World Conference on Unity of Man

Inaugural Session 3 February 1974, Evening

A memorable event and rallying point of the fraternity of man, Spiritual Awakening and moral regeneration.

Dr G.S. Pathak
Vice President of India

The inaugural session of the world Conference on Unity of Man was remarkable for the high philosophic content of religion, and His thought provoking address showed a rare grasp of the esoteric content of religion, and His wide ranging, comparative study of scriptures of different languages enabled Him to support His contentions with a wealth of quotations. Organisations like the Manav Kendra and conferences like the present one can play a vital role.

The presidential address by the Living Master, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj was remarkable for its wide sweep and deep in reaching analysis of the ills besetting man and his environ for which He also provided the remedy. He ended on a note of hope for the dawn of the new Golden Age in a not too distant future.

Welcome address by Chairman, Reception Committee

The chairman of the reception committee, Sri Radha Raman, chief Executive Councillor, Delhi, in his welcome address said,

It is great occasion and I am happy to see delegates from many great countries of the world gathered here in this capital city of India to participate in and word for the success of this great conference on the Unity of Man. India has always given out the message of universal, revived the age old message of peace and non violence and Jawaharlal Nehru extended it to international relations through Panchshil. It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of four and a half million citizens of Delhi, for you have come here on the same noble quest for peace and amity in the world.

This conference is a part of the multifarious activities of the Ruhani Satsang and its sister organisation, the Manav Kendra, which have branches in all the six continents and most of the countries of the world. In the context of the present times when man, lacking realisation and awareness of his own True Self is beginning to find seeds of his own destruction in all the scientific progress he has made, there can be no better or greater task than to strengthen links of Unity between man and man and to build an atmosphere for Universal Peace, Love and friendship. The great step taken by Param Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj in this direction is bound to lead to a better, happier world.

The teachings of all Great Masters are one and the same. The Concept of Love given out by Christ, Buddha’s Compassion, Mahavira’s Ahimsa, Harmony of Confucius and Unity of Lao Tse, are one and the same. This conference has been unbreakable bonds of brotherhood, and people all over the world are looking up to you gentlemen for light and guidance.

This great conference on Unity of Man convened on the level of man, sponsored and presided by the Living Master, Param Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj is first historic world meet of its kind. Blessed is the auspicious hour, the occasion, this land of Sages and Saints, where we find ourselves united in high noble purpose and have the benefit of Spiritual Radiation of so many realised and enlightened souls.

Inaugural address delivered by Dr G.S. Pathak, Vice President of India:

I thank Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, sponsor of the inter religious world conference on Unity of Man, organised by Manav Kendra, for His invitation to inaugurate this conference. I congratulate the sponsor on his enterprise in securing this conference. I am sure, his endeavour will be fruitful and achieve the worthy objective of bringing about the spirit of oneness among the followers of different religious faiths and promoting universal well-being.

Man has made many conquests over nature and has acquired knowledge undreamed of, say, twenty five years ago, which he can turn to his benefit or to his own destruction. Crass materialism has grown out of the unprecedented advance of science and technology. Distance has been annihilated and people living in remote regions have virtually become neighbours. Yet, they have not learnt to live like brothers. Conflicts persist, both on the national and international planes. Nations are afflicted internally with evils like parochialism, casteism, stateism, inequalities, intolerance, ignorance, etc. in the international sphere armed conflicts and wars still occur. Their causes, for example, racialism, arrogance of power, chauvinistic nationalism, and political greed, bedevil the affairs of mankind.

However, it is being realised, to use UNESCO’s languages, that

since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.

But no fruitful effort has been made on an appreciably large scale to change the mind of men and to erect and fortify the Inner Defences of life. Nor are determined and sustained steps being taken to give a clear and definite direction to human thinking and action so that science and technology may be used only for the welfare of humanity and an end may be put to the frightening possibilities of their evil uses. Colossal amounts are spent on armaments every year which could be utilised to remove poverty, illness and ignorance of the less fortunate peoples of the world. No doubt man represents a great advance in evolution. Yet it is manifest that in this evolutionary process he has still greater heights to scale. Something vital is missing in human affairs. There is a cul de sac – a blind alley. Unless the thinking processes are drastically altered, there is no way out.

You must have proper understanding of man and his place in the scheme of nature. By nature I mean here not only the physical universe but also the Inner World, the Kingdom of Heaven. For this it is necessary that there should be a dialogue between different religions in order to rediscover the meaning of man, and to restate it in the idiom of universality.

In this connection I recall to my mind the observation of Prof Parrinder:

The religions of the world face a completely new situation today. Never before this century have they been in such close contact as they are now. The ‘one world’ in which we live with its close communications, make nonsense of religious isolation.

It must be admitted that the Unity of Man must transcend all physical boundaries and override all man made barriers. The realisation of the Unity of Man will impart an element of Spirituality in human thought and action. I am happy to note, UNESCO’s emphasis on the influence of Spiritual Values on political structure and techniques. In this connection organisations like a Manav Kendra and conferences like the memorable event and the rallying point of the fraternity of man, Spiritual Awakening and moral regeneration.

The element of Spirituality which I have spoken depends upon the correct understanding of the evolution of man in the environment of nature – in the wider senses as explained by me above – and the discovering of the True Relationship of man with God or super-consciousness. This effort has been the constant concern of manifested since he attained civilisation. Religion is a relationship, personal and intimate, of man with His maker. It is a part of one’s being and an integral part of one’s emotions and feelings. There is a diversity of races and nations in the world, and a diversity of religions, but the object of all religions’ quest has been essentially the same through the ages. All religions seek to know the Supreme Truth which pervades creation. In spite of the diversity of approaches there is an underlying Unity in the concept of the Supreme Reality. All religions seek to know the Supreme Truth which pervades creation. In spite of the diversity of approaches there is an underlying Unity in the concept of the Supreme Reality. All religions seek to lead man to a common goal. They appear to differ from one another because they were originally preached at different times and in differing environments. A conference like the present one will doubtless promote an understanding and appreciation of the essential Unity of all religions and help us perceive and compared the fact that all of them utter the same Truth, though in their own idiom.

While it is a natural that each individual should cherish a special feeling of reverence for his own religion, it is necessary that every endeavour should be made to appreciate the true meaning and depth of other faiths. This is possible only through a dialogue with one who has personal experience of the particular religious faith which one may try to understand …

Sankara had a comprehensive appreciation of different expressions of the One Truth, even though he spoke of six orthodox systems of religion.

Whether it is Christianity or Hinduism, Islam or Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism or any other religion, the goal is the same though the paths are different. They light different paths towards the same Ultimate Truth in the words of the Vedantic dictum:

Ekam sat vipra bhuda vadanti.

He is One without a second, but Sages comprehend Him differently and call Him different names.

… The Sufi, Rumi, said:

The lamps are different but the Light is the same.

Mahatma Gandhi realised the Universality of religion and invoked God by the various names by which different religions call Him. Toynbee rightly held that

The missions of the higher religions are not competitive: they are complementary. We can believe in our own religion without having to feel that it is the sole repository of Truth.

The principle religions of the world reveal a large degree of Unity in certain of their tenets. Toynbee observes that all the religions agree; that our universe is mysterious as the phenomenon that we see must be only a fragment of universe that is spiritually greater than man; that knowledge is but a means to actions leading to the goal of human endeavours; that man’s goal is to seek communion with the presence behind the phenomena with a view to realising harmony with it.

Describing the attributes of God, the Holy Quran says:

He never dies. There is no God but He … God is ubiquitous and He knows all. God is infinite and omniscient … God is the Truth.

According to Sikh scriptures:

There is but One God, the Eternal, the All-pervading, the Creator, the Supreme Being.

In the words of Max Muller, the Vedantic philosopher declared that

In the beginning there can have been but One, as there will be but One, in the end, whether we call it Atman or Brahma.

The Upanishads say,

Ekam eva advitiyam.

One only without a second …

A close observation and study of the phenomenal universe around us will lead to the realisation that the One God is manifested everywhere and that His law rules everything. There is Unity in the laws of nature which is but the manifestation of the Divine. This Unity was inevitable as the Maker is One. It is known that release of immense energy in the sun is the result of the hydrogen atom. The fission of the hydrogen atom in the laboratory results in the same spectacular release of energy. It is evident that the manifested of the Divine Law is the same in the macrocosm as in the microcosm. I am mentioning this expression to support the concept of an all pervasive Divine Power which regulates and orders all happenings in creation with the same even hand.

