HARI OM
Ellavarkkum Namaskaram.
Salutations to all of you!
First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the organizers for giving me this opportunity to address the Parliament of the world's religions.
I consider this a great privilege because it was the very first Parliament of the world's religions that the great Indian spiritual leader His Holiness Swami Vivekananda addressed in Chicago in the year 1893.
This parliament of the World's religions can truly be described as the Religious Olympics, where the spirit is mutual understanding, acceptance, friendship and global oneness.
Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the earth -
This theme of the current parliament of world's religions holds great promise for the world of today and tomorrow. The choice of this theme makes me particularly happy because it holds special relevance in the religion or the culture that I represent - that is Hinduism which occupies a mother's place among religions.
The term "Hinduism" was introduced by the British to denote the religious, philosophical and cultural traditions native to India. In Sanskrit we call it "Sanathana Dharma" meaning eternal Law. Hinduism is a way of life in India. This Indian way of life has been moulded by the Vedas, which are also known as shruthis.
The Sanskrit word 'shruthi' means that which is heard. 'shruthi' is said to have no author; rather, it is believed to be a divine recording of the "cosmic sounds of truth", heard by rishis or saints.
The shruthis have thus evolved through hearing. Shruthi is the very reason that the Upanishads exist. The word "Upanishad" when literally translated is "sitting at the feet or in the presence of a teacher." This kind of teaching probably existed in India ages before it was set down in any written form and was passed down from the gurus to their disciples only through speaking and listening. This art of listening can't be more relevant and practical than in the present situation. Everyone wants to talk and talk but no one seems to listen anymore. Right from homes to big political gatherings, everyone wants to voice his or her opinion. Nowadays listening and mutual understanding is very less and the result is dissatisfaction which has stemmed and snowballed into wars.
A child wants a mother to listen and the mother wants the child to listen; a husband wants the wife to listen and vice versa; the employer wants his employees to listen and the employees want the superiors to listen; When we see the global situation, India wants Pakistan to listen and Pakistan wants India to listen. The same thing is true of Iran Iraq and Israel Palestine. The United States of America wants all these nations to listen to them and all nations appeal to the US to listen to them.
Today's world is full of talk, talk, talk. Back home in India, I saw a big advertisement of a telecom company that says, "Talk more!" As it is we talk too much, and because we are always talking, we never listen; What saddens me is that because we never listen, we miss out a lot of things in our lives especially what Nature is saying to us. This is another sad consequence of our modern lifestyle. In ancient times the sages were fine- tuned to Nature- they heard and listened. Their deep and quiet wisdom was a result of hearing and listening and this was reflected in their hymns and worship. They heard, they listened and they sang in glory:
"Om bhadram karnebhih shrunuyaama devaah
Bhadram pashyemaakshabhiryajatraah
Sthirairangaistushtuvaamsastanoobhih
Vyashema devahitam yadaayuh
Swasti na indro vridhashravaah
Swasti nah pooshaa vishwavedaah
Swasti nastaarkshyo arishtanemih
Swasti no brihaspatir dadhaatu.
Om shantih, shantih, shantih!"
This shloka was recited by our rishis to nature through which they appealed, "May our ears rejoice from hearing your voices". "May we see what is auspicious".
To the Hindu sage 'hearing each other' means not just humans hearing humans. It signifies hearing the whole universe with utmost reverence, attention and concentration. When in meditation, one can hear and see even the quiet blooming of a flower. Every bit of Nature would have much to tell us - the seas, rivers, plants and animals- even the tiny ant. And they would especially tell us how much they suffer today and how this suffering would spell disaster for the whole of mankind and the universe.
All the Indian scriptures took birth in the forests and among nature, in the presence of plants, animals and all the forces of nature. Bhagavan Sree Krishna says through the Bhagavad Gita,
"Bhumiraapo'nalo vayuhu kham mano bhuddhireva cha
Ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakritirashtadha",
"Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego, these eight together constitute my separate material energies... ".
The 5 basic elements of nature - Space, air, fire, water, and earth - would have plenty to tell us if only we opened our sense organs. This indeed, is what is meant by hearing each other. And I sincerely believe that it is through such a hearing that we will be able to heal Mother Earth.
Most Indian epics , puranas (mythologies) and scriptures begin with an appeal for the Divine incarnation to heal and save the Earth. The 5 elements even assumed God like forms and were given names. Why! Even names like Vishwamitra, which means friend of the universe, are proof that the ancient wise sages and men respected, worshipped and loved nature.
Lord Krishna, one of the most important incarnations of Vishnu, comes to the world, to spread the message that the purpose of his incarnation is indeed protection of Nature. Krishna's actions carry this message. The young Krishna notices that the river Kalindi which flows peacefully through his land is getting polluted. Lives dependant on the river are dying. Krishna sets out to find the cause and discovers the serpent Kaliya polluting the waters with poison. In the encounter that follows, Krishna overpowers Kaliya and then helps him to relocate, thus restoring the purity of Kalindi.
In another striking instance, Krishna questions those who blindly worshipped God. He points to Mount Govardhan and asks: "Is it not this mountain that we should worship? It is here that our cattle graze; it is from here that we get the water that sustains us. Is this not the God who blesses us and whom we see before our very eyes?"
Thus Krishna questions his people and sets them thinking. Krishna teaches his people that worship of Nature is indeed worship of the Divine. These are perhaps the earliest and finest examples of Environmental awareness campaigns that took place in India several thousand years ago.
Campaigns that could make a difference
Coming back to the present: How can this Parliament of the World's Religions help to create a new and different world? This is the most important question. The only answer I can think of is to worship and respect nature and listen to mother nature.
I would like to quote my guru, His Holiness Swami Chinmayananda, who in his message to the World Parliament of religions in 1993 said,
"The tradition of the world is that people come together in a spirit of cooperation only in the political and economic fields, but never in the field of social revival, nurtured by a purely selfless sense of reverence to the past. Every community will have to lift itself by itself. This we can achieve! We must achieve! We will achieve!"
From this moment onwards, let us take an oath, to preserve and worship nature. In the coming years, let protection of nature be the true form of worship to God. The religious ideals of the future must embrace all that exists in the world and is good and great, and, at the same time, have infinite scope for future development.
All that was good in the past must be preserved; and the doors must be kept open for the future If the religious leaders of today could take up this mission, I am sure that we can make a world of difference. And for the creation of that New World, I pray that the bells toll right here in this Parliament of the World's Religions.
May God bless all of us and enable us for that sacred purpose.
Thank you!
Om shanthi, shanthi, shanthi