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I bow to your Mahatma Gandhi-compassion-truth
Also, I bow to you for embodying,
Something infinitely greater:
Has teeming questions.
Has the illumining answers.
With glowing illumination,
Your mind, with marching determination,
And your body, with sleepless energy.
And self-givingly
Ring the aspiration-bell,
And sound the manifestation-trumpet
Born and yet to be born.
O courage-builder, O character-shaper,
Without shadow of a doubt
At God's choice Hour,
Than you found it.
God the Transcendental Teacher Himself,
Universally fluent
Has no room for paltry fear.
Has no room for baneful doubt.
Has no room for crippling hesitation.
Has no room for devouring somnolence.
Son-daughter of Sri Lanka,
Infinity's compassion-teacher
Eternity's dedication-student.
Your journey's softness-purity-dawn.
Your journey's brightness-divinity-noon.
In the outer world
Hero-heart supreme.
And compassion-heart
Of universal oneness-harmony.
The spellbound audience can see and feel
Thinks for you
Speaks for you.
You are asking the young generation
To clear their mind-forest
Of their pure hearts.
Their immediate response
Your soul's supernal insight-light
Lo and behold, your entire being glows
You never suffer from
You never suffer from
You never suffer from
In no time satisfactorily feed
Human beings.
Spiritually you are infinitely stronger.
Sixty-six fruitful summers.
You are completely immune
A perfect stranger.
Nowhere indulgence-danger!
In the mind-world and the heart-world.
The simple Sri Lankans,
When you are with
You are a lion-roaring leader.
Who are not yet awakened,
Resounds through you in the firmament
"Arise, awake, stop not until the goal
To you I offer my life's dedication-garden
Failed to see the zenith-sun
Indeed, sadness reigned supreme.
Powerfully blessed and surprisingly expedited
To its glory-flooded destination.
Mother Jayasinghe.
Mother Jayasinghe.
Mother Jayasinghe.
Mother Jayasinghe.
Mother Jayasinghe.
India's mystic wisdom-lore of yore:
Swargadapi gariyasi."
Are superior to Heaven itself."
Premadasa's Motherland Sri Lanka,
My Lord Buddha Supreme,
Become Your fulfilled Dream.
Premadasa's oneness-inspiration-light.
Hema-gold,
Premadasa's oneness-confidence-tower.
Hema-gold,
You are your father's new vision-morn.
Blow his world-transformation-horn.
To see the Buddha's Compassion-Eye,
Soulfully ever you needs must fly.
And how high he now has flown!
Our fondness-student-son, our very own.
Ceylon's fast blossoming lotus
Through two sons smiles Asia's light.
Nowhere sombre ignorance-night.
"May you continue swimming in confidence-sea.
"Your simplicity-greatness I appreciate.
Powerful, fruitful friendship-blood.
Long and proud
But now you play
Give me your ceaseless pangs and fears.
In you my heart's oneness-tears.
In the Menik Ganga river.
He becomes consciousness-light-giver!
I picture you
O inner world,
To be your sweetness-dove.
A man-server without,
The leader-eye supreme,
Sri Lankan hearts you feed.
Humility is a rare virtue in most human beings, but President Premadasa is the very embodiment of humility. He says of J. R. Jayewardene, "His crowning success is that he was able to transfer the mantle of leadership to a person from the ranks of the ordinary people and not to his kith and kin. He has acted true to his word."
Ingratitude is the order of the day. But to our extreme joy, Premadasa's life is founded upon gratitude-granite. He says of his predecessor, "How can we express our gratitude to our President? We can do so by building up a united, peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka."PPN 38. All quotes from People's President↩
His inner conviction he bravely and unmistakably translates into outer assertion: "Ours is a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-linguistic society.
