Meditation key to navigating global strains, promoting peace: UN envoys, spiritual leaders

United Nations, Dec 19 (PTI) As the world grapples with severe economic, political and military strains, meditation is increasingly being recognised as a fundamental human skill that can help navigate complexities and offers a pathway towards global peace and harmony, top spiritual and UN envoys said here on Friday.

The Permanent Missions of India, Andorra, Mexico, Nepal and Sri Lanka to the United Nations hosted a special event at the UN headquarters to commemorate the second World Meditation Day on the theme of ‘Meditation for Global Peace and Harmony’.

Spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led a special meditation practice during the commemorative event. He underlined that there are about 700 research papers and more than 100 benefits of meditation have been presented to the world.

He said meditation takes a person to a “space of unity that is within all of us”.

Ravi Shankar stressed that meditation is being adopted in every sphere of life, from schools to hospitals and war zones.

"The soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine, 8,000 of them, they meditated and found peace... When they were there, they had to be there as soldiers, and they felt darkness in them. They had no hope. They were depressed. They couldn't sleep. The meditation there could help them to regain their spirit,” he said.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said the world today is under unprecedented strain economically, politically and militarily, with challenges that are diverse yet deeply interlinked.

"Meditation becomes a potent tool for diplomacy too, pushing us to focus with greater clarity. From corporate boardrooms to diplomatic negotiations, meditation is increasingly recognised as a fundamental human skill that can help navigate complex human interactions,” he said.

Harish recalled that India was an active member of the core group that championed the resolution on World Meditation Day at the UN.

In December last year, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution proclaiming December 21, which is the winter solstice, to be observed as World Meditation Day.

“The adoption of this resolution marks a significant milestone in acknowledging that meditation transcends cultural, religious and geographical boundaries, offering a universal template of transformation,” Harish said.

World Meditation Day falls exactly six months after the International Day of Yoga, observed on June 21, the summer solstice. India had led the UN initiative in 2014 for declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.

Harish said the resolution affirms India’s civilisational ethos of peace and harmony, rooted in the understanding of oneness.

“At a fundamental level, there is no duality. There is only oneness - within us and in the universe,” he said.

As the world marks the occasion, Harish said humanity is confronting challenges of unprecedented complexity, including climate change, social polarisation, technological disruption, economic uncertainty and rising inter-state and intra-state conflicts.

Nepal's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Lok Bahadur Thapa, said at a time when the world confronts converging crises, climate emergencies, violent conflicts, mental health and psychosocial stresses, widening inequalities and the spread of misinformation and disinformation, “meditation offers a pathway toward global peace, harmony and collaboration".

“It strengthens our collective capacity to respond with wisdom, with resilience and with unity,” Thapa said, calling on the international community to embrace meditation not merely as a ritual but as a transformative tool for a more peaceful and prosperous world. PTI YAS SCY SCY