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Part 1: The Path to Child Protection: From Theory to Practice This morning's session will continue until 11:30, and we have expertly covered the subject in part. The answer to the conflict in the world is spirituality, or I would say, karma yoga. Yesterday we had many speakers who shared their experiences beautifully. This morning, we discuss how to put that theory into practice. Mr. Ricardo spoke beautifully about children. Nowadays, most victims are children—from kindergarten and nursery school to college and university students. Śrī Śrī... From local government to the United Nations, how do we put all this into practice? Many conferences are held and then conclude. We here believe in facts and theory, but it is nothing compared to the wave of practice. So, glory to God. A few minutes remain. Thank you very much. Questions are welcome. We founded an organization for the protection of children’s rights in 1983. The reason was our realization that everyone was trying to do something for children. It was organized by the Bar Association and was very legal. The idea was to emphasize the child within the enlarged family context. Sadly, the more we delved into it, the more we realized there were major systemic problems. It is nice to talk about children’s rights in books; in reality, it is very hardcore. We also realized one major problem in industrialized countries is the downfall of the family. What makes a child tick? What can we do to ensure children flourish and find inner peace? The reality is that to do that, you must solidify the family. In industrialized countries, we often say, "Children are not everything; we have a life to live." I think we have responsibilities when we have children. Whether we live together or not, we must ensure the child benefits from the love, care, tenderness, and a tender ear from both parents. What about the enlarged family context? Today, grandparents in industrialized countries are a thing of the past. We must involve them. It is the richest blessing to have a relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. I was told yesterday that this dilemma is also starting in India. We must stop this emotion... This emotion... How to do that? Everybody must play a role. One role is to ensure that from now on, in the schooling system, we teach values from a very early age through high school. We will teach them values about dealing with conflict and peer mediation. We will teach them how to integrate a relationship, what a relationship is about, and the responsibilities that come with it. When does the role of both parents start? When a woman is pregnant. I once attended a conference where a psychologist, when asked, "When does the father's role start?" said, "When the child is about two, slowly the father can start taking his place." I mean, a relationship starts from the beginning. The role of both parents starts at conception and even before. We must plan what we are doing. We should also teach in school: if you have problems with your relationship, how to surmount your differences. Where do you go if you have problems? Who to talk to? The same for the child. Unfortunately, that is not happening yet. Why? Because politically, it is an art cell. Many parents object to the government telling their kids how to become a good parent. Mahāprabhujī, dīpa karatā, Mahāprabhujī, dīpa karatā, Mahāprabhujī. How can we keep talking about a major dilemma? September 11th was a tragedy, no doubt. But what about the millions of children dying every year? Why isn’t anyone doing anything? Some recommendations we put forward are perhaps important. I believe my colleague could play a big role. When we ratify something, like children’s rights, we must ensure the government presents a plan of action, submits it to the United Nations, and perhaps reports every year. Politically, if you sign a 15-year agreement, you know you likely won't be there in 15 years. You say, "Yes, we signed, we ratified the Kyoto Protocol," but what happened since? One of my greatest countries is Canada, and I am sad about what Canada has done. We like to brag, but what did we really do? The situation keeps worsening. There is no need to have a child in your hand one day and find them dead the next from lack of nutrition or medication. That must end. In industrialized countries, there is no need to have so many children who are totally empty inside. They are breathing, living, but their soul is dead. We must reanimate these souls and bring them on the right track. I believe the only way is through an international entity—the United Nations or a world government agreement—where all countries become responsible. We believe no country should have veto rights; everybody should be equal. I will be happy to answer any questions. We wanted to make Montreal an internationally known city for its emphasis on children and family, hosting conferences perhaps every second year and incorporating innovative projects. We have tried to push this since 1984. It is now 2009, and we have not been able to sell it yet. The people surrounding me are knowledgeable and here for the cause, not money. We tried to sell the idea of a festival for children, like the Cannes film festival, where people return yearly. What is more beautiful than a city internationally known for its emphasis on children and innovative projects? The problem was that with the provincial government of Quebec, we almost succeeded. It was voted unanimously by the party and agreed by the opposition, but an election came, and everything went down the drain. If a city wishes to emphasize innovative projects—four months ago, we had an international conference in Montreal with NPIC people who presented projects involving adolescents on leadership, AIDS, and street gangs. These were projects that worked well. When you approach institutions, they say, "We already do this." Unfortunately, they may do many things, but things are worsening, so they are not doing