My failed mission to find God -- and what I found instead | Anjali Kumar

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

A few years ago,

Pre nekoliko godina,

I set out on a mission to find God.

krenula sam u misiju da pronađem boga.

Now, I'm going to tell you right up front that I failed,

Odmah ću vam reći da nisam uspela,

which, as a lawyer,

što je meni, kao advokatu,

is a really hard thing for me to admit.

zaista teško da priznam.

But on that failed journey,

Ali, na tom neuspelom putovanju

a lot of what I found was enlightening.

je mnogo toga što sam pronašla bilo prosvetljujuće.

And one thing in particular gave me a lot of hope.

Jedna stvar mi je pogotovo dala mnogo nade.

It has to do with the magnitude and significance of our differences.

Ima veze sa izraženošću i značajem naših različitosti.

So, I was raised in America by Indian parents -- culturally Hindu,

Odgajili su me u Americi roditelji Indusi, u kulturnom pogledu Hindu,

but practicing a strict and relatively unknown religion outside of India

ali su upražnjavali strogu religiju koja je relativno nepoznata izvan Indije,

called Jainism.

zvanu đainizam.

To give you an idea of just how minority that makes me:

Da vam dam predstavu o tome koliko sam u manjini zbog toga,

people from India represent roughly one percent of the US population;

ljudi iz Indije predstavljaju otprilike jedan odsto stanovništva SAD-a;

Hindus, about 0.7 percent;

hinduisti oko 0,7 posto;

Jains, at most .00046 percent.

đainisti najviše 0,00046 posto.

To put that in context:

Da to stavimo u kontekst,

more people visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory each year

više ljudi svake godine poseti fabriku plišanih meda u Vermontu

than are followers of the Jain religion in America.

nego što ima sledbenika đainizma u Americi.

To add to my minority mix, my parents then decided,

Da doprinesu mojoj manjinskoj kombinaciji, moji roditelji su potom rešili:

"What a great idea! Let's send her to Catholic school" --

„Sjajna ideja! Pošaljimo je u katoličku školu!“ -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

where my sister and I were the only non-white,

gde smo moja sestra i ja bile jedini učenici

non-Catholic students in the entire school.

u celoj školi koji nisu beli i nisu katolici.

At the Infant Jesus of Prague School in Flossmoor, Illinois --

U Školi praškog malog Isusa u Flosmuru u Ilinoisu -

yes, that's really what it was called --

da, stvarno se tako zove -

we were taught to believe that there is a single Supreme Being

učili su nas da verujemo da postoji jedinstveno vrhovno biće

who is responsible for everything,

koje je odgovorno za sve,

the whole shebang,

čitavu stvar,

from the creation of the Universe to moral shepherding to eternal life.

od stvaranja univerzuma i moralnog usmeravanja do večnog života.

But at home,

Međutim, kod kuće su me učili nečemu sasvim drugom.

I was being taught something entirely different.

Followers of the Jain religion

Sledbenici đainizma

don't believe in a single Supreme Being

ne veruju u jedinstveno vrhovno biće,

or even a team of Supreme Beings.

pa čak ni u tim vrhovnih bića.

Instead, we're taught that God manifests

Umesto toga su nas učili da se bog manifestuje

as the perfection of each of us as individuals,

kao savršenstvo svakog od nas kao pojedinca

and that we're actually spending our entire lives

i da zapravo provodimo čitav život

striving to remove the bad karmas

u težnji da uklonimo lošu karmu

that stand in the way of us becoming our own godlike, perfect selves.

koja se isprečava na našem putu da postanemo svoje božansko, savršeno ja.

On top of that, one of the core principles of Jainism

Povrh toga, jedan od suštinskih principa đainizma

is something called "non-absolutism."

je nešto što se zove „neapsolutizam“.

Non-absolutists believe that no single person

Neapsolutisti veruju da nijedna osoba

can hold ownership or knowledge of absolute truth,

ne može posedovati niti znati apsolutnu istinu,

even when it comes to religious beliefs.

čak i kada se radi o religijskim verovanjima.

Good luck testing that concept out

Čik isprobajte taj koncept

na sveštenicima i kaluđericama u svojoj katoličkoj školi.

on the priests and nuns in your Catholic school.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

No wonder I was confused

Nije ni čudo što sam bila zbunjena

and hyperaware of how different I was from my peers.

i preterano svesna svoje različitosti u odnosu na svoje vršnjake.

