Indira Gandhi

Towards the New Age:
The Challenge and the Opportunity

This talk was given by the former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, on 5 February 1974

Since we have many friends from outside the country, I would like to say just a few words in English. It was very good idea of Sant Ji to call this conference of all religions. As I said in Hindi: Just now, one of the books that had a profound influence on me when I was quite small was called The Essential Unity of All Religions. I saw from it how in fundamental thought, in the encouragement of an atmosphere of Love, of harmony, corporation, of helping others, all religions had a deep message to give.

We in India have for many years tried to practise these ideas, but being human beings we are full of failings and we do not always live up to our ideals.

We were also taught that, just as the rain falls in many parts of the earth and ultimately most of it finds its way to the ocean, in the same way, whatever path we find of worship. If we do it with sincerity, ultimately it leads to Truth and to a greater understanding of the world and our ourselves, and give us the Inner Strength with which to meet the challenges of life. There has always been materialism and evil in the world, but along with, there have also always been forces which have tried to combat them, which have tried to forge a path of peace and harmony. Today perhaps we nee this more than ever before, not because man is worse, but because he has more power to do bad things. And we see that this power, which could have gone such a long way in relieving the suffering of many people who have been deprived, underprivileged and oppressed through the ages, is used for warlike efforts, for threats, and for creating disharmony rather than cooperation.

So conference like this, with different trends of thought and philosophies coming together, may find a way which can inspire people today to give of their greater knowledge, their greater capacity, their greater power to forge a new path for mankind.

Many people have written that 1973 was the end of an age. We do not know what the new age will be like, but it will be different. In what way it will be different lies in the hands of all of us, especially the young people – because it is they who will make this new age. It depends on them whether they want to follow the path of peace and they have the capacity to create, harmony, to create better understanding out of the ancient truths. A remarkable thing about these truths is, that although they are ancient, you will find that they apply to modern life – in the context of what is happening today, they are relevant; they give the answers wee need. But unfortunately the world doesn’t seem to have time to think, to study these things, to find out their deeper meaning; time to let them act and to take real strength from them.

Whatever this new age will be, it will be an age of man – of the common man – and therefore whatever direction can strengthen man – and by strength I do not mean the strength of weapons, the strength of power, organisations, but the real strength of weapons, the strength which lies within each one of us – whatever will strengthen that part of us will enable us to use this power wisely and make the world, and make a man better human being. So the challenge which faces humanity today is greater perhaps than any challenge it has faced before. Along with the challenge is the opportunity. Never had we had such an opportunity for moulding a new way of life, because with better communications, as was said just now, distance is not a barrier. The seas, which we thought divided one continent from another, are like bridges which join the continents together. The mass media also give the opportunity of bringing different thought to different parts, of creating a better understanding can grow cooperation, and out of cooperation can come peace for the individual, for the world as a whole, so that we can go towards what many people have dreamed – the concept of one world.

In our philosophy it has often been said in many different words that all of the human family perhaps as only those people who lived around them, because they couldn’t see any farther, they live – not only through words, but through bridges of understanding, of thoughts, of concepts and we should use this opportunity for strengthening the forces of peace and understanding. We are talking here of harmony, of peace of the oneness of man; but I am very sad that in my own country there is a great deal of disharmony. There are forces of violence – forces which want to exploit the difficulties between people. Sometime we quarrel over religion, sometimes over caste, or language, or we quarrel over one state and another; and the net result is not the spirit of disharmony and the spirit of discontent. We are facing very great difficulties, but the question is how do we combat them? How do we get the strength to meet them and to find a way out? It cannot be through disharmony.

We are naturally very sad when people die through these violences, whether it is because of those who try to prevent them; and our full sympathy is with the families of the bereaved with those who have suffered in other ways. But when we look back after some time we find that these kinds of eruptions do not achieve what we want. They achieve only disharmony and encourage, what is not good in man because each of us has the good and the bad. It is up to us which part we encourage, we allow to come out. And this I think is the message this conference can give to India, which needs it just as much as the rest of the world.

So all of you here some have travelled long distance, but the distance we have to travel in the spirit is much longer than any distance which you can cover by ship or by plane or by the train, and if we can go in the right direction, lift up our spirit for right action, then I think all of us together can contribute to the making of better world. So I think that this conference has served a very valuable part; all these steps are not big steps, they are small steps; but any journey however long is completed by the steps one take towards the goal. So I think that Sant Ji and all those who have cooperated with Him in this great venture are to be congratulated and we seek their blessing in our work; and to all of you who have come I give my good wishes.

Thank you.