something right. It would be nice to have a city or country whose government invests in this avenue and becomes internationally known for innovative projects. The benefit would be that when a country wants to resolve a problem, they could turn to that country, see what works, and incorporate it. I hope to see that day in my lifetime. How can common people help initiate or motivate this project? Not all of us are professionals, but how can we support? I believe there are different ways. One is preparing an international letter of recommendation—a petition, but I prefer 'letter of recommendation'—addressed to the UN and governments on what needs to be done. The UN is the entity with the strength, but it needs the collaboration of all governments. We should go one step further: governments should be obliged. By having a major letter of recommendation, we can sensitize our governments. Legislators will support a plan of action if it brings them votes. Another avenue is prayer. Some say a lot of prayers can help achieve our mission. I think it will take both prayer and plans of action. Good morning to all present. This morning we discuss a very important subject affecting the entire globe: infancy and childhood, the early stage of the human life cycle. Everyone has passed through that stage. We will talk about child protection—what we can do for the protection of children, their rights, and their betterment, so they grow well and become responsible citizens. I look after the crime charge of the Rajasthan state as the crime head of police. Child protection and legal protection for children are part of my charter of duties. In India, there are many diversities. Many people are very poor, below the poverty line. Those below that line are given certain privileges or concessions in taxation and ration supply. They have ration cards and get supplies at subsidized rates. Then we have people earning well who can take care of themselves. This economic diversity exists. Now comes taking care of children. Those below the poverty line cannot take good care of their children. Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, He Kevalam Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp. That is our problem. Poor children do not get proper care, protection, and facilities like treatment and medicines. Many non-governmental organizations in India focus on child care and protection. They form societies, receive donations, and create funds to provide denied facilities to poor children. We have such organizations. The next stage is child abuse, a major form of which in India is child labour. In private institutions, motor workshops, small shops, tea shops, or small restaurants, you find employed children. Though our country has progressive laws—which many European countries may not have—like the dowry act, child marriage restraint act, and laws against cruelty to women, we also have laws for child protection: the Child Labour Restraint Act and the Child Marriage Restraint Act. No child under 18 (or 16 for a girl, 18 for a boy) can marry; this is legally banned. Similarly, no child below 16 can be employed in places like restaurants or where explosive/inflammable material is used or stored. We have all laws, but they are violated because poor people cannot care for their families, so the child is forced into labour. The child earns money, takes care of themselves, and in some cases, even gives money to parents for vices like alcohol. In some cases, children do such things. So our major problem is child abuse in the form of child labour. We have many laws but are still lacking, and we are trying to improve. People are now aware of this malpractice and report to government and law enforcement agencies. Mahāprabhujī Karatā, Mahāprabhujī Karatā, Mahāprabhujī Śrī Śrī... Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, He Kevalam, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhudīp Karatā, Mahāprabhu Dīp Karatā, Mahāprabhu Dīp... Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam Mahāprabhujīp Karatā. You find all the attributes we possess as human beings, and it is important to remind ourselves. We have a verse in an ancient Indian epic. It begins predictably: the role of the individual must be to work for his or her family. The role of the family must be to work for the community. The role of the community must be to work for the state. The role of the state must be to work for the world. And the role of the world must be to work for the individual. You come in that inevitable cycle: what you do, what you belong to, and what you contribute must ultimately transfer to your own good and well-being. Just as Swāmījī said, we are the government. I will expand on Ricardo's pertinent point: we are also the United Nations. If we regard the UN purely as an abstract system of governments in which we have no direct role—as the gentleman asked, "What can we do?"—then we admit not only our failure but, implicitly, the failure of the UN. I will give one example. Like the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have a UN convention on the elimination of discrimination against women. The beauty of these conventions is they are not just declarations but legal instruments. Any country choosing to abide by them must sign on, undertaking their obligations. If you choose not to sign, you remain outside the rest of the world. Hungary was an early signatory to this convention and accepted its responsibilities. Some years ago, in 2003, a Roma woman in Hungary was abandoned by her husband with a young, disabled child. She had to raise the child alone with five sisters. Matters worsened as her husband tried to abuse her. She sought help from local authorities, police, and courts, but no one could give her security because the laws did not envisage such a situation. She went to an NGO, which told her she had international rights because Hungary had signed the convention. She could appeal to the UN in New York. She did, her case came before the commission, and they were persuaded by its merits. They told the Hungarian government it had fallen short of its obligations. The government acted swiftly, providing protection against her abusive husband, medical and financial means to care for her child, and, importantly, set in process a change in domestic law so others would not have to recourse to international justice. That woman’s case is a symptom of what the UN can and should be. When we bring it to our level, to how you relate with each other, each time I meet an assembly like yours, I am struck by the sense of giving, sharing, and accepting. As Swāmījī said, and as Professor Arun Gandhi said yesterday, it is not enough just to accept or tolerate. