On his release from prison, the great Nelson Mandela said: "Together we live in a global neighbourhood and it is not to the long-term benefit of any if there are islands of wealth in a sea of poverty. We need a globalisation of responsibility as well.

Above all that is the challenge of the new century." Mandela was absolutely right. The evolution of technology down the linear, reductionist path, which defines only that which is physically quantifiable, has jeopardised our eco-system, if not human civilisation.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Greed Is a Threat to Civilisation

Advocates of peace all over the world continue with their avowed mission. They are working towards creating greater awareness of the need for promoting universal feelings of amity and compassion.

The annual Maramon Convention held recently in Kerala - which was first organised in 1896 by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, an ancient Christian community of India - is one such collective effort to bring out the spiritual essence of the Word of God.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Community Efforts For Amity And Peace

To be born a human being with the unique faculties of discrimination and choice is both a great blessing and a terrible curse. This is because exercising one's choice often creates conflicts.

One can neither live with conflict nor solve conflict through suppression or desensitising the mind temporarily - the conflicts simply resurface. So it seems that there is no permanent solution to conflict, and hence in this matter we are left with no choice. But should we give up so easily? Don't we deserve to be free from conflict?

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Krishna's Advice for Resolving Conflict

Yoga is now a universally sought-out medium and spirituality as a subject has become part of the curriculum of leading B-schools in the US. What is the reason for the resurgence of spirituality?

There are three interpretations: One school cites that in the modern era an organisation needs to innovate continuously to survive for which every individual stakeholder in the organisation needs to leverage his creative energy by connecting to God's own creative energy.

The other school feels that the sudden eruption of numerous corporate scandals worldwide is due to the lack of an appropriate value system. Hence the need to incorporate spirituality in the business curriculum apart from outlining the need for an evolution in the field of corporate governance.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Why We Need to Get Connected to God

Even as we prepare to deal with the threat of war and conflict, we need to focus on the equally critical issue of the impact this has on people's hearts and minds. The signal failure of military action to produce a clear prospect for peace has left many feeling suffocated with illusions of powerlessness and dread.

The impasse could be broken through military force or other forms of "hard power". At best, however, such action only responds to the symptoms of conflict. To the extent it plants further seeds of hatred in regions already torn by strife, it deepens and entrenches antagonisms.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Creating a Global Climate for Peace

The most important need of humanity today is to be made aware that its past has betrayed it. There is no point in continuing with the past, for doing so will be suicidal. The new humanity will not be a society in the old sense, where individuals are only parts of it. It will be a meeting of individuals, where individuals are the masters and society is to serve them. It will have many different aspects to it. It will not have so many religions, it will have only a religious consciousness.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: It's Time to Herald A New Humanity

If one were to explore the philosophical basis of normative ethics to examine where terrorism falls on the moral spectrum, it will become evident that terrorism, sabotage and guerilla tactics are all acts of violence, essentially no different from overt war in the conventional sense.

Terrorist attacks amount to war by stealth, shadowy figures replacing uniformed combatants, attacking innocents to send a message to the real targets who are out of reach.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Conflict Resolution Begins at Home

Technologically we live in a borderless world. In reality, however, we exist in compartments, separated by walls of caste, religion and geography. We acknowledge the information explosion as being a great achievement and take pride in describing ourselves as a knowledge-based society. Snowed under as we are with mounds of information, we are facing a paradox - we find that ignorance levels are growing as well. The rate at which we are accumulating information is not commensurate with the rate at which our awareness is growing.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Peace or Violence, Make Your Choice

In pre-Mandalised India of the seventies, Prof A L Basham, the author of The Wonder that was India, and I were colleagues at 'El Colegio de Mexico". He once observed that despite innumerable divisive factors of caste, creed and language, the fact that democracy was a functional reality in India, made India a living wonder. Today, I ask myself, are we truly a democratic country?

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Politics is Lowest Form of Leela

Morality is neither an abstraction nor many-complexioned. There cannot be different sets of morality for politicians, business persons and bureaucrats. If such a difference is being accepted by most of us today, it is because we have been indifferent to the progressive deterioration of moral and ethical standards in the social order over the last half century.

Any moral code has to be applicable to all. "I never did, or countenanced, in public life", said Jefferson, "a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith, having never believed there was one code of morality for a public and another for a private man".

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: The Core Values of Humanity

Leadership is a powerful construct. A leader is envied for the position and authority he enjoys. He receives adulation and is celebrated as a champion and deliverer. Little wonder, then, a leader is often emulated; even envied. High and powerful positions are fervently sought out for all the promise they hold. And what can be more alluring than the highest post in the land?

Even if Sonia Gandhi'sreasons for abjuring the high post are debatable, the very act of saying 'no"- to the most important and powerful job in the country - is something few would have the courage (of conviction) to carry out, and that too with the composure and determination that Sonia displayed.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Price of Leadership: Emulation and Envy

Does an enlightened individual need to remain caged in the body? Why not get liberated from the physical? For seven days, the Buddha grappled with this dilemma. In the end, he decided that there was nothing personal about enlightenment - the knowledge should be shared with all for the benefit of humankind. He spent the next 50 years doing just that and all those who listened to him benefited greatly.

