We had many distinguished speakers at our peace summit, among them the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, very high politicians, representatives of states, and humanitarian and spiritual leaders. In the name of Swāmī Madhavānanda and the World Peace Council, Swāmījī planted several peace trees around the world. Between them, three in Croatia: Zagreb, Čakovac, and Split. So today will be the fourth. Anybody knows which is the best time to plant a tree? No, the best time is ten years ago. And the second best? Is now. So we will use the second best time for Umag. But the first best, even better than ten years ago, was planted more than thirty-five years ago. This is the tree of Yoga in Daily Life, planted by Swāmījī. This big and impressive tree has many fruits today, and one of them is today’s event. And one of the branches of this tree is the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council, which has the name of Holy Gurujī, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī, who provided the seed of the Yoga in Daily Life tree. All of us who had the blessing to have the darśana of Holy Gurujī, we know that he was the embodiment of peace. There was peace around him. Wherever he came, everybody could feel that peace. And his main activity was through Swāmījī. And he was so happy when he saw this very big, successful, mighty tree of Yoga in Daily Life. He even wrote a bhajan singing about the glory of his disciple, which I believe is the very unique event of the spiritual history of humankind. Thank you, Swāmījī, for planting this tree of Yoga in Daily Life, that we can all be in the shadow of that tree, and that we all have a chance to act as a part of the fruits of that tree. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak. Host: May I invite Swami Vivek Purī from Yoga in Daily Life Creation Union to light a candle and give a speech. And now I would like to invite Swāmījī Vivek Purījī to light a candle in front of the Association of Yoga in Daily Life in Croatia. Swami Vivek Purī: Hello, dear Deva, dear guests, even though all the time we want to say that here in our meetings, and in our meetings, no one is a guest. Respected Swāmījī, respected guests, I welcome you here, even though we like to say that at the places where we gather, at our yoga centers and our ashrams, nobody is a guest, everybody is at home. Because this is not, let’s say, the task of a certain group of people; this is the task of all people on the planet Earth. Just a small group of the people, this is the task which is supposed to be done by the whole mankind. And, as usually many times Swāmījī has said, there is only one religion, and that is mankind, and there is only one race on this planet, and that is human. So we speak and try through Yoga in Daily Life to expand the idea, which is the space, which is here from the very beginning, and that is what you can see under the image of Gurujī, that everything is in one and one is in everything. That idea is written under the photo of Holy Gurujī, and it is saying, "One in all and all in one." Yoga in Daily Life in Croatia started about 26 or 27 years ago, and it was also this season, it was autumn season. And we can say that in these last 26 years, we came to that point that nearly it is practiced in every city in Croatia, and nearly every Croatian has heard of Yoga in Daily Life. Throughout all these years, around one million people have gone through our yoga classes. From these two coasts, from Umag, and it has spread all over the world, so that after 10 years it would come here again, to Umag. And what I can tell you is that it was a very spontaneous start. Swāmījī said, "Let’s start the peace prayer." And within a few hours, we have organized it, as you can see in this flyer which was given to you on this small photo. Everybody who has been doing some organizational tasks in his life knows that this is actually impossible. To organize one thousand people standing on the coast with hand candles is actually impossible. Impossible, but through this we actually learned that everything is possible. Also, if you say that world peace is impossible, how many people are there? And we are only a few of us who are praying for world peace, so we think it’s impossible, but it is possible. What Vivekananda himself said 100 years ago, he said that we need a small number of strong people who have strength, who have endurance, who have one idea in their head, and everything is possible. Likewise, here we have that happiness, that privilege, that Swāmījī is with us, Swāmījī who is just like that, who has one idea, one goal, one image in front of him, which does not change, and with that energy, with that strength, everything is possible. Through this, we also can say that we are very grateful, happy, and lucky that we have Swāmījī among us, who is also like this, one-pointed, and is with hard work helping, and through his work and our help also, world peace is possible. And one more thing is, if we want to make the world peaceful and do it through non-violence, we have to be very strong. Extremely strong, we have to be. It’s very easy to push the button and kill someone somewhere at a distance or kill him with a gun. But for non-violence, extreme strength is needed. If you read a little bit about the life of Mahātmā Gāndhī, if you read a little bit about the life and ideas of Martin Luther King, extreme strength and extreme