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Peace Tree planting

We gather to plant a tree for peace, following the International Day of Peace. Living in peace means harmony with community and balance with the environment. This act is a sign of peace and respect for nature. The simple intention behind planting a tree is very powerful. Trees soften our minds and bodies, putting us in a different frame. They give everything without asking. In a garden, one gets back in touch with essential, simple human nature. Diverse intentions in this moment work in harmony toward a peaceful world.

"A peace tree means to fulfill your wish; a peace tree fulfills your wish."

"The tree gives us everything without asking, and when we come to the park and under the trees, automatically our wish is fulfilled."

Filming locations: The Gardens at Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, United States.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Gardens at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. We extend a warm welcome to our guests and thank Peter Bauer of the Fukuoka Sister City Organization for his help in arranging our tree planting today. We also welcome Sister Elizabeth from the Brahma Kumārīs, Derek Schubert from the Sierra Club Tree Planting Team, and Dave Maguire, a pastor at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. We welcome our Yoga Brothers and Sisters who have traveled from near and far, and all those around the world watching Swāmījī TV. We gather to plant a peace tree following the United Nations International Day of Peace on September 21st. Living in peace means living in harmony with our communities and in balance with our environment. Vishwagurujī is recognized worldwide as an ambassador of peace, advocating for it through humanitarian service. Śrī Śrī... Purījī, Śrī Nārāyaṇa Purījī, Śrī Nārāyaṇa... No one is left behind, and hopefully we take a step towards peace. As a sign of peace, respect for nature, and a positive effort, we welcome Vishvagurūjī to begin our peace tree planting and to say a few words. Pascal will present a mala. Now, our dear sister, will you sing something? Yes. Oṁ Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Śrī Devī Śakarmā Deva Kī Jai, Śrī Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Śrī Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda Purījī, Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purījī, Mahāṁ Karatā Paramparā, Viśvaguru, Viśvaguru, Viśvaguru. Kī Jai. Hello, my name is Deb McGuire. I am a friend of Samantha, one of your yoga and life practitioners. I’ve been learning a lot about yoga and daily life from her. I was impressed that you plant trees and that this group values this important effort, so I was happy to come here to support it. Thank you, sister. And our dear sister from Prem Kumari, the early Japanese sister, please, would you say something? Very nice to meet all of you. I was asked to come by my dear friend Pascal, and I was driven to be here. We have a busy schedule, and I myself couldn’t see how it could happen, yet here I am. It was meant that I be here. I love family events, and the vibration here is so sweet. I was so taken aback, and I didn’t know where to go, then from behind I heard the sister. I went, "Oh, all right." Then I walked, and there was Swāmījī in the car, and we walked together. He said, "Oh, I know your founder." He met him in 1962. In 1962, it was just a horse stable, our place. He was very humble. I said, "Yes, those are the good days, the humble beginnings." I know you’re going to cherish this day and this wonderful meeting of hearts and sincerity. Don’t forget it. Because the kind of intention behind something as simple as planting a tree is actually very powerful, and I know your organization will grow and influence many people. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you. The representative of the Karṇāḍha Yoga and Life from Vancouver, the president, will come. Nirvāṇ Purī. He has planted a very big tree in Vancouver. Now we have the former officer of the United Nations, Mr. Veṅkaṭeśvara. When the United Nations comes, then the whole country, the whole world. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. My name is Derek Schubert. I live here in Oakland. I work as a landscape architect and a civil engineer with a group called the Sierra Club Tree Team. We plant trees throughout Oakland. We want everybody in Oakland to be able to enjoy a tree at home, at work, at school, and places where they live. We know how blessed this place is with these big trees. There are many places in Oakland that do not have that blessing. In the modern world, with its hard surfaces, our minds become hard too. We know just seeing trees and interacting with trees softens our mind, softens our bodies, and puts us in a different frame of mind. Many cities throughout the country find it hard to put money into planting and maintaining their trees, and Oakland is no exception. Oakland’s city council has not given enough money to its trees in recent years, so our program seeks to remedy that. We want to bring more trees to all parts of Oakland, especially those that do not have enough. We want to encourage our fellow citizens in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area to recognize just how much trees do for us without asking very much of us. I’m glad to be here. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, and the master of that tree. You can say something. You will take care of it, and you will give us the tree, okay? We are out temporarily here, but you will go with me. So you will love the tree, you will take care of it, you will protect this tree. I will love and take care of this tree as I love and take care of others. My name is Peter Boyer. I’m a volunteer here at the Gardens of Lake Merritt, Lakeside Park, Oakland, California. We’re at the Hill and Pond Garden, sponsored by the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association. Sister Cities International is a post-war, 70-year-old movement for citizen diplomacy worldwide in the wake of the last world war. Its mission is citizen-to-citizen diplomacy to create cultural appreciation, mutual understanding and respect, and a vision of a peaceful world. It struck me, listening to the diverse speakers this morning, how the intentions of each group, each tradition, are all in this moment working in harmony with one another. They are all in harmony with the larger kind of intention that Swāmījī is trying to awaken us all to. So this peace tree was planted in this peace garden by citizens. Did you know the theme of this peace garden is borrowed from the same kind of recreation and rejuvenation that our fellow from the Sierra Club was speaking about? We’re here in a Japanese sister city garden. This is the country that a thousand years ago pioneered the urban garden as a recreational place, a place where you get back in touch with your essential, simple, human nature. This is not meant to make you soft, like you’re weak. It’s meant to make you flexible and strong. So, I can’t think of a greater group to plant this tree with and foster its growth, to give us all strength and flexibility. This is Oakland Central Park. People come from all over to come back here, breathe the fresh air, relax, and become inspired. So I invite you to do the same. Thank you. This is an old tree of this garden in Auckland, San Francisco, and this tree is a very historical tree. It’s coming from a far distance, from what they call Japan, so it is international. It is very international. We need peace for the internet, so this tree will bring a different joy. In which way will the tree bring the joy? The different colors will never be boring. So, this tree is called the peace tree. Now, the peace tree, Bhāṭ Mantra, I have sent it. Sir, come with us. Join us here, sir. Hey, Jake. So, in this mantra, what I have chanted, there is something very secret, but I have given you the key, the brajwāda, the head of the master. A peace tree means to fulfill your wish; a peace tree fulfills your wish. If you wish, then you should come and go around this tree seven times, touch this tree, and don’t tell anybody. Mentally, say... Your wish, you will see the miracles, what will happen. Many people try to put a thread to it, but the food will be overloaded, because we open, people have so many wishes, and therefore, just touch this tree and wish your wish, whatever you wish, it will come. But one thing is there, another miracle in this: if you have a positive wish, it will come. If it is not a positive wish, but against somebody, then it will be rejected. What a bad thing. So today, on this divine day, I wish for all of you, and for this world, peace. We were lucky that it is the occasion of the International Peace Day, which was the day before yesterday, and the United Nations had their assembly there. The United Nations has many, many wishes, but one of those is called sustainability. One of those is the environment and trees, as our dear brother said before, how the tree makes us happy, how beautiful it is. It gives us everything without asking, and when we come to the park and under the trees, automatically our wish is fulfilled, the negative... Wish is disappearing, that’s a miracle here. So, thank you, dear sisters and brothers. Wishing you all the best. God bless you, and may this tree live long, long, and may our children come and also benefit from this tree. Thank you. Thank you, sister, for coming. Thank you, everybody. So we have a photo together now. Ajo, there is a bit. Ajo, please. Everybody. Now we need some water. We have to give you some water. Is there some water?

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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