The Astana Commitment to Spiritual Concord and Human Security
Conference Honoring the 30th Anniversary of the Day of Spiritual Concord
Palace of Peace and Concord
Organized by Nur Sultan City Administration “Peace Through Culture, Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interconfessional and Inter-Civilization Dialogue
Astana , Kazakhstan
October 17-18, 2022
The foundation for human security is peace and a pillar of peace is spiritual concord. Nations, religions, ethnicities, and our world benefit by our respecting and honoring diversity in spiritual pursuits and expressions.
We come together from all over the world to serve the entire human family with our faith, our hearts, and our love. We thank the Creator of the Universe for the gift of living together and serving peace wherein spiritual concord can thrive and the beauty and dignity of being human can be fully realized.
As never before in history the conduct of humanity is threatening the regenerative processes of the natural world of which it is a part. Oceanic pollution, destruction of other species, depletion of rainforests, melting the ice caps, and changing the climate are but examples of our misdeeds. We have even created weapons to protect states, our creations, which could destroy humanity itself. We ourselves are making humanity an endangered species.
We cannot ignore our failure to live in harmony with the natural world and our duty to do so nor can we ignore our inadequacies in living in harmony with each other.
War and violence remain a present and increasing threat to the well-being of all and evidence a failure of dialogue, understanding, and diplomacy. In the nuclear age the pursuit of conquering others risks human survival itself.
Finding our common ground as human beings is consistent with the admonition of the wise since time immemorial to realize the human family as one and thus pursue concord amongst our diverse ways of living. This insight has now become a practical necessity.
We come together to contribute to a peace that encompasses all peoples, religions, and nations – a human security that will benefit all. Spiritually informed ideals are a lighthouse for the journey from danger to safety.
We know this journey is not easy. We have faith in the power that gives us life itself and the guidance of wisdom.
Thus, we affirm our personal and collective commitments:
To strive to treat all lives with love and compassion.
To reject distortions of religious, national, and racial prejudices, which are used to violate the Golden Rule to treat others as we wish to be treated.
To challenge the misuse of beliefs, rites, rituals, practices, philosophies, and traditions used to degrade anyone or which lead to violence.
To affirm the necessity of bringing love and compassion into action.
To improve the relationships of people, one nation to another, one religion to another, one belief system to another, one gender to another, one race to another, and one person to another.
We call upon all people of good will to join us in this pledge.
We pledge that in all we intend, think, and do, we shall strive to bring love and compassion into action and into the lives of all we meet.