“World Peace can be achieved,
When, in each person,
The power of love replaces the love of power”
– Sri Chinmoy
In a world that speaks of Human Rights, each and every human being is at war with their fellows. Whether they are from a neighboring country, whether they have different skin, speak different languages, or different dialects of the same languages; not only with weapons, be it in economies, education or agriculture, we are waging war against one another. Looking at our differences and ignoring the similarities, people are waiting to jump at the other’s throat at a snap of the fingers. Instead, what we must do is to celebrate those differences.
Many efforts are made to overcome this situation. While the world leaders and prominent personalities hold conferences to find solutions to this problem, three individuals set off on a pilgrimage to spread the message of Humanity and Peace. It is the droplets of water that together make up the huge oceans. The small gatherings and sessions they have along this walk with hundreds of random people they meet will leave a great impact at the end of their mission.
Yogesh Mathuria, Sabalsinh Vala and Somanath Bhosale started their 180 day long walk on the 21st of September 2016, the world Peace Day, from Pune in India, intending to cover 5,600 km only by foot. Throughout this journey they did not take money with them and depended solely on the charity and kindness of the residents along their path.
Sri Lanka was an important destination in their journey. Also, it is the first time for any foreign layman to have walked 654 km all the way from the South end to the North end of this country.
What is this walk?
From the look of it, this may seem a simple world tour. It is not a mere trail from one land to another. It is a peace pilgrimage to spread their message of Humanity. Imagine yourself walking everyday continuously for hours under the hot Sun. For us it is a really hard thing. But they were focused on a greater cause that they managed to overcome those difficulties physically, mentally and spiritually. There were hard times, walking continuously, carrying their luggage with them. Not once did they waver on that journey though.
Their aim was to reach out to others and share their experiences. So they walked the whole distance and talked to the people they met along the way. The visit in Sri Lanka was a real challenge, for they had no understanding of our National languages. So it was difficult for them to communicate. They had held seminars to the schools and societies along their walks in India. This time they spoke only to the people they met along the way because of the language barrier. Since they travelled without money, they had to depend on people along the way. Not only did it become an opportunity for them to connect well with all sorts of locals and share the word, but it also brought out the humanity in others and proved their generous hearts. It was indeed a successful mission in achieving their goal.
Who are they?
Thirty years back, Yogesh Mathuria was an IT professional who worked in MASTEK and handled their partnership with MICROSOFT. It was a busy life full of stress. He had reached his dream, a well to do career in his chosen field. In spite of his successful life, there were things that money couldn’t buy. Over the years of his flourishing life, Mr. Mathuria has gained 95kg, had cholesterol and high blood pressure, and was on diabetic medicine. Unexpectedly, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and he lost her despite the best of the treatment given. After this great shock, he thought to himself and started self-research on health and well-being.
Through his research over 4 years, he has come to the conclusion that the root cause for any sickness was mind. He became a wellness coach, advocating on the 3 principles: a balanced mind, optimum nutrition and a regulated lifestyle. He himself has shed off the extra kilos and gotten through diabetes. Today, he is free from medication. The World School of Happiness was initiated by him in 2010 to spread awareness on preventing and reversing diseases. Inspired by his teacher Mr. Satish Kumar, former monk and long term Peace and environment activist, and with the urge to spread his message, Mr. Mathuria started “World School of happiness – World Peace Pilgrimages” in 2010, as a pilgrimage and a walk without money. He has dedicated his life to serve humanity and take his message to the world.
Sabalsinh Vala is a former Professor of Sanskrit and a retired officer of the Gujarat government service. He has a mission to travel the world to spread the message of world Peace. This was not his first Peace walk. He completed walking about 3,300 km from the Niagara Falls in Canada to Key West point, Florida, in the US, in 90 days. Prior to that, he had walked to the four corners of India. In total, he has walked more than 300,000 km, which is equivalent to walking more than 6 times round the world. Along all these trails that he travelled by himself, he met hundreds of people to whom he talked and connected with. Some offered to help him. Some hosted him generously. He joined this trail to reach Sri Lanka with the same enthusiasm he always showed in his journeys.
Somanath Bhosale is a young graduate from the North Maharashtra University and has completed his Masters in Social Work. He joined this journey to Sri Lanka with the energy of his youth. This is his first such Peace walk. Mr. Bhosale wishes to involve more in Social work in the future and give his share to the world Peace. He has been following his veterans with much affection and care.
The three of them are from different parts in India. During this entire journey, they have been together as one unit focused on their task.
The pilgrimage…
Their walk in Sri Lanka started on the 16th of December, last year from the Upulwan Sri Vishnu temple in Matara, at the South end of Sri Lanka. They walked along the Western Coast over 24 days to reach Kankasanthurai in the North. The journey becomes unique for they did not speak either Sinhala or Tamil, and they did not take money with them. In their own words, it has been a fascinating journey. They met different people and stayed in all sorts of places: Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples, with Muslim and Christian friends they met along the way. Speaking Hindi, English together and using body language, they managed to connect with people. The trio was grateful to each and every one who helped them. Their appreciation of the youth of the country is noteworthy.
They specially mentioned the support received from Sarvodaya Movement under the guidance of Dr. A T Ariyarathna with much gratitude. During their journey, they had stayed at some of the Sarvodaya Centres. Dr. Ariyarathna had given them a letter addressed by him in Sinhala and Tamil that explains the purpose of this journey and requesting support for their worthy cause. At places where a Sarvodaya Centre was not to be found, they would present this letter and ask for help.
When asked how the experience was in general, they expressed that there was not a single day of bad experience throughout this journey. Of course there had been challenges, but on the whole they would place this visit as one of the best. It was a delightful sight for them to see the unity of Sri Lankans who went out of their way to help these visitors on their land. How the Sinhala friend who hosted them would call another Muslim friend that lived in their next destination, and how he would call his Hindu and Christian friends and introduce them, was a wonderful example of humanity they would meet repeatedly.
All good things must come to an end. With many memories in their hearts, and more stories of Humanity from Sri lanka to share with the world, on the 111th day of the journey, they returned to India. These Peace pilgrims were so kind to come to FOS Media for an interview within just a few hours to leave Sri Lanka. They had many stories to share with us. Let us see more into their Peace walk in another section.
Peace is the fountain from which the stream of joy runs. We, at FOSmedia wish them success on their next step towards humanity!