International day of Peace 2023

Unite people and create peace

by: Hamsavahini Singh, Coordinator of the Servas International at the United Nations (SI UN) Team

Friends, when we celebrated  the International Peace Day 2023 it seemed necessary to ask ourselves the question if we are " International " anymore, are we willing to encourage, to invite, to welcome others, our brothers and sisters on this our common property,  this earth, to visit us in our homes, in our communities, in our countries, to enjoy what we have been blessed with, our resources, our know-how, our technology, to  give them our time, our friendship, our love and affection, to make them feel at home, or we should confront ourselves with the question whether we have become more and more narrow-minded, small hearted, selfish, greedy, regional, parochial, ultra-nationalistic, war-mongering, disturbing, arrogant, violent, threatening Peace? 

Today the world seems to be a more frightful place than ever before with regional wars and local conflicts fuelled by mistrust, distrust, mutual hostility based upon creed, caste and colour of the skin with programs to deprive, displace and drive out hundreds of thousands of hapless men, women and children from their habitat, homes and homelands. Every hour of the day we come across tragic, painful, devastating reports from many parts the world about human beings like ourselves forced to flee away from their homes, from the wars, religious bigotry, rising prices  and the climate change and the  resulting destruction at home in small, flimsy, unseaworthy, over-burdened boats risking their lives and everything they may have been able to pick -up and carry with them to find sanctuaries in strange lands for themselves, their families, their children, their future generations. 

Mahatma Gandhi, a great source of inspiration to the likes of Bob Luitweiler and his cofounders of Servas, to Martin Luther King, to Nelson Mandela and many other " Peace-builders " around the world had remarked something like this that " there is enough on this earth to provide for the " needs " of everyone but certainly not enough to satisfy the " greed " of anyone. "

Our greed has angered the Mother Nature. Our mindless hunger for more and yet more has scorched the Earth, has heated the Sky, has poisoned the Water. We are having more wild-fires in more and more places, we have unprecedented droughts, heat-waves, floods, storms, hurricanes, cyclones and tsunamis challenging our existence. 

It was said that "The meek shall inherit the Earth." But we are not meek, we are not humble, we are not respectful to others, we are not friendly, we do not love anymore, ourselves, those around ourselves, our environment, the world around us, our brother trees and our sister rivers and rivulets and lakes and ponds around us. 

If we really desire to have peace amongst us in our world in our life-time we will first have to overcome our greed and stop our mindless consumption and we must be prepared to share our hearts, our minds, our concerns, our time, our know-how, our resources. Only through sharing, through love and friendship, through empathy and cooperation, through understanding and mutual respect, through deliberations and dialogue shall we be able to bring genuine and lasting peace to us, to our world. 

We must cease to do anything to others which we would never wish   to be done to ourselves. 

What is the way forward? How do we go from here, from this dark, dreadful, dangerous present to the bright, peaceful, happy future?  Yes, we can reach our destination, the peace, joy and happiness by adopting the Values of Servas. Our beloved and esteemed family of the members of Servas open the doors to their homes, their hearts to others, to share what they have with others. We, the members of Servas can share and spread this Gospel of Love, mutual trust, friendship, active cooperation, harmony and understanding the view-points of others locally by the word of mouth, by holding regular meetings of the members, by inviting others to such meetings and introducing them to the vision and values of Servas and encouraging them to become members, by writing newsletters, by writing stories and sharing experiences about the visits of our guests in the newspapers and through the digital media, by doing presentations about Servas in the schools and colleges, in the churches, synagogues, mosques and temples and clubs and associations and fraternities in our communities, in our neighbourhoods. 

On the occasion of the “International Peace Day” let me share a very nice Peace-Wish from the ancient Yajurveda.

" May peace radiate there in the whole sky as well as in the vast ethereal space everywhere. May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, trees and creepers. May peace flow over the whole universe. May peace be in the supreme being Brahman. And may their always exist in all peace and peace alone."