Amidst the deep ideological divisions and extensive conflicts throughout the world, each of us must surely ask ourselves: Will humanity as a whole rise to the occasion and collectively find solutions to our major challenges? Is war inevitable? Is this current way of living really the best we can do?
Sunday, September 21, 2025 is
International Day of Peace. The 2025 theme, “Act Now for a Peaceful World” calls “for everyone to take concrete action to mobilize for peace. From peacekeepers on the front lines of conflict, to community members, to students in classrooms around the world, everyone has a role to play. We must speak up against violence, hate, discrimination, and inequality; practice respect; and embrace the diversity of our world.”
Think globally, act locally.
Once again, in 2025, a group of individuals will publicly recognize International Day of Peace. On Saturday, 9/20/2025, we will be at Lovers & Greenville in Dallas if you are interested in joining. We encourage everyone to think about ways that you can unite with others to promote this important – and universally relevant – topic.
It's ultimately not about a single day but a movement to create right relationship among all peoples and nations. Now is the time for re-thinking everything. The time has come for us to build anew. Our national and global institutions must be reformed so as to meet the needs of all. It is our shared humanity that can, and must, bind us together. Unity in diversity!
The Need for Global Cooperation
Credit: NASA
Astronaut Ron Garan, after staring out of the window of the ISS:
“I saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life. I didn’t see the economy. But since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it’s obvious from the vantage point of space that we’re living a lie. We need to move from thinking ‘economy, society, planet’ to ‘planet, society, economy’. That’s when we’re going to continue our evolutionary process.”
In 1955, Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and other peers issued a manifesto. In calling for a renunciation of war amidst the threat of nuclear annihilation, they left us with these words:
“There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”
From a 2020 statement by H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly:
“No one wins in a nuclear war – we know that any use of nuclear weapons would be a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe...Achieving a nuclear weapon-free world is a universal aspiration for ensuring peace and international security. I share with many others the vision that one day nuclear weapons will be completely eliminated and nuclear weapon tests will be something of the past.”
Maitreya, a great spiritual teacher living among us:
“The answers to your problems are simple indeed. Many times have I told you that the will to share must govern your lives. Once again, I repeat: without Sharing and Justice, My brothers and sisters, man will know no peace. Heed, then, My advice. Take, then, the only open course and trust in Sharing to relieve the agony of the world. My Teaching, thus, is simple. Know, then, the joys of Brotherhood.”
“Sharing and Justice, Brotherhood and Freedom are not new concepts. From the dawn of time mankind has linked his aspiration to these beckoning stars. Now, My friends, shall we
anchor them in the world.”
Sathya Sai Baba:
“By absence of attachment, desire and egoism, you can achieve peace. To gain peace is the only aim of life. Not name, fame and wealth. By leading a life of contentment, one achieves peace.”
