Good afternoon. The first item of business, as it is every Wednesday, is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh.

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh (Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha):

Brothers and sisters, it is a privilege and an honour to be here. I will talk about leadership and service.

In these extremely challenging times, our most important national and international institutions are being challenged as people demand committed and dynamic leadership that effectively serves the interests of the citizens of the world. There is a growing call for those institutions to be people led and value centred, and an ever-increasing recognition of the importance of dialogue and co-operative action.

One needs for leadership growth of character and the complete cultivation and growth of human nature. The spirit needs the help of the body as much as the body needs the help of the spirit. Spiritual awakening, or general enlightenment, is the first and foremost factor. Godliness that is practised in the midst of worldly duties can make the difference. One must have a personal example of pure life. Truth is higher than everything, but truthful living is higher still. The recipe for personal character building is purity, patience, fear of God, love, suffering and connection with divinity. Humility is equally important. By sinking the pride of self, one learns to love others; doing so generates unity with which one acquires a sense of other people's rights. As a result, true democracy begins.

Obedience is important for those who know best how to command and who have known how best to obey. Equality for all, service for others, self-sacrifice, sternness of justice tempered with mercy and coolness of judgment are the factors that are most needed for leadership.

Leaders who have left an indelible mark on humanity in recent times include Nelson Mandela, whose name is inseparable from forgiveness and reconciliation; Mahatma Gandhi, because of his advocacy of non-violence; Kenneth Kaunda, because of his deep humanism; and Martin Luther King, because of his relentless commitment to social justice. Each of those leaders embodied a vision, a passion and, above all, a commitment to serving the people. The qualities that we most revere are associated with the divine power.

Similarly, the qualities that the major religious leaders, such as the Prophet Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh Ji, showed and advocated—eternal vision, commitment, compassion, truthfulness, humility, selflessness, contentment, altruism, charity, responsibility to others, a relentless capacity for selfless service and an abundance of love—were immense. Those leaders were motivational and had the capacity to bring the best rather than the worst out of people. Without a doubt, they fundamentally altered the course of history.

Effective leadership must be imbued with the spirit of Nishkam Sewa—selfless service—and must be approached in utter humility. Effective leadership aimed at selflessly serving the community begins in the mind. The human mind is immensely powerful, with the dual capacity to be either one's best friend or one's worst enemy. It is only through constant prayer and humble, selfless service that it becomes one's most treasured friend and ally. When allowed to be one's enemy, it can propel one towards greed, cruelty, lies, selfishness, arrogance, hate and condemnation. Prayer is the greatest asset available to assist the mind. The cultivation and empowerment of the friendly mind generates an inner peace that pervades and impacts on the individual, the family and the community, as well as nationally and globally.

When leaders operate by subscribing to a higher moral code, they become accountable not only to the communities that they serve, but also to the divine power. Trust and credibility are essential prerequisites to being able to build and unleash the potential inherent in the communities that leaders serve. Such leaders are inherently aware that they are responsible ultimately to God and have to be particularly vigilant about governance and accountability. They carry out their work with considerable zeal and passion, which gives them credibility and the capacity to demonstrate, through practice, the ideas and ideals to which they are committed.

Effective leadership must be enhanced through a comprehensive education strategy that breaks down the seemingly insurmountable divide between us and them. That education needs to begin at home, within families, continue through schools and institutes of higher education and, ultimately, through politicians, legislators, governments and multilateral organisations. Such an education strategy must have both a secular and a spiritual dimension to instil in us the values and responsibilities that ensure that we are able to serve the creator and his creation.

Leaders must be at the forefront of educating members of their faiths as well as members of other faiths about the commonalities between the faiths and the need to love and serve all humanity. That will ensure not just that we are tolerant of others, but that we are prepared to accept, respect and love both our and others' beliefs—indeed, that we are able to sacrifice the self for the other. Such a deep spiritual bond is the best way to ensure that this becomes the century in which leadership, instilled with a commitment to service, alters the very course of history.