Chapter 4: The Future Of The United Nations
Question: Is World Peace Possible Without The...
Question: Is world peace possible without the United Nations?
Sri Chinmoy: Complete world peace without the United Nations is impossible, for the United Nations is Heaven's oneness-promise to the world. Therefore, the United Nations has an indispensable role to play in bringing about world peace; it is the world's hope for world peace.
-9 May 1979
Question: How Far Is The United Nations...
Question: How far is the United Nations from accomplishing the ideals of its founders?
Sri Chinmoy: Unfortunately, it is quite far. It has to go a long way before it can accomplish all the ideals that its founders envisioned.
-9 May 1979
Question: Why Is Progress At The United...
Question: </i> Why is progress at the United Nations so slow?
Sri Chinmoy: Progress is slow not only at the United Nations. Human progress everywhere is generally slow, slower, slowest. Again, so long as we see an iota of progress in an individual or in a country, we must be thankful to God. Even if progress is slow, as long as it is also steady and fulfilling, then we know that we will eventually reach the goal.
-9 May 1979
Question: The Preamble Of Unesco's Constitution States...
Question: The Preamble of UNESCO's constitution states that wars begin in the minds of men and it is there that they have to be eradicated first. I believe that the minds of men are changing, yet a general war is still a possibility. Would you comment?
Sri Chinmoy: It is true that wars begin in the minds of men. If the mind changes, there will be no wars. But the mind will change only when it is transformed, and the only way to transform the mind is to bring the reality and divinity of the heart to the fore. The mind of humanity is changing, true, but it is going at the speed of an Indian bullock cart. At any moment the storm of doubt and the hurricane of jealousy can stop humanity's mind from proceeding further. Only if the heart's qualities come forward and illumine the mind, can we be free from doubt-storm and jealousy- hurricane. An illumined mind founded upon a loving heart can not only put an end to war but also expedite world-oneness, world-perfection and world-satisfaction.
-20 May 1977
Question: How Do You Envision Politics In...
Question: How do you envision politics in the next century?
Sri Chinmoy: I believe that eventually politics has to surrender to spirituality and allow itself to be guided and led by spirituality. The situation now in the political world is like a blind man trying to lead someone who has very clear vision. People who pray and meditate have clear vision; they live in the heart and they are the ones who should lead the blind. But instead, the blind are the ones who are leading. Who are the blind? The blind are those who live in the mind at every moment.
The mind only knows how to divide and divide. But by dividing the world and separating reality into pieces we can never get joy. Only by becoming one with the world can we get real joy. The mind is like a boxer. It is always trying to show its supremacy. All the time it is saying: "I am superior to you. I should be one step higher than you or one step ahead of you."
The voice of the heart is the voice of oneness. It says "Wherever you are, I am also there. I am inside your heart and you are inside my heart." This kind of oneness-philosophy brings us an abiding joy that we can never get from the world of separation and conquest. Today the boxer will defeat his opponent and tomorrow some other boxer will defeat him. So where is the satisfaction?
The mind not only separates itself from others; it also doubts and suspects others. It may even doubt and suspect itself. Those who live in the heart, on the other hand, are all the time expanding. Today they love God; tomorrow they will love all humanity. If spiritual people get the opportunity to help mental people who are now in the political world, then there will be a different kind of politics-the politics of the heart. At that time, guidance will come from the heart and there will be no division; there will be only joy and satisfaction.
-7 February 1992
Question: Will The United Nations Grow Into...
Question: Will the United Nations grow into a world government?
Sri Chinmoy: It depends on what kind of world government you are speaking of. If it is a government that wants to govern nations with the inner messages that come directly from the heart, if it is a government that wants to govern in an unprecedented, self-giving way, then there is every possibility that some day the Absolute Supreme will give the United Nations the supreme opportunity to govern the world.
-9 May 1979
Question: Will The Dream That Began With...
Question: Will the dream that began with the League of Nations need yet another organisation to manifest itself?
Sri Chinmoy: No, the dream that began with the League of Nations does not need another organisation to fulfil its message. The United Nations has abundant capacity to fulfil the dream of the League of Nations and also to fulfil its own dream, which is far more absorbing, more illumining and more fulfilling.
-9 May 1979
Question: What Role Will The United Nations...
Question: What role will the United Nations ultimately play in the spiritual transformation of humanity?
Sri Chinmoy: The ultimate role of the United Nations in the spiritual transformation of humanity, according to my inner feeling, will lie in its recognition of the importance, the necessity and the capacity of spirituality. Spirituality carries the message of peace and has the capacity to bring about peace all over the world. Those who are working at the United Nations eventually will come to realise that it is spirituality that will bring about harmony, peace, light and bliss. Spirituality here means the discovery of our inner oneness. If we do not discover our inner oneness first, then we will never be able to discover, realise or manifest the outer oneness through politics or any other means. Spirituality is the foundation; if there is no foundation, the house will collapse.
Our inner oneness we will discover not with the mind but with the heart. The inner world is the world of the heart and the outer world is the world of the mind. Ultimately, the outer or mental approach will have to surrender to and become one with the psychic or inner approach. So first we have to discover and establish our heart's oneness through spirituality, and then this oneness-discovery and achievement must be brought to the fore to establish peace and harmony in the outer world.
-18 April 1978
Question: When And How Will The Leaders...
Question: When and how will the leaders and representatives of the nations of the world, especially of the developing nations, begin to seek spiritual solutions to their problems?
Sri Chinmoy: There is no fixed date. Only when the hour has struck for a particular individual will that individual cry for world-oneness, world-progress and world-perfection. An individual or a nation has to become consciously aware of what it is necessary to do. It is only through conscious awareness that the right things can take place at the right moment in the right way. At that time, all the negative forces can be conquered and all the world's problems can be solved.
