World Conference On Unity Of Man 1994

SOUVENIR

WORLD CONFERENCE ON UNITY OF MAN 3. – 6. FEB. 1994

Table of Contents Editoral

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Sant Kirpal Singh, initiator of Unity of Man

Unity of Man – essentials, aims and activities

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Kirpal Sagar, the venue of the conference Preparatory steps Invitation

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February 3

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February 4

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February 5

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February 6

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Aims of the conference Messages

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Written statements Panel Sessions Resolutions

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Editorial It is with pleasure that we look back to the impressive days of the World-Conference on Unity of Man, 3 - 6 February 1994, full with activities in the service of man. For many of our guests it was the first stay at Kirpal Sagar, and we thank all for the loving response to our call for strengthening the solidarity of mankind. It was encouraging to see the commitment of so many personalities and it was an experience of its own that people of different faiths and cultures who had never met before were brought together by one and the same ideal: The unity of man. As it had been our hope, during the conference the atmosphere became family-like and there were no feelings of otherness. This conference report may be seen as a Souvenir, giving a review of the speeches and various activities. It may illustrate to some extent the atmosphere and the spirit of the conference, though even more important are the impressions left in the hearts. We have thanks for all who have helped to make the conference a success and we do not forget those working behind the scene. Our Bhaji and Bhiji had not only to carry the load of physical work, but the whole responsibility was lying on their shoulders. What was done, could be done in the name of Sant Kirpal Singh – it is His work which is spreading now.

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Sant Kirpal Singh Initiator of Unity of Man Born on 6 February 1894 in Sayyad Kasran, a part of the Punjab which now belongs to Pakistan, Sant Kirpal Singh was confronted with nationalism, religious intolerance, and bigotry from His early youth. In view of the suffering humanity He deeply thought about the nature of man and sought for a solution to the permanent discord leading to violent conflicts. After a profound study of the basic scriptures of the Sikhs, Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Zoroastrians etc. He found that they all give out the same basic truth and speak about the birthright of man to attain self-knowledge and God-knowledge. At the feet of His spiritual teacher Baba Sawan Singh He experienced practically what is described in the scriptures. He dedicated His whole life to the ideal of unity: the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. By lectures, publications, conferences, but first and foremost by His own example He brought about a deep understanding of the inner unity of all life, and people from all over the world, from different religions and cultures came to His residence in Delhi. It is important to understand that Sant Kirpal Singh did not bring a new faith. He revived the original knowledge which is to be found in the core of all religions, and gave an experience of the true nature of man whose aim it is to return to his source – God. By this experience every individual regains his inherent value and dignity and can reach the highest goal of human life. Due to His universal view He could create mutual understanding among different faiths. During fourteen years He was repeatedly elected president of the World Fellowship of Religions, which came into being in 1957. On three world tours in 1955, 1963, and 1972 He visited major cities in the Western world, where He met religious leaders, politicians, and personalities of the society. Everywhere He conveyed the importance of self-knowledge and God-knowledge and emphasized the need of selfless service. His efforts to create understanding from man to man, for peace in the world, and for tolerance among the religions have been recognized by many honours. His efforts reached a summit when He convened the first World Conference on Unity of Man, which took place in Delhi from 3 - 6 February 1974. Religious, political and social leaders from all over India, and delegates from approximately 18 countries participated in the conference. This World-Conference was the beginning of the UNITY OF MAN movement. As a result of Sant Kirpal Singh was invited by the government to address to the Indian Parliament. When He spoke to the members of the Lokh Sabha on 1 August 1974, it was the first time that a spiritual leader was given that honour. Before His physical departure on 21 August 1974, Sant Kirpal Singh commissioned His disciple Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife Surinder Kaur with His further work. It was His wish to lay His work into the hands of conscious people, who are working without self-interest – a guarantee that it is continued according to His guidelines.

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Unity of Man Essentials – We are already one as man. Man is the highest in all creation, next only to God. We are all born the same way and have the same inner and outer construction. – Man is an embodied soul, a conscious entity, and as such is of the same essence as God. Therefore we are members of one family and related to each other as brothers and sisters in God. – All human beings are controlled in the body by one and the same Power called by various names - God, Word, Shabd, Naam, and many others. – Right understanding that we are all one as man, as soul and as worshippers of God, the Controlling Power, will result in right thoughts, right speech and right actions. – Spirituality means to develop higher consciousness in man on the level of the soul and is not to be confused with spiritism, spiritualism, occultism or magic practices. – One knows one’s self (self-knowledge) not by feelings or emotions or by drawing inferences as they are all subject to error, but by rising above outgoing faculties and mind through practical self-analysis. – One knows God by really knowing one’s self, as self alone can know the Overself. Like knows the like. – Manbody is the true temple of God. God resides in the temple of the body made by Him in the womb of the mother and not in temples made of stone. The soul resides also therein. God manifests in the physical body in the form of Light and Sound (Word), which is seen with the Inner Eye and heard by the Inner Ear. Symbols for these inner manifestations of God are found in the outer temples and churches in the form of candles, lamps, bells, etc. The outer places of worship are constructed on the model of the manbody. – God made man and man made religions. Religions came into being after the Masters left the physical vesture so as to keep their teaching alive. We are man first, then come the various labels as Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains etc. We can be truly called as such only when Light and Sound become manifest in us. – We should remain in our own religion, but while remaining in our respective faiths, we must rise above the outer shackles. – True Faith means to love God and to love all His creation.

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Aims – to help man to transcend the narrow confines of racialism, religious sectionalism, classspirit, and nationalism splitting up humanity, and to rise into universality – to further religious tolerance and inter-faith communication by pointing out the common spiritual essence of all religions – to promote a deeper understanding of the higher values of life and the purpose of human life – to point out what man is: a conscious entity, endowed with discrimination power and able to take responsibility in his doings, and to illustrate man’s spiritual aspect, his possibility for Self- and God-realization

Activities – free lectures and scriptures – conferences on unity of man – centres for man-making and man-service accessible for all (in India also providing social facilities)

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Kirpal Sagar, the venue of the Conference The project Kirpal Sagar has been set up since 1982 in the Punjab, at a time when it was one of the most crisis-ridden federal states of India, where social and religious tensions between Hindus, Sikhs and Moslems led to terrorism and deadly conflicts. In the midst of this atmosphere of hatred and violence, Kirpal Sagar set an example for practically lived tolerance and peaceful co-operation of human beings belonging to different countries, religions and social classes. Kirpal Sagar maintains various facilities: – – – – – – – –

Kirpal Charitable Hospital, Kirpal Sagar Academy, Library, Guesthouse, Home for the aged, Agriculture and Dairy Farm, Common Kitchen, Sarovar, an oval-shaped pond, in which a building will be erected carrying four symbols of different religions to demonstrate that in Kirpal Sagar all religions are respected.

In this project, which now includes more than 50 ha, Unity of Man pursues a comprehensive aid-programme, not “dictated” from abroad as it can be found in cases of misunderstood development aid, which arouses a feeling of inferiority and immaturity in the people concerned. The underlying conception of the project may be seen in connection with the ancient Indian tradition of non-violence, tolerance and spirituality. The management of the project under the chairmanship of Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife Surinder Kaur has endeavoured to make everybody feel as man endowed with equal rights and dignity, and makes efforts to grant help for self-help. Kirpal Sagar belongs to all mankind and fulfils various purposes: – to remove religious intolerance and fundamentalism by pointing out the underlying unity of all religions – to provide physical help to the poor and needy – to overcome class-spirit by giving an appropriate education with equal chances – to help man to develop all around, physically, intellectually and spiritually These main purposes are served by: – the Library, which is just being equipped with the authentic scriptures of various religions for an unbiased comparative study of religions – the Kirpal Sagar Academy, a state-recognized private school, which gives education free of charge to poor students. At present the school accommodates 350 students. The curriculum (CBSE-standard) also includes cultural activities such as performances, traditional dances etc. of the various 10

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1 Kirpal Charitable Hospital 2 Kirpal Sagar Academy 3 Home for the aged 4 Guesthouse 4

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1 Library 2 Sarovar 3 Common Kitchen 4 Dairy Farm 4

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ethnic groups of India to further a sense of mutual understanding. The education ensures an integral growth of human personality transferring not only intellectual knowledge but also higher values of life on the base of the fundamental ethics of all religions. Thus the pupils enter life not only with a view to gaining money but also with the humanistic idea that all men are equal and that man as a real human being should help and serve his fellow-man. – the Kirpal Charitable Hospital which provides medical care not only for the surroundings but also for needy people far and wide through medical camps with free medicine and check ups. In addition preparations for a Medical College are in progress to provide the opportunity for a special training in this underdeveloped area. – the Home for the aged which was inaugurated in February 1994 and is the largest in Punjab with a capacity for about 1000 people. Those familiar with the conditions in India regarding the lacking provisions for the elder generation are aware of the dire need of homes for the aged. So it is Unity of Man’s special concern that old people should not be forced to live an uprooted life in a ghetto-like situation without any life-task in the community. But by sharing their life-long experiences (may it be languages or technical knowledge) with the younger generation they may find fulfilment in the evening of their life in the service of man and be carefree in an atmosphere of physical and spiritual welfare. – the Agriculture and Dairy Farm set up on modern standards, which makes the centre selfsufficient with basic foods. The common kitchen supplies 300 and more people with vegetarian food daily. – the project includes further a joiner’s workshop, and workshops for iron and marble where Indians also have the opportunity to learn a handicraft. Exceeding by far merely local humanitarian help, the project all in all serves as a model for a spiritual life with higher values, furthering the realization of the basic human rights. In cooperation with voluntary helpers from the West the idea of humanity in the one world is put into practice.

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Preparatory Steps In summer 1993 Dr. Harbhajan Singh accompanied by his wife Surinder Kaur visited the Headquarters of Unity of Man in Austria. They arrived in St. Gilgen on May 29.

Headquarters – Unity of Man

The preparations for the World-Conference on Unity of Man were in full swing. Soon after his arrival Dr. Harbhajan Singh started for a lecture-tour through Europe which was one of the focal points of the preparation work. During his lectures in several cities in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria he emphasized the necessity of realizing the basic unity of life and presented the project Kirpal Sagar, the venue of the Conference. During his tour, and at the World-Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, he introduced to representatives of science, religion, politics, and personalities of public life the conception of our work and the aims of the World-Conference on Unity of Man. At the World-Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Dr. Harbhajan Singh held two lectures within the scope of the NGO - programme and on June 18 he had the honour to address the Plenary Session of the States-Conference. Unity of Man further contributed to the activities with an exhibition illustrating the aims and activities of Unity of Man as well as the project Kirpal Sagar. The delegation of Unity of Man further participated in the NGO discussions and deliberations.

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1 Meeting his Eminence Cardinal König of the Roman Catholic Church in Vienna, Austria 2 Meeting with Mr. Michail Gorbachev accompanied by his wife Raissa and Mr. Likhotal in Genf, Switzerland

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3 A talk with the scientist Prof. Dr. Pietschmann at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Vienna, Austria 4 Lecture at the book-fair in Leipzig 4

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1 Plenary session of the States-Conference at the World Conference of Human Rights in Vienna 2 The delegation of Unity of Man 3 With Ibrahima Fall, Secretary-General on the UN World Conference of Human Rights in his office at the Austria Centre/Vienna 4 Talking with the Roman Catholic Cardinal Etchegaray from the Vatican

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»There is only one solution: to forgive and to forget« Extract from the address to the audience of the Plenary Session of the States at the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, June 1993 by Dr. Harbhajan Singh Dear brothers and sisters, I want to share my views on these most important issues. I want to have some heart-to-hearttalk with you, because I think the problems of the world are not political, but they are more spiritual. So we have to find a way out of these problems. As for example: There are individual problems in different countries. Whether we are politicians, religious or spiritual leaders, our purpose is one and the same: that is man-making and man-service. If we live up to it, and do with it, there will be total perfection – rather the solution to all the problems in our different countries. Then on the international level we have to form a common opinion. And which common opinion? Which is already existing from our religions. Because I would like to tell you that God made man and man made religion. Never in history a competent Master ever created a religion, rather religion was created after their physical departure by the so-called followers of the faith. So thereafter they created lots of shackles therein. Now all these problems in the world are due to the shackles and not due to the true religion. So what are those shackles? Everyone knows. Because this manbody is a true temple of God. Everything is within. It is a true Bible, a true Church, it is a true Mosque, it is a true Koran, it is a true Gurdawara. Man is made on the image of God. So what we have to find? That we are all one in God. We are all one, our Father is one, and our purpose is one – our way back to God is one. On this issue we have to see as how peace can be cemented in the world, how all these affairs can be set fully right. If really people rise above their isms, sects, and religions, and premiers and presidents rise above their kingdoms, peace is already there, the human rights are already there. These are lying within the man. Everything is innate in man: There is a question, the answer is also within. Supposed you put me a question and I gave you the wrong answer, you would never cooperate with me, since you have the right answer within you. So man is first a human being, then we are wearing different labels, and we are reading in different schools and colleges. Our purpose is to rise above the shackles. Secondly, my opinion is that there are so many problems that have gone beyond the care of man and if we clutch to them, they will create more hatred and bloodshed in the world. There is only one solution: to forgive and forget. For there is a law of justice, and there is a law of forgiveness. The law of justice can do a lot in the world, but what the law of forgiveness can do, the law of justice cannot do. He who forgives and forgets, he is the brave and strong. The law of forgiveness is also called the law of grace. So he who forgives and forgets, he is gracious and loveable to all. In my opinion these are the things with which we have to be very sincere, potent, and positive. Now all those Masters who came in the world, they lived hundred percent for others, and our purpose is also the same. It is from the Holy Scriptures that 17

to live beyond necessity is a sin. If really we live up to it, we can save a lot for the poor and the needy, and we can overcome lots of shortcomings of the human beings. There is a very potent and positive way of life, and we should live in this direction, and we can give a lot to all other people. “Ye be perfect as your Father is in the heaven.” These are most important issues, and (you will find that) all those problems in the world are due to different shackles arising out of different religions, if you try to know the very base of the problem, that has arisen out of it. In this direction, I would like to tell you that our purpose in this world is very unique, and we should love others as we do love our dear ones. This is the way to expand our own self to embrace the whole humanity, and prove ourselves as human beings in the true sense of the word. Only when we rise above the narrow confines of our own self, our own family, our own community or nation, we can take into our hearts the concerns and sufferings of our near and far neighbours. It is the way for any individual, and it is the noble task of those who help the cause of others. While sitting in the heart of this beautiful country, we should have appreciation for those who have put their heart and head, and let us pledge ourselves to go with higher values of life, since the purpose of human life is to meet good end. Let us go back to our country to preach the truth through our higher values of life, so that there is an eternal peace in our heart.

Original UNO press-release

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World Conference on Unity of Man 3 – 6 February 1994

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Invitation Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, It is my great pleasure to invite You to participate in the World Conference on Unity of Man, to be held on the occasion of Sant Kirpal Singh’s centennial birthday from 3 to 6 February 1994 at Kirpal Sagar, India. On the level of man, of soul, of consciousness we are already one. In spite of tyranny and murder prevailing, there is one hope for the world, and this hope lies in the spiritual link from man to man and nation to nation. This genuine hope will bring us together. The problems of the world are not of political but of spiritual nature, so we have to find the solution on the spiritual level, on the level of consciousness. The change will begin from man’s heart, this is the only way to bring unity into the world. If the ideal of unity has become our heart-felt desire, it will spread like a wildfire burning all hatred, enmity, separation, duality, and egoism. What will prevail is oneness. We hope that You will take the opportunity to meet in a sense of tolerance and brotherhood on the occasion of this World Conference. We will be glad to welcome You in Kirpal Sagar.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh, Unity of Man, Chairman of the project Kirpal Sagar

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Aims of the Conference The Conference wants: – to explain the idea of unity of man and to create an awareness for the need of unity in the public opinion – to help man to transcend the narrow confines of racialism, religious sectionalism, and nationalism splitting up humanity, and to rise into universality – to point out what man is: a conscious entity, endowed with discrimination power and able to take responsibility in his doings – to illustrate the spiritual aspect of man, the innate possibility for Self- and God-realization – to explain the difference between spirituality, occultism, and other practices and to show that spirituality is the core of all religions and the base for a peaceful co-existence – to emphasize the need of higher values of life, of man-making and man-service

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Messages At this place we want to convey some impressions of our guests. Others who were interested in the subject of the conference but were not able to participate extended their well-wishes. Their thoughts were a precious contribution, too, for which we express our thanks.

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Thursday, 3 February 1994

10.00 a.m.

Start of the procession from Chandigarh

3.00 p.m.

Reception at Rahon

6.00 p.m.

Arrival at Kirpal Sagar

7.00 p.m.

Welcoming reception

February 3 The first day of the conference

The World Conference on Unity of Man began with a procession from Chandigarh to Kirpal Sagar. The procession started at 10.00 a.m. with cars, trucks and buses. All participants joined at Rahon, where a reception was held. The mayor and local dignitaries of Rahon greeted the congregation.

Thereafter, Dr. Harbhajan Singh welcomed all participants at Rahon with the following words: Dear brothers and sisters, dear guests, I welcome all of you. We are not new to each other, we are very, very old in this philosophy. It is a philosophy of the world, but the real philosophy is within – that unites us. So in this connection we have got together and now we have to think what to do, and moreover we have to see from where we came, how we came, whatwwe are, who we are, and now what is the purpose of human life – whatwwe have to do for the humanity, because our purpose is to live for others. This all competent Masters of the world have stressed. They lived hundred percent for others. If we live for others, then there will be peace in the world. So many Sants, Mahatmas, delegates and guests from all over the world have gathered here. All will be given time to express their views. We invite you all to come to Kirpal Sagar and join the conference. To finish the separation from man to man there is only one way – to come together at one platform. So thank you. I have all good wishes for all of you who participate here.

After the official part tea was served to all. Then the procession march continued. Delegates from 14 countries took part and all in all the procession extended over some kilometers. Left and right by-standers were lining the streets, and the Indian Television took a record of the event. Soon the procession reached Dariyapur from where the participants walked on foot. The procession rang with the slogan Ek raho, Nek bano, Baha karo, i.e. Be good, Do good, Be one. At about 6.00 p.m., just at nightfall, the procession reached Kirpal Sagar. The whole campus was a sea of lights, and decorated with thousands of flowers and glittering ribbons. The students of the Kirpal Sagar Academy formed a lane where the procession passed through and then reached the meeting hall where the Inaugural Session was held.

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1–3 Arriving and welcoming at Rahon 4 Welcoming addresses by Dr. Harbhajan Singh and the dignitaries 5 Procession by cars, trucks and busses to Kirpal Sagar 6 Arrival at Kirpal Sagar 6

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Dr. Harbhajan Singh inaugurated the conference with the following words: Dear brothers and sisters, We have come together in the sweet remembrance of Sant Kirpal Singh. His teaching is spreading all over the world. He gave us this experience which is described in all Holy Scriptures. His birthday is going to be celebrated everywhere in the world. Why do people remember Him? Because He was not a Master of one religion – He came for everyone, He came for the whole humanity. He broke all barriers and loved everyone. Similarly, when Guru Nanak went to Mecca he was asked to which religion he belonged. He answered, “If God is Hindu, I am a Hindu; if God is Moslem, I am a Moslem; if God is Christian, I am a Christian. I am born in a Hindu family but I belong to the religion of God.” When such powers come, they neither condemn any religion nor create any new religion. We have gathered here not to hold up any particular religion or community but to hold up the humanity. Man should become a real man who loves everyone, otherwise he is not really a man. Many delegates and guests from all over the world have gathered here and many experienced His vibration. The Mahatmas present here will also tell about their views. And by listening to all these things many will get interested and this congregation can grow more and more.

With welcoming words of Mr. Werner Stadlmeyer, Chairman of Unity of Man Germany, and songs of the children of the Kirpal Sagar Academy, the official part was concluded.

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Friday, 4 February 1994

9.00 a.m.

Arranging for the Panel Sessions

10.00 a.m.

First round through Kirpal Sagar

1.00 p.m.

Open Session

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Inauguration of the Home for the aged

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Open Session

8.00 p.m.

Panel Sessions

February 4 The guests from abroad made a first round through Kirpal Sagar with Mr. Wolfgang Gerlich and Mrs. Eva Wahl, who explained to them the different buildings and facilities. At the end of the walk through the large campus they reached the dairy farm, where all were served milk as refreshment. Then the little party joined the Open Session which was going on in the meantime in the newly erected meeting-hall. After several speeches in Hindi Mr. Wolfgang Gerlich, Chairman of Unity of Man Austria, addressed the audience:

Distinguished guests from India and abroad, dear brothers and sisters who have come from different countries and nations, This time we have come together to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji along with the World Conference on Unity of Man. Sant Kirpal Singh laid the foundation-stone of the Unity of Man movement with the first Unity of Man Conference which was held in Delhi in 1974, and at that time he already said that this is a work for all who have consciousness and right understanding to be ambassadors transmitting the right understanding to all. It means that Unity of Man is not an outer organization, but it is a group of people you can say, who want to pass on this right understanding for the development of each one of us and for peace in the world. At that conference in 1974 Sant Kirpal Singh said that we should be ambassadors of truth, ambassadors of the higher values of life, and of true spirituality. And what does true spirituality mean? It means that we have to lead a life according to the Holy Scriptures. For many years Sant Kirpal Singh Ji was the president of the World Fellowship of Religions, and he was well-versed in the scriptures of the different religions. He could give many hints from these Holy Scriptures pointing out that there is one Truth, that there is one eternal life, that there is the Christpower, Godpower, or Masterpower, which is one for all, and that it is now our turn to come in contact with it. “Unity already exists, but we have forgotten.” These are not mere words, but this is a fact that really everybody can recognize, because all these values are lying within the body. We are really brothers and sisters in God. This brotherhood of men under the Fatherhood of God already exists, but we are not aware of it. You know that all great Masters who ever have come into the world taught spirituality, they taught this right understanding in one opinion, they all gave the same experience, and this is what lies in all of us. When great Masters come they are not only telling about spirituality, they are not only telling about the theory, but they are giving the practical experience of it. Sant Kirpal Singh was the founder of this place, Kirpal Sagar, which gives an example in all aspects of human life. You see that from the child up to the old aged all are included at this place, that the poor, the needy get help, that education is given through the Kirpal Sagar Academy, and that there is 87

also the opportunity for a comparative study of religions as Sant Kirpal Singh Ji himself did. We can find in practice all different aspects of life here at this place. So we can be very thankful that we have got this place, and that in this direction we can work together in one opinion. This conference 1994 will be a stepping-stone for a further development, if we can rise above our communities, if we can rise above our narrow-mindedness, if we can rise above outer rituals and rites. All the religions in which we are born, whether we are Christians or Sikhs or Hindus or Moslems – these communities are all schools of thought. But still more is needed. Not only right understanding, but the practice is also needed, the practical experience of which the Holy Scriptures speak. When the great Masters came into the world, they gave this experience, but before something was needed from every disciple, something was needed from every person: A decision to live according to the wishes of the Masters, and we can find that in all religions. It is laid down there how we should lead our life, and that we should have love for our neighbour and for our Father, because this life-impulse, the Godpower, Christpower, or Masterpower is one and the same, and we are one drop of the ocean of allconsciousness. So this conference will be the starting point to live and do for the humanity. Man-service and man-making is not something that is coming from outside, it is something that should start from ourselves. I think, we all who are here for this conference, will do our level best to bring this high understanding and to bring peace into the world. In 1974, when Sant Kirpal Singh left His physical body, He gave this work into the hands of Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife. And you know, it is the work of conscious people, so we all should rise into this consciousness, which is a gift that is given directly from the Masterpower, that everybody can have who has made a decision for his life. So let us pass the next days together in one opinion, since we have gathered here on behalf of this unity, to work for the humanity, for the right understanding, and for the development in the world. Thank you.

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1 – 2 View of Kirpal Sagar 3 – 4 First round with our dear guests through Kirpal Sagar 4

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1 – 4 The Kirpal Sagar Academy was honored by the request to arrange an all-Indian song-contest. 16 Indian schools participated in it. The children sang traditional Indian songs from the Holy Scriptures 4

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The following extracts of the speeches are a cross section of the vast amount of material; many talks are necessarily left out due to space limitations. Representatives of different faces such as Sufi Mat from Malakota, Kabir Panthi, Guru Nanak Mat participated. Of the speeches held in Hindi and Punjabi a summary was given in English by the interpreter.

»The role of religions in the respect of human rights in the world« Dr. Gianfranco Rossi, General Secretary of the organization ”Association Internationale Pour La Défense De La Liberté Religieuse” (Association for the defense of religious freedom) Switzerland, NGO Mr. Chairman, dear brothers and sisters, May I, in the first place, extend to the organizers of this World Conference on the Unity of Man my warm gratitude for their kindness in inviting me to it. I must also congratulate them, for the theme which they have decided to explore is a most worthy one, especially in this year 1994, which the United Nations has proclaimed the “International Year of the Family”. Mankind consists of one great human family of which God is the Creator and the Father. By filiation, we are therefore all brothers and sisters, which means that we must love each other and respect each other in our differences. We must also work to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all the members of the human family. Hundreds of millions of men, women and children are suffering, however, every day on our planet and even sometimes lose their lives because their fundamental freedoms are being trampled underfoot. Meetings like the present one should be multiplied in order to raise an outcry capable of shaking international public opinion and intensifying its commitment in favour of the effective respect of human rights in all countries, regardless of their political and social regimes. In fact, every people has the inalienable right to self-determination and to choose and develop freely its political, social, economic and cultural systems. No people, however, no group can claim unto itself the right to establish or to maintain a political regime which does not respect the rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals, that is a regime which refuses to respect the dignity inherent in every member of the human family. We must all constantly strive to build a society which places more and more at the centre of its concerns man, his freedom, his well-being, his total development. Without man, there can be no society, and it is therefore for him that we must combine our efforts. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stresses the equality in dignity and in rights of all human beings, without ignoring, however, the differences which exist among them. When reference is made today to building a just society, this means a pluralistic society, a society which respects not only the similarities but also the differences between human beings. 91

Professor Jean Dausset of the University of Paris, Nobel Prize of Physiology and Medicine, has declared: “One of the most important challenges of our day is to abolish contempt, and to teach the vital importance of differences between men. There will never be two identical individuals. Every individual is unique. The future of mankind, its capacity of adaptation, and its biological evolution depend on the jealous preservation of that diversity. Standardization would lead to decline, decay and death. By analogy, the cultural evolution of mankind requires the jealous preservation of intellectual diversities of individuals and ethnic groups. Freedom of thought or opinion, the free exercise of worship are merely the free expression of individual diversities. Differences between human beings must not be simply tolerated; they must be admitted, encouraged, cultivated with a full awareness of the inestimable riches which they bring.” For indeed, ethnic, cultural, religious or other differences must not be considered as hostile or undesirable elements, but on the contrary as a source of richness for all human beings. Those whose thoughts are different from ours are not necessarily enemies. We must learn to live side by side with each other in mutual respect and brotherhood even if we cannot share the same views. An effort must also be made to emphasize the points of common convergence – of which there are many – and to develop forms of cooperation for the welfare of all. In every country there are men and women who have their own vision of the world. Each of them must be able to exercise freely his or her right to live in harmony with his or her beliefs and to respect that same right for others. The state is not called upon to impose upon its citizens a particular vision of the world, be it religious or other. The state must be the common house of all citizens. This means that in each country ideological pluralism should not only be accepted as a fact, but be recognized by the law. The various “visions of the world” – religious or other – should have the right to exist, to be expressed and asserted, and to compete with each other in mutual respect. None of them ought to be able to use the power of the state to suppress the others or to prevent their freedom of action and expression. The religions, which have a global vision of the human family and which preach justice, peace and love among men, ought to play an important role in the construction of a pluralist society respectful of human rights. The religions are better placed than the politicians, the jurists or the philosophers to educate the populations in the knowledge and respect of those rights because they can alter and influence the conscience of a larger number of persons. Without the support of religion, the building of a just society cannot be even contemplated. We are all aware of the important role they have played in earlier generations, and even in our own. It is worth remembering that, from time immemorial, the great religious systems have fashioned, much more than the dynasties, the empires and the political systems, the cultural environment of the planet and have done so in a stronger and more sustained fashion. The religions and religious organizations must, however, remain faithful interpreters of the divine revelation of which they claim to be the depositaries and dispensers. For indeed, if in92

stead of scrupulously teaching the message received from above, religion were to degenerate, if it were to become an instrument capable of exercising a spiritual power on the consciences of human beings and aiming to apply its particular rules through the laws of the state, it would become a curse for society. Everyone is aware of the dark periods of human history dominated by intolerance and religious dogmatism. In our time, we are obliged to note the disturbing manifestations of religious extremism which run counter to the construction of a pluralist society. Indeed, we are witnessing the emergence of increasingly menacing movements penetrated by religious totalitarianism. In many countries, these movements are aimed at imposing, through the power of the state, the laws of a single religion. The whole society is thus brought under the rule of the precepts of that religion. Those who do not accept to conform with that new order are considered as infidels or unbelievers and there is no hesitation to using force against them. In fact, theocratic totalitarian regimes have already been instituted – or nearly so – in certain countries in which massive violations of human rights have been recorded. It is most unfortunate that injustices are being committed and human rights are being baffled in the name of a just and merciful God. As we have said earlier, the support of religions is indispensable for building a just society. In order to do so, however, those religious leaders who have not yet done so must reflect critically on their traditions - which very often are more the product of history than a divine revelation – in order to bring them into line with the respect for all universally recognized human rights and for the demands of our times. It is also necessary that a climate of dialogue be established among religions. This should take place at all levels so that they can contribute to the establishment of a universal ethics acceptable to all. This theme has been the subject of a recent work by the great Swiss theologian Hans Küng entitled “Projet d’Èthique plan Ètaire” (a plan for a world-ethos). The author of that work develops a three-fold idea, which is in fact one in his mind: there can be no survival of humanity without planet-wide ethics favoured by religions; there will be no world peace without peace among religions; there will be no peace among religions without dialogue among them. Inter-religious meetings and dialogues, which must be promoted at all levels, are bound to have positive effects on humanity, if they are conducted in the same spirit as that which guided many centuries ago the Indian Emperor Ashoka (292-236 B.C.), who declared: “Concord can only reign if everyone respects the beliefs of others and experiences pleasure in hearing them set forth.” Dear brothers and sisters, may God bless you. Thank you for your kind attention.

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Mr. Chaudri Santoch Singh, Chief Parliament Secretary of the Punjab Honourable Mr. Chairman Dr. Harbhajan Singh, ladies and gentlemen, It is my great pleasure and privilege to have got the honour to welcome this distinguished gathering from all parts of the globe, who have come to participate in this World Conference on Unity of Man, on that occasion of the centennial birth anniversary of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji. To begin with, this conference is in fact peculiar because it is being held on the level of man as God made him – man. Irrespective of nationality, religion, colour or political convictions it is a common platform to all who strive for harmony, unity, global peace and oneness of man. The human race has evolved on this planet over many million years. Some people are always looking for miracles but it seems to me that there is no greater miracle than the evolution of human consciousness that existed primordially billion of billion years ago. The way in which from earliest beginning matter and life on this planet has evolved terminating for the time being at least in human consciousness and it is really the greatest continuing miracle that one could ever have imagined. Human civilization, as we know, is very short compared to the age of dispense, perhaps 10 000 years at outside. But in these 10 000 years there have been incredible achievements of the human mind and intellect. Science and technology has brought marvels. It has done things which had been totally unimaginable a few years ago, for example: landing on the moon, space laboratory and the replacing of human organs by surgery etc. But at the same time we have entered a situation in which there are dramatic extremes which have encircled us with increasingly serious and intricate problems. The reason may vary. There may be economic problems, benign or malign use of science, sharp dichotomy between assurance and poverty between nations and within nations. There may be reasons, historic, geographical, social determinates and political, ideological aspects but it is now increasingly realized that the tracks of human predicament today results perhaps around the problem of human consciousness itself. We are so engrossed in the daily routine of life and so overwhelmed by the inflated importance we tend to give to overruling and running the world that the capacity to be joyful, to be at peace is rapidly becoming a thing of past. Perhaps this is more part in the advanced nations of the world but this disease of disrespection and unhappiness seems to have now hit every part of this globe. If we have to succeed in any measure in lightening the burden of others, we must first develop within ourselves the capacity to trancend the narrow confines of religion, sexism, racialism, and even nationalism. While remaining in any social religion we have to rise above it to find that unity which underlies all religions. Science was comprehensive, striving for universal knowledge. But a wise man puts this as knowledge of the self, looking within from without. Without this feeling of introspection man has used all his achievements for the destruction of mankind, instead of helping to uplift mankind. Man must realize that there is one power controlling and maintaining the whole creation and no one is above that power. And all religions seem to know this supreme truth. It is this aspect Sant Kirpal Singh Ji expressed that mankind as a part of the universe is essentially one, and that the well-being or ill-being of one individual affects all humanity. He emphasized the role of nations and of politicians to nourish this world as a garden and to help all countries to bloom. This sense and feeling can enkindle the feeling of brotherhood in every mind. Sant Ji’s mission was to fill the human heart with com94

passion, with mercy and universal love. This should radiate to all countries, nations, and people of the world. I extend my heartiest thanks to Dr. Harbajan Singh Ji and his fellow-workers of the project Kirpal Sagar who has given me this opportunity to address you and welcome you all. I convey my congratulation to Dr. Harbhajan Singh whose untiring and selfless hard work has reared this project into a great complex which shall be serving the humanity, the poor and the needy. This is no doubt a great endeavour which claims highest appreciation. I once again welcome you all to Punjab, to Kirpal Sagar on behalf of the State Government for having honoured us by coming and joining this endeavour for the Unity of Man: to be good, do good, be one. Thank you.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh thanks Mr. Chaudri Santoch Singh, Chief Parliament Secretary of the Punjab, for his coming: Our distinguished guest comes from the State Government to welcome the foreign guests. I want to get hold of one thing he mentioned – it was about the human consciousness. It is a wonderful thing which is the need of the time. This consciousness is inherited, it is innate in our soul. It is a way of practical life, you may say – the art of life. So it is said: God is love, love is God and the way back to God is love; and we are of the same essence as that of God. God is the ocean of all-consciousness and we are the drop of that consciousness. So what is our purpose, what is the purpose of human consciousness? To become conscious co-worker of the divine plan. The purpose of this conference is to rise into it, not only to know about it, but to live with it and do with it. Because without living and without doing we cannot justify our self and how can we then justify our Father who is within? The Father is God, the Godinto-action-power, and for all human beings He is one and the same. That Power which has created the whole creation is the Sustainer. That Power has a direct and independent contact with us; and that is God. We are all one, we all have come from one and the same source, and we have to go back to the same source. Our cause is one, simply we have to rise above the cause and effect of the world. So far we do not rise above the cause and effect of the world, this problem is bound with the senses and the sense-organs and our outer wishes. If we know how to rise above the plane of senses, we really can solve the riddle of life. All competent Masters in whose names the blessed religions do exist, we bow before them, because as there are so many bulbs over here, our attention is in the light but not in the glass – they were the children of God. We have to become like them. Every Saint has a past and every sinner a future. So there is a way – it is the greatest opportunity to go back, since man is the highest rung in the whole creation and our purpose lies within. It is said, unless the soul comes back into the human form, we cannot attain the purpose of human life. We cannot go. When God made man, he made him on his own image. So man is next to God. When Guru Nanak went to Persia, he met there Quazi Rukam Din who asked him, “Master, have you 95

ever seen the house of God?” He said, “Yes, I have seen the house of God, this manbody is the house of God.” In the Guru Grant Sahib he described that it has 12 pillars. In this body we have 12 pillars, (means: hands, forearms and upper arms and accordingly feet and the parts of the legs). This house is standing on 12 pillars. It is a wonderful house we live in, it is a true temple of God. He further told that it has 52 minarets, means 32 teeth and 20 nails. It has two windows, above that (at the third eye) the power within resounds and tells us the way back to God. So this is a holy body, and by having it we can solve the riddle of life. We can solve our purpose of human life. All those competent Masters, whether they came in the East or West, at different places and different times, taught the same very truth with one opinion. When you go through the scriptures you will find this one opinion until now. They never differed in their opinion. All those competent Masters had one opinion. These religions came into being after the physical departure of those Masters, but were formed by the so-called followers of the faith. God made man, and man made religions! We are stressing too much these outer things, we are giving so much preference to them, it is the need of the time to understand the background of all those things, not simply to run after them. It is a time to know the background of everything, because you are a conscious entity. You are of the same essence as that of God. A big awakening in the world can come up. At the World Conference on Unity of Man which was held in 1974 in Delhi, Sant Kirpal Singh said that He wanted to give His work in the hands of conscious people. Who are conscious people? You all are conscious people. That is inherited in us. We are not separate from one another. It can spread like wildfire. Master told me, “You are blessed with the right understanding, rather the rare right understanding of its special significance.” I answered, “Master if it is so, then multiply it to all my brothers and sisters.” He said, “Then there will be a big awakening in the world as well.” I replied, “Master, it is God’s work, it is not manwork.” He told me, “Let it be my work within and your work outside.” It is a big preference, I tell you. God is within. So why should a man claim that he is a Master? In the terminology of the Saints it is said, if anybody calls himself a Master, he is not a Master. Really, if anyone is a commissioned worker of God, he will never say he is a Master. He will say, “He (God) is the doer.” There is only one doer, there is no second doer in the world. There can be borrowed servants of God. They can become conscious co-workers of the divine plan, but not God. And those who claim themselves as Masters, they become prisoners. It is said of one person that he went to the heaven, knocked the door and said, “I have come.” Someone asked who he was. He replied, “I was a teacher there.” “Yes, wait for a while, I’ll come back with the answer.” After some time he was given the reply that this was not a place for a teacher, only a place for disciples.” You are not wanted here, you must go back to attain the higher values of life.” The higher values of life tell us to be disciples, never to become a Master, because there is no end to the competency of the Master and there is no end to our learning. And for how long do we have to learn? Up to our last breath. We are not given so many years and many breaths. There is only one breath, that goes inside, and goes outside, some power is pushing it back into the body and at the time of death it remains outside; so this is only one breath. We have to make the best use of this one breath. 96

It is a time when we can consider all those things because the higher values of life lie in understanding a thing and living with it. By living and understanding we can earn the gift of life. The gift is in the hand of the giver, I tell you. It is not in the hand of man. If you really want to get this gift of life, you must be true to yourself. Only thereafter you can be true to others. If you are not true to yourself, how can you claim that you are the right one? It is high time to become a human being. The purpose is not simply to look like a man but to be a real human being in the world, to prove as a human being in the society. In this direction there are lots of things to consider. Now you know, why there is a disparity in low and high and rich and poor: it is due to our lack of right understanding. All competent Masters live a hundred percent for others and stress the need for us, too. We should live for others. If we live for others, there will be peace, harmony, a comfortable situation, no problem at all. At the UN World Conference on Human Rights Conference in Vienna in June 1993, I was asked to speak in the Plenary Session because I gave this very universal teaching there. The General Secretary of the Human Rights Conference, Mr. Ibrahima Fall, said to me, “Yes, you have the very universal view and that appeals to everyone, you speak there.” “Anyhow”, I said, “whether we are politicians, religious or spiritual leaders, our purpose is one and the same and that is man-making and man-service.” If really we live and do for it in our different countries, at least we can solve lots of problems in our countries. And there are so many problems which have gone beyond the care of man, and if we clutch them, there will be more bloodshed, hatred and strife in the world. There is only one solution: to forgive and forget. What beautiful words these are: to forgive and forget. He who forgives and forgets is really the strong and the brave. In the terminology of the Saints he is said to be a gracious one, a conscious co-worker of the divine plan, a Gurmukh. And he is next to God. He will follow the footsteps of the Masterpower. I have lots of hopes on all of you, because my purpose over here is only to fulfill the desire of Sant Kirpal Singh. He lived hundred percent for others. He did not create any religion but respected all the religions of the world. His purpose was very unique. When He went to the West, He said, “God does not reside in temples made of stones and bricks.” People asked Him, “When will Christ come back?” He replied, “It is already in the Bible, I shall never leave thee nor forsake thee till the end of the world.” So the question of Christ’s coming back does not arise, He is innate in our soul.” He further was asked, “Can you give that first-handexperience as Christ used to give?” That is a heritage of you. People asked me, why all Saints do come from the East. I answered, “The sun also rises from the East also.” So it is not a new thing. People asked me, “Mr. Singh, what did you bring for us?” I said, “I have not brought any new philosophy, since man is older than all the philosophies of the world.” Let us have some heart-to-heart talk. Let us go within and see where we stand. Let us analyse what we are, who we are, from where we came, how we came, and now what is the purpose of human life. If we are bound with all rituals and rights, and we do not become true to our self, what does it profit us? What does it profit a man if he even possesses the whole world and loses his own soul? He is a bewildered man, he is an amputated person, he is not a right person. So it is a time to become conscious. As our many speakers have told, how can a man who is in a slumber awake others? Suppose hundred thousands of people are sleeping and you are awaking, you can make them all wake up. So it is at time to overcome this slumber. 97

Which slumber? On the level of senses. The problems start from the mind, the problems start from our wishes. So all Masters have told to overcome our wishes. Kabir has told that man always wants to be happy in the world. Just to be happy in the world he has to create some wishes. While fulfilling his wishes, he creates lots of antifacts in his life. And what happens? After the wish has been fulfilled, it becomes an attachment. And you know, with attachment, you will be affected with ego. With the attachment one has to suffer on the level of the mind. The diseases of the mind will appear. And with the ego diseases of the body will appear. When the diseases of the body and the mind get together, man dies in the negative circle. There are only two circles. One is the negative circle, the other is the positive circle. If you are in the negative circle, then you are not in the positive circle, if you are in the positive circle, then you are not in the negative circle. We must know where we stand, how we stand, but it is a golden opportunity, it is a rare opportunity for us to go back home, to create the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. He who tries it, he is loved by the Godpower, because He needs also such persons who work for Him. What is His work? Just to be loveable. It is said that one time Lord Vishnu invited gods and anti-gods. There they were together at the feast, where they were invited to dine. Very delicious food was placed before them but Lord Vishnu told them, “All this food is for you, but there is only one condition - you should not bend your elbow!” So they all thought over it and then the anti-gods said, “O how is it possible, it can never be possible without bending our arms. How can you bring the food to the mouth?” They became very arrogant and went away. But these gods and goddesses said, “Since it is being told by Lord Vishnu, there is a mystery in it.” After some time they could discover, “Yes, it is a very simple way: you feed me and I feed you. So there is no need to bend the arm.” Now it is a time to live for others. If we are feeling some problems, some disparity, it is only due to us. Kirpal Sagar is a place for all human beings. Your services, your good efforts are all needed here. It is a place of your Father. You can come at any time you like. The Home for the aged (which will now be inaugurated) will serve the needy and the poor, and since I have given up this advertisement, I have got lots of applications for that purpose, and I wish, I will be able to serve them whole-heartedly, loveably, and with all my strength, with all my heart. Afterwards the inauguration of the ‘Birdh Ashram’, the Home for the aged, will be done by our beloved guest Mr. Chaudri Santoch Singh and he appreciated this view, you know, and we heartily welcome him and greet him for all he did to come over here, in spite of his busy schedule. Thank you, wishing you all that is good for you.

