Hall of Peace inaugurated

“It came to me in a dream, a dream inspired by Sri Aurobindo, when I had the opportunity to buy two huge logs of 300-year old Eastern Black Walnut,” wrote George Nakashima. “The richly grained rare timber asked to be used in its full length and width. The idea came to me to fashion from them Altars of Peace, each measuring approximately 3.3 by 3.3 metres, to fully express the texture, natural shape and free edges of the wood. The Altars, one for each continent on earth, would be places for people from all religions and faiths to gather together in prayer or silent meditation.”

The project took off in 1984 and the first Altar of Peace, the Altar for North America, was placed in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. It was dedicated on New Year’s Eve, 1986, in an impressive ceremony with a Concert for Peace conducted by Leonard Bernstein and in the presence of diplomats from many countries and representatives of many faiths.

After George Nakashima’s passing in 1990, his daughter Mira and son Kevin continued his legacy. This included finding suitable locations for the Altars of Peace or Sacred Peace Tables in the other five continents. Russia in particular became a focal point. George had a deep love for the Russian people and wished that the Peace Table for Europe would be located in Russia. But it was an epic struggle that took nearly 12 years.

The Peace Table for Europe was first dedicated in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York in 1995, in an occasion to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. But as the right place had yet to be found in Russia, the Table returned to its place of birth. In 1999, en route to Russia, it first traveled to The Hague in The Netherlands, where it served as a unifying presence at The Hague Appeal for Peace in May 1999. Among the thousands who visited it were young Greek and Turkish Cypriot teenagers who signed an agreement of mutual understanding and peace on this Table.

After the conference, the Table was stored in The Hague until it could continue its journey to its permanent home in the Russian Academy of Arts in Moscow, which was being renovated. Following the February 2001 opening of the Academy, on 26th June 2001, the Peace Table for Europe found a permanent place in its Peace Room. The 10th anniversary of its installation was celebrated at a ceremony on September 25th 2011, and George Nakashima was posthumously awarded an honorary designation as Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts – something which the Academy had never done before.

In the late 1990s, work had also started on the third Peace Table, the Peace Table for Asia. Some Aurovilians discussed with the executives of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace the possibility of Auroville hosting this Peace Table. The executives were interested – after all, George Nakashima had been a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and the City for Human Unity was a suitable option. In 1995, a formal request for the donation of this Table was made. The Nakashima Foundation for Peace responded positively and agreed to donate both the Table and the transportation costs. The Peace Table for Asia was inaugurated in Auroville on 29 February 1996 – the day which the Mother has called ‘The Golden Day’, for on this day, in 1956, the manifestation of the Supramental took place upon earth.

But also this Table did not find a permanent home immediately. Initially it was intended to be the focal point of Auroville’s Town Hall. That project did not materialize. In the meantime, the Centre for Indian Culture and the House of Mother’s Agenda hosted it for some time, until it found a place in the Unity Pavilion. Here it awaited the completion of its own space, the Hall of Peace. On February 11, almost 18 years after it had been inaugurated in Auroville, the Peace Table for South Asia found its permanent home in this Hall of Peace.

The Hall of Peace, designed by Piero and Gloria, is a circular building attached to the Unity Pavilion. The Peace Table is the Hall’s centre piece. The Table’s true function will now begin: to serve as a focal point for conflict resolution in all its forms.

The Nakashima Foundation for Peace has meanwhile started fund-raising for the fourth Peace Table for Africa, which is intended for a room in the yet to be constructed Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in South Africa. The locations of the remaining Peace Tables are yet to be determined. Australia is being considered for the next one. The wood planks, cut at the same time as those for the first ones, are there and await the construction of the next Peace Table.

The Nakashima Foundation for Peace is not only interested in placing a Peace Table in each of the six continents, but is also open to the idea of placing mini Peace Tables in other countries, such as Israel and Japan. One such mini Peace Table has been installed – in the White House in Washington DC in the personal quarters of President Barack Obama and his family.

Auroville's Hall of Peace was inaugurated in a simple and elegant ceremony with Toshi Amagasu, the great-grandson of George Nakashima, assisted by Jaya, lighting a candle on the Peace Table for Asia. A banner showing Mother's signature - the Bird of Peace descending upon earth - which has been adopted by the Hall of Peace, decorated a wall. Members of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace, distinguished guests and Aurovilians addressed the densely-packed audience about the meaning and history of the Peace Table for Asia and its future in Auroville. The inauguration was concluded by an Indian and an African drumming on the Table.