Toronto Mayor, John Tory, in July 2017 BAPS mandir speech mentions 'incredible' Hindu civilization contributions (to Western civilization)
This post follows up on my earlier post, Canada PM Justin Trudeau speech in Jul 2017 on 10th anniversary celebration of Toronto Hindu temple, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/10/canada-pm-justin-trudeau-speech-in-jul.html, 8th Oct. 2017.
The transcripts as well as screenshot pics below are from the video: 10th Anniversary Celebration of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto, ON, Canada, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soZ2VWyvzWY. [To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open in new tab/window, and in new tab/window click on pic to zoom in.]
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From around 13:37 in the video, Toronto Mayor John Tory says:
And I want you to know, as the mayor of the city of Toronto, and I say this on behalf of all of the people of the city of Toronto, how proud we are to have this magnificent and unique mandir (temple) located in our beautiful city. ...
And to follow up (on what) minister Baines said about making Canada a better place, you make Toronto a better place. [Applause]. As you heard the prime minister say, the BAPS mandir is an architectural masterpiece, carved out of faith and out of love in Canada's largest city. An inspiration for those who pray here and gather here, but also, I can assure you, an inspiration for all Torontonians, for all Canadians, and for people from around this continent and around the world who come to visit.
You will be pleased to know that I have encouraged people, when they have asked me, what they should go to see in Toronto - what should they go to see that they might not be able to cast their eye on when they are in the downtown, I say, go to the BAPS mandir. [Applause]
And I say to them, not only will you see something of magnificence, but you will also learn a lot about the incredible contributions over time immemorial by Hindu civilization to our civilization as a whole. [Applause].
And I want you to know, your holiness, and ladies and gentlemen, as I go around this city performing my duties, as I go across the country, and as I travel around the world representing Toronto, you are always with me [Tory raises his right hand showing a yellow sacred thread tied to his right wrist; applause] because I have here something that I believe blesses me, something that I believe protects me. But more importantly than that, it reminds me everyday of the friendship that I have been privileged to have with you, and with the people of faith here at the BAPS mandir.
And so to mark this special occasion of the 10th anniversary of this mandir, I would like to present the key to the city to his holiness, Mahant Swami Maharaj. I have only presented three keys to this city since I have been the mayor and I want .. to read to you what the inscription says, that accompanies the key. You will see me present a framed version of the key to his holiness. I assure you there is also a key that accompanies that, which will be presented to him as well. And it reads as follows: "This recognition honours his holiness as the sixth spiritual guru of BAPS. His holiness travels the world inspiring people with his insightful spiritual discourses and disciplined conduct. The virtuous lifestyle and ideals to which his holiness adheres are what many people strive to achieve and he is an inspiration for all young people. His holiness is the head of a worldwide spiritual and humanitarian organization that is dedicated to community service, peace and harmony through Hindu principles. Toronto has been enriched by many contributions from BAPS charities Canada and from the individual members of BAPS to help disaster relief causes and to the well being of our community. Unique BAPS mandir located in Toronto serves as an architectural masterpiece and adds to the multi-cultural mosaic of the city of Toronto and of Canada."
And it is so, with those words that I am proud on your behalf and on behalf of all the people of Toronto and the members of Toronto city council to present to his holiness, the key to the city on this memorable occasion of the 10th anniversary of this BAPS mandir.
--- end Toronto Mayor, John Tory, speech transcript ---
Around 12:03, Mahant Swami Maharaj says a few words:
May this beautiful country, Canada, prosper in all ways. May everyone in Canada live in harmony. May the Prime Minister be a leader who strengthens the humility of the country. May the people of Canada be happy and peaceful. May this mandir continue to inspire everyone towards better living. May the whole world unite as one big family. We are peace loving people and Canada is also peace loving. So let us pray together so that peace prevails in Canada and in the whole world.
The transcripts as well as screenshot pics below are from the video: 10th Anniversary Celebration of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto, ON, Canada, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soZ2VWyvzWY. [To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open in new tab/window, and in new tab/window click on pic to zoom in.]
----
From around 13:37 in the video, Toronto Mayor John Tory says:
And I want you to know, as the mayor of the city of Toronto, and I say this on behalf of all of the people of the city of Toronto, how proud we are to have this magnificent and unique mandir (temple) located in our beautiful city. ...
