Words of peace and inspiration

FOR SEVEN DECADES, His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej worked hard to better the lives of his subjects and bring peace and happiness to the kingdom. Revered as the father of the nation, the King was a role model who laid down important principles on all matters of purposeful living and overcoming adversities. His Majesty was a great speaker and his royal orations were always helpful, guiding and inspiring the entire nation.
Gaysorn Shopping Centre has chosen to honour the Monarch’s words of wisdom through an installation featuring nine of the most memorable quotations selected from past royal orations. These are on show in parallel with an exhibition that shows the positive impact His Majesty’s royal orations had on Gaysorn executives and representatives of the shopping centre’s leading brands.

 

 “I believe that, by embracing the royal orations of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, our lives will change for the better. Living together in harmony is what I find important, in line with the royal words given on March 31, 1995 and published in the 36th anniversary issue of Bangkok Lions Club’s magazine. This reads:‘Whichever society is filled with generosity and well-disposed attitudes towards each other, that society is blessed with goodwill and friendship, and is thus a peaceful, happy and liveable one’,” says Korakot Srivikorn, Gaysorn’s executive director.
“In my working life, I often receive international guests. If all Thais are friendly and generous, we’ll be able to build a land where foreigners feel comfortable and welcome to our beautiful country. We should reflect on His Majesty’s words in order to lead more purposeful lives and appreciate that we were born in the reign of our great King.”

 

 

Thitipat Suppattranont, founder of spa products Thann, says he remembers a royal oration delivered at Chulalongkorn University’s commencement ceremony on July 10, 1993. “His Majesty said, ‘Every human task needs to be performed by a human who has faculties of the mind. If the doer is not mentally ready, for example no faith in, no interest in, or no attachment to the work, the results can be impaired and inconsistent. Whenever the doer has faith in the work, awareness of its benefits, willingness to perform the task, and pleasure to exert full efforts, the task can progress smoothly towards its intended results’. This royal oration embedded in me a belief that whenever we have faith and pleasure in our work, we fulfil our potential. Ultimately, with hard work and determination, a successful life can be enjoyed by all.
“His Majesty has led many initiatives and royal projects to make Thai people more sustainable and less dependent on limited resources. For example, His Majesty’s fish breeding program imported 50 breeder tilapias from Japan to initiate breeding in Thailand. All but 10 perished from the journey but he never wavered. His Majesty pressed on and now Thailand today boasts thousands of tons of tilapia yearly. This success was all because of His Majesty’s ‘never quit’ attitude.”

 

 

Mananya Vanthaneeyakul, general manager of Connoisseurs Lifestyle, says: “An indispensable quality in doing business is honesty, as His Majesty said in a royal oration at Chulalongkorn University’s commencement ceremony on July 11, 1992. ‘The honesty one has for others is a very important principle for people who look for success and prosperity because it helps remove numerous problems, especially ones that arise from suspicions and one-upmanship. It also helps you win trust and cooperative support from everyone and every side who stands for rationality and goodness. Honest people will get things done smoothly and successfully.’ When I began my business, I was quite young, which often made me look less credible in business dealings. I wondered how I could make my business trustworthy and then I read the royal oration of His Majesty about honesty and came to the conclusion that honesty is an imperative quality for any successful business. When sincerity is offered, trust is given in return.”

 

 

Chavanon Caisiri, founder and designer of Poem, also cited a royal oration given at Chulalongkorn University, this time at the commencement ceremony on July 10, 1992. “Arts and culture education is important and should go side by side with science education because personal progress and collective prosperity of the nation and the world call for both material and spiritual fulfilment. To achieve true prosperity, both areas of development must be complementary. Therefore, all nations have been promoting arts and culture education alongside science education.”
“His Majesty’s words spoke right to me,” Chavanon says. “As an artist, we must pay great attention to nurture and cultivate art. We must protect it and elevate its significance to match other important subjects such as the sciences. This outlook was inspiring and has made me proud to be who I am for the sake of my work and for the sake of benefiting our great nation of Thailand. My love of art has also heightened my spiritually in my career and has created more self-discovery. I’m grateful to have been born during His Majesty’s time.”