The following is an excerpt from an address delivered by Sant Rajinder Singh, entitled Healing Ourselves and Healing Our World, at the Invitation of The Temple of Understanding and The Interfaith Center of New York to members of the NGO community, and religious and civic leaders, on June 5, 1997, at the Holy Family Church in New York, NY.
The full address can be found online if you search for it. With all of the racism, hate, and intolerance dividing society, I find this excerpt very applicable today, w
The world is in need of healing. We need to heal the ecology of the planet so that we have clean air, clean water, and protection for all forms of life. We need to make wise use of our resources so there is enough for everyone. We need to heal people who are starving, or are without shelter, medicine, education, and basic human rights. We need to heal people so that we can end violence and war. There are many groups actively working in different parts of the world to help heal the planet. It is a mammoth task to change the hearts and minds of people.
I place before you a solution that may bring definite results: let us each heal ourselves. If we can heal our body, mind, and soul through meditation we have added one more whole human being to the world population. If each one of us does it we will find faster results. We can not control what others do; we can only control what we do. If we become a person who is healthy in body, mind, and soul, others will notice us. The people we meet at our jobs, in our community, or in our own family will be impressed by the transformation we have undergone. They will witness our peace, harmony, and joyousness, and they too will want what we have gained. They will want to find out how we gained such treasures. In this way, by our own light, we can illuminate others. We cannot illuminate others by empty words. But they will be inspired to light their own lamps when they see the brightness by which we shine. Benjamin Franklin, when he invented the electric streetlight could not find anyone to try it in front of their own homes. Rather than trying t oconvince others of its practicality and usefulness, he merely put an electric streetlight in front of his own home. Within a short period of time, everyone in his neighborhood installed one, too. Now, look throughout the world at how many streetlamps warm the doorway to each home.
Through meditation, we are lighting our own street lamp. We then can radiate our light to others, and it will help speed up the process by which the whole world can be illuminated. By healing ourselves, it will help speed up the rate at whichthe world can be healed. I pray that each of you discover the peace and bliss within you so that your pains and wounds can e healed, and you can contribute to the healing of the world.