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CONFERENCES
In
Support of the
United Nations
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The Lama Gangchen World Peace
Foundation’s Fifth International Congress on Alternative Medicines and
Non-Formal Education was officially inaugurated on the 25th of February
by Mr Ram Krishna Tamrakar, Minister for Health with the lighting of the
Lamp.
This yearly event traditionally held at
the Himalayan Healing Centre has once again attracted participants from
around the world and was broadcast live on HBC94fm. Minister Tamrakar in
his opening speech speaking of the continued environmental degradation
and its devastating consequences, said “ we shall all be relieved to
learn that we can deal with the present situation and control the
ramifications of inhuman, destructive and disastrous activities by
raising the level of spiritual awareness among people at large”;
“appropriate measures must be taken in time” he continued, “in
order to remedy the present situation of mental and spiritual
poverty”. Understanding and mutual cooperation are at the forefront if
we are to reach the goal of a better human society characterized by
peace.
The
role of spirituality in Society is relevant in all sectors, be it
health, education, environmental care as well as ethics.
As Minister Tamrakar said “spiritual poverty presupposes an ill
health with an ill mind…..sound health and sound mind are
indispensable for both physical health and prosperity”. Concluding,
Health Minister Tamrakar expressed his strong conviction that the
coming days would see “all of us actively involved in consolidating
the foundation of a morally sound and spiritually prosperous society”,
by “making headway through the launching of various human welfare
programs”. He was later echoed by Professor Anton Jayasuriya, a world
renowned physician from Sri Lanka, who said “ inner peace is the
driving force and that is the immunology of the system”. The
contribution to the “International Decade for the Culture of Peace”
from the spiritual and religious leaders is of paramount importance if
we are truly concerned with inspiring humanity positively in the third
millennium. Focusing upon fostering education for better living with
“new methods and more wisdom”, Lama Gangchen once again appealed for
non-formal peace education and the need to create a permanent Spiritual
Forum for World Peace, a proposal first launched in 1995, which already
receives world wide support from all corners of society.
The need for more networking and
cooperation among GOs, NGOs
and INGOs was stressed throughout the conference, and the presence of
the Peace Broadcasting radio HBC94fm gave participants a chance to reach
out to the public at large with their specific message. The Lama
Gangchen World Peace Foundation – a United Nations Affiliated NGO -
project branch “Help in Action” is contributing greatly to giving
the most deprived a chance for an education. To date, over 1’500
children have been adopted at a distance in the Himalayan Region.
Before concluding the Congress with a
special dedication to the work of the United Nations and its agencies on
the occasion of the
International Year of Dialogue among Civilisations and the Decade for
the Culture of Peace, Mr Lhundup Dorji Lama, National Chancellor of the
International Association of educators for World Peace (Nepal/India/USA,
asked for all to “pledge to remove the obstacles in the long search
for peace”, with a clear message, “to reach Peace, teach inner and
outer Peace”.
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