FOLLOW US
Peace Education
Forum in London on Passing on Our Values
Written by Raul Kamal, Sant Nirankari Mission, UK
Monday, September 10, 2007
An enlightening conference at the September 2007 Global Peace Festival in London aimed to provide some answers to questions such as “how can communities hand down traditions and values from old to young?” Sudhir Kundi Ji inaugurated this conference by introducing himself and the ethos of the Sant Nirankari Mission by stating that through spiritual awakening, or the knowledge of God, man could become closer to his fellow men and this Almighty God.
A representative of the Jewish faith stated the importance of a child’s education and highlighted the fact that she had chosen a school with an ethnic and religious mix for her children so that they learn to peacefully coexist from a young age. David Freeland from the Universal Peace Federation stated that his father’s illness brought his family closer together. Appreciating the importance of family, David decided to listen to his family and make his choices in accordance with their teachings. David believes people react to how you treat them, which is echoed in the statement that love is the only commodity which multiplies when you divide it.
Gaurav Sharma Ji then represented the Sant Nirankari Mission youth by posing the same three questions that Lord Krishna presented to his disciple, Arjuna. The questions were: where do you come from? who are you? and where will you go? The seventeen-year-old went on to explain that if every young person asked themselves these three questions, this would open the door to a broader way of thinking where one's values and human characteristics could change for the better. Gaurav Ji added to this by stating that just as electricity cannot be seen without a medium, God's teachings can only be seen when a spiritual guide is present.
An Islamic representative highlighted the need to work as a collective unit and that it is not religion that needs to be emphasized but unity within the community. Alan Hart, a former broadcaster and writer, stated that our everyday existence could be described as a journey in the University of Life. Alan mentioned that he had surveyed parents of poor families from developing countries asking what they would like to be able to give to their children. They answered “education for their children so that they did not have to live like animals.”
Alan recalled that his father used to make him clean his own shoes for inspection every Sunday evening. This discipline remained with Alan who, as an interviewer, used to look at prospective employees' shoes, believing that a person who could not respect himself or make an effort to impress his potential employer should not be employed. Concluding his discourse, Alan reiterated that the values of humanity had been lost or misplaced and that mankind must rediscover these values to create a better society
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |
Related Articles
Australia
UPF-Australia Convenes Mutual Prosperity Summit
Melbourne, Australia—The Mutual Prosperity Summit focused on “Rethinking Our Economic Models.”