An excessive materialism which has seized hold of the mind of man is said to have grown out of the blind advance of technology and science; it may be relevant to speak of the relationship between science and religion.

In his essay on science and religion, Einstein says:

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

This indicates Einstein’s faith in the humanising influence of religion on science.

There is no anti thesis between religion and science. Indeed they are complementary. Religion is concerned with the law of the Inner Man perceived by extra sensory means. Science is concerned with physical laws governing the material world. Science and religion together complete the relationship with Divine Consciousness. A search and religion together complete the relationship with Divine Consciousness. A search for the laws of nature by scientific method, according science as an anti religious endeavour but the modern expression of man’s search for God.

If the process of the erosion of moral and ethical values continues unabated, the world peace is in jeopardy, might becomes right and only the aggressive, the wealthy and the strong can survive on earth. It is necessary that religion should temper the peace of the materialism and technological advance and make it possible for the good and gentle, the meek and the poor also to survive and lead their own lives in peace, quite and safely. All religions proclaim the brotherhood of man. Islam emphasises it and so does Christianity. The message of Sikhism is contained in the words:

We are the sons of the same one father: Thou art my Great Lord.

Jainism, Buddhism for other faiths are the necessary corollaries. Only by a synthesis of the values help aloft by our great religions can we safeguard the security and happiness of the people and ensure peace and goodwill on earth.

In the words of Dr Radhakrishnan:

It is the aim of religion to lifts us from our momentary meaningless provincialism to the significance and status of the eternal, to transform the chaos and confusion, of life to that pure and immortal essence which is its ideal possibility. If the human mind so changes itself as to be perpetually in the Glory of the Divine Light, if the human emotions transform themselves into the measure and movement of the Divine Bliss, if human action partakes of the creativity of the Divine Life, if the human life shares the purity of the Divine Essence, if only we can support this higher life, the long labour of the cosmic process will receive its crowning justification and the evolution of centuries unfold its profound significance …

He concluded by quoting Swami Savanna who had dreamt of the realisation of Unity of Man thus:

There is one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of Love or the religion of vedanta. There is only one dharma, the dharma of truthfulness. There is only one law, the law of cause and effect. There is only One God, the omnipresent, the omniscient, omnipotent. There is only one language, the language of silence or the language of the heart.

I have now much pleasure in inaugurating the World Conference on Unity of Man and wish your deliberations all success.

The Vice President’s inaugural address was followed by the presidential address by the Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj , complete text of which is reproduced on pages 34 to 40 of this souvenir. He was followed by Dr Sarojini Mahishi, Minister of state for tourism and Civil Aviation.

Dr Sarojini Mahishi thanked Sant Kirpal Singh Ji for having lit the Torch of Peace and Unity which reflected the Light within Him. Dr Mahishi said that it was up to every one of us, man or woman, wherever we were, to take up the cause. For millennia the ancient sages had seen Unity in the diversity pervading the world. She stressed that every one wanted happiness and wished to be relieved of pain or misery. The attainment of this goal was possible only if men became enlightened and took everything with yogic unconcern. Citing the example of Janaka as a model of a king and householder who lived a life of perfect renunciation, she advocated that we must learn to renounce the material things of life because it was too evident today that affluence did not lead to happiness, through Spirituality, like Truth and Unity, did. For the attainment of this goal of Unity and world peace, man must develop himself spirituality, intellectually as well as physically and realise his oneness with the universe, for weak lazy, restless and divided people were those who were miserable themselves and caused misery around.

Man must ask himself, she said, such basic questions as to where he has come from, where he is going? Those who are fortunate in having material comforts and the wherewithal for meeting everyone of their wishes, should have the heart to share their blessings with their less fortunate brethren. Man must master the language of the heart – which is understood by any one who has a heart – drown all linguistic differences and submerge other divisive forces, as all religions were in essence the same and extolled the Unity of Man. She concluded by saying that advances in modern science had cut across all barriers of distance and it was now meaningless, nay impossible, for man to live isolation. Man must therefore unite, and united march forward towards his goal.

Mr Reno Sirrine, leader of the American delegation and vice president of Ruhani Satsang and Manav Kendra organisation in the USA, proposed a vote of thanks to the vice president.

