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Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (centre) presenting former Principal of the Alexandra School, Ada Straughn (right), with a book about Sai Baba, as the National Co-ordinator of the Sathya Sai International Organisation of Barbados, Lalu Vaswani, looks on.

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PM Freundel Stuart (sitting, at centre); Publisher, Anthony T. Bryan (sitting at left); businesswoman Asha ‘Mrs Ram’ Mirchandani (standing at back); and businessman and National Co-ordinator of the Sathya Sai International Organisation of Barbados, Lalu Vaswani, engaging in conversation at the celebration.

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Sai Spiritual Education Children presenting a play entitled ‘Unity of Faiths – We are One’.

PM: LOVE IS THE ANSWER

THERE is no way that Barbados’ society can be held together if it is plagued by hate, discrimination, dislike, unfairness or injustice.

This declaration came from Prime Minister of Barbados, the Rt. Hon. Freundel Stuart, who said while some young people in the island’s schools seem to be manifesting symptoms of hate, what the society needs is love.

“There is a God presence in all of us. Hate doesn’t solve problems, and love can bring us closer together and help us to better understand one another.

“The closer we come together, the more tolerant we are of what we may think are our differences; the more likely it is that we move from that stage from ‘I’ to ‘we’. It is not just about me, it is about all of us. Let love take full possession of us,” he said.

The Prime Minister made the call as he delivered the feature address at the Sathya Sai International Organisation’s celebration to observe the 92nd Birth Anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, at the Casa Grande Airport Hotel & Resort, Oldbury, St. Philip, on Thursday evening.

Stuart said too much poison is being sprayed around in Barbados, which can only drive the people of the nation further apart, and will eventually create havoc if not reversed because hatred only breathes suspicion and insecurity, which leads to trouble.

Stuart indicated that if Barbadians focus on the God presence in each other, then loving one another will become an easy task.

“We still have too many people who will treat others in very unkind ways, but expect others to treat them in very humane and very kind and very uplifting ways.

“Now there is an element of selfishness in that. We have to reach the stage where we learn to treat one another as we would have other people treat us,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the organisation’s belief in respecting other religions is admirable, since “we are all humans subject to the same aspirations, subject to the same needs, subject to the same vulnerabilities and the same fears, because our common humanity brings us together in a oneness that triumphs over all the superficial differences that the eyes see and the ears hear”.

Stuart said though there are many superficial differences in Barbados, the fact remains that “we are all a common humanity” striving in various ways to establish a relationship with God that will allow us to grow not only as individuals and families, but also as a nation.

“I am pleased that your organisation communicates that message so powerfully, and that in Barbados, we can all feel assured that as you move around from day to day, this message of oneness will be disseminated throughout the society, and a lot of the unsightly and unfortunate little things that we have to deal with in the society from day to day, will overtime be brought under control.

“Those who are misled by the superficial differences will eventually come to understand that these differences are not of a quality and kind that should push us further apart, but that underlying those differences is a oneness in the sight of God,” he said.

Stuart said the more unhappy people there are in the nation, the less safe residents can feel. He made the point that unhappiness will not express itself in positive ways, but rather in ways that “will be very harmful to our own comfort”.

The Prime Minister pointed out that those imprisoned, decided that they would risk everything in pursuit of doing the wrong thing. However, he questioned how many people are willing to take risks to fight for what is right.

“Indifference is not an option. The same passion, the same intensity that is exhibited by those persons in our society who are committed to doing the wrong things, who are committed to doing antisocial things, who are committed to doing deviant things; that same passion and intensity is the obligation of everyone who is committed to do the right thing.

“We must not allow the voices of those of us who are committed to pursue the path of righteousness to be drowned out by the screams and shouts by those committed to the path of wrong.

“When that stage is reached, if ever it is reached, we no longer have a society. So that passionate intensity that those who are committed to doing wrong have – we have to have multiples of that passionate intensity in our efforts to do the right thing,” Stuart said.

“The day we wake up in Barbados and people start believing that right will not triumph over wrong, that good will not triumph over bad, that fair will not triumph over unfair, that just will not triumph over unjust; the day we get to the place where people think that these things are not working anymore – life then becomes solitary, poor, brutish, nasty and short – we will be back to the laws of the jungle,” he added. (AH)

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