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Part 1: A Commemoration for Mahātmā Gāndhījī The weather never quite works, does it? Because this is Wellington. But I reminded Mishra Gurujī—I reminded him—the only thing that worries me is that his tree is growing faster than my tree. I really 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. He actually went to the railway station and was told to come here. You had gone to the railway station; he was driving this way, and then he, like all people of his standing, has other appointments—in fact, out of Wellington. So he asked me, "Would you 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: Nagin Bhai, Neil Patel, who is the leader of this particular occasion, and the committee members who are sitting here with him and who serve to ensure this is taking place; 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 that he’s given. But I also welcome the High Commissioner for India and his wife. I might add, the High Commissioner wasn’t 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’s 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’s documented in your program. Namely, it was 1986 when the Prime Minister of India was in this country, and Neil Patel approached the Prime Minister and said, "Could we not mark Mahātmā Gandhījī 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 20 years. But many of us were at the railway station on October 2, 2007, and many of us will 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: "On India’s 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." Mishra Gurujī 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 commemoration. We now move to the lighting of the lamp, and my understanding is that this will be carried out by the people who are sitting to my right here, as per your program in your hand. That will be followed by two minutes of silence. (The lighting of the lamp.) Om Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sarve Santu Nirmayāḥ. Sarve Bhadrāṇi Paśyantu, Mā Kaśchid Duḥkhabhāg Bhavet. Asato Mā Sadgamaya, Tamaso Mā Jyotirgamaya, Mṛtyormā Amṛtaṁ Gamaya. Om Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Mahātmā Gāndhījī kī Jai. Sanātana Dharma kī Jai. Bhārata Mātā kī Jai. Om Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī Jai. Īśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Īśvameśvarānandī Gurudeva kī Jai. Rightly and properly, it’s a moving ceremony as we reflect on the lessons and thoughts that Mahātmā Gandhījī has left us. So it is a moving ceremony as we reflect. But let us also reflect in our own silence. We’ll have two minutes of silence as we reflect on the life and the lessons of Mahātmā Gandhījī. And as we move into the second minute, let’s remember the words he gave us: "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." "Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn 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. Prime Minister Neil Patel chairs the committee, the PMGBCC committee, that has organized these Gandhi commemorations for a number of years, and I’m going to ask him if he would now come forward to address us. But as he comes forward, can I say to us all that we are here to honor the memory and to reflect on the thoughts of Mahātmā Gāndhījī. That’s what we’re 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 Gandhījī, not on ourselves. I’ll ask, as I say, Neil Patel to come forward and address us. The Chair. Viśva Gurujī, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Parahaṁsa, Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Jī, His Excellency the High Commissioner of India, Mr. Sanjeev Kohli Jī, Deputy Mayor Śrī Justin Lester, Wellington, Paṇḍitjī, Chetan Bhai Joshi, Kanti Bhai, committee member, Amrit Bhai Rama, committee member, Rati Bhai, committee member, and 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 Mahātmā Gandhi’s birthday and the observation of the International Day of Non-Violence declared by the United Nations. Gandhijī was my mentor, but I was born after he had passed away. He inspired me when, as Ian Jī quite rightly said, when Rājīv Jī came, India was in the forefront of my mind and New Zealand was in the forefront of my mind. And we were chatting with Rājīv Jī, and Rājīv Jī said, "What would you like us to do for the Indian community?" And I said, "Maybe Mahātmā Gandhi and Sardar Patel statues." And Rājīv Gandhi accepted that, with other three or four ideas that I plotted with him, which is based on New Zealand’s experience of deregulating the Indian economy and also deregulating the Indian rupee and destabilizing the union, which was very strong in India at that time. David Lange took that on, and, as you said, Wellington City Council—I take pride in being in Wellington—and as we took that particular issue out of all the City Council first, so I acknowledge the contributions and the support and the love that we share together as an Indian community, as a city council. I was also taken aback when our last high commissioner visited last year for our celebrations. And this year, I’m very privileged and proud that Your Excellency and your good wife are here. Gandhijī said, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." He also said on Ahiṃsā that "nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man." Gandhiji has led the world, and even in today’s 21st century, we are thinking of his philosophies and ideals. I was quite saddened to read two weeks ago that what Gandhijī fought for is to have peace as well in our community and in the world. And two weeks ago, in a newspaper, Israel is spending $35 billion over 10 years to have peace in that region, and that is building a wall and buying some weapons. I think the message of Gandhijī with nonviolence