05 October 2009

World Peace Summit in Hungary

World Peace Summit – The Message of Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Swami Madhavananda INNER PEACE – THE ANSWER TO WORLD CONFLICTS

From 2^nd-4^th October, 2009, the World Peace Summit – The Message of Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Swami Madhavananda took place in the city of Szombathely, Hungary. Mahatma Gandhi and His Holiness Sri Swami Madhavananda were outstanding spiritual leaders of our time, and their messages of peace, nonviolence and truthfulness are more relevant than ever to our troubled world.

The Summit is an annual event conducted by the Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council in cooperation with Yoga in Daily Life™. Its founder and President is H. H. Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, author of the worldwide renowned Yoga in Daily Life System. This year, patronage was granted by the Prime Minister of Hungary. The topic of the Summit was chosen as: "Inner Peace – the Answer to World Conflicts".

On Friday evening the Conference started with a cultural performance of national and international artists, dancers and musicians. On Saturday morning the opening of the Summit was celebrated by the lighting of Peace Candles. Keynote speakers were Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda; H.E. Ranjit Rae, Ambassador of India to Hungary; H.E. Ivan Bandic Ambassador of Croatia to Hungary who conveyed the message of his President, Stjepan Mesic; Dr. Arun Manilal Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi; Surya Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Shubhash Chandra Bose; Prof. Timi Ecimovic, scientist; Riccardo Di Done, President of the Organization for the Protection of Children's Rights; and many other dignitaries.

Numerous Peace Messages have been received, among them messages from the President of Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina Presidency Chairman Željko Komšić, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, the Premier of South Australia, and the Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of South Australia.

This year, for the first time, the World Peace Council conferred Peace Awards and recognized as "Messengers of Tolerance, Nonviolence and Peace", three personalities: H. E. Stjepan Mesic, President of Croatia; the Hon. Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia; and Mr. Ramu Damodaran, President of the UN Staff Recreation Council.

As a living and lasting symbol of this peace initiative a Peace Tree was planted and Peace Prayers were offered by H. H. Swamiji, the VIP guests and summit delegates from around the world, in the central city park of Szombathely.

Excerpts of speeches.

Dr. Renate Lavicka, Radha, General Secretary of the WPC, welcomed participants in the name of the Sri Madhavananda World Peace Council and introduced the aim of the World Peace Summit and need to promote Mahatma Gandhi’s and Sri Swami Madhavanandaji’s messages. She stressed Gandhi’s thought that “There is no way to peace, peace is the way”.

H.E. Ranjit Rao, Ambassador of India to Hungary, thanked Swamiji for this wonderful work to bring peace not only to Hungary but to the whole world. Hungary lies on a cross road between east and west. Famous words from Gandhiji: that a house should have windows open to the wind from all sides. Hungary has a rich tradition of scholarship exchange with India . For Gandhiji non-violence was a deep rooted conviction. For him violence only brings forth violence again. This we experience day by day, that violence is no solution.

H.E. Ivan Bandic, Ambassador of Croatia to Hungary, said that he is very happy and proud to have the privilege to take part in this Summit and convey the letter of the Croatian President.

Ms. Mubera Ramic from the Office of the President of Bosnia, expressed her thankfulness to attend the Summit on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and she read a message from the Bosnian president, Zeljko Komsic to all participants.

Mr. Ramu Damodaran, President of the UN Staff Recreation Council, quoted Swamiji’s sentence that “a seed should be planted in order for it to grow into a tree”. Likewise, the messages and seeds of peace have been planted many times but if they are not disseminated they will not grow into peace trees. The seeds of peace should be spread far and wide, especially in local communities. There is a need to create human solidarity. We have to transcend our knowledge and experiences in order to reach inner peace and world peace. He thanked Swamiji for all his effort to bring peace into the world.

H.E. Takalani Esther Netshitenzhe, Ambassador of South Africa, spoke on Mahatma Gandhi’s message in correlation with the international conferences and summits aimed to achieve a more peaceful and sustainable world. Mentioned Gandhi’s time spent in South Africa, and the life of Nelson Mandela. Spoke on the concept of democracy and equality among nations, and on the establishment of democracy and human rights in South Africa.

Paramhans Swamiji Maheshwarananda, started his speech by chanting OM and reciting the Peace Mantra. He told that his Master, Holy Guruji would often say: "It takes time for a seed to grow into a large tree." For that, the seed has to sacrifice itself. As it is said in the Christian Bible – you have to die in order to live. Humans have made one big mistake: We speak only about human rights, human needs – but we should love and protect all of God’s creation because God does not love only us humans. Wars and fighting are reflections of the karma which human s have committed against other creatures. Every action has its reaction and opposite. The highest principle is non-violence. Gandhiji also used the same word – ahimsa. Wars are against ahimsa, against the Vedas, Bible, Q'uran and all holy scriptures. October 2^nd is the International Day of Nonviolence as declared by the UN in honour of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. There are no boundaries, no limitations, life is one and the creator is only one. We are all children of one God. If we want to see peace in our country we have to search for brotherhood. We should raise these thoughts and awareness that the whole world is one family. Then there will be no more hate, fighting, violence and war.

Dr. Arun Manilal Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, shared with the audience what he learned about the principle of non-violence when he lived with his grandfather as a young boy of 12. Gandhiji used to say that "anger is like electricity which we can use for good or bad." We must learn to channel the anger in the best way. It is an important thing learning how to avoid violence. There are various kinds of violence. We can also commit violence without using physical force, hurting others through words, behaviour or carelessness. This Gandhi called passive violence. Accumulated passive violence will burst out into physical violence one day, and this is what is happening in our world, particularly happening in the youth. We are living in a "culture of violence" nowadays. By throwing away useful things and by over-consuming we commit violence against our planet and deprive other people who live in poverty. We commit passive violence every day consciously or unconsciously and that is why we should understand what is going on within us. Only then can we succeed in changing the world.

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