Speech Parliament of World Religion

8/8/2019 Speech Parliament of World Religion

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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 worlds religions.

I consider this a great privilege because it was the very rst Parliament

of the worlds religions that the great Indian spiritual leader His Holiness

Swami Vivekananda addressed in Chicago in the year 1893.

This parliament of the Worlds 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 worlds 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 mothers place among religions.


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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. hruthi issaid 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 cant 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.


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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 nationsappeal to the US to listen to them.

Todays 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 ne- tuned to Nature- they heard andlistened. Their deep and quiet wisdom was a result of hearing andlistening and this was reected in their hymns and worship. They

heard, they listened and they sang in glory:


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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 signies hearing the whole universe with utmost

reverence, attention and concentration. When in meditation, one

can hear and see even the quiet blooming of a ower. Every bitof 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.


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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,

Bhumiraaponalo vayuhu kham mano bhuddhireva cha

Ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakritirashtadha,

Earth, water, re, air, space, mind, intellect and ego, these eight

together constitute my separate material energies.

The 5 basic elements of nature Space, air, re, 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.


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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. Krishnas actions carry this

message. The young Krishna notices that the river Kalindi which owspeacefully through his land is getting polluted. Lives dependant on the

river are dying. Krishna sets out to nd the cause and discovers theserpent 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 nest examples ofEnvironmental 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 Worlds

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.


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Documents

Speech Parliament of World Religion