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Inauguration of the Home for the Aged After their speeches Mr. Chaudri Santoch Singh, Chief Parliament Secretary of the Punjab, and Dr. Harbhajan Singh, accompanied by the participants of the Open Session, went for the inauguration of the Home for the Aged. The first part of the building was opened by Mr. Chaudri Santoch Singh. He examined some of the rooms already in function. When the inauguration had been announced in the Daily Tribune of India, in a week’s time more than hundred application letters reached the office of Unity of Man at Kirpal Sagar. Pensioners trained in various professions offered their services, fascinated by the idea of an active as well as secure evening of life. To reach also the poorest and illiterate, Unity of Man is now sending voluntary helpers to the inhabitants of the innumerable little villages to inform them about the opportunity to get free admission in the Home for the Aged.

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Open Sessions continued at 5.00 p.m. Mahant Param Jit Singh Ji, India (Summary of the speech in Punjabi) The topic of this conference is unity of man and it is urgently needed to bring the teachings into our practical life. We need to bring unity into our character, because all human beings are the creation of God. The Masters may be different, yet the teachings are the same. As Guru Gobind Singh Ji said, “We all are brothers and we must not hate anyone as none is a stranger.“ The quantity or the number of people who do not live in peace is great. But the number of persons who take a step for creating peace is low. So in order to have peace we must take steps towards the purification of our hearts. May God bless you to lead your life successfully and peacefully. Thank you.

»A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all mankind one« Mrs. Mechthild Florian, Unity of Man Germany Sant Kirpal Singh often mentioned the words of the poet Thomas Carlyle: “A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all mankind one.” The Saints found the basic remedy for true solidarity and the integration of man in the love of God, and the love and service to humanity. God made man with the same privileges all the world over. All men are born equal. They came into the world in the same way after a fixed period of gestation. All men have the same outer and inner construction. One is first man, and then takes on the outer badge of one or the other specific social order or formation. A man is man first and man last besides everything else in between. He belongs to the universal religion of God. The entire mankind consists of embodied beings like so many beads on the string of a rosary. All human beings are equal in the sight of God and enjoy God’s gifts equally and freely. None is high or low by birth alone. Further man is soul – a conscious entity being of the same essence as that of God, the ocean of all consciousness. As such we are all brothers and sisters in God irrespective of our social badges. And the same Power – Naam, Word, or Kalma – keeps entirely in order the constituents of the body and the soul: the one is material and the other etherial. On account of this controlling Power we cannot run out of the wonderful house of the body in which we live, however hard we may try. The outgoing breath is pushed back and cannot remain outside for any length of time. Our body works as long as the life-principle works in the body. This process goes on as long as the controlling Power keeps the body and the life-principle together. When that is withdrawn, the spirit in us has to leave the body per force. So the whole machinery of the body is being run by the indwelling spirit that we are. If we could learn to withdraw at will from the body while remaining in the body, we can then know the nature of our real self – the animating life-impulse in us. This has been the teaching of all spiritual teachers of East and West. It is all a matter of practical self-analysis. And it can be experienced directly and immediately with the help and 100

guidance of an adept of paravidya, the knowledge of the beyond, the knowledge that lies beyond the senses, mind, and intellect. It is a regular science of the soul, by knowing which everything else becomes known and nothing remains to be known. We can then become a master in our own house, able to direct it as we like. The same Naam, the Sat Naam, the Word of the God-into-expression-Power, is keeping the whole creation under its control. When it is withdrawn, the result is dissolution or grand dissolution, as the case may be. This body is really the temple of God, in which we reside, and in which God also dwells. The whole universe is the abode of God, and God dwells therein. All this can be experienced at the level of the spirit with the help of a competent spiritual guide or mentor. As long as we do not perceive this unity of man – physically, mentally, and spiritually, by realizing the same controlling Power within all of us – there cannot be true integration and solidarity of mankind. Regarding His Mission Sant Kirpal Singh said, My Mission is to fill the human heart With compassion, mercy, and universal love, Which should radiate to all countries, Nations, and people of the world. To make a true religion of the heart As the ruling factor in one’s life, To enable each one to love God, Love all, serve all and have respect for all, As God is immanent in all forms. My goal is that of Oneness. I spread the message of Oneness In life and living. This is the way to peace on earth. This is the Mission of my life, And I pray that it may be fulfilled.

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»God is our all Father« Rt. Rev. Azariah, Bishop in Madras, Church of South India Dr. Harbhajan Singh, brothers and sisters, I want to greet you in the name of one God who is also the Father of us all. I feel privileged and fortunate to have been invited to join you in this World Conference on Unity of Man. I want to share with you five specific facts of life that all human beings everywhere share together as common experience. The five facts are the following: Number one: Fatherhood of God Number two: Future hope that we all have Number three: Food that we all must eat in order to exist Number four: Forgiveness, that each one of us without exception has to experience or is experiencing every day Number five: Freedom, that every human being longs for. Every human being, whether in India or in Europe, everyone wants a father figure. We experience the father at home, in the family. As the child grows up, he looks for something bigger, greater than the father. Then comes the day when we experience God as the Father. This is a common experience, this is a first proof, evidence, that we already have this unity existing with us. The second proof or evidence for the unity that we already have is future hope. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”, so goes the saying. We are all brothers, whether we are Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists – all have hope for the future. We look forward, hoping for a future life – life eternal. This is the third proof that we have for our unity of all human beings that already exists – the need for food, every human being wants to have food. No one can live without food for too long. That is the commonalty among all human beings which is a proof of the unity of man that already exists. The fourth one is forgiveness, the experience of forgiveness in our relationship with one another. In our family, in our home-life, between husband and wife, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters in the family, we are related to one another and are not able to live without forgiving one another. Every home – whether it is the home of a black person or a white person, or a yellow person in China, or a brown person, whatever our colour of the skin may be all of us need forgiveness. Forgiveness is something that we experience every day and do not remember. This is another gift of God, our Creator, for us to experience. This gift makes us feel that we belong to one another, we depend upon one another. The fifth one of the great facts that unites us is the need for freedom. Every human being wants to be free. There’s a spirit which longs for freedom, because God has created us free. We long to be free. These five great facts of commonalties are a clear evidence that we have a certain measure of unity among human beings. But these are all limited and we are to grow out of that limit. But this is not possible by our own efforts, it is possible by the spirit, the power of God – the spirit. By the mercy of God, by the love of God, that is available for you and me freely. 102

The Saints like the great Sant Kirpal Singh have discovered the secret of receiving this love. Receiving this gift of spirit, of power. It is with this power which comes from God that we are able to experience and share that experience of those five commonalties. Jesus taught a prayer, that prayer is called: “Our Father.” God is shown as our Father. In that prayer he had put all those five great facts as basic ailments. By praying for these five gifts to be delivered in each one of us, we can grow into that unity that God gives with the power of the spirit. With these gifts we can overcome the differences. The diversity, the variety is God’s gift, too. We can see the variety and the division and the diversity as gifts of God if you know God as Father. A Tamil poet said the following, “If you want to experience God as Father, you serve and touch and relate to the human beings around you, because human beings are walking gods.” You can discover the spirit of God in the walking gods, the human beings. That is the way to discover the unity of man. And this power and the spirit be in your hearts. May the spirit of God fill our hearts and chase emptiness away. Thanks be to God, our Father. Thank you.

Maha Mandleshwar Swami Krishan Dass Ji, India (Maha Mandleshwar is equivalent to archbishop in the Sadhu hierarchy) (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Dear loving brothers and sisters, The reality is that only out of selfish motives man makes differences between people of different colour or culture. God is one and He is the essence of all that is. As Lord Krishna said, “The whole world is one family,” so say the broad-minded people. On the contrary, people who are having a low mentality, they deny this statement. People nowadays have ego-problems. We say that only our language or culture is great, and on others we look down. The aim of all human beings is to love and help each other, but people nowadays are ready to shed blood to fulfill their desires. The ways may be different, but the ultimate destiny is the same – that is to be near to God. All religions may have different languages but their thoughts are the same. The things which are acceptable are called dharma, and what is actually dharma? According to Manusruti, there are ten facts of dharma. If anyone creates hindrances in others, then it is not liable to be called as dharma. To help others, to live as brotherhood is the basic fact of dharma. The highest personalities and our epics have asked us to make changes in our thoughts. But we are so engrossed in our own thoughts and our own way of life that we are not becoming practical. Though we read the epics and though we hear the spiritual thoughts from the Saints we don’t want to put it into praxis in our life. We must try to bring all the virtues in our heart as according to our dharma. Then only we can be as one family and we can create a new world of brotherhood. Thank you.

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Maha Mandleshwar Swami Munish Sarup Shashtri Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) The whole world has been created by God, so we should love and respect every creature. But the web of wealth has created hindrances which now exist in our thinking. God made all equal, but we have made the differences. The egoistic striving for wealth is the root-cause of our fights and must be avoided. We should not waste our time only by thinking about wealth and property. There should not be a single person who is suffering and in grief. The Saints always pray for the good of all people. Since Golden Age it has been emphazised that man must realize the fact of brotherhood. The Saints even used to go on foot to far off places. They met people of different languages and cultures. They had the awareness of oneness. And according to their own experiences they poured out their thoughts to others. We don’t even understand what we really are and don’t know the origin of this universe. If we try to understand these facts, then definitely we can understand the unity of man. Our mentality has changed so much, that it rather has become a mode of destruction. We should change in this direction that each man is cared for by others. It is our good fortune that we have got this birth as human being. So we must try to spread this slogan of brotherhood. We must develop an awareness of oneness, and if we create diversity, we will soon lose the world peace. Thank you.

»A World Constitutial Convention« Mr. James Bernet, The Alliance for Global Unity, U.S.A. Greetings, I feel the spirit of Saint Kirpal Singh. I’ve been here in Kirpal Sagar just one day and already I feel like I am a disciple of the Saint and he is my Master. I come from a place by the ocean in California and from now on, when I look at the ocean, I’ll think of this Ocean of grace. I will always remember the light of Kirpal Singh, of the people here and the spirit. I acknowledge Dr. Harbhajan Singh, his wife Surinder and each one of you, the people of Kirpal Sagar, the students over here – it’s easy to see these students are hard-working and intelligent boys; the people of the Punjab, those of you that have come from all over India and from all over the world. I am from Los Angeles in the United States and I want to thank you for inviting me and for your warm hospitality. I have come to take part in the Unity of Man Conference and I have found here the Unity of Man itself. I have found that we are unified here in spirit, unified by our respect and love for Saint Kirpal Singh and our respect and love for Bhaji and his wife Surinder Kaur, if you forgive my familiarity – and our love and respect for each other and for everyone of you. Coming together in unity is the right thing to do and doing it now is the right time to do it, for the world needs for us to unify. We are faced every day with problems of a global nature, be they problems of peace, security, quality of life, food, or scarcity of resources. 104

We here at Kirpal Sagar have found the answer, thanks to the teachings of our Master Saint Kirpal Singh. You know and I know that the answer is in a rebirth of spirit. We would like for the world to be unified. We would like for them to be a true world community where everything is held in common, where we have an immensely strengthened United Nations System, a democratic global government, with each person in the world having equal voice with each other, a world federation. One United Nation of the World. But we know there is little prospect for a global government just as there is little prospect for peace in the world. Here in Kirpal Sagar something has begun, that will serve as a model for the rest of the world. I will go home to Los Angeles and I’ll tell the people there that I know about this place and about the spirit of this place. We know that the billions of the people of this planet will be able to live in peace and friendship only when they and their leaders see their right place in the universe, and the right place and time, and when everyone finds in themselves the purity of attitude and understanding, and the love which alone can bridge individual and collective interests. There are many people and groups who would not want to hear of a new age of spirit and of unity, because they feel secure and have become beneficiares of the current situation. They will resist to change. They will not want to give up what they have. These are the forces of greed. Nations in particular will be bent on keeping their power, their sovereignties, their influence, their citizens, their values and beliefs; and they have equipped themselves with ugly weapons to do so. But the time for nation-states is over, it’s past. The time for unity of man has arrived. They will say that India has too many people, never let them say that to you. It is wonderful that India has the numbers of people that she has. More people means a more complex and a more capable planetary brain. The more of us there are, the more cells in the global brain, and the better the potential of humanity to create something great together. And we need to remember that it is here in India that exists the least violent and most peaceful society in the world. The rest of the world needs to look here to India to learn the way of peace and non-violence. And specifically the rest of the world needs to look to Kirpal Sagar and to our great Master Saint Kirpal Singh. He taught us to look inside ourselves for the meaning of God. He lived a life that exemplified the following idea: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Or we could say: “Let there be unity on earth and let it begin with me.” Consider the United Nations system, this is the Charter. There are 32 U.N. specialized agencies and world programs, that comprise the system and illustrate the vastness of today’s international co-operation. There are 50.000 people working within the U.N. system, calling themselves international civil servants. And yet the General Assembly is a place where only non-binding resolutions are debated and passed. No law is created in the General Assembly. Yet in the United Nations Charter, there exists something greatly powerful, and a great secret, it’s right here: written in 1945, there is an article in this Charter, article 109, that calls for a general conference of the member states to consider the present Charter. Those are the words in the article. In other words this Charter calls for a world constitutional convention. In the world the present crisis is spiritual, economic, political, and environmental, we are all threatened. Life itself is a risk. Many problems cross every national boundary. Let us unite the United Nations! Let us all remember that we are brothers and sisters, and let 105

us involve ourselves in the affairs of each other. Let us be personally aware and individually responsible in a global context. Let us unify and keep in mind that unity does not require unanimity or unifomity. Unity requires only compassion and love. Love is the answer.

Mr. Dean Chapri, India Dear respected Chairman, dear brothers and sisters, I highly regard and respect the gratitude and affection which you all paid to me. The place where we are meeting today is beyond the differences of colour and caste. We are all one and we all are scared by death. So why can’t we avoid this fear of death? If we could develop such an attidude, that while staying on the earth we live in a link of brotherhood, then when the time of our departure approaches from this world, we would not be scared. When our time approaches to leave this world we would not be scared by death. Rather we will have the thinking in a way that we say, “Okay, we are going in a different world to meet our own people and friends there.” We must enhance the slogan of Unity of Man, the slogan of brotherhood: Be good, do good, be one. Thank you.

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1 Gathering in the meeting-hall

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Saturday, 5 February 1994

10.00 a.m.

Open Session

11.00 a.m.

Inauguration of the Guesthouse Opening of the Eye-Operation days and free Medical Treatments

1.00 p.m.

Open and Panel Sessions

February 5 Maha Mandleshwar Swami Braham Nand Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Respected brothers and sisters, distinguished guests, God, who is the Creator of the universe, is one and the same and does not change, but we have divided definitions according to our own religion. The fact is in which way we may pray to God – the ultimate destiny is the same. We are fortunate to be human beings, so we must avail this opportunity to have the knowledge of peace. Our country was known for its superiority of culture, but nowadays people are so engrossed to achieve their pleasure that they may hurt one another at any level. This should never happen but to attain peace we must live a life of peace and brotherhood. If our finger gets hurt, we immediately try to cure it. Similarly we must feel that whole universe or all people living in this world are also a part of our life. Thank you.

Mrs. Prema Behan Ji, Brahma Kumari, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Loveable brothers and sisters, distinguished guests from abroad, Since yesterday we have been taking the advantage to listen to the spiritual talks and it gives us a very high feeling. The company counts very much. People in this universe have different ways of thinking, still the aim is one, and we must try to know how we can lead our life in peace. We are making lots of efforts to obtain peace, yet we are not having any success. The reason is that we don’t know how to make this life superior. We can find peace in God and to achieve this peace one must do the right meditation. Only by that meditation we can get peace. But now man has become a puppet in the hands of his own wishes. The more we get, the more our wishes increase. This bodily pleasure will never give peace. Peace can’t be bought. It can only be achieved by pure thoughts and by controlling our wishes, and of course by thinking of God. The things are made to be used not to be possessed. What is needed is to remember God with a pure heart. God is our Father, so we need not beg from Him. If we really live like this with a heart full of purity, God will render peace to us. Thank you.

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Swami Rama Yogi Maharaj, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Honourable and respected chairman, dear brothers and sisters, respected guests, Today we have got the golden opportunity to be gathered here and now we must try to inculcate the habit of living a life according that what we experience as goodness. As it is a spiritual gathering, once we enter into it, we discuss our thoughts with each other. We are here to know something about the identity of God. Rather everyone knows about Him, yet we ignore Him. As Kabir said, even if He does not drink or eat, yet He exists. We must know His superiority. There was neither sun nor moon, yet He existed. We must not fear death. The circulation of death and life is also a discipline of the universe. Man avoids to think about the problem of death, because man is being strayed by selfishness. God can only be achieved by peace and love. So we must try to make our life good. As hatred or love are only created through words, we should be polite and united. We should accept the nature and the worldly life but the remembrance of God should be in our heart. The curtain of ignorance should be removed from our hearts and then we can get peace and brotherhood. God is the self and we must realize this.

Maha Mandleshwar Swami Om Parkash Shashtri, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Respected chairman, dear guests, Today we all are discussing the topic unity. In order to get it, much time and efforts are needed. The function of the various parts of our body is different, yet our mind is controlling us. As long as we are controlled by the mind, we will not be able to realize the self. We try to fulfill our bodily pleasures. It is our ignorance that we are unable to realize God. We must try to avail the company of Saints. We are in God and God is in us. When our way of thinking changes into this reality, then we can be united. And once we ourselves become one, the whole world becomes one. Thank you.

Maha Mandleshwar Tiag Murti, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Respected and honourable chairman, distinguished guests from abroad, dear brothers and sisters and honourable Saints, Today it’s a very happy moment that we have gathered here for to listen to the teaching of unity. Since olden age the teachers or Masters have made their best efforts to enhance peace. For example, Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh Ji rendered their full services to the nation. It’s only one God, who has different names. People may be different, yet their origin is the same, and so their destiny, too. I would like to relate an example of the life of Ibrahim Lody. Once Ibrahim Lody asked Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji to do “namaz”, their prayers, with 110

them. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was ready to do that. As the prayer started, Guru Nanak Dev Ji kept standing while the others were doing their prayer. After the prayer, when Ibrahim Lody noticed that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was simply standing, he asked him, “You have promised to recite the prayers but you have not done it.” But Guru Nanak said, “Yes, I did promise to recite the prayers with you, but I felt that you were so engrossed in your own pleasures that you never thought of God. I had promised to recite the prayer or to think of God with you. So as you have not thought about God, I kept standing.” At last I convey my heartiest thanks to Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji who is making this spiritual place an advantage for all of us.

»The oneness of mankind« Ali K. Merchant, National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India Distinguished president of the Unity of Man Conference, Dr. Harbhajan Singh, all his colleagues, co-workers, followers of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, friends and spiritual brothers and sisters, It is a great moment for the people who have gathered here, to understand the emergence of the concept of the oneness of mankind. Today the world over millions of people of good will have united to establish the unity of mankind, the concept that has been in the human psyche from ancient times. We have gone through the stages of tribal unity, the creation of citystates, we have built nations and today we are gathered to build a planetary society. A global family, regarding the earth as a common homeland and all those who live on this planet as members of one family. The spiritual truth, the inspiration and the aspirations expressed from this platform on the occasion of the centennial birth anniversary of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji have been the cause of our coming together. People from different nations, cultures, religious beliefs, have gathered here because we believe that, despite the gloomy situation and the dark forces around us, the human race is capable of confronting the challenges, the problems, the crises and create a social order whose boundaries will be the whole planet and whose inhabitants will be all those who live on this earth. We have many wonderful forces at work, the forces of light, and many of my distinguished members representing different religions seated on this platform have been telling us repeating the spiritual truth voiced for hundreds, no thousands of years by prophets, by messengers, by saints that the human being is essentially a spiritual being. The material goals that have become so much a cause of disturbance and disorder are a passing phase. The very situation of the environment tells us that unless leaders of the world come together in a spirit of mutual trust of fellowship, of sharing, and exchanging we cannot evolve further in our common destiny to create a new world to fulfill the prophecies and shrine in the sacred scriptures and traditions of all religions. The prophecy of the Ram Raj, the fulfillment of the Vasudeva Kutumb Bukam, the prophecy and shrine in the Koran expressed as the Great Announcement, the kingdom of God on earth is to be established. These prophecies, these expressions of great longing, yearning and hope where not given to us in vain. We are passing through a 111

very dark period in our planet’s evolution but that does not mean we should lose hope. We have the potential, we have the intelligence, we have the machinery, we have the structures, new institutions at local, at state, at national, at continental, and at global levels. All we need is to take that great step forward of extending a lending hand and declaring our conviction that we can rebuild the shattered planet. And it is to this end that the Bahai National Spiritual Assembly and my Bahai brothers and sisters all over the globe wish to extend a co-operation our conviction and our believe that working hand in hand we can transform this planet, we can transform the individual. The brilliant guidance, the able statesmanship that the head of your community, Dr. Harbhajan Singh, has been providing is indeed remarkable. Many of you may have heard about the Bahai Lotus temple in New Delhi. It is a half open lotus flower that calls on humanity to acknowledge the oneness of God, the oneness of all religions, and the oneness of humankind. It is symbolic of the ancient teaching in our scriptures in India that like a lotus flower that grows in a pond of water, stagnant and murky, yet not a blame, not a taint touches the flower. So in the Bahai faith the founder of the movement, Baha U’llah, has given us this concept that like the lotus flower which is inshrined in all the traditions, we must rise out of the existing pool of tragedies and elimination and become spotless clean. Yesterday one of the distinguished colleagues he expressed great hope that through the agency of the United Nations we may be able to tackle many of the problems. The United Nations itself is undergoing a very rapid transformation. So it is a firm hope and conviction of all the Baha’is around the world, that we can confront the challenge before us. We can create a spiritual being, we can become a new race of man. And it is to this end that I am most grateful to be here. I would like to conclude my short presentation with a prayer. It is about unity. O my God, o my God Unite the hearts of Thy servants and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in Thy law, Help them, o God, in the endeavour and grant them strength to serve Thee. Leave them not to themselves but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge And share the hearts by Thy love. Verily Thou art the helper and their Lord.

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»United Religious Worship - Basis for a new World Order« Dr. T. P. Amerasinghe from Sri Lanka, Bar at Law, Attorney at Law, Supreme Court; President of World Constitution and Parliament Assoc., Universal Love and brotherhood assoc., society for the protection of the rights of the child, miyake home for children Mr. Chairman, brothers and sisters in this great course for the unity of man, To participate in this World Conference on Unity of Man, on the occasion of Sant Kirpal Singh’s Centennial Birthday, is both a privilege and an honour. Last year was the Centennial year when religious contact between East and West were first established. At the Chicago Parliament of Religions Swami Vivekananda proclaimed the essential unity of all religions. Seventy years later at the first World Conference on Unity of Man, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji of revered memory declared: “Unity already exists in the human form, since each one is born the same way with the same outer and inner construction, and each one has a soul which is of the same essence as that of God.” Sant Kirpal Singh reminded us, “We are drops of the ocean of all consciousness.” To him the basic principles of all religions are the same. So he preached no ism, no ritual, no rites, no special form of prayers. In volume 3 of his teaching Sant Kirpal Singh is clear on what the world needs today. We must not get lost in form and rituals. Man is greater than temples, mosques, or churches. They are man-made. Christ’s words harmonize with the thought of Sant Kirpal Singh: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” So man must rise above petty considerations of caste, creed, race, nationality and colour and be firm in his realization that as “a man we are all one”. Recently, at a World Conference in Japan, on the “Common origin of all Religions”, the Grand Mufti of Syria, Dr. Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro said, “We live on the same earth, breathe the same air. We are now able to see on television whatever occurs anywhere in the world. So let us act positively regardless of our religious biases, as we are all children of Adam, and live together in this world in peace and harmony.” In spite of all these teachings, sad to say, there is more darkness than light as we approach the end of the 20th century. No doubt we have all the philosophy described above. The 20th century witnessed great progress materialistically. Look at the stupendous achievements made by man. He conquered the moon. He is now reaching for the stars. He has made the world a global village. Infant mortality is at its lowest. Human life-span continues to expand. Much of the forces of nature mankind has learnt to tame. This material progress, beyond man’s wildest dreams has made humanity to turn away from God and spirituality, and adopt the worship of the “Golden Calf”. Mankind proceeded to dethrone God. The famous philosopher, Erich Fromm said, “God was killed in the 19th century and man in the 20th century.” The Industrial Revolution and the scientific revolutions which raised the materialistic wellbeing of mankind became a challenge to the very existence of God. Faith became an oldfashioned word and prayer but the foolish numbling of the old and the infirm. Nuclear fission almost replaced God. The silicon chip almost replaced the divinities. Everyone came to say with Shakespeare: “What a wonderful piece of work is man.” He is the crown of creation. 113

The million dollar question however is: Is man the crown of creation? Is he so truly today? Or in the present mess, which man has created, have we the right to call him ‘man the fool’? No sooner did he dethrone God, in the 20th century, he began to kill his brethren. Two World Wars within 25 years. Over 126 minor wars since 1945. Today anarchy stalks the world. It is hardly possible to name a country free of terrorism. Human life is at its lowest premium. In the end, we have become completely imbued with modern materialistic thinking. We are poisoned by materialism, Godless human-centred thinking, selfishness, and adherence to the law of the strong rooling over the weak. We have brought upon ourselves the crises of nuclear and environmental dangers. The World Organisation, the U.N.O., on which we had pinned our hopes these last 50 years, stands paralyzed before the appalling monumental crises made possible by mankind’s pride and folly and overwhelming ambitions. Is there a solution? Is there a hope for the World? Undoubtedly there is, if we act in time. U Thant, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organisation, realized over two decades ago, that the organisation over which he presided could not solve the nuclear and environmental threats confronting humanity. Because the United Nations lack the three essentials, the right, the power and the means to keep the peace. It cannot be changed to include these three essentials because of the in-built power of the Veto, arrogated to themselves, by the Big Five at the time of its foundation in San Francisco. Built on the principle of national sovereignty the U.N.O. has forsworn the basic concept of the unity of man. In this year, the 49th year since World War II, a return to the basic concept of the unity of man can be made possible by the replacement of the U.N. with a Democratic Federal World Government, and solve the alarming problems that confront planet earth, our world. Government which transcends national sovereignty, respects native ethnic cultures, and works for mutual recognition, mutual understanding and mutual exchange with other races and other cultures. It welcomes a diversity of cultures because that is what exists in the world today. It is confident that it can create unity and harmony in the midst of this diversity. The U.N.O. based on the principle of National Sovereignty finds it difficult to achieve this. A democratic Federal World Government realigns man and nature. It fabricates a new human culture. It is the 21st century’s greatest and only hope. It, however, cannot achieve this end without the co-operation of the world religions. Man does not live by bread alone. It is true, he cannot live without bread. To make man whole, mankind must be infused with spirituality. Hitherto political and governmental leaders have worked without the co-operation of religionists. Working in closed compartments all good intentions have been negatived. Man’s worldly and spiritual aspirations must be brought into complete harmony with one another. At the dawn of the 21st centurywwe must re-instate ‘God’ and ‘Humanity’. In the centennial year of Sant Kirpal Singh’s birth, in the 101st Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic visit to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, we must re-call their salutary service and ad114

vice and practise their teaching. There is only one humanity and one world. We must re-arm ourselves with faith in our fellow beings, faith in nature and faith in God - the creator of heaven and earth. We must realize that God and man are interdependent. We must recognize the power of prayer. “They are golden chains that bind us to the feet of God.” The trouble with mankind today is that they have forgotten how to pray. Humility is essential in prayer. Pride and egoism must be divested. “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” The restoration of ‘God’ and ‘man’ must be introduced in the 21st century. Human culture must be promoted and on this occasion with these words I like to conclude and leave a thought with you. If you respond it makes for the unity of man. It also makes for the globalisation of religion. The new age will arrive. For that day we are waiting. It was the mission of Sant Kirpal Singh’s life.” “My goal is Oneness”, he said. “I spread the message of Oneness in life and living.”

Shabad Sung by students of the Kirpal Sagar Academy, translation from Punjabi What, o God, what name should we give to You? You are omnipresent. To be born in a certain society will never create hindrance to achieve the ultimate destiny. The ways may be different, yet the Almighty is one and so is our destiny. Should I presume that the Saints who have grown their hair and put ashes on their forehead, are the real Masters? If it is so, then why are they unable to get You? Those who have seen You have always found You in the depth of their hearts. If one feels that You reside in a temple or mosque, one can’t see you. Why? The reason is: You stay in the heart. We must search You in the heart.

»The fatherhood of God« Mr. Gerhard Hössinger, Unity of Man Sweden Dear brothers and sisters, One of the slogans of this conference was “The brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God” and we have discussed this brotherhood of man in so many ways. But I would like to emphasize the other part of this slogan, the fatherhood of God. The Master says that there is one God and He is the Doer and we – the soul – we are the drop of the ocean of all-consciousness, we are part of Him. But unfortunately we have forgotten Him. He also says that, if we want to know who is the Master, then we should understand that He is not the body. It is the Godpower working through the Master or the Father working through the son – it is the same power working through all Masters who came from time to time.

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Our concern is with the Master or the Masterpower or the Godpower or the Christpower. But what do we know about Him? It is said that only a Master can recognize a Master. You know, a student at school can only recognize as much of the teacher as he has learnt himself. Only when he reaches the level of the teacher he can recognize the teacher. And the same thing is with the Master. The disciple can only know that much of the Master as he has realized himself. How can we talk about the Masterpower as long as we are not completely perfect, as long as we have not been developed as He has? That is a problem. But I think, we can talk about our Father. Because we know the relation between son and father or son and mother - because He is our Father and Mother. The father loves the child first. We have come from this one source and we have not yet gone back. But He is after us, because He needs us. We are here now in this world, we have forgotten our Father, and the Father is waiting for us. He is doing everything to create some yearning because without yearning we would stay here forever. This yearning is coming out of separation. We feel separated from God. There is something, some hindrance which separates us from God. And this hindrance creates yearning in us. We want to have something higher, but we don’t know anything about our Father. This Power has manifested and has materialized, and He has come to teach all humanity. He is the Father of everyone, He is the Creator, He is the Almighty Power. Now is a time when the Father Himself has come. Some have met Him personally, when He was living in the body, some have only met Him for a very short time, and some have not met Him physically at all – but He also said that the Master is not the body. So how to praise the Master? How to praise Sant Kirpal Singh? It is not possible unless we are doing what He taught us, unless we keep His commandments. Because if we want to praise the Master, then we have to develop. Once a disciple was asked whether he was writing a book about his Master. The disciple answered, “Yes, I am writing. I am writing very hard.” Then after one year the same person asked this question again, and the disciple again answered, “Yes, I am writing very hard.” What was he doing? He did not write a book with the pen, but he wrote with his own life: He developed according to the wish of his Master. If we want to praise our Master, if we want to justify our Master, we must also develop. Because if the disciple does not develop, then he cannot justify his Master, and actually he will discredit Him. Because people will not accept the Master, if the disciple is not developed. The Master is one who can develop a perfect disciple. Sant Kirpal Singh already developed two perfect disciples. You know, Bhaji and Bhiji, are perfect disciples, and He has given the work into their hands. He has commissioned them to do this work. But He said, “He wants to work through thousands of hands.” So He needs our hands. He said to His disciples, “You are my Saints.” But if we look to our heart, are we Saints? What He wanted to say is that He wishes that we are like Saints. He further said, we should become conscious co-workers of the divine plan because that is the only way to go back to God. This means that we have to fulfill the wish of the Godpower. To fulfill the wish of the Godpower we must know who He is, what is His wish, and many more things we must learn. And we must change our way of living. We must change to perfection. This Godpower who has no beginning and no end, He is the Master and He is the Doer, He is the only Doer, and there is no other Power which is existing. We are part of this Power, and we should do our level best and even more to realize our self and to realize Him for that is His wish. If we are brothers and sisters in God, then we should not only think about our brothers and sisters, we should also think about our Father, because the Father is waiting for 116

us. He is waiting since millions of births. And He is still waiting for us, and He is calling us, that we should come back. He is after us, we are not after Him. But if this wish hits our heart, it will change us completely. “Kirpal” means “the gracious one”. Maybe sometimes we have felt this grace. But we should get more grace from Him. That He is the gracious one means there is overflowing grace, an abundance of grace is available. But why do we not feel it? If we want to have grace, we must prepare a place in our heart to get it. So we must develop ourselves so that we can get this grace. He wants to give us overflowing grace for ourselves to share it and to distribute it to all others. So He wants us to become consious co-workers of the divine plan. Because the king wants that his son should also become a king. God is our Father, God is the king, and we are the sons. So God’s wish is that we should not be less than Him. Of course, we cannot be more than Him, but our aim should be not less than to become like a Saint and to become like God as it is said, we should “be perfect as our Father in heaven”. That means to develop perfection. That is the way, and that is the beginning to go back home. With His grace – when He fills the grace into our hearts and develops us – it is an easy task because it is like an infection. It is like love: If you meet some true beloved, then it is easy to remember this person. And if we feel the grace of God, then it is also easy to remember Him because His Love will reflect in us, and this reflection will keep our remembrance going on. The remembrance of this Power, which is the universal Power, which is the Power without beginning and end, this remembrance should keep on all our life, and this remembrance should imbue each of our deeds, words, and actions, and our thoughts should keep on going only with this remembrance. He is our Father, and I wish that we all should know more about Him, and that we should become one with Him, and that we should fulfill His wish, and His wish is that all His children should come back to Him.

