AMMA ENDORSES THE EARTH CHARTER: a meeting of hearts and minds
On
July 8th, 2009, Steven C. Rockefeller, founding member of the Earth
Charter, introduced this international declaration to a crowd of about
2,000 people during Amma's public programs in New York City. Following
his speech Amma endorsed the Earth Charter, embracing the spirit and
aims of the document.
Many people still don't know
about the Earth Charter or its purpose. Started at the United Nations
and completed over a decade by a civil group through a worldwide,
cross-cultural dialogue, the Earth Charter is a declaration of
fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and
peaceful global society in the 21st century. It has been endorsed by
close to 5,000 organizations, including many governments and
international organizations. Through this process the Earth Charter is
acquiring the status of a soft law document. Soft law documents like
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are considered to be morally,
but not legally, binding on state governments that agree to adopt them,
and they often form the basis for the development of hard law.
In
his speech Mr. Rockefeller remarked on the similarities between the
Earth Charter and Amma: "The Earth Charter challenges us to expand our
moral consciousness and - in Amma's words - embrace the world." It
seemed most fitting that the meeting between Amma and Mr. Rockefeller
began with a heart-felt embrace and ended with an embrace as well.
As
I came off the stage where I had been introducing our esteemed guests
that evening, several people asked me how this meeting came about. It
started in March 2008 at Amma's public program in Jaipur, after the
opening of Making Way for the Feminine, the three-day conference by The
Global Peace Initiative of Women where Amma gave a powerful address.
As
people were pushing from all sides to get near Amma, I felt a gentle
tap on my shoulder. Turning around I saw a young man with a beaming
smile and a letter in his hand: "Would Amma endorse the Earth Charter?"
he said. "Can you please help me ask her?" Out of the thousands of
people there I was amazed that he had approached me. For a few months
now I had been pondering how to create a connection between Amma and
the Earth Charter. In the unique way that things happen around Amma,
that connection had created itself. As I took the young man up to the
stage, Amma welcomed him with a big smile and gave a resounding "Yes!"
to his request.
The road from Jaipur to New York
was long and windy. It included a large number of e-mails and a few
conference calls, meetings with Earth Charter staff and an Amma devotee
who had been involved in the initial drafting of the Earth Charter, and
a couple of failed attempts at having a joint event at the Commission
for Sustainable Development Conference at the United Nations. At times
it seemed as if the endorsement would never take place.
"Out
of desperation, I called my friend and mentor Reverend Jim Morton,
Founder of the Interfaith Center of New York. Incidentally, but perhaps
not accidentally, Amma and Steven Rockefeller have both been recipients
of the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award. Jim brought it all together
in his own special way. Undeterred by my vague mumblings, he kept
asking me: "What is it that you want exactly?" until I said: "I want
Steven Rockefeller to come to Amma's programs in New York so she can
sign the Earth Charter in front of all the people there!" "Ah " he
said, "that's an interesting idea. I'll call Steven and find out what
he thinks of it."
A few hours later my phone rang and it was Mr. Rockefeller on the
phone. We had the best conversation. He loved the thought of Amma
endorsing the Earth Charter in front of Her devotees, and he was
available to come to the programs himself during Amma's visit to New
York! Back to e-mails and phone calls, and finally a date was set.
In preparation for the meeting with Amma, Swami Ramakrishnananda, a
colleague from the Amma UN team and I went to visit Mr. Rockefeller in
his office. He welcomed us with much kindness and warmth, and in a few
moments the details were ironed out.
Mr. Rockefeller came to the Manhattan Center with the young man from
Jaipur, Michael Slaby, Religion and Spirituality Coordinator for the
Earth Charter, who had flown to New York from Germany where he resides
just for the occasion. The day after the event, Michael came back to
Amma's programs, and as he looked at the photographs of Amma and Mr.
Rockefeller embracing, he smiled even more broadly than in Jaipur and
said: "This is a real meeting of hearts and minds."
Cards with the four main principles of the Earth Charter's ethical
vision were distributed at Amma's programs. These principles are:
1.Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
2.Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love.
3.Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
4.Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
Amma followers will no doubt recognize how close these principles
are to Amma's teachings. Joint projects with Amma's Organizations are
already in motion in many parts of the world and we need sevites to
carry them through. If you want to get involved please contact
earthcharter@amma.org More on the Earth Charter can be found at www.earthcharterinaction.org
Joumana Rizk,
M.A. Math Representative to The United Nations
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