“We started 2 weeks ago in Porto Portugal and we will run through every European country over an 8 month period. We will finish in Rome on October 8th. The run was started by an Indian gentleman, Sri Chinmoy in 1987. He loved sports and he loved running. But most of all he loved peace.”
“He dedicated his life to helping people to find real happiness, real strength, and real peace. In their own lives and in their own communities. So that in the world we could establish a real peace, something lasting something real, something significant.”
“As a runner he enjoyed the endeavor of pushing beyond your limits. He started in 1987 this world wide peace run. So a runner runs with this torch and as they run around Europe and the rest of the world people are welcome to join in. Run a few meters, run a few miles, to hold the torch and offer a few prayers, a message of peace to the world. Now hundreds of thousands of people around the world have held the torch.”
“As we run around the world we do stop every now and then to establish monuments or sites, special places that dedicate themselves to Peace. We are really grateful to be here in this wonderful botanical garden. Where today there will be a monument unveiled. That will stand here as a testimony to the people of Carmarthen and Wales, and their commitment to peace in our world.”
“As we run around the world. We realize that 99.9% of the people we meet want peace, and want a world of harmony, friendship and kindness. It is initiatives like this that really give that aspiration some voice and strength. We hear all about the negative things on the news. But there are a lot of people doing good work. Positive work in the world. We are trying to connect all those people, and really underline that positive message.”….Devashishu Torpy
Chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths
“It is 4 years almost to the day since we dedicated a similar statue in Cardiff. On that occasion also the sun peaked out at the right moment. Congratulations to the organizers for orchestrating that. On that occasion I read a passage from Dylan Thomas. I make no apologies for repeating it. It is glorious. It talks about peace as something wonderful and celebratory. Even in a world turned on its head, people can still sing and dance and celebrate peace.”
“The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they sometimes actually happen. Today has felt like something like a miracle. The combined energies of this beautiful place and the Peace Run coming in. Sri Chinmoy himself talked about peace as something inner and outer.”
“He said that at the heart of peace there had to be dynamic action and at the heart of action there had to be the stillness of peace. I think that is what we feel here in this astonishing location.”
“Sri Chinmoy often talked about the heart garden, that we all feel deep inside ourselves. That in itself relates to the wider world. And feels as though this place is the breathing heart of Wales itself. It feels like the living heart of the country. It is such a powerful peaceful energy. And to feel that extends itself to the rest of Wales, to the rest of the world. I think that is what a dedication like this is all about.:
“The statue when you see it embodies those qualities of inner and outer. The figure itself is very still. There is an intensity and there is a peacefulness from it. And yet it is holding this very powerful symbol the peace torch.”….Janaka Spence
O dreamers of peace, come.
Let us walk together.
O lovers of peace, come,
Let us run together.
O servers of peace, come.
Let us grow together.
“Thank you all very much for coming here today. It struck me that the service that a place like this does is really remarkable. People can come here and immerse themselves in the beauty of nature. The beauty that we have inside ourselves we find reflected in nature. The beautiful qualities that each of us has. Love, peace, joy, and happiness. These are qualities that unite us all. The underlining qualities that unite all of humanity.”
“They find life they find nurturing in a place like this, an oasis of nature.”
“It is only fitting that a statue such as this can find a home here. Were people can come and enjoy a moment of peace. Peace is something that we all have within ourselves. In our daily lives sometimes it gets lost, in the hustle and bustle of life. Find the silence that resides inside ourselves and then take that from a place like this and take it into the world. We will be better people for it.”
“The statue has a torch which people can hold and make a prayer for peace. So on behalf of the Oneness-Home-World Peace Run I am honored and delighted to present this statue.”…Salil Wilson
“Lord Elis-Thomas is a great supporter of the Peace Run is here to unveil the statue. He has been associated with the run on a number of occasions when it has come through Wales. Would you like to say a few words before the unveiling.”…Steven Thomas
“I was delighted when I was invited to do this. Partly because I was born up the road. In what is now a supermarket. It wasn’t then.”
“My grandfather, it comes to my mind today. Carmthenshire was full of militant pacifists. Of which my grandfather was the most militant. I can describe the sort of things that he did to empathize his pacifism. Including marching up to the nearest top of a hill. He would march up on every armistice day not to be near anything that symbolized war. Now I am not a militant pacifist, but I am very much someone who believes that it is important to remember the mistakes that we have made so that we don’t make them again. It doesn’t seem to work very well.”
“To be here in this spot. Is to be at peace.”…Lord Elis-Thomas
Click to Play Speech:
Steven Thomas Intro
A special moment
Some regular visitors to the park
Heading to the start of the race
Runners in the morning race
Different kinds of flowers bloom today.
Harp music fills the air courtesy of Udasina
Reflections
Another flower
Alone against the hill
Very fast
Encouraging everybody
Maybe next year
Not too slow
A flower family
The park early morning
Worlds coming together
“Even though the statue has come from the same mold and the same place. The cast can be slightly different because things happen. In the construction little changes are made. I do modify the wax before it is cast. Without reference to anything else.”
“But I think most of all is the context. The place, the people, those who arrange for the statue and the other people involved make a complete difference. I realize that by talking to people and asking what they think that people all have such a different appreciation. The appreciation is not about the physical object, but the whole experience. The emotional experience, the spiritual experience, and the mental experience. Everybody is different.”
“It all comes over differently and I am totally and utterly amazed how the statue appears in different context. I put it down to the fact that people affect how the statue appears to others. But mostly on the spiritual level who appreciate it spiritually. Sri Chinmoy embodies the statue and gives out a flavor that is appropriate to that time and place. In this case here. This statue has such sweetness and such a fineness. Quite different to the statue in Cardiff, which is much more determined and powerful.”
“This one exudes sweetness just like the flowers in the garden. It is so compelling I can believe how compelling. I got the feeling even before I came here. I saw it right from the beginning. In the foundry in Prague. I am so delighted with the feeling. Here it is intensified a 100 fold.”…..Kaivalya Torpy.
Click to Play:
Kaivalya
“I think the location is brilliant. I was holding onto it and I couldn’t let it go. I wanted to feel as though I held it as long as possible.”
“I love coming here as there is a great feeling about the place. This statue adds a spiritual significance to the garden.”
“You have thousands of school kids coming. Out of that something is created that is beyond the material.”…Lord Elis Thomas
Click to Play:
Lord Elis Thomas
Burry Port Male Choir:
Mens Choir 3
My heart knows
That it costs nothing
To be a dreamer and lover
Of peace.
