Siddhachalam NJ 1993 06 Acharya Sushil Kumarji

Author(s): Siddhachalam NJ
Publisher: USA International Mahavir Jain Mission Siddhachalam

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institutions and show where they have gone wrong. Thus, education for peace should be explicitly moral and critical in tone even though its subject matter, problems and content must be drawn from the universal experience and objective knowledge of humankind.
6. The "University for Peace," established by the United Nations in 1979, is a living reality at the University of Costa Rica - a country without standing armies. There are, of course, other educational programs for peace in the world, not connected with the United Nations. Under the inspired leadership of Acharya Sushil Kumarji, it has been proposed that an affiliated branch of the University for Peace be established in the United States. The proposal has been accepted and warmly welcomed by those concerned, namely Dr. Jaime Montalvo, Dr. Robert Muller, Rodrigo Carazo, Ambassador N.P. Jain, and the new President of the Academic Council of the University for Peace in Costa Rica, Javier Perez de Culler, as well as the others. However, since this activity marks only the barest beginnings for the project, much work needs to be done before it can come to fruition. Thus, appeals are being sent out for all those who wish to contribute to the project in whatever way, to contact Siddhachalam in writing, or by phone, about their support, intentions and ideas.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the
starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace
and brotherhood can never become a reality. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their
minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for
their spirits. I still believe that we shall
overcome. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
7. In closing, I personally believe that a curriculum for peace education must be inclusive and transformative. The technical means and intellectual subject matter of the new curriculum should be consistent with the ideals and values of peace, compassion and non-violence. This means, among other things, that the values of ecology, sustainable economics, feminism, democracy, animal and human rights, health care, disarmament, population control, renewable energy, human relations, community life, the Earth, the intellect and the Sacred, need to be integral to the experiences of learning, teaching and Being. In this sense, education is the means whereby, under the best of conditions, a universal and Sacred Energy can bring enlightenment, compassion and wisdom to the consciousness, heart and soul of all beings.
Om Shanti!
Crusader for Peace and Non-Violence
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Jain Education Intemational