Greetings from R I President Mark Maloney and the First Lady Gay. My District Governor of RI District 3141 Rtn. HarjitTalwar and his gracious lady Romi and over 5500 Rotarians of our District send you their greetings.
My wife Nayantara and I deem it an honor to have been asked by First Lady Gay and President Mark Maloney to represent them in your wonderful district conference. RI President Mark and his gracious lady Gay wanted to be personally present at this District Conference. But his commitment to his office made his presence here difficult. His loss is my gain.
Your D G Khairul Alam has received a personal letter from RI President that states how much Mark personally wanted to be here to know the good work you all are doing in District 3281. He loves your District. He speaks highly of the great work Rotarians of this District doing. He admires the leadership and the Rotarians of this District that makes it possible.
Let me express my very sincere gratitude to D G Khairul Alam for the hospitality and love with which Nayantara and myself have been greeted. We have renewed our friendship made in 2013 when Nayantara and I visited your District during the leadership of PDG Istiaque,
When R I President Mark exhorts us with his message that Rotary Connects the World, he expects Rotarians to expand their connections with others in the world and enrich their own lives. He is asking us to approach people with humility and enjoy life with a sense of wonder and discovery.
If you challenge yourself to see and try new things in your life you will begin to appreciate the diversity amongst people and you will celebrate their views.
You would have made a connection. To make a genuine connection with others you have to step out of your comfort zone. That is where the seeds of connection begin to sprout between people.
When you step out in the world, you are a citizen who will be required to work alongside thousands of people like you.
Your values as a Rotarian will be the pillars that hold Rotary up. Unless we are all connected how can we share our values?
It is the connection that you have with every other person in the club and in the community that helps you do good projects, build a global community that will work together and support one another.
Connection starts with inclusivity. You must value each other’s contributions and hold the conviction that only from diverse backgrounds and divergent point of view we can find the best solution.
If we were to make Rotary connect the world we must have vision to convert our Ambition to succeed in our Mission. Our Vision is Service and our task is to generate performance with innovation and value addition.
We can only make Rotary Connect the World if we have the attributes of Leadership and the knowledge of how to go about doing it.
Since Service is our goal , our destination, our ultimate dream , we must realize that life is worth living only if you live for others.
When we live for others and motivate all around us to give something back to the society that has given us our successes and our achievements, we fulfill one of the most important attributes of a Rotarian – SERVICE ABOVE SELF.
When you try to make Rotary connect the world, you give direction to your efforts.
When you try to make Rotary Connect the world you provide a beacon of light for others to follow.
When you make Rotary connect the world you project your commitment to Service.
We are living in challenging times. Though lesser number of people are dying due to diseases, we have to eradicate all major life threatening diseases from the world.
Though many more children are going to school we have to aim for 100 percent literacy everywhere.
Though economic activity is rising in many countries, unemployment is still a major issue in developing countries.
Whatever progress happened did not happen by accident. They happened because countless people toiled for many years. Many of them have been Rotarians.
If this progress is to be sustained we need peace in the world. This peace can happen only when we can connect with others .
We live in ever changing world. In fact it is changing so quickly that we often wonder, “What Will it be like for our children and more importantly for our grand children.”
We know that we cannot answer this question with any degree of certainty. And yet why do we ask this question again and again?
We ask because we care –
We care about the people- other people.
We care about our Community and Communities around the world.
We care about promoting good will and peace .
And we care about our world and its future.
Today people around the world need Rotary more than ever. The needs are greater and more diverse than before.
The challenges are greater. Look around, open the news papers, switch on your T V sets and images of war, terrorism, food scarcity in many places, corruption and starvation fill the screen and the papers.
There is so much darkness. But it is better to light a candle than remain in the darkness. Because light of even single candle can pierce the deepest darkness.
Light a candle and make rotary connect the world.
Our Ancient Texts advise us —
If you believe in Prayer- Pray ,
If You believe in Giving – Give .
If you believe in service- Serve .
My fellow Rotarians, you and me are excellent musicians. Our music is meant to be heard. I want to live my life fully.
I would rather burn out than rust out. I came across a Persian proverb, “I wept because I had no shoes, until I came across a man who had no feet.”
It is very easy to magnify our problems and lose sight of the many blessings we have.
Happiness is found in investing our lives in others. Giving ourselves fully when, probably they asked you only for a helping hand.
Serving through Rotary giving your time and talent is the Best way to thank God for the abundance he has given in your life.
My favorite Philosopher Ralf Waldo Emerson said it best, “To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived that is to have succeeded “ . Rotary is that power of one multiplied many times over.”
Light that one candle and make Rotary connect the people of the world .
The one Billion who go hungry every day , the 1.2 billion who are illiterate and innumerate, the millions who lack access to proper sanitation and health care . They all need Rotary. Rotary provides them with hope and help . And each new member enables us to do more .
