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CANADA AND SOUTH KOREA BECAME BORDERLESS WHEN STEPHEN GILL’S BOOK OF LOVE SONNETS WAS RELEASED

 

Cornwall (Ontario, Canada) :

Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL), headquartered in South Korea, sponsored the evening of the 25th of June 2016 at Ottawa City Hall, where Stephen Gill’s book of love sonnets, The Singer of Life, was released by the Hon’ble Chandra Arya, chief guest. The Hon’ble Arya, has been serving Canada, his adopted mother, in diverse landscapes of diverse dimensions for years with his indefatigable zeal. He has energy and an ardent desire to boost trade between Canada and India, particularly in the area of information technology which has successfully flourished in Bangalore, a cosmopolitan city of the state of Karnataka, where he and his wife Sangeetha were born. Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, is the centre of the high-tech industry. The Hon’ble guest pointed out the contributions of Canada to world peace and appreciated the works of Stephen Gill as a writer.

Representatives of the main religious groups were invited to speak on peace from their perspectives. The text of Stephen Gill’s talk is given below.

The evening was unique because the audiences, both in South Korea and at the City Hall of the capital of Canada, interacted simultaneously through communication technology that is creating a world of seamless borders to let also love and friendship flow freely. The evening of the 25th of June was a clear evidence of this global trend. The live audience of South Korea, displayed on a large screen, was chaired by Kevin Kang from South Korea, and the audience at Ottawa City Hall was chaired by Diane Choi, and Raj Singh.

Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) is chaired by Mr. Man Hee Lee, who travels across the globe to meet leaders for the cessation of wars and promotion of peace though he is in his late eighties, says Diane Choi, Canadian liaison.


TEXT OF STEPHEN GILL’S TALK

I feel honored to be at this memorable gathering of Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL). I am thankful to the Honorable Chandra Arya for releasing my book The Singer of Life, my love sonnets. The evening is memorable also because The Honorable Arya is a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and has a committed passion to serve his adopted mother and has been serving her for years in multiple capacities. His spouse, Sangeetha, has served her in her own singuler capacity as chief editor of an ethnic newspaper. She has edited this ethnic newspaper professionally and with full dedication.

Peace is the theme of this evening and my poetry and novels are the children of peace and love. Peace and prosperity go together. Often physical ailments, including heart problems, blood pressure, kidney impairment, some forms of cancers, and diabetes are tied with lack of peace. I have discussed this issue in detail in my novel The Coexistence. The issues of health and prosperity are obviously there, whether we talk of personal peace or talk of national peace or talk of global peace. In Christian as well as in Hindu thoughts God is peace, and where there is no peace there is no God, Where there is no peace there is fear, where there is no peace, there is sickness, where there is no peace, there is poverty, where there is no peace, there are problems in every shape.

Any nation that has chaos – any nation that has no peace— faces the problem of the brain drain in acute form. Highly skilled persons from such countries settle abroad. It affects also tourism. Tourism is an industry by itself. Several nations depend on tourists for their foreign currency. Several other industries within the country also depend on tourism. No tourist would like to visit a country where there is no security. No investor from other nation would dare to invest in that region where there is no security. Even those who have money take their money out of that country and deposit in foreign banks. Consequently, there is restlessness in the country. Politicians of such nations find ways to repress people. Politicians divert their attention by fabricating phobias. One phobia they fabricate is that their country is going to be invaded by neighbouring countries. They buy explosives—they buy arms— and use them against their own people to suppress them.

I agree with Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) about its concept of love—about its concept of peace. Both must be the cultures of Heaven if there is Heaven. I believe that love is the singer of life. I believe that love and peace walk side by side. I also believe both are cousins. I believe that love and peace are two sides of the same coin. I say about love in my novel The Coexistence that “Love is the language of God and God is peace. I also say often that a person is born to love and to receive love. Love is the thread that unites humans and non-humans at every level, and life disintegrates where the rays of love do not reach. The world Literatures testify that the language of God is their main driver. It is manifested in Indian mythological characters, both as sensuous and of passionate nature. Indian mythology is replete with the tales of love between gods and goddesses. All such stories in the world literatures point out that love is the basic human emotion that is translated in action in different ways.

My book of sonnets, The Singer of Life, is the outcome of the same love—the outcome of peace. I would conclude with my sonnet number 11:

I drift in fields and woods to find a Pagoda to see your gleam in my prolonged meditations on you.

Instead, I spot lifeless bones of the soundless stones. In which valleys and on which hills you coo

among the branches of my moans? I shall remain unmasked to glance at your simplicity and noble

purity. You’re the openness of the skies when a dove in flight. I adore you in the temple of my

creative taste where you are the flame that necessitates a rebirth in me to travel also the rough trails.

Thanks for listening so patiently, and I am thankful to the Hon’ble Chandra Arya again for releasing The Singer of Life, my love sonnets.

About STEPHEN GILL:

Multiple award winning Stephen Gill, Indo-Canadian poet and novelist, has authored more than twenty books. He is the subject of doctoral dissertations, and research papers. Eleven books have been released by book publishers on his works and more are on the way.

For other details on Stephen Gill's works and ideology, kindly visit the following sites:

www.stephengill.ca

www.stgephengillcriticism.info

Some poems about Stephen Gill can be found on www.writerslifelione.ca