Eighty years ago today, the United Nations Charter was agreed upon following the devastation caused by two horrific world wars. Although there are conflicts in many places today, none have so far escalated to the levels of a third world war. The United Nations has been the primary instrument to keep alive the express wish of people in 1945 for this never to happen.

Within every human being there is a deep desire for unity and harmony. The very title ‘United Nations’ reflects this absolute need. When we look around, all we see is diversity and if we stop there, we miss the great opportunity that the United Nations was founded for; to set aside our apparent differences and look for what unites us. The Native American Chief Seattle expressed it like this:

“All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man does not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself…. All things are connected.”

This unity in diversity is the golden thread which runs through all great philosophical and religious traditions. They all point to the need to understand ourselves in order to appreciate others fully.

“People of the world do not look at themselves and so they blame one another”, says the Sufi poet, Rumi.

How do we look at ourselves, as Rumi suggests? The more we look at our bodies, our thoughts, our feelings, our personality, we still see difference from others. How do we find the unity? Somehow, we have to go beyond all these aspects of who we are and connect at an even deeper level. We could call it love, the peace within, our real self or even just simply silence. During the Pause, which our students practise before and after every lesson, there is not only a deep connection within, but also a feeling of unity in the room. This powerful practice is what allows our students to put aside differences, arise and accept each other.