| On October 1st Monday, we had a study seminar
in Houston organized by the Gregorian Study Circle. We met at the residence of Sunjeev & Molly Mathew at 6 O' clock in the evening. The topic was "religious pluralism and world peace", and the main speaker was Mr. John WorldPeace. With degrees in Political Science, Economics, and Law, Mr. WorldPeace works as an attorney, and intends to be the Democratic candidate to be the next governor of Texas. He introduced himself to us by telling us the story of how he changed his last name to WorldPeace as an expression of his commitment to the World peace. He began his talk giving us his general outlook of reality as a whole. He made a distinction between the reality and its manifestations. The reality is singular whereas its manifestations are plural. People often make the mistake of misunderstanding the manifestations for the underlying reality. All that exists shall be compared to an ocean. At any time the ocean is made of all kinds of living and nonliving things. Although the ocean continues its singularity, its constituents will have plurality. He understands the term "God" to mean "the ultimate reality", and he asserts that the universe is the manifestation of God. Seen through the eyes of an alien from another planet, the whole of the earth is one single organism. A living cell is made of about 10 billion atoms. One human brain is made of about 10 billion cells. When the human population of the earth approaches 10 billion, through a metamorphosis, the human race might become one organism. The reality appears to us in a certain way based on our mechanism of perception, our time, place, belief systems etc. The reality appears to a Christian in a certain way, but the same reality appears to a Hindu in a different way. If we are willing to understand this, we all can cooperate, and try to contribute to a better perception of the reality. There is nothing called a Christian World peace, nor there is a Hindu World peace, nor there is a Muslim world peace. World peace can be attained only if we all are willing to open up and cooperate, breaking all the walls that separate us. "Because this is what I believe, when I meet a person, I accept that person for what s/he really is—as a manifestation of God. No human being is superior of inferior to another one," Mr. WorldPeace said. Therefore, when he becomes the governor of Texas, half of the governor's appointments will be for women, and the minorities will be well represented as well. To the questions asked by the participants, he gave very interesting answers. Question: What is the possibility of the world becoming one nation? Answer: Whether we like it or not, want it or not, it is just happening. The international trade has made the world one economy. A world court is already there. With the facilities for instant communication and transportation, our world is, slowly but surely, becoming one. Q: If you were the president of the United States how would you react to the event in New York on Sep 11? A: I believe that terrorism can be defeated only if the world stands together. If America unilaterally tries to defeat terrorism with the aid of a few nations on its side, the attempt cannot be successful. Lasting solution to this problem can be attained only by solving the problem in Palestine. Q: What would you do with Bin Laden if and when he is captured? If we kill him immediately, we lose an opportunity to learn. If we can learn the constitution of a man like Bin laden, that would be a great achievement, and we can use that knowledge for the benefit of the humanity. After reading this report, Mr.Worldpeace emailed me the following comment. This is what I believe. Again I like the analogy of God as one and the manifestations of God as infinite. I have been loosely using intangible as God and tangible as the manifestations of God. But singular and plural gives this concept more dynamics and makes it easier to understand. Seeking understanding of the world requires distinguishing things into parts. Seeking God requries ignoring distinctions and seeing the oneness. Report by John Kunnathu
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