The story behind the Prayer for Peace In July 1981, Mother Teresa gave the first public pronouncement of what is known as the 'Universal Prayer for Peace'. This took place at the Anglican St. James' Church, Piccadilly in London. This well-known 'Prayer',was designed to be truly international — a prayer which would be capable of transcription into any language and in supplication to any god. A little research reveals that this 'prayer' was originally adapted by the former Jain monk and environmentalist, Satish Kumar, from a mantra in the Indian Hindu Upanishads. The Upanishads are essentially monistic treatises, secret Hindu doctrines, written from 800-400 B.C.