World Peace PrayerHeld at: Santaram temple, Nadiad, Gujarat, India

On: 10th May, 2015

Organized by: Monk Mukesh Anand

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

We organized the World Peace Prayer at Santaram Temple, Nadiad on 10th May, 2015. Over a thousand people children, youth, adult devotees and monks were a part of the events on this ocassion. Drawing from last year's success, this time too the entire day was filled with activities to inspire different groups of people and spread the message of peace:

1) School Children and Teachers: Children represent the future of our country, world, and society at large. And so, a large part of the day was spent with the next generation boys and girls from various schools at Nadiad. Our interaction with children focused on the importance of praying, the significance of the World Peace Prayers Event, and about spreading peace. It was heartening to see children sitting together without the usual distractions, observing silence and praying, totally oblivious to their surroundings.

2) Youth: Amongst the activities included was reading verses from the Bhagwad Gita, a sacred text of the Hindus. Literally meaning The Song of the God, the Bhagwad Gita is a 700-verse scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

3) Adult Devotees: We recited Shlokas (verses in Sankrit) and sang Bhajans (prayers) in groups, followed by silence meditation and peace prayer.

4) Monks: In the evening different monks from the Ashram delivered spiritual speeches on world peace, prayed and observed silence.

CONCLUSION

It was extremely heartening and inspiring to see a wide range of people - boys, girls, men, women, senior citizens all coming together for this noble cause. Almost every corner of the Ashram premises was hosting a small gathering, in some ways similar to how so many groups across the world were observing this ocassion. The atmosphere was positively charged, yet calm and serene.

This was our second time observing the World Peace Prayers at Nadiad. We look forward to conducting the event next year, and continue our journey as partners in this endeavour.