Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

IRISH LEADER GOES UP AND AWAY

Sri Chinmoy lifted Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland, on Oct. 30 at Aspiration-Ground. Robinson, who recently served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was “very humbled and indeed very uplifted by this very thoughtful ceremony … .I’m afraid I was almost overcome by the beautiful singing …. ”

In the guest book, she wrote: “May you continue your inspirational work for peace and for the oneness of the world. We need it more than ever.”

Excerpt from Anahata Nada: August 2004 – Mid-November 2004

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Introduction of President  Mary Robinson:

30 October 2004 Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart – President Mary Robinson

It is the greatest honour and privilege to welcome today an extraordinary champion of humanity, Mrs. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

President Robinson’s stellar career began when she became Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law at Trinity College in Dublin at the age of 25. She served as Senator from 1969-1989, as President of Ireland from 1990-1997, and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002.

She was the fearless Secretary-General of the World Conference Against Racism in 2001. In 2002 she launched the Ethical Globalization Institute.

President Robinson is currently Professor, Adviser and Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University here in New York. She is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize.

As President of Ireland, tackling controversial issues and at the same time reaching out to the whole population of her country, Mrs. Robinson enjoyed an unprecedented approval rating. During her Presidency she brought to the world’s attention the sufferings of R wanda and Somalia, extending her country’s concern to the far corners of the globe. We are deeply grateful to President Robinson for her compassion for the people of India, Sri Chinmoy’ s Motherland. We thank her for kindly supporting our Peace Run between Dublin and Belfast in 1991, and for most graciously receiving our world-encircling Peace Torch in 1994.

President Robinson is a person of uncompromising integrity dedicated to what she affirms is “the right of the people to gain the full flower of their human rights.” She enforces the highest standards “without fear or favour.”

Of her position as High Commissioner, she has said, “I knew that to do the job well and bring out what is really the culture of human rights, you have to stand up to bullies, you’ve got to be prepared to criticise both developed and developing countries.”

In President Robinson we see a towering intellect governed by a world-embracing and courage-flooded heart. At her Presidential inauguration she prayed, “May God direct me so that my Presidency is one of justice, peace and love.” Indeed, justice, peace and love have been the hallmarks of President Robinson’s life.

It is with deepest appreciation, admiration and gratitude that we now welcome President Robinson to receive the Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart Award.

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President Mary Robinson: Sri Chinmoy and all who are present, I’m really very humbled and indeed very uplifted by this very thoughtful ceremony this morning. Indeed, I’m afraid I was almost overcome by the beautiful singing and the choices of phrases that I was being honoured with. As President Nelson Mandela, Madiba, said, it is a shot in the arm.

We’ve also recently become grandparents. My husband Nick is here with myself. And that is also an enormous short in the arm. I was reminded by a friend of mine, who is also a grandmother, that it’s the best and least exclusive club in the world, which I liked very much. But somehow it renewed my commitment beyond belief.

So today is, in fact, very uplifting because the initiative that I now lead­ which itself is very small, but is trying to connect with others-we have also named Realising Rights. Everyone in the world should realise that they have human rights, as it says in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” And I’ve always liked that “dignity” comes before “rights.” Everybody should realise they have rights, and those with power should realise those rights, meaning implement them.

I’m afraid I’m incurable. I will go on doing this, but I do feel very uplifted.

Thank you so much.

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Sri Chinmoy (introducing Mr. Sundar Dalton): He comes from Ireland.

President Robinson: Oh! From what part?

Mr. Sundar Dalton: From Belfast. I also went to Trinity, and I went to one of your lectures there many years ago.

Sri Chinmoy: He made arrangements for me to meet President De Valera and President Erskine Childers.

President Robinson: Yes, both of them I knew, but I knew Erskine Childers well.

Sri Chinmoy: Today I am blessed by a third President.

President Robinson: I must tell you a funny story. I mentioned this earlier. I served my seven years as President. Then there was a contested election, and President Mary McAleese was elected. And she finished her seven years in November. She’s done a good job so nobody opposed her, and I will go to Dublin on the 11th of November for her inauguration as President for a further seven years. Now we both tell the same joke, which is that small boys in Ireland weep on their mother’s knee and say, “Why can’t I grow up to be President?” (laughter) (With two women Presidents,) we’re a little ahead of the United States.

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Reception after the lift at Aspiration Ground was at adjacent Pilgrim Museum

Sri Chinmoy (A later comment): At one point Mary Robinson said, “I talk too much,” means she talks too much, and it is the habit of the President to talk. So her husband made a plot. Her husband will cough when she is talking too much.

