A few days ago while researching on some peace and conflict perspectives google linked me to this marvelous speech of Honorable Dalai Lama, who brought 28 youth peace-builders from various countries facing war and violent extremism, in India for dialogues on “Engaging Youth to Achieve Peace”.
Though I have never heard him before neither I knew a lot about him but He is such an inspiring personality that I left my topic at the mid and started learning about his life and his dedications to the world for peace.
He initiated his speech with the silent prayers for the Orlando victims and He shared his story with the audience, “I was deprived of my freedom at the age of 16, I lost my country at the age of 24, lost my parents & lost everything, I became a refugee and after countless problems finally I got into India 57 years ago but beyond all these circumstances I kept my spirits higher by balancing my peace of mind”.
Adding to his worthwhile speech he mentioned that the present circumstances of terrorism around the globe show that most of the genocides are done on the name of religions. No religion on the globe teaches/preaches the hate, violence for races & intolerance, but only love, humility, oneness and brotherhood. Prayers are ineffective without serious actions for peace building. So we need strong religious harmony among 7.0 billion human beings through campaigns like social media, youth gatherings, and religious exchange gatherings/meetings to discuss the issues of violence and come-up with ideas to rebuild the trust and peace among the diverse communities.
Military powers can bring massacres on the globe but can never ever bring peace, only Improved Education, Leadership by youth especially women and personal contact with disparate groups can change the minds, negative attitudes and make the world a healthy & human friendly place to live. He further added, “nobody wants to live in stress but this situation of violence is our own creation, if we think deeper for self-peace of mind by getting out of our comfort zones to struggle for global peace and treating everyone as our brothers & sisters; we not only can feel better inside but we will be making more friends so overcome your weaknesses by utilizing your strengths and make an effort now because my expectations for this century to be more peaceful if the real actions against the violence are taken by every agent of the society.”
Though every word he spoke is precious but one unforgettable sentence for me is “Violence is the sign of weakness – Forgiveness is the sign of strength” and that’s why I kept this sentence as the caption of this blog.
He suggested think-tank organizations and other peace-builders to organize international youth exchanges programs to share their perspectives, inspire others, and get inspirations and to spread the message of Love & Peace around the world.