Peace is the only choice

All over the world, today, there is a cry for a new world order; a new life. I believe a new age is dawning, a new age when love and peace will be established upon this earth. I don’t merely believe it-I can almost hear the new age knocking on the doors of our hearts

Today, we have arrived at a stage where, nations and individuals alike must learn to understand one another-to make peace or perish! There is no other choice!

Humanity is like an orphan crying in the night, crying for the light. This is why eminent thinkers, philosophers and scientists tell us that civilisation has become sick. Today, wherever you turn, there is a passion for power; lust for fame; greed for gold. Today, the nations seem to be wandering in a jungle of darkness, where might is right. Today, humanity stands amidst the ruins of values and ideals. Mother Nature shudders with horror, while her children are busy building weapons of death and destruction.

When the cross-bow was designed, people feared that it would lead to mass-killing. Then came gunpowder and canons, capable of causing instant death of hundreds of people. Then we invented nuclear weapons—whose destructive power we are yet to fathom. Now we only talk about WMD-weapons of mass destruction. There is talk too, of biological warfare,raining cruel diseases and infections upon a whole nation and its people. The hearts of people and nations are filled with hatred and selfishness. Wars continue to mutilate humanity.

It is undeniable that we are passing through a period of crisis. Unrest is deepening in the nations of the world. There is a wild race for weapons and missiles, battleships and bomber jets and sophisticated arms and ammunition.

Today, there is a craze for ‘big’ and ‘great’. Little things, alas, do not satisfy us anymore. It would seem that our very egos have become inflated! We want to amass larger fortunes, build bigger structures, found bigger institutions, and write bigger volumes! I am afraid all this leads to ‘bigger’ and greater unhappiness!

Even more worrying is the moral decay that has set in. The moral base of public life has been shattered; values are no longer respected.

All over the world, today, there is a cry for a new world order; a new life. For men and women, young and old are tired of the present order. The cry comes from temples and churches, from factories and farms, from homes and offices, from souls seeking peace, and hearts full of aspiration for a better future.

But let me tell you-there is hope for us all! I believe a new age is dawning, a new age when love and peace will be established upon this earth. I don’t merely believe it, I can almost hear the new age knocking on the doors of our hearts. All we need are the blessed ones who will open the door to the new age!

Very often, I am asked the question: What is your vision of the 21st century?

My answer and my vision are very simple! Mine is a vision of a world without war, a world without want. A world in which every human being can live a life of dignity, with all the necessities of life provided, and can hold his head high. A world in which peace prevails among nations and harmony among the peoples of the earth. A world in which the right to live is guaranteed to every creature that breathes the breath of life.

Mine is the vision of a world in which the truth is recognised that life and all its bounties, all that we are and all that we have-our time and talents, knowledge and wisdom, experience and influence, prestige and power, wealth and strength, indeed, life itself—is a loan given to us, to be passed on to those whose need is greater than ours!

I am convinced that we are standing on the threshold of a new age of love and peace that will see all nations and all people united by the bonds of brotherhood.

Today, we have arrived at a stage where nations and individuals alike must learn to understand one another-to make peace or perish! There is no other choice!

We expect peace to be handed over to us on a platter-for free.

We will get peace only when we are willing to pay the right price-and the price for peace is recognition of the higher laws of nature and life; recognition of the ideals of tolerance, brotherhood, understanding and equality.