TV Channel

Part 1: Commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary in Wellington The weather never quite works, does it? But this is Wellington. I reminded Vishwagurujī—I reminded him—that the only thing that worries me is his tree is growing faster than my tree. I want to welcome you most warmly. It is tremendous of you to be back in New Zealand for this particularly auspicious occasion, and I thank you for joining us here today. There are many distinguished people, but I bring you immediately the apologies of Andrew Little, the head of the New Zealand Labour Party, who actually went to the railway station and was told to come here. He had driven this way, and then, like all people of his standing, he had other appointments, in fact out of Wellington, so he asked me to convey his apologies. He just could not wait too long, so I record his apologies. I acknowledge, of course, the people sitting in the curve here: Nāgīn Bhāī, Nīl Paṭel, who is the leader of this particular occasion, and the committee members sitting here with him, who serve to ensure this event takes place. I also acknowledge Justin Lester, the Deputy Mayor of Wellington, who has given support to this occasion during his time as Deputy Mayor, and I thank him for the service he has given. I also welcome the High Commissioner for India and his wife. I might add, the High Commissioner was not well yesterday, because my wife Jenny and I were at a dinner party, and he was represented only by his wife at the dinner party, but he has come out today in spite of the weather. High Commissioner, a warm welcome to you. Just before we begin the ceremony, let me remind you of the history. It is documented in your program. Namely, it was 1986 when the Prime Minister of India was in this country, and Nīl Paṭel approached the Prime Minister and said, “Could we not mark Mahātmā Gāndhījī with a statue in Wellington?” The Prime Minister of India spoke to the Prime Minister of New Zealand at that time, the Right Honourable David Lange, and it took twenty years. But many of us were at the railway station on 2nd October 2007, and many of us remember that moving ceremony when the statue—this magnificent statue—was unveiled. At that particular time, the High Commissioner for India in New Zealand, Mr. P. K. Ernst, made the point: “In this part, the gifting of the statue is an expression of our deep appreciation and acknowledgement of the people of New Zealand for setting an example to the world of a tolerant, open, and inclusive society.” The statue was received on behalf of the people of Wellington by the mayor of the time, Kerry Prendergast, and she said, “We are very touched and honoured to have this beautiful statue in our city. It is a wonderful tribute to a great man from whom the present-day world could draw a great deal of inspiration.” Vishwagurujī is here because he understands that as well as anybody, and the fact that he has come to New Zealand to be part of this ceremony is an acknowledgement of its importance. But those of us who are Wellingtonians and look at that statue almost on a daily basis know that it reminds us, intentionally, of his messages. So now we move to the second phase of the commemoration, because the leaders of the commemoration have been to the statue to carry out part of the ceremony. We now move to the dīpa prajvālana, the lighting of the lamp. My understanding is that this will be carried out by the people sitting to my right here, as per the program in your hand. That will be followed by two minutes of silence and the lighting of the lamp. Śubhaṁ karoti kalyāṇaṁ ārogyaṁ dhana sampadā, śatru buddhi vināśāya dīpa jyotir namo’stu te. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ. Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu, mā kaścid duḥkha bhāg bhavet. Asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya. Mahātma Gāndhījī kī jaya, Sanātana Dharma kī jaya, Bhārata Mātā kī jaya. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ… Dīpa Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān Kī Jai. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Guru Deva Kī Jai. Whether you say them now or later, rightly and properly it is a moving ceremony as we reflect on the lessons and thoughts of Mahātmā Gāndhījī. As if you were to live forever. The best way to find yourself is in the service of others. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Thank you. Nīl Paṭel chairs the committee, the PMGBCC committee, which has organized these Gandhi commemorations for a number of years. I am going to ask him if he would now come forward to address us. But as he comes forward, may I say to us all that we are here to honour the memory and to reflect on the thoughts of Mahātmā Gāndhījī. That is what we are here for. We all have our places in the world; we all have the lives we lead. But today, we reflect on the thoughts of Mahātmā Gāndhījī, not on ourselves. I will ask, as I say, Nīl Paṭel to come forward and address us. The chair. Dr. Suresh Vasuri and Dinesh Taylor are not here today. Also, friends, and also our Master of Ceremonies, Ian McKinnon. As he quite rightly said, today we are here to celebrate Mahātma Gāndhījī’s birthday and the observance of the International Day of Nonviolence, declared by the United Nations. Gāndhījī was my mentor, but I was born after he had passed away. He inspired me when, as quite rightly Iyanjī said, when Rājīvjī came. India was in the forefront of my mind and New Zealand was in the forefront of my mind. And we were chatting with Rājīvjī, and Rājīvjī said, “What would you like us to do for the Indian community?” And I said, “Maybe Mahātmā Gāndhījī and Satya Vallabha statues.” And Rājīv Gāndhījī accepted that, along with three or four other ideas that I presented to him. This is based on the New Zealand experience of deregulating the Indian economy and also deregulating the Indian rupee and destabilising the union, which was very strong in India at that time. And David Langejī took that on, and as you said, Wellington City Council—I take pride in being in Wellington. They took that particular issue out first, all the city council. So I acknowledge the contributions, the support, and the love that we share together as an Indian community and as a city council. I was also taken aback when our last High Commissioner visited last year for our celebrations, and this year I am very privileged and proud that Your Excellency and your good wife are here. Gāndhījī said happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. He also said on ahiṃsā that non‑violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. Gāndhījī has led the world, and even in today’s twenty‑first century we are thinking of his philosophies and ideals. I was quite saddened to read two weeks ago that what Gāndhījī fought for is to have peace in our community and in the world. And two weeks ago, in a newspaper, it said Israel is spending thirty‑five billion dollars over ten years to have peace in that region, and that is building a wall and buying some weapons. I think the message of Gāndhījī with non‑violence and diplomacy would be much better and less costly than spending those billions of dollars trying to save the world, and towards peace we should lead it. I am so proud of being a member of this committee, and also so proud of being a Wellingtonian and a New Zealander, but I am more proud of being an Indian, and even more proud of having a great personality like Gāndhījī. Today, there are not many people because we had to change the venue because of the weather, but there is so much positive response from people. We sent out seventeen thousand emails, and only eight people said, “We don’t like this; don’t send me this email again.” So that is a big response in terms of respect towards Gāndhījī and towards the work and principles of his work. I will not take more time because there are great speakers to follow me. I would like to thank all of you, and particularly Uganda Daily Life today, for providing this venue in the rainy weather that we had. I would also like to thank Justinjī and His Excellency for being partners of the celebrations for now seven years. Yes, and I would like to thank you all for coming. There is food to be served, but Yanjī will be explaining that to you. Thank you. We are changing the program slightly, and our distinguished and honoured guest will be speaking at the end of the ceremony, not as shown on the program. But on the program, before our next speaker, there is therefore a music item. Is that ready to go? There is a musical item down on my program here, sung by Krishna Thanawala. Here she is, a New Zealand winner in singing, a Victoria University music student, and that means a lot to me, because I was Chancellor of the University for many years. So anybody who has Victoria University after their name will be listened to very carefully, and you can feel very fortunate to have her here. Good morning, everyone. My name is Girish Mathanawala, and yes, I am a student of Victoria University. I am currently in my third year of study, doing accounting and classical voice, which is opera singing. So it is a little bit different from what I will be singing today, but I grew up doing Hindi and Bollywood songs, so this is one that is very close to my heart. The translation basically goes: “Dear God, we are your humble servants. Bear our burdens. Lead us from darkness to light, and help us to walk on the path of righteousness so we may live this life and the life after with fulfilment.” I hope you enjoy it. Namaste. Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Karishma. That was beautiful. It really was. I really commend you. What a wise decision in your university studies to do accounting on the one hand and classical voice on the other. Mahāprabhudīpa karatā, Mahāprabhudīpa karatā. I just want to say to His Excellency and his wife that they are most welcome in New Zealand. They have been here for several months, so at the time they have not been here as long as some of the representatives of other High Commissions, but we hope they are enjoying their time in New Zealand. We look forward to getting to know them even better over the next several years that they are here, and we look forward to what His Excellency will say to us today in his address. Please welcome His Excellency. Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Deputy Mayor, Mr. McKinnon, Nāgīn Bhāī and his colleagues in the committee, Kāntī Bhāī, Ratilāl Bhāī, Amṛt Bhāī, Dr. Sudesh, my colleagues from the High Commission, and distinguished guests. You know, we have gathered here, like we do every year, to remember and pay homage to Mahātma Gāndhī. You know, while we in India hail him as the father of the nation, I think he belongs to the entire world. I mean, the fact that we could, you know, go to the statue and shift the events here is symbolic that he cannot be confined to a physical space. You know, it is quite remarkable that now it has been about seventy years since he passed away. He still remains the most widely recognised face of probably the last two centuries. Nāgīn Bhāī spoke about the statue that was erected here in 2007, and we are grateful to the council for that. You know, there are over seventy‑five world capitals where his statue has been erected. And I think there are about fifty centres in different cities in the world where centres dedicated to Mahātma Gāndhī have been set up. So, I think, you know, we cannot think of anyone who has a greater claim to immortality than Mahātmā Gāndhī. You know, his message of non‑violence, peace, truth, and tolerance, I think, not only inspired millions of Indians to engage in an intense, sustained, and yet very peaceful struggle for freedom, but I think it inspired movements all over the world, whether these were for freedom, for civil rights, or against racial segregation. I remember, I think it was three years back, then‑President Obama was visiting India, and while addressing the Indian Parliament, he said if it was not for Mahātma Gāndhī, he would not have been the President of the United States of America. So I think that is the legacy, that is the resonance of his message. Sometimes one wonders that here was a man, a frail man, whose word was a kind of command to millions of people, spread all around the length and breadth of a large country like India, without any use of force, without any propaganda, and no social media at that time. So, I think this was because he practised what he preached. And I think he set and attained the highest standards of personal courage and conviction, which probably we will not see anyone else do. You know, Nāgīn Bhāī spoke about the money we are kind of putting into sustaining peace and all that. I think we are seeing a world which is getting increasingly afflicted by fear, by hate, by violence. I think in these times, I think Mahātma Gāndhī’s message acquires even more resonance. I remember when he passed away, someone had said that his greatest accomplishments are yet to come. So the message, I think, remains more and more relevant. And I think as we gather here, we are just not going through a ritual. It is an occasion to rededicate ourselves to the ideals, to the message he stood for. And, you know, his sayings were not only a matter of speech; I think he lived through whatever he said. And I think we will be setting a much better time and a much better world for our next generations if we could follow what he said. I would again thank Nāgīn Bhāī and his colleagues for celebrating this event, you know, arranging this occasion to pay our respects to Mahātma Gāndhī every year. I have to thank the council, which is now represented by the Deputy Mayor. I do not know if I would be politically correct if I say “soon to be the Mayor,” because I think on this day I am bound to speak truth and only truth. Thank you very much, and all the very best to you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Your Excellency. Thank you for your words. And may I say again, it is a pleasure to have you as High Commissioner for India in New Zealand, and your wife here. I now note that the Deputy High Commissioner is also here, and his wife, and I do want to acknowledge them both. Could I now say that we move to an instrumental item that is going to be performed for us? I look forward to that. And then I have on the program to do with the beloved Bañjan Gañjījī’s psalm, and I think that follows that. But the program is a little