Swami Sachidaya Nand Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Honourable Chairman, guests from abroad, dear brothers and sisters, If you want to win a person, you must try it with love instead of ill-will or hatred. You must never look down even to your enemy. It may be possible that your sincerity or love may change the hatred into love in the heart of your enemy. So a change is needed in our thoughts. We must give up the ego; our soul is of no colour, no caste. So we should emphasize love for each other. Love changes into great strength, and hatred or violent feelings loosen the string of unity. Our consciousness should be alert. It’s our consciousness which would help us towards the destination. We must differentiate between good and bad. We must proceed towards the harmony with nature. We must make ourselves free from the feelings either of bliss or suffering. All the things in this universe are created by the Almighty. As God is love, we must try our level best to render our services to all. And one who realizes himself can realize God. We must be aware of kindness, consciousness and humbleness. An in this sense Kirpal Sagar has become the centre to attain peace. 117

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1 Dr. T. P. Amerasinghe

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»Religious freedom: A basis for communal harmony and peace« Mr. Justus Devadas, Executive Secretary, International Religious Liberty Association, India Respected chairman, dear brothers and sisters, I take this opportunity to thank the organizers of this conference for the privilege given to me to present a few thoughts to this audience. The subject under discussion “Religious Freedom: A basis for communal harmony and peace” is one of immense urgency today in the whole world, and more particularly in my own country, India. The word “religion” may mean different values to different people, and I am not attempting to provide a definition for religion. But, if one goes by the moral teachings of all religions, one knows that all religions are one in moral teachings. No religion justifies dishonesty, falsehood, cruelty and misbehaviour of any kind. All religions unanimously condemn these things and teach the right path. Our country, India, gave birth to four great religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, and also parts of Asia gave birth to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All in all about three-fourths of the world derived one faith or another from Asia. With so many religions teaching the right path of morality and ethics, one would wish that mankind would have came to a place to understand and appreciate what others believe and abide. However, history has proved that this is wrong. The noble concept that all of us are God’s children regardless of caste, colour or race and hence brothers and sisters have failed to evoke the imagination of human race throughout the centuries. If one accepts the story of creation believed by Judaism or Christianity, “God created only one man.” The question is why the same God who created so many kinds of animals, birds, trees, and other beings, created only one man? The answer is that all men would have the same ancestor and no man could claim superiority over another. Leviticus Chapter 19 Verse 18 then commands, “You shall not take vengenance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself, I am the Lord.” To promote this noble concept of universal brotherhood, prophets and saints of every religion have lived, laboured and even died. What is religious freedom or religious liberty? Religious freedom or religious liberty is based on the dignity of human persons, the equality of all human beings and the necessity of non-discrimination. Religious freedom should not be misunderstood that it involves freedom from moral duties and liberates man from religious responsibility. But, religious freedom respects the conscience of others. The rights of even an “un-enlightened conscience” must be also protected and respected. Religious freedom respects the transcendence, absoluteness and sovereignty of God. Respect for God’s sovereignty places no limitations on God’s communication to man through man. God’s freedom to work through all persons and circumstances should not be frustrated by efforts to silence human beings of different religious persuasions. Religious freedom respects and advocates the separate functions of church and state. 119

Religious freedom also implies the right not to have or profess a religion. Throughout the history religionists have tried to force fellow human beings into a required religious mould. This is a flagrant violation of the dignity of the human person and coaxed religion is demanding and of little value. Religious freedom should be based on the dignity of the human person. While this dignity is generally recognized, the nature of this dignity will depend on a person’s or society’s assumptions about mankind. But, one must always remember, as Mahatma Gandhi never was tired of pointing out, every right and freedom carries a responsibility. A person who values his freedom must be ever ready to recognize that others have the same freedom also and we must be able to respect it. Christ summarized man’s total response both to God and his fellow-man as: “Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind … thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22: 37-39) One can go on quoting lots of quotations from the Bible and even from the Koran about what these religions taught about religious freedom. In the promotion and maintenance of religious freedom, communal harmony and peace, the role of individuals, communities and media is basic as well as vital. Without active support of all these elements, freedom and peace cannot become a reality. Without their positive involvement these ideals cannot be sustained. In the community parents, teachers, youth, and religious leaders have a special and “key role” in promoting these ideals. Religious freedom, communal harmony and peace can be realized in a nation only if the citizens understand these ideals and their values, and as a result become dedicated to these and promote them by precept and example. Basic to the development of a philosophy of life that will include these ideals is a belief in the brotherhood of man and an abiding respect in the fundamental rights of others. My brothers and sisters, may the Almighty God lead us all to that great day - when every one will enjoy religious freedom and humanity will experience communal harmony and peace.

Shabad Sung by students of the Kirpal Sagar Academy, translation from Punjabi O my Lord, You are having the different residences, or names, yet You are my God. The light of God is the same in the heart of all the human beings. So none is a stranger or enemy. It is only the time-factor, which makes us think so. O God, I convey my regards to You. None is Hindu, Sikh or Christian, only You are the Truth, all other things are false. People may belong to different religions or social classes, but it is only one God who is worshiped by us. Avoiding the bars of religion, we must sit together and strive for unity of man. You are the God worshiped with different names, You are the God of mine.

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Extract from the speech of Dr. Rupert Ortner, Vice-Chairman of Unity of Man Germany and Austria Dear Bhaji and Bhiji, dear guests from abroad, dear brothers and sisters, This is the first time that in Kirpal Sagar so many people from all over the world have gathered. With the guests from abroad we had four Panel Sessions: On politics and science, on religion, education, and spirituality. These four subjects were only four different viewpoints to start with, but ultimately they led to the same conclusion: Man-making and Man-service. A sincere politician, concerned with the welfare of the people, will serve his fellow-men, so he will be a real human being. A teacher is concerned with education, to bring out the best in man, thus a good teacher must be a real human being. A religious man will love God and humanity, and in this way he will be a true human being, and a spiritual man – someone who lives in the spirit – is a real human being who lives for others. We all have to become real human beings. Now some have to go back this evening, some in the morning. You will return to all the different countries from where you came – and I think, when you could feel some vibration over here and you could understand something, you will go back with this vibration and right understanding, and you can become conscious while living in the world.

Swami Paramjit, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) The searchers are of two kinds, those who search for our earth and our environments, they are called scientists. The other searchers are those who have searched for God in their hearts and those are known as Saints or Gurus. The credit goes to the scientists when nowadays the law of nature becomes clear to us. On the one hand sciences have made many improvements and on the other hand humanity is yet to be improved. We always try to give a false picture of our character, we never show our misdeeds. So we always avoid the truth. But truth cannot be avoided for long. The conception of mankind has to be changed. The satisfaction which we can have in praying to God cannot be attained in many worldly affairs desired by us. As the mirror reflects the true picture, so is it the case with truth. We must know the truth of consciousness. We must accept our weaknesses and try to remove them. Truth does not need any ornaments, because truth itself is beauty. This place where we all have met is having some divinity and all we could get here was given to us by God in order to go back to Him. Unity may be gained, if we put our pure thoughts into practice.

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Swami Rama Yogi Maharaj, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Today is a very auspicious day for all of us who have met here. And it looks as if we have got the thing for which we were striving, and that is knowledge and peace. Until and unless our thoughts change, the change in society can not be imagined. We must try to search for God in the guidance of the Master. The moment we feel ourselves near to God, we can attain peace, and to attain that peace we have to give up the worldly pleasures. It is only the company of Saints which helps us to go towards that divine light. Due to our ignorance we are still bound in the circle of death and life. As a human being we have got this body in order to be kind to help all. The aim which we are sharing with each other here is unity of man. We must perform our duties given by God and we must not bother about its result. That divine light is such that it makes us self-centred and free from bodily pleasures. One who is engrossed in worldly affairs never gets peace. Real peace lies in humanity and brotherhood. Thank you.

Swami Ramanand Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) This conference is dealing with the subject unity of man. A real Saint is he who gives the beauty of real life to us. So here we have the opportunity to listen to the thoughts of humanity. We must change our way of thinking, we must accept the unity in diversity. We all are interrelated to each other, according to the Saints we are all one. The Saints live for others, as the tree never eats its own fruit. The river never drinks its own water. Similarly, the Saints always show the way towards the Almighty God. When we try to understand and comply the teaching of the Masters or Saints, then only we can realize the self, which is God. False rituals may not lead towards God. Only our pure thoughts will help us to lead our steps towards peace. God cannot be realized if there is still the slightest attachment for the worldly things. So if you want to realize God, at first be pure in heart and full of devotion. If our heart is full of devotion, there will be nothing else. So if you want to realize God, clean your heart first.

Swami Hara Nand Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) These three days we have been listening to the thoughts of various personalities from abroad. It is only due to Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji, that we have the privilege to attend this conference. The Saints always help mankind to lead for peace. 122

The mind always sways us to strive for the bodily comfort, but we must try to control the mind, and divert its way towards the spiritual thoughts. To attain God, our thoughts need purification. Only pure works can be successfully concluded. Only with the help and blessings of the Saints we can cross the ocean of the world with peace. Peace is in our self. God has given us the wisdom, and by the help of this wisdom we should try to reach the ultimate destiny of life. We are governed by the unseen Almighty God and we should try to gain God by means of devotion. Knowledge alone does not bring about any change until it is brought into practical life. Thank you.

Yogi Swami Munish Sarup Shashtri Ji, India (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) If we want to invent something, we combine so many things to give it a final shape. Similarly we all are sitting together and jointly discussing our thoughts. And we want to create such a mission in life by which we can get peace. It is said, God is the one who controls the whole universe, and there may be a reason why God has sent us on earth. We must realize our duties. Once we are encouraged to do for the betterment, for peace, many worldly affairs form hindrances, and to get the remedy we go to the Master who tells us the real path. As we can see the far off things by a telescope, similarly, we need an equipment for seeing things clearly which are near to us. We must change our angle of vision. We should try to free ourselves from this circulation of life and death. And for this it is high time to understand that we must do good for mankind. Thank you.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh (Summary of the speech held in Punjabi) Dear brothers and sisters, You have already listened to the speeches of different delegates. We have heard from different Mahatmas about their experiences, and they expressed their views in different ways, illustrated them with various examples, and spoke about Naam, the God-into-action-power. In the Holy Scriptures it is said: “O soul, this world is a jungle wherein poison is spread. Be aware of this poison, but in Naam lies great intoxication. The remedy for all diseases of the mind or physical diseases lies in Naam. To come in contact with Naam is the highest thing.” What is Naam? Naam is the power which is already innate in man, which is enlivening us – it is our highest and purest aim. And we should not forget this aim or take distance from it. If we forget it today, how will we remember it tomorrow? It is the subject of today, because we are celebrating the birthday of this Power who brought love everywhere in the world in form of unity of man. 123

All the Sadhus and Swamis who are now sitting here had been in touch with Master. They had much love for Him, and Master visited them in Hardwar. It is the highest and purest Power one can come in contact with, and we are celebrating His birthday in His sweet remembrance. In the evening of February 5, Dr. Schneider, founder of the Radio For Peace International in Costa Rica, suggested an interview with Dr. Harbhajan Singh. After an intensive conferenceschedule the recording could be done at 9.00 p.m.

Interview: This is Dr. Richard Schneider speaking from Kirpal Sagar, in the Punjab, India, and with me is my today’s guest Dr. Harbhajan Singh, chairman of Unity of Man. It is wonderful that you are able to take time out of your schedule to be with us in broadcasting for Radio For Peace International which of course goes around the world. Let’s get right to the point, what is the Unity of Man? Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Actually the unity already exists in man, but we have forgotten. All human beings are one, we are of the same essence as that of our Father. He is the ocean of all consciousness and we are a drop of this consciousness. We all have come from one and the same source and have to go back to the same source. Our cause is one and the same. We are differentiated in the world by various ways, and those ways are self-created, created by man himself, not by God, since God made man and man made religions. When his wish was not fulfilled, he created the outer rituals and rites thereafter, he created the shackles. All these problems in the world are not due to the true religion that is within us: that is one and the same for everybody in the world throughout humanity – but due to the shackles which are preached outside. There is an inner religion and the outer religion. The inner religion is one and the same for everyone, and that teaches us love, that reminds us of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. We are all one, and who is our Father? Who is our Master? Christ lived before Jesus, Christ has no beginning, no end. He worked on the pole of Jesus and he was called Jesus Christ. The same Power worked on different poles like Guru Nanak, Kabir, Maulana Rumi, Guru Gobind Singh and in the 20th century Sant Kirpal Singh. He was a Word-madeflesh Power. So when such Powers come, they are all one in God. Those who become conscious of themselves and realize God, they don’t differentiate among them. Sometimes this Power came as Christ, sometimes He came as Guru Nanak, so our purpose with them is very unique and very positive and potent. Simply we have to determine our life and to live with it and do with it. How long? Up to our last breath. Because we have to become conscious. We are already conscious entities, but on the level of senses we have forgotten what we are, who we are, from where we came, how we came, and what is the purpose of human life. This we have entirely forgotten. There is hardly any reason to blame the religion, the true religion, but we have simply to become an example in the world. We have to be conscious in the world – conscious about our subject. And if we are conscious about our subject, then we are conscious about everything in the world. 124

Dr. Schneider: That is a very wonderful and powerful and positive message, what advice do you have for man? Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Throughout generations, from ages upon ages, the purpose of man has remained the same, because this teaching is very, very old. When we came, this teaching came within us, and all that is written in the Holy Scriptures, that is the experience of our competent Masters. They went inside, and whatever they realized, they put into the Holy Scriptures, and their experience must become our experience. Whatever is in the Holy Scriptures, that is in the manbody, but whatever is in the manbody, that does not exist even in all the Holy Scriptures of the world. So this manbody is called a wonderful house we live in. It is a true Bible, it is a true church, it is a true Gurdawara or temple. So man is the highest rung in the whole creation, man is older than all the philosophies of the world. This teaching is within us. For example, 500 years back there was no Sikhism, similarly before Islam, Christianity and Buddhism existed, this teaching was already there. There was food for the hungry and water for the thirsty, at all times. Thus faiths came, went, and vanished, but this teaching remained in man. So man must become an apostle of truth, he must realize all his problems. Whatever these problems created by man are, now it is a time when he should solve them himself. The purpose is not to look like a man, but to be a man, a real human being rather. We are all one and we can bring unity into the world through this right teaching that is within us. As for example, there is only one question, and there is only one answer to it. You put me any question - if I gave you the wrong answer, you would never cooperate with me, since you have the right answer within you. So far, these are the higher values of life, if you live with higher values of life, you will only have one answer to one question. Otherwise the whole world is bewildered and stuck to the books. There is a mention about God in the Holy Scriptures, but God is not there, God is in the manbody. The Holy Scriptures tell us to tap inside and see ourselves, to see the glory of our Father that is within. Dr. Schneider: This sounds like a great message of hope, do you feel that we are at a point of real hope in the world, where the transformation that is necessary can occur? Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Yes, there is a hundred percent opportunity as two and two make four. It is such a beautiful subject: Man can become a man, because the help is within. The Father wants that His child comes back. All Holy Scriptures stress upon this point, and for that reason, a lot of Masters sacrificed their life to uphold their mission to safe the humanity. We are not the manbody, we are the indweller of it, we have to leave it, but our contact in the manbody is eternal and ever fresh. So this reminds us at once that we are the children of light, our Father is in the heaven and we have to go back there. It is really no problem, but what do you need? You need one who is commissioned by the Godpower. And that one who is commissioned by the Godpower would never claim that he is a Master. He says, “I am a borrowed servant of the Master, because there is only one doer.” And who is that doer? The Christpower, Masterpower, Godpower. There is only one doer in the world. Those who claim themselves to be a Master they can never be the Master. It is said in the Holy Scriptures, that there is none in a million, maybe one in a billion. Who is that Power? Who resides in every heart, that is the Christpower, Masterpower, Godpower. As we see so many bulbs over here, but our attention is in the light, not in the glass. So all Masters in whose name these blessed religions do exist they came for one purpose. It is we people who created these religions after their names. They never had the intention to found a new religion. 125

Dr. Schneider: What practical application have you made over here in this centre? Dr. Harbhajan Singh: The higher values of life. Because the purpose of human life is to meet a good end. There are not only the higher values of life, but after the higher values of life you have to see the very hidden values of life. At present our soul is fully controlled by mind, it is bearing the tentacles of the mind, spreading like a parasitic plant. And we are not conscious. Because whatever we are getting from the soul, that is digested directly by the mind and the senses and the outgoing faculties of the mind. So we are in the clutch of this sphere, it is called “Maya”. Maya is not money matter, as it is said by many (so-called) masters, Maya is a name for forgetfulness. Whatever we do in ignorance, that binds us. Anything that binds us in the reaction, that is called Maya. So Maya is a great force in the world. Whatever we are seeing and experiencing, is putting us back into the reactions. So how to detach from the world of attachment? People say, "It is very difficult to remain unattached in the world of attachment." But Master says, "No, it is not difficult." It is very right. If there is somebody who can detach you from this body – becausewwe have to detach from it – if he is able to detach you, then it is a very pleasant subject. The fear of death is only due to two reasons: That we have not learnt how to die, and next, that we do not know where to go after leaving the body. If we learn these two things then there is no fear of death. But now there is a very big problem, that this teaching is taught by many, but there are experiences given by the Masterpower and there are experiences given by the negative powers. Because all illusions, all wranglings are not created at the seat of the soul but below the seat of the soul. (At the seat of the soul there is only one way upwards and the experiences of all Masters have always been one and the same, whereas the various meditation practices performed below the seat of the soul result in different experiences.) All people say that between the two eyes, behind the eyebrows there is the seat of the soul, but where is really the seat of the soul? First there is the intellect, then (a little bit above) there is the mind and then (above it) there is the soul. Most of the people stress over here (at the level of mind and intellect). Through imagination we cannot have the experience, it is a way of intellect. Master says, reading, writing, feelings, emotions, drawing inferences, all can be subject to error. Seeing is above all. So how can we see this reality eye-to-eye? Our third eye has to realize it. But what is going on in the world? When you stress over here, you must know that mind in the body is always the astral mind. So you are experiencing that light that appears from the mind. When you stress upon the mind, it will take you to the chakras. Mind is a matter, it will simply take you to the chakras, it cannot find a way out. Just as you throw a piece of earth into the air, its source is the earth, it will come down. Take one candle, you may turn it up and down, its flame will always go up, because the source of this light is above. So mind only is getting this light directly from the spirit and it cannot jump up. Since it is already working through the senses and the sense organs, it finds only a way downward, its trend is always downward. It never rises above. This is one problem. There are people who are meditating very much, but they lose their life. It is said about Rishis and Munis that they meditated for maybe thousand years, they became skeletons of bone, but they could not solve the riddle of life. But those who came in contact with the competent Masters, they said that they have solved the riddle of life. Because this first-hand experience which they (the competent Masters) gave, that will take you above the body-consciousness, and that will also take you above the cause and effect of the world. One beautiful subject we learn from the teaching of Christ, that where the world philosophy ends, there the religion starts. The heaven that was taught by Christ does not exist in the three worlds, because whether it is the physical, astral 126

or causal world, it is matter. So in these three worlds, how can the heaven of Christ be there? Most of the masters who go through there - I don’t mean to say that they are competent or not - they teach about that heaven that is within the three worlds. But it is said, “Where the world philosophy ends ...” The world philosophy does not end within the three worlds. Religion starts above the cause and effect of the world. So far you do not rise above the cause and effect of the world, i.e. above the three worlds, you cannot have that experience. All those who rise above the cause and effect of the world and rise into the equipoise stage, they have one opinion. All Masters lived with one opinion, and we also can do that. Sant Kirpal Singh gave that experience at the very first hand. He said, "Sit and see." I tell you this is also a very important subject - just for a positive and potent right understanding we have to discriminate. Man differs from the entire creation only because of the discriminating power within. He can know what is what. And there is no power with right understanding, with discriminating power in the three worlds, whether in the astral, causal or super causal. If there is one, he will rise above the cause and effect of the world. So far we do not rise above the cause and effect of the world, there cannot be unity, and suppose we cannot rise, even if we only live with this very teaching, then unity is there. To live with it, that will help us to unite. So that is the only hope, it is a spiritual link, it is a common link. We have a common thing in ourselves which is also resounding in the whole creation, that reminds us of our way back to God. It is called Music of the Spheres. What is that music? It is a music that reminds us of our turn to go back. If you listen to it even with your open ear, you will say, “Oh, some power is calling me back to myself.” This is also a very positive and potent subject. Dr. Schneider: Finally I’d like to have you address the issue of service and love - I have read some of your writings and you make this very wonderful connection between service and love. Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Without love you cannot serve - very simple. If you have love for somebody you will even sacrifice all your wishes for him. So for that purpose selfless service is a very potent weapon. Wherever you serve there you are, your attention is there and you can win over the heart of all human beings. Love does not mean attachment, love means right understanding, love means to understand the true aspect of life. Love means to know the real religion. What is that true religion - to do good acts, to understand ourselves, to realize ourselves and realize God and go back home and help all others. When Masters come into the world they live hundred percent for others and they stress the need for us to do the same. If you go through the Holy Scriptures very minutely, you will see, to live beyond the necessities is a sin. Because if you live beyond your necessities, you have to bear the reaction. When you bear the reaction, you have to come back into the manbody. All Masters live for others, they say, “O God, this life is for others.” All Masters said, “O God, bless us to work for others, bless us to spend.” Some people demand like this. Those who are conscious say, “Master give me some work to spend.” If He gives the work, He will also provide you something to do with it. Now this Kirpal Sagar is going on and we all have demand for it. So we are doing it. It is an international institution, and it belongs to all human beings. There is no reserved right of anybody, it is just like an open book. It will belong to everybody all the times. Dr. Schneider: Thank you very, very much for your time, this has been a wonderful experience being here and I look forward to speaking with you again. Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Thank You

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1 Kirpal Charitable Hospital 2 The medical check-up and eye-operation programme was opened by S. Lakhmir Singh Randhawa, Education Minister of the Punjab, on February 5. More than 1000 patients used the opportunity of a free medical check-up. 3 – 4 A medical team of the government performed eye examinations and eye operations. On about twenty patients grey cateract operations were carried out. 4

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1 Common Kitchen – Langar 2 – 5 The common kitchen was working day and night to provide meals for the thousands of participants. The number of chappaties (Indian bread) prepared during the conference days was estimated at 180.000. The Langar, where the food was served, was overcrowded with people, so that they could not be served at one time. So sometimes dinner extended from 1.00 p.m. to even 7.00 p.m.

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Sunday, 6 February 1994

4.00 a.m.

10.00 a.m.

Celebration of Sant Kirpal Singh’s hundredth birth-anniversary

Open Session

1.00 p.m.

Laying the foundation-stone in the Sarovar

5.00 p.m.

Birthday celebration

February 6 Celebration of Sant Kirpal Singh’s 100th birthday

At four o’clock in the morning, the birthday celebrations started. Kirpal Sagar was drenched in a solemn, indescribable atmosphere. In spite of the early hour many participated at the gathering in the meeting-hall.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh addressed the congregation with the following words: We are celebrating Master’s birthday as every year at this time. I greet all of you on His auspicious birthday, and I have lots of things to share with you, specially on the pattern for which He has developed us. Which pattern I mean? To serve our soul and to serve others. The service to the soul is the biggest one. Service to the soul means to overcome our shortcomings and to develop the soul. Now we are identified into the body through the senses and the sense organs so much that we have forgotten ourselves and have forgotten the Overself. We do not know what we are, who we are, from where we came, and how we are sent into the world. That is also a big secret. Because when Master has sent us into the world, He put a curtain there again and we cannot see beyond that. So the whole world is blind. This is such a pattern that the whole world is blind and cannot see. It is in a big illusion. It is a sad story. When we close our eyes, we see the darkness. After death, after leaving this body, would we see the brilliant light within? Would we see the way back to God? No. According to the Holy Scriptures, the soul after leaving the body does not track on the proper place. It is according to what we are and how we have developed ourselves. The condition of the soul is just like a girl who has been married and sent away with the husband by the parents and she does not know whether she is going to a hut or a palace, how her life will be. Specially in India it is like this that the girl is sent away without knowing, where she has to dwell in. This is the condition of the soul. Now the discriminating power, which all the human beings have at present, is the highest one. Beforehand, maybe thousands of years before, people used to live an animal life. At that time it was very difficult to discriminate man’s life from the animal’s life. People used to live in forests and discrimination was at the lowest ebb. Now we have got a very big chance to live with discriminating power. That is the highest thing, that we can differentiate ourselves from the entire creation due to this discriminating power. So we can know what we are, who we are, and what is what. We can say just like a man showing you a jewel at night, “Yes, well, see this thing, how beautiful it is.“ You say, “No, let the sun rise.“ Because when the sun rises, you can see everything in its original condition. So this is a sun that has come up, this birth is said to be a sunrise. It 133

is just like a garden where flowers are growing and where there are fruits. So when this turn of coming into the manbody is given to us, we have to smell, whether this is a nasty smell or it is a good smell. Alexander the Great had the intention to create tyranny and murder in the world. But his Master was very conscious for that reason. He thought, “This king will create a lot of tyranny and murder in the world, I must save him.” He tried his level best, and forcibly took him above the body-consciousness. But Alexander the Great, whose attention was always focused on ruling over the world, to get the possession of the whole world, did not listen to his Master. But it is said Quazi Kisr forcibly took him above the body-consciousness through his attention. But it is said, there was utter darkness and Alexander could not drink the water of life. This manbody is a pool of nectar. And there is the amrit inside, there is the water of life and bread of life. Kabir says, “When the pitcher breaks, the reflection of the water disappears itself.” There is a reflection in us. If we use it, it will show us the way back to God. Everyone is created for something higher and we have to make the best use of it. What our Master did - what all Masters did, we have to follow their footsteps. And what are those footsteps? Their life was full of service to other people. To others means, to fellow-beings. Sant Kirpal Singh throughout His life served others. When He was in the army, He was an officer. Even then He used to go to the hospital, serving the poor and the sick, giving them fruit, massage, and He used to give them water to clean their body. He Himself cleaned the ulcerating hearts. Out of love that He created there, those people used to weep, “O Sant Kirpal Singh, why do you do all these things? You are a great personality. We know you are the God-into-action-power. Your attention is sufficient, you should not give us massage.” Many times when He used to go by train to Beas or somewhere else in India, wherever He went He saw that there were very old people who were unable to carry their luggage. They demanded, “O Master, why do you carry our load, you should not do that.” “I am very strong, I can carry your load.” Once Kabir had to go to one city. At that time there used to be these carriages driven by horses. There was one very rich person, who went to that city only to listen to the Satsang of Kabir. He shouted, “Where is a kuli? A kuli should be there.” Kabir went to him and said, “Yes, I am the kuli.” Kabir took the luggage of this man on His shoulder and brought it where he wanted. But to his utmost surprise the man saw the same power (Kabir) sitting on the dais (platform). He said, “O Master, you are such a Master.” He was very much ashamed of that. Kabir said, “No, I have not done a new thing for you. Masters always come to carry your luggage, to carry your load.” We are burdened, we are heavy loaded in this world. Our purpose of human life is to pay off the debts. Masters came and said, “My son, my children are fully loaded with burden and they cannot carry it.” They have to carry our burden. Masters tell us, this manbody is the capital given to us. This world is a big market, and we are the merchants in it. Whereas we have to undertake a very good business just to pay off the debts. 134

What have we to pay back? Service to the humanity, called Guruseva and Gurubhakti. What is Gurubhakti? It means to follow the footsteps of the Master, 100 percent, not 99 percent, but 100 percent. There should be no failure in our life. That is Guruseva, the service to the Masterpower. If you serve others you protect yourself. You overcome your problems. All these things are practical subjects. But by the grace of the Master we all are doing that, and we are putting our head and heart for this purpose. I really appreciate that the disciples of Sant Kirpal Singh are very devoted to tackle all these problems. One person met me, he said, “In a week, in ten days I have been coming over here two three times. I have seen all those persons who have come from the West doing up to midnight, they do not take any rest.” I said, “No, they have a very sound sleep, a loveable sleep. All they do, they do for the sake of God.” And this is one condition. He puts all His children unto the service of God. That is the biggest way of life. There is a reason behind it. Now these two powers are there. If you start living with Master, you are getting detached, and ultimately fully detached from the sphere of the negative power. All you do for the Masterpower that is credited to the Masterpower and you get free from the facts of the negative power. So those negative facts, they disappear by doing service to others. This is a law, law of God. The selfless service is the highest criteria, is the highest way of life, if really Master blesses us. Master used to say, “You can meditate. If you meditate for three hours, but your mind is stilled only for fifteen minutes, the time-period calculated will be not three hours but fifteen minutes. But if you do selfless service for three hours, your time-period will be calculated as three hours.” The time for meditation and the selfless service is one and the same, but it matters if you really control your mind. You are doing the selfless service fully embedded in good thoughts, good deeds and good actions, you are under His will. You have created harmony in you. While doing the work you have created harmony in others. You have shed radiation for other people. When really you do the selfless service, what happens? Some power is standing beside you and it helps you to do more, it helps you to finish the work and that is what we saw. Some people who really meditate, they see this phenomenon that Master is with each one of us. But when? When we are doing for Him. He is always with us. So those things which we have undertaken, the world conference on Unity of Man, means, we have to take our Master always with us and do for others. When really you do for God, when you do for others, for the development of the soul of others and our own self, the Masterpower will always be with you. A time comes in life, when He settles fully within, He will never leave you. “I shall never leave thee nor forsake thee till the end of the world.” But for whom? Who are the blessed ones. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Purity in thoughts, deeds and actions only comes through the selfless service, when you surrender yourself unto the Master. Once some people passed by a very rich person whose angle of vision was changed and who was doing the selfless service. They said, “O, he is such a rich person, we have never seen him working. He had hundreds of servants at his disposal and he is doing this work, and he is doing a very inferious work.” When those persons smilingly wanted to pass by, he said, “No, I am doing God’s work. This is part of my life. I should have done it, before I have not done yet. If I am a rich person, I must make the best use of this heritage which Master has given to me. So all that belongs to me, actually belongs to the Master, whatever I am gaining out of this labourious work, only that is my property. The other is a reaction of the past.” 135

Sometimes Master gives you something, sometimes He does not give you anything. It is a reaction of the past. For the Masterpower there is no difference between the rich and the poor, between the high and the low. He sees us from the angle of the soul. We can be happy in the world but we are not contented. If we are happy and we are not contented, will the happiness be of any use? No, it will be of no use. This happiness is for a short while, it will pass away. So we have to be contented. With these words I greet you from the core of my heart, because I have all love, rather a respectful love. We are near to each other, and we have to shed love and radiation in the world, and we have to create this loveable atmosphere everywhere in the world.Wherever you go, you bring His message. And what is that message? Peace be unto the world, all the world over, o Lord. So with these words I would request you to make the best use of the sitting over here. We want parshad, everybody wants parshad. And what is this parshad? We should get this parshad over here (at the third eye), Guru parshad, the parshad which the Guru gives. The Guru is within. When we invert within, this parshad is there. This Light and Sound Principle, the Music of the Spheres that resounds within, that is the parshad. So let us sit in meditation.

By these words many were deeply touched and felt that longing which rises us above the limited view of our daily life and reminds us of our real aim. After meditation, our Indian brothers and sisters expressed in self-composed songs (Shabads) their love and nearness to this all-pervading Power, who is already mentioned in the Holy Scriptures as “Kirpal”, the compassionate. This first part of the celebration was concluded by a video-film illustrating Sant Kirpal Singh’s work in India, His third world tour and the first World Conference on Unity of Man. The cinematograph threw life-sized pictures on the screen and gave a vivid impression of His personality.

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At 10.00 a.m the first Open Session of the day began. Mrs. Eva Wahl presented an exemplar of the newly published “Biography of Sant Kirpal Singh” to Dr. Harbhajan Singh with the following words: Dear brothers and sisters, We have gathered today from all parts of the world to celebrate the birth anniversary of our Master Sant Kirpal Singh. We are especially happy to be here with the Indian Sangat, and I think that we can unite in this way is only possible by His grace. It is not easy to praise our Master. If we just hear the name Kirpal, our heart starts beating, and our mouth cannot speak. But if the disciple cannot speak about the Master, who else would tell about Him? I was asked by somebody, “When you speak about the Master: do you mean the person or do you mean the Power?” Never the Master is a person. He came from the highest plane, He came as that Power who comes independent and free - not just like we people came, due to our wishes, due to our background - He came just to help His children. Like Kabir, He took it upon Him to take up the human body and came into the physical world to remind us that this Power is innate in us and that we have a direct contact with Him; we only have forgotten. To understand that on the level of intellect is really difficult. He came as that Power which unites us by raising us on the level of consciousness, and only on the level of consciousness we can become one. To come in the human body was a service, it was the greatest service of that Power to come down to help us, since we are not able to raise ourselves up to Him. In every phase of life He gave us an example of how a human being should behave, and His aim was to develop us into real human beings, perfect in all aspects. To tell about His outer life would take many, many hours – and to tell about Him, who He really is, is only possible, if we reach this level of consciousness. Only one who is conscious can really talk about somebody who is the Consciousness Himself. Last year we tried to make a book about Master, and we collected what we could get from anywhere, anything that was known about Him, from all aspects of His life. This book has been printed now, and on this auspicious day we want to present the first edition to Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife, by whom we really could know something about the Master – because only those who really know the Master can help others to know more about Him. So we thank Bhaji and Biji for each and everything they did for us in the last years. We met Master physically, but many of us missed the chance, because they took Him for the person and didn’t see the Power. When we met Bhaji and Biji after Master’s departure, we could understand something more about Him, and now we all can feel that He is the Power who is always there, only we people do not remember. We need Him, but does He need us? He needs our hands – He showed us how to serve – so let us join our hands and serve Him by serving the humanity. Dr. Harbhajan Singh accepted the 300 pages volume about the life-history of his Master and, with a moving gesture, touched it with his forehead. Then the Open Session continued with speeches of the honorary guests. 137

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»Our real nature« Brother Kuvarapu John Martin, Saccidananda Ashram, India Dear brothers and sisters in God, our mother and our father, In the first place I would like to thank the organizers of this World Conference on the Unity of Man for their kind invitation and for giving me the honor to share with this august gathering. May God bless them all and their noble mission. Since three days we have been listening to the messages of many holy people and our minds are full of noble ideas. And we are at the end of our spiritueal dinner and I do not want to burden you with a heavy food but a light food, one or two parabels. Once there was a village where there where many shepherds. There was a forest near the village and the shepherds used to grass their sheep in this forest. There were many lions in the forest, and now and then they used to come and snatch away a sheep. One day a lioness came to the sheepfold, it was in advanced pregnancy. As soon as it entered the sheepfold the shepherds found her out and made loud noises. The lioness was so frightened that it gave birth in the sheepfold and ran away. The little lion grew up among the sheeps, eating grass and drinking milk and was behaving like a sheep. After a year an other lion came to the sheepfold to snatch away a sheep but was surprised to see a lion among the sheep eating grass and drinking sheep-milk. What, a lion among the sheep? What a disgrace to the lions! So he forgot about the sheep, straight went to the lion, caught hold of his neck, took him to the river close by and said, “Don’t you know who you are? Look into the water and look at me. You are not a sheep but a lion.” The big one roared, the small one also roared, both ran into the forest. Unity of humanity, unity of creation is not possible until we discover what our real self is, who we really are. Discovery of our real self makes us to realize that we are one with God, one with humanity and one with the whole creation. Great Masters and those who have realized their true self, they have realized that they are lions, and they saw that the human beings are living in ignorance, lions living like sheep and it became their mission to show to the human beings their real nature. Great Masters are like the big lion and we are all like little lions living like sheep eating grass and drinking sheep-milk. Know yourself is the teaching of all great Masters. A real Master is one who reveals who we are. Our true self is our divine self. Where is this divine self? It is not outside of us. It is in each one of us. If it is in each one of us, why are we not aware of it? Once there was a tree. It was very beautiful and had very wide branches, which provided shade and cool breeze. It was loaded with very sweet fruits. Hundreds of people came to the tree, praised its beauty, took shelter under the branches, and enjoyed the fruits. The tree wanted to attract many more people and began to decorate itself, enlarge its branches and yield more fruit. Thousands of people came to the tree. As the years passed, the tree began to grow old, its beauty faded away, its branches fell down and it could not bear any fruit. So people stopped coming to the tree. That tree began to feel lonely, deserted, and dejected. One day the tree was so sad, it began to weep loudly. Then it heard a voice, “O my tree, o my tree, why are 139

you weeping?” The tree thought somebody came to see it. So it replied, “When I was young, when I was beautiful, when I gave fruits, thousands of people came to me. But now I am old, useless, all have rejected me. I feel sad and lonely.” When the tree looked outside, it did not find anybody. So it asked, “Who was it who has spoken to me? I don’t see anybody.” Then the reply came, “O my tree, I am not speaking from outside but I am speaking from within you.” When the tree looked within it found a bird living in its branches. The tree was so surprised and said, “O my bird when did you come to me?” The bird replied, “My tree, I have been living within you since many, many years. I was calling you and wanted to make relationship with you, friendship with you but you were so busy with your outward admirers you had no time to listen to my voice. I am your real friend, I will not leave you even if the whole world leaves you.” My dear brothers and sisters, the tree is the humanity and the bird is God living in the heart of every human being. But human beings are so busy with the outside admirers, they have no time to listen to the voice of God within. Great Masters are those who have listened to the voice of God within themselves and they want to share this goodness to the whole humanity, saying: God is within you – discover Him. Only when we discovered God within us, real unity, real peace, and real joy, we will be able to share the same unity, peace, and joy with everyone we encounter in our daily life. May God, our father and mother, may the great Masters who have discovered this unity help us to discover this truth in our life. Thank you.