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam, Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam. Part 2: The Family, the State, and the Path to Peace I am not sure if that theory will remain sacrosanct for very long, because there are countries that are greedy for McDonald's, but those countries are equally greedy for war. So that theory may very well be stood on its head. But one thing I can say with conviction and affirmation is that no two countries where there is a Yoga in Daily Life movement will ever go to war with each other. Thank you, Rāmu. Those are very practical instructions. Now, I think they are hearing. Thank you very much. It was very nice to hear from everyone. People think that the Indian government is doing nothing. The Indian government is doing more than what we think. But the question is this: we have, luckily, many children. No children? The planet will be lonely. Do not worry about population, but the population needs right instructions, right care, love, and understanding from parents. I think the system in India, what we call the family system, is very strong. Even though many are very poor, they still care very much about the children, and that is a plus point. Indians are very fortunate that the government supports them so much for education, which you cannot imagine. So, thank you. Also, Ricardo gave us beautiful instructions on what to do. So we will open the door. We will come and knock on your door, so that the city of Montreal becomes the first city in the world for the protection of children. Thank you. Now, I would like to invite our dear brothers, Arun and Surya Bhush. Thank you. Welcome, welcome,... Gandhījī Mahārāj Vīrajī, please. Surya Jī, without Surya, there is dark night, you know. We heard again many things which we can do in a practical way, but there are sometimes problems or hesitation in people. "Should I do or should I not do?" It means uncertainty or fear within oneself. I think this is a subject for Sūrya Bose. He can strengthen our inner willpower and help us become free from uncertainty and fear. That will be a very practical step toward inner peace. As his whole family is very much involved, he is removing fear and uncertainty and establishing the pillar of peace, justice, and freedom. Suryajī, please, if you can help us in this way. Swāmījī, you have given me a very, very difficult task to perform because it is a very wide topic. I do not know where to start. I spoke about certain things yesterday, when I mentioned much earlier—I mean, 50 years ago, 60 years ago—what the situation was. What my granduncle had succeeded in doing was getting the different factions of society together so that they could cooperate and work with each other without any reservation. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp... It is very difficult to convince them that they should then forget the other negative aspects that burden our society, like our caste system and all the inter-religious problems. In spite of that, generally speaking, I must say in India we have a pretty peaceful coexistence between so many different religions. Śrī Śrī... I grew up in Bengal. My closest friends have been from other parts of India and not from Bengal as such. This sort of thing you get from your family, from your parents, from your grandparents. It is passed on to the generation, and that is one thing which is very important, which is also dying out in India: the closeness of a family. Mahāprabhujī kā rahā, Mahāprabhujī kā rahā, he kevalam. I mean, the parents have to be there. In the Western world, and even now in Indian cities, both parents working—that is lost. To survive, one has to, both of them have to work at times. So there are things. That is a very, very difficult question to answer now. What do you recommend? What do you suggest? But I feel what Swamijī has been able to prove practically worldwide with your organization, the cooperation that you have amongst the people who belong here, and what you are gradually spreading... This is the first time that I have attended your peace conference, and I must say, I must admit, I am very impressed. I will definitely take a lot of things that I have learned here with me and spread that knowledge to others, and I will certainly do that. But I feel the question that you have asked is not going to be answered in one or two factors that I can sort of give as an example. It is a wide topic, but I think you should spread your message, and we should, all those who come and join your conference and meet your members, should also spread the knowledge to others. I think that is one thing which organizations like Ricardo’s or the United Nations can also help with. But an organization like that has a certain structure. They have to work according to their regulations. As individuals, one can spread the knowledge without any restrictions. We can definitely be more flexible, and I feel one has to be convinced, and you have been able to convince. That is the main thing. If you cannot convince, it does not help organizing such conferences. I think it is a multiplying factor that we should take on. That is what I will do, and I can only recommend that to others. I think all of you here do not have to be convinced; you are convinced, so we have to spread the knowledge