training. And if you are asking yourself why Yoga in Daily Life is talking about such aims and making such summits like this, this is what Swāmījī always wanted to make out of us, that we have that strength. That we have that strength, that we can look someone in the eyes and with love we can go through any situation. Which were held 10 years ago and which were held in 2005 in Zagreb as a summit that we had, and which was actually the first such gathering in free Croatia, they are just a reminder that we are exercising even more, that we have even more daily sādhanā to gather that strength to be able to practice non-violence. This is just to encourage us to work more on our spirituality, do more of our practices, and gather that strength so we can go through such a situation. When we look at the problem, we say that it is not violence, but we are actually cooking inside. We have internal strength, such strength that we could kill someone, but we don’t do that. That is not violence. Strength, and through strength, when we have non-violence, that is the right non-violence. When we have running and kicking, then that is no longer non-violence. That is why you need to exercise, you need to have a system, anything, to have internal strength. And this is what we want to achieve and strengthen in every individual through the association, Yoga in Daily Life, through what we are trying to do here through āsanas, prāṇāyāmas. You can go through, and this is what we are trying also through Yoga in Daily Life, that through our practices we are strengthening ourselves so that we can face the problems, and try to solve all of them in a non-violent way. And thank you. You all came here, and we are trying with some ideas to bring our small part for world peace. Thank you. Host: Dr. Aleksandra Vujić-Saṅgītā, a member of the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council and the representative of Yoga in Daily Life at the United Nations, will light a candle and give a speech. And now our dear Dr. Aleksandra Vujić will light the candle. She is a representative of Yoga in Daily Life at the United Nations. Dr. Aleksandra Vujić: I had the privilege to spend the last three months at the United Nations as a representative of Yoga in Daily Life, which has a consultative status with the UN since 2004. And there we are registered as Yoga in Everyday Life. Some UN activities. Before the officially declared Peace Day by the United Nations, it was declared in 2002, and the first prayer for peace started in 2001 in this place. It began in this place much earlier than it was officially announced in the UN. So the first prayer of peace was in this area in 2001, while the United Nations first announced the day of peace in 2002. I would like to share with you one experience from the first day of the General Assembly meeting dedicated to the Millennium Development Goals last week, on the 20th of September, when many state representatives and presidents were there. They were speaking on their achievements in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. The Croatian president was also there, among all. I would like to share one experience with you, which took place last week, September 20. On the first day of the General Assembly of the United Nations, dedicated to Millennium Development Goals. Many presidents were having their reports on how they fulfilled the Millennium Goals, and then the president of one country came and he said, "I think that we have eight Millennium Goals, but we should introduce the ninth Millennium Goal." And it should be happiness, because without happiness, none of the Millennium Goals will be fulfilled. And then the president of a state came out and said that he would like to establish the ninth millennium goal in addition to the eight existing ones, and that it would be happiness, because without happiness, no millennium goal can be fulfilled. I would add that we can introduce the tenth millennium goal, and that should be peace, because without peace we cannot reach happiness. I would say that the tenth Millennium Goal could be peace, because without peace there is no happiness. And I think the efforts of all of us, mainly led by Paramahaṁsa Swāmī Maheśvarānandajī, are a way to show how happiness can be achieved through peace. And I would say that all of us here, together, with joint efforts, led by Paramahaṁsa Swāmī Maheśvarānanda, we are working to get to this happiness through peace. At the end, I would like to read the message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, which is dedicated to this day of non-violence, October 2nd, and which is currently being distributed all over the world: "The International Day of Non-Violence marks the birth date of one of the doctrine’s leading voices, Mahatma Gandhi. Non-violence, Gandhi said, is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. We, at the United Nations, strive to harness the power of nonviolence to overcome prejudice and conflict, and to cultivate mutual respect and understanding among peoples and countries. Indeed, the creed of nonviolence echoes through the United Nations Charter: to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and to ensure that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest. We work every day to bring this lofty principle to life. We do this by promoting human rights, seeking to resolve conflicts through peaceful means, campaigning for the elimination of