Nobel Laureate YUNUS Leads Bangladesh
On 8/8/2024 -- Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate was sworn in as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government in Dhaka. It's important to remember that in 2006, Yusuf Cat Stevens performed his famous "The Peace Train" song Live at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Olso Norway! Let's continue to send our HOPE and support to the great leadership and vision of Dr. Yunus!
On 8 August 2024, Dr. Yunus, in his first speech to the struggling citizens of Bangladesh, a nation that has suffered decades of horrible violence under autocratic rule, stated the following:
“The brutal, autocratic regime is gone. Tomorrow, with the rising sun, democracy, justice, human rights, and full freedom of fearless expression
On 10 December 2006, Yunus was recognized and celebrated by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for establishing the Grameen Bank (Oct. 1983). He essentially became the founder of the worldwide microcredit movement
It is exciting to note that Dr. Yunus has close ties to Dr. King's birthplace and is celebrated by many as an official part-time resident like His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Dr. Yunus would love to see 'The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates' produced here where GREAT peacebuilders like Gandhi, King, and Carter are celebrated.
On 28 August 2010 (MLK's exact 47th Anniversary of "I HAVE A DREAM" Speech) Ms. Padma Ralllapli, Mr. Subash Razdan, Mr. Viren Mayani, BCom, BGL, MBA , and leaders with the Gandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA), the Indian American Cultural Association (IACA), and Pujari: The Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta (BAGA) hosted and celebrated Dr. Muhammad Yunus (NRI Pulse-Atlanta article).
On this "I HAVE A DREAM" Anniversary, and as a GFUSA board member and founder for the ATLANTA: City of Peace, Inc. (ACP) organization, I hand-delivered our invitation and proposal to Dr. Yunus to assist us in formalizing and transforming Dr. King's birthplace into a Global Capital of Peace.
Although Dr. Yunus did not directly reply to our 2010 invitation and accept (FYI: he gets hundreds of organization proposals annually) on his subsequent pilgrimage to "ATLANTA: City of Peace", on 29 September 2014, a local journalist Ms. Maria Saporta published an inspiring article that I was able to comment on, along with another ACP co-founder Shiva Vangara who is also Founder and Trustee at the Golden Change Foundation (GCF) in Pondicherry (a.k.a. Puducherry) India. Saporta's article from a decade ago in 2014...
Our "ATLANTA: City of Peace" (ACP) organization considers Dr. Yunus as an unofficial co-founder and we publicly invite him to make it more official whenever he wants to. He is about to succeed in leading (our Hope & Prayer) in the transformation of a nation crippled by violence. ACP, yes... WE HAVE A DREAM that Dr. Yunus will also lead in the transformation of Dr. King's birthplace into a Global Capital of Peace so that it may inspire and propel healing to Our Global Family: ONE Tribe.
Citizens of Atlanta and worldwide, we must do what we can to support artists and the arts because they are healers and make the future healthier. Writing, such as what Maria Saporta does, is one of the many facets of art. I learned this elevating perspective about art & artists when I met Dr. Yunus on 28 Aug. 2010 (see photo).
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Dr. Yunus proclaimed something VERY powerful and inspiring in his Atlanta speech on August 28, 2010 "I HAVE A DREAM" Anniversary... (Art by Mark Andresen )
It is WONDERFUL, auspicious, and probably intentional that Dr. Yunus was sworn in as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government on 8/8/2024. Numbers are fascinating because when you add up the numbers in the year 2024 it equals 8 too so you essentially have a grouping of 8/8/8, or three 8s.
You will be interested to know several religions consider the number 8 to be very special. In Islam, eight is the number of gates in heaven. And the Star or Seal of Solomon is an eight-pointed star that is associated with King Solomon. In Judaism, eight symbolizes that which is ineffable, or beyond the physical with its limited perfection. In Christianity, the number 8 represents a new era and the victory over death, or the resurrection of Jesus. In Buddhism and Jainism, groupings of eight auspicious symbols were originally used in ceremonies such as an investiture or coronation of a king. Therefore since Dr. Yunus became Bangladesh's chief adviser on 08/08/2024, it should be seen as 'a teaching tool' and connecting, or pointing 'to qualities of enlightened mindstream' (more about '8' symbolism see Ashtamangala).
8/8/8 is also very synonymous with Mr. George Hirthler , the inspiring Atlantan who wrote the winning Official Slogan for the Beijing Olympic Games which had its Grand Opening Ceremony on 8/8/8 at 8:08 PM. Mr. Hirthler, a leader on the team that had previously written the winning bid for the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games, first offered his powerful Slogan to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) because it indirectly referenced and honored Dr. King's Dream for a better world. Unfortunately, ACOG passed over it for another.
Liu Qi, President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) stated that George Hirthler's slogan 'ONE WORLD ONE DREAM' perfectly meets their requirements. This slogan for the 8/8/8 Beijing Olympic Games was selected from more than 210,000 entries received from around the world. Regarding his slogan, Hirthler stated, "It suggests something profound and leaves room for broad interpretations. While the phrase is simple, it is also profound. While it is personal, it is also universal. The repetition of one makes it easy to remember."
Dr. Yunus was installed as the beneficient Bangladesh leader (not king) on 08/08/2024. May we all find ways to assist him. George Hirthler is author of "The Idealist" and his GREAT slogan went global on 8/8/8 at 8:08 PM during the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. I am honored to be a proponent, student, and 'grasshopper' to Dr. Yunus, George Hirthler, and other great peacebuilders like Gandhi, King, President Carter: Most Productive Former President in US 248-Year History, and Baron Pierre de Coubertin, "le renovateur" of the contemporary 1896 Olympic Games which promotes "PEACE THROUGH SPORT" between citizens and nations worldwide.
Since the Olympics nurtures PEACE, then by default it also promotes JUSTICE. It is exciting to note that, through new Olympic initiatives and Title IX, the Paris Games were the 4th straight Olympics, where women won more Gold than men! Women worldwide are gaining deserved equality and this comprises part of the turmoil going on in Bangladesh -- men's reluctance to give it. Thomas Bach, the ninth President of the International Olympic Committee, stated the following in Paris: "The Olympic Games now have full gender parity. Together, you have all contributed to the Olympic Games of a new era in every respect and for this, you can be proud." [FYI: in 2022, IOC President Thomas Bach awarded the Olympic Pierre de Coubertin Medal to Mr. Hirthler].
As author of "The Declaration of Peace Millennium" which encompasses Years 2000-3000, I was inspired by George Hirthler and other synchronicity to publish it on 08/08/08.
Every single day of our lives is special so seize every moment to propel transformation within yourself, your family, friends, neighborhood, your city, state, and nation. Look at the examples of others who are helpers and follow them. Remember that when you work at propelling Peace you are also propelling Justice and vice/versa -- they are tightly connected. So that you may better remember your social actions and initiatives, I recommend connecting them with other special dates, events, and anniversaries. For example, I will always know that my Declaration is linked to 8/8/1786 when the US Congress unanimously selected the dollar as the monetary unit for the newly formed United States of America, and that on 8/8/1945 President Harry Truman signed the United Nations Charter.