Oneness-World Peace-Blossoms: (b) Meditation at UN 25th, Statements by Secretaries-General

Filed under Tributes and Expressions of appreciation | UN Anniversaries

Statements and tributes from the international community on the occasion of the
twenty-fifth anniversary of

Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at The United Nations.

This is Part (b) Statements by the Secretaries-General.

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U THANT
Secretary-General of the United Nations
(1961-1971)

Sri Chinmoy offered U Thant a bouquet of flowers at a meeting with the Secretary-General on 29 February 1972, when U Thant said:

“Whoever speaks to me about you is all appreciation and admiration; and I personally feel that you have been doing a most significant task for the United Nations. Please feel my sincere respect and sincere concern for what you are doing for mankind.”

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In a letter dated 10 April 1972 U Thant commented:
“you have indeed instilled in the minds of hundreds of people here the moral and spiritual values which both of us cherish very dearly. I shall always cherish the memorable occasion of our meeting at the United Nations.”

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The following year, on 25 May 1973, U Thant was guest of honour at the premiere of Sri Chinmoy’s play about the life of the Buddha. Below are excerpts from U Thant’s remarks:

“Revered and highly esteemed Sri Chinmoy, and brothers and sisters, it is a great privilege to be able to participate in this spiritually rewarding experience. And for this I am most grateful to our esteemed teacher, Sri Chinmoy, for this innovative undertaking. I also feel particularly moved and touched by his very gracious blessing bestowed on me.

“Sri Chinmoy very kindly sent me a copy of the play Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha. I have read it with great interest and with great admiration and profit. Of course, it is extremely difficult to depict the important episodes of the life of the Buddha in the course of a few minutes or an hour or so. But I found that Sri Chinmoy has done a most remarkable job in presenting the play in simple language understandable even to the uninitiated. His stress on the basic characteristics of Buddhism – on compassion, love, renunciation, peace – should stimulate the thoughts of leaders of men and leaders of thought everywhere. As you all are aware, I was brought up as a Buddhist by tradition, by faith and by practice; and I find myself in complete agreement with Sri Chinmoy in his enunciation of the ethical and moral aspects of Buddhism, which in my view should be the basis for each of us in our search for inner light, in our search for truth.

“Sri Chinmoy in his play also has drawn a very vivid picture of the identity between God and Truth, soul and inner Light, which I very much hope will create an abiding interest in these two great religions-Hinduism and Buddhism – which in many ways constitute the key to all great religions. I feel very strongly, as some of my friends know, that only by the practical application of the teachings of great religious leaders, particularly the development of the moral and the spiritual aspects of life as Sri Chinmoy has stressed in the play-love,
compassion, tolerance, and the philosophy of live – and – let – live, modesty and even humility – that only with this approach, only with this method, will we all be able to fashion the kind of society we want, a truly moral society, a decent society, a liveable society, which is the goal of all great religions.

“I want to thank particularly those friends who are participating in this play. I wish all of you peace of mind and eternal joy, and particularly the inner joy. Thank you very much, Sri Chinmoy.”

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KURT WALDHEIM
Secretary-General of the United Nations
(1972-1981)

At a meeting on 16 July 1976, Secretary-General Waldheim presented Sri Chinmoy with a silver medallion in appreciation of his work at the United Nations. The two met again at the United Nations on 7 March 1977 and on 24 October 1978.

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On 16 July 1976, Mr. Waldheim remarked.

“We want only peace, peace. You are praying for peace. I know what you and the group are doing for us. I know it, I can feel it.”

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In a letter to Sri Chinmoy dated 23 March 1988, sent in Mr. Waldheims capacity as President oj Austria, the Former Secretary-general wrote:

“ In the course of time, experience has shown that after each war life begins anew, but this does not hold true anymore in our nuclear age. To hope that even after a world war a time will come when culture and economy will flourish again may have been meaningful in the past; there is no place for such hope in this nuclear age. We must therefore become determined, and commit ourselves, to exert all our efforts to ban the scourge of war from this world.

“This goal is not an illusion. Yet it is a goal whose attainment will demand our utmost.

“One very important way of reaching this goal seems to me the process of preparing mankind for a life in peace. This is a long-term objective, whose accomplishment will surely take two to three generations. We are all called upon to stop being selfish, quarrelsome and unjust, and instead turn to, and strive for peace.

“As head of the weekly peace meditations at the U.N., Sri Chinmoy has for the last 18 years contributed to this process of change and relearning. For this activity in the interest of world peace, I would like to express my sincere thanks to him.”

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During a private meeting on 7 June 1991, President Waldheim joined Sri Chinmoy in holding the peace torch that travels around the world during a biennial international torch relay run through over 80 countries. His comments about the Peace Run follow:

“Work for peace is no longer the monopoly of politics and diplomacy-it needs everyone to be a torch-carrier. Therefore, I welcome the initiative of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run.”

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JAVIER PEREZ DE CUELLAR

Secretary-General of the United Nations

(1982-1991)

Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar meditated in his private office with Sri Chinmoy on 13 January 1983, remarking later in the meeting:

” I am indeed touched by your sincere expression of support for my efforts in the cause of peace and international understanding.

“In your meditation you see beyond the superficial distinctions of race, sex, language or religion, as the Charter encourages us to do. You concentrate on the truths and the ideals which unite all mankind: the longing for peace, the need for compassion, the search for tolerance and understanding among men and women of all nations .

“We must never forget that all our activities here are aimed at fulfilling the lofty principles of the Charter. We must not lose sight of these objectives despite the frequent difficulties we encounter along the way. In recalling the fundamental goals which inspire our work, you are helping to reaffirm our commitment to the Organization and its purposes.”

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Following is a statement by Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar on the occasion of the 1986 U Thant Peace Award ceremony.

“The promotion of mutual human respect across religious, ideological, political and economic boundaries is at the very root of the United Nations and imbued the life’s work of my distinguished predecessor, U Thant. As we remember him therefore we should also bear in mind that the ideals of tolerance and mutual accommodation, which he espoused so dearly, retain today all their power and relevance. They should inspire all our endeavours.”

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The following message was offered by Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar on the occasion of the 1987 Oneness-Home Peace Run, a global relay for peace inspired by Sri Chinmoy.

“ It is my pleasure to greet the organizers and participants in this remarkable event.

“Your aim is to foster harmony and peaceful cooperation among nations through increased human contacts. Your essential message is that we, the members of the human family, despite our many differences, have infinitely much more to unite and bond us together. Nothing could be more in consonance with the essential purpose of the United Nations Organization.

“Accordingly, as United Nations Secretary-General, I wish you every success in this endeavour, for you are all ambassadors in the cause of peace.”

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From: “Oneness-World Peace-Blossoms: Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations 25th Anniversary” , printed in 1995.

(a) Contents and Alphabetical Name Index

(b) Statements by the Secretaries-General.. …………. 1
(c) Messages from the Vatican .……………………… 1 3

(d) Statements by recipients the U Thant Peace Award …. 1 7
(e) Statements by Government leaders ……………… 33
(f) Statements by Presidents of the General Assembly, Ambassadors, Officials and other participants …..

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