Address to the Ninth General Session of UNESCO, held in
Delhi India, 1956 Mr. President, Delegates, Leaders, and
Friends: It is a happy event to meet the
distinguished delegates and members of the different countries of the world who
have come to discuss plans and demonstrate universal brotherhood in action, in
the spirit of peace and loving kindness for all the world. I have love for God
and for all humanity. Fully knowing that men and women of high attainments are
present here, I venture to speak to you frankly what strikes my mind on the
subject which is a main objective before us: namely, Peace of the World. Man does not live by bread alone. He has
to live on the Bread of life. He is a conscious being and has to know himself
to live on God consciousness. Man is a conscious entity which expresses itself
through mind and physical body. Unless he is liberated from bondage of mind and
matter, he cannot have knowledge of self and of God. If his mind is turned to
the physical body and its needs, he becomes earthly. The inevitable result is
jealousies and strifes. But if it is directed toward soul, he becomes
spiritual; the result will be love and peace. The preamble to the UNESCO
Constitution says that since war began in the minds of men, it is in the minds
of men that defenses of peace must be constructed. All Masters who came in the
past turned man's attention to the purification of the heart. If we want to
change the outside, we should change our hearts first, because out of the
abundance of the heart man speaks. What does it avail one to wash himself
outside if deceitfulness is in his heart? Purity in thought, word, and deed is
what is required. The world is awakening to this truth, as is apparent from the
fact that religion conferences and such organizations as this one are coming
into existence for the purpose of helping mankind uplift himself, but violence
and hatred still dominate the word and the doctrine of inequality of men and
races is preached and practiced. Some like to dominate over others and exact
and squeeze from others all that they can, and give little or nothing in
return. All this has, as it were, formed habits that have entered into our
nature. How can we change our mind and turn it to a higher purpose? Mind, like
fire, is a good servant, but a bad master. Guru Nanak said, "Victory
over the mind is victory over the world." Let us consider how we can conquer our
mind and change our hearts. Man is composed of body, mind (intellect) and soul.
We have to develop all around. We have sufficiently developed physically,
socially and politically. We have made wonderful inventions, such as telephone,
telegraphy, radios, televisions, airplanes, rockets, atom bombs, etc., but both
physical body and intellect depend on the soul within, about which we know
little or nothing. "What does it profit a man if he
gains the possessions the whole world and loses his own soul?" As we have
not known ourselves, all advancements we have made on the physical and
intellectual plane are going against us. In a European conference of scientists
held recently, the President of the conference said that wc have gained control
over the forces of Nature before knowing our own selves. That is why various
inventions are going to help in the destruction of mankind. Had wc known
ourselves before we got control over the forces of nature, all these inventions
would have gone to help in our uplift. All Masters in the olden times, namely,
Buddha, Nanak, Christ, Prophet Mohammed, exhort us to "KNOW THYSELF."
For knowing ourselves we have to rise above the body consciousness by practical
self-analysis. The scriptures say, "Learn to die so that you may begin to
live." Christ said, "Except ye be born again, you cannot enter the kingdom
of God." Nicodemus was a very learned man. He came up to Christ and said
to Him, "Master, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the
second time into his mother's womb and be born?" You will see intellectual
people fail very badly when the practical side is concerned. Christ replied,
"Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things? Don't you know
that flesh is born of flesh and spirit of spirit?" To be born anew is to
rise above the body-consciousness by practical self-analysis so that one may
know himself and the Overself which is called by so any names. Kabir says the
same thing, "Learn to die a hundred times a day, not once." You must
know how to rise above the body consciousness so as to know who you are or
what you are. Intellectually we know so much about it, but practically we know
little or nothing. It is a matter rising above the body consciousness and
opening the inner eye or the single eye to see the Light of God by Practical
self-analysis, which we have forgotten. It is an old, old science. All Masters who came in the past were
fully conversant with these facts but unfortunately we have forgotten them. Can
we rise above the body consciousness? Can we leave the body and then come back?
These are teachings given by almost all the Masters whether the came in one
country or in the other. Maulana Rumi said "My dear friends, learn to die
so that you may have ever lasting life." So this is not a new thing, but
an old, old thing which we have forgotten. So the Master says: "Yes we can
have this experience as surely as two and two make four, very definitely, at
the feet of a competent Master, as King Janaka had at the feet of Ashtavakra in
a very short time." I need not dwell on this subject any longer. Those who
may be interested in solving the mystery life can refer to the pamphlet Fehler! Textmarke
nicht definiert., which has been distributed to everyone here,
for further information. To achieve this end, man must have an
ethical or moral life which is a stepping stone to spirituality. Christ said
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Guru Nanak
said, "Be pure that truth may be realized." While pressing for the moral and
intellectual solidarity of mankind, we have not laid any stress on the
spiritual aspect of man which is the most vital but a sadly ignored
proposition. It is a cementing factor running throughout all humanity without
which all our attempts in the intellectual and moral planes may succumb and
collapse. On my tour of England, Germany and the U.S.A. last year I was asked,
"How can we avoid the danger of atomic war?" I told the listeners
that we can avoid this if we but live up to what the scriptures say. We know so
much about the Sermon on the Mount, the Ten Commandments and the Eight-fold
Path of the Buddha, for preaching to others, but we do not live up to what we
preach. "Be the doers of the Word and not hearers only—deceiving your own
selves." Reformers are wanted, not of others but of THEMSELVES.
Learn to live just as Yudishtra, one of the five Pandos, did. It is said that
the five Pandos werc placed under the tuition of a teacher and the teacher gave
them a book which started, "Tell the truth, don't be angry," and so
on. Four of the brothers memorized the full booklet. When the turn of
Yudishtra, the other brother, came, he said, "Well, Master, I have learned
one sentence fully, 'to tell the truth'; and 'don't be angry,' I have learned
only half of that." The master was enraged. He said, "What will I
answer to the king?" In two or three months he'd learned only one sentence
and another only half. He began slap the boy—once, twice, thrice. Then he said,
"Why can't you tell the truth?" Yudishtra said, "I do tell the
truth that I have learned one sentence— to tell the truth— and the other only
half, not to get angry. And now I tell you the truth that in the beginning I
was not angry, but when you went on slapping me, I got angry in my mind."
So unless we learn to live as Yudishtra did, there can be no advancement in any
phase of our life. Food which is digested gives strength. If we put in practice
what we have learned, all danger of an atomic war will be avoided. Now let us see what the scriptures say
for our guidance. Men are all worshipers of the same power of God, called by so
many names. God made man, ensouled bodies. Our soul is environed by mind and
matter. God is all consciousness. When we liberate ourselves from the
bondage mind and matter we find we are conscious entities— souls. We are, as it
were, drops of the ocean of life. If we know ourselves by analyzing ourselves
from the physical body, we will meet the world from the level of the soul. So
we have got a very strong background to stand on, viz., God-consciousness. But
we have been living on up to the "shalts" and don'ts." We shall
do this and do that or don't do this or don't do that, but really we have no
strong background to stand on. "There is no Hindu, no Mohammedan (I may add no Christian or any other) by
birth." That is what Guru Nanak said. The Israelites came up to Christ and put
to Him the question, "Our king demands a tribute from us, what should we
do?" And He told them to bring Him a coin. And when the coin was brought
He asked whose inscription was on it; when told it was Caesar's, He said,
"Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Your souls are of God, give unto
God." All Master's viewpoints have been the
same. As man is a social being, social institutions of various religions were
made for the uplift of soul, so that it may pass its earthly sojourn amicably
and prove to helping to all humanity, as well as to aid one to know himself and
know the Overself—God. God cannot known by intellect, the outgoing faculties,
or prana.
It only the soul that can know God—that is why all Master who came in the past
enjoined "KNOW THYSELF." They further gave two most important
commandments: (1) Love thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with
thy strength, and (2) Love thy neighbor as thyself. I God resides in all
hearts. We are all conscious entities being of
the same essence as that of God. There is one underlying unity—as such we are
brothers and sisters in the true sense of the word and form the universal
brotherhood which can be cemented if the much needed inner unity is realized.
Now we know all things intellectually. As we have not known ourselves, our
inner eye is not all pervading. When your inner eye, single eye, or latent eye
is opened then only you will see the same light of God working throughout all.