Membership growth and Retention is at the very heart of Rotary . All our dreams and hope for service to humanity will come to naught if we do not meet Membership challenge head on . I believe we must search for the right people and not people with right Classification .
Bob Barth was R I President when I was the District Governor and I remember him saying “ if we want to see another century of Rotary we must make Rotary more attractive to young people “.
And this year we commit not only to meet President Mark Maloney’s challenge of membership growth but we in all over the world in general and R I District 3281 in particular will strive to exceed that .
New members bring a Breath of fresh Air
Open your hearts and draw qualified, interested young people into the Fold of Rotary.
If Rotarians are the heart and soul of Rotary, TRF is its Backbone. Rotarians joined Rotary because they wanted to help and make the world a better place . And TRF helps us to do it .
That’s why it is important to know about EREY , The Every Rotarian Every Year Initiative of TRF . Only EREY , can ensure the long term health of TRF .
Only when each Rotarian contributes and support TRF each and every year , whatever the amount , the long term health of TRF can be ensured.
That’s the goal , That’s the challenge . I am confident the Rotarians of this fine District will accept this and they SHALL meet it .
Today’s world needs heroes, not celebrities. All of us in Rotary are ordinary people with busy lives, striving to do our best .
Quietly in hundreds and thousands of ways .we are working to make the world a better, healthier and safer place . Service above self is the Motto of every Rotarian and world peace our ultimate goal .
You will appreciate that we the Rotarians must be strongly motivated, in our choice of Service much more by what is practical and necessary than by what tugs as our emotions .
We must identify and co operatively involve others . Rotary Service cannot be one way street – Every Project should have the involvement of the community for whom we are doing.
Yes Friends, as Rotarians, we know that it is not enough to dream about a better world . A better world is possible only if we the Rotarians put our best , through our careful planning , honest co operation, sincerity, dedication, commitment and hard work .
The things will not move on their own – we the Rotarians will have to make Rotary connect the world .
Have you heard the Ant philosophy? I think everyone should study about the ife of ants. They have an amazing 4 part philosophy.
1st Part – Ants Never Quit
If they are headed somewhere and you try to put a obstacle in their path , they will look for another way . They will climb over , they will climb under , they will look for another way . Never quit looking for a way to get where you are supposed to go.
2nd Part – Ants think about winter all summer.
That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever . So ants are gathering their winter food in the middle of summer.
There is an old saying “Don’t build your home on the sand in summer “ . Why do we need such an advice? It’s important to think ahead. In summer you have got to think about the storm. You have got to look ahead and be prepared.
3rd part of Ant philosophy is stay positive.
That’s very important. During the winter ants remind themselves “ this won’t last long . We will soon be out of here “.
And the first warm day the ants are out in numbers. They can’t wait to get out . Stay positive and focus on the positive. I am reminded of the words of Poet Khalil Gibran “in every winter’s heart lies in quivering spring, behind the veil of each night waits a smiling dawn.”
4th part – “How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare itself for the winter?” All that it possibly can. What an incredible philosophy!
Look closely and you will find all 4 parts apply closely to Rotary.
1- Never Quit : whatever the hurdles. We have the skills and we have the desire to build a better future. So never Quit and make Rotary Connect the World .
2- Look ahead and be prepared: To be successful we must prepare well . Let Rotary Connect the World by promising a lot, preparing well and delivering even more .
3- Stat positive and Focus on the Positive : Practice forgiveness.
Be willing to forgive those who make honest mistakes . There will be people who do nothing, say nothing and contribute nothing. Forgive them too .
There is so much good going in your club , in your District and Community. Focus on that . Make the Rotary connect the world by focusing on the positive.
4- Do all that you can : There is no substitute for hard work . Success is spelled W-O- R- K. Today we stand on the edge of destiny limited only by our own vision.
Unless we work hard, that vision will remain as a vision. Remember, only in the dictionary success comes before work.
When Christopher Columbus sailed west in the ship Santa Maria he sailed under the flag of queen Isabella of Spain , which bore the motto “ NE PLUS ULTRA “ meaning “ Nothing Further “ .
When Columbus returned with his findings about the New World – The Queen ordered the Ne to be removed so that the motto now read “PLUS ULTRA “ meaning “ Further Onward” .
It meant Columbus had chartered, previously uncharted territory and now New Horizon and New Opportunities lay before those who desired to seize them . That speaks volumes for the foresight and forward- looking vision of Queen Isabella .
Take the road less traveled ; sure you may stub your toe now and then but remember “ Fortune is not on the side of faint hearted “.
You can choose to spend your time sitting on the shore and staring at the water and waiting for some pearls to wash upon the shore . Or you can climb deep into the water and discover some pearls .
Our elders used to say “ You cannot discover New Lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time “!
Noted French physician Albert Schweitzer observed “ I do not know what your destiny will be , but one thing I do know , The only ones among you will be happy are those who have sought and found how to Serve “.
Light the candle and make Rotary connect the world by providing Happiness through Rotary. Have a Wonderful District Conference.