Cut to 20-something years later,

Premotajte film 20 godina kasnije

and I found myself to be a highly spiritual person,

i smatram sebe veoma spiritualnom osobom,

but I was floundering.

ali bila sam nestalna.

I was spiritually homeless.

Bila sam duhovni beskućnik.

I came to learn that I was a "None,"

Saznala sam da sam „nijedno“,

which isn't an acronym or a clever play on words,

što nije skraćenica niti pametna igra rečima,

nor is it one of these.

a nije ni ovako nešto.

It's simply the painfully uninspired name

To je jednostavno bolno neinspirativni naziv

given to everyone who checks off the box "none"

koje se daje svima koji štrikliraju opciju „nijedno“

when Pew Research asks them about their religious affiliation.

kada ih Istraživački centar Pju pita kojoj religiji pripadaju.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, a couple of interesting things about Nones are:

Par zanimljivih stvari o „nijednima“:

ima nas mnogo

there are a lot of us,

and we skew young.

i pretežno smo mladi.

In 2014, there were over 56 million religiously unaffiliated Nones

Godine 2014. bilo je više od 56 miliona „nijednih“ bez verske pripadnosti

in the United States.

u Sjedinjenim Državama.

And Nones account for over one-third of adults

„Nijedni“ obuhvataju više od trećine odraslih

between the ages of 18 to 33.

starosti između 18 i 33 godine.

But the most interesting thing to me about Nones

Ali je po meni najzanimljivija stvar vezana za „nijedne“

is that we're often spiritual.

to da smo često spiritualni.

In fact, 68 percent of us believe, with some degree of certainty,

Zapravo, 68 posto nas veruje, sa određenim stepenom sigurnosti,

that there is a God.

da postoji bog.

We're just not sure who it is.

Samo nismo sigurni ko je to.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So the first takeaway for me

Prvo što sam uvidela

when I realized I was a None and had found that information out

kada sam shvatila da sam „nijedno“ i došla do ove informacije

was that I wasn't alone.

je da nisam sama.

I was finally part of a group in America

Konačno sam bila deo grupe u Americi

that had a lot of members,

koja je imala mnogo članova,

which felt really reassuring.

što me je zaista ohrabrivalo.

But then the second, not-so-reassuring takeaway

Ali drugo što sam uvidela, a što nije tako ohrabrujuće,

was that, oh, man, there are a lot of us.

je da, o čoveče, ima nas puno.

That can't be good,

To ne može biti dobro,

because if a lot of highly spiritual people are currently godless,

jer ako je veliki broj izuzetno spiritualnih ljudi trenutno bezbožno,

maybe finding God is not going to be as easy as I had originally hoped.

možda pronalaženje boga neće biti tako lako kao što sam se isprva nadala.

So that is when I decided that on my spiritual journey,

Tada sam odlučila da ću na svom duhovnom putovanju

I was going to avoid the obvious places

zaobilaziti očigledna mesta,

and skip the big-box religions altogether

sasvim preskočiti najveće religije

and instead venture out into the spiritual fringe

i umesto toga zaći u sporedne duhovne ulice

of mediums

medijuma,

and faith healers

verskih iscelitelja

and godmen.

i ljudi-bogova.

But remember, I'm a non-absolutist,

Ali upamtite, ja sam neapsolutista,

which means I was pretty inclined to keep a fairly open mind,

što znači da sam prilično sklona da budem prilično otvorenog uma,

which turned out to be a good thing,

što se ispostavilo kao dobra stvar,

because I went to a witch's potluck dinner

jer sam otišla na večeru veštica

at the LGBT Center in New York City,

u Centru LGBT zajednice u Njujorku,

where I befriended two witches;

gde sam se sprijateljila sa dve veštice;

drank a five-gallon jerrican full of volcanic water

ispila kanister od 19 litara pun vulkanske vode

with a shaman in Peru;

sa šamanom u Peruu;

got a hug from a saint in the convention center --

dobila zagrljaj od svetice u kongresnom centru -

she smelled really nice --

baš je lepo mirisala -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

chanted for hours in a smoke-filled, heat-infused sweat lodge

satima pojala u kolibi punoj dima i sparine

on the beaches of Mexico;

na plažama Meksika,

worked with a tequila-drinking medium to convene with the dead,

radila sa medijumom koja je pila tekilu na prizivanju mrtvih,

who oddly included both my deceased mother-in-law

koji su nekim čudom ubrajali moju pokojnu svekrvu

and the deceased manager of the hip-hop group The Roots.

i preminulog menadžera hip-hop grupe The Roots.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Yeah, my mother-in-law told me she was really happy

Da, svekrva mi je rekla da je baš srećna

her son had chosen me for his wife.

