World service

As the United Nations is indispensable to the world community, so also is each individual nation a necessary part of this world organisation. We can view each nation as a unique branch of the world-tree. Each branch is needed to complete the fulness-beauty of the all-spreading tree, and each branch offers special protection and a special oneness-fruit to aspiring mankind. Similarly, each individual world-seeker and world-server is needed in the United Nations striving for universal peace and progress. In the words of our Secretary-General:

"We are men and women from many lands, representing a rich variety of cultures. And we have been brought together to work in a great common cause: the survival and progress of mankind. The concept of unity in diversity ... underlies our various pursuits at the United Nations."

The dedication-life of each individual in the United Nations Boat is of utmost importance. As the supreme Pilots of the United Nations serve the world, we can also do the same, according to our capacity. Our capacities — however limited — and our prayerful inner devotion to humanity are our solid support that we can offer inwardly and outwardly to the United Nations Boat and its supreme Pilots. According to Secretary-General Waldheim:

"I am deeply convinced that all of us who work for the United Nations must maintain our sense of dedication and idealism. We are, after all, privileged to serve an Organisation whose Charter embodies the highest aims of humanity. I know very well that it is easy to talk about dedication and idealism but much harder to maintain them in all the wearisome difficulties of everyday life. However, from my own experience in the past five years, I am convinced that the vast majority of the members of the Secretariat are moved primarily by their devotion to the principles of the Charter and are proud of the opportunity they have been given to serve in the United Nations, whatever their sphere or level of activity."

Supreme perfection is not the necessity of only one individual or even of all the individuals working in the United Nations. This perfection is the true necessity of all human beings on earth. The dedication of all human beings must go hand in hand with that of all who work for the United Nations. All of us must love and serve our larger world-family. Here the role of the international civil servant is of paramount importance. To quote the Secretary-General:

"If the United Nations reflects much that is tragic, it also reflects much that is good and encouraging in the human spirit. And perhaps the most remarkable of all has been the development of the ideal of international service into a practical reality. There were many at Dumbarton Oaks and San Francisco who were sceptical about the practicality of the concept of men and women from all nations voluntarily serving an international cause, but we have seen in the lives of people ... that it can be, and has been, achieved. We see it today in the selfless dedication of people all over the world working for the United Nations in social and humanitarian relief programmes. We see it in the peace-keeping forces who risk their lives in the quest for peace. We see it in those who work in the United Nations refugee camps, in our health, education, and agricultural programmes, and in the provision of food to those most desperately in need through the World Food Programme."

The international civil servant must needs always dive deep within to strengthen his dedication and increase his oneness with his universal brothers and sisters. To see how the United Nations is serving the world, we must know how we ourselves are serving the world and the United Nations. Let us identify with the United Nations ideals and strive ever to manifest these ideals, to transform the United Nations vision-light into a reality of concern and dedication. There is never a moment to lose in this race against ignorance, and each one of us must needs guard against the dangers of complacency. Says the Secretary-General:

"The fact is that our Organisation has come into middle age and is no longer a young prodigy — or a young problem. This is in one way comforting and in another way dangerous. It is comforting that the United Nations is a firmly established and recognised world institution. It is dangerous if the Organisation becomes complacent, set in its ways, unresponsive to new ideas or irrelevant to contemporary issues. We must constantly be on guard to preserve the institution from such tendencies."

Never before has the practical Wisdom-Light of God been so accessible to us as it is today in the United Nations. Inwardly and outwardly we are being illumined by the United Nations, although we may not be fully aware of it. Similarly, those human beings who are striving to offer the Wisdom-Light of God through the United Nations may not be completely conscious of their God-ordained task, and they may see all too clearly their own limitations and the world’s imperfections. They may feel frustrated that the unaspiring world is not opening up its heart to the wisdom of the United Nations. But the soul of each individual and of each country in the United Nations knows that it has made the right choice.

The Secretary-General envisions the work ahead for the United Nations:

"The coming years promise us greater challenges, more complex problems and doubtless some very difficult times. They also promise us very great opportunities for developing the machinery of international co-operation in many areas, into some of which the international community has scarcely ventured before. I am sure that the Secretariat will be inspired rather than discouraged by these challenges and will continue and develop its service to the international community in accordance with the great traditions which it has already established."

When we offer our devotion to the United Nations, we can do so on the physical, mental, psychic and spiritual levels. Each type of devoted service is of paramount importance, and each international civil servant offers a special dedication to the inner and outer United Nations. Truth to tell, each human being holds the key to the progress and success of the United Nations. Indeed, each of us, and the service that each of us renders on all planes, is the key to the fulfilment of the glorious role and goal of the United Nations in mankind and for mankind.

Sri Chinmoy, A Soulful Tribute to The Secretary-General: The Pilot Supreme of The United Nations, Agni Press, New York, 1978

The Sri Chinmoy Library

World service