bit difficult for me to interpret at that particular stage, but doubtless Nīl will advise. You are going to speak now. Will you introduce your item? Thank you very much. Thank you, and nice to see you. Anam Vishwagurujī, Hari Om. Good morning, everybody. I am going to actually sing a bhajan, so it is a vocal, not just an instrumental part of the program. And we have chosen the bhajan which was composed by Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī. The title is talking about Ahiṃsā, so it will well suit this gathering. I am not a Hindi speaker, but what I remember from this bhajan is that the title translates as “The highest dharma is Ahiṃsā,” and it is also clearly written in the Vedas. Well, I think we have had the privilege of a further musical item, played very skilfully and chanted equally so, and I want to thank you for your contribution to this commemoration. Please do so. We are now going to have a further musical interlude from Mīnā. Mīnā looked concerned when I said her name, but I can assure her that it is on the program, so I am working my way through it as per my instructions. Mīnā, thank you very much. We have heard you before at these commemorations. Lovely to welcome you here again. Thank you very much for the time you give. Please welcome Mīnā. My name is Mīnā Bhagwandas. This morning at five o’clock, I found the bhajan that Nāgīn Bhāī told me to sing. I told Nāgīn Bhāī that I do not have that bhajan, and I do not think I sing that well. But I found it. I tried, but I do not think I know it well. Anyway, then I changed to another bhajan that Gāndhī Bāpū also liked. And it is one of the lines, “Raghupati Rāghava Rāja Rām … Īśvara Allāh tero nām, sabako sanmati de bhagavān.” It means that God, you give wisdom to everyone. When everybody has wisdom, then there is no violence. So I think that suits very well with Gāndhī Bāpū’s principle. So, I think I will sing that bhajan, and then, because Nāgīn Bhāī likes that Vaiṣṇava bhajan, I will sing it. I will try my best. I know you all know “Raghupati Rāghava Rāja Rām.” Anyway, you can sing together. Well, Mīnā said she was not well today, but you would not have picked it from the beauty of her voice and the manner in which she made that presentation to us. Please thank Mīnā again. Before we have the next speaker, Nāgīn Bhāī Nīl Paṭel is going to oversee the presentation of garlands and bookends. These are to go to committee members, but I would also ask Inspector Rakesh Naidu to come forward, please. Do not look so surprised. I have had my instructions. You have now got yours. Manhar will sing one bhajan. Manhar. Part 2: Mahatma Gandhi Commemoration Ceremony in Wellington After some coordination among the organizers, a musical item begins. Neil Patel calls out, “Manhar will now sing,” but then the plan shifts. He says, “Okay, we are now having another musical item. As I adjust the program, let’s go with the flow. Are you singing? Who is our singer now? Have we got somebody else to sing now? Okay, I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to move on. My wife is waving furiously at me. Are you going to play the flute now? Okay, okay. Śānti, śānti. Will you introduce it? Vishwaguru, thank you very much. You are keeping me on task. Very good. Thank you very much again, and thank you for coming forward a second time.” The flutist steps forward and explains, “Since it is still Rāghu Bhaṭī Rāga, I will play a daytime rāga because we are in the middle of the day. For the past two years I have been coming to these gatherings, and it was always windy outside. This is the first time that it is indoors, so I can play this instrument. It is called Rāghā Jinjyoti. I would like to temporarily borrow the Master Chairman’s time to call on Jeannie to come forward, because she is trying to take him away—we want to keep him here. Jini and Ian have been pillars of this committee. He performed as a deputy mayor but also as an ordinary citizen when he was not deputy mayor; today he is here in that capacity as a social worker, not as a candidate for regional council. On behalf of the committee, I also wish to appreciate his contribution, his time, and the support he has given us. Thank you.” Ian McKinnon responds, “Well, thank you for that honour, Neil. Thank you for the honour to my wife, Jenny, as well. Be assured, it has been a great privilege over many years to be associated with the Wellington Indian community and this committee in particular. I recognize the work that goes into these commemorations, led by yourself and by the committee. Matters like this don’t just happen unless people are prepared to step forward and do the planning, the organization, and, in the early hours of the morning when the weather hits Wellington, to make the sudden changes. I want to comment on the flute. The flute is actually my