što me je njen sin odabrao za ženu.

Duh! But --

Logično! Ali -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Yeah.

Da.

But the manager of The Roots

Ali menadžer grupe The Roots

said that maybe I should cut back on all the pasta I was eating.

je rekao da bih možda malo da smanjim količinu testenine koju jedem.

I think we can all agree

Mislim da ćemo se složiti

da je moj muž imao sreće da nije njegova mrtva majka

that it was lucky for my husband that it wasn't his dead mother

ta koja je predložila da smanjim ugljene hidrate.

who suggested I lay off carbs.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I also joined a laughing yoga group out of South Africa;

Takođe sam se pridružila grupi joge smeha iz Južne Afrike,

witnessed a woman have a 45-minute orgasm --

prisustvovala orgazmu jedne žene od 45 minuta -

I am not making this up --

ne izmišljam -

as she tapped into the energy of the universe --

kada je zaronila u energiju univerzuma -

I think I'm going to go back there --

mislim da ću se vratiti tamo -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

called God from a phone booth in the Nevada desert at Burning Man,

zvala boga iz govornice u pustinji u Nevadi na festivalu Burning Man,

wearing a unitard and ski goggles;

u jednodelnom kostimu i sa naočarima za skijanje;

and I had an old Indian guy lie on top of me,

i jedan stari Indus je ležao na meni

and no, he wasn't my husband.

i, ne, nije bio moj muž.

This was a perfect stranger named Paramji,

To je bio potpuni stranac po imenu Paramdži

and he was chanting into my chakras

i pojao je u moje čakre

as he tapped into the energy forces of the Universe to heal my "yoni,"

dok je prodirao u energetske sile univerzuma da zaleči moju „joni“,

which is a Sanskrit word for "vagina."

što je na sanskritu reč za „vaginu“.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I was going to have a slide here,

Trebalo je da ovde bude slajd,

but a few people suggested

ali nekoliko ljudi je sugerisalo

that a slide of my yoni at TED -- even TEDWomen --

da slajd sa mojom joni na TED-u - pa čak i na konferenciji TEDWoman -

not the best idea.

nije baš najbolja ideja.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Very early in my quest,

Vrlo rano u svom pohodu

I also went to see the Brazilian faith healer John of God

išla sam da vidim brazilskog verskog iscelitelja Jovana Božjeg

at his compound down in Brazil.

u njegovom kompleksu u Brazilu.

Now, John of God is considered a full-trance medium,

Jovana Božjeg smatraju medijumom u potpunom transu,

which basically means he can talk to dead people.

što u suštini znači da može da govori sa mrtvima.

But in his case, he claims to channel a very specific group

Ali, u njegovom slučaju, on tvrdi da je kanal za vrlo specifičnu grupu

of dead saints and doctors

mrtvih svetaca i doktora

in order to heal whatever's wrong with you.

kako bi izlečio šta god da nije u redu sa vama.

And although John of God does not have a medical degree

Iako Jovan Božji nema diplomu medicine,

or even a high school diploma,

pa čak ni diplomu srednje škole,

he actually performs surgery --

on vrši operacije -

the real kind, with a scalpel,

prave, pomoću skalpela,

but no anesthesia.

ali bez anestezije.

Yeah, I don't know.

Da, ne znam baš.

Takođe nudi nevidljive operacije, gde nema zasecanja,

He also offers invisible surgery, where there is no cutting,

and surrogate surgery,

i surogat-operacije,

where he supposedly can treat somebody who is thousands of miles away

gde navodno može da leči nekog ko je udaljen hiljadama kilometara

by performing a procedure on a loved one.

vršeći proceduru na voljenoj osobi.

Now, when you go to visit John of God,

Kada odete da posetite Jovana Božjeg,

there are all kinds of rules and regulations.

postoje razna pravila i propisi.

