CONVOCATION OF SPIRITUAL LEADERS OF INDIA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

SHARING WISDOM IN THE SEARCH FOR INNER PEACE

H. H. YOGINI  SRI CHANDRA KALI PRASADA MATAJI

I humbly pay my respects to all the honorable spiritual leaders of today’s convocation, and the most respected brothers and sisters of the audience.

I would like to share with all, the wisdom my Spiritual Master has bestowed on me over the years, through various religious and spiritual practices.  This wisdom greatly helps in establishing peace, not only within one’s own self, but also in the world.

Hindu philosophy is based on the truth that there is one Supreme Power which is the sustaining force of the entire creation.  In accordance with this fact, it is comparable to an ocean.  Just as the ocean accepts all the rivers that flow into it, so also, Hinduism accepts all religions.  Personal transformation starts with realization of this Supreme Power within one’s own self.  He will then be able to experience that Power all around him.   Thus, he understands that this Power is universal, non-dual, indivisible and eternal.  He sees unity in diversity.  He will not see his fellow-human being as different from him and so, does not fear.  Such a person is full of compassion and unblemished love.  He will work towards peace and prosperity of not only mankind but the whole nature.   This is accomplished only through faith and surrender to that Supreme Power, and under the able guidance of a Spiritual Teacher (Guru), who is embodiment of that Power.  Guru shows various spiritual practices like meditation, prayer, and religious observances, to attain this goal.  There is peace and tranquility only in deep ocean.  Similarly, one has to go into the depths of any religious tradition with unswerving faith and perseverance, in search of inner peace.  Thus, in man’s quest for inner peace, he will try to keep an open mind, so that he can better understand his fellow human beings by having an open dialogue; healing the earth is possible by exchange of ideas and restoring spiritual values.  Peace is much needed in today's world.  Unless each individual changes his behavior and thinking, for his own progress and the world at large, peace cannot be established.

Man experiences personal transformation by deepening his spirituality.  Undesirable qualities like jealousy, hatred, selfishness, intolerance and unrest are replaced by virtues like compassion, unblemished love, selflessness, tolerance and peace; a self-realized person experiences the omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient power; he sees unity in diversity, and so, is committed to working towards peace and justice for all.  A transformed person’s speech is soft and friendly, and this will help him to create a communal feeling.  His words or actions will not harm anyone.  Meditation creates awareness.  This awareness or mindfulness is what is required especially in today’s world, in order to protect the environment and its inhabitants.

ARISE, AWAKE, STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED

This is what the ancient Saints of India have preached. 

Everything starts with one’s own self.  A person who is awake only can harm or help the world, not a person who is asleep.   People perform service by means of donating wealth, education, time, so on and so forth.  They are able to do this only if they are awake; but this service is performed for the sake of fame or some other selfish motive.  A true self-realized person does the same service selflessly.  This is because, in spirituality, this self or ‘I’ is not the physical form.  It is that divinity that is latent in everything in God’s creation.  This ‘I’ can be experienced or seen only with the guidance of a True Spiritual Master like, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Buddha, Sant Mahavir, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, our Gurudev Sri Babuji Maharaj or any of the spiritual leaders who are on this stage.  Faith in the Master is absolutely necessary.

It is said that creation came from the AUM.  AUM is the spoken essence of the universe and is a Mantra.  This is the Universal Energy which we can call GOD – G stands for Generator or Creator; O stands for Operator or Protector; D stands for Destroyer or Annihilator.  This Energy is all pervading – Sky consists of space – space has the property of transmitting sound.  In silence, the sound AUM can be heard in space.  The speech of a self-realized person has a very positive effect and emits positive vibrations into the space; conversely, a person who has no control over his emotions or senses emits very negative vibrations.  So it is very important for every individual to watch the mind –  let us examine the word WATCH –

W – Watch your Word

A – Watch your Action

T – Watch your Thought

C – Watch your Character

H – Watch your Heart

One has to be aware of what he or she says or does something.  His or her thought or action will have either positive or negative effect on the entire creation.  This awareness is true awakening.  This is what the ancient saints meant when they said ARISE, AWAKE.  STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED – the goal being the experience of unity in diversity and then serving all of God’s creation selflessly; and this is service to God Himself.

Spiritual practice should be part of one’s life style.   Company of good and like-minded people is of great assistance in this process of divine realization.

‘I’ and ‘mine’ are the root cause for attachment.  Man craves for recognition of that physical ‘I’ or self, whatever he sees,  he wants to possess that, or, this person or thing belongs to him (mine);  thus, he  becomes very narrow minded in his thinking.  The world is ours.  It does not belong to any single person.  The diversified and dualistic nature of the world is sustained by that One Supreme Energy.  This is true realization and this is the foundation stone for the Council for Parliament of World’s Religions.  This Parliament is ever striving to achieve harmony amongst various religious and spiritual communities whose goal is a just, peaceful and sustainable world.  It is a great privilege to be of service at this Conference.  May God bless all the Staff of the Council for Parliament of World’s Religions who worked tirelessly with dedication to bring about this Event and I sincerely pray that all their endeavors be successful.

Thank you and God bless you all.

  2008 Speeches

  2009 Speeches