violence against women, working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and building bridges across cultures and countering hatred and extremism everywhere. The work cannot be left to governments or international organizations alone. Peace may be achieved around a negotiation table, but it is sustained around community tables. Peace starts with people, and it flows from the hearts of committed women and men." Part 2: A Collective Commitment to Nonviolence Communities, families, and individuals all have a critical role to play in defeating violence and creating a culture of peace. On this International Day of Nonviolence, let us work together to use the great force of nonviolence to build peaceful and just societies for ourselves and for our children. So I will finish with these great words, and I can say that we are one more drop in support of UN efforts to strengthen world peace. His Excellency Dino de Belluc, the former ambassador of Croatia to India. Your Holiness, Your Excellency, dear friends, I feel happy that I had the opportunity to be here ten years ago at the already known prayer for peace. I feel happy and lucky that I was able to be present here 10 years ago on that world peace prayer where everything started in Umag. And I’m very happy that I can be part of this day’s event, which is beautifully called the Day of Nonviolence. I’m one of those, like many of you here, who, many years before, started to search for the truth. This happened in that moment when I found out that I know actually very little. Then I went to search for knowledge. Before that, I was part of those who think that they know everything. And I am sure that now in the world we have two types of people who do not know. One of them knows that they don’t know, and those that think that they know. And for us, the problem is actually that second group of those who think that they know, but actually they don’t know. And they don’t know some basic things, which you can find out only by following our old proverbs that you can find all over the world. They are very similar and known. One of those that I think is one of the more important—but all of them are important—is: whatever you do to someone else, you are doing it to yourself. We have here, as you know, "whoever digs the hole for someone else is falling in that hole by himself." Whatever you sow, you will harvest. Who takes the sword, he will fall from the sword. We have many of them. I will not count all of them, but many don’t hear it or don’t give the value to that proverb. But they are the result of maybe hundreds or thousands of years of observing what is happening within the human and the society. So if those people who think they know, if they would know just that whatever they do to someone else, they are doing to themselves—if they had that knowledge, believe me, nonviolence would be a thing of daily life. And very quickly, peace will come into the world. I am happy to see so many participants here. Today we are still a minority. But we all believe that we can change the world in which we are living in a better way. For that reason, I would like to thank the Swāmījī and all of you who had enough courage and, not knowing the things, to follow this path. And I wish to all of you, and to all of us, to do whatever is in our power so that those who know so much become less and less, and that the real knowledge starts to enter and make us more and more human. Because non-violence and peace, no law will bring, whichever law the human is making. Until non-violence and peace are within us. Just recently, I’ve heard one very nice story. One lady told me her grandfather always repeated it, that there are two animals in us. One good and one less good. One violent and one non-violent. One is peaceful and one is not peaceful. And that grandfather said, "Whichever of these animals you will feed, that one will grow." In you and around you. Therefore, continue to feed that good animal. Professor Dr. Anke Samarinović, the envoy of the President of Croatia, Dr. Ivo Josipović, and his advisor on human rights and civil societies. Your Holiness, respected ambassadors, distinguished guests, I am greeting you all here in the name of President Professor Dr. Josipović, who was not able, because of previous obligations, to come here by himself. Mr. President has warmly greeted all of you and wished you a successful day of non-violence and world prayer. I am very honored to be here and represent the President. It is very nice to be here on this summit organized by the Sri Swami Madhavānanda World Peace Council and the Yoga and Daily Life of Croatia. It is very important that such events, like this one, which are organized by non-government organizations, are supported by the government, and are recognized by the government as much as important as they actually are. The President supports every peaceful initiative and is open to communication with all religious communities and organizations that are responsible for the ideas of peace, dialogue, and tolerance. The President is very interested in supporting any religion and whoever is promoting peace and harmony between all other religions. Giving a tribute to this meeting, the President showed that he recognized the noble goal of these days of non-violence for world peace, which so beautifully symbolizes the burning of candles on the coast of the sea in Suton and the planting of the tree of peace—the day