On 5th August 2007 a national gathering took place in the presence of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji in the West Midlands Bhawan.

Followers of all faiths and backgrounds gathered to hear the words of His Holiness Baba Ji in which he spoke about building bridges and not walls. Since then and in an attempt to observe the spoken message, followers from the Universal Peace Federation and the devotees from the Sant Nirankari Mission have extended their relationships and built a beautiful understanding towards a common objective of humanity and peaceful coexistence.

To enhance this association, the Sant Nirankari Mission actively participated in the Global Peace Festival hosted by the Universal Peace Federation on Sunday 9th September 2007 at Imperial College, London. Throughout this wonderful day, the following conferences, exhibitions and activities took place:

The Global Peace Festival presented the novel idea of an art exhibition with the theme centered on the word "click". The art exhibition aspired to project how people from all different walks of life could "click" with each other regardless of their physical attire.

The imagination of the artists was truly inspirational and covered a plethora of themes, including a drawing from Jag Lall which showed the late but respected figure of peace, Mahatma Gandhi and the late musician Elvis, playing instruments in a group which included other members who were of African, Sikh and Islamic origins. The underlying essence of this piece was that just like a musical band would only sound appealing if all the musicians worked and supported each other, similarly the world would be a better place if mankind learned to live in Brotherhood.

Another piece which caught the eye was an articulate collage which blended various pieces of fabric with a drawing of three children playing together. The artist, Yoshiko Chellew, chose to draw three children from different ethnic backgrounds to promote the message that 'ignorance is bliss' as children are unable to understand the physical differences that society emphasizes so strongly.

The commendable choice to express one's love for mankind and the promotion of world peace through this visual format added an extra dimension to the Global Peace Festival that enhanced the importance of mankind "clicking" and living in harmony with one another.

The Women's Federation for World Peace hosted a 21st century women's conference entitled "Women engaging in building a culture of peace". The aim of the conference was to acknowledge the achievements of women in diverse fields of leadership and offer the opportunity to develop partnerships and launch new initiatives together.

Over a hundred women from a diverse background, including four representatives from the Sant Nirankari Mission, attended this conference. All had the opportunity to listen to six key speakers who included Dr Suman Datt, Ms Nancy Miller, Ms Alice Ukoko, Dr Wagia Syeda, Ms Shannon Hopkins and Ms Martina Coombs.

Various topics were explored which included the eradication of poverty, promoting gender equality, women's leadership roles and the challenges they faced, the importance of education, issues relating to marriage/families and empowering women towards the achievement of the millennium goals. Overall the aim was to enhance the value of women of all nations and races and their role in society and to provide them with the opportunities to work together for world peace.

To conclude the conference, there was an open discussion and the prospect of meeting all the delegates who were appointed to speak. All representatives from the Sant Nirankari Mission took this opportunity to meet other individuals from different organisations and exchange views and literature about the Mission. They also shared their experiences and gave reference to the work of Respected Raj Mata Ji and Pujya Mata Ji. Mrs Mitty Tohma, President of the Women's Federation for World Peace, congratulated all the sisters from Sant Nirankari Mission who attended the conference and welcomed the opportunity for both organizations to work together in future projects.

This enlightening conference aimed to provide some answers to questions such as "how can communities hand down traditions and values from old to young?"

Sudhir Kundi Ji inaugurated this conference by introducing himself and the ethos of the Sant Nirankari Mission by stating that through spiritual awakening, or the knowledge of God, man could become closer to his fellow men and this Almighty God. Sudhir Ji further explained that to learn new skills in life, one must obtain knowledge of this subject through a teacher. Similarly, the Universal Brotherhood has a spiritual guide in the form of His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji. It is in following with this spiritual father's continuous actions and guidance that Sudhir Ji has attempted to live his life.

A representative of the Jewish faith stated the importance of a child's education and highlighted the fact that she had chosen a school with an ethnic and religious mix for her children so that they learn to peacefully coexist from a young age.

