My Beloved Brothers and Sisters:

I am overwhelmed with joy to see the entire youth of America gathered here in the name of the fine art of music. In fact, through the music we can work wonders. Music is a celestial sound and it is the sound that controls the whole universe, not atomic vibrations. Sound energy, sound power, is much, much greater than any other power in this world. And, one thing I would very much wish you all to remember. With sound we can make and, at the same time, break. Even in the war-field, to make the tender heart an animal, sound is used. Without that war band, that terrific sound, man will not become animal to kill his own brethren. So that proves that you can break with sound and if we care, we can make also. So I am very happy to see that we are all here gathered to create some sounds-to find that peace and joy through the celestial music. And I am really very much honored for having been given this opportunity of opening this great, great music Festival. I should have come a little earlier to do that job, but as you all know, thousands of brothers and sisters are on the way and it's not that easy to reach here.

America leads the whole world in several ways. Very recently when I was in the East, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi met me and asked me what's happening in America and I said, "America is becoming a whole. America is helping everybody in the material field, but the time has come for America to help the whole world with spirituality also." And, that's why from the length and breadth, we see people-thousands of people, yoga-minded, spiritual-minded... (Read the entirety of Sri Gurudev's Woodstock talk in the Commemorative Issue, "Boundless Giving.")