The World Is One Family

The world is a fascinating place filled with fascinating people. Every time we visit a new place or meet a new person, the world opens a bit wider for us. Every new perspective, every new insight from a new friend, has the potential to enrich our lives and unify the human family just a little more.

One fascinating person from a fascinating place is Professor Vishwanath D. Karad from Pune, India. He is in the United States to receive an honorary doctorate from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. A remarkable man, Dr. Karad loves the natural world and the people in it. He sees beauty in both diversity and unity, in both science and spirituality. Among his many accomplishments, he is the founder of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, World Peace University in Pune.

Dr. Karad believes that education has the power to improve every life. He sees no conflict between science and spirituality, as together they lead us to God. As we learn more about both, our perspective, our lives, and the whole world can change for the better. The lifelong education of the mind and spirit can help each one of us build a more peaceful world.

It was Dr. Karad’s vision and deep desire for peace and interfaith cooperation that led to the creation of the World Peace Dome, which is prominently featured at World Peace University. Within and surrounding this impressive structure are over 50 statues of leaders of religion, philosophy, and science from many cultures and traditions. The World Peace Dome is a place of interfaith understanding and dialogue, of peace and harmony. It’s a place to contemplate peace and love for all people. It is a monument to the Sanskrit philosophy “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which means “the world is one family.”

Maybe that’s part of the secret to achieving world peace. It begins simply as we get to know each other, as we learn about one another, and as we truly see all people in this wonderful world not just as friends and neighbors but as God’s children, our brothers and sisters—members of one family.