David Freeland from the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) stated that his father's illness brought his family closer together. Appreciating the importance of family, David decided to listen to his family and make his choices in accordance with their teachings. David also emphasized the fact of practicing what he preached as he believes people react to how you treat them, which is echoed in the statement that love is the only commodity which multiplies when you divide it.

Gaurav Sharma Ji then represented the Sant Nirankari Mission youth by first posing the same three questions that Lord Krishna presented to his disciple, Arjuna. The questions were namely, where do you come from?; who are you?; and where will you go? The 17 year old then went on to explain that if every young person asked themselves these three questions they would understand why they were born, the purpose of their life, where they will go to after they perish. This would open the door to a broader way of thinking where one's values and human characteristics could change for the better. Gaurav Ji added to this by stating that just as electricity cannot be seen without a medium, God's teachings can only be seen when a spiritual guide is present, thus emphasizing the importance of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji.

An Islamic representative highlighted the need to work as a collective unit and that it is not religion that needs to be emphasized but unity within the community.

Alan Hart, a former broadcaster and writer, stated that our everyday existence could be described as a journey in the University of Life. Alan went on to mention that he had once conducted a survey asking parents of poor families from developing countries what they would like to be able to give to their children. The answer he had received on most of these occasions was the same - parents wanted "education for their children so that they did not have to live like animals."

Giving an example from his childhood, Alan stated that his father used to make him clean his own shoes which needed to be ready for inspection every Sunday evening. This discipline and self respect remained with Alan who, as an interviewer, used to look at prospective employees' shoes to determine whether or not they were worth employing. The fundamental principle behind this was that if a prospective employee could not respect himself or make an effort to impress his potential employer, then he should not be employed. Concluding his discourse, Alan reiterated that values of humanity had been lost or misplaced and that mankind must rediscover these values to create a better society.

Guest speaker, Bishop Riah Abu Alassal, the Bishop of Jerusalem, referred to the New Testament and told the story of The Good Samaritan. The Bishop's message was a clear indication that we should "love thy neighbor" where our neighbor is represented by this one global family, more commonly referred to as mankind.

In the conclusion of this conference, four devotees from the Sant Nirankari Mission participated in the group discussions on how spiritual values could be carried down to the younger generations.

During the course of the "Marriage and Family" discussion group the keynote speaker, Mr. Sidney Shipton, the Coordinator of the Three Faith Forum (Jewish Christian and Islam), outlined the dire situation of broken marriages facing the British society.

In his talk, Mr. Shipton outlined the detrimental effects on children when people split up. He outlined that youngsters were not progressing well in educational areas such as English and Maths - the essential areas of life. Also, marriage break-ups were having a financially adverse effect on the government. The large discussion group was then split into smaller groups, in which my wife, Raman Ji, and myself took part. The following points were made.

Firstly, the media has had a negative effect and that the media moguls should rethink their advertising strategies especially those area where sexually motivated adverts were continuously being promoted. Next, the government policy on divorce, and how easy it has become to split up or even just live together, has made the marriage institute a negative issue, whereby people have no consideration or have neglected the principles of commitment, love, unity, and tolerance.

When we were questioned about our lifestyle, the other members of the group were greatly please to see that three generations lived in harmony and unity and fulfilled our role as a duty instead of asserting our rights on each other. They were also pleased to hear from Raman Ji the fact that she left our two children in the care of our mother to attend the function without any worry or care as she accepted her mother-in-law as her mother and not simply as her husband's mother.

The impressive point about this meeting was that there were other members who were fully aware of the Sant Nirankari Mission, and they promoted the Mission's teachings and ideology in the group and in the conference itself.

Once we had all gathered again, Respected Harbans Singh Ji was given an award for being a Peace Ambassador out of two hundred nominees. This showed us that the Spiritual Guide's teachings are now having an impact on society directly. It is now the need for members of the Mission not just to imbibe these teachings in our home on a daily basis, but also to convey and participate in the selfless service that His Holiness Baba Ji requires, whenever it may be.