and having diplomacy would be much better and less cost-effective than spending those billions of dollars in trying to save the world, and towards peace, we should lead it to. I’m so proud of being a member of this committee, but also so proud of being a Wellingtonian and New Zealander, but more proud of being an Indian and more proud of having a great personality like Gandhijī. Today, there are not many people because we had to change the venue because of the weather, but there’s so much response, positive response from people. We sent out 17,000 emails, and only 8 people said, "We don’t like it, don’t send me this email again." So that’s a big response in terms of respect towards Gandhijī and towards the work and the principle of his work. I will not take more time because there are great speakers to follow me, and I’d like to thank all of you, and particularly the Indian Daily News today, for providing this venue in the rainy weather that we had. And I’d also like to thank Justin Jī, His Excellency, for being a partner of the celebrations for the last seven years. And I’d like to thank you all for coming. There’s food to be served, but Ian Jī 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. So, not as shown on the program. But on the program, before our next speaker, there is therefore a music item. And is that ready to go? There is a musical item down on my program here, sung by Karishma Thanawala. Here she is, New Zealand winner in singing, Victoria University music student, and that means a lot to me, because I was Chancellor of the University for many years, so anybody who’s got 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 Karishma Thanawala, and yes, I’m a student of Victoria University. I’m currently in my third year of study, doing accounting and classical voice, which is opera singing. So it’s a little bit different from what I’ll be singing today, but I grew up doing Hindi and Bollywood songs, so this is one that’s very close to my heart. I’m actually singing "Vaishṇava Jana To," slightly different from the program, and the meaning of the song is a prayer to God. The translation basically goes, "Dear God, we are your humble servants. Bear our burdens. Lead us from dark to light, and help us to walk on the path of righteousness, so we may live life and life after this world with fulfillment." I hope you enjoy it. Thank you. (Performance) Thank you very much, Karishma. That was beautiful, it really was, and I really commend you. What a wise decision in your university studies to do accounting on the one hand and music on the other. You will survive, whichever you go, you’ll feel good, and you’ll make some money. Yeah, well done, wise decision. But thank you. Thank you very much. Please express our thanks to her again. We’re honored today by a number of people here. Among those, of course, is the High Commissioner for India in this country, and His Excellency is going to reflect on Mahātmā Gāndhī here. But I want to say to His Excellency and his wife that they are most welcome in New Zealand. They’ve been here for several months, so at the time they haven’t 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’re here. And we look forward to what His Excellency will say to us today in his address. Please welcome His Excellency. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Deputy Mayor, Nagin Bhai and his colleagues in the committee, Sudesh, my colleagues from the High Commission, and distinguished guests. You know, we’ve gathered here like we do every year to remember and pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. 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’s quite remarkable that now it’s been about 70 years since he passed away. He still remains the most widely recognized face of probably the last two centuries. Nagin Bhai spoke about the statue that was erected here in 2007, and we are grateful to the council for that. You know, there are over 75 world capitals where his statue has been erected, and I think there are about 50 centers in different cities in the world where centers dedicated to Mahātmā Gandhi have been set up. So, I think, you know, we can’t think of anyone who has a greater claim to immortality than Mahātmā Gandhi. You know, his message of nonviolence, peace, truth, 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 Mahatma Gandhi, he would not have been the President of the United States of America. So I think that’s the legacy, that’s 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, no social media at that time. So, I think this was because he practiced what he preached. I think he set and attained the highest standards of personal courage and conviction, which probably we won’t see anyone else do that. Nagin, when I spoke about the money we are kind of putting into sustaining peace and all that, I think we’re seeing a world which is getting increasingly afflicted by fear, by hate, by violence. I think in these times, Mahatma Gandhi’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, I think we’re just not going through a ritual; it’s an occasion to rededicate ourselves to the ideals, to the message he stood for. And his sayings were not only a matter of speech; I think he lived through whatever he said, and I think we’ll be setting in a much better time and a much better world for our next generations if we could follow what he said. I would again thank Nagin Bhai and his colleagues for celebrating this event and arranging this occasion to pay our respects to Mahatma Gandhi every year. I have to thank the council, which is now represented by the Deputy Mayor. I don’t know if I would be politically correct if I say "soon to be the mayor," because I think on this day I’m 