The Sources of
Tension Sr Swaran
Singh Minister of
External Affairs Republic of
India I HAVE SO FAR,
dear friends, tried to explain that the Unity of Man is a theme about which
there cannot be any difference of opinion.
But in spite of that, the very fact that a conference of this nature had
to be organized does point to the harsh reality that the type of unity which is
the objective before this gathering does not prevail today. Whereas at the religious level one could say
that the tensions between man and man which somehow gripped humanity during the
centuries prior to the twentieth century have by and large subsided—there may
be occasional outbursts, but on the whole, religion does not appear today to be
the divisive force between man and man—still there are other forces which are
the source of tension, and unless these are conquered and overcome, the
objective which is before this gathering under the auspices of His Holiness
Sant Kirpal Singh cannot be realized. What are those
matters? The basic thing is that as long as exploitation by any individual or
group of individuals of other individuals or groups of individuals exists,
there cannot be any real unity between man and man. This exploitation can take many forms, but basically if an
individual is deprived of that to which he is entitles—whether it is his wage
for the work he actually performs, or whether it is his right to the
utilization of the advantages of science and technology, or of natural
resources—and these are exploited by others to the detriment of those to whom
they belong, this exploitation will continue to be a source of tension. There is one
other very serious source of tension between man and man, and this is what
could be described as domination of certain racial groups over other racial
groups. So long as this continues, and
people are divided on the basis of the color of their skin, the real unity
between man and man cannot be there. So we have
therefore to conquer these aspects and recapture the spirit which will unite
us. Today, when science and technology
is so developed that we can produce enough food, enough clothing, enough good
to go around and serve the entire universe, there is no excuse for the
continuance of affluent classes which have goods and services far more than their
legitimate requirements, while on the other hand there are millions and
millions of people who are still suffering under grinding poverty. This difference between the affluent society
and the poor sections of the community in different parts of the world is
another divisive force, and the spiritual leaders, most of whom are present
here, should give this matter their earnest thought. I would like
to end by saying that to achieve Unity of Man, it is necessary that these big
differences must cease. Poverty is
indivisible; so is affluence. Freedom
is indivisible: if there is any part of
the world which remains under subjugation, there cannot be unity of man. And I would plea that apart from the
spiritual field, where it is very necessary to stress the unity of man, it is
also necessary that in these fields the exploitation should end. The continuance of racism, the continuance
of the division between the affluent and the poor, the continuance of the
exploitation of economic resources, as well as intellectual exploitation by
pretending that any group or people can be superior to others—these are the
factors which should receive earnest attention, and I hope that this gathering
will carry the message that this exploitative state of affairs should end so
that the real spirit of unity—for which the Torch Bearer is this great General
(Sant Kirpal Singh) who in spite of his years is trying to kindle the flame and
spread it all the world over—should, with his prayer and his persuasion, bear
fruit. With these
words I am very happy to participate in this gathering. Thank you very much. |