But we are all one People, and this I shall always bear in the forefront of my mind." ("On the Wings of Thought")Honourable Bradman Weerakoon
Adviser to the President on International Relations
Honourable Arthur J. Ranasinghe
Minister of State for Information
His Excellency L. L. Mehrotra
High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka
His Excellency Ananda Guruge
Ambassador to UNESCO and to France from Sri Lanka
Honourable C. Nanda Mathew
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
On the Wings of Thought
by Ranasinghe Premadasa What is a government? A government is a man-made garment. This man-made garment can be attractive or unattractive, expensive or inexpensive. He who is wise will naturally put on a lovely garment not only to please himself but also to please others. This garment he can make and remake until he sees perfection in it and derives complete satisfaction from it.On the Wings of Thought
by Ranasinghe Premadasa Action, dynamic action, self-giving action: that is what the President wants from himself and from others. It is not his way to offer excuses. He is wise; he is brave. Excuses accomplish nothing. It is determination that is of paramount importance. Determination begins the journey; dynamic action, concludes the journey.Society Based on Human Values
by Ranasinghe Premadasa Indian philosophy calls for the acceptance of life and the oneness of human beings. God is the life-tree, and each country is like a branch of the tree. In His Self-Transcendence God is One, and in His Self-Manifestation God is many. Therefore, God is at once the host and the guest.Symbols of Progress
by Ranasinghe Premadasa Detachment — what is it? It is an excellent beginning for the journey toward enlightenment. The poet in the President at once embodies the wisdom-light of yore and the vision of tomorrow's dawn. Whoever is for world-illumination and world-perfection can profitably listen to the Seer-Poet-President.Let Us Face the Challenge
by Ranasinghe PremadasaThe Time for Action
by Ranasinghe Premadasa President Premadasa's aspiration-heart sees the divinity in all religions. Therefore, he feels that all religions have the same source: God's Transcendental Vision. Man-made religions find fault with one another, whereas God-made religion is eternally a oneness-song — God-manifestation through human aspiration on earth.Glory of Reawakening
by Ranasinghe PremadasaIf somebody thinks that he is great, then let us ask him for his credentials. If he can prove to us that he can associate himself with the common run of men and have a oneness-breath with them, then his credentials are acceptable. If he wants only to remain on the top of the Himalayas without caring at all for those who are at the foot of the Himalayas, then his oneness with the Himalayan consciousness is shockingly imperfect and, therefore, of no avail.
President Premadasa's heart has always been for all and sundry, since the very dawn of his earthly sojourn. He has a free access to people in all walks of life, and they to him.Towards the Rule of Love
by Ranasinghe Premadasa Replacement must always be done with something infinitely better. This is what our inner voice tells our outer mind. But, alas, quite often we do not pay any heed to it. Usually we prefer not to change. But once we make a positive change, we see how much we have advanced along the progress-road of life. When the power of love replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.Society Based on Human Values
by Ranasinghe Premadasa Unlike the human victor, a divine victor celebrates his victory only when others are victorious as well. Needless to say, he has suffered from the ruthless buffets of defeat. But these defeats were blessings in disguise, for they turned him into an infinitely better and wiser self-giver in uplifting the consciousness of his country so that it can proudly stand and brilliantly shine in the comity of nations.Peace and Prosperity
by Ranasinghe PremadasaThe United Nations saw in Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Premadasa a fully awakened concern-sacrifice-heart to ameliorate the sufferings of the ill-fated members of the universal oneness-family.
Thus, a little brother in the family of nations offered momentous wisdom-light to his exceptionally strong elder brothers. Premadasa sowed the aspiration-seed in the heart of the United Nations in 1980, and the world saw the fulfilment-tree in 1987, when the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless was declared.
Premadasa's life bears witness to the fact that a goodness-heart will eventually be accepted, appreciated and admired by the world's greatness-minds.
Sri Lanka's vision-dedication in and through her beloved son Premadasa became a reality-progress-manifestation throughout the length and breadth of the world.Let Us Protect Sri Lanka
by Ranasinghe PremadasaWho wants to be the student? "Not me!" Our answer will immediately be in the negative. Who wants to be the teacher? "Me, me, at every moment!" Immediately our answer will be in the affirmative. Indeed, this is a common experience for Mother Earth.