He said,

Master, Mr Vice President, Dr Pathak

I came over here to participate in the Unity of Man and after this parade today I am sure I am going to need a lot of help. The thing that has impressed me the most in the things that I have read since I have been interested in religion is the Indian government has been partial and interested and helpful in seeing man improve himself and have tried at many times to give them more leeway than we would in almost any other country in the world. So you people have a great advantage.

I would like to point out a couple of things to you at this time. On this platform are some of the greatest religious leaders in your country and you should be able to, with their help, unify man in India and if you do that, if might even wash over to the United States and we could get unified. The thing that I like about the philosophy of Master Kirpal Singh is that all of us are equal in the sight of God – of course the responsibility this puts on us is tremendous. But with these Gentlemen’s help and with your Government’s help in this great conference, we owe them such a debt to be able to have all of the being part of the conference and perhaps one of the most important part.

Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, head of the Sufi order said,

Towards the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty; the only Being united with all the illuminated souls who form the embodiment of the Master, the spirit of guidance; Honoured Chairman, Your Holiness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!

The conference that we have the grace to attend here is the first of its kind and might prove to be history making if we refrain from the temptation of looking ourselves in praise and metaphors, and are united in the staunch resolves of doing something positive, concerted and tangible, for Unity. We pay our homage to the assembling us all here together during these days and we congratulate him for having placed the conferences convened were dedicated to Unity strictly in the religious field. Moreover, we value the interest taken in this conference by the vice President and the Prime Minister who are gracing us with the patronage of officialdom.

We humans have both privilege and the disadvantage of living in the age of momentous achievement and dangerous turmoil, in fact the entire surface of a speck of dust called planet earth is rocked by the spasms of a breaking through of ineffable intelligence, which devotees call Divine, manifesting sometimes in interesting human enterprise of personal initiative in controlling and exploiting natural structure so as to ensure respect of its essential features of the dignity of human beings, individual freedom, against tyranny, injustice, discrimination. Yet most times, in the heat of the battle, we fail to see the wider issue. If we could only watch ourselves shuttling for petty things and egotistical interests, by adopting the detachment of the rishi, scanning the depth of the trouble minds consulting him in his solitary chases, we would realise how easily, we get side tracked from the purpose for which we were sent on earth.

The cosmic kuruk shetra is, as the Zoroastrian says, the battle of Truth against the lies. It is being waged on earth as it is heaven, every time that valiant and spirited man intervenes in the destiny of a fellow man in such a manner that by holding Their head high in adversity They opened the Path of hope for the disinherited and the oppressed who, thus heartened, will press forward in the breach they have blasted, for hope gives man the courage to live. Every new victory of freedom is won at the cost of the opposition of those entrenched in the convenient personal unchallenged mental constructions that has become hackneyed, though sanctified freedom. Those human institutions that have avoided exposing themselves to tidal wave of renewal, systematically hemmed the mind of adherence into indoctrination to which they pay mental allegiance, sowing the seeds of disunity.

However, beyond personal freedom, beyond the cause and insight of individual mind, there is a further dimension – the consciousness of humanity as a whole mankind beyond the person, man as the archetype, prototype of mankind. As the definitions of words are proportionate to the scope of the consciousness of those using them, we will have to redefine the word humanity, to mean, not a collectivity of a persons, but a global person of its own individual larger self. The pressure of our time forces us to appraise the consciousness that humanity has of itself as a whole, by convergence of individual man and woman – yes the term man stands for the principle beyond the dichotomy man woman and therefore includes both. This English words many have originated in the Sanskrit manas. Humanity is passing through a critical stage – its puberty. From the thumping as the past, humanity is beginning to discover itself as a composite team. Something momentous is happening in our times. We are all sharing the pangs of child birth of humanity as an integrated team born out of convergence of those fragments of itself that we are.

Yogi Bhajan founder chairman of the 3^rd foundation and Sikh Dharman Brotherhood in USA said,

It will be our privilege to start with closing our eyes for just one minute.

He followed it with a silent prayer to the Guru. He proceeded,

My dear people of India and my people who believe in righteousness in the world! Beyond the boundaries of the physical, mental and Spiritual Aspects that we practise, that Path we love to open in Unity, in Faith, and in Love. For all of us to walk on that Path for which I congratulate Sant Kirpal Singh Ji for taking initiative and all His men who have taken pains to organise this conference . I think that deserves a clap.

