Sisters and brothers of America,
It fills my heart with unspeakable joy to rise in response to the warm and hearty welcome you have given us. I thank you on behalf of the oldest religious order in the world, I thank you on behalf of the mother of religions, and I thank you on behalf of millions and millions of Hindus of all classes and sects.
I also thank some of the speakers on this platform who, speaking of the delegates from the Orient, told you that these people from distant nations could claim the honor of carrying the idea of tolerance to different countries. I am proud to belong to a religion that has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tolerance, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation that has given refuge to persecuted and refugees of all religions and nations of the world. I can proudly tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and found refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was torn to pieces by the Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion that protected and still nurtures the rest of the great Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember repeating from my earliest childhood, which millions of human beings repeat every day: whatever they look like, crooked or straight, they all lead to You.”
The present convention, which is one of the most successful gatherings ever held, is in itself a vindication, a revelation to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whoever comes to Me, through whatever form, I reach him; all men struggle through paths that eventually lead to me.” Sectarianism, fanaticism and its horrible offspring, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful land. They filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent entire nations into despair. If it weren’t for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is coming; and I fervently hope that the bell which tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death knell for all fanaticism, for all persecutions by sword or pen, and for all merciless feelings between persons going their separate ways towards the same end. .
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education