»Global education for the new millenium« Prof. Dr. F. Richard Schneider, Chancellor of the University of Global Education, Radio for Peace International, U.S.A. Dear brothers and sisters and beloved children, We stand at a disturbed time in the human and planetary drama on mother earth. We have managed to create an ecological time-bomb and we have removed the detonating pin. We have surrounded the planet with fear, nuclear bombs, acid rain, holes in the ozon layer, bigotry and selfishness and distrust among humans and nature. Education itself stands at the very cross roads in this historic time and place. We create our own realities but we don’t create them entirely by ourselves. We are co-creators with other members of the human family and with nature. We are participants in, and not victims of a world we influenced by our very choice. Our thinking calls for unprecedented educational, economic, political and spiritual efforts, a new vision of the world. We must not and we cannot accept the present conditions as moral or just, nor as normal. We have no better educator than mother earth herself. Since the beginning of cultures, history, and reasoning, we have incorrectly believed that human conquest of natures strengthens our personal and collective survival. However, human conquest always stresses, violates and 140

deteriorates life. The deterioration of the entire planet results from and with our own personal deterioration. Our destruction of wholeness consists of wrong beliefs and acts that we teach ourselves. We must address our estrangement from our biological and spiritual origins. With personal wholeness and integrity we must relate responsibly to the whole by connecting with nature and our very internal source. There are many problems with our belief systems. For one thing we continued to insist on seeing the world exactly as we were taught. Sadly, this belief system contains many prejudices, many misconceptions and distorsions. Reassessment of this learned premises mainly through education is critical to our very being. An honest and open reassessment can lead to wonderful discoveries both at the individual and at the planetary level. There is first the inner aspect, the way we think. This is where higher consciousness is achieved and thoughts come together to make sense. This is where our spirituality takes form and our faith lives. It is my contention that strong emphasis must be placed on the spiritual as related to the whole. The free will of the inner aspect is where the resources and consciousness exist to undergo the needed transformation. Then there is the outer way. In the outer way we project our thoughts and our values into actions and through the institutions and programmes that we create, our actions reflect the balance or the imbalance of the inner way. We want to create, through our actions, those processes and relationships that produce harmony and balance. In the outer way we find the teaching of the processes and the development of systems. This untapping uses our highest degree of imagination. It is a profound creative faculty for each individual. It is where the opportunity exists to implement our dreams and our hopes for a better world. The process of education and examination and redefinition of our belief and value systems frees us from the restrictiveness and blindness that we have become so accustomed to and often are not even aware of. An enormous outpouring of creative energy, spontaneous insight, imaginative new directions and a sense of inner peace will naturally occur. What is education for the new world? It must be global, it must be sustainable, it must be holistic, and it must be experiential. Additionally education must respect and draw on the resources of cultural and individual diversity, by encouraging individuals to discover their own special talents. There is developing among the people of the world a new consciousness about each other. This level of consciousness is still fragile and it still needs much nurturing and development. But it is growing and it is expanding in influence. We must educate toward an international outlook as never before, and strengthen that development. It is simply scientifically incorrect to say that war or any violent behaviour is genetically programmed into human nature. The fact that war has changed so dramatically to get us to the point of a nuclear holocaust indicates that it is a product of culture. Biology does not condemn humanity to war. Humanity can be freed from the bondage of biological pessimism and empowered with new confidence to undertake transformation. The same species that invented war is equally capable of inventing peace. For the first time in human history we must be concerned with the survival of the entire hu141

man family, rather than one nation or group. There are no longer any far away places that will be unaffected. No privileged group will escape the consequences of what is happening on our planet. Gabriel Mistrall has said, “We are guilty of many faults but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many things can wait, the children cannot. Right now there is the time their bones are being formed, their senses are being developed. To them we cannot answer ‘tomorrow’. Their answer is ‘today’.” We must take the many differences that exist that seem to separate and recognize them for what they are. Differences are genetically coded into all things. We have the opportunity to delight and to uphold differences and see them as a necessary part of the whole. I believe that education as a process, with developing higher consciousness as the core foundation, is the best vehicle we have for pursuing our goal for a global family united with peace and assuring the needs of all its family members. We are in kinship with the planet as a whole and with the global family as one. It is not really a matter of whether we want to believe or accept this condition, it is a matter of irrefutable reality. We, in fact, belong to one single global family, interdependent and connected. We simply must think beyond the current political divisions and begin to think in terms resonant with a concept of a world as one. Global thinking is needed in a world shrinking through communication, travel and economics and where boundaries no longer have the relevance of the past. Every time we are instruments of an act of justice, no matter how small, we add a bit of justice to the whole world. Every time we clean up one bit of fear within ourselves, we do it for everyone. When we care, when we forgive, when we are thankful, when we respect life, and when we interact with harmlessness, we continue toward these values becoming a reality for all of us. How is global, sustainable, holistic and experiential education to be accomplished? Look to the forms of education which has sustained the indigenous groups for millennia: the tribal, the neighbourhood and the community. You have here a perfect example and model of that kind of community. Today, with phones, modems, computers, and shortwave radios, even isolated communities can take advantage of global communications and educational opportunities as never before. I feel great excitement and enthusiasm for turning the possibilities of the present into actualities. It is an opportunity, as never before, to be all that we can be, as individuals and as a human family. Humankind is on the brink of the most significant discoveries in the history of the world. We have the opportunity and the necessity for individual and planetary transformation. We have the educational tools and the methods in hand. We hold our future, and those of our children and their children in our hands, in our hearts, in our consciousness. As part of our commitment to the planet, and out of our deep accepted responsibility for creating probabilities out of the possibilities, the University of Global Education was created. It will reach around the world through the University of the Air by broadcasting on our sister Radio for Peace International, a global communitiy radio station dedicated to peace. The University of Global Education will stand for planetary healing and transformation. 142

Let us together assure the dawn of the new day so that we can hear the newborn baby cry and we can see that baby mature to self-realization, so we can admire the majestic mountain tops against the deep blue sky, so we can appreciate that insignificant as well as the significant, so we can see the planet healed, so we can hold each other with our hearts. Let us reach into our higher consciousness and create a better world. And then the dawn can become the sunrise of a bright new day for the earth and for ourselves. Thank you, brothers and sisters.

»Man is one and God is one« Prof. Dr. Paul Fenton, Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature at the University of Strasbourg, Head of Hebrew Department, France Brothers and sisters, respected guests, On this very special day which commemorates the birth of a great spiritual Master I have the great honour to come today and to address you with some words taken from the Jewish tradition, the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the remarkable teachings of the Jewish tradition that the Bible begins not by recounting the laws which regulate human behaviour but it relates to the creation of the world: God created the heaven and the earth, and then He said, “Let there be light.” Towards the end of the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, God addresses himself to man of higher consciousness and He says, “Hear, hear o Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one.” Through light and hearing God is one. The rabbis who have interpreted the initial chapters of the book of Genesis have attracted our attention to the fact that, when God created the forms of creation – plants, trees, animals, and other creatures, He created them as species in numerous groups. Hundreds and thousands of trees, of plants, of animals. And yet when it came to the creation of man who was the culminating point, the crowning of creation and the aim of God’s purpose, He created him as one single being. His name was Adam – man. And the rabbis who have interpreted the Jewish Bible asked the question, why in his wisdom God has created many species, many animals; when it came to the creation of man, he created one single entity. And they replied, “So that throughout history man shall know that he is from one single root, and that no man shall say, because my colour is different from yours, because my language is different from yours, my ancestors are superior to yours, my father was created before yours – no, we come from one single man.” And similarly having spoken now about the opening chapters of the Bible, I go to the very end of the circle of prophesy to the ultimate prophet whose name was Malachäus, and indeed we read in the book of Malachi, which closes the Hebrew Bible, that Malachäus said, “Do we not have one Father?” So we see that the message of the Jewish Bible which I have to bring to you today, on this day, which commemorates the birth of Kirpal Singh and also commemorates the Unity of Man, that this is the essence of the Jewesh message as imported in the Hebrew Bible: Man is one and God is one. I thank you and bless you on this very special day.

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Shabad Sung by students of the Kirpal Sagar Academy, translation from Punjabi People belong to different religions and pray to God in their own ways. They have created different ways to attain God, yet ultimately the way is the same. The light of the Almighty is great. God is one for all human beings. When we know that God is one, why should we bind ourselves into the differences of religions. People have different words to recite prayers. So it is better to know that we must be a real lover of God. We should try to overcome the differences created in the society. If you really want to believe or if you really want to become a disciple of God, you must strive to remove the darkness of ignorance from your heart. You should try to live your life as a great admirer. You should act in such a way that the earth should be proud of you. God alone should be in your heart. Only by the recitation and repetition of the name of God you can avoid the circle of life and death.

Maha Mandleshwar Dr. Swami Maha Chatany Ji Tripal M. A., India (Summary of the speech in Punjabi) For three days we have been discussing that God exists everywhere. Practically or basically the Saints, social reformers and religious literature may take the initiative to enhance peace. The Saints live for the betterment of people, but Saints cannot be found at every place. Social reformers bring the changes into society for the good of nations and religious literature can provide us the practical aspect of humanity. We must have the feeling of love and kindness for humanity. We should do everything for humanity not for flatterings. And we have to take this light of peace to the different parts of the world, therefore self-realization is a must. Thank you.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh (Summary of the speech in Punjabi) Our purpose is to fulfill the desire of our Master. So what is our subject from now onward? To live and do with it for all the times, up to our last breath. Because we have to awake in Him. We have to become conscious co-workers of the divine plan. Not only here, but thereafter we have to help this cause. This cause, the selfless service never ends, it is for all the times. It deals with the eternal life within. It is a part of life. Master left the body, but did He really leave the body. In reality He has not left the body. His services unto humanity are still there. He is working much more than before. So the selfless service is innate in the soul, it is the eternal way of life of the Saints and this is our purpose with our Master. So you are requested to come exactly at one, to sit in meditation in the Sarovar. Exactly at half past one there will be the laying of the foundation stone. And this box containing all the Holy Scriptures of the Master, along with His photo and coins from different countries, the Jap Ji and other spiritual heritage of different Masters – you may say it is a parallel study of all religions written in the books – that will be put there in His sweet remembrance, as per His order. So you are all requested to be there at one. Thank you, wishing you all that is good for you. 144

Laying of the foundation-stone in the Sarovar The time for laying the foundation-stone for the building in the Sarovar, a water-basin was fixed for 1.00 p.m. This building will carry four symbols of the main religions and will be a common place for all people to sit together in the service of God. Exactly at 1.00 p.m. Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife along with several Sadhus brought the steel-box which was to be used as foundation-stone. It contained Sant Kirpal Singh’s books and scriptures partially on microfilms, as well as pictures, and coins from different countries. The underlying reason is that Sant Kirpal Singh pointed out the common truth of all religions in His books, so this act symbolizes that the building is founded on Truth. Accompanied by a huge crowd of people the steel-box was brought to its destination. A soft breeze and the already strong sun of a beautiful spring day made the ribbons decorating the oval pond waver, and their glittering underlined the serene festiveness of the day.

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The celebration began with hyms and texts of the Holy Scriptures and the following words of Dr. Harbhajan Singh: Dear Sangat, dear brothers and sisters, leaders from all over the world, Today it is a very special event – the laying of the foundation-stone is going on in His presence. In the presence of the Sangat we are fulfilling the wish of our Master Sant Kirpal Singh. Since three days this conference is going on and now we are putting His wish into practice. It is God’s work and we have to respect and obey it. Only for this purpose we have gathered here today. There is no personal wish, no attachment in it, it is only God’s work. And where God’s work is going on, the Masterpower is always there. All the credit goes to the Master, and the Masterpower gives this credit back to His children – love is always reciprocal. He is like a mother who loves her child. But the child does not know what love is. Today many people from the West and from all over the world have gathered here and in 1973 Master gave hints that Kirpal Sagar once will become the most famous place in the whole world. He told us how to build it and now it is coming up accordingly. It was His wish to bring people together on one place. What does Sangat mean? When we are all sitting together in the name of God, without rituals and rites, following His order and His commandments. We should take His words into our hearts. This Power did the work and is still doing it. Nothing is going on without this Power. Without His grace no one can go one step forward. One may try, but throughout my life I never have done any step without His guidance. And now He needs the agreement of the Sangat and all guests and Mahatmas to start now.

After this request of Dr. Harbhajan Singh the box was let down, and all helped to cement it by passing on the “battas” (bowls used in India to carry materials), filled with cement from hand to hand. A group of Indian ladies expressed their congratulations with loud shouting, and a little aeroplane rained flowers on the congregation. A very special moment came, when finally some sang songs expressing the longing for His “darshan” (His sight) and all could feel an intense vibration according to His promise that He is there where we undertake a work in His name. An atmosphere of unity born out of the grace of the hour and the joint service made these moments the highlight of the celebration.

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Surinder Kaur, the wife of Dr. Harbhajan Singh, throws the first “botta” of cement Dr. Harbhajan Singh performs the first rough cast by means of a silver trowel After the first plastering was done, all helped to make the foundation-stone When the foundation-stone was completed, all were looking at the little aeroplane throwing flowers on the sarovar

The evening session continued at 6.00 p.m. and was opened by Dr. Harbhajan Singh Dear brothers and sisters, The subject of today was the purpose of human life, and the self-analysis. Self-analysis precedes God-knowledge. The purpose of human life is to meet a good end, and for that purpose we must know, what we are, who we are, from where we came, how we came and we must know, what is the aim of our life. Otherwise to live in the body is to live like in the hell. What have we to see? We have to see as how we can withdraw from the body-consciousness. Some people say that there are thousands of ways, but these are the ways of the world’s philosophies. The positive philosophy, the potent philosophy, that reveals the truth. The way back is there. There is only one way, the way of truth. All Masters came from one and the same source and went back to the same source, and we also have to follow the footsteps of our Master. A lot of people say, “We have made this spirituality a simple one, come and have it.” There is no concession in spirituality, spirituality itself is a big concession. So we cannot add, we cannot abstract what all Masters experienced, we have to go through this process ourselves. This process is: learn to die so that you may begin to live – as Christ said – what we experience at the time of death – we must experience while living! That is the eternal life. He who does not die (while living), he cannot live. To die before death is our subject. We are afraid (of death) because of the two facts. One thing that we have not learned is, how to die, how to leave the body. This is a big problem. And secondly we do not know, where to go. If these two facts are opened unto you, you are a conscious co-worker of the divine plan. You can leave the body loveably and smilingly you can go back, because you have tracked the way not one time, but lots of times. So such a conscious co-worker of the divine plan not only one time during lifetime – he leaves the body a hundred times a day. It is a matter of attention. You withdraw the attention from the bodyconsciousness, come to the seat of the soul and withdraw into the higher consciousness – that means dying while living. Masters have simplified this process. Masters have simplified the purpose of human life and our subject so much, that young and old, even a child – all can do it loveably. There is no consideration of wisdom and mind there, it is a matter of the soul. We are not the body, we are the soul, we are not the senses, we are not the outgoing faculties. But we are the enlivening power in it. We are the true temple of God and we are of the same essence as that of God. Man is the highest rung in the whole creation. His purpose is as great as it is written in the Holy Scriptures, not less than that. In this connection it was told today, the purpose of human life is to deal with our problems. It is said, it is very difficult to live unattached in the world of attachments. But Master says, “No, it is not so, because you can do that, it is as definite as two and two make four.” That means, you can solve it with very easy steps. Christ has told, “Learn to die so that you may begin to live,” because you can only start to live in this body when really you have transcended the body-consciousness. Then you are the owner of this house. Otherwise you are the slave of the senses, mind and the sense organs. How can you claim that you are the son of God? If you are the slave of the senses, then you are not the son of God. Only when you rise above these things – rise into the higher consciousness, you can become a conscious coworker of one God. Then you are the living son of the living God. 149

So, time is flying, and we just have to have the glimpses of our Master now. And this is, I think, very important. All that grace which flows into the world that always comes from the Word personified form, “Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us”, so that Power, Sant Kirpal Singh, even by remembering Him, lots of miseries depart us, we are separated from these things. So He has taught us how to remain unattached in the world of attachment. It is so easy, like a boat which is in the water, but water must not enter into the boat. You have to be a very wise boatsman. You have to drive this boat. It has lots of apertures, and there is the danger that water may enter at any stages. We always have to be very very conscious about it. So self-analysis, self-introspection of life at any moment, with every breath, is an important factor. Because if you do not pay attention to one breath, then you can create another problem for you with the second breath. So life consists only of one breath, that goes inside, it goes outside, some power is pushing it back into the body. At the time of death this breath remains outside. So only one breath is given to us. We have to change our life with each breath. He who becomes conscious about his one breath, he can become conscious for his whole life, and even for his eternal life. So thank you, wishing you all that is good for you.

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Written statements »Global violence and the unity of man – a Teilhardian perspective« Rev. Dr. Fernando Mervyn, Subodhi Institute of Integral Education, Sri Lanka Violence lies heavy on the conscience and consciousness of man today. Not that violence had been absent from any epoch in the history of man, it seems that even more than physical nature, human nature is “red in tooth and claw”. But undeniably violence seems to have struck a new pitch in both extent and intensity in our times. This is no doubt partly due to the sheer fact of great population increase within the last few decades, partly due again, as a consequence, to the opportunities and occasions of violence, and partly also due to the more powerful and more deadly means of violence and destruction that science and technology have put onto man’s hands. Why all this violence in a day and age which is supposed to be enlightened in many ways? Today there is much more literacy, education, social communication, travel, etc., than 50 years ago, not to speak of the bewildering advances in science and technology. We have come a long way from the stone age and dark ages of more recent history. But peace, harmony, concord, and brotherhood seem to be inversely proportional to the progress of civilization. There has been no dearth of explanations and theories regarding all this ethic and racial violence. A number of models have been constructed – economic, political, socio-cultural or a combination of them – to get a handle on this problem. All these explanations and models deal with the immediates and what we might term, “physical” causes of ethnic conflict. What is special and distinctive about Teilhard’s thesis is that it takes a long-distance, total and “metaphysical” or rather “ultra-physical” view of the phenomenon of violence. For Teilhard the whole of reality is evolutionary, in other words, the whole cosmos has always been, is, and will be in a process of ascent or progress from the simple to the complex in increasing degree. In a gross way we can see clearly that the living world of plants is more complex than the non-living world of minerals, and the world of animals is more complex than that of plants and finally the world of man, human beings, more complex than that of animals. Each of these represents a higher stage of complexity. This is certainly not an original, world-shattering observation. But what is original in Teilhard is that he co-related consciousness to complexity, discovered the link between the two - one is a function of the other. Man is also at the same time the most highly conscious of all beings, at the end of the evolutionary line of consciousness viz. man is the only being that is conscious that he is conscious; consciousness doubles back on itself. Going backwards we find a corresponding relationship at the animal level, a lesser degree of complexity (compared to man) coupled with a lesser degree of consciousness and so on. This is Teilhard’s famous law of complexity. He says that in the whole evolutionary process there is strict correspondence between complexity and consciousness. What is increasing in complexity now is not the somatic structure of the individual but the body of mankind. We see this happening before our very eyes through the rapid links and 153

binds that keep forming every moment between person and person, family and family, group and group, culture and culture, race and race, nation and nation, continent and continent, across the face of the globe, over enormous distances through the vast network of rapid communications at work in the modern world. According to Teilhard’s principle this increase in complexification must necessarily give rise to an increase of consciousness. In Teilhard’s own words, “We are faced with a harmonized collectivity of consciousness, the equivalent to a sort of super-consciousness. The idea is that of the earth becoming enclosed in a single thinking envelope so as to form, functionally, no more than a single vast grain of thought on the cosmic scale.” Though man’s consciousness was liberated from the constraints of matter into reflex-consciousness at the first instance of emergence into the state of “Homo Sapiens”, it has required the slow co-operate reflection of the human species, first in isolated groups, then in smaller or larger aggregates, and now with greater intensity on a global scale, for man to recognize himself and his destiny. Greater psycho-social complexification is generating a richer consciousness, a kind of collectivized super-consciousness. Man is now being called upon to let himself go freely and consciously into his evolutionary “vocation”, which is a vocation of unity and convergence, at every level, from the personal to the international, inter-continental and global. From a psycho-moral point of view, violence is man’s “refusal” to respond positively to his evolutionary destiny. As stated earlier, it is only now at this point of historical time, that man’s evolution is taking a turn from divergence to convergence, from isolation to communication and closeness. As usual any change is first experienced as a threat, a threat to the accustomed security of the familiar. Hence reactions of distrust, suspicion and even hostility are understandable. But man has to learn that what he is called upon to do is not to give up security, which is psychologically impossible, but to tread the old security of fences, boundaries and weapons by which the threatening other was shut out or destroyed, for the new security of openness and trust in bonds of relationship, sharing, brotherhood and love. This kind of security found in, and with the other and not in oneself, shutting out the other, this is the security which corresponds to convergence, unity and love, the future of our corporate evolution. We must therefore realize that if violence seems to be inevitable at this stage, it is inevitable only as long as man fails to see, to recognize what is happening at this point of time. Teilhard in fact opens his opus magnum “The Phenomenon of Man” by saying that it could be summed up “as an attempt to see and to make others see what is happening to man.” The real tragedy is that we fail to see beyond our noses; our myopic sight blinds to the big, total vision of who we are; we are like the blind man who thought that the ear of the elephant was the whole elephant. Unfortunately the penalty for this blindness is very heavy. All of us are appalled by the enormity and extent of human suffering caused by violence in our times. Besides the death and destruction of human lives, the pitiful wastage of human energy and resources is incalculable. And so Teilhard makes bold to say, “The age of nations has passed. Now, unless we wish to perish, we must shake off our old prejudices and build the earth. The more scientifically I re154

gard the world the less can I see any possible biological future for it except the active consciousness of its unity. Life cannot henceforth advance on our planet (and nothing will prevent it advancing - not even its inner servitudes) except by breaking down the partitions which still divide human activity and entrusting itself unhesitatingly to faith in the future.” In other words what is called for is an enlightenment of mind and a conversion of heart. The body of mankind is in need of healing; but healing of the spirit comprises both: enlightenment and conversion – enlightenment about the truth of mankind’s ascent to a more free and personalized communitarian level of “being human” and conversion of heart from the petty ego of the self to universal personhood. If so, the transition to a higher plane of humanity is basically a religious endeavour - a happening in the realm of spirituality. Then, a very pertinent question would be, “Are the religions playing their part in enabling and facilitating the conversion required on the part of many today to rise to a higher level of spirituality?” My submission is that the religions themselves are being challenged by the evolutionary rise of consciousness to conversion, to die to religion, as traditionally identified by rite and ritual, precept and doctrine, church and temple, to one of spirit and freedom, life and love. This is after all what the religions themselves have claimed to be central and fundamental. But in reality the spirit has been stifled by the shell of rite, law and doctrine by which they acquired their distinctive identities. As such they will be a hindrance rather than a help to the ascent of the spirit in human consciousness. The time has come when, in biblical language, God will be worshipped “neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem but in spirit and in truth”, namely, in the mind and heart.

»Journey to the Future« Rashmi Mayur, Ph.D. Global Futures Network, India It is tragic that we live on one earth but in a divided world, even though, the last three hundred years of development in communication and transportation have brought us all together. In this age of technological revolution, everything is progressing at a quantum leap except the human mind. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, who after the first atomic explosion said that everything had changed except man. Our divisions - all created artificially and due to our stupidity – are at the root of most of the crises we face. We are divided by nations, religions, colours, ideologies, geography, economies and whatever possible at the time we all should fight together against the scourges of the past. The past is irrelevant to our present and future purposes. There are many enemies to fight against – poverty, hunger, diseases, pollution and all other social, economic, political and technological curses. The situation continues to worsen while we are being warned by more than thousand scientists from around the world that the world will come to an end unless we reverse the path of nihilation. In this predicament, our sole concern should be the rediscovery of man in the context of the 155

present reality. We must find new purposes and goals so that we can redirect our destiny beyond the present anarchy. Therefore all the people with sanity, larger understanding and vision must now unite to bring a new world order, an order which can assure all to share the scarce resources of this beautiful earth together, an order which can eliminate the basic ills of poverty, pollution and hunger, an order which can heal the wounded earth, an order which preserves all the life with the sanctity, an order which brings us together as one united family willing to create a future of our dreams. This can only be done by global education, by restructuring our thinking processes, by redesigning our out-dated institutions of religion, governance, family, business, etc. This is a monumental task, a task in which, if we fail, a doom awaits us; a task in which, if we succeed, future will take us all to a journey of happiness, integrity and unity, which we have been searching for since our arrival on earth many millennia ago.

»Creating a new world-order on the basis of the unity of man« Mr. D. Henry Thiagaraj, Managing Trustee, Dalit Liberation Education Trustee, Human Rights Education Movement of India It is important to understand human nature which is expressed at least in two forms (1) the mechanical brain function, and (2) the spiritual mystical level. At the mechanical level brain forms habits, knowledge necessary for survival, expression of intelligence, reason, etc. Most people’s religion stays at this survival level. It has an immediate circle of family, society and self. Its function is the survival of the individual and the society. Often fundamentalist religious traditions speak of patriotism, love of the country and a particular society. They cannot go beyond the concept of their own society and reach out to humanity – to love their enemy. Many leaders invoke the name of God and religion for war and violence and do not include all people irrespective of one’s colour, citizenship, political and religious affiliation. The second level is a deeper level, a mystical level which includes the entire humanity. It does not confine to a particular nation and society. Those who embrace the entire humanity have a vision and mission which is distinct from the survival oriented work and behaviour of particular groups. The spirituality that embraces the entire humanity is a sublime experience which transcends an individual, particular society and nation, similar to the agape of Christ and the enlightenment of Buddha. Spirituality is a human experience. A spiritual experience is essential for the existence of religion. However, a religion may include spirituality or may not. Many religious people practise a religious dogma – which may not have a spiritual experience. An authentic spirituality embraces entire humanity and expresses the integrity of creation and its beauty. Seeking a spiritual basis for development of humanity is to seek a global view of develop156

ment, as many of the problems of development show there is no easy answer to achieve a goal like eradication of poverty. The development issues are entailed with environmental concerns which are in turn intricately mixed with people at grassroots, struggling to raise their voices and standard of living. We need to see the grassroot problems in a global perspective as we belong to this planet. We share a relationship – that we belong to one mankind which belongs to this planet – earth. The right to progress, to come up in life, to get rid of poverty is an in-alienable human right. The United Nations has acknowledged this right. We need freedom from hunger and thirst. We need full human rights – that is without discrimination and injustice whatsoever. We have the ideals. The problems are more at a practical level of implementing the ideals. It is said that the present condition of the human being is that we are “global citizens with a tribal mind.” That is, people who seek world unity are struggling to overcome their own personal prejudices and limitations. The late Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations in 1958, recalling his vast experience of working with the international community mentioned, “The conflict between different approaches to the liberty of man and mind or between different views of human dignity and the right of the individual is continuous. The dividing line goes within ourselves, within our own peoples and also within other nations. It does not coincide with any political or geographical boundaries. The ultimate fight is one between the human and the subhuman. We are on dangerous ground if we believe that any individual, any nation or any ideology has a monopoly on rightness, liberty and human dignity. When we fully recognize this and translate our insight into words and action, we may also be able to re-establish full human contact and communications across geographical and political boundaries.” We have to see the human evolution in this perspective. “Our first need is to counter the anti-evolutionary influences and to move consciously into the next stage in human evolution. There is a qualitative difference in all aspects of this new reality. It is a new beginning. It should be seen both in terms of the opportunities that exist as well as in terms of the dangers. Both opportunity and danger exist in every crisis. The present is no exception. The best way to resolve any crisis is by choosing the path of opportunity – the evolutionary advantageous path – and avoiding the path of danger.” (Jonas Salk) Maybe you and I, who are concerned about humanity, about the way the world is evolving should take the initiative to create a new reality by becoming conscious that we are privileged to work together in developing a new humanity and a new world order.

»Strategies for capacity building« Jakob von Uexkull, Founder and Chairman of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Great Britain “The seriousness and urgency of the global crisis is now widely recognized and thoroughly documented. But to quote one study, “No government in the world has yet made any major change in policy designed to convert the unsustainable to the sustainable.” The gap between what urgently needs to and can be done and what is being proposed and implemented is now so vast as to threaten the credibility and legitimacy of our entire political and economic sys157

tem. Instead of making, in the words of Al Gore, “the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle of civilization,” we are appeased with promises of too little, too late. Accordingly, I do not intend here to send out the minimum changes required so that business as usual can continue a little longer. Instead I will describe briefly some institutional changes required to successfully manage the global transition to a society that can assure sustainable livelihood security for present and future generations. Need for new order The present global order appears to recognize only those needs it can satisfy and to see as real only those problems for which it can offer solutions. Its amazing short-sightedness is exemplified by the current GATT negotiations, which will create a framework for the global economy totally at odds with the needs of the environment and designed to circumvent democratic institutions. Laws for the protection of people and the environment are to be restricted and localized, while laws for the protection of corporate profit will be globalized. The opportunity to ban weak pollution controls and other externalizations of environmental costs as unfair trading practices has been missed – thus insuring that any national problems will be globalized and more difficult to repair. Unless we create an ecologically responsible global order, we may face an environmental breakdown which could cause a political and economic upheaval more fundamental than what has happened in Eastern Europe. Neither democracy nor the market economy are likely to survive. We will face violent confrontations as minorities try to protect their privileged access to scarce environmental resources at the cost of the livelihoods of the majority. Or we may get “Eco-Stalinism”, with strict global rationing. Among environmental experts there is an increasing realization that this may occur much sooner than expected – not in decades but in years. It is therefore imperative that we begin to create the foundations for a sustainable world order without delay. This implies, to quote from Al Gore’s “Earth in the Balance”, “to put in place a policy framework that will be ready to accommodate the world-wide demand for action when the magnitude of the threat becomes clear.” Realism and environmentalism We must provide some realistic scenarios as to how this transition can actually occur. Environmentalists have largely ignored this issue, apparently expecting those who have led us into the present mess to undergo a joint sudden conversion. But it is naive to expect that existing institutions can be made to perform with any degree of success tasks diametrically opposed to those for which they were created. Neither the UNCED nor the Rio Global Forum, the largest-ever gathering of non-governmental organizations, managed to produce an action plan coming anywhere close to what is required. A new start For both practical and psychological reasons we need a new start. Just as different institutions represent us in our roles as citizens, producers, consumers, etc., we now need an organization that represents us in our role as members of the Planetary Ecosystem and sets the sustainable boundaries within which human activities can function. The new institutional framework must include all level from the local to the global. 158

Democratizing the global Democratizing the global is the next step. An “earth democracy” cannot be realized with global domination by undemocratic structures. Local and national democracy presupposes that the global level either cannot or will not routinely interfere with or overturn their decisions. Today that is no longer the case. There are several possible strategies, none of which are mutually exclusive. NGO Role Next is the role of non-governmental organizations. Recently in Eastern Europe, broad-based popular movements coalesced into a force strong enough to withdraw legitimacy from the institutions of state power, take them over and transform and recreate them. Facilitating and strengthening cooperation and joint action among relevant NGOs is an urgent priority, both to prevent more Sevesos and to ensure that recognized, credible institutions exist if prevention fails. This will not be easy; as one recent study noted, mergers of NGOs are few and far between. Planetary Elders The Council of “Planetary Elders” proposed by the Dalai Lama and others, is based on the concept from traditional societies of a dual power structure with a “chief” running day-today politics and wise elders looking at the longer term implications. Such a group would of course not have the same unquestioned standing in modern societies. But I believe there is a place for an independent group of respected men and women to pronounce on urgent issues of planetary survival and equity. Such a group would have considerable moral force. Peoples’ Council But we need to go further. I believe that no strategy which ignores or replaces rather than extends informed democratic choice will succeed. That is why I have proposed the creation of a People’s Council for Global Sustainability. The Council would restore the balance between who we really are and what we are doing to ourselves, our fellow-beings and the planet. It would give a voice to those parts of us that otherwise do not get to choose or vote, to those shared community bonds and values which Adam Smith regarded as the necessary restraining context of the market society. The Council should be a part of the U.N. family, which has so far been missing a much needed third leg based on popular sovereignty next to those based on nation-states – i.e. the General Assembly, Security Council, Special Agencies - and those based on money – the Bretton Wood institutions. Uniting North and South The campaign for a Peoples’ Council could unite those in South and North who want to reform and democratize the U.N. system and global governance as well as all those working for sustainability and fairness. U.N. organizations already active in this field, especially UNEP and UNDP, could be linked to the Council, providing valuable expertise and experience. Much national sovereignty has already been ceded to various bodies for reasons of national security and economic co-operation. As the environment is recognized as the truly over-riding global issue, it is not too much to expect that we build the institutional capacities required 159

to ensure that we act within sustainable limits and do not abolish the future. Or will, in the words of the German philosopher Ernst Bloch, “The great moment encounter too small a people?”

»Education for peace: what it entails« Charles Mercieca, Ph.D. Executive Vice President of the International Association of Educators for World Peace, Prof. of History, Philosophy and Political Science, Institute for International Relations & Intercultural Studies, Alabama A&M University, U.S.A. In general, education is commonly defined as a process through which factors and skills are learned while abilities and attitudes are developed. More specifically, education denotes the methods by which knowledge, culture, and values are passed mentally, emotionally, morally and socially. Schools staffed by professional teachers are responsible for authorized education, although the family and many other agencies within the nation play an important part. Individual teachers often exercise great influence which may not always be good. Actions speak louder than words. In spite of the high ideals promoted by various educational systems throughout the centuries, human beings still feel insecure. The future is well entrenched in uncertainty. The reason is simple. Everyone, regardless of his background culture and nationality, yearns to live in a society which is characterized by harmony, tranquillity and peace. If this is the proven basic need of every human being on earth, then anything the schools do which is not directly related to this proven basic need could be termed irrelevant. This means that the millions, and possibly billions, of dollars invested in education are destined to go into waste for all practical purposes as time rolls on. The goals and purposes of education for peace are several. Here is a list: 1. To enable people to cope with surmounting pressures brought about by modern living in a fast changing society. 2. To develop an understanding of people with diversity of cultures and backgrounds. 3. To prepare an entire generation to participate actively in the governmental policy-making process. 4. To enlighten students in the various approaches that could be taken in dealing with actual conflicts; this would involve the use of one’s knowledge, insights, and values as well as skills. 5. To organize for everyone concerned Peace Research careers and peace-making roles at both the governmental and non-governmental levels. 6. To encourage involvement in respective political systems through a better understanding of economic and social trends. 7. To promote the study of the inter-relationship between responsible groups notably the state, church, school and family. 8. To implement a relevant curriculum that would prepare the adult members of the future society to solve problems independently. 160

All of these points are geared toward the understanding of key issues which consists of interrelated values of war prevention, international economic stability, social justice and worldwide ecological protection. In addition, the best available data of science and technology should be utilized to stabilize the body of the world politics in an altruistic fashion, to promote a relevant education that is capable of preventing war and of promoting peace and to develop a full understanding of such factors as population, hunger and violence. Meaning and Misconceptions Before forming a clear concept of what constitutes education for peace, we should bear in mind some misconceptions in the area. Education for peace does not consist (1) of a series of lectures exhorting listeners to lead a good life; (2) of a set of courses in human relations offered by a university for graduation; (3) of conventions organized by civic organizations whose sole purpose is to obliterate war; (4) of teaching and promoting a traditional set of moral values; (5) of trying to create a utopian society which enjoys the utmost perfection in laws, politics and all social relations; (6) of training a society to become wilfully voluntarily subservient to the state; (7) of indoctrinating the bulk of the population with certain philosophical and religious beliefs; (8) of building a peaceful society while ignoring completely the past history of human conflicts which led constantly to hatred and wars. On the contrary, education for peace means (1) the capability to solve every problem one encounters without resorting to violence; (2) the determination to succeed in life not at the expense of others; (3) the full control of man’s aggressiveness in social relations; (4) the development of individual responsibility that would enable an entire nation to become self-sufficient; (5) the promotion of cultural understanding for a better comprehension of human behaviour; (6) the implementation of a philosophical system that puts top priority on the universal welfare of all humans without exception; (7) the re-structure of educational priorities so as to make peaceful living the most important element of the educational process; (8) organization of a seminar in the promotion of international understanding for all responsible groups of society: politicians, lawyers, physicians, businessmen, school administrations and so on. Education for peace must be pluralistic. It should be experimentally centred on community action as possible. Every sector of the community must be encouraged to develop its own educational skills. In addition, there should be various educational experiments apart from the traditional type of school. Such experiments could be conducted through street-academies, open-air universities, and action research centres. Education for peace would become meaningful if and when all involved agencies of society cooperate to make the world a better place of habitation. Such agencies are found everywhere. The most important, in terms of influence, are the family, school, church and state. Other involved agencies are libraries, museums, television, radio, newspapers to mention but a few. Each of these mentioned agencies has a major role to play. They have in common the obvious capability to germinate in society the seeds of peace or war. They all can help promote or suffocate in various ways, freedom of movement, and genuine self-expression.

