Observe a minute of silence and prayer

7 September 2004 — Amritapuri

The 21st of September marks the 22nd Annual International Day of Peace. This year, the day’s organisers have asked Amma to participate, and She has agreed. It is the hope of the organisers that the day will find millions of people from all faiths observing a 24-hour peace vigil and a collective minute of silence. People worldwide are planning to offer prayers, ceremonies, fasts and other spiritual observations in this unified effort.

This global 24-hour spiritual observation is meant to demonstrate the power of prayer and other spiritual practices in promoting peace and preventing violent conflict. It will also help raise public awareness of the International Day of Peace and directly support the establishment of this day as one of global ceasefire, as it has already been declared by the United Nations.

On Tuesday, 7th September, at the end of the usual question-and-answer session with the ashramites, Amma gave a short but moving message on the importance of enhancing our efforts for world peace and participating in the International Day of Peace.

Amma said, “We have seen how the world situation has been bad for quite some time, and we have seen incidents of violence all over the world–in the United States, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Spain, Japan, and most recently the attack in Russia. It was immensely painful to see innocent children become victims of terrorist activities.

“There are many organisations, such as the United Nations, working for peace around the world, and their efforts are very valuable. However, Amma feels that over and above all these efforts, divine help is essential. Through our sincere prayers and earnest effort, we can invoke the grace of God, the Universal Consciousness, which will bring some relief to the present situation.”

Amma has asked all Her children to participate in the collective minute of silence and prayer at 12:00 noon (your local time) on 21st September. Amma said, “It doesn’t matter where you are–whether at work, at home, traveling, or even in the bathroom–you can participate in this prayer. Just stop whatever you are doing at that time and spend one minute praying for the peace of the world. We should encourage as many people as possible to take part in this prayer.”

All ashram centres are requested to organise collective peace prayers at as many places in their vicinity as possible.

visit internationaldayofpeace.org