It's a whole complicated thing,

To je načisto komplikovana stvar,

but the bottom line is that you can visit John of God

ali suština je da možete posetiti Jovana Božjeg

and present him with three things that you would like fixed,

i izneti mu tri stvari koje biste voleli da se srede,

and he will set the dead saints and doctors to work on your behalf

a on će u vaše ime angažovati mrtve svece i doktore

to get the job done.

da odrade posao.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, before you snicker,

Pre nego što se podsmehnete,

consider

uzmite u obzir da,

that, at least according to his website,

bar prema njegovom veb-sajtu,

over eight million people --

više od osam miliona ljudi -

including Oprah,

uključujući Opru,

the Goddess of Daytime TV --

boginju dnevnog TV programa -

have gone to see John of God,

išlo je da vidi Jovana Božjeg,

and I was pre-wired to keep an open mind.

i unapred sam bila programirana da budem otvorenog uma.

But to be honest, the whole thing for me was kind of weird and inconclusive,

Ali, iskreno rečeno, cela stvar je za mene bila nekako čudna i neubedljiva,

and in the end, I flew home,

a na kraju sam letela kući

even more confused than I already started out.

još više zbunjena nego na početku.

But that doesn't mean I came home empty-handed.

Ali to ne znači da sam došla kući praznih ruku.

In the weeks leading up to my trip to Brazil,

Tokom nekoliko nedelja koje su prethodile mom putovanju u Brazil,

I mentioned my upcoming plans to some friends

pomenula sam svoje predstojeće planove nekim svojim prijateljima

and to a couple of colleagues at Google,

i nekolicini kolega u Guglu,

where I was a lawyer at the time.

gde sam bila advokat u to vreme.

And I might have mentioned it to a couple more people

Možda sam to pomenula i još nekim ljudima

because I'm chatty,

jer sam brbljiva,

including my neighbor,

uključujući mog komšiju,

the guy who works at the local coffee shop I go to each morning,

tipa koji radi u lokalnom kafiću u koji idem svakog jutra,

the checkout lady at Whole Foods

kasirku u prodavnici zdrave hrane

and a stranger who sat next to me on the subway.

i neznanku koja je sedela pored mene u metrou.

I told each of them where I was going

Rekla sam svakome od njih gde idem

and why,

i zašto,

and I offered to carry three wishes of theirs down to Brazil,

i ponudila sam se da odnesem tri njihove želje u Brazil,

explaining that anyone going to see John of God

uz objašnjenje da bilo ko da ode da vidi Jovana Božjeg

could act as a proxy for others

može da bude zamena za druge

and save them the trip.

i da ih poštedi putovanja.

And to my surprise, my in-box overflowed.

Na moje iznenađenje, moj inboks je bio pretrpan.

Friends told friends who told friends,

Prijatelji su ispričali prijateljima koji su ispričali prijateljima,

and those friends apparently told more friends,

a oni su očigledno drugim prijateljima,

other strangers and the guys at their coffee shops,

neznancima i ljudima u kafićima,

until it seemed that days before I left for Brazil

tako da se nekoliko dana pre nego što sam otišla u Brazil

that there was no one who did not have my email address.

činilo da nije postojala osoba koja nije imala moju imejl adresu.

And at the time, all I could conclude was that I had offered too much

U to vreme, sve što sam mogla da zaključim je da sam ponudila previše

to too many.

prevelikom broju ljudi.

But when I actually reread those messages a few years later,

Ali kada sam ponovo pročitala te poruke nekoliko godina kasnije,

I noticed something completely different.

primetila sam nešto sasvim drugačije.

Those emails actually shared three commonalities,

Ti imejlovi su imali tri iste zajedničke stvari,

the first of which was rather curious.

od kojih me je prva veoma zaintrigirala.

Almost everyone sent me meticulous details about how they could be reached.

Skoro svi su mi poslali precizne detalje o tome kako doći do njih.

I had told them, or their friends had told them,

Rekla sam im, ili su im prijatelji rekli,

that along with the list of the three things they wanted fixed,

da mi je, pored spiska tri stvari koje su hteli da se poprave,

I needed their photo, their name and their date of birth.

potrebna njihova fotografija, ime i datum rođenja.

But they gave me full addresses, with, like, apartment numbers and zip codes,

Ali su mi dali pune adrese, sa brojevima stana i poštanskim brojevima,

as if John of God was going to stop by their house

kao da će Jovan Božji zastati pored njihove kuće

i videti ih uživo ili im poslati paket.

and see them in person or send along a package.