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»Spiritual ecology and peace education two imperatives for the survival of humanity« Prof. PhD., DD., MSc Francis Dessart, international consultant, past-secretary general of the International Association of Educators for World Peace, acting director of public relations of IAEWP & permanent representative to UNESCO Paris and UNICEF & ECOSOC Geneva, professor at the Ecological University Bucharest and at the Levalloise-Perret, France During its 4th stage, the Foundation for Human Unity (incorporating the International Children’s Peace Council) was asserting that, globally, the old traditional education has failed to produce students who can know themselves fully and understand the other peoples or the world global relations. It is absolutely right that a new education is necessary to build a new world. And a new world is necessary for the survival of humanity! We need a new holistic education uniting the spiritual origins of human beings, the world citizenship vocation, and the comparative and synthetical studies of human rights, peoples’ rights, animals’ right and nature’s right. I was developing this synthesis in my last book in French about the concept of eco-irenology, as a synthesis between ecology (humane and spiritual ecology) and irenology (the science of peace). The motto of my book was: One Earth – One Life. I agree totally with the opinion of the Peace Nobel Prize winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer about the reverence for life, but it is necessary to add – for a good understanding of the Schweitzer’s sentence: respect for all kinds of life; men and women, animals, nature and the cosmos. The human being can realize himself internally, externally and eternally. World peace, a human heritage Since the beginning of life on earth, the history of man may be confined to one word “contest”: whether between man and nature, or man and himself. Whatever the change in time and place, and in the terminology used to describe this contest, the basic fact will never change. The first recorded crime on earth committed by man against man was murder, when Cain slew his brother Abel. Man continued to commit this crime until the present time whether individually or collectively. The political forms changed but were always accompanied by this contest known as “War”. Thus, the story of mankind is, in fact, the story of “War and Peace”. War is very ancient in human history, likewise, the efforts to achieve peace are ancient. Several Greek City States assembled and formed an organisation called the Amphictyonic League which prohibited any member from destroying another or cutting off another’s water supply. A temporary truce for one month created temporary peace throughout Greece so that the Olympic Games, held once every four years, could take place. The Roman Empire maintained peace during a period known as the Pax Romana which lasted more than two hundred years, from 27 B.C. to 180 A.D. Several thinkers also proposed various plans to achieve lasting peace, such as that of the Duke of Sully, a French statesman, who developed in the early 1600 a “Grand Design” for peace in Europe; and the “Project for Perpetual Peace” written by the Abbé de Saint Pierre, a French clergyman, and was published 162

in 1713. We may also add to the peace efforts the civic action or the non-military use of the military, a matter which is so ancient that it can be traced in the Old Testament. The recent hazards of war are not the same as before. Weapons, through their development, took distinctive forms, such as artillery, small arms, and rocketry. In addition, specialized types appeared, associated with land, naval, aerial warfare. Among these specialized types are nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. The impart of the development of weapons on the increase of war hazards may be ascertained from a comparison between the total number of casualties in the two World Wars. It is to be noted that due to the continuous great advance in weapons and delivery systems, wide-spread, long-term and severe damage may affect the natural environment and thereby prejudice the health or survival of the population. Taking into consideration these facts, and inspired by the human perennial quest for peace, the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP), which was founded by the educational philosopher Charles Mercieca in 1969 with the help of concerned citizens from 24 nations after two years of intensive preparations, has seriously decided to do something constructive about peace using education as the most effective instrument toward such an end. This explains why the Association is anxious to recruit concerned citizens from every walk of life; because we all share the same responsibilities and obligations to structure a new global community where all people live together in harmony, prosperity, and peace. Our members do not engage in protest marches, although we do not discourage other organizations which may wish to follow such a path. Also, the Association does not represent any political movement. Our purpose is to set up a countervailing force to war, to marshal those forces for peace that now lie latent in every human heart. With the unique participation of enlightened and determined citizens, we can initiate and further promote those projects and activities needed to light up the pathway to world peace. Our major focus will be to plan ventures in international cooperation that would emphasize technology as it can benefit the entire human race and as the alternative to war. The new frontier of demilitarized space exploration provides an opportunity to build international cooperation. Our philosophy: peace through education William L. Shirer once said that every German family could have been provided a comfortable home, had the Nazis chosen peace instead of war. At this stage of history, it is important for concerned citizens to make certain that future generations will not be able to say the same about the nations of today. All nations, including totalitarian ones, usually do what their citizens permit them to get away with. The task of educators, meaning all communicators, is to move all nations firmly along the pathway of peace. When the sun rises at the dawn of the 21st century, what kind of world willwwe see in the new millennium? Will it be a world based firmly on cooperation or on a continuation of the global squabbles of the outgone 20th century? The question is simple and the answer is equally simple because it all depends on us. The kind of action we take today will produce the kind of world we shall see tomorrow. 163

Hence, the association is committed to see our sophisticated technology applied to the exploration of the new frontiers, that our communications capabilities can educate and increase the intelligence of the greater proportion of the world population than ever before that our advances in life sciences contain the potential for eliminating diseases, correcting genetic disorders, and increasing health and longevity on a global scale. This way, we can continue our billion year evolution using the powerful tools at hand to realize great new heights of human achievement. As Daniel Keves of California, Institute of Technology remarked: “More than ever before, the public will be influencing the course of technological and scientific progress.” In other words, the future we all share is the world we are shaping today. The philosophy of space education brings to our attention a reality which we cannot escape. Humanity is at the cross-roads faced with a dilemma: peaceful cooperation or military madness! There is no third alternative and our successful evolution through so many centuries is now at stake. The association views the universal welfare of all mankind not as it appears in a global area to the exclusion of another, but as it affects all people across every continent without exception. This organization is concerned not only with what happens during the few decades of our lifetime, but with what happens to our entire planet in the centuries and the millennia that follow. In view of this, we have in mind as long range purpose, the development of international peace stations and industries, including a United Nations Peacekeeping and Monitoring System. The forthcoming 21st century society has a right to live in peace and prosperity. We have the obligation to lay groundwork toward this end. A philosophy in action In brief, the International Association of Educators for World Peace acts through education, to protect the environment from air and water pollution, and to help implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The basic dimensions of our philosophy are a firm belief in peace and confident steps to achieve a new era of world peace.

»The world day of peace, November 1« Mrs. Margaret Lee, president of the world-wide Peace Foundation presented to the conference the idea of the World Day of Peace From time immemorial human beings in tribes or other groups have used special days to express and stimulate commitment to some interest or hope. Curiously, there has never been a day devoted to humanity’s continued existence – a World Peace Day. The November 1 World Peace Day, conceived in 1963 and legally incorporated in 1964 in Washington, D.C. as the World Peace Day Foundation, is dedicated to all peoples and countries of the world to share as families, a community, national, international or World Peace Day, for reconciliation or prayer; for schools; to make friends with new neighbours – a day for everyone to feel good about ourselves and others. “Anything that creates emotional ties between human beings must inevitably counteract war… Everything that leads to important shared action creates such feelings.” (Sigmund Freud). 164

The world’s people are horrified at the atrocities still being committed against innocent human beings, including infants and children as continuing wars explode. During some 2000 years of peace, the Greek Minoans created great temples and works of art. Also Native Americans, some Asians, Europeans and Africans enjoyed prolonged peaceful periods. Why can’t we, the people of the 20th century, make plans for peace now? Our generation has the training, intelligence and genius to surpass those ancient Minoans in the art of peace-building. In his inaugural address, President Clinton said: “We can accomplish more by working together, by bringing out the best in all people.” With all people of this New World co-operating we can enter this 21st century holding high our banner and marching proudly to the drumbeats of peace. “It is in the minds of men that the seeds of war are planted.” (UNESCO charter) It is in the minds and hearts of all human beings that the seeds of peace must be sown.

»A dedication to the unity of man« Institute for Planetary Synthesis (IPS) Geneva, signed by Mrs. Sally Curry, Mr. Rudolf Schneider and Mrs. Alice Boainain Schneider, Switzerland (excerpt). In his invitation to the World Conference on Unity of Man, Dr. Harbhajan Singh, states the following: “The change will begin from man’s heart, this is the only way to bring unity into the world. If the ideal of unity has become our heart-felt desire, it will spread like a wildfire burning all hatred, enmity, separation, duality and egoism. What will prevail is oneness.” We whole heartedly agree with Dr. Singh’s observation and in this spirit wish to expand on the basic concept and to try to provide some practical proposals for helping to awaken the consciousness of man to its inherent unity – a factor essential for building humanity’s new future. Humanity is passing through a difficult period of transition – a human and spiritual crisis. It has been said that when these coincide, a unique period of opportunity also exists. Could it be that the human crisis is a sickness of man’s heart? Profound responsibility for one’s fellowmen and for the kingdoms of nature, the pain caused by injustice and oppression and service for the common good are expressions of the heart – of a love which knows itself to be one with all that exists, an integral part of the awesome and poignant we call “life”. This intricate, pulsating web already exists, linking all into a synthesis. Consciousness of this essential unity endows man with a new perspective of life: he no longer is the victim of the illusion of separateness; he becomes a conscious co-operator in the betterment of life for all, a server. The birthing place of this highest responsibility is in the heart: heart-born, heart-nourished, heart-guided. It is only the heart, aflame with love, which knows this essential unity, the heart is the temple of this truth and has been since time immemorial. The new future will be built by awakened hearts. 165

Education of the heart? If we consider education in the widest sense of its meaning, we know that it comprises far more than simply the process of education in schools and universities. Indeed is the whole of life from birth to the passing out of physical existence not in fact “education”? Is the true meaning of “education” not to draw forth what already exists? The knowledge of essential unity and love exists in every human soul at its entry into life. This is divine spiritual heritage. Would the highest purpose of “education” not be to draw forth this wisdom, to bring it into full bloom, and, with it, the qualities of solidarity, compassion and cooperation? In other words, education of the heart.

»Spirituality – base for world-wide unity« Mr. Pasian Lewanga Kimaro, Africa If everyone of us would recognize that we are a spirit in the body, much would have been achieved towards the unity of man. If any leader would know that all achievements and all differences stem from our attitudes of mind and that God did not create differences among ourselves, then this earth would be a very good place for us to live. It would be a heaven. And it is a heaven. Who created this earth where we live? One Master said, “If you follow my commandments: myself and my father will come to you and make a permanent residence.” If the Father can make a permanent residence in us, why then do we expect to go somewhere else than here and now? The Infinite Intelligence is always around. What we as individuals must question ourselves is this: “Do I know the commandments to be followed?” Then the Master was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” The Master said, “Love is the greatest commandment.” With love you can see moral ascendancy. Love is the morning and the evening star, we must cultivate love with our fellow man and we shall no longer want to lock horns with each other in futile combat. Love makes every man his brother’s keeper. Let us lock hands. Love is spiritual, everyone can live a spiritual life, if we would bear the burden to recognize what spiritual life is; but unfortunately very few of us know about spiritual life. The scriptures say: “Everyone of us is created after the image of God.” The image of God does not mean a physical image, but rather a spiritual image. But when we talk of God, we refer to God as sitting on a throne like a king. God is spirit and the spirit does not rest. Even the spirit in us which is God doesn’t rest or sleep. If we want to live a spiritual life as intended by God, we have no choice but to recognize the laws of the spirit. The Golden Rule entails all the laws of the spirit. What makes you love your neighbour? The spirit in you makes you love everyone, because we are one. 166

Because love is flawless, where there is love there is no hatred, where there is love, there is no lust, where there is love, there is no anger, where there is love there is no jealousy, where there is love, there is no impatience, where there is love, there is no deceit, where there is love, there is no falsehood, where there is love, there is no insincerity, where there is love, there is no vanity, where there is love there is no gossip, where there is love, there is no independability, where there is love, there is no dishonesty, where there is love, there is no disloyalty, where there is love, there is no revenge, where there is love, there is no worry, where there is love, there is no envy, where there is love, there is no hypochondria, where there is love, there is no indecision, where there is love, there is no fear, where there is love, there is no greed, where there is love, there is no intolerance, where there is love, there is no egotism, where there is love, there is no cruelty, where there is love, there is no mercilessness, where there is love, there is no injustice, where there is love, there is no slander. You see, the law of spirit is against many enemies, which we create ourselves, which we sometimes call devils through our superstitions. Maybe, you may ask how is one to defeat all these devils or enemies? Self discipline is the only way to perfection. You can’t wake up one morning and say, “I am going to be free from fear and intolerance”, you have first to understand your enemy, and then find the means and ways to attack and avoid your enemy. For example, you can’t wake up one morning and say, “I am going to be a big farmer” and be it. You have to look for the land and then do all that a farmer has to do, you have to make a decision. We have to struggle to achieve that what we want. Everything has its price. If we want to be loved, we must love first. We have to start with ourselves. To whom do we belong? We belong to the spirit. But we don’t know. From now on, let us do what we are expected to do by the guidance from within ourselves. Because we don’t know where we came from and where we are going, this has been the source of our lack of self-confidence, lack of self-confidence prevents the spirit in us from working. The spirit does not work, where there is no faith. Have self-confidence first, and the spirit in you will guide you. And to have self-confidence you have to discipline yourself to defeat the above stated devils or enemies. Remember, there will not be any achievement that will be achieved without going the extra mile, prayer alone will not make it, you have to endeavour. The unity of man did not start by itself, it was initiated by love, and it will be achieved with love in action, a labour of love.

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The Panel Conferences In the afternoon of February 4, the conference split up into four panels, in which different aspects of the idea of unity of man were examined in depth. There were vivid contributions to the various themes but due to space limitations many talks were necessarily left out. The four panels were as follows:

1. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ETHICALLY ORIENTATED POLITICS AND SCIENCES

2. THE BASIC UNITY OF RELIGIONS

3. EDUCATION AS MAN-MAKING: PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

4. SPIRITUALITY – THE BASE FOR WORLD-WIDE UNITY

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Panel 1 »The responsibility of ethically orientated politics and sciences« Keynote speech

Mr. Wolfgang Gerlich

A world-constitutional convention

Mr. James Bernet

World peace

Dr. Rupert Ortner

About Laos

Mr. Chidhalay

Concrete steps to ethics

Mrs. Ming-Ostrowska Mrs. Eva Wahl

»Keynote speech« Mr. Wolfgang Gerlich, Chairman of Unity of Man Austria, inaugurates the first panel Respected delegates of this conference, dear brothers and sisters, We all have prepared for this conference various speeches explaining our view, what we can recommend for the betterment of the world, how things can be improved. And I think, if we are open to have a talk from heart to heart, it will bring something which is much more than only theory; it can be something that really goes to the hearts of others. In our conference brochure you could find one speech from Sant Kirpal Singh where He also mentioned what the true work of politicians is. Actually the very goal is the same for all. If we start from different starting points, may it be from the point of view of politics, or may it be from religion or from any other point of view, the goal is that wherever human beings are coming together, in reality they should serve others. The responsibility of the leaders of nations, and of those who are leaders in other fields is much more than the responsibility of one individual because they, of course, are not only responsible for themselves but they are also responsible for those people who are confiding in them. We should also find ways and means that political leaders see their personal responsibility for a spiritual development, so that they may also accept the higher values of life. If they can also follow them, they can really take a decision for a betterment of this world. At the end of this conference we should have worked out resolutions which should be applicable for all, which will mean a boost for those who are doing a responsible political work. So with our contributions we may help that the result of this conference will be a very good one. In this world, due to separation, due to some misunderstanding, due to a certain political situation people came under pressure, they have to suffer slavery; many, many problems exist – but history has also shown us that it is not possible to solve these problems from outside. So 169

we may be able to clear many things by law, some even try to clear the things by force, but this is not a real solution. The only way to clear the problems is if people really understand what is the value of life, what is the real essence of life, what is the responsibility of each one of us. This responsibility is one and the same. We must come to the root cause of the problems. We can see that all great Masters who have come into this world have never been tired of solving the problems of mankind, but they went directly to the source of the problem. What is the problem of separation? Why does one feel separate from the other? It is the basic teaching of all great Masters that the different nations, the different countries are all like different rooms in the one house of God. So as long as the political leaders don’t have this understanding, the separation cannot be finished. But the separation from our Self can be finished in one moment and we can come to the realization of this link to our consciousness. In this conference many people have come from different places, belonging to different nations, to different religions. But I think, there is no feeling of separation. It is the beginning of right understanding if one comes in contact with the one source. This is much more than enacting many laws, this is much more than taking lots of measures from outside; this will be the most effective workwwe can do. And it is also what all great Masters have told us, as Sant Kirpal Singh said, “Reformers are wanted, but not those who reform others but those who are reforming themselves.” So this is one work which we can start immediately. Therefore one point of this conference will be that we should make a decision in our heart that we don’t want to reform others but we want to reform ourselves. We want to develop the higher values inside of us. Then we will be able to give these to others who demand for them. I think, what is most needed are practically realized persons. If only one is there who is strong from inside, who is spiritually strong, he can change a lot. When we look back to history, also Jesus Christ was only one, but even nowadays millions are speaking of him. Sant Kirpal Singh also said many times, why should one who is really strong not be able to develop a whole city? This means, one can develop many people to become true human beings. This is one aspect that we should take into consideration in this conference. Thank you.

»A world-constitutional convention« Mr. James Bernet, Global Unity, U.S.A. I am not going to speak for a long time now as compared to the others who have spoken at this session because I did the speaking earlier, but I will be gone tomorrow, so this will be my only Panel Session. So as you complete at the end of the conference what the Panel 1 is going to do by way of conclusions and recommendations, I’ll just think now what I would like to ask you to consider including what really has to do with improving the United Nations, spreading the word about the existence within the UN Charter of the article that calls for a world-constitutional convention – something that can happen, and it has to happen from the people. It won’t happen from the national governments. The national governments will not want to change or give up any powers or sovereignties for humanity to gain a legislature, it will have to be something demanded by the people popularly around the world. Humanity, 170

I think, needs a legislature immediately to confront these problems of peace, environment, pollution, militarization – we are only to stop spending all these dollars on guns and bullets and soldiers and tanks. It is still time, we all know, to stop with all the violence in the world. So the answers to these problems of too much military, too much violence will come from here. This is absolutely the best place, right here where this light is, this magical place that now will be in my heart as I leave. I just told you to think about including something about the need that we have for a human legislature. The way we can get that legislature very quickly if in fact we want to. The tools are there with the UN Charter with that article 109. It is just written right there in the Charter and only would take a simple majority of member states with this General Conference to take place. The people that wrote the Charter absolutely wanted this General Conference to take place, it was written right there, “There will be a General Conference by the year 1950” or instead of there being a two thirds requirement it will become a simple majority. The constitution of Germany, unless it is changed, does acknowledge that there can be the giving of some national sovereignty to a higher governmental body, is it correct, you know? I know, it is true of Italy, Japan, and I think Germany, and may be some other national constitutions. It is certainly not true of the United States. So it is going to be a long process for that to become a human legislature. There will have to be national constitutions amended. I said it is simple only in the sense of concept, and the path is clear, but it will be long and involved, of course. And yet some of the steps have already been taken. In the United States there was a National Federal Commission that was just completed to study the improvement of the United Nations, that was created by Congress, brought into existence by President Bush. The report was just made last summer to Congress and to President Clinton and the head of this Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It was deceided to have a special session devoted to the improvement of the UN. And in England, the national government in England is also conducting a study on how to improve the UN. And the same thing can happen and should happen in Germany, and here in India. Every country needs to do this nationally, study formally what to do about improving the UN. Thank you.

»World peace« Dr. Rupert Ortner, Chairman of Unity of Man Austria The present situation at home and abroad makes clear that in spite of all advancements in the social and economic status of man and in the fields of science and politics, it has not been possible to create a solid foundation for a peaceful co-existence of nations and individuals. The loss of higher values can be seen as an important reason which contributes to the fact that man in search for his identity turns to nationalism and religious fundamentalism or takes refuge to various groups, thus creating even more barriers and tensions. Time and again, laudable efforts have been made to knit together different nations in the silken bounds of love, amity and concord. The aftermath of the first world war was the founding 171

of the League of Nations and of the second, the United Nations Organisation with a vast and extensive field of co-operation in matters like justice, health, culture, economy, banking etc. and above all banning war among the member nations. How far the one succeeded in its endeavours we have already seen and how far the second will succeed time alone will show. These are gigantic efforts, no one can deny, and we wish them well because they aim to serve the well-being of the people of the world. The real cause of the social malaise, however, lies far deep in the human mind, too deep for the surgical lancet to reach and the scientist’s shells and missiles to destroy. The state administrations may, to a certain extent by means of legislative measures and executive fiats and with the help of the police and the army control the physical movements of their subjects, but cannot wash and purify the hearts of the people. It is, however, from the abundance of heart that all our actions spring. Unless we get a correct lead in the values of life, the higher spiritual values, I mean, we cannot think and act correctly. The problems of the world are not really of political but of spiritual nature. The world is awakening to this truth. Like all Saints and great Masters who ever came into this world Sant Kirpal Singh explained that victory over the mind is victory over the world. We have sufficiently developed physically, socially, and politically. We have made wonderful inventions, such as the telephone, telegraphy, radio, television, airplanes, rockets, atom power etc., but both physical body and intellect depend on the soul within, about which we know little or nothing. Science cannot tell us why we live, how we live, what we live for, what life itself, and above all, what consciousness is. In a European conference of scientists, the president of the conference said that we have gained control over the forces of nature before knowing our own selves. All say: “Know thyself!” It is a matter of rising above the body-consciousness and opening the inner eye or the single eye to see the Light of God by practical self-analysis, which we have forgotten. It is an old, old science. All these problems in the world are due to the shackles and not due to the true religion. This manbody is the true temple of God. We are all one in God. We are all one, our Father is one, and our purpose is one – our way back to God is one. So on this issue we have to see as how peace can be cemented in the world, how all these affairs can be set fully right. If really people rise above their isms, sects and religions, and premiers and presidents rise above their kingdoms, peace is already there, the human rights are already there. Everything is innate in man. Man is first a human being, then we are wearing different labels, we are reading in different schools and colleges. Our purpose is to rise above these shackles. Peace can only be brought about when the people rise above “isms” – the labels we are carrying – and kings rise above countries. Only when we rise above the narrow confinements of our own self, our own family, our own community or nation, we can take into our hearts the concerns and sufferings of our near and far neighbours. We have to live for others. We should minimize our other requirements. To live beyond necessity is a sin. So if really we live up to it, we can save a lot for the poor and the needy, and we can overcome many shortcomings of the human beings. At the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in June 1993, Dr. Harbhajan Singh explained that the solution for our problems lies in developing a broad-hearted attitude which 172

enables us to forgive and forget. The only solution for all our problems is: to forgive and forget. There is a law of justice, which results in the process of giving and taking and therefore in striving for revenge and revenge again; but there is also a law of forgiveness. He who is able to forgive and forget is really brave and strong. He is gracious and loveable to all. Whether we are politicians, religious or spiritual leaders, our purpose is one and the same: that is man-making and man-service. If we live up to it and act according to it, there will be a solution to all the problems in our different countries. Then on the international level, we have to form a common opinion. The governments are raised as custodians for the good of the people. They are doing their best to restore peace. Governments may be able to control the bodies of men, but they cannot do man-making. Until the hearts and minds change, the world situation cannot change. Change must come from within. This applies to all irrespective of whether you belong to one country or the other, or one religion or the other; that makes no difference. A human being is a true human being when the scientific spirit and the true religious spirit go together. Making of men in the true sense of the word is the job of really spiritual people. There is really no East and no West; we have made the East and West, we are all brothers and sisters in God. We are first man, then we are conscious entities, drops of the ocean of all consciousness. As man, as soul, we are all one. We are all conscious entities being of the same essence as that of God. There is one underlying unity – as such we are brothers and sisters in the true sense of the word and for the universal brotherhood which can be cemented if the much needed inner unity is realized. Now we know all this intellectually. If we follow it in practice, there will be peace on earth, the kingdom of God will come on earth – and there can be left no danger of an atomic war. The remedy is right understanding. We must develop our own Self which is the most important part of our life. In this way the self is expanded to embrace the family, the community, the nation, and all humanity, so as to include the entire universe and become a citizen of the world with a cosmopolitan outlook. The aim of the conference is to explain the basic unity of life, to point out what man is. The conference wants to make an appeal to the world against aggression and violence, religious sectionalism and racialism. It will point out the genuine spiritual base of religions and work out practical suggestions to come to a binding world-ethos. To bring unity in all aspects is the central subject of this World Conference on Unity of Man, and in the realization of these aims lies the welfare of the state, the country and the world at large. Let us go back to our country to preach the truth through our higher values of life, so that there is an eternal peace in our heart.

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»Liberty, social justice and humanity« Mr. Seng Chidhalay, Secretary General of Lao National Coalition Organization and Editorin-Chief of Lao Seritham Newspaper, U.S.A. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen and dear friends, It is with all our heart that we have accepted to participate in the work of Unity of Man. We would like to thank Dr. Harbhajan Singh and his wife for their initiatives and their hospitality. We are convinced that furthering our friendship and solidarity on this occasion will serve the aspirations for peace, freedom and democracy of the inhabitants of this region and the world. In Laos, our country,… since 1975, with all too-common violations of human rights and much suffering among people … real peace does not exist. These realities in our small country are not in the forefront of the media and have been of little importance to the conscience of the world. Undoubtedly, the current regime has provoked a tremendous loss to a country already under-populated and under-developed. According to studies from Laotian and foreign experts, Laos lacks human resources to take up the challenge of this decade of social and economic development in the region of ASEAN and Asia-Pacific. It will take another twenty years before the technicians and professionals in training at present become available. On the other hand, there are a great number of Laotian expatriates, men and women, young and less young, who have proved their capability, who succeed in industrialized countries, who have always their eyes and heart turned towards Laos. But those men and women would be able to help their country to develop only if there were now a beginning of democratization. ...They are calling for freedom and democracy through peaceful political reforms and improvement of economic conditions. So we have set up organizations and initiated projects which constitute a bridge linking implosions stemming from the deepest heart of Laotians overseas towards actions to be taken of/and by those inside Laos. These organizations and projects … maintain and develop good relations with all organizations and countries which are for peace, democracy and social justice. These organizations and projects are perfectly in the humanist and internationalist stream. Preparation should be made now, if we want Laos to become democratic. This is the mission we have set for ourselves, through communication with and public education of the Laotian population to understand more about democratic freedoms and responsibilities. More importantly, they should be committed to those values and ideals, those ethics, attitude and behaviour that are needed for a free, democratic and humane society, such as tolerance, generosity and respect of the difference. These qualities should be taught in the schools from the very childhood. Freedom, democracy and development have to be earned by strong hearts and steady work. For this reason, we are grateful to Dr. Harbhajan Singh and Unity of Man Institution for having allowed us to be present at this meeting. We hope that we shall be able to continue to develop beside you the ideals of liberty, social justice and humanity, ... for a free, democratic 174

and reconciled Laos which enables all its children, inside as well as outside, to participate in its social and economic development, for peace and stability in this region, understanding and political tolerance among the people of the world.

»Concrete steps to ethics« Mrs. Krystina Ming-Ostrowska, Switzerland If we mention the bad situation in many countries of the world, I ask the question, why this is like that. First I thought one could help people in those areas by sending them medicine etc. but later on I realized that material help is not the way of helping them really. So I would propose that we might come to conclusions in the end of our meeting which may be valid for everyone, whatever country one might have come from, because problems and answers are the same all over the world. For instance, we all use certain names all over the world, terms like ecology, economy, ethics, medical ethics, peace movement, etc. By using these names we use only empty words which are intellectual theories that cannot be useful because we are not able to experience what Master called “The mystery of life” and “God in ourselves”, and unless we become our true self. Also the meaning of responsibility has in principle a very deep meaning. Responsibility, as well as ethics, cannot arise till we go to the roots of our source of life, of our real existence. Responsibility is based on consciousness of being one with another. How can we reach this stage of feeling one with another if we cannot be one with our self? If we have not reached that stage, we cannot realize what we understand by democracy, ethics, ecology, because for example, what is the principle of ecology? We want to protect our environment, our mother earth, but how can we protect it if we did not land in protecting our self, this part of existence, that is the divinity in us, through which we can really understand what it means and we understand, if we experience this or that suffering, as Buddha once said, that suffering is nothing else than showing us the limitations. We must think about what to do in concrete, which concrete steps we should take. The first steps how we could develop ourselves is spirituality – not in the sense of being religious, we know about this. But probably there are different meanings (interpretations) of what spirituality is. To be spiritual does not mean to be religious; spiritual means to make serious efforts to realize one’s self, to improve one’s character, to overcome any obstacles and hindrances in the so-called threefold personality on the path towards greater harmony, greater love, joy and beauty. So perhaps we can agree about which steps are needed to come to a useful ethics. What is ethics? We have a medical ethics, we have ethics of economy; we have so much theory but why do we not use them? There must be something wrong in us. And I think, it would be lovely to make some notice together and make some proposals. I know, people in many countries are suffering, and lots of conferences have been held, there are movements for peace, 175

people are sitting peacefully together at the table, eating peacefully, but where is peace? Why? I think, this is a spiritual place, grown so beautiful like a flower – why? Because people have put in not only much work but also their hearts, and if we people join together, there is a wonderful possibility now here at this place to bring forth some concrete proposals. What we can do – we take it with us which steps are needed to reach this higher consciousness.

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Panel 2 »The basic unity of religions« Keynote speech

Werner Stadlmeyer

Inner and outer religion

Dr. Harbhajan Singh

God-consciousness

Bishop Azariah

Religious freedom

Mr. Justus Devadas

Universal call to wholeness

Br. John Martin

The brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of one and the same God

Dr. phil. Michael Wende Mr. Georg Wahl Dr. Gianfranco Rossi Mrs. Regine Weise Mr. Thomas Schubert

Speeches given in Punjabi or Hindi by:

Mahant Paramjit Singh Ji Sewa Panthi Mahamandleshwar Swami Sachidya Nand Ji Swami Rama Yogi Maharj Ji Mahant Swami Krishan Dass

»Keynote speech« Werner Stadlmeyer, Chairman of Unity of Man Germany Dear brothers and sisters, respected guests, You have come from far off places, you took an arduous journey upon you to be here with us today and to discuss a very important subject. It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to this Panel Session and thank you kindly for your coming. In the course of this Panel Session we have to find ways and means how to take concrete steps to remove the ignorance which is the root-cause of all suffering in the world. To remove this suffering, to know the purpose of human life, to solve the riddle of life we have to deal with the questions 177

– as where man does come from, – whether there is a higher Power or God, – what are the attributes of this Power and – how man can come in contact with Him. How did religion come into being? There have been God-realized souls or Masters who had a direct contact with God and who were able to give an inner experience of the Godpower to those coming to them. When the Masters left the scene, efforts were made to keep their teachings alive. So long as practical people were there, all went on alright. But for want of practical personalities, these formations came to stagnation; then stagnation resulted in deterioration; followed by fights between religion and religion. Masters come again and again into the world to revive the truth that is innate in us, but which we have forgotten. The basic principles of all religions are the same. Man should lead an ethical life, serve mankind, be of help to all others in this earthly sojourn, and should know himself, and then develop God-knowledge and God-consciousness leading ultimately to Godhead. The word “religion” as the term “re-ligare” indicates, is a great binding force that links man back to his Creator, whom he has forgotten since he has totally become identified with the world. Unity of Man respects all religions but teaches no particular religion. Let everyone remain in his own faith. There we have taken the first step. It is meant for the preparation of the ground. Now we have to take the next step which is referred to in our scriptures. This is no new faith, no new religion. This gathering here is a purely spiritual gathering, a common ground for all to sit together, irrespective of whether they belong to one religion or the other. As a man we are one, as a soul we are one, and the One whom we worship – God – is also the same for all of us. Every religion has a three-fold aspect: First, the traditional, comprising myths and legends, rituals and rites; second, the philosophical treatises based on reason, to satisfy the hunger of the intelligentsia, concerned more with the why and wherefore of things than anything else, with great stress on theory of the subject and emphasis on ethical development which is so very necessary for spiritual growth; third, the esoteric part, the central core in every religion, meant for the genuine seekers after truth. The last part deals with the personal mystic experiences of the founders of all religions and other advanced souls. It is also called mysticism. Religion, as it is generally understood today, has been grossly misconceived. Prayers consisting of set phrases, time-consuming rituals, adherence to outward symbols at the sacrifice of their inner spiritual meaning and superiority of one creed over another – these and other absurdities have usurped the title of religion. One religion is waging war against the other; brothers are fighting against brothers, on the plea of differences of opinion regarding the means to salvation. Bloodshed, falsehood, hatred, intolerance and bigotry have often been preached in the name of religion. Reason has been banished altogether, reducing religion to a mere profession of creeds and dogmas. Words have replaced deeds. Religion no longer seems to be concerned with such ennobling issues as the knowledge of one’s self and union with the divine origin. 178

All Masters prescribe a religion which teaches the equality of man. Nature does not distinguish between a Hindu, a Mohammedan, or a Christian. All belong to the one humanity. Guru Nanak exhorts us to accept this – the brotherhood of man – as the grandest religion. We should consider all men our equals, irrespective of colour or creed. Just as in a class children of all sects and denominations sit together, play together, love each other and learn the same lessons from one and the same teacher, just so the whole world should be as one class. No distinction of caste or colour should be observed. The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man are the true essence of religion. All humanity are alike, no matter if they pose under the garb of Sikhs, Hindus, Mohammedans, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, or materialists. All human beings – here, there and everywhere – are the children of one Father, and form the links in the unbreakable chain of divinity, like beads on one string. If you try to tamper with anyone of them, you are bound to affect the whole chain. The subjective or the true religion refers to an eternal principle, not to outer forms and customs, and is, therefore, universal. The subjective religion is quite independent of the societies and communities, although they are the superstructure based on this solid foundation. This aspect of religion gleams through the teachings of all the great scriptures of the world. There is no religion without a spark of truth in it. All faiths are to be respected from this point of view. The subjective side of religion is what all the Masters taught. It is one and the same for all. It is the one aspect where all religions meet. Thank you very much for your attention.