And to follow up (on what) minister Baines said about making Canada a better place, you make Toronto a better place. [Applause]. As you heard the prime minister say, the BAPS mandir is an architectural masterpiece, carved out of faith and out of love in Canada's largest city. An inspiration for those who pray here and gather here, but also, I can assure you, an inspiration for all Torontonians, for all Canadians, and for people from around this continent and around the world who come to visit.
You will be pleased to know that I have encouraged people, when they have asked me, what they should go to see in Toronto - what should they go to see that they might not be able to cast their eye on when they are in the downtown, I say, go to the BAPS mandir. [Applause]
And I say to them, not only will you see something of magnificence, but you will also learn a lot about the incredible contributions over time immemorial by Hindu civilization to our civilization as a whole. [Applause].
And I want you to know, your holiness, and ladies and gentlemen, as I go around this city performing my duties, as I go across the country, and as I travel around the world representing Toronto, you are always with me [Tory raises his right hand showing a yellow sacred thread tied to his right wrist; applause] because I have here something that I believe blesses me, something that I believe protects me. But more importantly than that, it reminds me everyday of the friendship that I have been privileged to have with you, and with the people of faith here at the BAPS mandir.
And so to mark this special occasion of the 10th anniversary of this mandir, I would like to present the key to the city to his holiness, Mahant Swami Maharaj. I have only presented three keys to this city since I have been the mayor and I want .. to read to you what the inscription says, that accompanies the key. You will see me present a framed version of the key to his holiness. I assure you there is also a key that accompanies that, which will be presented to him as well. And it reads as follows: "This recognition honours his holiness as the sixth spiritual guru of BAPS. His holiness travels the world inspiring people with his insightful spiritual discourses and disciplined conduct. The virtuous lifestyle and ideals to which his holiness adheres are what many people strive to achieve and he is an inspiration for all young people. His holiness is the head of a worldwide spiritual and humanitarian organization that is dedicated to community service, peace and harmony through Hindu principles. Toronto has been enriched by many contributions from BAPS charities Canada and from the individual members of BAPS to help disaster relief causes and to the well being of our community. Unique BAPS mandir located in Toronto serves as an architectural masterpiece and adds to the multi-cultural mosaic of the city of Toronto and of Canada."
And it is so, with those words that I am proud on your behalf and on behalf of all the people of Toronto and the members of Toronto city council to present to his holiness, the key to the city on this memorable occasion of the 10th anniversary of this BAPS mandir.
--- end Toronto Mayor, John Tory, speech transcript ---
Around 12:03, Mahant Swami Maharaj says a few words:
May this beautiful country, Canada, prosper in all ways. May everyone in Canada live in harmony. May the Prime Minister be a leader who strengthens the humility of the country. May the people of Canada be happy and peaceful. May this mandir continue to inspire everyone towards better living. May the whole world unite as one big family. We are peace loving people and Canada is also peace loving. So let us pray together so that peace prevails in Canada and in the whole world.
---- end Mahant Swami Maharaj few words transcript ---
Ravi: It is a matter of great joy to me, as a devout Hindu, to hear and see such praise from Toronto Mayor, John Tory, about BAPS mandir's Hindu principles based/related contributions to Toronto city, the largest city in Canada. To then see him show his sacred yellow thread on his wrist, presumably given by BAPS to him, and talk about his belief that it would protect him and bless him, made it even more joyous.
May Almighty God bless Toronto Mayor John Tory and the BAPS mandir in Toronto for showing such a wonderful inclusive attitude towards different religions, with Tory being of Christian faith and BAPS mandir being of Hindu faith. I congratulate both BAPS mandir as well as Canadian political leaders like PM Justin Trudeau and Mayor John Tory for this event which shows us how Canada allows Hindu faith along with its service to society work to flourish in Canada and how Hindu faith can enrich Canada in this process.
My belief, of course, based on Vedanta which was reinforced by the teachings of Sathya Sai, is that there is ultimately only one God, a formless divine power which some among Hindus refer to as Absolute Brahman. Various religions and sects are different pathways to the same God. And I am so happy to be able to worship and adore that ONE GOD (Brahman) through various faiths/religions like Hinduism, Christianity as well as peaceful sects of Islam like Sufi Islam.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman :
"In Hinduism, Brahman (/brəhmən/; ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe."
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman :
"In Hinduism, Brahman (/brəhmən/; ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe."
[I thank Toronto, Canada mayor John Tory and BAPS Swaminarayan, and wikipedia, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above transcripts of Mayor Tory and his holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj's speech, and pics from above youtube video, and wiki extracts, on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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