NEWS BRIEFS

SEPTEMBER 2004

21st Human Unity Conference in Delhi, India

From September 12th through 20th, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj presided over the 21st International Human Unity Conference (IHUC) in Delhi, India, a conference dedicated to promoting peace and unity throughout the world. Over 600 delegates from abroad joined 120,000 people in India to pursue this common goal. Spiritual, religious, and civic leaders were invited to speak on the need for non-violent collaboration at this crucial time in history.

This conference was an opportunity to collectively use prayer and meditation for achieving world peace. During the ten-day span, delegates and presenters explored various paths to unity, including spirituality, interfaith understanding, communication, love, and compassion.

Mushaira
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj In the evening of September 13, fourteen renowned Urdu poets from India were invited for a spiritual mushaira (poetic symposium), which is held annually to honor the great poet-saint, Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj. Addressing the assembly, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj explained that the poets had been given the opening verses of two ghazals by Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj. Each poet took these verses, expanded on them, sharing their own poetry to present that evening.

Healing through Meditation
On the evening of September 17, the 21st IHUC continued with a seminar entitled, "Healing through Meditation." Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj opened the program with a beautiful talk on how meditation on the divine Light and Sound helps us get healed at the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. He then quoted Sant Tulsi Sahib who said that the whole world is afflicted with pains of all kinds, but only those are happy who have become devotees of the Lord.

September 18: The Role of Prayer and Meditation for a Peaceful World
One of the highlights of the 21st IHUC, the seminar "The Role of Prayer and Meditation for a Peaceful World," was held at the Siri Fort Auditorium the evening of September 18, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj presiding over a forum of distinguished guest speakers.

In his opening address, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj explained that to experience human unity we need to be peaceful. Unfortunately, he said, many believe peace means fulfilling desires for wealth and fame. In order to be truly peaceful, he stated, we should have only one desire, and that is to commune with the Lord. As the mind gets stilled, divine revelations await each and everyone. We realize that God is also in others as He is in us.

Concluding Session: September 20
At the concluding session of the 21st IHUC, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj spoke about two cities: the city of intellect, where most people are caught up through the activities of this world; and the city of love, which exists within each one of us. In the city of love everything attracts us to God, everything is beautiful, there is no duality or boundaries, and truthfulness, non-violence, purity, and selflessness overflow.

More information on the 21st IHUC can be found by clicking here .

Medical Camps

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj inaugurated the Sixth Free Eye Operation Camp, where hundreds of people were Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj screened for cataracts. Of these, 255 were identified as needing surgery and will receive free cataract operations.

On September 15, in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, a Blood Donation Camp was held at Kirpal Bagh where over 200 people donated blood.

Exhibition on "Exploring Delhi"

On September 26th, Darshan Academy Delhi opened its doors to visitors from around the world to view a remarkable exhibition on the historic city of Delhi. Each school grade selected a different aspect of the city for their presentations. Students guided the visitors throughout the school, explaining their work, and brought them to a large "Tree of Hope" on which visitors could write their hopes and dreams for the city.

During the event Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, accompanied by Mata Harbhajan Kaur Ji and Mata Rita Ji, was drawn to a presentation called "Entertainment and Education in Delhi," which highlighted the difference between "outer" and "inner" entertainment. For "inner-tainment" the class portrayed the journey within to beautiful regions during meditation. Expressing his joy for all the work done by the students in the school, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj said that he hoped many more events like this would be held in the future.

Annual Day in Meerut

Darshan Academy Meerut celebrated its 10th Annual Day in honor of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj's visit. The theme for the cultural show was adopted from a verse by the poet-saint, Sant Darshan Singh Ji: "The Air is Dancing." The program highlighted how nature teaches us valuable spiritual lessons through its changing seasons. Woven throughout the show were inspiring verses from Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj’s poetry.

Following the program, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj handed out scholarships and prizes to students for their outstanding achievements during the year. Both he and Mata Rita Ji then visited the students' art and science exhibits and watched the students' power-point presentations, many of which were inspired by topics from the spiritual curriculum. Blessing the senior students, who would be taking exams this year, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj gave an inspiring talk to the teenagers.

For more information about Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj and his schedule, click here.