Sri Chinmoy Dreamer of World-Peace Statue

Thursday, January 14^th, 2016, 3pm ~ Malta

H.E. Ambassador Davidson Hepburn

President of the 35^th General Conference of UNESCO

Distinguished Guests and Dear Friends,

       I am extremely happy and honoured to be here with you today at this auspicious ceremony dedicating a statue of my dear friend Sri Chinmoy to the cause of world-peace, the cause of oneness. These are the noble goals to which Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life.

       For me, Sri Chinmoy was even more than a friend; he was a  a lover of peace and a servant of God. He always had a glow of peace and love from deep within.

       I first met Sri Chinmoy in 1978 while serving as Ambassador of the Bahamas to the United Nations. Sri Chinmoy went to the UN twice a week starting in 1970 when Secretary-General U Thant requested him to offer silent peace prayers and meditations for delegates and staff of all faiths. The Peace Meditation at the United Nations, which Sri Chinmoy continued until his passing in 2007, gave me and many other ambassadors and UN leaders much inner peace and strength.

       I would say Sri Chinmoy was a creative genius – offering Peace Concerts where he performed from his thousands of musical compositions on many different instruments; painting beautiful abstracts and drawing millions of birds of peace; plus writing more than 1600 books on a range of spiritual topics.

       Sri Chinmoy was an innovator for peace—all that he created was done with the goal of encouraging peace to grow within the hearts and lives of individuals; and thereby to foster world-peace. I have been indeed privileged to take part many times in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run which he began in 1987; and I have seen hundreds of children in my own home country of the Bahamas, in Kazakhstan and elsewhere run with boundless joy and enthusiasm – certain they can make a difference for peace. Each and every child who holds the flaming peace torch will remember that moment his entire life.

       As President of the 35^th General Conference of UNESCO, one of my main goals was to foster the culture of peace. I found natural partners amongst the many people working with Sri Chinmoy’s global peace initiatives.  They bring millions of global citizens into active service for the peace of our common planet.

       Sri Chinmoy first came to Malta in 1991. Here in your beautiful country, he began drawing his soul-stirring birds of peace—which number over 16 million! During that visit, the Parliament of Malta unanimously named him as “Ambassador of Peace for Malta”. 

       Malta also became the first nation of now 152 countries to join the worldwide Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms family as a Peace-Nation – uniting beautiful natural and manmade wonders.

 Soon after Sri Chinmoy’s passing in 2007, a number of people from different countries had the inspiration to create peace monuments in the form of a statue of Sri Chinmoy as a vibrant inspiration to continue his grassroots efforts for world peace. Indeed, we have so few role models for young people. Sri Chinmoy was an example of what one individual can do for peace, and so the first statue of Sri Chinmoy was placed along the Oslo waterfront in 2008.  

This beautiful statue in Malta is now the 31^st public statue to be part of the worldwide family of peace statues of Sri Chinmoy. And now his message and spirit of peace can be in Malta throughout the year – silently inviting all passersby to hold the Peace Torch and offer their good will, their personal prayer for peace.

Many of the statues, like this one, are in beautiful locations which inspire people to meditate on peace and to bring to the fore their own deepest aspirations.

       I pray therefore we each will become messengers for peace, runners within and without to make this world of ours a oneness-home.

       May I close by reciting the words to a beautiful song Sri Chinmoy wrote about Malta. It expresses his love and admiration for your beautiful country:

 “Malta, humanity’s fondness-nest,

You bring to the fore every nation’s very best.

In you the world-faiths have found their oneness-choice.

In a smallness-body, earth-illumination-voice.”

Malta 13 January: Gozo

Visiting the Island of Gozo

http://www.peacerun.org/mt/news/2016/0113/1488/

This morning we left the island of Malta and headed over to Gozo which is a separate island but part of the Maltese collection of islands.

Before all the dignitaries arrived we had an opportunity to share with the children where we were from and to sing our Peace Run song.

We also paused for a moment of silence for world peace.

We were delighted and honored to have a number of dignitaries present, (from left to right) Mr Victor Galea, Gozo College Principal, Hon Anton Refalo, Minister for Gozo, HE Mgr Dr Joseph Vella Gauci, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Malta to UNESCO and Dr David Hepburn, former President of the UNESCO General Conference.

Dr. Davidson Hepburn shared some insights into why he feels peace is not just important but crucial to our continued well being.

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