of non-violence and of the peace prayer, which will be held in the evening when the sunset will be there. Thank you, Your Excellency Pradeep Singh, the Ambassador of India to Croatia. Please, Your Excellency, Ambassador of India, this is Annika Manivoch, the representative of the President of the Republic of Croatia. Your Holiness Swamījī, distinguished guests, devotees. It’s a great pleasure, it’s a great honor for me to be present here today on this, what I might even call not only memorable, but even a historic occasion. I know all of you are waiting to hear the thoughts of Swāmījī, and I’m sure he will give us the benefit of his wisdom and his spiritual thinking and philosophy. So I will be brief. But I would still take this opportunity to share a few words with you about my thinking on this very important subject. I learned very young, when I was growing up, that violence starts in the minds and in the hearts of men. And therefore, the defenses of peace necessarily have to be established in the hearts and minds of the people. We can do this at various levels. But the most important level that we can do it in is our own individual self. It is first and foremost important for us to be at peace with ourselves. This peace can be established through a recognition of your own personal identity, about who you are and what you are here for, whether it is for yourself or for a larger cause that we are all living for—that we are able to recognize ourselves and recognize the relationship that we have with each other, and the relationship that we together have with the environment and the nature that we live in on the one hand, and on the other hand, our relationship with the universe and the cosmic intelligence and being that we are all a part of. If we are not at peace with ourselves, I feel we cannot be at peace with others. Which is why I think, Swamiji, your contribution to humanity in helping people to understand themselves is of paramount importance. People make societies, and therefore it is equally important for societies to understand and live at peace with each other. The scheme of nature, I believe, is diversity. Somewhere it has been said, one and all, and all and one. Diversity does not, in my mind, mean distinctions. Diversity for me represents richness. Diversity does not mean divisions, as long as you understand the commonalities between the diversities. We are particularly lucky that we are able to understand and to appreciate different ways of thinking, different cultures, different religions, and different philosophies. If we do have an understanding of this diversity between the societies, there is absolutely no reason why there should be any conflict or any hostility between societies. At the third level, we come to countries. Every country represents the interests of its own citizens, but when we break up the formula again, the country is divided into societies, and the societies are divided into individuals. And we are privileged that we live in an age now where the will of the people is represented by the governments of the countries, so necessarily, if we as individuals are at peace with ourselves and with each other, then the countries would naturally be at peace with each other, too. There might be another level at which we can look at the concept of peace, which is the global level, where we transcend our individualities, where we transcend the societies that we belong to, we transcend the nations that we belong to, and we look at ourselves as inhabitants, as children of the world that all of us live in. We’ve got global concerns today. I would not like to dwell on them, since we are talking about peace and commonalities, but it’s worthwhile to remember that we’ve got challenges in the world today. We have concerns about the environment and the degradation that we are causing to the environment, to the detriment of our children and the people who would follow us on this earth. We’ve got concerns about energy and the security of our energy sources, because unless we have energy, we would not be able to ensure development, and unless we ensure development, we would not be able to ensure a stabilized system in the global community. We’ve got concerns about food and the security of food, so that we can ensure that nobody, nobody in any part of the world, goes to sleep on an empty stomach. We now have a new concept, which was referred to earlier today, about the imperative of being happy. It’s being measured as an index these days, but most important, to my view, of most immediate importance to us, is the danger of violence which is manifesting itself through global international terrorism. All of the above causes are of serious concern, but if there is one concern which can destabilize and upset the equilibrium that we are trying to establish in the universe, it is this spreading violence and the scourge of international terrorism. We must understand that unless we have peace, we can’t have development, and therefore we must collectively try to ensure that we can sustain a society which is based on peace and which resists all forms of violence, including terrorism. Your presence here, Madam, today representing the President of the Republic of Croatia, is a testimony to the fact of the close, friendly, and mutually beneficial relations that Croatia and India enjoy. But it is also a manifestation of our shared interest and expression of promoting peace