If you do not want to be a student first, then how will you learn? If you do not learn, then how are you going to teach? If you do not want to be led at first, then how will you know whether the road you are on is straight or crooked and full of obstacles, whether it is a sunlit path or a road of tenebrous darkness? Be first a student of the heart. Then you will be able to become a teacher of life.Pratap the Elephant
by Ranasinghe PremadasaSoon after arriving in Sri Lanka I went to a bookstore near my hotel to buy a few books written by President Premadasa. What I found was a small children's book written by the President, with a painting of an elephant on the cover. It was entitled "Pratap the Elephant".
I was so deeply moved by my first acquaintance with President Premadasa's literary world. His own boundless heart of compassion compels him to bring to the fore the compassion-aspect of all others, including members of the animal kingdom.
Pratap the Elephant is lord of the jungle and fully able to meet with all his needs without any help from others. But the President lovingly reveals to us how inner power and outer strength can go together. Pratap is full of kindness and affection for all the animals. Even the pigs and jackals, whose self-serving arrogance destroys Pratap's first water-hole, receive the wise elephant's limitless compassion. By not allowing the bad animals to come near the new water-hole, Pratap's compassion, in the form of strictness, is helping to transform them.
The President teaches us that compassion will transform bad people into good people and good people into even better people. How devotedly and how superbly he reveals to us the unparalleled Compassion-aspect of the Lord Buddha.Before ascending to the podium to give his speech at the Kandy Festival of Lights, President Premadasa was introduced to Sri Chinmoy. The President said, "Peace, peace, peace. I am very happy to meet you. Welcome to Sri Lanka. Are you enjoying your stay here?" He also said that he had seen Sri Chinmoy's interview on television. He said, "You are a true man of wisdom."
After the President had lit two or three candles, he gave a candle to Sri Chinmoy and said, "A true man of peace."
When they were on the podium together, the President asked Sri Chinmoy the meaning of his name. Sri Chinmoy told him that it means "full of Divine Consciousness."Not only the Buddhists of Sri Lanka but also the rest of the people, whatever religion they profess, have great respect for this sacred building and this sacred area where we have the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha.
The Buddha's message is not a religion as such; it is a way of life. Lord Buddha realised the causes for the suffering of mankind and taught us how to meet the challenges of life. He showed us the realities of the world, and he gave us the path that leads us to realisation of the normal truth. Why do we say that it is the normal truth? Because it is the truth that you can experience and prove. Your conscience will easily tell you if what you are thinking, what you are going to say and what you are going to do are good for you and good for others. If you can purify your mind, you will get the true reality.
Buddhism can be practised by anybody, any layman. You need not give up your laymanship. Anyone who believes in other faiths, too, can follow, practise, experience and also experiment with the five precepts of Buddhism, which will lead anybody to purity.
One should lead a non-violent life and become peaceful in self. Unless you possess peace, you will not be able to give peace to others. What are we doing? We are asking others to be peaceful while we are violent. That has been the problem everywhere. Where there is controversy, conflict and confrontation, it is because we have not gained the wisdom to analyse and realise this truth.
We have been going through a very tough period in our country. Now we are getting a sense of relief. How did we bring about the present sense of relief? It is not through the power of the law, not through any royal decree. We have got this relief because of the great faith that our people have in spirituality. They believe that if they are good, the environment will become good. They believe that the power of truth can influence even the bad and the violent. Lord Buddha has proved these things. So the majority of our people, belonging to various faiths, various communities, various parts of the country, never lost faith while they were suffering from this terror.
What can our people do? They can only try to generate their human kindness, their human compassion. And that spiritual power is overtaking this brutality and terror in the country. That is why I say, it is not the power of government, it is not the weaponry of government, it is not any royal decree that has been responsible for restoring the peaceful environment of this country. This land must again regain peace, discipline and prosperity. It can only be realised if every one of us contributes towards that, and this is what the common people are doing. So we have come here to express our gratitude and pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic and also pay our respects to the other faiths and religions.