further. Thank you. Thank you very much. Maybe some questions for our dear Surya, both? Yes, please. I believe I completely agree with what we are seeing. As individuals, we have a lot more flexibility to express what we want to do. To answer the young lady, we created a site which is called www.qfamily.com. Anybody that has a recommendation, that has ways and means, he will leave it, which pertains to the right to us, to interact together, and there is one Swāmījī. That is flourished in such a way that it is... Thank you, welcome, thank you. Thank you, Swāmījī. Well, you know, what Swāmījī said is 100% what I agree with. Sometimes it is very hard for me to get content with this or agree. Yes, the strength which we can gain, and remove the uncertainty and fear which from childhood begins to make its home in our heart, is family love. When a small child is somewhere with other children, and other children are not nice to him, as soon as the father or mother comes, the child gets more strength and happiness and feels protection. Is that not so? That is right. Correct. So, the system which is developing now—before marriage, even if they are not married, they want to have a separate apartment to live in. They want to go away from their parents. And sometimes, when the children do not want to live somewhere else and would like to be at home, then the parents think there is something wrong. "Why does not this child go outside and live somewhere?" Both parents have their responsibilities to give love, security, and protection to the children, even if they may be 70 or 75 years old; it does not matter. For your mother and father, you are still that small baby. So the strength of the parents. It happened in one family that the father, mother, two brothers, and one sister died in a car accident, and one child remained. But the whole family members—cousins, grandparents, and their children—all took the child in such a way in their hands that the child did not feel so lonely or lost. He found happiness and peace in his family. So either you should not have children, and if you have children, you are already a family. If you are married and you have no children, you have no right to say that you are a family. The family begins when you have a child. And then, there are family responsibilities and love, and raising our children without fear. So I agree very much about the family system and the strength of the family, as Rāmu said. Seventy percent of the population lives, I think, everywhere in the countryside. But due to these few factors, which are spread through media—sorry, television and this and that—there is a temptation for young people to move to the city, and that is another problem which we are facing. So I am not going to say too much, but I agree very much that we have to find that love in our family. The love which your parents can give, no one in this world will give you. And family means not only your father and mother, grandparents on both sides, your uncles, and all. The whole system is there. Thank you. Our dear, I have no... Gandhiji, can you read? Sorry. Anyhow, now Gandhijī is going to speak on how we can put it together, whether it is separable or not. Or both become perfect when they are together: politics and religion, or spirituality, I would say more. You want me to read this too? Yes, you want to say something, Kadevarājī, what was it? This morning we are talking about child welfare, human values, and human sentiments. So I wanted to add one more point. Those who are disciples of Swamijī, they all know about Rakṣāmaṇḍana. When a holy thread is tied by the sisters on the hands of their brothers. Who knows about Rakṣamaṇḍan? Hands up. Thank you. Okay, I think all of you know about the Rakṣā Bandhan festival. We celebrate throughout the country in India. And in Swāmījī’s state of Rajasthan, this time the government did a wonderful job. They allowed all the sisters to move freely throughout the state of Rajasthan on the day of Rakṣā Bandhan to tie Rākhī on the hands of their brothers. Mahāprabhujī Karatā Mahāprabhujī Karatā Mahāprabhujī Karatā... He honored the sentiments and feelings of the girls and ladies on that auspicious day of Rakṣā Bandhan. His message is there in this, our summit book. You can go through; you can see his photograph. So, you know, the government is not only doing some regressive work or something, like the imposition of taxation and things like that. They always value the human sentiment also. This is India, where sentiments are valued, and the Swāmījī is here, who is spreading the same message to all of us. Thank you very much. Sri Arun Gandhiji, you know, still we did not touch that very core point to get inner peace. There are some involved in spirituality, and some in politics, and this. Now, Gandhījī’s turn. He is going to open the door of these by balancing both things, politics and spirituality. Thank you very much, Swamiji. I think we have had some very serious discussions this morning, and I think it is time for a little game, a little free time. So, I would like to invite you for two minutes to have a partner who is sitting next to you. Make a partnership, two people. Can you partner up with somebody sitting next to you, or a friend? Or a friend. Thank you. I want one person to make a tight fist and imagine that you have the world’s most valuable diamond in your fist. Śrī Śrī... We have to be the change we wish to see. I asked you to open the fist and take the diamond, but instead of asking, everybody became physically violent and started opening the fist. So we have a lot of work to do to change ourselves. Violence has got so deep-rooted in us. Now Swāmījī has given me a very serious subject to talk about: spirituality and politics. Similarly, everybody says that we should not mix religion and politics. Even my country now, the United States, has a law prohibiting politics and religion from mixing. I do not think that we can keep it apart, because religion is so much a part of the individual that we cannot really keep that apart from our work there. But it is also important that we understand what we mean by spirituality, what we mean by religion, and define it properly. My grandfather defined these very clearly in three stages. The first stage is what we practice every day, which he said is just rituals. Śrī Śrī... All of us who believe in one religion, whether you believe in Hinduism, Christianity, or Islam—what does that religion mean, and what does it say? That is when you reach the second stage of understanding. And the third stage of understanding, according to Gandhi, is spiritualism. Where you reach the third stage, you are able to accept all the different religions of the world as being one. That there is no difference between Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. They are all one. They are all talking about the same thing. They are all trying to take us to the same ultimate place. So we have to reach that stage of spirituality when we can broaden our perspective and move beyond just ritual practices and beyond our own religion to accepting religions of all the world. That spirituality that my grandfather believed in, he said, is part of politics also; it is part of public life, and we cannot remove the two there. So it is very important that we understand these three definitions of religion and spirituality and begin to accept them and work toward them. You know, he used to always tell us when we were growing up that religion is like climbing a mountain. We are all going up to the same peak, like climbing Mount Everest. We are going. There is only one peak there, and there is only one place we can go to. We are all going up to the same peak. So why should it matter to anybody which side of the mountain we choose to climb up from? Whether I go up from the north side, the south side, or the east side, it is my business. But we are ultimately going there to the top. And that is the attitude that we should have about all the different practices and religions there. It means a lot of studies. You know, he said in one of his writings: "A friendly study"—and he emphasized the word friendly—"a friendly study of all the scriptures is the sacred duty of every individual." Now, studies have been made by many scholars. They have all been very scholarly studies, very academic studies. But not many people have made a friendly study. When he made a friendly study of all the religions, he found that all the religions had a little bit of the truth, that none of the religions had the whole truth. And we hang on to that little truth, thinking that that is the ultimate truth. And therefore, we have a very distorted impression and image of our religion. But if we accept the fact that there are truths in other religions also, and that we need to search for them and try to bring them and incorporate them into our own beliefs, then we enhance our own religion. You know, he did not believe in people leaving their religion and going into another religion. He said that we must enhance our own and learn from all different religions, and try to improve our own religion and our own religious understanding. And so he did that all his life. When I was born, I remember our daily prayers every morning and evening were held at home. In Grandfather’s case, he held public prayers outside, and he invited anybody who wanted to come and join the prayers and be a part of it. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā... He Kevalam Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam... I want to share with you one little episode. It was way back, I think about eight or nine years ago. I do not know whether you all heard about this incident, but there was an African-American man, Rodney King, who was beaten up by the police in Los Angeles very badly. It was shown on TV all the time, how brutally the police... Śrī Śrī... He was wanted by the police for some crime that he committed, and he was running away from the police. They finally cornered him in his apartment, and when they surrounded the apartment, they asked him to come out from there. He came out holding a little baby in his hands, and the police shot right through the baby and killed the baby and the man there on the doorstep. That episode created a lot of anger among the African Americans. Everybody thought that, like Los Angeles, Memphis was also going to explode and there would be riots there. I remember this was a Thursday, and my wife asked me, "What would your grandfather...?" Śrī Śrī... I went to the office and I asked my board of directors and said, "We want to have an interfaith prayer on the football field of this university on Sunday. Can you help us organize this?" And they laughed at me, and they said it cannot be organized so quickly. You have got to have at least ten days’ notice for people to come to this. And I said, if my house is burning right now, I do not wait for ten days to get the water supply. I have to do something right now. So I said, if you are not going to help me, I will go and find my own way. Fortunately, in America we have the yellow pages in the telephone directory where all the religious and spiritual institutions are listed. So my wife and I took those addresses and called all the people, and we told them that this is our intention: we are going to have these interfaith prayers, and you are invited, but we are going to give you only five minutes. Each one of you will be given five minutes to say a prayer of love and peace. No politics, no anything, just a short prayer of love and peace. We were amazed when 36 different religious groups turned up on that Sunday morning on that football field. And more than 700 people came for that prayer. That was one of the greatest events in Memphis history. Even all the television stations and all the media came and covered that. Everybody for days afterwards said that that prayer meeting saved Memphis from burning more than anything else that happened that day. So that is the power of prayer. That is the