A Blessing for Peace

Comments given by Gurmeet Beasley at the International Day of Peace celebration at Lake Chabot, Sept 21

It’s so nice to see this gathering of like-minded people … people who want Peace, who want the best for our world, our planet, our humanity.  After all, we only have this planet so why are so many forces trying to destroy it.  Why can’t we all live in peace?  Why all this hate?
Talking about Hate, 10 years ago, an incident of hate happened at this very park... a few hundred yards from here.  An American woman couldn’t stand the sight of couple of Muslim men praying.  She attacked them verbally, and when that didn't work, she threw hot coffee at them and tried to hit them with an umbrella.  Think about it … how low can one go in their hatred that they cannot stand the sight of someone praying.  It’s as if her God is different and their God is different! 
Fortunately, about a month later, the community responded. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, and many others showed up the day after Christmas 2015 and marched through Castro Valley, proclaiming "Unity in the Community." That was the beginning of the Eden Area Interfaith Council, which I am representing here today.  As a person of Sikh faith, I understand what these two men went through. Discrimination and intolerance are a big factor which affect my community as well as many others. Now this intolerance is compounded by the misuse of ICE to terrorize immigrants from many places.
Two weeks ago, Bibi Harjeet Kaur was detained in San Francisco at her regular ICE check-in. Ms. Kaur is a 73 year old woman who has been following a regular procedure with ICE for 13 years. She  was whisked away before she could even let her family know, and has been held at the ICE detention facility in Bakersfield since then, under difficult conditions. She needs to be released asap.
Similarly, Miguel Lopez from Livermore was taken from his ICE check-in in SF and deported to Mexico. And these are not isolated cases; these are becoming the norm and are terrorizing our communities.
We know that in order to have real peace in the world, there must be respect for law and respect for the rights of all people. That is why we are here, to remind ourselves and each other, that we are a community which can come together,  and together we are strong!  
The mission of Eden Area Interfaith council …  is to promote understanding and respect for all faiths and work together towards human rights, peace, justice, civic change, and freedom of religion. 
Essentially, all religions, believe in these tenants.   In the Sikh religion, which I belong to, our 10th  and last Guru said ‘Manas ke Jaat sabhe, ek he pehchan bo’ which means, ‘recognize all human race as one’. 

The Torah and The Bible say that God created us all in his image.  If that is so, why have we created all the differences?  So, I will offer a short prayer for peace and for good sense to prevail.
Ardas, Ikonkar Waheguru ji ke Fateh.
Hey Waheguru Sache Patshah, aap jee age Aardas benti hai jee, ke aj de din asee Vishav Shanti Divas manaun layee ekathe hoi han.   Waheguru jio, Sansar vich Shanti banana jio … Shanti, Shanti, Shanti vartaana jio.  Vishv dee saree manukhta nu aapsee bhai-chare de daat, ek dooje naal piyar Mohabbat naal rehan dee, vichrun dee sumat bakshnee ji.  Vishv vich chal rahe Sangharsh khatam karne ji.
Sayee Piyre melo jinna milia aap je da naam chit avee.  Nanak naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat da Bhalla.
Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ke Fateh.
In my prayer, I requested the omnipresent Lord of this Universe to bless us on this International Day of peace …. Bless our world with Peace … and to give our human race the wisdom to embrace each other in brotherhood, in love and to live in Harmony.
I ended the prayer with the phrase that all Sikhs use after our prayers, which is: O Almighty Lord bless us with ever rising spirit,  keep us in ever elevated state … and by Your Grace may all be blessed.
Thank you all for your presence here and your commitment to peace and justice for all!  Thank you and God Bless you all.