globally. This is an important message that we are sending out to the global community, that two democracies, like Croatia and India, can work collectively towards global peace. This is an important message that we are sending out to the world, that two developed countries, like Croatia and India, can work together to promote and create world peace. I would also, of course, not like to finish without mentioning one of the main reasons why we are here, which is to celebrate the United Nations Day of Non-Violence, which is to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahātmā Gāndhī. He has been an apostle of peace, and the global community, the international community in the United Nations, has recognized him as such. His contribution towards the establishment of a peaceful society, not only in India, not only in the region, but globally, is now well recognized. It is befitting, therefore, today that we are paying homage to him, to his memory, and to his legacy. And for this, Your Holiness Swamiji, we owe you a debt, because it is through your ideas, through your ideals, and through your principles that we have collected here to honor Mahatma Gandhi’s memory and to remember the principles that he enunciated and left for us to follow. And because of that, dear Swāmījī, we are grateful to you that you managed to organize this beautiful meeting so that we can remember Mahātmā Gāndhījī and his work. The principles are here, and his principles are here. Swamiji is here, and Swamiji is here. Let us make the most of it. Thank you. Let’s take the most of what we can. Thank you. Not to forget one important fact: on the 21st of September, ten years ago, the peace prayer was initiated and organized by His Holiness Swami Māheśvarānanda just after the terrorist attack in New York on the World Trade Center. That was a unique and the first voice against terrorism, and our great contribution of the system of yoga and daily life to the violence against the violence. So, may I invite His Holiness to take a word and to give us a speech, and before, to make a small celebration which he will announce. And now we will call His Holiness Swāmījī to also hold the speech. And we also wanted to mention that the 21st of Rujan 2001 was the first such world peace event, our prayer for peace, which was held after the collapse of the skyscraper which happened in New York. Before I would like to say something, I would request all our dear guests and delegates who lit candles, if you can give your hand to this beautiful bunch of flowers to dedicate to Gandhijī. And I would request the technician to move this podium away for a while so we can have nice pictures too. Your Excellency, Vice Mayor, President of the Parliament. And we can have photo calls. Actually, I congratulate you very much. Yes, we can put it here. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. I request you to stand for a minute for the sake of non-violence in the world. Technique also means no violence. Okay, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay, oh, salutation to the cosmic light, Lord of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent. In his divine presence, a very nice good morning, dear brothers and sisters. I’m very delighted and feel blessed to be with you today on this very significant day of the non-violence thoughts of Gandhijī. The instruction of the ancient Indian ṛṣis, the first time this word has been used 7000 years ago after the battle of the Mahābhārata by the Pitāmaha Bhīṣma. After the Mahābhārata battle, the Pāṇḍavas come to Bhīṣma and ask what is the instruction for us? That time, Bhīṣma realized what kind of pain he caused to this world. And he said to Yudhiṣṭhira, "Ahiṃsā paramodharmaḥ." The highest principle is non-violence. And this word of that great Bhīṣma is known around the whole world. Many saints of India, Bhagavān Mahāvīra and Mahāprabhujī, and the great personality, as His Excellency said, the Messiah of Peace, Mahātmā Gandhi, carried out this message, and now we continue. Thank you for your coming. I appreciate the message of the respected President of the Republic of Croatia, the representative who came from his office. Dear Ankica Marinović, thank you for your coming and reading the message of the President of the Republic of Croatia. His Excellency, the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Croatia. His Excellency, the former Ambassador of Croatia to India. The Vice Mayor of the beautiful city of Umag, and vice-head of the city of Uman, and, of course, the manager. All the dear organizers, and especially the representative of yoga in the life of Croatia, Swami Vivek Purī and Ānandī, and company. Also, there are today people from around the world, from many, many countries, not only Europe, but overseas, and dear media. It is really an international event, and I can see how many people have interest in non-violence in the world. A very favorite song of Mahatma Gandhi, he always liked to listen to this. It’s a beautiful bhajan: "Vesnavas are they. The God’s devotees are they. The spirituals are they. The divine holy are they. Who understands and knows the pain of others? That makes you great." And when you know that someone has a pain, and if you can help to release that pain, or not to be the cause of that pain, you are indeed the real spiritual or a human. The non-violence we all think, what is that? And we know it’s not only with the weapons which we