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 can I say again, it’s a pleasure to have you as High Commissioner for India and New Zealand, and your wife here. And 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? And I look forward to that, and then I have on the program to do with the beloved Bāpūjī’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 Neil will advise. You’re going to speak. Now, will you introduce your item? Thank you very much. Thank you, and thank you. Nice to see you. Good morning, everybody. We are going to actually sing a bhajan, so it is a vocal, not just instrumental, part of the program. We have chosen the bhajan which is composed by Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī. The title is talking about Ahiṃsā, so it will well suit this gathering. I’m not a Hindi speaker, but what I remember from this bhajan is that the title translates as "the highest dharma is Ahiṃsā," and that it’s also clearly written in the Vedas. (Performance of the Bhajan) Ahiṃsā dharm se koī unchā dharm nahī. Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm se koī unchā dharm nahī. Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Sabahī kṛpālu sant jano ne Ved purāṇ samajhāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm se koī unchā dharm nahī. Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm he ādi anādi, sab dharmoṃ me payā. Ahiṃsā dharm he ādi anādi, sab dharmoṃ me payā. Inse unche koī jñāna dhyāna nahī, bhakti yoga nahī pāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm se karuṇā nahī, Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm se koī unchā dharm nahī, Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. "Karuṇā ye ahiṃsā dharm apnāyā." Dharm naye ahiṃsā dharm, ahiṃsā pāl se deva kahīye, ahiṃsā pāl se deva kahīye, ahiṃsā gharakṣas kahalāyā, ahiṃsā dharm se dharm nahī. Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm, sacca dharm nahī. Śrī Mahāprabhujī ne batāyā. Sab logoṃ me mahā puṇya kamāyā. Sab logoṃ me mahā puṇya kamāyā. Naraka me jāye. Naraka me jāye. Janama janama duḥkha pāyā. Ahiṃsā dharm, sacca dharm nahī, Śrī Mahāprabhujī. I think we’ve had the privilege of a further musical item, played very skillfully and chanted equally so, and I want to thank you for your contribution to this commemoration. Please do so. We’re now going to have a further musical interlude from Meena. Meena looks concerned when I said her name, but I can assure her that it’s on the program, so I’m working my way through it as per my instruction. Meena, thank you. Thank you very much. We’ve heard you before at these commemorations. Lovely to welcome you here again. Thank you very much for the time you give. Please welcome Meena. My name is Meena Bhagwandas. This morning at five o’clock, I found the bhajan that Nagin Bhai told me to sing. I said, Nagin Bhai, that I don’t have that bhajan, and I don’t think I sing that well. But I found that. I try, but I don’t think that I know that well. Anyway, then I changed to another bhajan that Gandhi Bāpū also liked. And it’s one of the lines, "Īśvara Allāh, Tero Nām, Sabko Sanmatī De Bhagavān." Means that God gives wisdom to everyone. When everybody has wisdom, then there is no violence. So I think that suits very well with Gandhi Bāpū’s principle. So I think that bhajan I will sing, and then, because Nagin Bhai likes that Vaishṇava Jana To bhajan, I will sing. I’ll try my best. I know you all know Raghupatī Rāghava Rāja Rām. Anyway, you can sing together. (Performance) Sītā Rām, Sītā Rām... Īśvara Allāh Tero Nām, Sabko Sanmatī De Bhagavān. Raghupati Raghava Rājā Rām, Patita Pāvana Sītā Rām. Rāti nīndrā divase kām, kyāre laisu hari nūnām? Rāti nīndrā divase kām, kyāre laisu hari nūnām? Raghupati Rāghava Rājārām, patita pāvana Sītārām. Sītā Rām, Sītā Rām, bhaja pyāre tu Sītā Rām. Raghupati Rāghava Rājārām, patita pāvana Sītā Rām. Part 2: A Gathering in Honor of Mahātmā Gandhī Jai Pīḍ Parāyī Jāne Re. Vaiśālavajana to te nirakahīye, jai pīḍa parāyī jāne re. Paradukhe upakāra karo toye mana bimāne re, Vaiśālavajana to tenere kahīye je pīḍa parāī jāne re. Sakala lobhī vana nindanā kare ke nire vācha kācha mana nī chala rā, dhana dhana jana nī teni re. Vaiṣṇavajana to teni re kahīye je, pīḍa parāī jāne re. Samadṛṣṭi nī tṛṣṇā tyāgī, parastrī jī nimata re. Jīvayātha kī asatyam bole, pardhāna nava jale hasta re. Vaiṣṇavajanato tene re kahiye, je pīḍa parāī jāṇe re. Mohamāyā vyāpī nahī tene, dravye raghya jena mana mare. Rāma nāma kare lāgī, sapaḍa tī ratha tena manamāre. Vaiṣṇavajana to tenere kahiye je, pīḍa parāī jāne re. Vāṇī lobhī iṁdriya rahita chhe, kāma krodhanī vārya re. Vāṇī nṛśaṁsayo tenu darśana kartā, kulīna koṭi tarya re. Vaiṣṇavajana to tenere kahīye je, pīḍa parāī jāne re. Vaiṣṇavajana to tenere kahīye je, pīḍa parāī jāne re. Bolo Gāndhī Bāpū kī, Bhārata Mātā kī. Namaste. Romina said she wasn’t well today, but you wouldn’t have known it from the beauty of her voice and the manner in which she made that presentation to us. Please thank Meena again. Before we have the next speaker, Nagambhai Neil Patel is going to oversee the presentation of garlands and bookends. These are for the committee members, but I’d also ask Inspector Rakesh Naidu to come forward, please. Don’t look so surprised. I’ve had my instructions. You’ve now got yours to the deputy mayor, Justin. Lester, His Excellency the High Commissioner, to the wife of the High Commissioner, to Inspector Naidu, to the priest, to the committee members: Kantilal Patel, to the committee member Peter Rama, to the committee member Ratatouille Tamparani, to the committee members also. Ah, very good. Nice. To our presenter. Okay, we’re now having another musical item as I adjust the program. 