During his 1990 world tour to spread the message of love, peace, and human unity,
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj was awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Ministry
of Education of Columbia. During a private meeting on June 25, 1990, the Minister
of Education, Dr. Manuel Franciso Becerra, asked Sant Rajinder Singh Ji a series
of questions about his views on education for physical, intellectual, and spiritual
development. He then asked Sant Rajinder Singh Ji to address the Cabinet of Ministers
on June 28, 1990, and to respond to their questions. Here an excerpt from the address
given by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj.
“Spirituality deals with developing the higher values of life and with becoming
a better person. Spirituality means inculcating love in our hearts for all humanity,
irrespective of skin color, religion, or nationality, irrespective of whether a
person is rich or poor, or from the East or the West. If everyone would start seeing
the Light of God in all people, this will help bring peace and harmony to the world.
Once we realize that our soul is a part of God, and that part is the same in each
human being -- and not only in human beings but in all living creatures -- we will
not want to harm anyone. We will then start to see the goodness in everyone. We
will begin to think about the welfare of others. We will also be concerned about
the ecology of the world. We will stop destroying our forests, our air, our water,
and all of nature which God has given to us for our life here on earth. When we
destroy anything that we have received, when we take so much from the soil for our
sustenance yet pollute the land instead of trying to rejuvenate it, we are harming
the whole world. The universes have been created in perfect harmony. There is so
much lost when we do not take proper care of nature. And if we do not take proper
care of ourselves, whether it be physically, intellectually, or spiritually, it
affects our life in this universe.