»Inner and outer religion« Dr. Harbhajan Singh, Leader of the project Kirpal Sagar, Chairman of Unity of Man India Dear brothers and sisters, Lots of things are told about the religions. But there is a subjective and an objective religion – the inner religion and the outer religion. The inner religion differs a lot from the outer religion, because the outer religion is set on various outer rituals and rites, different dogmas, caste, colour and creed, and that is man-made. Whatever is man-made that separates man from man. All Masters, however, spoke with one opinion. So far a competent Master has never created a religion. Religion was rather created by the so-called followers of the faith. After the physical departure of those competent Masters they dared to create a religion. All competent Masters respect the religion, because God’s children live therein, and they tell us to follow the inner religion. That is the real teaching, that is universal. So our faith, our true religion is much more within than outside. For “self-existence” we are more bound to the outer religion, because that fulfils our desires. Now it has even become a paid preaching, I tell you. In every religion throughout the world we see these problems. People say, “Our religion is the best one, that is the highest one.” As for example, when Sant Kirpal Singh visited the West, He was told that “Christ is the only son of God.” The teaching of Christ is very loveable. Sant Kirpal Singh said, “No, Jesus and Christ, they were two. Jesus was the son of 179

man on whose pole the Christpower worked.” Christ is the Power, Christ lived before Jesus. Christ has no beginning and no end, that Power sustains the whole creation and we have a direct and independent contact with that Power. These Powers, who came into this world, were all one. Some time He came as Christ, some time He came as Guru Nanak, some time He came as Maulana Rumi. He came in various forms, but when they came, they never accepted that outer religion. These religions rather waged war and hatred. All Saints, all competent Masters, even had to live in an atmosphere of hatred – created by whom? By the leaders of these religions. This is a reality, I tell you. God made man, and man made religion. Our purpose is to let people know the true religion, the inner religion, that is one and the same for everybody, and it is without any shackle. If there are problems in the world, it is not due to the true religion, but due to the shackles. Those who rise above the shackles, they can do a lot for others. It is called the right understanding. Right understanding is concealed within. Being on the level of senses and under control of our mind, our condition is just like that of a parasitic plant which is spreading on the parent tree. Nourishing on the tree, it remains green itself but makes the tree wither away. So that is our condition. Just like, there is a hole outside in the grassy ground – we do not know, what is under the grass. If you cut it, you will find, that there are holes. Now we do not know what there is in the holes. If we pour in some water, some insects will come out, if we pour in more water, more insects will come. If we really go within, we can analyse ourselves and we can understand all our problems. By doing so we can become conscious. If you are a conscious co-worker of the divine plan, you are one with this reality, you know the true facts. You know that there is only one Power working behind all the creation. And it is our religion, it is our Dharma, to know that Power. You know a lot of things, may be many more than I do – but whatever I know I have learned by sitting at the holy feet of my Master – He gave me the practical experience; it is not ego, it is His grace, I speak from my life. Because when He withdrew me from the body-consciousness, I could see that He is the one who preaches the true religion – let us follow Him. Credit goes to such a Power who is the God-into-action-Power. Christ was the God-into-action-Power, Sant Kirpal Singh came as the Christpower. Their work was one, they never differed with opinion. Now we have broken these barriers, we have got together, and we have got together with our heart. A time was there when one religion would hate the other one and so many problems were arising out of religion. But this problem is off, the world has become very small and we are getting very, very close with each other, and that is an awakening. I have respect for all the religions. But whatever is being taught in the religion that is bringing a havoc, I tell you, because in my opinion so far you do not become a conscious co-worker of the divine plan, you know nothing about God, you know nothing about Him who is within. So far we do not rise above the plane of senses and the shackles of the mind, and above the cause and effect of the world, we cannot know, what this world is, how it is existing, what those religions are, who is controlling those religions, and in which capacity they are controlling them, which those powers are, with which man is affected. All this is worth a consideration, because in the three worlds there is no power with right understanding. If there is, that one will rise above the cause and effect of the world. When you rise above the cause and effect of the world, then you know the cause, you see the cause, and the effect will disap180

pear at once. That is not within the intellect of man to know the cause and effect of the world. It is only by seeing, it is only by rising above that we can see. Now this is a subject which takes a lot of time, rather our angle of view should be changed. By knowing the competency of such a Master we should believe the words of those competent Masters, because they are true. They have seen it, they lived it with their lives. And whatever they have taught, that is truth. We should believe them. Because this teaching is within each one of us. There is a question and there is an answer. There is only one answer to a question, there cannot be so many answers to one question. Suppose, you put me a question and I give you the wrong answer, you would never cooperate with me, since you have the right answer within you. In this way all these things which do exist over here and are being taught, it is on us to consider it, whether this is the highest one. Highest one means when you have only the single answer, when you do not have many, many answers to one question. Believe the testimony of the Masters, because they have seen it. They lived with this life, whatever they spoke, they spoke through their practical life. Christ went there in the West, he was crucified – by whom? By the leaders of various religions! No common man doubted him. The people were only excited by the leaders of these religions. The same thing happened in India, and the same thing happened everywhere in the world. Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded. Kabir was given a lot of punishments. He was a word-personified-form. Nobody could kill Him. The king tried his level best, he even put Him into the fire. He was a word-personified-form, so He could come out of the fire. I mean to say, let us pray to God that He should give our lost heritage back to us. And what is that heritage? The consciousness – the right understanding. If there is any important, any precious thing in the world, that is the right understanding, rather the rare right understanding of its special significance with which you can change yourself – you can change your environment and you can change the whole society, you can change your whole religion. A flower in your house even your neighbour will smell, a passer-by will smell it, he will say, “Yes, it is a very beautiful flower over here, it is giving a very good smell.” So one person with right understanding can change the whole city. Only he should live the inner subject, the inner religion. Inner religion must be taught, but not the outer. We should respect the outer rituals and rites, but not for the sake of the true religion that is within each one of us. True religion never differs, I tell you. If you take all collectively together, there is only one essence: that is manmaking. Man-making is considered to be the highest. All Masters who came in different religions, they rose above the shackles of the religion, and they started man-making. They said, “Man-making is the true religion.” When man is developed, his soul is developed. Masters come in a religion, they develop the soul, and this is their religion. Because when the soul is developed, it will surely rise, not only in one direction, but in all directions. Much is said about the religions, and much praise is given to the religions, but to the outer religions, not to the inner religion. Because if you praise your religion, you are honoured very much. Everybody will praise you, “He is a good priest, he is a good granthi – he is a good pandit.” All these things are said. But we have to see how far it is true. If really it is true, then it is good. If it is not true, then at least – bad persons do not leave their bad habits, why should a good person leave his good habits? If you have understood something better – if you have understood a good thing in the right way, then you should stick to it. 181

All Masters had to suffer only on this ground that they had understood and they started living with it, and nobody could obstruct their way. They said, “No, it is our way, we have to go it.” It is a time to teach this. It can go like a wildfire, I tell you. Now Punjab specially was a terrorist area and there were a lot of murders every day. People were very fed up, nobody could help them. And what happened? During these days, the people were so much afraid of the terrorists – I was living here, people came and said, “Why are you staying here, far away from the city? It is just like a forest. Are you not afraid of those terrorists?” I said, “No, I am not afraid of them.” – “Why? You must have made a very good program, you must have much armation with you.” I said, “Yes, I have.” They said, “What type of armation you have?” I said, “Whether living or dead, we belong to Him. So we are not afraid of anything. Our religion is like this.” Christ also said, “You cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you are born anew.” In my opinion this is a true religion, if really we are born anew. And without right understanding we cannot be born anew. We have to be born there. There were some problems some time in Islam and Hafiz was asked, “What is the remedy for it?” He said, “Take wine.” Because he who takes wine in Islam, he is considered to be an impious person, he will go to hell. Hafiz said, “No, please, you take it, because so far you are intoxicated, you are not creating any sin.” Then he said, “There is still a bigger sin: to burn all the Holy Scriptures, because they are written for you; you are not using them, you are only using them for your wishes.” Because we remember God, we pray to God only for worldly wishes. He said, “Better to burn all those books, better burn the Kaaba. This is still a bigger sin to burn the Kaaba. It belongs to the Father Ibrahim. It can be rebuilt.” He said, “You can do any sin in the world, but don’t cut the throat of human beings, because this is a true temple of God.” It is a heinous sin not to love humanity, and I think in the terminology of the Saints only love is the true religion. Love alone is the true religion. We have to awake. If we awake, we will survive with our Masterpower. We have to justify ourselves and then we have to justify the Masterpower within, the Christpower within, and only thereafter we can say that we are human beings. Once someone went to Vivekananda who had given an advertisement: “Reformers wanted.” So next time many persons with very clean and neat dresses presented themselves there ,“O, we will work for Vivekananda.” He said, “Reformers – not of others, but of themselves.” If really we determine our life to preach the true religion, then there will be a big awakening. I tell you, truth in this time can go like a wildfire. Everybody wants to live with the higher values of life, since the purpose of human life is to meet a good end. Everybody knows that he has to leave this body. That is the highest religion, that is the true living, that is the art of life. Our boat is in the water, but the water must not enter into the boat. These are very golden things which we can find in the Holy Scriptures. So far you do not adjust yourself before the mirror, even the mirror will not reflect upon you. How can we claim that we are a religious person? These are the things which we must observe; not only observe, we should live with them, and other people will see us and will start living with them. Not only conversing, not only speaking throughout life – they would live with it. When sitting with a competent Master, you would always have a radiation that will flow to all directions. In this way our thoughts can become holy, our thoughts can become positive and potent, only by understanding and living with it, we are more close to our religion. That is a true religion. 182

This is not my opinion, it is the opinion of all competent Masters, it is from the teaching and it is from the core of the heart. Everybody has it. This power, this religion, our true faith is much more within than outside. Simply to follow the way which we have been taught, is just as if you put oil into the flame. More flame will come. If we have to go in this direction, but we start to go in the other direction, every day we will be farther away from the destination. This is the condition of our leaders. They have adopted the wrong way. They are going to the wrong direction. All these things we have to consider, because this is very, very important. If we can solve the religion-problems, we can solve lots of things for humanity. Let us print such a material that should not belong to any religion, it should be universal, like Christ did, like Guru Nanak did, their teaching was universal. There should be awakening! Sant Kirpal Singh created the World Fellowship of Religions. He felt that after some time this started to create pillars. Everyone would say, “My religion is better than others.” He said, “Why should the religion not be taken on the level of man?” He took this subject on the level of man. In the terminology of the Saints, man is much more respected than a religion, because he is the creator of the religion. If there is one person in a religion who would rise above the shackles of the religion, he will be respected by all the religions. Now Guru Nanak is respected everywhere, Christ is respected everywhere, Kabir is respected everywhere. People love their teaching, because they rose above. They teach the humanity. Let there be such an awakening in the world! Let us print such literature on this ground. First we should have some resolutions, then we should present it, then we should publish it. It doesn’t matter how much it costs, how much hardship we have to bear upon our shoulders, but we should be very strong – strong enough even to handle all these affairs in the name of the true religion. This is called God-work, work of God. It is a God-work, I tell you. It is also very important to know that lots of things are done now on the level of religion throughout the world creating things like black magic, spiritual healing, and it is creating many other antifacts in our life. Everybody says, “Here is the seat of the soul – here you meditate.” But where to meditate, and how to meditate, that is a big problem. Because before reaching the seat of the soul, there is first the intellect, then the mind, and then there is the spirit. So far you are not free from the intellect and the mind, how can you claim that you are meditating at the level of the soul? And mind in the body is always the astral mind. When you stress upon the mind, it will take you into the chakras. Whereas now the opposite way has started in us. What happens at the time of death? We withdraw from below, transcending all these chakras, breaking the ganglions, we come to the seat of the soul, from here it takes upward trend, then it takes inward trend. Here is the seat of the soul. A Christian is he who takes the cross daily. It is the real teaching. Christ said, “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” That is the true religion. You will rise above everything – that is the true religion – then you are able to preach it. How it is true, how beautiful the teaching of the Christ itself is! Nobody can deny it. How beautiful are the teachings of Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Kirpal Singh, they also gave the practical experience. But there are people who claim that they can lead you to God, they created an opposite path. Maximum they can come to the Aggya Chakra and there one can be led to the astral plane – astral plane is controlled by the negative power, you cannot find a way out. This is why it is said, Rishis and Munis spent much time of their life there, about thousand years. They became the skeleton of bone, 183

but they could not solve the riddle of life. Now in the West I have seen that people are very much engaged in spiritual healing. When we are not able to bear our own burden, how can we carry the burden of other people? How can we justify ourselves? It is not possible. But whatever you wish from the three worlds, that is there. As I told you today, God asked the negative power, “How did you create the hell and the heaven?” He said, “Your children created wishes, I fulfilled them and in lieu of that, they strengthened my hand. Now I have created the hell for the sinners and heaven for the pious egoists. Both are under my chains.” A sinner from the hell can get out, but a pious egoist cannot come out of the heaven. He has to go directly again into the hell and heaven. So this is the way. Thank you, wishing you all help from the Almighty Power that is within each of us to help us from within.

Dr. Gianfranco Rossi I have understood that you have said that true religion is love, and a man who loves is in the true religion. I agree to it completely, because the Bible says, that God is love. So if we are in love, we are with God, we are united with God, so we are in the true religion. But you said also, if I have well understood, that all the Masters of the religions agreed regarding the essence. If the disciples of each Master go back and learn well the teaching of the Masters they can arrive to the inner harmony. But there is another problem: Jesus said to his disciples, “Go and preach and teach the Gospel everywhere.” I suppose that also Mohammed said, “Go and preach Islam everywhere.” So what must they do, the disciples? The Christians must preach the Gospel, and the Moslems the Islam, so it seems that there is no real harmony, because there are some differences in the teachings of the great Masters.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh Gospel of truth means the real teaching – the real religion. It is right. When they say, “You should preach,” who has to preach it? Means, it is the same thing we are doing. Let us preach the true religion! No difference! We have to follow their footsteps, certainly, without following their footsteps nothing is in our hand, I tell you. And we have to make hundred percent effort for it. So I mean to say, we have to rise above those things. We have to rise above the narrow confinements which we have created. They sad that Islam is the highest religion, Christianity is the highest religion, Sikhism is the highest religion, Hinduism is the highest religion. I think, all these are the highest religions. None is lower than the other – but on the level of the true religion, on the level of the teaching which our Master has told. So let us follow the true religion. I mean to say, this religion should not be mixed up with other outer religions. The outer religions we have changed. As for example Henry VIII wanted to marry an 184

other woman, and he changed the Bible. Would you believe that Bible? No. Because the true Bible is within you, that will never change. You should follow that religion! We can change all the Holy Scriptures, but we cannot change the real essence of life. That is there, within. Man is older than all the philosophies of the world. The Masters became conscious, and their experience must become our experience. That is the true religion. If we follow the teaching, we should have the same experience as Christ got it. We have to overcome these things (which are creating barriers). If we live with this teaching, we can change our angle of vision. Only by living with it, we can become human beings, we can serve the humanity. Ignorance is a big hindrance in the way. Once you have understood, then you overcome it. I agree with you, hundred percent I agree with you. Because all Masters said, “Go and preach the Gospel.” Now Master said, “This is your heritage.” When you use the worldly heritage, it will be consumed, it will finish. But the heritage of God – the more you use it, the more it grows; the more you love, the more love grows; the more you give the awakening to human beings, the more it will come to you. There is no end to the competency of the Master, and there is no end to learning. The awakening rises more and more. So we are not yet using those things. We are confused as how it would be. We just have to step forward and we can reach the destination. And how far we have to do? Up to our last breath. It is from the teaching. If really you have understood, determine your life, live with it up to your last breath. Because we have to become conscious co-workers of the divine plan. If we are a conscious coworker of the divine plan now in this body, we are one with Him. As Christ said, “I and my Father are one.” So far we do not live up to it to our last breath, we cannot say we are Christians, we are Mohammedans, etc. Many new religions are coming forth. It is a paid preaching. The more religions are created in the world, the more hatred is there, the more man is divided, and it is separating man from man. Whatever has been created, that should remain, but it should not go further. We should stop the isms and sects, that is the real purpose. Further isms and sects are to be stopped, at least man must stop and think over, and then he will come to certain conclusions. This is the only possibility. If God has given us birth in a Christian family, or in any other family, He has to provide the Water of Life and the Bread of Life there. There is no need to change the religion where we were born.

»God-consciousness« Rt. Rev. Azariah, Bishop in Madras, Church of South India Werner’s keynote presentation among other things referred to God-consciousness as an important element in our looking for authentic true religion. And I feel that authentic God-consciousness necessarily has to refer to the experience of different religions and different Masters. Just in the case of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa who experienced Christ, he experienced the Prophet Mohammed, experienced the other masters in his understanding and expression of God-consciousness. And so I think in this place, the Kirpal Sagar, concerned for Unity of 185

Man, this God-consciousness approaches something that will help us to discover true religion. I have two more points: I feel that authentic God-consciousness must necessarily accept the understanding of God as Father, “I and Father are one,” you quoted from Christ. “Father sent me, so I send you,” said Jesus, and that kind of understanding of God as our Father, I think, that is very necessary, it is a way of getting into authentic God-consciousness. The final point that I feel will help us to grow into authentic true religion or authentic Godconsciousness is one in terms of our relationship with other people. If we want to experience the touch of God the Father, we should touch the others, who are our brothers and sisters. In our country we are willing even to touch the untouchable! This kind of a distinction, discrimination cannot be there. In practical terms that will be the way of service to fellow men, fellow human beings. So in a place like this I feel the heart vibrations. It is a matter of the heart. Love is being a source of the relationship both with God as Father and fellow human beings as brothers and sisters. Love in practical terms – God-consciousness necessarily includes the heart vibrations as you well explained a while ago. So I am very grateful because this concept of God-consciousness that Werner opened up is a very good way of drawing up a common meeting point in our search for this unity among human beings. Thank you.

Dr. Harbhajan Singh One thing is there, that here we are making one holy place for all human beings. It was the wish of Sant Kirpal Singh. God made man and man made religion, so why not make all symbols together? So our symbol there is for everybody. This institution is for all human beings – no matter which country they may come from – this belongs to everyone. It is an international institution not only outwardly, but from the core of the heart, it belongs to all human beings. On February 6, we will lay the foundation-stone of the building which will bear all the four symbols of the different religions. There will be the church, the mosque, the temple, and the gurdawara all together on one place. And that is also a sign of love and devotion together. Because Christ said, “Where more than two sit in my name, there I am.” Is it so? All Masters said like this. So it is said, “By God’s grace, if my children get together in my name, I will be there.” Guru Arjan Sahib said the same. So we have to create a common ground, a common platform, so that we can all get together and we see if He comes there or not. Do we get the radiation or not? If we work for God, if we bring the unity in the name of God, then surely the word of Christ, the word of Guru Nanak will blossom like a flower. So I mean to say, our purpose is not limited to us – we seek the advices from all human beings. If anybody gives us suggestions and that is from the heart, that is in accordance with the teaching, that is in accordance with the true religion, we accept it. Because you are also the part and parcel of this institution, you are not separate from it. So I have not laid down any special rules for specific 186

persons – this institution is like an open book for everybody. We want to create a wonderful thing here, so that a time comes when we can sit under one canopy, and I wish, such institution should be opened everywhere in the world. And by whom? By conscious people. Those who want to live for it, they can do that. To live beyond necessity is a sin. If we live beyond necessity, this is also a sin, because it will bind you back into the world. So that is also something from the true religion. Because all Masters lived for others. We have to teach this religion throughout the world, not only over here. Sant Kirpal Singh said to me, “This is the work you have to do.” I said, “Master, it is God-work – how a man can do it?” He said, “No, you are blessed with the right understanding, rather rare right understanding of its special significance, my help is there.” – “Master, if it is there, you should multiply it to all my brothers and sisters.” He said, “Then there will be awakening throughout the world. It will go like a wildfire then.” Even then I said, “Master, it is You working, You do it. It is not my work.” He said, “I give you one preference and that was hardly given, only to very few ones. There are persons with right understanding in the world, and they are scattered by the grace of the Master. And this Christpower, Masterpower, Godpower wants to take work from them, and they will be your companions. I am responsible for you. Those who will work with you, I am responsible for them.” And I said, “Master, even then it is not acceptable to me. I have only love for You, I want to see Your work. Finish it and then we will all go together.” He said, “You are a borrowed servant of God. And a borrowed servant of God has no option to speak something, he must listen, accept it, and do it.” And then He gave this preference, and said, “Only those will come to you, who are sent by God. Not others. So your work will remain very easy.” Now I see, I am here, many people are living in the West, but still we are living with one opinion. We never so far differed with opinion, because it is a unique teaching, the right teaching, it is the true religion. We are living with it. Now as for example, I told you, in the West people divorce easily. So many problems are there due to divorce. What becomes of the tender heart of their children? They strike their head against the wall. The love which they get from their parents, that ceases at once, that is no more there. What is the fault of those children? I said, “Go back to your Holy Scriptures, Christ said, ‘Husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church.’” Is it not a true religion? It is the base of religion, I tell you. It gives humanity. The mother, the wife is a loveable source for the husband as well as for the children. In the UN Human Rights Conference 1993 in Vienna I saw that women were crying, they said, “We are not meeting a good response from our husbands.” I said, “Why only women are crying – why not men? So fault is with men – and not with women.” When the woman cries, she only needs the love and favour from her husband. If it is not given, her life becomes fake and void. So then, where is the Godpower in that house? Do you think that the Christpower will stay there? When I went to the West, I told them, “Please, we should understand the meaning of the marriage, we have to stabilize this whole situation.” And I see that in nearly thirteen, fourteen years there is hardly any divorce. Because there husband is developing his wife, and wife is developing her husband. Both are very loveable to each other. Because they simply have risen to know the purpose of human life – and they want to attain the higher values of life – and they have overcome their mind and the senses, and they trust each other. 187

That is also the teaching of Christ! That is also the true religion. Religion in the opinion of this gentleman, is also a self–introspection. Very nice what he has spoken. Because we have to self–introspect ourselves, we have to control our senses, we have to control our wishes, because time is too short with us to solve the riddle of life. God knows when we have to go. We do not know – but we will be forced to go back. We are proud of our attachments, we are proud of our body, but we will be deprived of all those things. So in this way, we have much work to do. On many, many grounds we have to think over, on many, many grounds we have to become conscious co–workers of the divine plan. We all have to get together just to preach the true religion. And you see that we will have only one opinion, no second opinion, because it is a naked consciousness, when you see the reality eyes to eyes, well, the thing is there in its brilliant, effulgent form, how can one deny it? And when you start with it, the help of the Masterpower within starts at once. It is also from the teaching. You step forward – Godpower will come with million steps forward. Even these different countries, they are “many mansions in the house of the Lord”. This is also the word of Christ. Kabir said, “The seed of humanity was sown at one place, but we got scattered according to our wishes”. We belong to one race, we are all brothers and sisters in God. Nobody can deny that fact. Christ said, “Ye be perfect as your Father in the heaven.” So perfection is a must. In this direction we have to come up – this is such a beautiful, loveable way – not only loveable, but it attracts our attention, it binds us all together. Once this fire will burn, it will help us to solve the riddle of life. Not only of you, but of all those who come in contact with you. When you give out this teaching in the world, people will say, “O, he is God-into-action-power. He is the real person, I love him, he is a nice person, he has solved my riddle, he has solved my problems.” These things are very, very important, we have neglected them. Your true word – it is not what you say, it is the word of Christ, it is the word of Guru Nanak through which He is speaking. When you only trust those words and speak unto others the same words in the very true sense, people will love you, people will say, he is telling the real teaching of Christ.” Nobody can deny it. But this paid preaching, and all these things should finish. We have to rise above. We should live for others. We should determine our life for all the times.

Mr. Justus Devadas First of all I want to compliment you for the great service you have been doing in this place. Now we have come from so many different places. The very fact that we are able to sit like this in such an atmosphere, being people who believe in different principles, gives a deep impression to me. We are talking about God, we are talking about religion, but so far no one has asked me to which religion I belong!

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Dr. Harbhajan Singh Where the world philosophy ends, there the true religion starts. Do you think that the religion, that the heaven that is within the cause and effect of the world was taught by Christ? What is taught there that is in the three worlds, that is subject to decay. These things are of the outer religion. People are following it. So it is the case with Hinduism, so it is the case with Sikhism, so it is the case with all religions. Because most of the people are not looking for the right religion, due to ignorance, due to non-right understanding, because they are not told in the right way. You know, I go to the West, I go as man-to-man, I don’t go there as a Master. But my Master has given me the commission to do that work. Whenever something is not up to the purpose, the purpose will be spoiled and the problem will remain there. So if we really love the teaching of Christ, if we really love the teaching of Guru Nanak, then we should rise above the shackles, that is my question. Whatever I told you, this is only because we are bound with this outer subject. Because now we have a lot of wishes. Whether we are there doing inside the religion or outside the religion, we are subject to our problems. Nobody can say, “I am true to the religion,” because of the paid preaching. If really we live for others, we serve the Christpower, we serve the Masterpower, the Godpower. The first thing is, if we are not true to ourselves, we are cutting our own throat. We may be knowing many things theoretically, but practically we are very, very far away from the real teaching. The real teaching is not there. If there is only one Christian in the world, he can bring peace into the world. To become a Christian, to become a Sikh, like this, is very very difficult. But if really we work on it, we can bring a lot of change, I tell you. We can bring a lot of awakening in the world, because the grace of the Master will affect us. You take one step – He will join you with millions of steps forward. Christ said: “Love and everything shall be added unto you.” You create it, everything will be there. If we sit idle, do not work for it, whatever is said, we accept it, whether it is good or it does not favour us. Is that the teaching of Christ? No. If we do it in the real way, this means to live the love that was taught by Christ. If we start it – His help is there. I have seen it in my life, since Sant Kirpal Singh had left the body, I even did not go to my home. I had a lot of things to do there. I left it all together there. I said, “No, I know my work, I need not to be there.” But I am not short of anything, because I do not need anything. Really I do not need anything. When Sant Kirpal Singh visited my house, He said, “I will go on five conditions: This hospital, for which I have laid down the foundation-stone, that belongs to the Godpower.” I said, “Yes, Master, it is accepted.” – “I am going to inaugurate your house. This also belongs to the Godpower.” – “Master, it is right.” – “You have the land, you have the money, that should belong to the Godpower. And even your children – you will not be responsible, I will be responsible.” I said, “Master, then I am left alone.” – “You also belong to me. The more quickly you get free from it, the more quickly I will use you in the mission.” So I accepted it with His grace and He used me. Now I see, that there is nothing that is impossible. Our thoughts must become very potent and positive, so that the negative power does not affect us at all. Because, when you are working for it, as you said, there can be many problems. Without problems we cannot become conscious, I tell you, though this life is a series of lots of interruptions. If these inter189

ruptions continue, at least we are human beings. If we die in bed, we have to accept it. If we die at the lotus feet of the Masterpower, how beautiful it is. It is only possible, if we really work for Him. I think, when one is crucified again in the world, I will say that he is the most blessed person. Let anybody also be ready to be crucified like Christ – if we are afraid of it, we are not the son of the Christpower. If any mishappenings come and you are true and you stick to it, God will be there to help you. That is in the Bible, “I shall never leave thee, nor forsake thee till the end of the world.” So has He left you? He has not left you at all, and that Power is within, innate in the soul. We are not the body, we have to leave the body, but our contact with this Christpower is constant and ever fresh. In my opinion I do not differentiate between Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Christ. They are all one. They were all one, they were the conscious ones, they were the God-into-action-power. And now, we cannot meet Him, because we do not rise above the body-consciousness. If really we rise above the body-consciousness and work for that Godpower, we will see that that Power is there. We will feel His radiation, but in a very different way. Not the way we are getting it now. I do not differ with any person. So far I never differed with any person, because the soul is of the same essence as that of God and we are all one in Him. How can we differ? It is only your thoughts and my thoughts, they differ. Then I am not pure at all. Why should I differ? Unity of Man means – in very simple words it is given – it is not even an organisation, it is a group of conscious people. Sant Kirpal Singh said, “I want to give my work in the hands of conscious people.” So we should not create any religion, we should not accept any colour, we should not create any label therein, we should become conscious. We should remain in our religion but once we start to live with it, this truth will give a big spark within. And all those things we would like to create over here, that should not be a particular wish of one person, but it should be according to the teaching – the right teaching, the right religion. So in this direction we can fulfil the conditions, the very pious purpose of human life, told by Christ, Guru Nanak and all other competent Masters. Nobody can deny it. We should have an independent view of all the Holy Scriptures. Let us find what is written in them and what is our purpose of human life. Let us take the higher values of life from there, so that we can discriminate. Man is distinguished in the whole creation due to the discrimination power; he can know, what is what. Kabir said, “If there is any chaste person, he is my Master, and I am his disciple.” It is very, very difficult even to remain chaste. When one is not chaste, he cannot even be competent to gain one value of his life. Only when we work for Him, His grace is there (and helps us). He is very gracious, and since the gift is in the hand of the giver, He blesses. So the highest way of life is Gurbhakti and Gurseva, which means man-making and man-service. With man-making and man-service we can overcome our miseries. These are the miseries which are attached to us on the level of senses. We should have libraries for the comparative study of all religions throughout the world, and let people understand what is what, people will see, it is a holy wisdom. If we go through the Holy Scriptures, we find this is the real idea, this is the highest way of life. Now I see all over the world that people read the scriptures from Sant Kirpal Singh. They say, “O, it is just the teaching of Christ. I love this teaching.” There are teachings which are written on the lower 190

realm, I have seen that there are certain teachings – there are the acquired factors and there are the forced factors. Acquired factors are very little, but forced factors are many, many. What are those forced factors? When the soul comes downward, it is controlled by the negative power, and then one is ordered to do this and that. One has to do that, otherwise one has to bear a lot of consequences therein. So there are many things, but at present we need not touch that subject. Our purpose is just to follow the very true religion, the true teaching, and let us be true to ourselves. And it is only possible, when we start with it. So there are the practical things; just to print some literature – and that should be in accordance with the teachings – a comparative study of all religions. There should be the quotations of Christ, Guru Nanak, Kabir. All Masters told the same thing. If we have jointly one opinion from ten Masters, and this is written there – you have seen this exhibition in the library – these are the few glimpses of the unity. All Masters have told the same thing – so such thing we need. And it can bring a very big change in the world. We are fortunate that we all have got together and, I think, you have not come – but God has sent you. Because Sant Kirpal Singh told me, “Only those will come to you, who are sent by Him.” So I would definitely believe, you are sent by God. We have got together by the grace of God. So let us work for the Godpower.

»Religious freedom: A basis for communal harmony and peace« Mr. Justus Devadas, Executive Secretary, International Religious Liberty Association, India (Mr. Devadas gave his talk which he also delivered in the Open Session printed on page 117. Here some more quotations on Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam are given.) Respected chairman, dear brothers and sisters, Our country, India, gave birth to four great religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, and also parts of Asia gave birth to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All in all about three-fourths of the world derived one faith or another from Asia. With so many religions teaching the right path of morality and ethics, one would have wished that mankind would have come to a place to understand and appreciate what others believe and abide. However, history has proved to us that this is wrong, has witnessed not only conflicts and wars in the name of religion and of God, but also intolerance, atrocities of worst type, persecution and denial of freedom including denial of conscience. As the days go by, our society witnesses the cruel hand of more intolerance, bigotry, fanaticism and discrimination, and this chokes the very breath of freedom, peace and human development, which are man’s birthright. With so many religions existing, and with every opportunity of understanding them, it is heart-breaking to see so much friction and opposition between religions. Poet Iqbal said, “Religion does not teach hostility or ill-will.” The noble concept that all of us are God’s children regardless of caste, colour or race, and hence brothers and sisters has failed to evoke the imagination of human race throughout the centuries. If one accepts the story of creation believed by Judaism or Christianity, “God 191

created only one man,” the question is why the same God who created so many kinds of animals, birds, trees and other beings, created only one man? The answer is that God created only one man in order that all men would have the same ancestor and no man could claim superiority over another. Hinduism does not dogmatically assert that final emancipation is possible only through its means and not any other. Hinduism is one of the means to the end and all means which ultimately lead to that end are equally appropriate and acceptable. The foundations on which Hinduism has built its relationship with other religions can be summarized as follows: 1. Recognize that the same Self or God exists in the hearts of all. 2. Understand the various gods worshipped by various peoples of the world are different aspects of one and the same God. Men may differ, but God does not. 3. Practise universal moral and ethical virtues like non-violence and truth. 4. Concede that there are as many paths to perfection as there are people. Everyone is free to pursue his or her own path to perfection. Therefore there should be no compulsion in religion. 5. Be careful not to obstruct the freedom of others to pursue one’s own path to perfection and also realize that ultimately all these paths converge at the same centre – God. Christianity perhaps is the religion with the greatest number of followers in the world. Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, preached to all human beings without any exception. The character of Christianity and its relationship to others may be gauged from the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon may be considered as a Christian charter for religious freedom. However, one must agree that Christians also have forgotten the principles Jesus taught – they fought wars, persecuted people, and denied fundamental rights to others and destroyed communal harmony. God created man as a free and moral being with the power of choice. The story of creation says that the first man used his individual choice, thus made religion into a personal relationship to God. The scriptures vividly reveal that God’s dealing with man is based on love and declares that “God is love.” Saying this the Bible demands: “Love one another, for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” (I John 4:7) Basically, one cannot be a free moral being without freedom and especially religious freedom. Of course, freedom of religion is basic to all other freedoms. As mentioned earlier, man is a special creation of God and was made for a very definite relationship with God. This relationship places man in a family context with God. Jesus Christ underlines this when he says that we are to consider God as our Father. He taught human beings to pray “Our Father, which Thou are in heaven”. (Matthew 6:9) Arising out of this family concept the principles of individual or personal relationship emerges. Each person as a son or daughter of God is to have a personal, individual relationship and communion with God. This truth is basic to Christian theological postulations. Therefore this relationship cannot be forced or dictated by any external force or by someone else. It will have to be a personal decision, voluntary, and of one’s own conviction. This relationship of 192

man to God and the right to a personal relationship with God, constitute a basis and the foundation of all other freedoms and fundamental rights of man. Islam also believes that God created man and the first human being is Adam. More so! Man is just not a being among many other creatures. Among the whole range of creatures, only man has duties and obligations. As such man is an exceptional being and he has this exceptional power and privileged position inside the creation, it is because God “breathed into him something of His spirit”. (Koran XXXII:9) Man’s privileged position inside the order of creation is illustrated in the Koran in the scene where we see the angels receiving the order to prostrate themselves before Adam (Koran XXXVIII:72), the heavenly prototype of man. So, one might say that on the level of the Spirit, all persons, whatsoever may be their physical or their intellectual abilities and attitudes, are really equal. They have the same breath of God in them and by virtue of this “breath” they have the ability to ascend to Him and to respond freely to His call. Consequently, they must have the same dignity and sacredness, and because of this dignity and sacredness they are equally and fully entitled to enjoy the right to self-determination on earth and for the hereafter. So, from a Koranic perspective, we may say that human rights are rooted in what every man is by nature, and this is by virtue of God’s plan and creation. Thus the cornerstone of all human rights is religious freedom. In this background we may look into some passages from the holy Koran regarding religious freedom. The first one declares a fundamental principle of Islam: “There shall be no compulsion in religion.” (Koran VII:256) The Koran clearly states that the ultimate choice of belief is the individual’s. “Proclaim of prophet, that is the truth from our Lord; then let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve.”(Koran XVIII:30) The next quotation makes the principle of freedom of individual belief of disbelief even more explicit: “In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, say, o unbelievers, I serve not what you serve; and you are not serving what I serve. I am not going to worship what you do, nor will you worship whom I worship; to you, your religion, and to me, my religion.” (Koran CIXL: 1-6) More so! The Koran gives a strict warning for any coercion of faith. “If it had been thy Lord’s will, and who are on the earth would have believed all of them, will you then compel mankind against their will to believe?” (Koran X:100) It is interesting to note that A. Yusuf Ali comments on that verse in this way: “Men of faith must not be impatient or angry, if they have to contend against unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing faith – forced faith is no faith.” One could go on adding passages of the Koran in this context. Thus, from the Islamic point of view also, religious freedom is fundamentally and ultimately an act of respect for God’s sovereignty. However, what has happened in the past and in the present is totally against this principle, that to respect man’s freedom is to respect God’s plan. I have taken time to look into these three major religions and their teachings about relationship between members of different religions. The other living religions of the world also do 193

hold the principles of religious freedom very sacred. Yet, man has tortured, killed and destroyed his neighbour and as the days go by we do not see that these kinds of atrocities are on the decline. Yet, one might always hope to see the bright light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Mrs. Regine Weise, Unity of Man Germany Whosoever can understand has the duty to make other people understand. If in a family there is one person who can understand, he can teach the whole family, the children will understand, parents will understand, and slowly, slowly it can grow everywhere. This is the duty of those people who are awakened ones, who see the unity of man, and they accept all. I read a talk given by Sant Kirpal Singh, where He gave quotations from the Koran. The name “Islam” means peace. In Jewish language it is “shalom”. “Shalom” or in Islamic countries “Assalam” is the greeting, means “peace be with you”. And Guru Nanak told as the highest prayer, “Peace be unto all the world over.” These people in whose name religion was started, they were the embodiment of peace, they were the embodiment of love, they were the embodiment of tolerance. They accepted all, believers and non-believers, sinners and pious people. They accepted all. How did religions come into being? First there was some teacher, some Master, who could give a direct demonstration of God. When they left the scene, people wanted to keep their teaching alive, then they put it into Holy Scriptures. But after some time, these became rules and regulations. You have different laws, “You must do this, you must do this. You should not do that.” These are ethical teachings, they are in every religion, and they are similar, and this is the need of man. But moreover, we need religion in the true sense. We must get this contact with God. Every religion provides the means. In the Holy Scriptures the experiences of some advanced souls, of the Masters, of the sons of God, or the prophets or as you may call them, they wrote down their experiences which they had with God. It was not theory, it was not bookish knowlegde, it was an actual experience. First there was the experience, the connection with God, and then the books, the Holy Scriptures, came.

Mr. Justus Devadas For the sake of those who are visiting India for the first time, I want to give the example of Ayodhya to show what religious intolerance can do. Ayodhya is said to be the birthplace of the mythological Rama. A temple was built there. When Muslims conquered India, this temple was smashed and a mosque was built. Now they wanted to do it vice-versa. Until 1986 the doors of the mosque were closed because a cause was pending in court. When the judge gave the sentence to open the doors, the whole trouble started. It is unbelievable! How many people have been killed! How much property has been damaged! I, as a citizen, as a human being feel ashamed! 194

Mrs. Regine Weise This is what people do not understand – they see the outer temple. The Hindus have the temple, Moslems have the mosque, Christians have the church – and in Jerusalem, I think there is a similar problem: There was the temple of Salomon, then they damaged it and built up a mosque. If you want to have the temple place back, there will be a big fight. The Moslems won’t give you this place. It is said to be a holy place. Actually, what is a true temple? Manbody is the true temple. If you enter the manbody, you will find the light and you will find the sound. If you enter the church – there is the light of God and the bell is ringing. If you enter the temple, there are the little lamps, some bells, some gongs, some conches, and similarly, all other places of worship have these symbols. But who understands that it is only a symbol? The Christian churches are built after the image of man. If you see the sign of the cross from above, then you can see that it is a man with open arms – it is made after man. Even the temples and the mosques are round, like the head of man. Churches have the tower, it is made after the nose of man. So in every place of worship the same symbols are to be found. But people do not understand, what the true temple of God is. If they could understand, they would never sacrifice so many true temples of God for the sake of one temple made of stone. In the Bible we find “God does not reside in temples made of stone.” It is said: “Don’t you know, that you are the temple of God, and the spirit of God is living within you?” People do not understand. When this trouble was there in Ayodhya, some politicans said, “Now we need the help of a conscious person, we need the advice of a Saint.” Like in the old days, the Saints gave the advice to the politicans, to the kings. Because such a big conflict only a saintly person can solve, someone who is accepted by both – by Hindus and Moslems or other religions. Kabir said, he was neither Hindu nor Moslem – he was supposed to be a Moslem. Guru Nanak said the same thing, “I am neither Hindu nor Moslem.” Also Maulana Rumi told the same. Kabir said very shortly: “Some say Ram”, means Rama, the all pervading God – it is the word for God in the Hindu terminology, “and others call Him Rahim”, which means “the merciful” – it is from the Islam. Ram – Rahim, there is very little difference between the words. “Some say Ram, others say Rahim, then they take the sword and kill each other.” Why must people act like this? People should never be killed in the name of religion. No Master ever taught to kill for the sake of religion. This is no religion at all!

When there was the partition between India and Pakistan, there was much hatred and bloodshed. Beforehand, people were living together very nicely – Sikhs, Moslems and Hindus. Then something happened and out of their emotions, some Sikhs wanted to kill the Muslims. There was a very dangerous atmosphere, and some people came to Baba Sawan Singh – he was the Master of Sant Kirpal Singh. He had a centre over there, where they asked for shelter. This you can also find with the Masters, that they always give shelter to the people. Baba Sawan Singh accepted them and the group of Sikhs were around the centre and demanded, 195

“Yes, you give those people shelter, but we want to kill them.” Then Baba Sawan Singh told Sant Kirpal Singh, “Please, go and talk to them.” He went there, and very loveably He explained, “What is Sikhism, what does Sikh mean? Sikh means disciple, and what is the behaviour of a Sikh, of a disciple? How can you call yourself a disciple if you do not give shelter to your brother? For so many years we have been living like friends and now these poor people have to shift to another country, they must leave us. Better it would be, we say good-bye and embrace them, having good wishes for their journey.” And within a moment the whole atmosphere was changed. A very old man among the Sikhs said, “We thank you very much, because you have helped us not to create a very big sin, because our religion never taught us to kill other people.”