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. Santa, will you introduce it? Thank you very much. You’re keeping me on task. Very good. Thank you very much again, and thank you for coming forward a second time. Since it is still Rāgu Patiraṅga, I 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’s called the Rāg Jinjotī. I would temporarily borrow. So, Master Chairman, it’s time to call on Jeannie to come forward because she is trying to take him away. We want to keep him here. Jeannie and Ian have been pillars of this committee. He performed as a deputy mayor, but also performed as an ordinary citizen when he was not deputy mayor. And today he’s in that capacity as a social worker, not as a standing for regional council, who may be the chairman of it. I also like to, on behalf of the committee, appreciate his contribution and his time and support that he has given to us. Thank you. Well, thank you for that honor, Neil. Thank you for the honor to my wife, Jenny, as well. Be assured, it’s been a great privilege over many years to be associated with the Wellington Indian community and this committee in particular, and 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 is well-timed or makes sudden changes. I want to comment on the flute. The flute actually is my favorite 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 you, our floor. Just, again, now, it gives me double pleasure to call upon our next speaker, the Deputy Mayor, Justin Lester. I’ve obviously known Justin for a number of years. He’s an extraordinarily hard-working member of the Wellington City Council; he holds the position of Deputy Mayor, and I can say without any qualification, deputy mayors work very, very hard in this city. I can tell you that personally. And Justin has certainly been no exception to that. He is a person of courage and confidence. He 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, and I acknowledge that now in asking him to come forward to address you. Please welcome the Deputy Mayor. Thank you very much, Ian. Namaste, namaskāram, padhāro, susvāgata. I do want to acknowledge Ian McKinnon, the EMC, a former colleague, a good friend, my predecessor as Deputy Mayor, and a 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. To Naganbhai 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. Viśvagurujī, 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 amongst 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 that have had a greater influence than Gandhi. His devotion to peaceful resistance against discrimination and oppression, and his fight against injustice, has given hope to many millions. It’s given rise also to social change the world over. Gandhījī 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’s given a voice to many oppressed and to millions of men and women whose voice otherwise would not have been heard. That is why it was particularly important to commemorate Gandhi with the Gandhījī 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. Now, one of the highlights in every month of my calendar is the citizenship ceremonies that we host here in Wellington. So every month we host citizens who come to become members of New Zealand society formally and to be acknowledged, about 200 to 300, and so more than 3,000 people every year. In total, we’ve got 80 different ethnic groups across Wellington, and about a quarter of Wellingtonians speak a language other than English as their native tongue. We’re extremely fortunate in this city and in this country to have this unique diversity, and it makes us stronger. 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. I’d be grateful if the Deputy High Commissioner could come forward to receive flowers. Is 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 Sudhjī. When he was, sir, there’s no disrespect to you, but I predicted that he would be the Acting High Commissioner 15 days before he became the High Commissioner. That’s because of Viśvagurujī; he 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. And we’d like for the committee to thank him for your 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, and 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 Naganbhai Neil Patel, the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Commemoration Committee of New Zealand, a businessman in our city, and also a person involved, deeply involved, in the Wellington Indian community and giving service accordingly. Other awards that are to be made, but I understand they will be presented on October the 12th, is that right? Okay, thank you. Now, there are on your program other speakers. 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’ve extended, I extend apologies of one or two other national politicians. I don’t think James Shaw or Grant Robertson are able to be here at the moment, thank you, so I extend their apologies as well, and we now move in. First, if I’ve interpreted everything correctly, when Neil stops talking, we’re going to move to the final speaker. So now, it is a real pleasure to introduce Viśvagurujī. It’s an honor, as I’ve already expressed for myself, to have such a distinguished person with us today, it’s an honor, as I say, both as part of this ceremony but also personally, and it is just so appropriate that he should be the final speaker at this very important commemoration. And I’m now going to ask David Jenkins if he would introduce and bring forward our distinguished visitor. Okay, and yes, there is a little bit of other business. So the talk about the Swāmījī’s work has involved the establishment of yoga and daily life, and also the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council was founded by Viśvagurujī in commemoration of his master, His Holiness Dharmasārat Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda. It was established