He will cough and cough. Then she knows that she has to stop. Now it has happened a few times he was not there, but she used to hear his coughing. Even in his absence, she used to hear his coughing, so she used to stop.

Adhiratha: When I first saw her come in, being she’s four years older than I am, I expected one thing. I’ve seen her picture and seen quite a bit written about her. I thought she’d look a little older, and I thought by this time she’d be a little plumper because that’s usually what happens to people when they’re out of office. And she was so striking and approaching everyone directly with so much energy that it almost took you aback at first, just this incredible light.

The other thing that we had seen was that when she was trying to raise awareness about certain things in Africa, she was part of a big press conference. And she took pride in presenting things to get people interested, but not being too emotional. But after she had been to Africa and she went to try to expand, she almost broke down on television, and she was furious at herself afterwards. But even the people that had originally been criticising her in different newspapers, one of the editors passed her a note afterwards that said, “You were magnificent.” And it ended up having an incredible effect on everyone who saw it because they knew how she prided herself on not being too emotional, and yet it was so overwhelming that it moved her and it so moved everyone who was looking. And that’s why she had 93 percent approval rating.

Mention of Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

Then she was telling us when she first came in about people she had seen, like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, and she’s with Desmond Tutu quite a lot. And she was saying how he is quite mischievous when he is in political situations and they’re asking him questions. I mentioned that after he was with Guru, the next day he gave his big speech to the UN, which we all attended. And that night he was on the media, and it was obvious they were trying to press him about the current situation in our country. So they said, “What do you think about the American elections, especially the last election?” It was one of those questions that everyone was wondering how he would answer it. And he sort of stepped back and said, “Well, the only advice I have is that the Americans should learn how to count.”

When I told her that, she said, “That’s him! That’s him! I got asked questions like that last week-if I had just been able to say that.” I said, “Well, in three or four days you might be asked more questions.” She said, “That’s right.” It’s obvious that she’s always looking for ways to move things forward, but within the atmosphere that’s created. So it was really refreshing to be with her and to hear the story she shared with Guru upstairs about her family.

 

Sri Chinmoy: She is very proud of her 23-year-old son, her youngest, who lives in Cape Town. He was studying here in Rhode Island at the art school. He liked the place very much. But his girlfriend comes from Africa, so he went to live in Cape Town. When he went, and he saw the poverty, he gave up his studies. He said, “Let me work for the poor.” In the beginning she could not understand. Then when she saw the son working for the poor people, helpless people, she became so proud of her son, so proud. He is not studying. He is only helping the poor in Cape Town.

Pulak: About that story, after she told him how proud she was of him, he said, “Well, Mother, it’s now about me. It’s about them.” Then she said she was so proud of him at that moment because when she was that age herself, she knows she would not have had as selfless an attitude herself. And then Guru commented that because he was her son, he had that kind of love for humanity, which he got from her.

 

President Robinson signing the guest book:

The inscription: 30th October 2004:

Dear Sri Chinmoy, I’m very hounoured and humbled to have been lifted by you today. It was also a thrill that you then lifted Nick with me. As Madiba said, “It’s a shot in the arm.”

May you continue your inspirational work for peace and for the oneness of the world. We need it more than ever.

(In Irish) Joneri layat (?). May all go well with you. Warm good wishes, Mary Robinson.

Other comments about the occasion

 Nilima: Nishtha was saying that she was very interested to know that so many disciples worked at the UN. And I used to work on her floor, on the 29th floor, and I would see her when she came to New York. On her way out just a few UN workers happened to be near the car when she was leaving, and she said that she actually recognised me.

Adarini: At the last song to her words, she actually burst into tears right away, and she was trying to cover it up. She didn’t want anyone to see, so she started drinking. She was so moved that tears came down her cheeks. She smiled, and she seemed so strong and at the same time there was so much kindness in her eyes, especially in this picture (referring to a photograph near the lifting apparatus). She looks like she cares a lot about people.

Anjali: It’s a little hard on the singers when somebody is so moved by Guru and by the songs and then they start crying. Then we get such a lump in our throats that we can hardly sing. I do not know if you could see, but during the song to her words, “I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking thecradle, rocked the system,” she smiled so much the first time we sang it. And the next time we sang it, she pumped her fist in the air.

PDF of text of Introductions, Pres. Robinson remarks and comments .

Editor Note: Add Text and possibly score to songs sung with her words .

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Word Format:

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