You will have true love for all and true regard for all scriptures left by the
past Masters. All scriptures say that God resides in all creation and is
immanent in every form. Guru Nanak said, "We live and have our being in
God. We should treat everyone as our own
flesh and blood." Prophet Mohammed said, "We are all members of the
same family of God." All other Saints said the same thing. We should,
therefore, love all—love of God and love of all mankind are the two great
fundamentals or main commandments on which the work of all the Masters hang. If
we follow them in practice, there will be peace on earth; the kingdom of God
will come on earth—and there can be left no danger of an atomic war. There is one reality working in all. All
mankind is one. The differences are man-made—arisen out of self-aggrandizement
due to ignorance of one's own seh. It is said of St. John that he was invited
to a school. He came over and was asked to give a talk. He stood up and said,
"Boys, love one another," and sat down. The secretary in charge asked
him, "Haven't you got anything more to say?" He again got up and
said, "Boys, love one another," and sat down. Again the secretary
asked him if he didn't have anything more to say. The third time he got up and
said, "Boys, love one another. Love and all things shall be added unto
you." To achieve this end man must be ethical or moral. This is the gist
of the teachings of all the Masters, whom we have with us. Naturally whoever
loves God will love all. Without love no lasting peace can be
maintained in the world and without the spiritual aspect of man being realized
you cannot have true love. God is love and our so being of the same essence as
that of God, love is innately enshrined in us. Shamas Tabrez, a Mohammedan,
said, "If you perform outer rituals and ceremonies of worship for a hundred
years, you cannot be true worshipers. If by doing these you have not developed
love for Him, ye cannot be aware of the mystery of God." Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the
Sikhs, said the same truth, "Hear ye all, I am telling you the truth-those
who love, they get to God." The Bible also says the same thing.
"Those who do not love cannot know God." All others spoke in the same
terms. A lover of God will be a lover of all Masters who came in the past, a
lover all holy scriptures, all holy places and a worshiper of all places of
pilgrimage. A lover of God will never think molesting anyone in thought, word
or deed. He will be: 1) A true ahimsa, which is the
highest of all Dharma. 2) He will live a
life of truthfulness. 3) He will hold a
high character. 4) He will have
love for all—hatred for none. 5 ) He will lead a life of selfless
senice for the uplift all humanity. These are the five pillars on which
mansions of peace can be built. These five pillars are cemented by developing
the spiritual contact within. He looks to the whole world and the
various countries as so many rooms therein. The governments are raised as custodians
for the good of the people. They are doing their best to restore peace and
order in various ways in the world. The United Nations was also formed to
secure this end. The governments can control the bodies of men, but cannot do
man-making — until the hearts and minds change, the world situation cannot
change. Change must come from within. As I told you
already, "Out of the abundance of his heart a man speaks." The very
words he utters are charged with love. Whatever comes from the heart, that goes
to the hearts of the people. This is the sole work of really spiritual men and
not sectarian, who are to do this job, without which no government can be fully
successful. Paid preaching. I am forced to mention this thing, because it
has done more harm to humanity than the helping of it. Paid preaching carried
on by professional and narrow-minded preachers has made matters worse in all
religions. They, instead of uniting mankind, have assisted in separating man
from man. Look to the olden days. Four phases of life were prescribed for man.
The first twenty-five years of age were spent to learn all the scriptures and
other knowledge. After that twenty-five years to attend to household affairs.
After that, a man had to go into seclusion for about twenty-five years in order
to realize his own self and to realize God. When he had realized himself and
God, he was to go around from place to place for preaching to all mankind
selflessly. Such persons were called sanyasins who were required to
preach. All Masters enjoin us to love God and to love all humanity with all our
soul, with all our heart, and with all strength. Masters who came in the past
told us to go by the scriptures. How many of us should do this? At least those
who are awakened to this truth should do that. Let them start from themselves.
