From Shri Satya Narayan Goenka's (January 30, 1924–September 29, 2013) talk at the Millennium World Peace Summit,
United Nations General Assembly, New York, August 2000

“Religion is religion only when it u...nites,” he said. “Religion is no religion when it divides. Religion is not for dividing people. It is for uniting people.”

The words were greeted with a sudden burst of applause. This was not more of the same argument that had been dragging on all day. The delegates started to pay attention.

The speaker picked up his thread: “So much has been said for and against conversion. I am for conversion, not against it. But conversion not from one organized religion to another organized religion—no. Conversion from misery to happiness. Conversion from bondage to liberation. Conversion from cruelty to compassion. That is the conversion needed today.”

Applause greeted almost every statement. The speaker warmed to his theme:

“If I have an agitated mind full of anger, hatred, ill will and animosity, how can I give peace to the world?

“Therefore all the sages and saints and seers of the world have said, ‘Know thyself.’ Not merely at the intellectual, emotional or devotional level, but at the actual level. When you know the truth about yourself at the experiential level, many of the problems get solved. You start understanding the universal law of nature or God, which is applicable to one and all.

“When I observe myself and find that I am generating anger, ill will or animosity, I realize that I am the first victim of the hatred or animosity I am generating within myself. Only afterwards do I start harming others. And if I am free from these negativities, nature or God Almighty starts rewarding me: I feel so peaceful.

“Whether I call myself a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian or a Jain, it makes no difference: a human being is a human being. Human mind is human mind. Conversion should be from impurity of the mind to purity of the mind. This is the real conversion that is necessary—nothing else.”

The gong had rung, indicating that the speaker’s time was up. But he begged indulgence to deliver a message from a past ruler of his country. Quoting and then paraphrasing, the speaker said:

“Every religion has the wholesome core of love, compassion and good will. The outer shell differs, but give importance to the inner essence and there will be no quarrel. Don’t condemn anything, give importance to the essence of every religion and there will be real peace and harmony.”

The ruler referred to was the great Emperor Ashoka of India, who had issued the message—the world’s first call for religious tolerance—more than two millennia before. And the messenger was a man who always regarded Ashoka as a hero and had devoted his life to teaching a way to inner peace: Satya Narayan Goenka.