The vision of Sant Nirankari Mission: “the world is too small for walls”
A world without walls is the vision that His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj has been carrying, traveling across the world, and spreading the message of oneness and love. Headquartered in Delhi and with over 1000 branches all across the world, Sant Nirankari Mission has been one of the few organizations that spread the message of Oneness and a world with no boundaries.
(Left) His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh ji performing opening ceremony for exhibition.
A spiritual congregation was arranged in Atlanta at Sardar Patel Bhavan on the weekend of July 18 and 19, 2015, and the occasion was graced by His Holiness Nirankari Babaji himself. A blood drive was organized in collaboration with Life South. Sant Nirankari Mission Atlanta has been very active in organizing blood drives that benefit society as a whole and are in accord with the saying of His Holiness that “human blood should flow in veins and not in drains.” Atlanta branch also put together an exhibition, to promote the concept of oneness through beautiful handmade pieces and pictures of the work of the mission in different areas, to depict how to make this world a better place to co-exist in.
The congregation began with beautiful devotional hymns and words by speakers who were called upon to share their thoughts on oneness. One speaker gave the message that we do not have to agree with each other but we can still love and celebrate each other, emphasizing the virtue of tolerance. Mrs. Sally Kader, Cofounder and President of the United States Federation for Middle East Peace (USFMEP), and Ms. Joy Theriot, Director, UN Relations at the Global Women for Peace and Unity Foundation, both of New York, applauded the efforts to spread the message of pulling down walls and building bridges. Sant Nirankari Mission appreciated the support and love of attendees, including Nagesh Singh – Consul General of India Atlanta, Subash Razdan – Chairman of Gandhi Foundation of USA, Shiv Aggarwal, Amitabh Sharma – director of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, and Ms. Judy Johnson – mayor of Lawrenceville.
His Holiness, spiritual Head of the Sant Nirankari Mission, preaches the message of human unity, equality, and fraternity. He has received the Mahatma Gandhi Sewa (service) Medal and Ambassador of Peace Award and has been a chief guest in the European parliament of twenty seven nations in France, where he spoke about the peaceful and tolerant coexistence of all the different sections of society.
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At this congregation, Nirankari Babaji discoursed on the importance of making others around you happy rather than just thinking about your own happiness. You cannot brighten your way by blowing out the candles for others. It’s not enough to have principles, he said, but the need is to walk on that path. He pointed out the boundaries we have created, of gender, caste, creed, race, or color, to look down upon others, and how imperative are these congregations in altering that thought process and inculcating love and tolerance in everyone. Unless we broaden our horizons, he said, we will continue to hate. The need of the hour is to understand that we are children of one God and that this whole world is one big family. No matter what language is used, the message is the same of being one, and being a human first. His Holiness cited the example of the calamity that recently struck Nepal, where people lost everything but did not lose the spirit of giving, helping others however they could, depicting exemplary service to mankind. His Holiness asserted the fact that the love and gratitude should not be limited only to the members of the mission but to everyone around us. We need to break the bondages of hatred; whether the chains are of iron or gold, they still bind us, and we need to set ourselves free and earn goodness. We also need to let go of our ego to be connected to God, he said. Intolerance towards each other makes it difficult to establish that connection, because you cannot love God unless you love his creation. His message was that if you love human beings, it’s clear that you love God.
The Sant Nirankari Mission, also called Universal Brotherhood, is not a religion but a mission for humanity and a way of life that teaches how to become the human being that God intended us to be.
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