GLOBAL VIGIL FOR PEACE ON OCT 2 2001
[GANDHIíS BIRTHDAY]
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Satyagraha is a relentless search for truth and a determination to search truth.
Satyagraha is a process of educating public opinion, such that it covers all the elements of the society and makes itself irresistible.
- M.K.Gandhi
Remember your humanity ÖÖÖ.. Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell
Since Sept 11, 2001 our lives have been lived in the shadow of the awesome TV images of violent attacks in the heart of the USA, thousands of innocent lives lost, and countless acts of sacrifice and heroism of ordinary people.
Even more fearsome has been what has followed: the unanimous sanction for mobilisation of unbelievable force levels for war; and the dangerous tendency by some sections of the leadership and the media, to reinforce the link between terrorism and Islam, thus fuelling resentment and attacks against peace loving people, mainly Muslims and Arabs, the world over.
The internet has been flooded with thoughtful writings condemning terrorism and violence, news of vigils for peace, and petitions counselling caution and expressing fears that hasty action now may lead us into World War III.
Our immediate concern is to forestall this last eventuality and to convey this urgently to world leaders on behalf of millions of ordinary citizens in a manner which will make a more powerful impact.
One way of doing this could be by using the Gandhian strategy of Satyagraha ó or non-violent civil action in the quest for truth- a tool invented by Gandhi for mass mobilisation through non-violent protest, and used effectively by Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela among others. We believe we can and must seize this moment as an opportunity to raise our collective voices for Peace. People around the world are meeting in the spirit of non-violence to consider how we might all work together, to learn lessons from the past, reflect on the present and to find a way ahead which does not believe in an `eye for an eyeí.
Please join us in mobilising the widest possible participation in A GLOBAL VIGIL FOR PEACE on October 2 ó Gandhiís Birthday - where friends and neighbors can meet, talk, commune in silence or in song. We do not necessarily need large rallies, but can plan a variety of imaginative localised actions in small groups in offices, schools, colleges, street corners, bus and train stations, community centres, and places of worship, in villages, towns and cities across the world. When many people walk together, surely we can build a new Pathway?
While we use Gandhi's name, we also remember innumerable goddesses, Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Kabir, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and millions of women and men all of whom worked for peace, tolerance,compassion and sharing in different parts of the world. Oct 2 was selected because it provides a convenient date around which to build on the proven abilities of persons like Gandhi to convince millions representing diverse beliefs and opinions, of the critical need for tolerance, equity and justice as critical ingredients for peace ó and above all that the struggle to achieve these must be non-violent, because the means were as important as the ends.
Co-ordinating action around the world on a particular date might also help achieve that important ingredient ó a critical mass and hopefully a chain reaction of good impulses which indeed is the only way to achieve operation INFINITE JUSTICE!
If you can, please gather signatures on a simple statement saying:
NO TO TERRORISM ó NO TO WAR ó NO TO VIOLENCE!
YES TO PEACE, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FOR ALL!
Send these with your names and location to:UN Secretary General - Kofi Annan
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel. (1) 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055 ]The White House 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500, USA
Fax: (1) (202) 456-2461.and to your own Head of State.
In any case let us know if you met and what happened when you met. `Weí and `Usí are just a group of concerned friends from across the world ó with no political affiliations but a shared vision for humanity. Contact us