Dr. Gianfranco Rossi Regarding what you said about the teaching of Jesus – Jesus said that we have to love the Lord, God, with all our forces, and to love our neighbours as ourselves. But he has also taught that we have to love the enemies. This is very important. If we have to love God, the neighbours and the enemies, we have only to love and not to hate. So we have not to be the enemy of anyone. We can have enemies, someone who is against us, but if someone is against us, we have to love him, too. If we are accepting the teachings of the Masters, and Jesus surely was a Master, we have to love even our enemies. So it is possible to respect everyone and not to teach to hate. I think this teaching of Jesus to love the enemies was also the teaching of Gandhi. Gandhi has taught so, also Martin Luther King. So we have to take again these teachings, it is very important for the peaceful co-existence of all religions.

»Universal call to wholeness« Brother Kuvarapu John Martin, Saccidananda Ashram, India This sharing is called “Universal call to wholeness.” The essence of this sharing is this that humanity is one, and we are part of this whole creation. God has created us with a particular nature, which we call the major likeness of God. He has not created us to become, but He has created us to unfold. Now this is very, very important. He has not created us to become, He created us to unfold, to manifest. But somehow humanity falls from this original state of relationship with God, with nature, and the human beings. We are living a life of fallen nature according to the Christian tradition, and this fallen nature is communicated from one generation to the other generation. Great people are those who themselves break the chains of that fallen state and rediscover our original state which is intended by God. This original experience is a universal one because it is given by God, it is not our own effort, and we discover this original experience in all the great religions in a similar way. In today’s sharing I am presenting to you six religions to show you that the same experience is present in all religions. 196

We come to Judaism, and they say: this is an original experience which cannot be put into philosophy or into theology, into a structure. You can describe this experience only through a parable, maybe a poem, maybe a story or a joke. So we are entering into a realm which is beyond our intellectual mind. Now this original experience is described in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is said, “God created the human beings in His own image and likeness.” And what is the image and likeness of God in us? We say, God is holy. So we are also holy. God is whole, and we are also whole. God is empty, God is naked, because you cannot put God into a structure. So we are also naked. In Genesis it is said, “They were naked and they were not ashamed.” We try to interpret: to be naked means to be without ego. Since they had no ego, they were obedient in the sense that they saw everything in and through God. God was the subject of their life, saying “Not I, but God alone.” And there is a beautiful harmony between God and the human beings, between man and woman, none dominating the other, and also harmony within the whole creation – God. This is what we call the original experience, original state of earth. God is whole, we are also whole, creation is also whole. And this wholeness of creation comes from the wholeness of God. And if this disappears, ultimately God remains. But sin comes in and we fall from the wholeness of this experience. This is the Jewish understanding of God. When we come to Hinduism, there is an understanding that this life is a life of unreal, Maya, passing away. This is explained in this wonderful poem: “Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.” That’s the longing of humankind. Now once it goes and goes away from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality, what happens? After that the unreal also becomes the manifestation of the real, the darkness also becomes the manifestation of light, and death also becomes the manifestation of life. This is explained by this wonderful poem. Purnamadah Purnamidam, Purnat purnam udatchate Purnasya purnamadaya, Purnam eva avasishyate. We can describe this: “God is full, purnam, whole. This is also full, creation is also full, creation is also whole. And this wholeness of creation comes from the wholeness of God, fullness of God, but if this fullness of the creation is taken away, the fullness of God remains. So there is no fight between God and creation, because both are whole, both are holy, both are good, both are sacred. But according to them human beings fall from this wholeness of experience, and it is the ego which separates God and myself, myself and others, and myself and the creation. Now when we come to Buddhism, there are two important words: one is Samsara and the other one is Nirvana. Samsara is the world of suffering, and Nirvana is the land of bliss, happiness and joy. You are completely free from suffering. Now in the beginning we discover we are in the world of Samsara, until we transcend this world of Samsara and discover Nirvana. Now once we discover Nirvana, what happens? Samsara becomes Nirvana, Nirvana becomes Samsara. There is no conflict between this world and the other world; Samsara is this world, Nirvana is the other world. Samsara is Nirvana, Nirvana is Samsara. And according to them this Nirvana is empty, Sunyata, opposite to Hinduism. In Hinduism it is fullness, Purnam, in Buddhism it is Sunyata, empty. This emptiness comes from that emptiness, but if this emptiness is taken away, that emptiness remains. So both are complementary. Truth is above all 197

our labels we are giving. We can call it whole, we can call it full, we can call it also emptiness. If it is fullness, we cannot put anything in. If a bottle is full, we cannot put anything in. But if the bottle is empty, we can put anything in we want. So when Buddhists say it is empty, it means you can put anything in you want, but it is always empty. And according to them this is our original nature, which they call Buddha-nature. And somehow humanity falls from this Buddha-nature, and we are in the world of Samsara, suffering. Again we have to rediscover our original nature. Now we come to Christianity. Jesus had this wonderful experience of the Kingdom of God at his baptism. The heavens were open and the spirit of God came upon him and he realized that he is the son of God. Now, what does it mean the heavens were open? Do we have the doors to open? The heavens are always open, but it is we ourselves who build walls around ourselves and we separate ourselves from heaven. Now when a human being opens his heart, breaks down the walls around himself, he or she realizes that heavens are open all the time. So the spirit of God comes down upon him and he realizes, “I am the son of God.” Now what does it mean? Does it mean, only he is a son of God? Because there is a deeper level of awareness by which we discover, “I and the whole creation are one and the same.” When I say, “I am the son of God”, it means the whole humanity, the whole creation is a son and a daughter of God. It is an experience of the oneness with God and oneness with the whole creation. Now, out of this experience, what happens? He discovers that God is present everywhere. He sees a woman giving milk to the baby, and he says, “The Kingdom of God is like this”; he sees a man who found a treasure in the field – the Kingdom of God is like this; he sees a man who has found a pearl of great value – the Kingdom of God is like this; he sees a fisherman throwing the nets into the sea, he says, “The Kingdom of God is like this”. Wherever he sees, he sees only one thing, that is the Kingdom of God. And Jesus used the parables as a manifestation of this experience. He doesn’t put it into philosophy. We can use it in parables. Also Jesus chose the language of parables. Now we come to Islam. I like to go to the Sufi tradition, the mystical tradition of Islam. In every religion there is a kind of original religion, there is a mystic element in every religion. Along with this mystical tradition this experience of God as ultimate Truth is described by jokes. We find the same experience told by the legendary Mulla Nasruddin. One day the Mulla was appointed as a judge and a case was brought before him. The plaintiff was arguing his point of view so well that the Mulla was listening to him attentively. Fascinated by his argument, he shouted, “I believe you are right.” The court clerk restrained the Mulla and said, “Your majesty, how can you pass the judgement without listening to the defendant?” The Mulla was listening to the defendant so keenly and he argued his point of view so well, that the Mulla shouted, “I believe you are right.” But the court clerk said, “Your majesty, how can you say that both are right?” The Mulla looked at him and said, “I believe you are also right.” What is it that the joke is telling us? There is a higher level of consciousness by which you cannot analyse with your mind, “I listened to this, I listened to that, I have come to the conclusion,” but you see the truth here and the truth there. The Mulla, who is the symbol of an enlightened person seeing the truth, the fullness or wholeness everywhere, he is not comparing with the other. He is living in the unitary or holistic consciousness or fullness everywhere. And if you don’t see that, means you are not on the same level. Again one day the Mulla Nasruddin was standing in the centre of four roads and was chanting like this, “O my 198

beloved, I am full of you, wherever I see, I see only you.” Somebody was passing this way, he heard him and asked the Mulla, “What happens, if a fool passes that way?” The Mulla went on singing, “It shall be you.” It means, if a person is filled with God or wholeness or fullness or emptiness, that person sees God or wholeness or fullness or emptiness everywhere. But if a person is a fool, that person sees only fools or fragmentation everywhere. If we live in the holistic consciousness, we see wholeness everywhere. If we live in the fragmentary or divisive consciousness, we see only a fragmentary or divisive world. What we see outside is the projection of our state of consciousness. So this is the kind of mystical tradition of Islam which tells us, ultimately we and God are one and when we discover that we and God are one, we also discover we and the other and the whole creation are one. Now we come to the Sikh religion. There is a wonderful statement made by Guru Nanak. He says, “Wondrous, my Master, are Thy ways, Thou dost pervade the waters, the land and all that is between the heavens and the earth, indwelling in all. Wherever I look, there I see Thy Light.” Whatever He has made is an expression of His name. There is no part of creation which is not such expression. The whole creation is the manifestation of God or the expression of God. So, when I see these six major religions and the ultimate experience of these great people, I do not see any, any difference in their experiences. But which is this experience which is ultimate? At the ultimate level I and God are one, I and all the humanity is one, not only humanity is one, I and the whole creation is one. In this experience there is no question of I loving God, I loving my neighbour, because there is no I apart from God, there is no I apart from the other. When I love God, I love myself; when I love my neighbour, I love myself; when I love creation, I love myself. There is no question of I loving God, I loving my neighbour, it is not a commandment, it is the realization that there is only one reality and we are the manifestation of that one reality. In that experience all commandments disappear. Only love remains. Also love cannot be a commandment. Nobody can tell me, “Love God!” Nobody can tell me, “Love your neighbour!” The moment somebody commands me, it is not love. But when these great people tell to the others, they have to follow their commandments, but they are speaking out of own inner experience, which is oneness. The fact that you see, we are divided, it is because of our ignorance, because of our sin, which in the Christian tradition we call a fallen state. And it is our responsibility again to go back to the garden of Eden, to go back to Nirvana, to go back to the Kingdom of God, whatever name you call for that, which is our original nature and which is our birthright. It is not something new that we are going to acquire, but it is our original state, original nature. And that is why Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Which hand? He means, the same experience is very close to you, everywhere, but we have to repent, rediscover the same reality, the oneness of God, the oneness of creation and the oneness of humanity.

Mrs. Regine Weise What you told is actually the experience of all competent Masters, or you may say, the sons of God, the sages and seers, the prophets. We give these names to them. They teach man those things, and moreover they enable man to have this experience. Even the old Greek philosophers, they said that man must know himself. If you know yourself, then you can also 199

know God. You spoke about the oneness. There are many planes. Now we see only this physical world, but there are many worlds, there are “many mansions in the house of our Father”. There is not only one heaven, but there are many stages, many heavens, even they are mentioned in the Bible and other Holy Scriptures. And there is also the plane of oneness. When you rise up to this place, then you see the oneness in everything. One in all, the one, the same spirit in all. Those people who could go up to this stage, they tell about the oneness, they see the One in all. They make no distinction. But still it is not the ultimate goal, there are still more planes above. There is the plane of the absolute truth, it is called Sach Khand and this is the original source, as you just told, the original source from where all souls came into the world, and as they came down, they got some vestures in each plane. So the nature of man is Godhead. Sant Kirpal Singh says, “God is an ocean of all consciousness and man is one drop of this consciousness.” This drop is the light, it is the beauty of God, it is all glory and it is in this stage where it is in its full effulgence. But when it comes down, then one vesture is put on it, when it comes to the next plane, one more vesture is put on it. And ultimately, when we come to the physical world, we get this physical body, it is like a thick coat. Now we can take a lamp, and we put a very thin scarf over it, and we can see the light very clearly through this scarf, it is only a small curtain on it. But if we put the next curtain over it and then one more and then a very thick one, then we cannot see any light at all. This is what happens with man, who has put on many vestures. Now we are in the manbody, we have a very thick coat on and when we close our eyes, we see darkness. But actually, the light is within us and moreover, we are this light, we are this glory of God, this wholeness of God. Now we have to make the process in the other way, we have to take off these covers. First the cover of this physical body, then the cover of the astral body, of the causal body, then of the supercausal body, until we are in the original state. This is the experience which the Masters, in whose names the religions started, gave to their disciples. Jesus said, “You see what the old prophets and holy men would like to see, but could not see. You can hear things, which they would like to hear and could not hear.” In the Old Testament it is mentioned about the prophet Daniel, he could see the effulgence of God. There are so many examples in other scriptures as well, you cannot even mention everything, because time is too short. It is a vast subject, we can have years to talk on this matter. What we actually need is this experience, what we are speaking of. It is a real experience, not only in our thinking, not only in our mind, but we must really rise above everything, we must rise above this physical body, we must rise above our mind, which includes our thinking, our feeling, everything. And we must come to the source, to the soul itself in the body, and then the soul must leave this body and go ahead. And then we will experience, what he has spoken and all others have spoken of, and what we can find in all the Holy Scriptures. This experience is something very definite and it can be given by someone who is commissioned to give it.

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»The brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of one and the same God« Dr. phil. Michael Wende, Professor at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany I will speak on a very difficult problem, on the problem of the definition of God given by Heidegger. In Europe, at the Humboldt University, this definition is causing controversies, as it is not accepted by all. There is a discussion about it. The lecture is divided in three theses and a concluding address: Thesis 1 – The reason for the infinite difference between religions: The infinite difference between religions is not based – as many believe – on the difference between the deepest definitions of God. I think, this is one of the greatest misconceptions of the day. On the contrary, if you take a closer look at the definition of God in various religions, you will see, that the religions come together. The differences of the religions come from the differences of the people, in their traditions and in their ways of life, but not from God. Thesis 2 – The appearance of the unity of one and the same God over the infinite difference between the religions: For philosophical theology, especially for the philosophical theology of Hegel and Heidegger, it is relatively easy to show the hidden unity of the one and the same God in those religions which have no explicit definition of God. Here is a divine principle which stands for this hidden unity. For instance, in Shintoism the divine principle is Shinto and in Taoism it is the Tao of the Tao-te-King. In Judaism and in Islam the highest principle is a personal God, called Jahwe or Allah. And in Christianity it is a Trinitarian God. Such a principle we also find in the different gnostical forms of religion and also in many old Greek forms. In Buddhism and Hinduism, the divine unique basic principle is Brahman, but this most of you know better than I do. In this sense all religions, I think, are monotheistic religions. We need tolerance among the religions as an essential pre-condition for the future of all different religions. The way to the still unknown unity grounded on one and the same last God is the way according to Hegel and Heidegger. Heidegger, for instance, defines God in his very important book “From event”. This book appeared in 1989 after the death of Heidegger. In this book Heidegger called God the last God. Thesis 3 – The definition of the unity of one and the same last God through the philosophical theology of all religions: The definition of God is of fundamental importance, because it is at the same time the highest definition of man. In this sense the last God is the highest definition of metaphysics, of philosophy, of theology, of religions, of humanities and social science, and finally also of the true political thinking. All other definitions depend on the definition of God: Truth and Freedom, Law and State, Aim and Decision, Humanity and Sincerity. The theological knowledge of God is not fixed, it is in a flux. It developed in close connection with the historical and mental development of humankind. Today we recognize the truth of the old gnostical knowledge. Only with the truthful definition of God, God can touch us and make use of us. Only with the truthful definition of God we can build the Empire of God as Hölderlin said, “Through a deep transformation of ourselves”. Only God-consciousness means standing in God. That too is a definition of Heidegger standing in God, becoming a moment of God in our world. 201

But one of the most important theological-philosophical questions is, “Can we recognize God as a whole?” In the European philosophical tradition Heraklit and the Gnosis were among those who told something important to answer this question. Conclusion: The ground of the basic unity of religions is the uniform definition of God – for our world, not for all worlds (quoted from Heidegger) – is given in the unity of three European philosophies: First, of Heraklit and the Gnosis, and second, of Fichte and Hegel, and third, of Scheler and Heidegger. We can say God is, at first, the logos in the intention of Heraklit, and second, the self in the sense of Fichte, and third, the spirit in the intention of Hegel. That is to say: God is becoming through these three moments in us, with us and through us. The most important point in this process is someone who is concious of himself, and of God as, for instance, Buddha, Jesus, or Mohammed. Concluding address: In the sense of the philosophical theology founded by Scheler and Heidegger there is a way out of the dark of the history of religions to the light of one and the same world-religion. This is the awareness of one and the same God, the last God, and this is the first and greatest step on the way to the brotherhood of men. This and only this religion can hold all the traditional parts of religions as moments of itself. Only this awareness leads man in God, with God and by God to become a real man.

Mr. Georg Wahl, Unity of Man Germany Sant Kirpal Singh said, “Where the world’s philosophies end, there the religion starts.” We can have different descriptions of God, different kinds of views about God, we can put our thoughts in various forms and words. But then we come to the point where we have to ask ourselves, “Is this sufficient for me? Do I want to remain within the domain of philosophy or do I want to have more?” This is the point. When someone has made a parallel study of all the religions and has compared all the different forms, then he will come to the point where he says, “This is sufficient for me!” or “I want more!”. And then he must try to find that inner religion what we were speaking of yesterday and then we must have the experience ourselves!

Mr. Werner Stadlmeyer I think, there is a very simple way. If a man is a true man, then he will be true to himself and to others, he will not harm anyone, he is chaste, he has love for his fellow-beings – he will have all these virtues which are given in the Ten Commandments of the Bible, the Eight-fold Path of Buddha, and the commandments given by all the Masters. We have respect for these personalities. We can only understand each other if we meet on the level of man. 202

Sant Kirpal Singh has given this in very simple words: He said, “Be good, do good, be one.” We cannot have an experience of God, if we don’t start to become true human beings, if our daily life is not in accordance with the Ten Commandments, that are the Commandments of all the Masters who have ever come into the world. We have to start practically, and we can start practically on the level of man. It has nothing to say whether we are Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or Moslems. We need a practical way! My request to all of you is that we should start from what we have experienced at this place. We can tell the people all over the world that here in Kirpal Sagar it was possible to sit together irrespective of the colour of our skin or the religion we belong to. We have found that in all religions there is the same essence, and therefore we have respect for every religion. Where there is respect, there is no fight. If each one of us and each one in the universe can respect the other, then there is love! Then there is peace!

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Some snapshots from the Panel Sessions

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Panel 3 »Education as man-making: Physical, intellectual and spiritual development« Keynote speech

Dr. Rosmarie Ortner

Education for global transformation

Mr. Ali Merchant Mrs. Fenton

Help for the disadvantaged youth

Mr. Henry Thiagaraj

The ancient Indian model for education

Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar

Education as man-making

Mag. Christine Birzer

The importance of developing group-consciousness

Mrs. Gabriela Goldner

We must educate the educators

Dr. P. Amerasinghe

Education as a process

Dr. Richard Schneider Mr. Joshi Akilesh Kumar

All barriers are man-made

Mr. G. John Ebenezer Mr. G. Paul Rees

»Keynote speech« Dr. Rosmarie Ortner, Unity of Man Austria Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, We wish to express our heartiest welcome and our thank goes to you all who have taken the hardships of a long journey to join this conference to contribute to the high ideal of a moral and spiritual uplift of mankind. If we always have in view the basic structure, the elementary needs and problems, which are one and the same for all human beings, irrespective of outer labels like caste, colour, and creed, we are able to communicate with each other from man to man, we are able to have a dialogue, a heart-to-heart talk rather than an intellectual discussion. Intellect, drawing conclusions, mind, feelings and emotions, are all subject to error. Highly praised inventions, triumph about extraordinarily effective methods or other scientific achievements have quite often sooner or later turned out as harmful or even as destructive. 205

Sympathy and love between individuals, as well as between communities or countries, may in the same way change and turn into ill-will or even hatred, terror and war. Thus we have to find a way of communicating with each other on a level that lies above intellect, mind and emotions, that is on the level of soul or spirit. From this level we will be able to deal with and understand the subject of this conference, and in particular of this panel: education as man-making. In the UN-Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) it says that the child shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. Similarly Mr. Charles Mercieca, (Executive Vice President of the International Association of Educators for World Peace) who sent us his paper, says, “A truly educated person is developed physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.” We would like to add one aspect – a truly educated person is foremost developed spiritually, because man is not someone who looks like an human being only, but one who behaves like a man. He has not only learned facts and skills but has developed abilities and attitudes based on the higher values of life that are innate in man. Education comes from the Latin word “e-ducere”, which means to lead out of. Education therefore means to lead people from ignorance to knowledge. But which kind of knowledge? The chief malady of current education is that it results in the disassociation of heart and head. It lays emphasis on the development of the head, and does sharpen the intellect to some extent. More essential, however, is the liberation of the heart, i.e. when reason is awakened for the poor, the weak, and the needy. One wonders, how teachers who are authorized by the state, are able to pass on this teaching to the children. They are trained for it and they are paid for it, but how can we expect from them that they pass on a life of higher values? How can they pass on really these things, if they themselves have learned it merely by intellect? So you see in our whole society, not only in the West, people are trained from the very beginning to get a good job, to earn money. Children are taught already, “You must get a good job, you must be able to not only fulfil your needs but also to fulfil all your pleasures.” If we wish to change the world – and we have met here in this Conference for a very high purpose, a very high ideal – we must be willing to contribute. So we should be convinced of the fact, that our thoughts are very potent. Only if we have realized this, we will see education from this perspective of self-education, which enables us to pass on what we have realized ourselves. And therefore all holy men, all Saints, and Sant Kirpal Singh also said, “Reformers are wanted who do not want to reform others but themselves.” And we all know that this is right, but it is much easier to train, to educate others than to train ourselves. The essential thing, however, is to understand what this “Self” really means. People use various languages, they call it by various names, some call it Atman, some call it spirit, consciousness, we call it also soul. It does not matter really how we call it, but this Self is that which enlivens all, and we are not the body but in fact we are this spirit in man. 206

In all Holy Scriptures it is written that God does not reside in temples made of stones, made with hands, but He resides in this temple of the manbody. And this is what we really are. This machinery of the body is in fact run by us, and this is the life-impulse that is in all creation. And all creation is vibrating by this same force, the highest Power, which may be called God. And if we have realized that this Power, this highest Godpower – how ever you may call it – is inside me, then I will realize that the same Power is in our neighbour as well, is in every creature. The result will be respect and love, and this will force me to control my thoughts, not to hurt anybody in thoughts even, because then I know that all this has an effect on that person as well as on myself. Mr. Bernet beautifully said, that it does not matter if it is said that there are too many people in India. We are many, many people here tonight, and if they all start thinking like that, then it will be a very positive force. It will not be by pressure, not by fight, because people want to change the world by fighting against something. The effective way is a different one, it is by replacing something bad by something good. We must change ourselves and our thoughts will create an atmosphere. And this atmosphere will be influencing the world around us. A child of course does not start to be formed when it sees the light of this world for the first time, but education starts much, much earlier. And we know, that in the womb of the mother any idea of the mother, any fear, any fright, any joy, any pleasure, any thought is already educating the child. So we see that it is very important to know this in order to behave in the best possible way, however, not from the intellect, but from the realization of what the effect of it will be. If I myself do not change and if I myself do not decide what my life really has been given for, if I do not know what the purpose of human life is, how can I educate others? We have heard today that this human life is in fact a golden opportunity to come in contact with this Power inside me. And then all the problems we are talking about here, some are talking in another panel about politics and science, others are talking about religion, we can take any field, the field of science, the field of philosophy, all the problems of the world can be solved only by this way of getting in contact with this inner wisdom. And then there is no barrier of caste, colour or creed, and unity of man will be realized. But it starts with myself. Self-knowledge is the highest knowledge really and unless we have gained this self-knowledge, we cannot solve all the other problems. We may heap up books and have whole libraries in our brains, but with this the real problem will never be solved. You know, sometimes problems may arise out of little things, misunderstandings, and we all are affected by them, because we are all still under the control of our mind, of our ego, of our senses. And we will never find a way out, unless we start to rise above this level. These are the barriers we are talking about. If we want to realize the unity of man – we should explain why it is named Unity of Man – this is because it does not only mean unity of all human beings, but to realize that man is a unity in himself. He is a complete being, a complete entity, everything is innate in himself, 207

macrocosm is in the microcosm. Only if I myself realize this wholeness, then I can realize unity of man. All over the world people are talking about the brotherhood of men, but as long as we are only reading about it in papers, announcing it over the microphone, and not realizing and seeing this power inside ourselves as well as in the others, and unless we are able with the help of this Godpower to rise above all these levels, above the senses, feelings and emotions, this unity will not be possible to be realized. As Confucius said: “We can reform the world by reforming the states, we can reform the states by reforming the families, we can reform the families by reforming ourselves; So the root of all improvement is self-improvement.” Perhaps I will finish with this and I would like to ask you now to give your opinion. You all have prepared a speech, and we would like to listen to you.

»Education for global transformation« Mr. Ali Merchant, Executive Secretary of the Baha’is of India The purpose of education is to produce individuals who are good and who are smart. Good and smart means to serve the humanity and to be able to realize their spiritual goal in life. So when we look at the world we are born in, we realize that within this system, the wonderful system of our creation, there are three subsystems. We have the relationship with the supernatural, we have the relationship with the people around you, the social environment and you have the physical environment. So it is the imbalance of the three subsystems that has been the result of the collapse of the existing systems. So while we work on the one hand to create a good individual, on the other hand we also need a time of vision and commitment to create a good society. Because a good society will again in return react on the individual. So for the realization of these goals, we need a spiritual perspective and a step by step outline to reform yourself. All these thousands of years of the spiritual heritage, human race has inherited, has always underlined that creation of a good individual. But today we have a planetary society and our thinking about the education must also have room for the creation of a good society. And you already mentioned that from time to time there were spiritual leaders who by the dint of their own example were able to attract a lot of people to the spiritual path. They also laid a foundation for a larger community to emerge, flourish and become humanity in the true sense. So we are right now in the midth of a most severe crisis facing each and every human being and the society at large, and the sooner a greater number of people on the earth come to be equipped with this, the faster will be the change that will occur. And a change does not require that the majority of the human population subscribes to this view, you need to arrive at the level of a critical mass. If you look at the world of science, you find that with a very little 208

amount of energy you are able to release great mass of energy as a result of the critical stage. And that brings about a whole-scale transformation. So if today the humanity’s population is five and a half billion people, you know that to communicate with the ideas you have reflected to all the five and a half billion people, it is a most impossible task, but if you have only touched the hearts of some millions all over the globe, you will create a state of flux whereby the large masses also reflect. Then transformation is inevitable. We may take a human being as a precious stone, a jewel, whose value has not been discovered. So education sees what a child has latent within it. When we see a human being is potentially divine, then what you will find is that the qualities are there, but they are hidden, so through education you draw out that hidden potential.

Mrs. Fenton, teacher of English language, France Today there is also a difficulty in our education in France, today no one wants to hear about God. If you come and show openly your religion, then you have problems in school. So you have to find a way of bringing out, as you said, this inner light in the children.

Mr. Ali Merchant One of the things Mrs. Ortner mentioned in her opening remarks is the purpose of life. And one of the subjects that is of real interest to grown up children is when you talk about the purpose of life, and you speak about spiritual worlds, the worlds beyond. You know that gives you a perspective, it takes you away from this material mundane world. This would be one way to divert the attention of people from the materialism that surrounds us. When we realize that this is not the be all and end of all, there is a greater beyond, and that is our goal, it creates an interest. As you mentioned, it is very, very popular, many children in the West, they like to go to our Eastern countries, they feel that there is lesser materialism, and lesser media influence. The parents are helpless, but when you talk about the worlds of the beyond, the spiritual worlds, the worlds of the great Masters – every Master lived for a particular period of time, he laid the foundation of good life, good deeds, he gave provisions and then he had to leave. And so we can see many examples, this Kirpal Sagar, is a very unique example. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, He laid the foundation, He just laid one brick, but the vision that He communicated has helped all those who heard Him, lived with Him to carry forward the work. And this has been done in the past with Jesus Christ, Moses, Krishna, Buddha. They even themselves have not built anything, but they gave the impetus. We are fighting a very difficult battle of materialism on the one side and spiritual reality on the other. So in education we are also to bring this as one of the subjects. 209

Mr. Henry Thiagaraj, Managing Trustee of Dalit Liberation Education Trust, Human Rights Education Movement of India One of the things I want to observe: You mentioned about self-knowledge. How do you give children self-knowledge? When we live in a world which makes us to be mechanical all the time, like – you go to school, you go in time at 8 o’ clock, you catch the bus by seven o’ clock, all the time you rush, your life is full of tension, and you have to cram so much of lessons, so much of books. And you want to be efficient in the world, you have to do certain things. And it is all the time making you – man – a machine. Man is turning increasingly into a machine, and that is producing lots of problems. So spirituality and unity, they are all lost. But how do we shift from this emphasis of being a mechanical creature and then shift to creativity and consciousness and things like that. Where do we get the self-knowledge? That is the real challenge we face now.

»The ancient Indian model for total education of humankind« Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar, Deputy Secretary General of United Schools Organisation of India, a movement for the United Nations in the Schools of the World The theme of my speech is “The ancient Indian model for total education of humankind“. This system has survived from time immemorial in our country and has won the appreciation of educationists the world over. When Europeans came to this country, about two centuries ago, they imposed their own systems, both in schools and colleges. Right from the time the Aryans settled in India, the philosophers and the saints decided that human beings must pass through four stages of life, namely – Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha, and finally Sanyasa. During Brahmacharya, which refers to early young age, every individual should concentrate on studies under a guru in a gurukula, the home of the guru or in a pathsala. As a student, the individual must acquire knowledge for a life-time and live a disciplined life as a member of the teacher’s family. Then at the grihasta stage (family way of life), the one-time student can marry and set up a home for livelihood. He can do business or take up service under the ruler or become a trader or a teacher himself or take to the arts. The pleasures of life to be enjoyed without any excesses. Then in the third and fourth stages, the individual must steadily reduce his active involvement in life and start preparing for retirement. Desires are to be reduced, as also activities. Vanaprastha, which meant living in the forest, led to sanyasa, total abandonment of life in favour of meditation, with the secluded life. Life in the gurukulas was strict and well-disciplined. From young age, the boys were taught the orderly way of living, cleanliness, the spirit 210

of service and so on. Emphasis was laid on “Satyam, Sivam, Sundaram“, (Truth, Goodness and Beauty). The gurukula system depended on the development of self-discipline among the students in the prayers and in the community life. Education was a participatory process and a preparation for later life as adults. In the present life-pattern, it may not be possible to revive the gurukula system. But if we go into the tribal villages, we can still see the boys and girls living at ease in their environment. I wish to emphasize that whatever may be the pace of progress today in terms of gadgets and gimmickery, the basics have not changed very much. Every person passes through at least three of the four stages of life. And all through life till old age sets in, every individual has to abide by self-control, ethics, morality, fellow-feeling, spirit of service, and so on. But without which the society cannot exist and survive. There will be anarchy and chaos, as we can notice in several parts of our country and the world. So, if education is to be total, the foundation must be laid during the childhood and youth of our children. Apart from parents and elder members of the family the teachers have an important role to play in the future of growing generations. And, modernity does not mean the abandonment of our traditions and fundamental beliefs in education for a life-time. That is what we have inherited in this country and that be preserved and sustained. So the atmosphere that we see here in this Kirpal Sagar is almost the same. We have seen this kind of feeling prevailing, serving others and doing the service for the community, so it was present at that time in a place like this, which was really a school, or you can say, an institution for the man-making.

»Education as man-making« Mag. Christine Birzer, Unity of Man Austria The motto “education as man-making” already indicates that here education is defined as a life-long process of development, of getting more and more conscious. Its aim is to help to reveal a human being with a cosmopolitan and broad-minded view, living a selfless life with higher values. As Sant Kirpal Singh emphasized in his talk “Towards the new education”, that to fulfil these aims education must not only remain an intellectual training, a teaching of facts and techniques, but has to develop the character and the individuality of a pupil, his mind, will and soul-power. It is a concept of integral education and moral living according to the ethics of spirituality. Education as man-making also means that we cannot only blame our parents, the environment, or hereditary disposition, or the school system, but it needs mainly our own support. Man is after so many things, but only very seldom he makes man-making his ruling passion. We have to teach ourselves and become a man who loves learning, serving, and getting more and more conscious. 211

We have so many theories and intellectual knowledge, we see something and agree to it, accept it as truth, but this alone won’t be sufficient. Education without relation to life is useless, and knowledge without action is empty like a shadow. There is a story about the three ancient Pandava princes. They were taught by their private teacher and the lesson was, “Always tell the truth and don’t get angry.” Two of them came the next day and had learned the sentences by heart. The third one, Judishtra, did not return for some days. When he came back, his teacher was angry and asked, why he had not come. He answered that he had learned the first lesson and the second lesson he had learned only by half. His class mates mocked at him that he had needed many days only to learn two sentences. His teacher slapped him several times and told him to tell the truth. Judishtra answered, “I tell you the truth, when you were slapping me the first time, I did not get angry, but when you slapped me again and again, I got a little angry.” So it was as he had told – he had learned to tell the truth, and not to get angry he had learned only by half. This sort of learning may reform our school-system and our own life. Further there should be the opportunity to practise the learned. We already have schools with combined handicraft training, practical training in firms or hotels, and excursions, but we also need training in the field of social behaviour, higher values and character formation. In this field, for example, UNESCO published a booklet with practical exercises how to teach human rights, and sometimes we find schools supporting social or charitable projects. Little children as well as sometimes old people cannot express their thoughts in intellectual words, but they react according to the atmosphere, they feel the intentions even when the words may express the opposite and they are experts in the play of attention. What they expect from us is loving care and attention and an atmosphere where their souls can develop. Children only do get naughty when they don’t get what for them is more essential than a rich environment, toys and money. Divorce is one of the main evils of today’s society and children have to suffer most from it. Divorce can only be so widespread because we never cared about to learn how to solve our conflicts without emotions, how to respect each other as soul and image of God. If marriage is seen as a chance to assist each other in weal or woe and to help the partner on the way back to God, to help each other to develop spiritually and to see marriage as a training school for tolerance and unity, it is a solid base for education as man-making. In a world shaken by wars and conflicts, an education for peace and unity is badly needed. In our schoolbooks we find the dates and details of every war and conflict, but we never teach the children how these could have been prevented. Even in our lessons on religions children are rather taught the differences than the unity of all religions. In a proud and arrogant way the Western civilization regards its way of thinking as the only existing one and does not try to understand the philosophies and the psychology of other cultures. We often use traditions, customs and the different forms of culture to strengthen a feeling of nationalism instead of using them as a means to understand and appreciate each other with all our differences. 212

In an increasingly multicultural society we need a school which teaches us to understand each other and to live together peacefully and to experience the inner unity ourselves, a school where not the separating forces are nourished but where the common aims are explained. Education for peace and unity will become essential for our world in future. If our children are able to learn the lesson of unity and to transcend the confines of our narrow ego by serving, this world can turn into a paradise. If we want to change the education system and the world at large, we need people with a cosmopolitan, spiritual view who love to serve, who practise open-mindedness and unity, and give an example for a selfless spiritual life with higher values. Here we also want to emphasize, that it is not good to have so much discrepancy between the generations. In the West you can find that the old people live a separate and lonely life in homes for the aged which brings them in a ghetto-like situation. We do not like to live too close together and so we get more and more separated. Here in this project it is planned that the generations should really live and work together. So we have started this fathers’ home and we wish that these aged people can share their experiences, they can speak with the children, they can really bring in their lifelong experience. In this project it is possible to develop all around, you can develop intellectually with the help of school and library, you can get social help if you are needy, and you can get spiritual help to solve the purpose of human life. So we believe in an education which is developing man in all aspects. This, however, you cannot only learn in schools, mainly you must teach yourself, because it is already in man, you just have to bring it out yourself, you must decide it yourself. Here we want to start a very vivid co-operation with each and everyone who wants to join us in our efforts, and we also need your good suggestions and practical proposals. I have one point more which I have not yet told, this is to start with a self-introspection diary. You can start with it, really each and everyone can do it. May it be a student or teacher, each and everyone can start to control his life by self-introspection. You can see where your attention goes, you can see how many times you get angry, or anything. And with this conscious living you can start with little, little steps with this self-introspection diary. Just to start with a conscious life, to see which thoughts are really in you, where your attention is going, where someone is misusing your attention. This is the first step. Then you can start to live within necessities, to share with others. The first thing is to change your own view and then it will go by radiation. Someone may not know you, but he may know from your face, he may feel from your radiation and this will have an effect on others. This all depends on your own self and everybody is knowing it from inside, it only needs a decision. The first step for each and everyone is a decision to live like this. Sant Kirpal Singh said, that it is not difficult and he comprises the whole idea in a few words written there: Be good, do good, be one. “Be good” means to live a life of higher values, “do good” means to live selflessly, and “be one”, to have this inner oneness with this Power, and to have the oneness of humanity. This would be sufficient for the whole world. But it starts with the decision of everyone of us. 213

»The importance of developing group consciousness« Mrs. Gabriela Goldner, Facilitator, Israel/Germany It is true what you said, it has to start with ourselves. This is called the unity of man. And I think the main point is unity and the other main point is group consciousness, which has to be developed in order to have this future world. It is the personal unity and then the group consciousness. This can be put into practice, if you work with a small group, other groups as I do. I mean, it is not a normal school curriculum or whatever. It is a special group, they all have the same interests, coming to learn Hebrew. They all are very different, and their motives are also very different, it is a very heterogeneous group from the point of view of age, and they are young, old, men or women, and so the only common aim is that they all want to learn Hebrew. It is a course that starts at nine o’ clock in the morning and lasts till seven in the evening. You may say, “O, you will get very tired, how can you learn such a difficult language all day long?” And they come very tired in the morning and they are very refreshed when they go home in the evening, because it is really an experience. Because it is just a combined integral system. Especially in Western countries people put emphasis on the left brain hemisphere, this system, however, is integrating both, even putting more emphasis on integrating more your right brain hemisphere where intuition and feelings result. By the end of the day having enjoyed their learning very much, what they have learned has gone to their long-time memory. It is like a child who learns with all its feelings, with all its body, not just with his left brain hemisphere. It is very successful. There is no competition, I mean rivalry, the only rivalry among the participants is to be nicer to each other.