I am very grateful to the clergy and believers of various faiths for the arrangements that they have made. We are also grateful to the heads of foreign missions, and various foreign organisations who are here to help us. Other friendly countries have always understood Sri Lanka. In every continent, countries have always respected this little island of Sri Lanka. They have never misunderstood the situation here. They are continuing to help us. So to representatives from these countries and from organisations, some giving aid and some connected with voluntary services, I think it is my duty, as the representative of the people of this country, to convey our gratitude, and to tell them how much we value their cooperation and support.
And now you will be able to hear a few words from our friend, Sri Chinmoy, whose name means "full of Divine Consciousness." Please give us some of that.Dear Sri Chinmoy
On behalf of all the people of Sri Lanka, I am very happy to welcome you to our country. You are dedicated to peace. I am happy that you are travelling to all corners of the globe in order to spread the message of the oneness of humanity.
I understand that you have been hailed as the 20th Century's First Global man. I appreciate your services for achieving peace through so many fields, including music, writings, paintings, lectures and athletic endeavours.
I offer you my best wishes for your continued dedication and unceasing efforts for the cause of humanity and world peace.
Yours sincerely
President PremadasaRatnapura is the city of gems, and I see that its heart is also a gem. Its inner beauty and outer beauty have impressed me deeply. Also, to our dear friends and the distinguished members of the audience I am offering my heart of love and gratitude.
Over two thousand years ago, an Indian prince named Vijay Singh came to Sri Lanka with 70 followers. You accepted him as your own, very own. In this same tradition, Mr. Lakhan Mehrotra, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, has come to this country. I am more than hopeful that relations between India and Sri Lanka will now be strengthened more than ever, for he is a true peace-lover with a mind of unparalleled wisdom-light and a heart of universal oneness-concern.
Yesterday my students and I went to Sucharita, the Presidential Palace, to offer a Peace Concert. President Premadasa granted us his blessingful presence and his compassionate heart for over two hours. He is the voice of your country. He is cherished not only by all Sri Lankans but also by lovers of peace throughout the length and breadth of the world.
In a few days we shall carry to various parts of the world the experiences from our soulful and powerful journey through Sri Lanka. The experiences that we have received here will last forever in our prayerful and soulful gratitude-hearts.PPN 79. Excerpts from Sri Chinmoy's comments after the Peace Concert in Ratnapura↩
I am extremely grateful to the Minister of Sports for this signal honour that he has accorded to me. For about two weeks I have been in Sri Lanka, the island of beauty, purity and divinity. Here your beloved President Ranasinghe Premadasa has most powerfully blessed me with his inspiration, encouragement, kindness, sympathy and compassion....
Sports and physical fitness are of supreme importance for each and every human being because they help us to achieve inner peace.... So through physical activities, especially sports, we are dedicating ourselves to the betterment of this world.... I am so happy that President Premadasa is extremely fit physically. Needless to say, spiritually also he is super-fit. He pays attention to physical fitness as well as spiritual progress. In his unique book "Peace and Prosperity", the President teaches us: "In Sri Lanka, we have tried to blend both physical development and spiritual progress." Physical development and spiritual progress together can make us true and perfect citizens of the world.
The President every day shoulders millions of problems. At the same time, he is the voice of the people, the nation. But in spite of all this, he finds the time to keep his body in excellent shape. Indeed, this is a tremendous source of inspiration to me and to my students who practise sports.
.... In silence I am offering my heart's most soulful prayer to the Lord Buddha, the Author of all Good, to shower His compassionate Blessings on each of us so that we can be perfect instruments of His — loving and serving humanity both physically and spiritually.
Once more I am offering my heart's love and gratitude to the Minister of Sports and others who have organised today's programme. May each of us become a divine athlete to fight against ignorance-night and establish in Sri Lanka and all over the world the kingdom of love, brotherhood, oneness and fulfilment.With your kind permission I am accepting this award as a most powerful blessing from the Buddha to intensify my own quest for truth and multiply my inner aspiration and outer dedication. This blessing I wish to have in my heart of aspiration, in my life of dedication and in all my earthly activities. To me, it is infinitely more precious than any outer award.
