Coming together for peace

BENGALURU: If each of us has peace within our hearts, the world will be at peace. It is this thought that prompted Heartfulness Institute, which has centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, to organise a virtual event for International Day of Peace (September 21).

To commemorate the occasion, Heartfulness Institute, in partnership with United Nations Information Centre, Global Citizens India, Give India, Spirit of Humanity Forum, the Fetzer Institute, Sewa International, Gandhi Foundation and other such organisations, aims to bring humanity together through a guided meditation session to promote peace.

“If we connect our peace individually, we can aim for peace on a global level,” Harpreet Bhan, member of global programme committee at the institute, tells CE. The initiative will take place through two pre-recorded events, to be broadcast in 100 countries, which go live at 8pm and 9pm local time, respectively.

The former is called ‘Celebrate Peace’ and will include music by Pandit Hari Prasad Chourasia, Shashank Subramanyam and Mike Hertig; director-actor Shekhar Kapur in conversation with Kamlesh D Patel, aka Daaji, guide of Heartfulness Institute; author Deepak Chopra; Brahmakumari Sister Shivani; biologist Bruce Lipton; author Sharon Salzberg; and athlete Marta Bassino, among others. 

The second part of the event, ‘Create Peace’, includes an hour-long guided meditation led by Daaji. “Since it goes live at 9pm local time, it means that all through 24 hours, someone somewhere would be meditating for world peace. We wanted to create a day-long chain,” explains Bhan. In a statement, Daaji said, “We will all be meditating together, for peace, harmony and serenity to engulf this planet.”

Since the event is open to participation on a global level, the organisers hope to have a far-reaching impact. “Millions meditating for world peace acts as a huge force multiplier. It can have huge positive ramifications and a major impact on the vibrations sent out,” says Bhan. “When we all come together for our love for the planet, for our love for each other, and for our love for humanity, and together we create peace, we are going to take that first step towards healing our world,” Sister Shivani said in a statement.