favourite instrument because it’s a haunting instrument, it’s a peaceful instrument, and it’s an instrument which, in being played, you can reflect as well. It’s a lovely instrument, but to hear it played here today is a privilege, and to hear it played on a different instrument from what one normally sees with the flute is a double privilege. So thank you very much. Please thank our flutist again. Now it gives me double pleasure to call upon our next speaker, the Deputy Mayor, Justin Lester. I have known Justin for a number of years. He is an extraordinarily hard-working member of the Wellington City Council. He holds the position of Deputy Mayor, and I can say without any qualification that Deputy Mayors work very, very hard in this city—I can tell you that personally. And Justin has certainly been no exception. He is a person of courage and confidence, who stands for what he believes. He doesn’t get swayed by populist moves. He does it for the well-being of the city socially, environmentally and economically, but most of all for its people. He also, like myself, has had the privilege of being associated with the Wellington Indian community, which is one of the strong communities of this city. I acknowledge that now, in asking him to come forward to address you. Please welcome the Deputy Mayor.” Justin Lester begins, “Thank you very much, Ian. Tēnā koe. Namaste, namaskāram, padhāro, sushia kral, namahinui, ke koutou katoa, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai rākei. I do want to acknowledge Ian McKinnon, the EMC, a former colleague, a good friend, my predecessor as Deputy Mayor, and mentor when I came on to Council. Ian was an enormous source of advice and wisdom and a statesman here in Wellington. So thank you, Ian, for being here today. Tūnagan mai Neil Patel, and to your committee, the Pūjā Mahātmā Gandhi Commemoration Committee. You’ve done an incredible amount of work. You do so every year for pulling this together, and at short notice given the weather conditions this year. So well done, and thank you for being here. Vishwagurujī, Gurujī, also to High Commissioner Sanjeev Kohli and your wife, and the Deputy High Commissioner as well. It’s great to see you here again today. “Now we meet here to celebrate not just one event today—Gandhi’s birthday—but it’s also the International Day of Non-Violence. But on behalf of the city, I also want to represent the cultural connectivity that we have here in Wellington. We have an amazingly diverse and connected city, and the strength and resilience among those communities is a really important aspect of Wellington, and I want to acknowledge that today. On Gandhi, there have been few individuals in the world who have had a greater influence than Gandhi. His devotion to peaceful resistance and his fight against discrimination, oppression, and injustice have given hope to many millions. It has given rise to social change the world over. Nagani lived by the philosophy of Satyāgraha, the firmness of truth. It was revolutionary in its day, but it has continued beyond his time, and it has given a voice to many oppressed and to millions of men and women whose voices otherwise would not have been heard. That is why it was particularly important to commemorate Gāndhījī with the Gāndhījī statue at Wellington Railway Station. It’s also one of the important stops on the Wellington Peace Heritage Walk. There are 16 monuments, sculptures and buildings which remind us of peace, tolerance and understanding here in Wellington. One of the highlights in every month of my calendar is the citizenship ceremonies that we host. Every month we host about two to three hundred new citizens—more than three thousand people every year. In total we have eighty different ethnic groups across Wellington, and about a quarter of Wellingtonians speak a language other than English as their native tongue. We are extremely fortunate in this city and in this country to have this unique diversity, and it makes us stronger, and that’s what makes this city so great. As Gandhi said, a nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people, and that’s no better reflected than here in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Thank you for your time today, and it’s great to be here.” After the Deputy Mayor’s speech, Neil Patel resumes. “I’d be grateful if the Deputy High Commissioner could come forward to receive flowers. The Deputy High Commissioner—I’ve lost him. There he is, back there. Please welcome the Deputy High Commissioner for India as he receives flowers. It would not be fair not to say a few words about Sujjī. When he was, sir—there is no disrespect to you—but I predicted that he would be the acting High Commissioner. Fifteen days before he became the High Commissioner, that was because Vishwagurujī had sent me the messages, and then I said it to him. He said, ‘Don’t say that, don’t say that.’ And His Excellency was standing in the same room. And he did perform quite a good job, quite a good job. We’d like for the committee to thank him for his support. “We’re coming to the close of the ceremony, but before I call upon Viśvagurujī, there are some awards to be announced and one to be presented. I’d ask the Deputy Mayor to come forward again. The award that has been presented—these are known as the committee awards. The award is to be presented to Nagamai Neil Patel, the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Commemoration Committee of New Zealand, a businessman in our city and a person deeply involved in the Wellington Indian community, giving service accordingly. There are other awards to be made, but I understand they will be presented on October the 12th. Thank you. “Now, there are other speakers on your program, but because of the nature of the transition, I’ve already extended the apologies of Andrew Little, the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. I have extended, and I extend, apologies on behalf of one or two other national politicians. I don’t think James Shaw or Grant Robertson are able to be here at the moment. So I extend their apologies as well, and we now move, in fact, if I’ve interpreted everything correctly, when Neil stops talking, I’m going to move to the final speaker. So now, it is a real pleasure to introduce Vishwagurujī. It’s an honour, as I’ve already expressed, for me to have such a distinguished person with us today—both as part of this ceremony and also personally. And it is just so appropriate that he should be the final speaker at this very important commemoration. I’m now going to ask David Jenkins if he would introduce and bring forward our distinguished visitor.” David Jenkins takes the floor: “Yes, there is a little bit of other business. One of Swamījī’s works has involved the establishment of yoga in daily life, and the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council was founded by Viśvagurujī in commemoration of his master, His Holiness Dharmasārat Paramahaṁsī Svāmī Madhavānanda. It was established as a non-governmental, humanitarian, charitable society pursuing the betterment of human welfare. The Council’s central aim is to support international forums for dialogue between individuals, nations, cultures and religions on topics of peace, ethics, spirituality, health, youth and environmental sustainability. It is also an instrument to advance unity and peace by disseminating the key messages of Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Jī, such as ‘one and all’ and ‘all in one.’ It also explicitly refers to Mahātmā Gāndhī Jī and ‘be the change you want to see,’ along with his other messages. The goals of the World Peace Council are featured primarily through their annual World Peace Summit, which works to promote and support the realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals—the initial target of 2015 was not quite achieved, but we must also recognize the values of the Earth Charter Initiative. “Now, Vishwagurujī has been recognized and acknowledged worldwide by statesmen, scientists, doctors and dignitaries from many religions for his untiring, selfless, humanitarian and spiritual service, as well as his efforts to promote physical, mental, spiritual and social health for the betterment of society and to promote peace and harmony on Earth. Through the World Peace Council and related organizations, he has initiated humanitarian activities including the planting of hundreds of peace trees, peace prayer ceremonies worldwide, international and interfaith conferences, and a variety of projects in India—providing medical services to villages that need them, rainwater harvesting to provide drinking water, education for children and protection for women. Establishment of Universities for Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga and reforestation: Swāmījī’s work is done throughout the world by millions of people, supported by thousands through his disciples. In New Zealand, one of his tireless supporters, helping to do this work, has been Nāginbhāī. Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Vishwagurujī to make this presentation to Naginbhai. This is the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. The Sri Swami Mādhavānanda Peace Award has been conferred by the World Peace Council on Naginbhai Neil Galabī Patel as an Ambassador of Non-Violence and Peace by Swami Maheśvarānanda, Viśvagurujī, the President, and by the General Secretary.” After the presentation, Neil Patel speaks emotionally, “I am so humble. It is not the award; it’s the work that counts. It’s not the work that counts, it’s who you do get inspired by, and that is Vishwagurujī. I met Vishwagurujī twenty years ago, and I heard him at St. John’s Church, a public lecture like this. Nobody knew him. I never met him. But I had respect in my young days—when I was a college student, we, as university students, were drawn towards Svāmī Vivekānanda. And I saw this purple or orange colour, and I said, ‘That’s the man I was looking for.’ He became my mentor, and I really humbly offer my award to Mahāprabhujī, the gods, and the city of Wellington, and to my committee members. Thank you very much.” The MC then calls out, “With considerable honour, we now welcome Viśvagurujī to speak to us. Please welcome him.” Viśvagurujī begins with a prayer: “Oṁ Asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor mā mṛtaṁ gamaya. Oṁ Śānti Śānti Śāntiḥ. Salutations to the Cosmic Light, Lord of our Hearts, Omniscient and Omnipresent. In His Divine Presence, a very nice good morning, dear sisters and brothers. His Excellency the High Commissioner of India, his dear wife, all the members of the committees, the vice mayor of the city, all my dear bhaktas—today is a very special day, the day that we celebrate and remember one of the great personalities who came on this Earth, in this world. One of the German philosophers said, the time will come when people will say, ‘On this earth, such a great personality has walked, like Mahātmā Gandhi.’ Gāndhījī is not only for India but for the whole world. It was Gāndhījī who said, ‘There is no way to peace.’ Peace is the way, and peace begins from one’s own heart; charity begins at home. His divine thoughts are toward every creature—not only for humans, but also for our vegetation, our culture and our environment. I think it was Gāndhījī who said, ‘Mother Earth has enough for our need, but not for our greed.’ This is Gāndhījī’s words. Gāndhījī said, ‘Vasudev Kuṭumbakam’—the whole world is one family—but now the greedy people say the whole world is a market. This is the difference. As a Native American said, ‘When the last tree is cut down and the last fish dies, O men, then you will realize that you cannot eat your dollars.’ So now the people have gone too far, and that is why they are all suffering. There is only one way back: to love each and every one. If not, then at least as much as we love ourselves. We have gone too far. We are destroying the whole earth. We are destroying the mountains for highways, we are destroying the forests, the rainforests in many countries like Brazil. Every day, thousands of hectares of the rainforest are destroyed because they say it has no use—we want to have something for commercial. “So, my dear sisters and brothers, it is a day to remember not only who Gāndhījī was, but we have to accept those words and walk on that path. We have to follow his slogans; his words should not be only just on a piece of paper. Like all speakers before me and myself, we are remembering Gāndhījī with some beautiful words. ‘Be the change you want to see.’ Yes, this is great, but do we change a little bit ourselves? And if we do not change, the world will be in very, very great trouble. Only the spiritual teachings can save the world. The human got the most powerful tool from God, and that is intellect. And that intellect needs education. And education is that education which makes the human a human. And that knowledge can only be given by the parents, in the lap of the mother and the lap of the father. We can learn these three things: the morals, the spirituality, where one understands what is humanity, and the culture. Nowadays there is no education in the mother’s lap, because the lap is not empty anymore—there is a laptop on the lap of the mother and father. No time for children. Ethics, morals and spiritual education are all that remain to save our world again. So spirituality without God—nothing and nothing will survive again. “India is the cradle of culture, and we know that Indian culture has given a lot to the whole world. We are all proud of every culture, but one said, ‘Every culture is a good culture, but the best culture is agriculture.’ Yes, and we have to come back to our agriculture. So many cancers, so many diseases—from where do they come? It is a man-made disease. We are asking the question about organic food. When I first came to New Zealand, about twenty-five or thirty years ago, there was no question of organic food, but now it’s organic, organic. The best honey of New Zealand, manuka, that honey is disappearing. They are making it in other countries and selling it under the name of manuka honey. And you know, dear ones, all citizens of New Zealand, that bees died here. And you borrow or buy the bees from America. Why did it happen here? That’s it. There is no scientist in the world today who can make one drop of the honey that a bee can make. No, sir? And there is no scientist in this world except God who can make one drop of blood.”