Only a few days ago, President Premadasa came here, as well as to other spiritual places in Kandy. Like you, he believes that all world religions are one and that all religions join together in the Compassion-Heart of the Lord Buddha. We are all one-children of the Absolute. There is no high, no low. We are all growing in the Heart of the Absolute. I understand that it was our beloved President who wanted to bless me with this supreme gift. So this award I am inwardly offering most devotedly to President Premadasa.
I wish to offer my most soulful love, joy and gratitude to my most esteemed Brother-Friend, Minister Arthur Ranasinghe. If we have been able to do anything for the soul and heart of Sri Lanka, it is because the Minister of Information has helped us far, far beyond my imagination and the imagination of my students.
And to all those who are present here, I am offering my gratitude for this great inspiration and aspiration that we have felt here together. Now we shall try to spread it throughout the length and breadth of the globe.During my stay here, I have seen that peace and harmony between India and Sri Lanka is more than a hopeful dream; it is a supremely blessed reality. The sincere peace-cries and oneness-smiles from the magnanimous hearts of my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters have touched the very depths of my being. In the same way, India's readiness-heart and willingness-mind for peace are being manifested most lovingly and most convincingly in her divinely chosen representative-son, Mr. Lakhan Mehrotra, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka....
A few days ago, our beloved President Ranasinghe Premadasa completed the first year of his most fruitful presidency. As the unparalleled President that he is, he went to the spiritual heads of the nation's four main religious faiths — Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist — to receive their blessings. Here the President has shown us that we all belong to the same world-family; we are all oneness-brothers and sisters.
....Tomorrow my students and I will leave Sri Lanka, but we will carry with us the sweeter-than-the-sweetest fragrance of the Sri Lankan heart. At the end of our sojourn here, I am offering to each and every Sri Lankan my gratitude, my infinite gratitude. Beyond expectation, beyond my highest flight of imagination, from the soul, heart and life of Sri Lanka I have received affection, love, compassion and blessings. And in return, most humbly, most soulfully and most devotedly I am offering my heart's tearful gratitude to the life, heart and soul of Sri Lanka.PPN The Mayor read a speech of welcome for Sri Chinmoy and his students. Following the Mayor's speech, Sri Chinmoy offered his gratitude to the Mayor and the people of Sri Lanka.↩
President Premadasa: I am very privileged to have you here.
Sri Chinmoy: I wish to tell you how deeply some of your words have inspired and moved me. When you said, "I dedicate myself to lead my people to unity and amity, I dedicate myself to lead my people to calmness and sanity, I dedicate myself to lead my people to peace and harmony, I dedicate myself to lead my people to order and discipline," I felt that you are definitely the right person to be the supreme leader of your country. Something else extremely, extremely significant that you have said is that you think example is better than precept: "Discipline must begin with self-discipline."
President Premadasa: How do you know these quotes?
Sri Chinmoy: I have been reading your writings with utmost interest since I first thought of coming to your beautiful country.
[The Prime Minister's Secretary at this point said that they would like to have a course on Sri Chinmoy's music at the University.]
President Premadasa: Do it! Do it!
[Sri Chinmoy then presented President Premadasa with a picture of the two of them taken at the Kandy Festival of Lights. He had autographed it at the bottom, with the words: "From a student of peace to the teacher of peace."]
President Premadasa: It is the other way around.
Sri Chinmoy: [Giving the President a picture of himself being lifted after the Peace Concert at Sucharita] How did you feel?
President Premadasa: You were strong, very strong! [Pointing to one of the pictures] Why did you not put the date here?
Sri Chinmoy: I am so sorry; I forgot. But I have put the date on the other picture. [Giving President Premadasa a letter] This letter expresses my feelings about you and Sri Lanka. I was going to send this by mail, but since you so kindly made the time to see me, I am giving it to you in person. I have given six or eight talks here. On each occasion my heart has spoken about you. You have written in one of your books that the small must support the big; otherwise, the big cannot survive. You have always said that big and small must go together. You are the highest here, and you have given me so much love and compassion.
President Premadasa: Affection, affection, affection! People tell me what you say about me at your concerts and other appearances. The Prime Minister told me that you kept my picture on the stage at your last concert! Did they sing my song again?
