Imagine... the World of Peace

When I first heard the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, I was somewhat skeptical about the phrase "Imagine there's no heaven". Although at one point of his life, Lennon denied his identity as a Christian, the lyrics denying heaven seemed to decrease my enthusiasm for the song. But, I believe that John Lennon included this with a deeper meaning. In his song, John Lennon suggests his listeners in three stanzas on things to imagine: no heaven, no countries, and no possessions. In someways, these are the things that causes conflict between nation to nation and person to person.

In the first thing to imagine, why did John Lennon mentioned "no heaven"? The question of after-life, either heaven or hell, is a huge controversy among religions and even inside one religion, different proposals exists on how after-life is going to be. In other words, this is a religious conflict. It is a philosophical conflict of after-life that divides people. And instead of arguing about a world that we will eventually meet, Lennon suggests that we must make the world that we live in today a better place first. As the classic poet Horace writes, "Carpe Diem". To some extent, it does not mean John Lennon does not believe in heaven, but the main point of his message is that it is pointless to argue about something that we cannot see, when there are other visible problems that lies ahead of us.

(What kind of world did John Lennon see behind his glasses?)

The second thing to imagine is "no countries". This resolves the problem of political conflict. It is clear that there has been many deaths that arose from political conflicts. And John Lennon sings even after his death, through his lyrics, "Imagine all the people living life in peace." Then, no longer people do not have to die for a cause that will not benefit them in any ways. To the people of this era, dreaming of such utopia, a peaceful world is only considered as a dream in this culture, as John Lennon writes that people may refer to him as a dreamer. This culture seems to be dominated by pop culture, but what would be a more meaningful cause to work for? On the last stanza, Lennon writes, "Imagine all the people sharing all the world...". We are often referred as a global family. I hope to see that the global family can set an example to the smaller families in the world by sharing with one another.

And these three things match with the vision of HWPL. Only difference is that the world is no world is no longer being imagined for some people. It is now being created through reality. Religions are coming to together accepting the fact that we are from one divine Creator. And politicians are becoming one under the banner of peace by working towards enacting an international law on ending all wars, so that no youths need to die. This idea was first proven through what happened in WARP Summit. And this message is what the Chairman preaches all over the world.

Imagine by John Lennon
Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one