In late August 2000, Goenkaji participated in the
Millennium World Peace Summit__ a gathering of 1000 of the world’s religious
and spiritual leaders, held at the United Nations under the auspices of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The purpose of the meeting was to promote
tolerance, foster peace, and encourage inter-religious dialogue. With the many
different viewpoints represented, the potential for disagreement was strong. In
his presentation to the delegates, Goenkaji tried to highlight what they and
all spiritual paths have in common: the universal Dhamma. His remarks were
received with repeated ovations.
Friends, leaders of the spiritual and religious
world:
This is a wonderful occasion, when we can all unite
and serve humanity. Religion is religion only when it unites; when it divides
us, it is nothing.
Much has been said here about conversion, both for
and against. Far from being opposed to conversion, I am in favor of it__ but
not conversion from one organized religion to another. No, the conversion must
be from misery to happiness. It must be from bondage to liberation. It must be
from cruelty to compassion. That is the conversion needed today, and that is
what this meeting should seek to bring about.
The ancient land of Nepal gave a message of peace
and harmony to the world, to all humanity, but it did more: it gave a method, a
technique, for achieving peace and harmony. To me it seems that if we want
peace in human society, we cannot ignore individuals. If there is no peace in
the mind of the individual, I do not understand how there can be real peace in
the world. If I have an agitated mind, always full of anger, hatred, ill will
and animosity, how can I give peace to the world? I cannot because I have no
peace myself. Enlightened persons have therefore said, “First find peace within
yourself.” One has to examine whether there is really peace within oneself. All
the sages, saints and seers of the world have advised, “Know thyself
(yourself).” That means not merely knowing at the intellectual level, or
accepting at the emotional or devotional level, but realizing by experience at
the actual level. When you experience the truth about yourself, within
yourself, at the experiential level, the problems of life find their solution.
You start understanding the university law, the law
of nature__ or, if you prefer, the law of God Almighty. This law is applicable
to one and all: when I generate anger, hatred, ill will, or animosity, I am the
first victim of my anger. I am the first victim of the hatred or animosity that
I have generated within. First I harm myself, and only afterwards do I start
harming others. This is the law of nature.
If I observe within myself, I find that as soon as
any negativity arises in the mind, there is a physical reaction: my body becomes
hot and starts burning; there are palpitations and tension; I am miserable.
When I generate negativity within me and become miserable, I do not keep the
misery limited to myself; instead I throw it on to others. I make the entire
atmosphere around me so tense that anyone who comes in contact with me also
becomes miserable. Although I talk of peace and happiness, more important than
words is what is happening within me. When my mind is free of negativity,
again, the law starts working. The moment there is no negativity in the mind,
nature__ or God Almighty__ starts rewarding me: I feel peaceful. This too I can
observe within myself.
Whatever one’s religion or tradition or country,
when one breaks the law of nature and generates negativity in the mind, one is
bound to suffer. Nature itself provides the punishment. Those who break
nature’s laws start feeling the misery of hellfire within, here and now. The
seed they sow now is a seed of hellfire and what awaits them after death is
nothing but hellfire. Similarly, according to the law of nature, if I keep that
I sow will have as its fruit the kingdom of heaven after death. It makes no
difference whether I call myself a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian or a Jain: a
human being is a human being; the human mind is the human mind.
The conversion that is needed is from impurity of
mind to purity of mind. This conversion changes people in wonderful ways. It is
no magic or miracle; this is a pure science of observing the interaction of
mind and matter within. One examines how the mind keeps influencing the
material body, and how the body influences the mind. Through patient
observation, the law of nature becomes so clear: whenever one generates mental
negativity, one starts suffering; and whenever one is free from negativity, one
enjoys peace and harmony. This technique of self-observation can be practiced
by one and all.
Taught in ancient times by the Enlightened One in
Nepal, the technique spread around the world. Today also, people from different
communities, traditions and religious come and learn this technique, to obtain
the same benefit. They may continue to call themselves Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim,
or Christian. These labels make no difference; a human being is a human being.
The difference is that through their practice they become truly spiritual
people, full of love and compassion. What they are doing is good for themselves
and for all others. When someone generates peace in the mind, the entire
atmosphere around that person is permeated with the vibration of peace and
anyone who encounters that person also starts enjoying peace. This mental
change is the real conversion that is required. No other conversion has
meaning.
Permit me to read you a benevolent message from
Nepal to the world. Inscribed in stone 2300 years ago, these are the words of
Emperor Ashoka the Great, an ideal ruler, explaining how to govern. He tells
us, “One should not honor only one’s own religion and condemn other faiths.”
This is an important message for our time. By condemning others and insisting
that one’s own tradition is the best, one creates difficulties for humanity.
Ashoka continues, “Instead one should honor other religious for various
reasons.” Every religion worthy of the name has a wholesome essence of love,
compassion and goodwill. We should give honor to the religion because of this
essence. The outer form always differs; there will be so many variations in
rites, rituals, ceremonies or beliefs. Let us not quarrel about all that, but
instead give importance to the inner essence. Ashoka says, “By so doing, one
helps one’s own religion to grow and also renders service to the religions of
others. In acting otherwise, one digs the grave of one’s own religion, and
harms other religions as well.”
This is a serious warning for us all. The message
says, “Someone who honors his own religion and condemns other religions may do
so out of devotion to his religion thinking ‘I will glorify my religion,’ but
his actions injure his own religion more gravely.”
Finally, Ashoka presents the message of the
Universal Law, the message of Dharma: “Let all listen: Concord is good, not
quarrelling. Let all be willing to listen to the doctrine professed by others.”
Instead of disagreeing and condemning, let us give importance to the essence of
the teaching of every religion. Then, there will be real peace, real harmony.
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