Sri Chinmoy: Definitely! I cannot go out into the street without people recognising me and giving me such love and affection. You have taken me into your heart and also placed me inside the hearts of your people.
[Sri Chinmoy then gave President Premadasa some of his own books, including "Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha" and "U Thant: Divinity's Smile, Humanity's Cry."]
Sri Chinmoy: I would like to have your permission and blessings to write a book about you.
President Premadasa: About me?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, I would like to write a book about you. I have read seven or eight books of yours, and before I came to Sri Lanka I read some of the talks you gave at the United Nations General Assembly when you were Prime Minister.
President Premadasa: I will give you all my books.
Sri Chinmoy: I already have your books, and I have read them all. Only one book I could not get, but my students borrowed it from your library. Now they have returned it, but the other books we were able to buy.
President Premadasa: No, no, I'm sure you don't have them all.
[The President then sent someone to bring copies of his books which were not available in the bookstores.]
Sri Chinmoy: Two immortals are inside your heart. One is Mahatma Gandhi and the other is John Kennedy. In your heart you have tremendous compassion, inspired by Gandhi. In your writings you have mentioned many, many times Gandhi's non-violence and tolerance. And also I see that you have been inspired by President Kennedy. Kennedy's dynamism I see in your outer life, and Mahatma Gandhi's compassion and tolerance I see in your inner life.
President Premadasa: How did you like Ratnapura?
Sri Chinmoy: Very much! The Chief Minister was so nice to me in Ratnapura. I was very happy that the Chief Minister received me there. He arranged singing and dancing performances, which my students and I enjoyed tremendously.
[When the President's aide returned with some of his books which Sri Chinmoy did not yet have, Sri Chinmoy requested President Premadasa to inscribe one book for him.]
President Premadasa: I asked him to receive you and I am sure that Minister Ranasinghe did everything he could for you?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, I am so grateful.
[Then President Premadasa showed Sri Chinmoy his own emblem and the emblem of Parliament, explaining the significance of the various parts. Finally, he took Sri Chinmoy to see the room used by the previous Parliament for its sessions. The walls of the corridor were lined with pictures of dignitaries.]
Sri Chinmoy: So many dignitaries! I am sure you are here.
[President Premadasa pointed out his own picture.]
Sri Chinmoy: You were Prime Minister at that time?
President Premadasa: Yes, I was the Prime Minister then. [President Premadasa led Sri Chinmoy into a room that could seat fifty or sixty people.] When there is something very significant, very important to discuss, this is where we meet.Dear Sri Chinmoy
H. E. President R. Premadasa has read with great joy your very kind letter of 29 January, 1990 and has requested me to write to you to thank you for the gracious sentiments you have expressed therein.
The President was very happy to learn that you have begun reading his books and that you hope very soon to start writing your own book about him. He looks forward with great pleasure to receiving a copy of it as soon as it is published.
It was a matter of great pleasure for the President to have had the opportunity of meeting you in Sri Lanka. All the words you spoke and the blessings you gave to him and to the country in the name of PEACE are very gratefully appreciated by His Excellency.
The President thanks you again for the many kind thoughts that you have expressed and for your prayers for the future progress and prosperity of Sri Lanka.
(Bradman Weerakoon)
Adviser International RelationsAgyaner abichar andhiyar tumi nascha
Bravely you silence the darkness and injustice
You are Sri Lanka's promise-march,
In the comity of nations your Himalayan deeds
Within, without, Spirit's deathless power.
Sri Lanka's fulness-dreamer-harbinger.
Perfection-sun, satisfaction-sky in you find.
In the same breath you love
But also all the citizens of the world.
Without, you are an endless power-planet.
You are the compassionate beckoning hand
Victory, President Premadasa!
Day and night, at every moment,
Indeed, this is your sole identification-light
Premadasa, O slave of love divine!
With the Compassion and the Concern
Ranasinghe, O battlefield-lion!
You are beckoning each and every soul.
With your own unconditionally self-giving heart.
From:Sri Chinmoy,President Premadasa: Nectar-Bliss-Heart, Lion-Roar-Soul, Agni Press, 1990
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ppn