Photo above: The international Peace Run team and local volunteers at the Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2016.
Meaningful actions, achievements, enjoyment,
We seek every day in our life for deployment.
We want to be useful, to help, to contribute,
To be very kind, even things to distribute.
At stake is our peace, of mind and heart;
Deep inside, it runs our life’s every part.
We want to grow from selfishness to oneness:
To be fully ripe we also need some doneness.
Then comes the Peace Run, oh, it’s just a run ...
But wait a second, it’s not all for fun.
They carry a glow, a belief and a message:
Life counts for more than just the briefest of passage.
To live is to give, and this they do well.
They do games for kids and have no things to sell.
They honor the good, the kind, the great,
And everyone else in who’s love they partake.
Now in its 33rd year, the Peace Run spans the globe,
Meeting presidents and VIPs, wearers of simple robe.
It leaves a mark that shines and endures.
In the minds of the people it pessimism cures.
Runners carry a torch, its true flame in the heart;
Its light envelops the world’s farthest hut.
It sparkles so humbly in every human goal,
To make it unfold is the Run’s sure role.
The Peace Run is virtuous, united and true.
It’s never virtual, they run as one crew.
They run it with others, they aspire and grow,
Everything flows, their heart-torch aglow.
A promise so lofty, a practice so down-to-earth,
It encircles the world in length and in breadth,
When you see them running, smiles and all,
Join them then, be the change — your call!
Photo above: Sri Chinmoy inaugurates the Peace Mile in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1986.
Counting today many dozen locations across the world, the Sri Chinmoy Peace Miles were first inaugurated in 1986. Sri Chinmoy unveiled many of the early Peace Miles in person (as the one pictured above in Geneva, Switzerland). Many of the original Peace Miles continue to be on display and are active today, while newer ones are being established as well.
The first four Peace Miles were inaugurated in 1986 in London, Berlin, Zurich and Geneva in that order. Sri Chinmoy fondly referred to the first four Peace Miles as “the four corners of the globe”, while emphasizing that there is “no east, no west, no north, no south … no division, only oneness, oneness, universal home”. Undoubtedly, a powerful message for today and for the future. As it also happens, it is also a message from which The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, founded just a year later after the first four pioneer Sri Chinmoy Peace Miles were inaugurated, draws not only its almost eponymous name, but also its inspiration, essence and vision.
The Sri Chinmoy Peace Miles worldwide continue therefore to serve as true beacons of hope and light for all of humanity. They also serve as magnets of peace, attracting on a regular basis onto its one-mile measured loop numerous walkers and runners.
“When we have something that is dedicated to the cause of peace, it is very significant in our life. The word 'peace' is very, very important in our life. You can say it is the most important thing in our life. Everything else we have in today's world, but we do not have peace. If we want name and fame, prosperity and so forth, we can get them. But when it comes to peace, we do not easily get it. Peace is a most difficult thing to attain. But when there is a monument that mentions peace and people come and see it, they try to have peace in their own lives.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Photo above: The Peace Run Torch at the Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile in Geneva, Switzerland
The Peace Mile — an oasis of blossoming faith
In humanity’s progress that’s sure and safe.
It beckons peace-lovers with humility’s breath.
Our own Peace Run is simple proof of its worth.
Most auspiciously, as this material was getting ready for online publication, a beautiful rainbow unveiled its magnificent and colorful arch over the city skyline, almost in a doubled form and in two ordered, rapidly sequenced appearances.
This is perhaps yet another unambiguous reminder and confirmation that there is much hope and even certainty for more peace and happiness in the world, no matter the current experience.
And that this hope and certainty also appear to be well beyond us, perhaps even being the very fabric from which life itself is thankfully and plentifully made of.
