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January/February 2006 Spirituality
A Monumental Occasion

"The whole world belongs to you. But man identifies himself with his profession, religion, culture, nationality, language, region or sex and, maybe, as a human being. People today are stuck in religious practices, symbols & customs, and have forgotten the spiritual core - human values of compassion, friendliness, co-operation, peace of mind, joy… and a smile that is not fragile!

In a society plagued with domestic and communal violence, we need to globalize wisdom. Though we have advanced technologically, we have cared very little for the emotional and spiritual needs of people. A sense of belongingness with the whole world - rising above the narrow considerations of colour, culture or background, is the need of the hour. We are not living in isolated compartments - the world has become one family.

As a major initiative towards globalizing wisdom and fostering human values, we are hosting a three-day International Conference on Human Values from the 17th -19th of February, 2006.

This conference is a wonderful occasion for all leaders of society who are concerned about terrorism and fundamentalism. We need to look back and learn from the mistakes of the past; we need to understand what is lacking in society and how we can nurture the human values without which this earth cannot be sustained.

Knowledge and spiritual awareness should go hand in hand with social and political systems. I think religious leaders, political leaders, business establishments and social workers should get together and spread the message of unity. All religions and traditions have a common value system. These shared values have to reach every corner of the world. Even if one pocket of the world remains ignorant of these values, the world will not be a safe place. I often say religion is the banana skin and spirituality is the banana. The misery in the world is because we throw away the banana and are holding on to the skin.

I hope this conference will reinforce the vision of a one world family."

H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar