It’s a great privilege for me to attend such a conclave rather first time ever.  But I have regularly been following the great service the Rotarians are giving to the mankind.

Today, you have gathered here for a purpose, to strengthen what you already are doing.  God gave us birth and there was a purpose for each human being.  But with the age, with the circumstances, people forget the real purpose of life and they start behaving in a way which is harmful for themselves and for others.  The Rotary movement was started by the vision of Mr Paul Haris.  The vision was to help others.  Your motto is selfless service - the selflessness that all the saints and prophets from time immemorial have taught mankind. People live in selfishness and the teaching was selflessness.  Rather than living as one family, human family, people are fighting and looking down upon others.  Violence is ever growing, that is so harmful for whole of the world.

We use the term global village for the world.  If it is a global village, there are bound to be effects on everybody if anything happens anywhere.  If globalization has taken place, people in all the countries should benefit.  But another phenomenon which has been globalized is that of hatred and violence.  That is so harmful.  You might have heard about the aims of Nirankari Mission.  We, as a Mission are trying in a humble way to serve mankind.  And I can identify with you all because you also have the same aim, to uplift the people who are downtrodden and those who are suffering.  People who live on this earth, they are first human beings, so we have to have that feeling of oneness.  We have to identify ourselves with this human family which we belong to.  This feeling has to be strengthened.

God gave us two hands and in a very simple way we can see that the one hand helps the other.  Even if we want to cut our nails with the nail cutter, we have to use the other hand. God has given so many qualities and the system which has been evolved proves that all the limbs we have and all that we have got, it is meant to be a support for each other, to help each other.  So mankind has to learn this.  We have been reading scriptures, we have regards for saints and prophets and they always taught service, the selfless service.  The lesson is to be learnt from trees and the rivers ever flowing for others.  Trees themselves stand in heat throughout the day and give shade to others.

I feel happy when anybody in this world is moving in direction that is useful for the whole mankind.  Such are the teachings of saints and sages and prophets.  Swami Vivekanand Ji said that those who claim to love God, they can prove that by serving the mankind.  It Just cannot be proved that you love God, just by praising God or reciting His name.  The love for God has to be proved by loving the children of God.  Children who belong to every nation.

Prayers have always been made for the welfare of all.   That is, we have to live for others.  That life is not a life which is just for our own self.  Life gets its meaning, if we live for others.  That is, however, vanishing from the world.  We see so much of selfishness.  We have every reason to think that the very virtues which saints, sages and prophets wanted to see in each human being, are getting lesser and lesser to be seen.  So, efforts have to be made to strengthen that aim and feelings which saints and sages have always taught mankind.

The Rotarians have always been doing charitable works everywhere and they believe in charity.  Whatever God has given us has to be shared with others too. And while giving charity in whatever form, there’s a word of caution that if we are giving something, there should be non-doership, so that we can save ourselves from ego.  If we do something with the feeling of doership, that strengthens the ego factor.  So, to save ourselves from that ego, we have to consider ourselves as instrument.  The real doer is God Almighty.

I often quote Rahim.  He was distributing some eatables to others.  Someone commented that he is not looking towards us while giving, he is just looking towards the floor, it seems that he has that ego.  He thinks that he is some super being and he is looking down upon others. He thinks, I am the giver.  That comment was heard by Rahim and what he said was – since the Giver is someone else and people think that I am the giver, I feel ashamed and I am unable to raise my eyes.  So that’s a great lesson that although we do so much for mankind, we have to have humbleness.

If you read Bible or any other scripture, if there is mention of compassion and service, there is also a mention of humbleness.  So that’s very important.  We have seen people in this world who do a tiny bit and they want that they should be praised.  And there are people who do much more and still they are so humble.  It makes our services all the more pious.  It gives more importance to the service we are doing.  So this word of caution has always been given by saints and sages and we do read them in scriptures.  I always have high regards for such persons.

Coming back to the aim of the Mission, it is to establish brotherhood, to establish the universal brotherhood.  Universal brotherhood doesn’t mean unity within a community, but universal brotherhood through Fatherhood of God.  The Mission has branches all over the world, not in every nation, but in few nations and in India also in every State.  Every language speaking people are doing their bit being a part of the Mission.

I was just reading that the Rotary Club started polio pulse programme in 1985 and I was just thinking that it was in 1986 that the Mission started organizing the Blood Donation Camps and expanded it every year in many States, in many countries.  This year we had the privilege to organize such camps in Middle East also.  We have centers in Canada, America, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Far East countries and Africa.  So, those belonging to the Mission, living anywhere, they have that aim to establish brotherhood and also to be helpful for others.