»Help for the disadvantaged youth« Mr. D. Henry Thiagaraj, Managing Trustee, Dalit Liberation Education Trustee, Human Rights Education Movement of India I like to tell about an experiment I am doing. I was at the University of Madras, working with the youth who come from disadvantaged and discriminated communities, who think they are not human beings. Because over the years and centuries they have been told they cannot learn, they cannot study, cannot come up in life. So usually when they come to a college or a university or something, the way they talk, the way they stand, all can see that there is something like submission. They will not say “Good morning” with ease. And you can see that people from the rural India, coming from very backward schools, who don’t know and speak much English, they are struggling. And then you will see students from the city, who go to the best schools, they come and say “Good morning, I want this information, this and that.“ So you can see the big contrast between the disadvantaged youth and those who have advantages. One thing we did, was very successful. First we had slides showing the human body. And we showed the pictures of the human body, how you were born from the mother’s womb, how 214

your brain is formed and how you were capable of knowing these things, and how as a child you can very freely express some things, like that, but as you grow older people say, “Don’t do this and don’t do that” and they put lots of negative ideas on you. I mean society tells you, you are belonging to this or that caste.

Mr. Ali Merchant Quality of education is very important. Today in the whole world, there is such a wide disparity. People who will have their own resources are able to send their boys or children to the best schools. But what about the majority of the population? So when you talk about university education in the world, you are also talking about a standard, a quality of education which is the birthright of every child. These ideas could take a long, long time to be realized, but we are gathered here to inject the world with spiritual ideas, and hopefully – with the present rate of communication speed and means of technology and instruments that are at our disposal – we should be able to have a profounded bat. Yesterday evening we also talked about the purpose of human life, which is spiritual. And around that we can build a whole world of values, social values, and material values. Because materialism is not bad in itself, it is the excess which is making materialism our only goal in life which becomes negative.

Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar Life is based on certain principles. Truth, sharing with the neighbour, and non-violence, see, these are the vital points, the vital things, you know, which has been the path of each and every religion. We should emphasize more on these principles. They have always been there and we should try to pass on these things to our children.

Mag. Christine Birzer This was exactly what Sant Kirpal Singh always emphasized. He said, “I have not brought anything new. It is the old, old truth, it has always been in the world at any time, and it is always in man.” It has always been and will be the same truth. We have nothing new here, it is already in you, inside yourself.

Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar You know, since we are born, moving through the ages, we have also professionals, you know, we have a teacher of chemistry, we have a teacher of physics, we have a teacher of 215

mathematics, they are so concerned about their particular subject, they want to see how the student is doing in their particular subject. They are not interested in man-making as such. They are professionals. We are moving through this age. Now what you are trying to tell us and we also feel now that, you know, something is missing in this tradition. We should have someone to tell them the exact meaning of life. But the thing is – we all know the problem, we know what can cure it, but how to implement it?

Dr. Rosmarie Ortner Two things: First is the priority of learning. The priority should be changed. Normally, as you said, a mathematics teacher, chemistry teacher and so on, even the teachers of physical education, they always think about their particular part of education. The priority must be given to the “higher education“, an education with higher values of life. These universal values came into being with man, because they are innate in us. It is our birthright to liberate these values which are hidden in you like a treasure. If this is the aim of the teacher, then everything will come as second priority. What you said first, if you know that everybody has responsibility inside himself, how can you discriminate others? Now this is a very important sentence, but is it not more than to know? It is to see it really, this is what all the competent Masters said, “Seeing is above all”. This means really experiencing it, because you can – as we said before, you can make preaching, you can hold lectures, everybody can go up to a stage and preach. But if he really sees the truth and unity inside, he will find a way not to hurt the other’s heart. And he will only be able to do so, if he really sees in himself that the same Godpower, the same life-impulse is vibrating in my neighbours, in any human being. As we said yesterday, how then can teachers, who are simply doing their job, teach our children and bring them out of ignorance and bring them to self-knowledge and God-knowledge! So we are always coming back to the same point that we have to reform ourselves in order to be able to pass on these highest values to our children.

»We must educate the educators« Dr. T. P. Amerasinghe, Attorney at Law, Supreme Court, President of World Constitution and Parliament Assoc., Universal Love and Brotherhood Assoc., Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, Miyake Home for Children, Sri Lanka We have to try to educate the educators first, and teachers are the people who are standing in the way today more than developing the children, they are blocking the children. They are only filling their heads with knowledge. But who is going to educate the educators? By our principle of having literature put out for teachers who could look at this in this holistic way. By teaching physics I am teaching not the physics but fitting it into the general program. 216

All these are component parts of the same so that we have to concentrate on the teachers more than on the students, that the teacher is well trained. This kind of approach he hasn’t got today. He only looks at his teaching as a job by which he collects his money, and he goes back. He has no desire to build up the whole person. We are now doing a course in Sri Lanka, for example, a course of teaching the teachers. Once every three months we get a group of teachers, and we teach them. We find that the teachers coming in, they like the idea, because it is something new to them. Hitherto they have only gone according to the principal of the school, to this syllabus covering up and that ends there. But now we tell the teacher he can forget about these things. He sometimes tries to go with the students, tries to take the student with him, first come down to the student’s level and take him up. And if we teach our teachers through books, through literature, through awareness, it is not easy to do it, because we are now revolutionizing everything, you may get obstacles, they will stand in your way. They will say, who are they that they come to teach us? We are teachers. We have gone through training colleges. All those training colleges approach the subject not in the way we are talking now, but in merely knowledge way, knowlege way you may say. So we always say, “Knowledge comes easy, but wisdom lingers, takes time.“ What we are really trying to teach is wisdom, not knowledge. So I feel that our panel would do well to think of this, of some approach to this teaching on the lines by which we have gained this wisdom. We feel that teachers haven’t thought of this. I am not talking of us here, but the bulk of the teachers in the world, they are even professors at the universities, they are approaching from a knowledge point. Not trying to give the student the wisdom which is needed to use that knowledge. We say today, that usage and using are two different things. We are stressing more on usage than on using our knowledge. We have to put stress into developing society. The student learns physics, not to accumulate the knowledge of physics, but to help society through this particular subject. And I feel we should try to make an approach like that which might be really beneficial to the teaching communique.

Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar We are teaching in schools about the existence of the United Nations and its allied agencies. And we are organizing a teachers’ training programme from time to time. We call a group of teachers from a certain state, give them certain material and bring in some specialist speakers on the subject. Because the United Nations and its allied agencies, specialized agencies, or UNESCO, everybody has heard of, and they are being included in school curriculum now. So when we send an invitation, we pay for their fare, we give them free boarding, lodging, and everything, we are providing that, and we are giving them this specialized training.

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»Education as a process« Dr. Richard Schneider, University of Global Education, U.S.A., Radio for Peace International, Costa Rica Well, I think, what we are talking about is – education has to be seen as a process, not a method. And this is why people start questioning you and it is difficult to explain because it is rather a process, not a method. And this is really what you are getting at. The thing is in higher education, our educational programme starts with children even before birth. The work of curriculum starts with children before birth and as soon as the woman knows that she is pregnant. And in the work with a curriculum, the children are one year old and come for an hour a day, and when they are three years old, they come three hours a day, you know, and have classes. But the thing is we become so oriented towards method – and I don’t believe in teaching methods. I believe in teaching process. For example, I do not really believe in teaching spelling, because it is a teaching method. If you teach a child how to use a dictionary you don’t have to teach him spelling. The child will learn all the spelling it needs, if you teach him the process. But this takes a kind of a radical new thinking, because this is why we have biology teachers, this is why we have math teachers, this is why we have science teachers, because we provide it by methods, you see. You teach how to learn process, and how to process. And frankly, if you do that well and with excellence, the rest takes care of itself. Well, our present educational institutions, most of them are simply not oriented in this way. And I agree with you, frankly, the system educationally will not change until we change it at the highest level – teaching the teachers of teachers. That is where we have to concentrate on. And I agree, you know, that that is more important than talking about what happens with you as a student, because of the impact that the teacher has. And this has to be changed. So we have to become process-oriented rather than method-oriented. We have to teach this at the highest level of the teachers of teachers, and whether we like it or not, it comes down. We have been so educated, actually taught, not educated, that is the problem. That is this huge gap between teaching and education. There are lots of teachers and they know nothing about education. This is this wide gap; there is a great difference between teaching and education. And I think that is why we are getting to this problem, I think, it is self-education, self-teaching, and we have to make a distinction between teaching and education. It is the same distinction that we have to make between process and method, you know. And it has to do with inner action, and it has to be global. I am convinced that one of the basic problems of the world today, you know – we have to put it most harshly – is fundamentalism. “What I believe is right and what you believe is wrong, if you don’t believe the same, ... “ If we make these kinds of distinctions all the time, then children pick this up – you know small children have no prejudice of what you say. It comes only when they get a little older. And this is the kind of thing we teach children all the time unconsciously. I think there is a lot of hope in terms like this, when there are people like us that are going to have education and that is what I am trying to do. In a new University that I established, the University of Global Education, we are trying to establish some of these principles. I believe 218

that every child from birth has to be taught to be a world-citizen and that nationalism today has no place. You look at the world today where all the wars are, where all the suffering is, and where all the miseries are, almost without exception it has been with nationalism or religion. Without any exception. I do not know of a single war in the world today that has been fought for a reason other than nationalism or religion. And it seems to me that we have to teach early on, that is why I think the model of the United Nations bringing kids into this very early, is so highly effective.

Mrs. Fenton You said that now, when the children are born, we have to teach them that they are citizens of the world. Which is wonderful, it is true, we are all citizens of this one world, because we know that nationalism and religions have been the reasons, the only reasons for wars, in fact. We can even look into the wars of communism, but this was another religion, too. So if you could put those aside, as Dr. Schneider said, to teach the children that they are part of the world system, just like in the ecosystem, then they feel responsible for each other and come to a perfection. Well, in this I see a problem. I see the problem of identity, everyone has to have his identiy.

»All barriers are man-made« Mr. G. John Ebenezer, President Director of the World Children’s Center, India I think we are at a point in the world where we grow up with our culture and our identity but we are not necessarily the victims of our own culture and our own language. So you also have the ability to grow and not just to be a victim of your own culture and language. I think children very naturally realize that. The younger generation naturally realizes that. It is man-made that you are this, you are that, you belong to this nation, you belong to this religion – that creates the barriers. But there is a very natural way of avoiding this, and children have this. Children don’t ask which nationality you belong to, they don’t ask you which language you know, they simply play together. So it is very easy to reach a global consciousness when we are like a child. But then we tell them, “O, you are British, you are Indian, you are American, you are this, you are that, your language is this, your religion is this.” And when we are getting outgrown, we are creating barriers. “I belong to this caste, I belong to this religion, I belong to that language, I belong to this nationality ...” It is all man-made barriers that we force on their mind.

Dr. Rosmarie Ortner Mr. Schneider first said that we are teaching our children unconsciously, that is right; if we are not becoming fully conscious, perfectly conscious, completely identified with our soul or 219

spirit, the divinity in us, we always will be teaching unconsciously. Because this is the connotation, this is what is always going with us. Even if we tell them about the highest ideals, if we speak about the highest values, about man-making, praying with the children – if you get angry because the child does not obey immediately, and you are impatient, later on you will see, the child will be reacting in the same way. This is the gap between teaching and education as you said. Mr. Amerasinghe said, that we have to teach the teachers of the teachers. But who is the highest teacher, who has the ability to teach the teacher of the teachers? So we are at the topquestion, we are at the source of all life, we are at what we call God. So our only example or ideal in life can be God, who is the perfect perfection.

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Panel 4 Spirituality – the base for world-wide unity

Keynote speech

Mrs. Brigitte Gerlich-Helm

The divine dispositions of man

Dr. Maik Hosang

Each one can learn from everyone

Mr. Dean Chapri

True freedom leads to unity of man

Mr. Ganesh Prasad

Seeing the unity in all

Maha Mandleshwar Dr. Swami Maha Chatany Ji Tripal

Manbody is the true temple of God

Mr. Gerhard Hössinger Mrs. Mechthild Florian

Keynote speech Mrs. Brigitte Gerlich-Helm, Unity of Man Germany Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, We are glad that you followed our invitation to the World Conference on Unity of Man, and agreed to participate in this Panel Session whose topic is: Spirituality – the base for worldwide unity. In this Panel Session we have to find ways and means how to take concrete steps to remove the ignorance which is the root-cause of all suffering in the world. The whole world is suffering – due to ignorance of spirituality. When we look around us or watch TV and see how many people are suffering badly from hunger, disease, bondage, terror, war, and many other things more, our heart must feel pain. All such terrible things can only happen because man has forgotten what he is, where he does come from, and what the purpose of human life is. He has forgotten that we all came from the same source and we all have to return to the same source. Our Father is one and the same, and we are all brothers and sisters in God. The well-being or suffering of one individual affects all humanity. When we ask someone, “Which possessions have you earned in life?” he proudly will tell, “I have got a house, a car, much land” and so on. When we ask him, “What kind of education have you got?” he gladly will tell which school or university he has joined. But when we ask him, “What have you done for your spiritual development?” usually he will look astonished, not knowing what to tell. This shows that for most of the people spiritual development comes last whereas it is the most important subject, but unfortunately the most ignored. Christ said, 221

“What does it profit a man when he gains the possessions of the whole world and loses his soul?” This subject is so important because of the reason that it concerns everybody as a man. It is a problem of every man, and it does not matter whether one is from the East or the West, whether one is rich or poor, literate or illiterate. Manbody is the golden opportunity to know oneself and to know God. It is the birthright of everybody who has got the manbody. Man has got the physical body, he has got mind and intellect, but he is a conscious entity – a drop of the ocean of all-consciousness – the spirit or the soul. Spirituality is concerned purely with the spirit: – – – – – – – –

its origin or source, what it is, its seat in the body, how it functions in the physical world, whether it is possible to separate it at will from the body, mind and senses, and if so, the various processes connected therewith, as well as the journey of the spirit through the different spiritual planes, and the goal, the home of our Father, from where we once emanated.

In short, spirituality deals with the spirit of man, with the spirit of God, and how to come in contact with the Godpower. Spirituality is more a practical science than a mere theoretical dissertation. The various scriptures of the different religions provide us with the theoretical aspect only and cannot give us a demonstrative experience. Their merit lies in creating an interest in us. All might point the way, but they have no power to take us there. All what is written in the Holy Scriptures, we can find within man, but not all what is in the man, we can find in the Holy Scriptures. Spirituality contents itself only with self-realization and God-realization. It is independent of outer rituals and rites and must be distinguished as well from sectarianism. It ever remains universal, with its appeal to people of all religions. As opposed to the sealed or codified religions, spirituality is an open book of God, with the living touch of the Masters who present it from age to age in the spirit of the age. In this scientific age, it is presented as any other science, with mathematical precision and results verifiable on scientific lines. The term spirituality is not to be confused with spiritism, spiritualism, mesmerism, or hypnotism. Miracles, spiritual healing and supernatural manifestations are definite hindrances on the spiritual way. Spirituality, on the contrary, is the science of developing higher consciousness in man on the level of the soul, and making one transcend from mere body-consciousness into cosmic-consciousness and further on into super-consciousness, so as to enable one to understand the working of the divine plan. It is the aim of spirituality to bring together all men, may they be Christians, Hindus, Moslems, or whatsoever. What kind of foundation could be built for them to find together? Feel222

ings, emotions and drawing inferences are all subject to error. Those who see inside they experience the inner unity of all life. They get in contact with the One supreme Power, the omnipresent Creator or Godpower. Their experiences are as laid down in the Holy Scriptures, but we must understand their right import. Practically lived spirituality is the answer to all the difficulties in the world today. Only on that ground all can sit together in the name of God, in the remembrance of God, for we are all worshipers of the same Lord. There are many lovers, but the Beloved is one for all. Castes and religions are different, but the aim is the same. Does it not make us feel as one by just hearing those words? If this universal feeling based on a practical experience of the Godpower in the innermost corner of the heart became a living principle in every family, in all religions, in every country, and in all walks of life, then peace would descend on mankind. Spirituality is nothing new, it is the most ancient science, and the way back to God, which is ordained by God Himself for his children. It is not a man-made way. This is the way which has been given out by all competent Masters who came in the world like Kabir, Guru Nanak, Christ, Buddha and so many others. They all taught the same very truth with one opinion. Those Masters lived with the truth and now they help us to live accordingly. Truth, love, spirituality, the way back to God – all this lies already within man, but sofar we never lived up to it. In the course of this Panel Session we will now illustrate the subject more closely from different points of view as each one of you has prepared a speech regarding spirituality. Thank you very much for your attention.

»The divine dispositions of man« Dr. Maik Hosang, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany We live in a world in which everything hitherto must be reconsidered: the way of economy functions, the ways of social coexistence, and the sensual or mental forms of human existence as well. Everything is in question now due to the menace of nature being destroyed through modern civilization. Not only the egotism of boundless economic development, but also the world’s splitting up into mutually excluding nations, and the separation of various religions from one another, each praying to its own God. As long as every religion keeps insisting on its own solution, its absoluteness, and its God being the unique one, and only claims that to be true, it inevitably infringes its own self. Since none but the principle which is in fact absolute or universal can really be absolute or universal, meaning the one which doesn’t exclude but is internally connected with anything else and is in unity with everything. It seems to me that appealing to, waking up and developing this “Being one with everything” is the internal reason, the joint truth to all religions and mental systems existent. 223

It could be that one cannot define, but merely sense the way towards divinity. The final confidence in our humanly divine chance we will find only to the degree in which we stand and act. Hints, however, are given to us through nature surrounding and being in us, through the whole chronicle of its evolution. All evolution points out to the tendency of exceeding the limits, connecting and harmonizing originally separated things. If accomplishment of the impending grade of evolution or becoming divine of the human mind is practicable, it is carried out by itself in the harmony of all human minds, then there arises the problem of harmony of man in himself. Man involves a vast variety of animal affects such as fury, hatred, jealousy, and envy. All affects that presumably stem from the fauna. They, in a certain way, give life to, but also confine us within our own ego at the same time. If they are dominant in man’s inner life, so they always have an inwardly and outwardly destroying effect. As long as man will not be free enough to perceive himself and the world on the whole, he will not be free to decide and act in the sense of the whole. And since, at last, those decisions are being made or come from within the individual human body and mind, therefore everything depends on whether man can find and build up in himself the forces and faculties, or, the potencies which enable him to harmonize his own soul. To be capable of this, it is crucial to realize these potencies in us. Helpful for their realization is a look upon evolution, especially upon man’s becoming human. The animal itself as well as the animal moments in us, the affects are effective only in the sense of each ego and species survival. They make use of all the rest of the world in their self-restricted interest, narrowing perception and activities within this limited circle, thus never reaching beyond one’s own ego. Man and culture came into existence by reaching out beyond these confines. That needed special faculties for perception and action surpassing oneself. Much, such as the traditional discrimination of the true, the good and the beautiful, is proof to the existence of three distinguishable roots of being human: knowledge and love and self. Each has a specific starting point. Knowledge is rooted in the faculty for intelligence, love in the mother-child-relationship and, self in the realization of the self of higher mammals. Anthropogenesis broadened and intensified especially these faculties for new quality. This enables man to understand everything, going beyond current environmental comprehension, to love every being beyond loving one’s own child, and, to see one’s own self, beyond self-realization, as a creature connected with everything. To let these opportunities become true, each of the three potencies, knowledge, and love, and self in man must meet up: Through Love and Self Knowledge becomes true, Through Self and Knowledge Love becomes good, Through Knowledge and Love Self becomes beautiful.

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»True freedom leads to unity of man« Mr. Ganesh Prasad, Mahavir Singh Memorial Trust, Freedom Fighters, India Respected chairman, sisters and brothers, Let me express my heartfelt thanks on behalf of Mahavir Singh Memorial Trust for being invited to this august house of the World Conference on Unity of Man. The great personalities are gracing this momentous occasion representing the different parts of the world truly and amply demonstrate the inherent urge of the contemporary world to bring all the streams of the human race to realize that we, the kaleidoscopic manifestation of the versatile Creator are essentially one. The whole universe is an integrated entity in itself. Mother nature is its manifestation and man along with other creatures is its essential part, as every drop of water is the essential part of the great mass of water of the ocean. Being the essential constituent of the nature, mankind is basically one. But why mankind is then not united? Why the boundaries of nation, caste, race, culture, colour and religion are keeping humankind didvided? Why does the struggle persist in this world in the form of war, chauvinism and unhealthy competition? The answer lies in the lack of true consciousness, lack of freedom to grow in consonance with their nature, to grow along with nature, to attain true human nature. The result is man’s fight against man, man’s fight against nature, ultimately leading to his hight against himself resulting in war, lack of peace, spread of diseases and suicidal tendencies. But the most important question is “How can a man achieve true unity, true consciousness?” Light of liberty is the only condition of unity and happiness. Torch of freedom is the only tool for unity. As the world famous Indian philosopher and great lover of humanity Swami Vivekananda said, “To advance towards freedom – physical, mental and spiritual, and to help others to do so is the supreme prize of man. Those social rules which stand in the way of attainment of this freedom are injudicious to humanity and steps should be taken to remove them speedily.” Brothers and sisters; we all have collected in the Unity of Man World Conference to advance towards that freedom leading towards unity of man. But how to realize that mission? Spiritual freedom leads to physical freedom of mankind and spiritual unity in the same way will lead to moral, social, and cultural unity of mankind. What type of freedom is needed? We really need freedom from greed, freedom from jealousy, freedom from ignorance, poverty, diseases, and fear in addition to the traditional freedom like social, political or economic. In the environment of true freedom mankind will realize its true self where it will not clash with man or nature comprising of flora and fauna but will grow along with them to achieve its real self – basic unity. How can this be attained? Strength is the basis of unity, the way to freedom. More than physical, the moral and spiritual strength form the base of the real unification of selves. A real strong man who is aware of his strength is truly fearless. Lack of confidence generates ag225

gressiveness and results in war. Fear is the basis of all bloodshed. Hence a truly strong and fearless person who is free and enlightened can be a real assistant towards achieving true unity of man. A truly strong, fearless and free person – physically, mentally and spiritually, can not exploit others nor can he be exploited. As famous French thinker Rousseau truly said, “Those who are making people slaves are bigger slaves.” Thus, only such band of free men and women can lead this world towards unity – unity of man, unity of man with other creatures and with mother nature – leading towards the end of violence, diseases, terrorism, poverty and pollution – making this earth a better place to live. The Mahavir Singh Memorial Trust, formed in the memory of late Mahavir Singh, famous Freedom Fighter of India, along with other such organizations is dedicated to work in the direction of above goals through service, education and raising consciousness. On its behalf, I express thanks once again to the organizers of this great conference on “Unity of Man” and hope that the light that has been provided by this meeting will brighten the path of the lovers of mankind and will act as a catalyst in their benign efforts to lead humankind towards the lofty goal of the unity of man. Thank you.

»Seeing the unity in all« Maha Mandleshwar Dr. Swami Maha Chatanya Ji Tripal M.A., India (Translated from Punjabi into English) I have come to the World Conference on Unity of Man and I welcome all of you who have come from abroad. In the light of spirituality unity really exists. On the basis of spirituality we can see a lot of things in the world. According to the old philosophy we can experience unity in different directions. It is the theory dealing with God. God is always omnipresent and we should try to locate Him. In the whole universe we can see different things which are the same everywhere. We should not have the opinion that unity can be formed outwardly. Spirituality concerns the development of the spirit. Old Guru Shankar Charia, who was a great spiritual person, confessed to the body as a whole which can be used for certain purposes, but not for the sake of spirit. A spiritual man sees in the whole universe that spirituality is the supreme thing which can enlighten the world. For such a one there is no difference from man to man. He sees things with one view and sees that oneness in everybody and in every opinion of the world. Old philosophies say that Brahm is the main reality. Prophets and priests preach in different ways, different religions have different sects, use different languages. But unity does not mean to change the language or to change the sects; that doesn’t change the universe really. Unity is only possible at the level of truth. Truth always remains truth; such a man is enlightened who rises above to the level of truth. Then he should not feel better than other human beings. That is the main fact in spirituality which pays everywhere. It is the only source on which unity can be maintained. Briefly we call it unity. This spiritual awakening, the clear vision to the growth of enlightenment is the only way to 226

get salvation. Narrow thoughts and narrow words cannot broaden the ideas of the universe. We can hope for a betterment for whole mankind just by enlightening spirituality among mankind. Thank you.

»Each one can learn from everyone« Mr. Dean Chapri, Travel Agent and Tour Operator, India I came here with my friend, Jim Bernet, I never thought that I’ll be attending a conference like that. So it is a great pleasure for me to meet all of you. The human beings are suffering the most but before giving a treatment or bringing some results, we have to make some corrections. And correction we can do with love, peace, and affection. If without correction we try to have improvement, our results will not become everlasting, just like summer rain or dewdrops in the morning which will disappear very soon. Now if we want to have hundred percent results we must look back to some of our philosophers, some of our spiritual men who have done a great thing for the human beings. Sometimes you find throughout all these references that a spiritual man, a holy man has learned so many things from ordinary persons by chance. Spirituality is a gift of God, everyone, every human being has something hidden in his heart or mind but we must give it a chance. Now I will give you some examples: Once upon a time there was a boy in the village, he was taking too much sugar. His father and mother told him, they will take him to a spiritual man, who will give him an advice. Finally they went to that spiritual man and he told straight away to his father and mother, “What is the problem?” They told him, “He is taking too much sugar.” He told them, “Take your boy back and bring him tomorrow.” So they brought the boy the next day and he simply said to the boy, “You should not eat sugar.” When his father heard this, he said, “Why did you not tell that to the boy yesterday?” He said, “Till yesterday I myself had eaten sugar but from today on I will never eat it.” One day this will be the remedy for all human beings. Another time there was a holy man who had such supernatural powers that he could walk on the water. While crossing the water he saw one man. He was always under the impression, “I am a spiritual man and this man is very ordinary.” So when he was very near to that ordinary person what did he see? He saw a snake who was just going to bite that man but suddenly an eagle came and took the snake away. Now this holy man said, “O God, you are taking more care of an ordinary person than of your own spiritual man.” He was overbearing, his thinking was, “I am the best, and ordinary persons are ordinary persons.” But something clear came to his mind and he asked that man, “What happens around you?” He said, “I don’t know what happened around me.” The holy man said, “What were you doing?” He answered, “While I was sleeping I apologized to God for the things I have done. Forgive me! Within seconds, I don’t know, everything was over.” So the holy, spiritual man has learned from the ordinary person that it is God who can give us power. Thank you very much all of you. I was not very much prepared for these things. 227

»Manbody is the true temple of God« Mr. Gerhard Hössinger, Unity of Man Sweden Spirituality in the ancient time was called Para Vidya – which means the science of the Beyond, of the spirit. And this Para Vidya is the opposite of Apara Vidya, which is the science of the world. Everything in the world is matter and the spirit is not matter, the spirit is of the same essence as that of God. God is the Ocean of all consciousness and we, man, the soul, are the drops of all consciousness. This is the teaching of all competent Masters, whether they came in the East or the West, any time in the history. They told this one truth with one opinion that there is one Creator. Spirituality deals with our Father, with God and with man, because man is of the highest rank in the whole creation. It is said in the Koran, that the angels were asked to bow down before man, because man is the highest, he is next to God. Because it is a privilege only of man to realize God. And to realize God we must realize ourselves first. God is spirit and only the spirit can realize God, because the spirit, our soul, is of the same essence as God. Only the like can realize the like. So spirituality is a vast subject. It is not possible to end this subject – not today, not tomorrow, not even in a whole week or month. It is a life-long learning which we have to do. And Sant Kirpal Singh is teaching that spirituality to the whole humanity. We also have to understand who is the Master. In the West there is much misunderstanding about it. Once I read a lecture of Sant Kirpal Singh. There He mentioned three main pillars of spirituality: Sat Naam, which is the Godpower itself when it comes into expression, the Satguru, which is the Master or the Masterpower, and the Satsang which means to come in contact with the Sat or with the eternal truth or God. The Masters say, the beginning, the stepping-stone to spirituality is an ethical life. This we find in all religions. Ehical life is a must, we must learn how to live an ethical life with the higher values of life. That means God is love and the way back to God is also through love. If we love then there is no hatred, if we love then we should not hurt anybody’s heart which is considered to be the highest crime. The other thing is to be true. God is said to be truth eternal. So we have to learn how to live truly. True living means that our thoughts, our heart, our actions, and our words must be one. What our heart feels, the same we have to think, the same thing should come out of our mouth, and then we should act accordingly. It is very difficult to become a real man and therefore it is said, “It is easy to realize God, but it is difficult to become a true man.” Therefore God sends perfect personalilties whom we call Masters, personalities who are teaching the child humanity. How are they teaching? We know the child learns from the mother. And how does the child learn? Does it learn through the mother’s words or does it learn from the mother’s example? If we tell the child one thing and do another thing then the child won’t follow. So the example is a very important thing. You know, there is so much preaching going on in the world, but have people changed? If a Master, if a competent personality really is a man, and tells us something, maybe only some few words, then it hits the heart. Spirituality is a matter of heart and it is a matter of love. If we get this feeling in our heart, then it will change us completely because some yearning starts. The love of the mother is first, and when the child is small it does not know anything about the love of the mother. But when it is growing the child also starts to love the mother, 228

because it is a reflection only of the love of its parents. And it is the same with man. So God loves man first and only due to the love of God we can get this yearning for God and we begin to love God. What can we love? We can only love something which we have seen, which we know. We cannot love anything which we have never seen, which we don’t know. Christ said for example, “If you don’t love your neighbour, whom you see, how can you love God, whom you do not see?” It is impossible. We have to see this Godpower. It is said that the Godpower, when it is coming into expression, it is in the form of light and sound. And the same we find in all religions, in all holy places, in the churches, in the temples, in the gurdawaras, everywhere. You find the light, the holy eternal light or the candle, and you find the sound, whether the bell is ringing or the horn is blown or some other symbol of the sound. It means that the manbody is the true temple of God, that is written in the Bible and in all other Holy Scriptures. Manbody is the true temple of God and only when we enter the manbody we can see the light of God and there we can hear the voice of God. And that exactly is the purpose of human life, to meet a good end. We came from our Father and we have not yet come back. Our Father is still waiting for us. In all religions all over the world it is said, there is God, He is our Father, and we are brothers and sisters in God. But we have never seen Him, we know so little about Him. Prophets and Saints know about Him, but we have not followed them in the right way. They have told us so many things, but we have not put it into practice. Let us find ways and means to convey this spirituality, this idea, this vision about the unity of the soul and God. First we are soul, then we have got the manbody, the mind and the intellect. As soul we are one with God already. But there is something in between. We cannot see God and that is called illusion or maya, or forgetfulness. We are like the fish in water, we are in God, but we cannot see God. God is the life of our life, but there is some curtain above which we must rise. Therefore we need the help of somebody who can remove this curtain. And that is the Godpower Himself. Master is not the body, there is only one Master and one doer in the world and that is this Godpower. Everyone says there is one God. There is no second power in the world. So when this Godpower came into expression it started to create the whole universe. The whole creation came into being only by His will. He is the Sustainer, He is the controlling Power everywhere, and He is controlling man in this body. By knowing and coming in contact with this Power, we can go back to Him. It is like the rays of the sun. They are emanating from the sun and if we follow just the ray back we can reach the sun. It is the same way: this God-into-expression Power is emanating from God, and when going back along with this Power, we can go back to God. The reflection of the light of God or the creation of the outer universe is called negative, because when we follow it, it will lead us into the matter. It is the expression of the Power, but when we follow the Power itself, it is called positive. It is like a picture that is created by a painter, the picture is his expression. But the creator of the picture (creation) is the Godpower. He created this whole universe that is not separated from Him, but it is not God Himself, God is more than the whole creation. As long as we are only identified with the creation we cannot see God, we must rise above 229

the creation so that we can come in contact with the Creator. And that is the process that everyone of us has to do if we want to go back. God has given us the free will to do it, nobody is forced to do it. God has waited for such a long time and He is able to wait millions and billions of years more, but it is our turn to meet God now. If we use this turn, this human body, then we have fulfilled the right purpose. If we don’t use it, we’ll have to repent. So it is a very important matter because it concerns everyone. If we have love for all others we should try to make all others also go back to our Father. Once Kabir said that He went back to God’s seat and when He came there, this place was empty because this Godpower was in the world looking for His children. So God Himself is looking for us. If we understand this, and if we get the yearning in the heart, then our whole angle of vision is changed. Because spirituality cannot be taught, it can only be caught, it is like an infection. It is like falling in love. If you love somebody, do you know why you love somebody? It cannot be explained, it is just happening. And the same thing is with God, if you have this yearning for God, it is His grace that we get this yearning. Therefore it is not possible to teach spirituality. We can teach everything, every outer science but spirituality is a matter of the soul. The intellect is very necessary for discriminating, but with the intellect alone we cannot reach this goal. We need the yearning and that is only possible with the grace of God. And how can we get the grace of God? It is said that God Himself is looking for a real man. Kabir says, when he has become so pure in heart, then God was after him and said, “Stop, wait, Kabir, wait for me, I want to meet you.” Even in the Bible it is written, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” If our hearts were pure, then we would see the heavenly light within us, we would see God. That are the words of Christ and of all competent Masters. Therefore they stress the development of the higher values of life and of an ethical life. If we become pure then God can work through us. He will take work from us. He can take work from anyone, but we are not true. We are already one and this Godpower wants to take the work from us. So let us find ways and means to come to some conclusions which can help the whole humanity. Let us do our level best. With the help of the Godpower and with His blessings it will be possible.

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Suggestions for resolutions were worked out from the different panel groups. The drafting committee thereafter decided the final version which was sent to all interested in the outcome of the conference.

Resolutions All over the world many conferences have been held at the level of religions, philosophies, politics and whatsoever, but this conference was held at the level of man. Delegates from various countries, representing different religions and cultures have experienced during the sessions that it is in fact possible to sit together at the level of man to discuss the subjects of religion, philosophy, education, spirituality and politics from a universal point of view, which is a precondition to find solutions to the problems confronting humanity today. The aim of the conference – to explain the basic unity of life, to point out what man is and to show the genuine spiritual base of religion – has been achieved. The participants agreed unanimously on the following points: 1. Man, the highest rung of all creation, is basically the same everywhere. All human beings are born the same way, receive all the bounties of nature in a similar manner, are sustained by the same power called differently as God, Word, Naam, Kalma, Shabd, Nada etc. All human beings are the same as souls, there is one God whom they worship and they are members of His family and thus related to each other as brothers and sisters in Him. 2. All awakened and enlightened spiritual teachers who came to this world at various points of time and in various parts have invariably emphasized this truth in their own language everywhere. According to them all human beings, despite their distinctive social orders and denominational religions form but one class. 3. The conference states that this knowledge of the unity of man, however well accepted in theory, has not struck home to humanity at large and is not put into practice. The urgent need of the time is the consciousness of oneness which is inseparably connected with the higher values of life. These ethical values form the necessary base for the co-existence of individuals and nations: Truthfulness, non–violence, freedom, equality, regard for God, man and the whole creation and service unto them. They are eternal values which have carried mankind in the past and can carry it in future. 4. God made man and man made religions. They have been created for the moral uplift of mankind. Religion has a great influence on human society and on the individual as well. This influence can be of great use for the welfare of mankind because religions are teaching the higher values of life. All religions have made a precious contribution by giving ethical guidelines which enable human beings to live together in a peaceful way. So we have simply to revive these values and put them into practice in our daily doings. 231

However, we must discriminate between the inner and outer aspect of religion. If we take religion only as a set of rituals and rites, dogmas and beliefs, outer labels etc. which are imposed on man, it creates otherness and separation. In this way hatred and fundamentalism came up with all consequences as history shows. 5. In our world where distances have lost their importance and people of different cultural background are living side by side, we must understand and practise the inner aspect of religion which in every religion is one and the same. True religion is universal and leads man to higher consciousness and ultimately to God-consciousness, which is the highest aim of human life. So there is no need to change one’s religion, we only have to rise above the outer shackles. The true understanding of unity of man – the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God – will also bring a stoppage to further isms and sects. 6. Unity of Man provides a platform to come together on the level of man to promote this universal understanding. The so-called world-wide campaign for Unity of Man is not intended to affect the existing social and religious orders in any manner. In fact, each one has to continue to work for the upliftment of man in its own way as before. Additionally, however, this campaign has to carry the clarion call of Unity of Man to as large a mass of humanity through its own vehicle as it can, so that the message cuts across the barriers of misunderstanding and mutual distrust and strikes home to every human heart. Further, the said campaign has to be carried out not by intellectual wrestling, but with optimum desire and anxiety to put the unity of man into practice so that it becomes a real living force. The method of propagation has to be by self-discipline and self-example rather than by declarations and proclamations.

Further actions: – to arrange further conferences, meetings and lectures on unity of man – to approach political, social and religious leaders to make them aware of their responsibility of man-making and man-service – to spread the idea of unity of man through mass-media such as TV, broadcasting, literature – to introduce the ideal of unity in all spheres of human life such as education, politics, religion, and others.

Kirpal Sagar, 6 February 1994

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The unity already exists in all men, but man has forgotten it; that is all. Under the present circumstances it is most necessary that everyone should sit together in love and share all weal and woe. If all are bound together in love, even in the worst conditions there will be no fear. Strive to give happiness to others, and you yourself will receive joy. When we selfishly want only our own happiness and care little for others, naturally it ends in fighting for it in one way or another, and the result is the very opposite of happiness. Love knows service and sacrifice. If you desire to love God, then start by loving all, for He is in everyone, and in true love there is service and sacrifice. Learn to give instead of taking always. If all, in love, were prepared to give their lives for others, then who would be unhappy in such a world? You will be living for me, and I will be living for you. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Whom should we love? Not everyone, but the God in everyone – the Overself.

Kirpal Singh

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During the days of the conference Kirpal Sagar was drenched in a sea of light. The atmosphere felt there settled in the heart as an unforgettable impression.

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