The UN Meditation Room—an Esoteric Perspective*
The United Nations Meditation Room was first opened on October 14, 1952. The existence of this room was a hard won battle by a group that included such prominent people as J.C. Penny, Warren Austin who had been the Chief of the U.S. Mission to the UN, and others. This same group also saw to it that there would be a moment of silence at the beginning and closing of each General Assembly—a tradition continued until today.1
Indicating the difficult, uphill battle that this group was waging, one of the UN officials is said to have remarked that it would take an Archangel to find space for a prayer room in the UN building.
The original meditation room was later transformed by Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld who served as the UN Secretary-General from 1953-1961—his term being cut short by a tragic airplane crash over Zambia, which killed him and all others on board.
Because of his published journal, Markings, where we get a glimpse into the inner life of this man, Dag Hammarskjöld has been referred to as a modern day Mystic. He recognized and articulated the need for spirituality to be at the center of the United Nations and he is often quoted as saying that world peace would not occur without a spiritual renaissance on our planet.
In the midst of the many crises with which he contended, he took on as a special personal project, the enlargement and reconstruction of what became known as the UN Meditation Room—A Room of Quiet. For example, he is known to have visited the room at 2 a.m. in the morning supervising the painters to make sure that the light in the room would be to his specifications. In his private correspondence that can be found in the UN Research Library, one letter refers to the floor plan, which as he wrote “has been described in detail and marked with red lines.” And, for the sake of precision, he writes that he gave the dimensions in centimeters. He even included a memo for some weaving instructions for the rug that was to be placed in a very specific part of the room.
At the center of the room he placed a great slab of raw iron ore, millions of years old, in its purest form that he had shipped from Sweden. Weighing six tons, he described this magnetic piece of rock as representing the qualities of timelessness and strength, while pointing to humanity’s need to choose, as he said, between destruction and construction, between war and peace. Quoting from his dedication, “of iron man has forged his swords, of iron he has also made his ploughshares. Of iron he has constructed his tanks, but of iron he has likewise built homes for man. The block of iron ore is part of the wealth we have inherited on this earth of ours. How are we to use it?”
Striking this huge slab of iron ore is a single shaft of light, symbolizing the light of the skies or of heaven meeting the light of earth—spirit contacting and joining with matter.
His intention was to create in this small room a place where the doors may be open to the infinite lands of thought and prayer, a place for silent reflection and meditation, and thus, he commissioned his artist friend from Sweden, Bo Beskow, to design a fresco for this room, which turned out to be an abstract of geometrical designs entitled Infinity, itself replete with symbolism that invokes from the onlooker, transcendent energies by directing the eye, mind and heart to harmonious, sacred, universal patterns, including the circle, which many identify as the sun of our universe—the life-giving effulgence, being in its turn the emblem of the Soul.
As with any truly occult or spiritual symbol, this room represents more than meets the eye. It is replete with significant symbols, and the numerology, astrology and sacred geometry that are all a part of this very small room radiate their own silent but powerful spiritual vibrations, invoking the Soul of this organization, through the people who therein work and through all the world’s citizens who identify with its purpose.
I would like to share some of these with you. First and foremost, is the significance of the date of birth—10/14/1952—hence, the room came into existence seven years after the creation of the United Nations. As we know, the seven year cycle is deeply important and it is at age seven that the soul first takes hold or begins to appropriate the form/body. Through this birth date, we note also the Life Lesson Number—that is, the cosmic gifts with which one can accomplish one’s destiny, and see that it is a five (10+14+1952 = 41/5 or 14/5).
The Ageless Wisdom teaches that the number five is one of the most occult and the most deeply significant of the numbers. It represents the Soul or the fifth group of divine lives who have combined within themselves the dual attributes of the universe—the spiritual and the physical, unifying within themselves the two poles. The five vibration therefore includes both the esoteric and the exoteric; the objective and the subjective. The late Manly Hall, President and Founder of the Philosophical Research Society in California, also refers to the number five as representing the human soul rising from the bondage of the animal nature. Additionally, the goal of the number five is “freedom” or Liberation. It is here significant to mention that in the book, Esoteric Healing, published by the Lucis Trust, the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, refers to “The Liberation of humanity by the United Nations.” (p. 261)
If we take the date 11/11/1957, which is the date when the doors of the transformed meditation room were officially opened, the Life Lesson Number of this second birth or, reincarnation, if you will, is all about master numbers, beginning with eleven and ending in 44 (11 + 11 + 1957/22 = 44)—all indicating a great spiritual potential.
There are those who point to the design as a trapezoidal room, recognizing that the architects of this very small room physically located just below the majestic General Assembly, includes an abundance of rich, universal symbolism, appealing to the most harmonious within each individual who therein sits, reflects, thinks and prays, thereby providing just the right space for “a place where the doors may be open to the infinite lands of thought and prayer”, as per Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld’s dedication.2
We know too that the Symbol of the Aquarian Age, as it appears in all the ancient zodiacs is that of a person bearing a jar of water which the Aquarian pours out as needed in order to sustain and enrich all life. The message of this emerging age is one of unity, communion and a relationship of brotherhood derived from the fact that we all gain our sustenance from the same cosmic source.
Accordingly, the keynote of all spiritual progress in this evolving Age of Aquarius is a love of humanity. It is this fact that will indicate the awakening of humanity's collective heart center. And, it is this idea that is enshrined in the very first article of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which reads that all human beings should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Only as the United Nations realizes its goals and objectives can humanity move into the prophesied shift of the Ages, allowing for millions to undergo the first and second initiations, thus transforming life on our planet, resulting in the supremely grand goal—18 ½ million years old—of helping planet Earth shift from a non-sacred to a sacred planet.
Therefore, our need and responsibility to contribute in whatever way we can to the success of this organization, is really not about the organization itself; rather, it is about contributing to the Plan of Love and Light; it is about cooperating with the great Spiritual Beings who have been working for the past millions of years to establish the Good, the Beautiful and the True on Planet Earth—because that is part of the Cosmic Plan.
How, then, can we—through our meditations—support and help strengthen the spiritual work of the United Nations?
As we know, meditation is a powerful method of planetary service. In meditation we use the mind as a channel for the reception of the energies of light and love and the will-to-good and direct these energies into the United Nations and into human consciousness. And the time of the Solar Festivals each month offers the greatest opportunity for meditation, for it is at these times that the energies can more readily reach our planet.
We are each of us as radio sets bathed in a sea of energy, and we have the opportunity to strive to tune in to those subtler and more rarified spiritual energies and ideas that we refer to as Light, Love and the Will-to-Good, thereby becoming part of the circulatory divine flow; breathing in and breathing out the Good, the Beautiful and the True.
Can we now strive to contribute to this work of the ages as we apply ourselves to the meditation?
*Adapted from a talk given by Ida Urso, Ph. D., at the Libra Solar Festival Meditation Meeting to Support the Work of the United Nations,Sunday, 16 October 2005; 5:30 P.M. - 7:00 P.M., Main Floor Meditation Room, Quest Book Shop, 240-242 E. 53rd Street, New York City.
1See also the Dag Hammarskjold Website.
2See the dedication HERE.