Today here in this ancient land of Sages and Saints Who have led humanity into the righteousness and loftiness of the micro-consciousness and macro-consciousness, who have been leading man into the state of ecstasy of consciousness, it was essential and very necessary that we should have this conference at least here, for which I congratulate you. It is a great day indeed for the mankind, for we have laid the foundation of a great task before us. The world has become so small that political, geographical or economical boundaries have no meaning today. We have in the west the technology, and we are master in that technology, but in the east there is a great technology of the mind, which can be bartered and exchanged. That is why people in the west need people in the east and people in the east need people in the west.

It is a great task to see an old man in his eighties, going from town to town, morning to evening, giving the message of peace and joy and I ask you what has gone wrong to your five thousand years of learning of Spirituality? Why couldn’t all of you get up and go to the world and give what than you are need here and this imbalance is only which is causing trouble in the world. Excuse me when I say that it can be only the Vice President of this country who can be so philosophical, so true and at the same time so precise. People of India and people of the world are today getting united for one thing only and that is the peace, the Unity and the prosperity of all mankind. It is a great day today when we can all be united in one name that is that we are born from the Light of because and we should live in the Light of God and may the Grace of God be with you.

Maha Mandleshwar Swami Ved Vyasanand – Maha Mandleshwar is Equivalent of archbishop in the Sadhu hierarchy – said,

India is not a rich country in a worldly sense but it is rich in Spirituality and this ancient land of Saints and Sages has even today Masters of Spirituality like Sant Kirpal Singh Who are giving right Light to the whole world. It was appropriate that the Conference on Unity of Man should be held in this country.

Swami Chetnanand Chidakashi Ji Maharaj said,

God is One and the same, ornaments may vary in shape and size; cotton is one, cloth made from it may have variegated patterns. Similarly there is One Light, the Light of God animating and sustaining all creation. When we rise above outer differences and realise the Inner Unity of life, only then we can develop as a man. This is the great task for which Sant Kirpal Singh has convened this World Conference on Unity of Man.

Raja Mahendra Pratap, a legendary figure in India’s struggle for freedom, now a whole time missionary of the cult of Universal Love said,

The various religions are like so many medicines prescribed by eminent physicians from time for the purification of soul. They are related to the need of the times. And so we find that Masters have been coming here from time to time under the Divine Plan to guide mankind. And in the same line of Light Givers we have today, Sant Kirpal Singh Maharaj, with His Great Mission of man which is just the need and requirement of the present time when the world is torn by rifts and divisions. Wars cannot be ended by wars and large armies cannot protect a nation. Ten million soldiers of the Czar could not save him. Germany and Japan went under despite their huge armies, 8 millions and 6 million strong respectively. We have to have a revolution of thought and the simple criterion for that is that thoughts that divide are wrong and should be eschewed and those that unite right and should be inculcated.

Sri Raja Ram Shastri M.P. Vice Chancellor, Kashi Vidyapith said,

There are many things that divided humanity. Religion was the sole uniting factor. How did religion change to become a dividing force and what is the remedy for it? The reason for deterioration in religion is that with the lapse of time the outer forms and formularies of religion gained in importance to the detriment of its exoteric content. The outer form changes according to the needs of time, it is only the shell and not the kernel. The core and kernel of religion is Spirituality which is constant and changeless and true for all times. Unless we recognise this basic Unity as the fundamental and Truth of religion, religion will remain a dividing factor and not a uniting force which it is in Reality.

Sardar Tirlochan Singh Khanna, one of the oldest workers of the Ruhani Satsang in USA, traced the history of the mission of the Master and the transformation brought about in the west by the teachings of the Living Master Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj and His illustrious mentor Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. Mr Khanna explained in detail how the seekers in the west were getting the benefit of the Living Master’s Spiritual Radiation thousands of miles away as if they were sitting before Him.

Dr D.P. Pandy principle, the Manav Bharti and a general secretary of the World Conference on Unity of Man, who conducted the proceedings, thanked the national leaders, heads of the various formations, the spiritual luminaries and the vast audience for attending the conference. He particularly commended the admirable discipline of the audience throughout the proceeding.