as a non-governmental, humanitarian, charitable society pursuing the betterment of human welfare. And the council’s central aim is to support international forums for dialogue between individuals, nations, cultures, religions, and topics of peace, ethics, spirituality, health, youth, and environmental sustainability. It’s also an instrument to advance unity and peace by disseminating the key messages of Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī, such as "one and all" and "all in one," and it also explicitly refers to Mahātmā Gandhījī and "be the change you want to see," and 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, which were not quite achieved in their initial target of 2015, but also to recognize the values of the Earth Charter Initiative. Now, Viśvagurujī 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 to provide medical services to villages that need them, rainwater harvesting to provide drinking water, providing education for children and protection for women, the establishment of universities for Āyurveda, naturopathy, yoga, and reforestation. Swāmījī’s work is done throughout the world by millions of people, supported by thousands of people through his disciples. In New Zealand, one of his tireless supporters, helping to do this work, has been Naganbhai through the work on this committee, organizing the planting of peace trees in Wellington and other cities, in recognition that the World Peace Council has granted the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Peace Award to Naganbhai Neil Galhabi Patel, as an ambassador of non-violence. And so, I would like to call on Viśvagurujī to make this presentation to Naganbhai. This is the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. The Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Peace Award has been conferred by the World Peace Council on Naganbhai Neil Galabi Patel as an Ambassador of Non-Violence and Peace by Svāmī Maheśvarānanda, Viśvagurujī, the President, and by the General Secretary. Wherever you like, sir, wherever you like. I’ve never seen Neil so speechless. Congratulations, Neil, from us all. I am so humbled. It is not the award; it’s the work that counts. It’s not the work that counts, it’s who you get inspired by, and that is Viśvagurujī. I met Viśvagurujī 20 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 a respect in my young days, when I was in college and we called students, university students, towards Svāmī Vivekānanda. And I saw this purple or orange color, and I said, "That’s the man I was looking for." And he became my mentor, and I really humbly offer my award to Mahāprabhujī, God, and the city of Wellington, and to my committee members. Thank you very much. With considerable honor, we now welcome Viśvagurujī to speak to us. Please welcome. Lead us from unreality to reality. Lead us from darkness to the light. Lead us from mortality to immortality. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. 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, and that is 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 Mahatma Gandhi.’" Gandhījī is not only for India, but for the whole world. It’s Gandhījī who said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way," and peace begins from our own heart. Charity begins from our own home. Well, his divine thoughts towards every creature, not only for humans, also for our vegetation, our culture, our environment, and I think it’s Gandhījī who said, "Mother Earth has enough for our need, but not for our greed." These are Gandhījī’s words. Gandhījī said, we say, the whole world is one family. But now the greedy people said, "The whole world is a market." This is the difference. As a Native American said, "When the last tree will be chipped off and the last fish will die, oh man, then you will realize that you can’t eat your dollars." So now the people went too far, and that’s why they are all suffering. There’s only one way back: to love each and everyone. If not, then at least that much, as much as we love ourself. We went too far; we destroyed the whole earth. We are destroying the mountains for the highways. We are destroying the forest, the rainforest, from many countries, from Brazil. Every day, thousands of hectares of the rainforest are destroyed because they say this has no any use; we want to have something for commercial. So, my dear sisters and brothers, it’s a day to remember not only that Gandhījī 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. And, like all speakers before me and myself, we are remembering Gandhījī 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 will not change, the world will be in very, very great trouble. Only the spiritual teachings can save the world. The human God, the most powerful tool from God, and that’s intellect. And that intellect needs education. And education is that education which makes the human a human. And that knowledge only can be given by the parents, in the lap of the mother, in 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 the father. No time for children. Ethics, morals, and spiritual education are all that now remain to save our world again. So spirituality without God is nothing, and nothing will survive. Again, India is the cradle of the culture, and we know that the Indian culture has given a lot to the whole world, and we are all proud of every culture. But one said, "Every culture is a good culture," but the best culture is agriculture, 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 25, 30 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 you buy the bees from America. Why did it happen here? That’s it. There’s no scientist in the world till today that 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.