power of coming together, respecting all the different faiths and religions, and working together to create the kind of love and understanding that we need in the world today. If we are all going to go our own different ways, there is going to be more and more conflict and more and more violence. But we need to come closer so that we can understand each other. That is what my grandfather’s ambition had always been: that the world is getting smaller and smaller. Part 3: The Light of Peace and the Power of Prayer Every place, every country, every city possesses a diversity we should be proud of. We have within ourselves all the different people of different religions and different cultures living together as co-citizens, and as brothers and sisters. The only way we can live in harmony is by loving and respecting each other and coming together, instead of fighting and destroying each other. These are some little thoughts I want to leave you with this morning. Thank you very much for coming. I would like to conclude with a little episode, a game. I want you all to do this. We have been speaking a lot about relationships, and this is a symbol of relationship. The thumbs represent your relationship with your parents. After a while, the parents die and go away, so there is separation. The index fingers represent your relationship with your brothers and sisters; it is the same—you can separate from them. This also represents your relationship with your colleagues and friends. But this is your relationship with your spouse, your married relationship. And this bent finger is the vows that join you together. You can see that you cannot open this finger without breaking your vows. If you keep your vows intact and tightly together, you cannot open these two fingers. That is what a married relationship should be. Thank you. Any questions to Gandhijī? I mean Arun Gandhijī. Yes, that’s better. Thank you, Gandhijī. We thought we could get the diamond with our strength, but it was easier to get it without strength. Violence cannot bring us to our aim or to our goal. Humbleness is the best. We could have asked, "Please open your fist," no? But we didn’t surrender. We said, "Yes, I will do it." That was it. So, thank you very much. Before we use our strength and ego, it is better to surrender and say, "Please." I always used to speak of the power of the mantra. A mantra is just a word or a sentence which has a good meaning, the name of God, or something beautiful. If you have to do some work, you need to get some stamp on your paper. Sir, office hours are over, but you have to take this step today. You go and knock on the door, and the officer says, "Well, I’m closing my office." And we say, "Please, sir, please be so kind, can you do it just for one minute?" You will make the person feel close and feel friendship with you, and they will say, "Okay, I’ll do it." Instead of saying this, if we said, "Hey, bloody one, it’s your duty, do it," what will happen? It is the same mouth, same tongue, same person, but the energy which comes from your heart is manipulated differently. So, thank you. Again, we learned two things. The power of prayers, the certainty, and the removal of fear will awaken our inner peace. If there is uncertainty and fear, you cannot be in peace. And if you have no faith in God, that peace cannot come. I remember one story. There were two, but I will not tell that one. I will tell the new one. The story was told once by a holy Gurujī long ago, in 1965, and the memory came out. In America, there is one city; I think the name is called Kansas City. Is it Kansas? Kansas. In Kansas City, there was living one man named Max Müller, and he was very ill. No treatment; no one could help him. Someone told him, "Go to India. There are some yogīs there who can help you." So he and his wife, they took Śrīmbal and they went to India. They met some yogī who used to give Āyurveda treatment, naturopathy. But he said, "This is some karmic, and anything that happens to us is karmic." As Ramu said, from the individual it goes to the family, society, and the world, and it comes back to you. So this is the principle of karma. Each thought which you sense out of your mind or brain, sooner or later, it will come back to you like a boomerang in Australia. Well, Mr. Max Müller, after six months of prayers and meditation, he became healthy, completely. He gained his faith in prayer and realized the strength, power, and blessing of prayers. He came back to his city in America and established a prayer center, a meditation hall. As Gandhījī said, from any religion, from any beliefs, you can come there, sit, and pray. And Max Müller, he had one hostel where the poor children could stay there, also study, and they would get free accommodation, clothes, boots, and everything. There were about 150 students. It was an NGO, and one day at 10:30 in the morning, the warden, or what you call the person who takes care of the children, came to Max Müller and said, "Sir, we have a problem." He said, "What? There are 150 students, and we have nothing in the kitchen. In one and a half hours, it’s time for lunch, and we have no money. What to do?" Max Müller, very peacefully, he said, "What to do? Ring the bell at the right time for lunch." But there is nothing. We will ring the bell. He said, "Your duty is to ring the bell. That’s all." Well, like Mahātma Gāndhījī, he was also just smiling and said, "Yes, do it, your duty, you know." Max Müller went to his meditation hall and began to pray. Water was sitting, and he was very nervous. What will I do now? Children, they will be hungry. As soon as the bell is ringing, they will run all. And 20 minutes before lunchtime, that bell should be ringing. One truck came, one big truck came, and one man got out of the truck and went to the warden and said, "Sir, we organized a conference, like a World Peace Conference, but somehow it has to be cancelled. But food was prepared for 200 people, and we did not know what to do. It is a warm catering, and