Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Year's Message From Dadi Janki

Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris



Dear Friends,

On the threshold of 2012 we are uncertain about what time may hold for us. Ours is a time in which there are two energies at work: an ascending energy and a descending energy.

We are reminded constantly of the descending energy and its destabilizing effects on the world, increasing feelings of fear, anxiety and hopelessness.

Perhaps less visible, but assuredly more powerful, is the ascending energy. Like new growth below the ground in late winter, ascending energy is working quietly in the hearts and minds of people everywhere, shaping a new story. We see it in the surge of those seeking spiritual truth and in the hundreds of thousands of civil society organizations requesting transparency, authenticity, and a return to values.

We have a choice about which energy we affiliate with, about where we put our support. We make this choice at the level of thought. When we allow anger, greed, or fear into our thoughts, we strengthen the descending energy, and we lose our capacity for generosity and mercy.

When we meet situations with peace, love, and persistent happiness, when we are careful not to say or think anything that would hurt another's heart, we amplify the energy of ascent.

We find these qualities inside of ourselves, as they have always been our true nature. But to find them ready in moments of need, we have to nurture them daily. To make the greatest contribution to the world at this time, keep the fire of goodness alive in your heart and mind. Fill yourself with the energies of peace, love and happiness and let them infuse your every action.


With love
BK Janki

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Are YOU a Free Spirit?



Our favorite greeting at this time of year is, “Happy New Year!” Looking back, we are likely to see previous new years weren’t that new or happy at all but simply more of the same old sanskar and unhappiness all around! Authentic happiness is irrevocably intertwined with freedom! Freedom comes from change from within and change from within comes by burying our old habits and starting and setting new sanskar in our life. Here are seven of the most common ‘prison bars’ that make up the cell in which we imprison our self to ‘serve out’ the time of our life… unhappily! Identify your prison bars that imprison you and consciously work daily to break them to set yourself truly free for authentic happiness.

BLAMING: We make our self a prisoner of the belief that others are responsible for our present and future predicament. Freedom is restored when we end all blame and take complete responsibility for our thoughts and feelings.

COMPLAINING: We make our self a prisoner of how we believe and therefore think circumstances ‘should be’. Freedom is won when we accept everything as it is and everyone as they are at any and every given moment. If we want to improve things, we must find a happy way to improve them.

CRITICISING: We make our self a prisoner of our ‘idea’ of how others ‘should’ behave. Freedom is regained when we ‘let it be’ and realize that each person is playing their part, dancing their dance, in the musical drama we call life!

ARGUING: We make ourselves prisoners of our own opinions, and the belief that we are ‘right’. Freedom is only attained when we re-affirm the idea that each is entitled to their opinion.

POSSESSING: We make our self prisoners of what we believe we possess. Freedom is achieved only when we mentally ‘let go’ and remember nothing is ‘mine’, thereby changing our relationship with all that we may have gathered in our life.

SELF-LIMITING: We make our self prisoners when we identify with an image of our incapabilities! Freedom is restored when we realize that there is nothing we cannot learn to do if we are prepared to embrace our failures as well as our successes.

WORRYING: We make our self a prisoner of our own fears based on our imaginary speculations about a dark future. Freedom is only possible when we realize that what we think and do today create ‘our tomorrow’.

Now that we know where our authentic happiness lies, shouldn’t our greeting for the New Year be as follows?

Wishing YOU New Freedom Next Year!