Excerpts from a lecture given on June 22, 1986 at Ram Das Puri, NM

Thank you very much for coming, for this special day.

I honestly believe in my heart and in my soul, there is no power with the man except the prayer. And there are two things which can join together—people and prayer.

About eleven years ago, we adopted this mission. And I went to Rome, Italy and had an audience with Pope Paul. The idea was to get the religions together so that there can be peace in the world, because there's no dialogue among the religions. The audience was about ten or fifteen minutes. To our surprise, His Holiness came out and started speaking in English—there was no translator—and we had about thirty-five minutes, in which we explained our position and how we feel. And it was agreed upon that the Vatican and His Holiness will try to do everything possible.

Then Pope John Paul the second declared that there should be a peace prayer in Assisi, where all the major religions of the world will be invited. And that is on October 27th of this year. Since then, wherever I have gone, we have invited all the men of God—priests, padres, head of the Sufis, Islam, Buddhist, etc. And over a cup of prayer, a cup of tea, we fold our hands together and pray in a circle.

One night I was passing by a Pizza Hut.

(Students laugh)

And I was very hungry. I told the person driving me, "Could you pull into this place?"

The driver said, "What?"

I said, "Let's go in there."

So we went in and I said, "Is there a time that we can be served?"

He said, "Fifteen minutes. We are going to close. You are pretty late."

I said, "Fine."

So we ordered a medium size pizza.

(Students laugh)

In few minutes that gentleman brought the pizza and he brought a cutter. He cut it into slices. You all know what that means. An idea struck me here. If he can put all the slices together, it becomes a pizza again. If all religions get together, and do their prayer, it becomes equal to one God. And let everybody have the freedom to say what they want to say. And whatever they say—God is everywhere—God is going to hear.

Our life is not that long. It takes more time to eat a slice of pizza than to let the prana go. That's how temporary we are. So each breath of life can be spent in prayer for tomorrow. Perhaps you do not understand. If a third Word War happens—I just want to give you the magnitude of it. If a World War happens and if one missile with eight warheads gets loose, it will be more than fifty hundred centigrade boiling ash. Within six hundred and fifty miles, nothing shall live. Just understand how urgent it is to pray for peace.

And in my heart I feel that you cannot govern the world with lead and guns and all that. We are mature human beings. Cameras, television, newspapers, media—what we have to do is use communication. And the two powers of the world or ten powers of the world or a hundred powers of the world, have to sit together. But I know and you know, that they are not willing to sit together. If we all join our hands together and pray...

I asked Governor Anaya if we can start an office in the New Mexico Governor’s office with one minute of silent prayer just for peace. The New Mexico legislature could do the same. All fifty states could do the same. We can reach to all other countries to do the same.

It is not the power of an individual, it is the power of the thought. Thought is the highest power. Even God is a thought to begin with.

I have done what I could do. It was a single man crusade. It began eleven years ago and it will continue. But I never knew I was single. I knew that you are all with me and you are all here for that. And I request you, pray to you, ask you—whatever English words suit your ears, that please keep this going. This is the only thought: peace; the only choice: peace; the only happening: peace, which can save us all. Otherwise, we cannot afford to leave boiling ashes on the planet Earth for our children and grandchildren.

We call Christ the Prince of Peace; we call Buddha the Sattvai Buddha of peace; we call Guru Nanak the giver of peace; we call Mohammed the messenger of peace. We have every name for every religion and the basic part of everything is peace. So why not piece together one word: peace?

I would like to go before every church, every mosque, every temple and lie down there and beg that they should come out for peace.

Leave here with a head and a heart put together for peace. This peaceful prayer has happened and we have accomplished this in absolute peace.

May I ask one simple thing of you? Please fold your hands on the top of your head, like this. Let us fold our hands on our head and ask Almighty God, who created us—leaving our sins, our defaults and our errors and leaving our toys of atom bombs and everything else—to grant our head and heart a moment of peace, forever, forever, forever, forever, so that with pride and our faith in God, we can leave for our children this land, this Mother Earth, for peaceful purposes. Thank you for joining me, and thank you for joining each other.

And I shall ask you, let us hold each others’ hands and join each other as a matter of heart, and in that peace, may we ask for nothing but that prayer. I dedicate myself…

Students: I dedicate myself

Yogi Bhajan: With my sincerity and honor

Students: With my sincerity and honor

Yogi Bhajan: For all purposes of peace.

Students: For all purposes of peace.

Yogi Bhajan: May God help me so.

Students: May God help me so.

Yogi Bhajan: Thank you very much.

(Students applaud)

Yogi Bhajan: Thank you everybody, God bless. Carry it with you every day and ever.

Lecture ©1986 - The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings®