World Religions Conference November 1957

Author(s): Sushil Muni
Publisher: Achal Singh Seth

Page 10

Background
to man's love for peace. Though he is not yet strong enough to lay the foundations of an abiding peace, yet no one can now surreptitiously violate the soveeignty even of a small country. Today for the solution of all intricate problems more stress is being laid on Round Table Conferences than on resort to arms. Even in the political field, the importance of Panchshila based on moral and religious support for peace is getting more and more recognition.
Hoping Against Hope
The unanimous acceptance and adoption by the United Nations' Security Council, of the Indian Resolution, to live by peace and friendship, augurs well for our hopes and aspirations.
The talks abouithEngland
Similarly, the birth of the UNESCO and its history is much more encouraging and hopeful. This organisation is working in the world as an integral part of the United Nations Organisation. It came into being on the 4th day of Nov. 1946 with the blessings of 20 nations of the world. The talks about it had, however, begun long before in 1942, when the war was at its zenith, England itself was in the throes of a terrible catastrophe and Europe was being devastated by this vast conflagration. It was at this juncture that the Education Misisters of 9 friendly States met in London to consider the desirability of some kind of a Union. After much thought and consideration, a conference was convened in London, in Nov. 1945, wherein this body was constituted and christened with the purpose of spreading Education, Science, and Culture.
aastated by
An attempt is thus being made, to unite mankind on a three-fold platform of education, science and culture. In other words, we have to confess that it has not been possible to bring about this union by financial and political means. The fiscal policies only helped the capitalist classes who, to gain their selfish ends, turned to Industrial development and that in its turn widened the gulf between man and man. The political policies, on the other hand, led to the domination of the strong powers over the weaker ones, for the purpose of exploitation of their resources, regardless of the great sufferings experienced by the latter, with the natural concommitant of rivalries, jealousies, acrimonious tensions and revengeful reprisals, all of which swamped the world. Thus both the economic and political remedies failed to solve the issue: to wit, to bind the people of the world in the silken bonds of love, amity, concord and good-wilt; and we had, instead, to search for some other means and these we have found in Education, Science and Culture. But alas! we find that even these humanities too are being deformed by the propagandist proclivities of the nations.