It was as if, in the highly unlikely event that their wishes were granted

Kao da su, u vrlo neverovatnom slučaju da Jovan Božji ispuni njihove želje,

by John of God,

they just wanted to make sure that they weren't delivered

hteli da se postaraju da ne budu upućene

to the wrong person or the wrong address.

na pogrešnu osobu ili pogrešnu adresu.

Even if they didn't believe,

Čak i ako nisu verovali,

they were hedging their bets.

hteli su da se osiguraju.

The second commonality was just as curious,

Druga zajednička stvar bila je podjednako zanimljiva,

but far more humbling.

ali mnogo prizemnija.

Virtually everyone --

Bukvalno svi -

the stranger on the subway,

neznanka iz metroa,

the guy at the coffee shop,

tip iz kafića,

the lawyer down the hall,

advokat na drugoj strani hodnika,

the Jew, the atheist, the Muslim, the devout Catholic --

Jevrejin, ateista, musliman, posvećeni katolik -

all asked for essentially the same three things.

svi su u suštini tražili tri iste stvari.

U redu, bilo je par onih koji su odstupali i da, nekoliko ljudi je tražilo novac.

OK, there were a couple of outliers, and yes, a few people asked for cash.

But when I eliminated what were ultimately a handful of anomalies,

Ali kada sam eliminisala ono što je naposletku bila šačica anomalija,

the similarities were staggering.

sličnosti su bile zapanjujuće.

Almost every single person

Skoro svaka osoba

first asked for good health for themselves and their families.

prvo je tražila dobro zdravlje za sebe i svoju porodicu.

Almost universally,

Skoro bez izuzetka,

they next asked for happiness

zatim su tražili sreću

and then love,

i onda ljubav,

in that order:

tim redom:

health, happiness, love.

zdravlje, sreća, ljubav.

Sometimes they asked for a specific health issue to be fixed,

Ponekad bi tražili da se reši određeni zdravstveni problem,

but more often than not, they just asked for good health in general.

ali najčešće bi samo tražili uopšteno dobro zdravlje.

When it came to happiness,

Što se tiče sreće,

they each phrased it slightly differently,

svako bi je formulisao malo drugačije,

but they all asked for the same specific subtype of happiness, too --

ali su svi oni tražili istu određenu podvrstu sreće -

the kind of happiness that sinks in

takvu sreću koja se primi

and sets down roots in your soul;

i ukoreni u duši;

the kind of happiness that could sustain us,

takvu sreću koja bi nas održala

even if we were to lose absolutely everything else.

čak i da izgubimo apsolutno sve ostalo.

And for love,

A što se tiče ljubavi,

they all asked for the kind of romantic love,

svi su tražili romantičnu ljubav,

the soul mate that we read about in epic romantic novels,

srodnu dušu o kojoj čitamo u epskim romantičnim romanima,

the kind of love that will stay with us till the end of our days.

takvu ljubav koja ostaje u nama do poslednjeg dana.

Sorry, that's my husband.

Izvinite, to je moj muž.

Crap! Now I forgot my place.

Dođavola! Sad sam zaboravila gde sam stala.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So by and large,

Tako da su većim delom

all of these friends and strangers,

svi ovi prijatelji i nepoznati ljudi,

regardless of their background, race or religion,

bez obzira na svoje poreklo, rasu i religiju,

all asked for the same things,

svi tražili iste stvari,

and they were the same things that I really wanted,

a to su bile iste stvari koje sam ja zaista želela,

the simplified version of the basic human needs

pojednostavljena verzija osnovnih ljudskih potreba

identified by social scientists like Abraham Maslow and Manfred Max-Neef.

koje su ustanovili društveni naučnici poput Abrahama Maslova

i Manfreda Maksa Nifa.

No one asked for answers to the big existential questions

Niko nije tražio odgovore na velika egzistencijalna pitanja,

or for proof of God or the meaning of life like I had set out to find.

dokaz da bog postoji ili smisao života za kojima sam ja krenula da tragam.

They didn't even ask for an end to war or global hunger.

Nisu čak tražili ni kraj rata ili gladi u svetu.

Even when they could have asked for absolutely anything,

Čak i kada nije bilo apsolutno ničeg što bi mogli da zatraže,

they all asked for health, happiness and love.

svi su tražili zdravlje, sreću i ljubav.

So now those emails had a third commonality as well.

Ti imejlovi su imali i treću podudarnost.

Each of them ended in the exact same way.

Svaki od njih se isto završavao.

