Holding hands, joining hearts

“In the mountains, there is friendship. Nothing joins people together like mountains do. On the most perilous paths, we join hand in hand and converse heart to heart…So, let us solve the world’s problems in the mountains. Let Krushchev, Johnson, Nehru and Mao come here to talk.”

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(from "Unforgettable Friends", a collection of SGI President Ikeda's impressions on his dialogues with world leaders)

Who said these sagacious words? This was Tenzing Norgay, an ordinary Sherpa guide, who, with Edmund Hillary became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Much of history lauded Edmund Hillary’s achievement, but he couldn’t have done it without Tenzing Norgay. It was an ordinary mountain guide who made the conquest of Everest possible.

The pictures of the flower formation and the human mini-towers alone remind me of what Norgay had said. In doing these physically demanding moves, the youthful participants of the Merdeka 50 performance had to trust each other completely and join hands and hearts. Here, complete strangers come and put aside their fears and worries and learn to trust each other and work together towards a greater goal. Here, they put aside whatever personal issues and come to join hands with friends.

Leaders of the world! Put aside your lesser self, and come and see true friendship in action! Come here, join hands and link hearts. Leave your masks behind and come as you are. Come here to talk and to end the conflicts plaguing the world!

Come here to Stadium Merdeka and open the golden door to world peace!