Peace, not Pieces, this was the slogan which the Mission gave three years back although the aim was always there, the teachings were always there.  What is being done in the world is that we are breaking everything in pieces.  The love and relations are being shattered, the kindness is being shattered.  We are divided in the name of religion, caste, colour, creed, nationalities, regionalism and communalism.   So, the slogan – Peace, not Pieces.  When I got the privilege to go to European Parliament two years back in Strasberg, there also we took this slogan – “Peace not Pieces, Let’s work for it.”  And last year, in August I had the privilege to attend the Seminar in Birmingham, Midlands, UK, in Symphony Hall and there we took the slogan along with us: “Realization – Let’s Live in Harmony”, that Realization is very much important.  If there is no realization then everything else fails and you can’t even take a step towards that if you do not realize.  So realization is very much important.  So, the Mission has the same aim as all the saints and prophets had in times immemorial.

Apart from the blood donation camps, other activities are also being done during natural calamities and in the medical check-up camps and eye camps and we need not mention because you all are really doing all these and you know their importance.  The main thing to be kept in mind is that we live in peace.  Peaceful co-existence, not just co-existence, people co-exist fighting each other, but peaceful co-existence that we have to co-exist, but peacefully.  So that is required very much so that we make this world a better place to live in.  The teachings of love and compassion do not lose their importance.  In any age they never lost their importance and in today’s times, it is all the more important that we have to have love in our hearts.  I often say that loving is living.  If you cease to love, you cease to live.  So we have to become embodiments of love.  We have to have love in our hearts.  Not hatred, we have to shed hatred.  We have to strengthen love.  We have to absorb love in our hearts.

Sometimes, it is so strange and paradoxical that people do want to be loved but they do not want to give love to others.  As the saying goes, do unto others what you want others to do unto you.  People want to have love from all quarters and they just do not know how to love.  So, if we want that people should give us happiness we should give happiness. If we want that when I fall, somebody should lift me up, that’s what is supposed to be done by us also. If I want that when I walk nobody should throw thorns in my way rather they should spread pettles of flowers, that’s what you are also supposed to do.

So, this sort of feeling and understanding people should have and that is prayed for.  It is prayed to God Almighty that this wisdom may prevail and everybody has that feeling that we have to live peacefully.  We have to have love in our hearts.  We have to have compassion.  We shouldn’t hate others, we shouldn’t be the exploiters, we shouldn’t be selfish.  There is so much selfishness.  And I did see that when I visited Bhuj and Anjar area in Gujarat after the earthquake.  The Mission also made some dwellings over there in Indraprastha Colony.  Since then, we are running charitable dispensary and mobile dispensaries working in that area and Dudhai Gaon.  When I went there, so many commodities were reaching there.  And I was shocked to listen that when there are so many selfish people around, they are receiving those goods and selling them off in the market.  So, even the people who are supposed to help us, they tend to exploit us.

So the true human qualities and the virtues make the society strong, the people with these qualities make the society strong.  They are the people who make this world a better place.  They are the ones who very much justify that they are the true religious people, they are the true devotees.  Those who have these virtues in their life, they have always positive attitudes, they are above negativities.  They have that vision, that outlook as has been described in scriptures. They have positivity in their hearts, in their thoughts.

We are seeing so much negativities in thoughts and right attitude and right vision is that makes a difference.  Few years back I went to Agartala in Tripura and there India borders with Bangladesh.  One of the officers said that this is a point where India is divided from Bangla Desh. I heard this and the very next thought that came in my mind was that standing at this very point, it could also be said that this is the point where Bangla Desh and India meet.  Although physically the line is very much there, nobody has changed it but this attitude makes such a vast difference.  The very mind which considers it a dividing line is treating it as a meeting line. So, this is just an example of positive attitude.

That’s also is being prayed and hoped that more people have those attitudes and this life becomes meaningful by living such a life which is full of love and compassion.  Everybody should know that greatness lies in lifting those who have fallen and not by pushing somebody.  Greatness lies in healing the wounds and not inflicting wounds on others.  It’s easy to push anybody in a river.  Even a small child running from a distance could throw a grown up person in the river.  Now, how many come forward to save him?  Similarly, so much effort is made to build a building, but it is demolished in seconds.  If we have a cloth in a hand, just give the scissor to a child and he will cut it into pieces.  But now the work of joining it, is it that easy?  So these are very simple examples from where we can learn that we also should understand this in so many aspects of our life.  We have to strengthen those feelings which are helpful for ourselves and for the mankind.

So, on the one hand the efforts are being made to make life of people happy and help others in their sufferings.  Those who have, they are giving to others and you Rotarians, those who have much or less, but you are doing all your best and for that I congratulate you all.  You are doing such pious work in such times and such world as I mentioned where selfishness is so strong.  So this is a very pious task, which you all are doing in any part of the globe.  Man’s importance doesn’t lie in wealth.  It lies in humanity.  It lies in keeping humanity alive in his practical life.  It lies in treating humanity as true religion.  In the signia of Rotary club, there are 24 spokes.  They symbolize that we have to work for the welfare of others 24 hours, day and night.  Let everyone endeavour in this direction irrespective of his or her religious, social and cultural background.

I pray for all of you, the organizers and members anywhere that may God give you more strength to do what you are doing so that people can come above the suffering.

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