TV Channel

Paramahaṁswāmī Maheshwarānandjī, Rabbi Abraham Sutendog, Dr. Jan Schwartz, the Most Reverend Lama Shempen Rinpoche, Dr. Bhuneshwar Muni, Śrī Jasvinder Singh, Reverend Magister Yarmila Plotina, Magister Sujana Kolharova, other distinguished spiritual and religious leaders, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to be here with you at this World Peace Summit. As we meet today, we reflect on a theme of the most compelling relevance in this new millennium: the pursuit of peace, tolerance, and spiritual serenity in a world increasingly torn by conflict, held hostage by terrorism, ribboned by religious and ethnic differences, and divided by increasing economic and social disparities. We also remember today the teachings of the greatest spiritual politician of the last century, and we ponder their relevance to the world today. We pay homage to a spiritual leader who left his earthly abode exactly a year ago, and we celebrate the spread of yoga in daily life as an invaluable support system for a human being in his complex daily existence. These are seemingly separate strands, but there are several common elements in them. With deep respect, we mark today the first anniversary of the Mahāsamādhi of Paramahaṁsa Swāmī Mādhavānandjī. Swāmī Mādhavānandjī was a renowned Vedic scholar who popularized the teachings of the Vedas through inspiring bhajans. His āshrams in India remain a source of solace to thousands of his disciples. We also recognize the role of Paramahaṁsa Swāmī Maheshwarānandajī in spreading the teachings of Swāmī Mādhavānandjī to a far wider audience outside India. I believe we owe him particular recognition for the system of Yoga in Daily Life which he has developed and so successfully propagated around the world. The size and diversity of this gathering is an eloquent testimony to this fact. A lot has been said around the world about yoga. There are a number of misconceptions about its nature—about what it is, what it is not, what it can do, what it cannot do, and about its religious connotations. I think it is necessary to understand that yoga is not a religion, nor is it against any religion. It arose primarily from a philosophy that holds that man's spiritual development, his realization of his self or of God, and his physical development are all inseparably intertwined in a composite fabric of health and well-being. The practice of yoga has evolved over the years in response to changing environments and to the needs of modern civilization. While many thousands of yoga practitioners around the world acknowledge its contribution to spiritual development, thousands of scientists and medical practitioners also recognize its positive physical benefits. In the world of today, when we are frequently subjected to the stresses and strains of punishing work schedules, buffeted by insecurities, and wracked by moral dilemmas and ideological doubts, yoga offers a soothing tonic of physical fitness, mental calm, and spiritual solace. I would like to mention here that today we also mark the 20th anniversary of the passing away of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, a great Indian patriot and tireless campaigner for international peace, who guided the destinies of India's domestic and foreign policy for nearly two decades during a very turbulent period of the Cold War. She fell to terrorist bullets on October 31, 1984. India's troubled engagement with terrorism dates from that period. Incidentally, it was widely believed that Mrs. Gandhi's innate qualities of extraordinary physical stamina, intense concentration powers, and tremendous mental strength were greatly enhanced by her regular practice of yoga. The mention of terrorism brings me to the main theme of today's meeting: the message of Mahatma Gandhi and its relevance to peace in today's world. It is now nearly a century since Mahatma Gandhi designed, invented, and perfected the powerful political instruments which mobilized millions of ordinary Indians into a unique national liberation movement which ultimately vanquished the rule of a mighty colonial empire. His two instruments were satya and ahiṁsā—truth and non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy projected non-violence as a symbol of bravery, not of cowardice. It preaches conquest by love, not by arms. It replaces the physical force of coercion with the moral force of persuasion. It values the coexistence of diverse cultures and religions without seeking to dilute their appeal to their inheritors and followers. Mahatma Gandhi revived and imparted modern relevance to a precept from India's age-old civilization: "Truth is one, the wise only interpret it differently." Ekam Sat Viprāḥ Bahudhā Vadanti. The universal truth of this precept is the ultimate argument for the continued relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's message. Public figures like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela have, in different generations and in different societies, demonstrated this reality. Distinguished guests, the world order of this millennium is characterized by the march of democracy, the technological revolution, and the inexorable advance of globalization. Our future world will also be shaped by the course of our struggles against international terrorism, religious extremism, and ethnic hatred. We have a deficit of democracy in countries that have not yet learned the value of respect for differing views and for pluralism of cultures. A digital divide has arisen from our neglecting to share equitably the benefits of new technologies. In many developing countries, popular support for rapid economic liberalization is flagging because in our passion for headlong globalization, we have sometimes forgotten compassion for those whom it has left behind. International terrorism has raised its ugly head because bigotry seeks to destroy tolerance. It is no coincidence that its targets are democracies. It exploits the freedom of democracies and the openness of their societies to attack their people. If we have to tackle international terrorism effectively, it can only be through a concert of democracies, sharing information and exchanging intelligence freely in the conviction that they are together in the same battle against a common enemy. Bloody conflicts and bitter ethnic, religious, and tribal animosities also remind us that the message of communal harmony is yet to permeate into some regions of the world. The United Nations was created in the idealistic conviction that the international community can collectively ensure the triumph of life over carnage, of peace over war, and enable human beings to live in harmony with each other and with nature. In recent years, the organization has been unable to live up to the faith of its founders because its decision-making mechanisms have not been reflective of the true aspirations of its collective membership. Friends, it is these issues that we need to address if we are to strengthen the four vital pillars on which a strong and stable world order has to rest: peace, security, sustainable development, and ethical values. The elements that would provide sustenance to these pillars are peaceful coexistence and mutual consultations, tolerance and compassion, and the preference for dialogue over destruction. These elements encapsulate the very essence of Mahatma Gandhi's political message. His legacy exhorts us to dispel pessimism and passivity, to transform cynicism into idealism, to replace the politics of expediency by the politics of conviction, and to substitute the single-minded pursuit of economic growth by the promotion of growth with social justice. Mahatma Gandhi also demonstrated by the mass movements that he ignited in India and in South Africa that the impulse for this change has to come primarily from the grassroots—through religious and spiritual leaders, social activists, civic action groups, and other non-governmental institutions, agencies, and organizations. This explains the importance of gatherings such as these. With these words, I extend my felicitations and best wishes to this august assembly. Thank you.