World Peace Prayer

Held at: Santaram temple, Nadiad, Gujarat, India

On: 10th May, 2015

Organized by: Monk Mukesh Anand

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED
We organized the World Peace Prayer at Santaram Temple, Nadiad on 10th May, 2015. Over
a thousand people children, youth, adult devotees and monks were a part of the events
on this ocassion. Drawing from last year's success, this time too the entire day was filled
with activities to inspire different groups of people and spread the message of peace:
1) School Children and Teachers: Children represent the future of our country, world,
and society at large. And so, a large part of the day was spent with the next generation
boys and girls from various schools at Nadiad. Our interaction with children focused on
the importance of praying, the significance of the World Peace Prayers Event, and about
spreading peace. It was heartening to see children sitting together without the usual
distractions, observing silence and praying, totally oblivious to their surroundings.

2) Youth: Amongst the activities included was reading verses from the Bhagwad Gita, a
sacred text of the Hindus. Literally meaning The Song of the God, the Bhagwad Gita is
a 700-verse scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

3) Adult Devotees: We recited Shlokas (verses in Sankrit) and sang Bhajans (prayers) in
groups, followed by silence meditation and peace prayer.

4) Monks: In the evening different monks from the Ashram delivered spiritual speeches on
world peace, prayed and observed silence.

CONCLUSION
It was extremely heartening and inspiring to see a wide range of people - boys, girls, men,
women, senior citizens all coming together for this noble cause. Almost every corner of
the Ashram premises was hosting a small gathering, in some ways similar to how so many
groups across the world were observing this ocassion. The atmosphere was positively
charged, yet calm and serene.

This was our second time observing the World Peace Prayers at Nadiad. We look forward to
conducting the event next year, and continue our journey as partners in this endeavour.