Instead of thanking me for carting their wishes all the way to Brazil,

Umesto da mi zahvale što nosim njihove želje čak u Brazil,

everyone said,

svi su rekli:

"Please don't tell anyone."

„Molim te da nikome ne kažeš.“

So I decided to tell everyone --

Pa sam rešila da svima kažem -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

right here on this stage,

baš ovde na pozornici,

not because I'm untrustworthy,

ne zato što mi se ne može verovati,

but because the fact that we have so much in common

već zato što mislim da je činjenicu da imamo toliko toga zajedničkog

feels especially important for us all to hear, especially now,

naročito važno da svi čujemo, pogotovo sada,

when so many of the world's problems

kada izgleda da toliko problema u svetu

seem to be because we keep focusing on the things that make us different,

postoji jer se uporno fokusiramo na stvari zbog kojih se razlikujemo,

not on what binds us together.

a ne na ono što nas spaja.

And look -- I am the first to admit that I am not a statistician,

Vidite, odmah priznajem da nisam statističar

and that the data I presented to you that I just accumulated in my in-box

i da su podaci koje sam vam iznela koje sam prikupila u svom inboksu

is more anecdotal than scientific, more qualitative than quantitative.

više anegdotski nego naučni, više kvalitativni nego kvantitativni.

It is, as anyone who works with data would tell you,

To teško da je, kao što bi vam rekao bilo ko da radi sa podacima,

hardly a statistically significant or demographically balanced sample.

statistički značajan ili demografski uravnotežen uzorak.

But nonetheless, I find myself thinking about those emails

Ali ipak često zateknem sebe kako razmišljam o ovim imejlovima

every time I reflect back on the bias and prejudice

svaki put kada se osvrnem na pristrasnosti i predrasude

that I've faced in my life,

sa kojima sam se suočavala u životu,

or when there's another hate crime or a senseless tragedy

ili kad se desi još jedan zločin iz mržnje ili besmislena tragedija

that underscores the disheartening sense

koji naglase taj osećaj razočaranja

that our differences might be insurmountable.

time što naše različitosti mogu biti nepremostive.

I then remind myself that I have evidence

Tada podsetim sebe da imam dokaz

that the humbling, unifying commonality

da je skromna zajednička stvar

of our humanity

koja objedinjuje ljudski rod

is that, even when presented with the opportunity

to da, čak i kada nam se pruži prilika

to ask for anything at all,

da zatražimo bilo šta,

most of us want the same things,

većina nas želi iste stvari,

and that this is true no matter who we are,

a to je tako bez obzira na to ko smo,

what name we call our god,

kojim imenom nazivamo svog boga

or which religion, if any, we call home.

i koju religiju, ako je uopšte imamo, smatramo svojom.

I then also note

Zatim, takođe primetim

that apparently some of us want these things so badly

da očigledno neki među nama toliko snažno žele te stvari

that we would email a None,

da bi poslali imejl „nijednom“ ,

a spiritually confused None like me --

spiritualno zbunjenom „nijednom“ kao što sam ja -

some might say otherwise confused as well --

neko bi rekao i inače zbunjenom -

and that we would seek out this stranger and email her our deepest wishes,

i da bismo potražili tu nepoznatu osobu i poslali joj imejl sa najdubljim željama,

just in case there is the remote possibility

tek za slučaj da postoji eventualna mogućnost

that they might be granted by someone who is not a god,

da će ih ispuniti neko ko nije bog,

much less our god,

a pogotovo ne naš bog,

someone who is not even a member of our chosen religion,

neko ko čak nije ni član naše odabrane religije,

someone who, when you look at him on paper,

neko ko se, kada ga pogledate na papiru,

ne čini kao verovatan kandidat da to izvede.

seems like an unlikely candidate to deliver.

And so now,

Tako da sada,

when I reflect back on my spiritual quest,

kada se osvrnem na svoju spiritualnu potragu,

even though I did not find God,

iako nisam pronašla boga,

I found a home in this:

pronašla sam dom u ovome:

even today, in a world fractured by religious,

čak i danas, u svetu slomljenom verskim,

ethnic, political, philosophical, and racial divides,

etničkim, političkim, filozofskim i rasnim podelama,

even with all of our obvious differences,

čak i uz sve naše očigledne razlike,

at the end of the day,

na kraju krajeva,

and the most fundamental level,

na najosnovnijem nivou,

we are all the same.

svi smo mi isti.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)