| [Felicitation speech made by Dr. Thanmoy
Chakravarthy at the anniversary of Gregorian Study Circle in Houston] I just want to share with you a few thoughts that passed through my mind while I was sitting here listening to the speeches. As we heard in the poem of Mr. Oommen George, we are essentially spiritual beings, and as such we share the same quality, which is the quality of God just because we are all part and parcel of God. However, at the superficial level, we are separated, and limited by the geographical, social, and psychological conditions. Here in this hall, we have managed to overcome those superficial boundaries, and have come together from various cultures, and places. Here we affirm that in spite of all that separate us, we are essentially one. When I was listening to Rev. James Mckenzie talking about love, I was thinking that the goal of our existence according to Vaishnavism, a school of philosophy in India, is the same. The world is a place where we are trying to attain that level-- that stage of mental growth—when we will be able to love unconditionally. According to Vaishnavism it can take millions of births to attain that level. Primarily, we need to be aware that this is the ultimate goal of our existence here. Then the one quality that is essential for us to grow is humility, which enables us to keep our mind open, and to learn from everybody and every situation. If we can agree on that, then we all can reach that goal by the grace of God. |