By Jogyata Dallas
The Peace Run – its full name the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run – is all set to revisit New Zealand next year. It’s our 14th edition of this nationwide and global torch relay first inspired by Sri Chinmoy way back in 1987, and we’ve covered tens of thousands of kilometres across our country’s backroads and highways since that inaugural run. We’ve met five of our successive Prime Ministers, scores of M.P.’s, dozens of our sporting legends and tens of thousands of schoolchildren nationwide, sharing the Peace Run’s simple, inspirational message that peace begins in our own lives, and that we ourselves are the creators of a brighter, more peace-filled future for all of humanity.
Along the way we’ve left behind lots of enduring reminders of the Peace Run: recreational Peace Miles in city parks, peace trees and gardens, even Peace Cities. These provide focal points for peace, with inspirational plaques highlighting the message of the global relay – these form a network of peace sites globally called the Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms program. Auckland’s mayor Len Brown met us last year, along with members of the All Blacks.
We were recently remembering too our meeting with Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in Western Springs park before his big concert there that evening back in the 90’s. They loved the Peace Run and lots of pictures were taken by us all – here’s one of our principal organisers, Subarata, with Sir Paul holding the torch.
Last Christmas while in Bali I met up with our Irish team, Dublin-based couple Mangala and Ambarish – they’ve been with the relay all over the UK and Europe and years ago were instrumental in the Republic of Ireland becoming a Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossom Nation, dedicated in its entirety to peace and joining dozens of other similarly dedicated countries. Over our Balinese breakfast we hatched lots of plans.
In Auckland last year we purchased from a Czech foundry a beautiful bronze sculpting called ‘Dreamer of World Peace’. Created by the talented English artist Kaivalya Torpy, the larger than life artwork is modelled on the Peace Run’s founder Sri Chinmoy, depicting him in a meditative way that captures the indispensable inner aspect of peace. We hope to share this with New Zealanders and find a suitable outdoors site to install and offer it to the public. A quotation of Sri Chinmoy’s would highlight the Peace Run message:
‘O dreamers of peace, come.
Let us walk together.
O lovers of peace, come,
Let us run together.
O servers of peace, come.
Let us grow together.’