It is necessary for all of us to discover truth but once we find it, it should be shared freely with others. This will not only provide more insight, but also foster peace and happiness. The desire to share our discoveries with the world is normally fuelled by greed for either fame or money. Very few are selfless enough to share their discoveries freely for common benefit.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Cosmic Consciousness Is Well Within Reach

India needs rejuvenation. This rejuvenation will come only with the revival of our great Indian ideals. India needs shakti. For this, extensive re-building needs to be initiated for the country to acquire physical, mental and spiritual strength.

For creating this stupendous energy, India needs a new spiritual awakening. A new direction. The inspiration for such an awakening could come from a prophet of peace, for instance, someone like Guru Nanak, who proclaimed: "Love the saints of every faith, Put away the pride! The essence of religion is Humility, service, and sympathy.  Not fine clothes, Not the yogi'sgarb and ashes, Not the blowing of horn, Not the shaven head, Not long prayers...".

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Situation Vacant - Saviour Wanted

Now more than ever, we require those qualities that Mahatma Gandhi so remarkably embodied - qualities which are crystallised in the philosophy of ahimsa or non-violence that he bequeathed to us: Optimism, activism, love for people, and a holistic, embracing vision.

"I remain an optimist," he said, "not because I give evidence that right is going to prosper, but because of my unflinching faith that right must prosper in the end."

For Gandhi, at the deepest level of the human spirit, non-violence is never defeated. Violence, in contrast, inevitably ends in defeat.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Ahimsa: Rooting for Ahimsa In Troubled Times

Now more than ever, we require those qualities that Mahatma Gandhi so remarkably embodied - qualities which are crystallised in the philosophy of ahimsa or non-violence that he bequeathed to us: Optimism, activism, love for people, and a holistic, embracing vision.

"I remain an optimist," he said, "not because I give evidence that right is going to prosper, but because of my unflinching faith that right must prosper in the end."

For Gandhi, at the deepest level of the human spirit, non-violence is never defeated. Violence, in contrast, inevitably ends in defeat.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace in Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Ahimsa: Rooting for Ahimsa In Troubled Times

Mahavira, a great prophet and teacher, systematised the Jain doctrines and embodied them in a comprehensive constitution of the faith. He built the edifice of Jainism by renovation, modification and extension. Most of all, he infused new life and vitality into Arhata tradition.

In his own time, he was referred to in Buddhist literature as "Niggantha Naatputte "and his teachings were described as "Nirgrantha Dharma ", a way of life that found its truth in the universe and not in a single scripture.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace in Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Mahavira: Non-Violent Search For Supreme Truth

Our bodies create the illusion that we are separate. This illusion is further reinforced by modern science and technology, which is based on the Cartesian-Newton paradigm, which posited a division between mind and matter and led to a view of the universe as a mechanical system consisting of separate objects.

This view fostered life in society as a competitive struggle for existence and the belief in unlimited material progress to be achieved through economic and technological growth. Modern physics and quantum mechanics are now discovering what the mystics of the East have long known Ñ the basic oneness of the universe.

Read more here: » Subconscious: Infinite Power of The Subconscious

Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

Few have heard of the mystic poems Brahma Prakash or Dasa Avatar by the mediaeval Muslim saint Pir Shams. Both are famous ginans of South Asia's Ismaili community, sometimes also known as Khojas or Aga Khanis in popular parlance.

Ginans are hymn-like poems of spiritual import. They are revered by the faithful in deep veneration as repositories of wisdom and spiritual knowledge, and as transmitting the essential teachings of the Holy Qur'an in the vernacular. Composed in Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindustani and Punjabi among other subcontinental languages, the oldest are ascribed to the pirs or saints who first preached Ismaili Islam in India nearly 1,000 years ago.

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

Relevance of Buddhism In the New Century

In the 20th century great changes took place as a result of experiments and developments in a broad range of human activities, in economics, politics, and science. The past hundred years' experiences have made us appreciate the importance of freedom, and the significant contributions of individual and private enterprise in improving the economy. We also began to recognise the importance of putting a stop to the production and proliferation of weapons of tremendous destructive power.

By The Dalai Lama

Read more here: » Buddhism: Relevance of Buddhism In the New Century

Islam and Hinduism: The Thousand Names of Vishnu and Allah

Allah is Al-Ahad or The One and Vishnu is called Eka, The One. It's curious but there are striking similarities between the many names of Vishnu and those of Allah.

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: The Thousand Names of Vishnu and Allah

Enchanting Abode of The Double Devta

Having been born into a secular Hindu family which venerates a Sufi saint, I have always thought I had a special advantage over my friends whose faith in their respective religions would perhaps be more limiting than mine. So, while we commemorate the Urs of our Pir, we also celebrate Diwali and New Year at his shrine. Are we Muslim, Hindu, Sufi or Christian?

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Enchanting Abode of The Double Devta

Carl-Johan Calleman, one of the leading authorities on the Mayan Calendar, presents a radical theory about the coming Venus Transit. Does the Venus Transit of 2004 relate to the Return of the Energy of Christ and of Quetzalcoatl? Quetzalcoatl is the serpent God of Ancient Mexico referred to by the Mayans as Kukulcan or Gugumatz and this article also explain the connection between the Energies of Christ and Quetzalcoatl.

Read more here: » Venus Transit & Quetzalcoatl: The Venus Transit and The Return of the Energy of Christ and of Quetzalcoatl