Stalls from different organizations were set out in a designated public area from midday till early evening, including a stall for the Sant Nirankari Mission. During the course of the day, all volunteers were put in groups and asked to fulfill certain duties to aid with the task of raising our profile and building a deeper awareness of peace-makers other than ourselves, as well as to support the organizers in any way we could.

Along with brother Sunny Nirala, my principal role was to network with fellow exhibitors and interact with visitors that came by our stand during the later part of the day. In so far as the networking was concerned, there was an assortment of groups present that really complimented each other and the day's overall aim. These exhibitors included:

Spiritual movements and faiths
Various cultural and heritage societies
Health and relief groups
Human rights activists and advisory clubs
Women's federations and forum representatives
Charities and other private organizations involved in fundraising for various noble causes

All were very open to speaking and listening without any prejudice which was the most enjoyable aspect of the day. There were exchanges made in terms of literature and CDs for each other to study as well as contact details that were passed on to nurture the relationships that were being created.

Although the day's theme was "One Family Under God", many spoke of one family but few expanded on one God, which I personally found most interesting. Still, unlike like a commercial marketplace where more distributors would mean saturation and make a stall keeper uneasy, here it felt great because all were singing variations to the same beat - the beat of PEACE.

Our objective was to sow the seed of awareness and that was achieved. All enjoyed the event and so overall I would say it was a productive and pleasant day. I pray to the Almighty that we can truly live out this message of peace and not just showcase this, but spread it as far and wide as we possibly can by being peaceful ourselves and sharing the same with whoever we meet.

After an interesting, exciting and thought-provoking day filled with exhibitions, seminars and conferences, the large tent in the middle of Imperial College grounds was becoming exceptionally full. This was because people were busy trying to find seats for the grand finale of the Global Peace Festival and all of the volunteers from the Sant Nirankari Mission took up seats at the back of the Queens Marquee. All of the people came together that day with one main aim - to find a way to bring peace to the whole global family and this desire is what unified each person of different race, color, religion and background. The day was about to culminate with the final ceremony.

The finale consisted of a musical festival and a presentation ceremony. Out on stage were a number of performers from all backgrounds and cultures, and the stage backdrop was made up of a number of flags from different countries around the world. The energy in the room was electric and everyone eagerly anticipated the arrival of the man who'd made the day of Peace possible. A large number of people took part in the musical festival, where performers from all ethnic origins, cultures, and backgrounds shared their music and performances with the audience. This musical display was another way which celebrated the "unity in diversity" message being promoted, as so many diverse performers united to create a beautifully flowing musical show for everyone to enjoy.

The presenters on stage then introduced some key speakers including the Mayor Of Hackney, Lord King from the West Midlands and a respected speaker from Jerusalem. Finally, the marquee broke out into rapturous applause as Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, the son of Rev. Sun Myung Moon (founder of the Universal Peace Federation), took centre stage after flying in from Korea to be part of this day. He explained the vision, the humble beginnings his father had and how this revelation came to him for 'one family under god'.

The event ended with awards being given to Ambassadors of Peace - individuals recognized as living lives full of peace, living for others, and dedicating themselves to spread moral values and harmony. Several such individuals, including representatives from Universal Brotherhood, Harmohinder Bhatia (Upashak Ji) and Raul Kamal (Brother Lucky), were called up on stage where Dr. Moon presented them with the awards.

On the way home from the event, buzzing with ideas, we all discussed what we'd experienced. Back at the Bhawan we sat and reflected with Upashak Ji on the day's activities -- was it worth it? The unanimous decision was 'Yes', we'd seen a truly global audience with people from differing backgrounds and that the idea of peace was not one we alone fostered. The major difference was that we promoted God realization through self realization and through which one family of God could come about.

We definitely built up some really good friends and networks and pray that Baba Ji gives us even more zeal to push the boundaries, work with other organizations, institutes and societies, and become true peace ambassadors. This is attainable if we maintain and cultivate relationships, and lose our prejudices