Television interview in Cape Town on 23 December 1995

Interviewer: Throughout mankind’s history we have seen conflicts. There is always fighting, anger and killing. Do you have any hope that one day we will be able to reduce the level of conflict and achieve lasting peace?

Sri Chinmoy: Definitely there shall come a time when this world of ours will be inundated with peace and love. Right now we are still fighting and quarrelling because our mind is not listening to our heart. The mind offers the message of division and supremacy, which is ultimately the message of destruction. The mind says, “Peace will come about only when you walk one step behind me.” But there is no peace in division and supremacy. There is peace only when you and I walk side by side, or when I keep you inside my heart and you keep me inside your heart. This is the heart’s way. The heart does not want to destroy others, because it has already established its oneness with each and every human being. We have to grab the mind and put it inside the heart, where it can enjoy the heart’s boundless affection, compassion, love and forgiveness.

Interviewer: Do you feel confident that the transition that occurred in Eastern Europe can also occur here in Africa?

Sri Chinmoy: Definitely! Peace is not the monopoly of a single individual or a single country. It is everybody’s possession. Peace is what God has and what God is. Just as God is for everybody, so also His Peace is for everybody. God and Peace are like the flower and the fragrance.