we thought the best would be to bring it to the hostel." And at 12, the bell was ringing and food was already served. After the children had their lunch, Max Müller came from his meditation hall, smiled, and said, "Okay, everything is okay?" He said, "Yes, everything is okay, but I can’t believe that such things can be." So how did it happen? But it happened. God takes upon Himself the destiny of the devotees. So our prayers, our positive thoughts, our positive karma, doing the seva, karma yoga, yoga karmasu kauśalam will be heard, and we have this beautiful tiny flame in our hands, saying, "World peace in your hands." And now, from one flame, how many flames are here? If you will inspire each of you, one hundred people, next year, I think we have to have, as Gandhijī said, in the football field, the conference. There will be no hall so big. So thank you. Peace is within ourselves. Swami Sivanandaji said, "Within you is the fountain of joy, within you is the ocean of bliss, and within you is the immortal Self." Just lead a divine life. So, just lead your life towards positive thoughts, positive thinking, and be sure there is God and there is some power. Maybe someone is disappointed in the name of God, but God will not disappoint us. Definitely, for someone, God is like one picture or a name, but even this picture and name has to merge into the universal God, which has no name and no form, and He is nowhere but within our heart. So we are the light of God, and God is the light of our Self. Peace, we need to awake in the hearts of every individual because we humans need this. When we have peace, then automatically other creatures will also have peace. So, thank you for coming, and I thank all the participants, especially our dear guests, the speakers who took their valuable time, traveled from a long distance to share their wisdom and their experiences with us, so that we can follow and we can help each other. So thank you for coming. Arun, Manilal Gandhi, Surya Bose, Ramo Damodaram, Kanelal Berua and family, Ricardo and family, do you have children? Thank you, that is why I must say the family. And also, our dear brother, our bhakta, devotees of Gurujī, our Kapil and Satya Vrat, and our dear brothers, the monks from Bangladesh, they had a long, long trip to come to experience such a spiritual world peace conference. As our dear brother Surya Bose mentioned two or three times, he didn’t think it would be like that, but this is an Indian sādhu, and he said, "So in Hamburg, okay, Swāmījī, yes, I will come." But I’m happy that he’s satisfied with us, and we do count on him for the next conference. Thank you. And also, Mr. Arun Gandhi, if he will not sit too long in his prayer hall, we do expect, we do hope, that he will again come and give some drops from the pot of his wisdom, some excitement. Thank you. Yes, though we are government, because the United Nations said each voice has rights. Each voice will be heard. Saying and being are little different. So, we are always happy that Ramadhamudram brings new information, new messages, new hope, new suggestions, and new ideas from the world’s governments. So, thank you. We hope that you come again next time. Children are the culture of tomorrow. Children are the future of tomorrow. The light of tomorrow, Sari, the children are our world. Where the children are, there will always be the light of immortality. The culture of tomorrow is the youth. And so Ricardo is working very hard to have a very pure light and support our children. And I can tell you that all my disciples around the world, their children, 99% of these families, they are all vegetarian, and the children are vegetarian. The result is that children have excellent results in school. They are less violent, they are less aggressive, and many, many schools write their opinion about these children, how nice they are. So I do believe that a vegetarian diet, a vegetarian way of living, makes men happy, healthy, and peaceful. We need this peace. Whether you believe it or not, meat consumption is not for the human body. You may do it, but it is not. You may put petrol in a diesel engine, but that engine is not designed for petrol. Therefore, diesel, that engine is designed. So, this human, especially the human system, is not designed for consuming or eating meat, but for different sāttvic nourishment. Thank you, and also, Kanaalaljī, thank you very much, and we do hope that you will also come and give the beautiful ideas. And our dear brothers, the monks from Bangladesh, these two monks. And the flowers for Mr. Arun Gandhi and Surya Bose, please. And thank you, and flowers for Swāmī Chidānanda for making beautiful pictures, tricks and tricks. And flowers for our dear brother Karam Yogī, who worked very hard and designed this conference magazine, the souvenir magazine, beautifully. Thank you, Karam Yogī. Flowers. And Mahāprabhudīp Gurujī, yes. Yes, yes. Also working very hard and doing all the PR work, and this, our dear Saṅgītā from Naviśad, and also our dear Dādā, who was looking after the meal for the VIPs and all, is here. Thank you. Sambhulā, Umā Purī, come and take flowers for her. They are still cooking, no problem. There is a certificate, Radha. Now, you can give it to me from here, no need to go up. Now we have flowers, thank you, for our dear Dr. Radha, who also helped very much in preparing the conference. So, I need a list, Kyāg Purī. Our dear friend, our brother, whatever you call it, a disciple, Kapil and Satyavrata from India, they brought some presents for many of our volunteers and organizers. I would like to give it to them, please. So, you can put where the songs are, bring them here, one by one. Kapil Idh Raja, just stand here, you can stand down here, and they will come to you. So please pay your attention. First of all, Swāmījī is always last. When they all get, I got it first. Krishṇānand, Swāmī Chidānand, Swāmī Chidānand, please, please,... Chidānand, Amṛtānand, Amṛtānand, Vidyā from the office, Karma Yogī, yes, Saṅgītā from Navisār, And one for our sister Brigitte from Karnataka. Thank you. Now we have our appreciation to Kapil, who brought so many souvenirs for everybody. So, it is to say, a certificate of appreciation. The Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council presents this certificate of appreciation to Mr. Kapil Agarwal and Mr. Satyavrata. Satyavrata. Write it down. Our piece of Gabor Foltan. Ashpan Shaman. Who is this Ashpan Shaman? Yes. Suryaprakash Mehra and Kusum Mehra. Mera, and Venerable Hemal Boros. I know there were many, many who were helping. Without your help, the conference wouldn’t be successful. But what you did was the nice Karmayoga, Karmayoga duty you did, Seva. Holy Gurujī said, often God puts on the scale one side seva and the other side mokṣa. What is more, Mokṣa or Sevā? So, the seva was more than the joy of happiness of mokṣa. Therefore, even all twenty-four incarnations gave up their joy of Vaikuṇṭha, or heaven. In Mokṣa Loka, Svarga Loka, they came to serve. Mahāprabhujī, Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī, was invited by Mahātmā Gandhījī to the Sabarmati Ashram. And you have read all in the Lilācarita about this meeting, what happened and all. Mahāprabhujī said that Mahātmā Gandhi is the incarnation of, it’s called, it was King Ajay Pāl. At that time, King Ajaypāl was also having a goat, and he was like a shepherd with a big stick in his hand. Ravana sent his messengers, saying, "This King Ajayapāla did not pay the tax, so it must be collected." So he sent the messengers, and Ajaypāl said, "Go and tell the Rāvaṇa," and with his stick he made a line on the ground. He drew Śrī Laṅkā’s map, and he bent with his stick over like this. If his palace is no longer existing, is damaged, or has fallen down, then tell him to forget the tax. If not, then come to me; I will pay the tax. So, by moving only one stick on the line of the ego of Rāvaṇa, Rāvaṇa got his big lesion. And so Mahāprabhujī said, "Gandhījī, you are that incarnation, now here to remove all these egos of the people and destroy them." So you make the line, so you have a stick in your hand and a goat also. The whole story is in Līlā Amṛt. Mahāprabhujī was at that time residing at Mount Abu. So, we have to remove our ego, do seva, karma yoga, and next time we’ll be conferred more beautiful and very good. Thank you very much. Now, it is said that at 11:30 we should stop. Is it getting to be 11:30? Yes, I have already learned. You know, they always said Indians are not punctual. That’s not true. Because Indians were so punctual that they went with the constellations second to second. How many thousand times is one second divided in Vedic mathematics? Indians didn’t miss a second to work on everything in that constellation at the right time. But since Englishmen came to India, they said, "Ah, don’t worry, time for tea." And this habit is now in Indians too. Ah, time for tea. They will wait for us. So, don’t think that Indians are late, okay? And if, then the clock is late. So, once more, I wish you all the best, and thank you. Thank you to all our dear speakers for taking their very valuable time and coming. God bless you all, and let us work further for peace in the world. Bhagavad Śarīraḥ Śānti Bhaṭṭu Śarīraḥ Śarīraḥ Sukhino Bhagavata Mahāśānti Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavānai Sanatandar Maki Sarasvatī Pallabhkan Śrī Śrī Narakāṣṭānandajī Satyagruta... Well, we have here some more sannyāsīs representing Om Śrī Alakh Purījī Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā: Swāmī Vivek Purī, now Kapil beta hai asam, Sadhvī Ānandī, Sadhvī Dayā, and Pārvatī and Rukmiṇī. Please come here. This is Swāmī Vivek Purī coming from Jagre, Croatia, Sādhvī Rukmaṇī, Hamburg, Germany, Sādhvī Pārvatī, Czech Republic, and Sādhvī Ānandayā, the Republic of Hungary, not German Hamburg, and living in Austria. And of course, Sādhvī Ānandī, a very great Kāryoginī, soldiering. Sādhvī, are you done? What do I have to do? Okay, thank you very much. All the best, Krishnanand? Yes. Yes. Everything belongs to you. In the name of all of us, we would like to thank Swāmījī for this wonderful weekend, the eight peace conferences, and the love that we, presently, and everyone in the whole world, the creation of the Earth, gets from him. I would like to say thank you to Swāmījī for these eight World Peace Conferences and for all the love and protection that we get from him. And we got a beautiful bhajan from holy Gurujī, and that is "Juga Juga Jīvu Maheśvarānanda," but we would like to sing. And this bunch of flowers represents our love. Praṇām Gurudev, thank you. Seppan Krishnanand, now Kapil, have once or more, so okay. Thank you, thank you. So the program is like this. You will have your lunch, and then you can drive. Don’t go hungry, okay? And see you again, as God wills. Weekend, first weekend of November, and those who are going to India with me in a few days, see you in India. Who is going to India this time? Hands up, please, a little more. Very good. Thank you. Wish you a good journey. Today is a very good, a very significant day. It is the day of Holy Gurujī’s sannyāsa nikṣā, the full moon day, Śarad Pūrṇimā. And tonight, the Indians will make rice, milk rice, we call it kheer, and then put it in the moonlight, in the night, directly through the moonlight. In the moonlight, God Kṛṣṇa said, "Through the moonlight, I enter into the vegetation as a nectar." So this evening’s full moon has a very special meaning for us, especially because it is Holy Gurujī’s Sannyāsa Dīkṣā Day. This conference is dedicated to Holī Gurujī and to bringing his divine message into the world. Those who don’t know about Holī Gurujī should read the Līlā Amṛt and other books of Holī Gurujī. Then you will know his philosophy, his thoughts. Thank you. Bless you. All our dear VIP guests are invited for a cup of tea first. And after a cup of tea, you are invited for lunch. And after lunch, of course, you are free to decide what you would like to do. Thank you.