have here. On this folder today, you got in your hands the twisted gun. This is a beautiful monument standing at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. And I liked it very much. Whenever I’m there, I make a picture. And so today I thought this is the proper. If all the world and all the armies would twist their guns like this and throw them away, there would be no war victims. There will be no millions of children without a father. There will be no millions of young women without husbands. But violence is not only physical. Violence can be emotional, violence can be intellectual, it can be social or political. In many ways, one can do violence, and not only towards humans or animals, but also towards nature. Therefore, violence can be very dangerous. First, it destroys us, then others. The killer is the first victim to be killed. So today is to remember that we, as humans, understand what is the pain, what is the love, and what is the peace and happiness? Humans are born here as protectors, not as distractors. Humans are born here to unite and live together in harmony. It should not be divided on the name of religion, nor on the name of politics, nor on nations, colors, or cultures. We are all the children of one God. And what you do to others will come back to you. Understand the pain of every creature. One lady in America told me, during the war in the Middle East, her husband was in the army. And they have a small daughter, a three-year-old daughter. And every day before going to sleep, the daughter said, "Mother, when will we see Father again?" Pain. He became a victim and died. That girl is lost forever. We shall take a saṅkalpa today, a vow, that no one will lose their father, and no one will suffer from the pain. If we can’t dry the tears, we should not be the cause of the tears. We adore and thank Mahātmā Gandhījī. He worked very hard. He went with an open chest. He said, "There is no gun in the world to target my heart, my last breath." Will be with peace, name of God. And Gandhijī did, I am very thankful to the United Nations that the 2nd of October is recognized and declared a day of non-violence. Think, please. But this is not only war. The war is going on in every heart, in every family, in every house and street. Now think what you can do to save this world and not to cause the pestilence, pain to any creature. All feel pain. Therefore, it is said, feed them. Love them, but don’t eat them. Who eats will be eaten. Who loves will be loved. And who feeds will be fed. Every action has a reaction. And every reaction will have, again, double actions. I am very thankful to the organizers and the manager of the hotel, that they gave the opportunity and facilities to us in this beautiful country to have today these thoughts on non-violence. Around the whole world, many, many thousands of NGOs, and, of course, the government of India, are observing today the day of non-violence. We have holidays today in memory of Gandhījī and non-violence. So, thank you very much for your coming. Think over: did you ever, at any time, do any act of violence? Did you say someone is stupid? You did it already. If someone is injured by a knife, the wound will heal again. But if one is injured by the word, forever will remain in the heart a very painful wound. So, avoid such a thought. His Excellency the Ambassador of India just now said that from childhood he came to know that peace begins in the heart and in your thoughts of the mind. From childhood, the act of violence begins. And so I have one appeal to the whole world, also to the United Nations. We are through the webcast around the whole world, dear brothers and sisters. More than 200 countries are watching us. Can you do one thing? Don’t give any toys as a weapon to your children. Don’t buy and don’t give the toys. That will be a great help to avoid the violence. Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless you. Professor Boris Marjanović prepared and made a translation of two distinguished books, and Swāmījī will now use this occasion to launch the books. ...the professor of Sanskrit at Zagreb University. Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy, he prepared and translated two books from Hindi: one is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, and the other is about the River Gaṅgā. It is written by Ādi Guru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya. His name is Gaṅgā Lahari. The flow of the Ganges is beautiful. And a very beautiful Bhagavad Gītā translated by Abhinavagupta, 10th century, he was from Kashmir. And our dear professor, commentary, not the translation, commentary, and he wrote now in English, translated from Sanskrit directly. Thank you. Of the different countries, Yoga Day Life, and members. If you can reach more, you can light the candles. The next program we will announce. Thus terminates the first part of our one-day program. We will have the peace tree planting at 12:30 in the middle of Umagh, and the evening program starts with a peace prayer at the Bank of the Sea at 7:00 PM or around 7:00 PM. Then at 7:30, we will have the lecture of His Holiness Swami Maheśvarānanda on world peace and recent developments. Thank you. Will be invited there, and after that, this morning part of the program will end, and the continuation will be around 6:37 here on the coast. The prayer of peace will be made, and at 7:30, there will be a lecture with you in this hall.