God wants reformers, as told you before, not of others but of themselves. So
many people sitting here, say six hundred to seven hundred, if we just start
doing that—there will be a change. Those who come in contact with you, they
will also change. So you see it requires a very rational way of preaching by
those who have universal love, who follow the true import of the holy
scriptures which are fortunately with us today. Had we come, say a hundred
years before or four hundred years before we would not have the scriptures or
experiences of those who came within these periods, viz., Ramakrishna and
others. Had we come before five hundred years we would not have the scriptures
of the Sikh Gurus, which are a voluminous treasure of divinity. Had we come
another fourteen or fifteen hundred years back we would not have the holy Koran
with us. Further, back to two thousand years, if we happened to have come
before that, we would not have even the Bible. Twenty-five hundred years back
had you come you would not have even the scriptures of Buddha and Mahavira. So we are fortunate these days in the
twentieth century that all those who came in the past with fine records of
their personal experiences which they had with the self and with Overself are
with us today. We can be benefited therefrom but unless we know the true
import of the scriptures, understand the one underlying principle therein, and
live up to them, we are nowhere. What do they say? They advise us to have a
robust physical life, to have an ideal moral life and to know our own self and
to know God. There are two kinds of knowledge, one is
called Apara Vidya and the other is called Para Vidya. Apara Vidya
consists of reading scriptures and performance of rituals and other ceremonies,
giving alms, etc.; these are the elementary stages required for paving the road
to spirituality. The main purpose underlying this is to create in us an
interest in knowing self and knowing God and also in leading an ethical life,
which is the stepping stone to spirituality. For that, naturally, we have to seek the
guidance of someone who has realized that spiritual life. The main
draw-back is that we do not know what we are and where we stand. Our soul is
under bondage of mind and matter. If you learn practically how to analyze
yourself and rise above the body consciousness, you will see that you are not
the body, nor the intellect, nor the outgoing faculties. We know so many things but only
intellectually. Is it possible to know one's self and know God? As I told you
before, yes, it is possible by following Para Vidya, the science of practical
self-analysis in the natural way, which can be followed by men of all ages.
Unless you know who you are and what you are, and what your relation is with
God and all creation, you cannot be fully at peace. This is no matter of feelings, emotions
or inferences arrived at by intellectual wrestling, as they are all subject to
error. This is a matter of seeing, which
is above all of them and given out by all Masters who came in the past. This
applies to all irrespective of whether you belong to one country or the other,
or one religion or the other; that makes no difference. Since man is a social
being, social institutions were formed just to enable him to lead a life of
high morality, of chastity, and of love for all mankind and pass days of life
in peace. To achieve this end, we have to see the unity underlying all creation
by knowing our self and knowing God. We have wonderfully deveveloped in fhe way
of science but still with all the amenities it has afforded us, we are still
not happy. The true happiness will come if you will know yourself. We were talking of the governments, that
they can control bodies but cannot make men. Making of men is the job of really
spiritual people. Look at the kings of a like Dashratha, Ashoka and others;
almost all of them had in their courts really wide-awake seers of spiritual
status whom they consulted in all matters affecting humanity as a whole and
from whom they received substantial help in carrying out the work of their
states without having recourse to the use of physical force. If similar
guidance can now be had, it would go a long way to secure peace in the world.
You will see that our success in achieving self- government in India without a
regular war was mainly do to the wise counsel and guidance of Gandhiji which
were based on moral force with some spiritual background. All of us owe respect
to him. If you follow the principles as I have told you, there will be peace on
earth. It is not a new thing. It is already there in the scriptures left by
Masters who came in the past. They all gave out the same thing. But we know all
this only intellectually. The only thing required is to just put into practice
what we know. Instead of preaching to others we should start preaching to
ourselves. Live up to what we say. There will be a very definite change arising.
It may be there is danger of war overhead but if we at least know what we are
and try to live up to what is said above, that will not make matters worse;
that will help the majority of people. It is true when the house is on fire, a
well cannot be dug out then and there. If we just start living up to what has
been laid before us, viz., love God, and as God resides in all hearts, we
should love all humanity and all creation, that will go a long way to help us.
In the Hindu scriptures, you will find that they give milk to the serpents,
Gugapir, as it is called, because God is immanent in all forms. A question was
put to Christ as to how we should behave toward others, and he said, "Love
thy neighbor as thyself." When he was asked what to do with the enemies,
he said, "Love thine enemies." The true spiritual man looks to the
very God in all hearts. He works from that level. Such people, the more in
number, will go to create more peace and love for one another. So, with these
words let me thank you all for the patient hearing that you have given and take
leave. Param Sant Kirpal Singh (Ek Onkar) |