-16 November 1976
Question: Will The Supreme Send More Real...
Question: Will the Supreme send more real leaders to help support the United Nations?
Sri Chinmoy: Already there have been quite a few extremely good leaders. Some of these leaders got the opportunity to lead, while others did not. If there is a need for more leaders, then the Supreme will definitely grant the United Nations more leaders. But if the present leaders already have the capacity and if others are praying for the capacity in their own way, then the goal of the United Nations will not always remain a far cry and there is no need for the Supreme to grant the United Nations more leaders.
-16 November 1976
Question: As The United Nations Evolves, Will...
Question: As the United Nations evolves, will it become less of a political centre and more of a spiritual centre?
Sri Chinmoy: A divinely political centre and a truly spiritual centre are not two different things. We have to know that the United Nations has to be both divinely political and truly spiritual. When it is truly spiritual, it will embrace humanity's entire inner existence. And then it will need an opening to express itself. This opening is politics. The divine politics, which is inside the devoted hearts of the individual nations, can at that time be of great assistance.
The United Nations has already obtained considerable spiritual power. Unlike political power, spiritual power works in silence. Therefore, it is not noticeable to our human eyes. But it is constantly being felt in the hearts of those who are crying for a better, more illumining and more fulfilling life on earth.
-16 November 1976
Question: Is It Possible That The United...
Question: Is it possible that the United Nations will one day be a nucleus of worldwide spirituality?
Sri Chinmoy: That is not only possible but also inevitable. The symbol, the truth, the light that the United Nations embodies is bound to cover the length and breadth of the world. The body and form that the United Nations now has may not last. It may not remain in this building. But the reality that is behind the United Nations, the dreams that each dedicated individual member has-not in his mind, but in his soul-have to fulfil themselves. It may take fifty, two hundred, or four hundred years, but the dreams must eventually be fulfilled even if the outer form or structure of the United Nations does not remain the same. The essential thing is that the soul of the United Nations will blossom into perfection, and 'United Nations' will be expanded into 'Oneness-World.'
The League of Nations was Woodrow Wilson's dream. It no longer exists. Instead, it has blossomed into another dream, a greater dream. The United Nations is also a dream. And this dream also will eventually take a better and more fulfilling form; at that time it will be a 'Oneness-World.' A League of Nations is like a cluster of flowers. A United Nations arranges the flowers harmoniously. But in a Oneness-World, we will not see several individual flowers at all; we will see all as one whole.
This is God's Dream, God's Vision of Perfection. The Kingdom of Heaven that we talk about and hear about is nothing other than a Oneness-World. A Oneness-World must dawn. Even when a Oneness-World is established, it will not be the ultimate thing in God's Vision. No, inside oneness there should be a continuous aspiration to go beyond, beyond, beyond. God's Vision is always transcending, so after oneness we still have to keep on going; only then can we have real perfection. So, first there was the League of Nations. Now we see the United Nations. From the United Nations we shall see the Oneness-World, and inside the Oneness-World we shall sing the song of self-transcendence, world- transcendence and universal transcendence. Only then shall we find satisfaction-perfection.
-16 April 1976
Question: Do You See Any Role For...
Question: Do you see any role for the United Nations in the enlightenment of mankind? If so, will music be one of the components of such a role?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, I see that the United Nations has a definite role to play in enlightening the life of mankind. But it is not the outer music that will do the needful. It will be the inner music, the heart's music, which continuously feels and makes others feel that we are of the One and for the many. The inner music makes us feel that the many are only our own extended and expanded reality. So it will not be instrumental music or vocal music but the psychic music of the United Nations that can and will enlighten mankind.
-20 May 1977
Question: Is The Supreme Pleased With The...
Question: Is the Supreme pleased with the progress of the United Nations?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, the Supreme is pleased with the sincere aspiration and dedication that the United Nations has offered Him. Again, the Supreme believes in continuous progress. Whatever the United Nations has already achieved has pleased Him, but He expects something more. That something more has to be achieved by the sincere efforts of the people who work at the United Nations, the people who love the United Nations and the people who are one with the ideals and the goals of the United Nations. We can achieve what the Supreme wants by virtue of our joint efforts in the field of aspiration and dedication-by making a special effort to aspire more and dedicate ourselves more to the cause of the United Nations.
Satisfaction is not a finished product. If we remain at a certain standard, then our progress becomes like a stagnant pool and satisfaction goes away. Only in continuous progress do we find satisfaction. First we come up to a certain standard, which we originally wanted. Then we look around and see that somebody else has achieved something higher or deeper, and we also try to do the same. It is not out of jealousy or a feeling of competition, no; only it is an inner urge that makes us want to try to surpass ourselves.
-16 August 1977
Question: When Peace Is Finally Established On...
Question : When peace is finally established on earth, what then will be the function of the United Nations?
Sri Chinmoy: The role of the United Nations will not come to an end after the establishment of peace on earth. To have world peace is just the beginning; it is not and cannot be the end of human achievement. When an individual seeker acquires peace, for example, there are many other things that he must also acquire in order to make himself a perfect instrument of God. He must begin to grow into a new light and achieve a new harmony and a new fulfilment. Similarly, this earth of ours also has many things that it has yet to offer to the Absolute Supreme. The first is peace-peace in the individual and peace in the collective human consciousness. But, as is the case with the individual seeker, this is only the beginning. The earth also has to grow into a new light and achieve a new harmony and a new fulfilment.
-9 May 1979
