Brahma Kumaris

Friday, April 07, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 07-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 07-04-2017
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Do Love And Suffering Go Hand-In-Hand (Part 1)?

There are two things that touch or move us in life: pain and pleasure. Both create addiction. We feel pain in the body, and sometimes it is even emotional. But suffering arises in the mind. The suffering in the mind arises from thinking negatively towards the self, towards others, looking at them with a vision or attitude that causes grief, sorrow and suffering. Both extremes, pain and pleasure, can create addiction. On creating addiction it can start to form part of someone's identity. Later if one tries to stop the addiction of pain or suffering, it can almost feel like a threat towards the self, and towards one's own identity as one perceives it, because suffering is identified with. It is too hard to see oneself as no longer suffering.

An e.g. in this regard is that of a mother, with three children, who was undergoing a meditation course at one of the Brahma Kumaris centers. Her daughter had learned to meditate and became very happy and joyful. Seeing her happiness the mother came to learn to meditate. With a few sessions she felt much more at peace and had very good experiences, but all of a sudden she decided to stop the meditation practice and leave the course because she was starting experiencing a positive detachment, which she perceived as negative. Now, she was no longer feeling afraid of what might happen to her children. The meditation was awakening in her a love free from fears, but it brought on in her an inner clash of beliefs between the old and new beliefs. Her old belief was that to love someone is to suffer about them or create pain related to them.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 07-04-2017
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To admire or to praise is to imbibe those virtues too.

Projection:When I notice someone's specialities, I begin to admire them and describe them to others too. I really like those virtues in the other person, but rarely do I make effort to imbibe them in myself too.

Solution: I need to understand that I like these particular virtues in the other person because they are subtly working within me too. When I work on them more consciously, I will be able to emerge them easily.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Thursday, April 06, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 06-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 06-04-2017
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Living Happiness The Right Way (Part 3)!

Happiness is a state of mind and not something based on external influences. E.g. you hear a great piece of news – you have got a promotion in your office. That feels very nice to hear and it gives you happiness. There is nothing wrong with that, but when our happiness starts becoming dependent on such events, that’s when the foundation of our happiness is a wrong one. After hearing a positive piece of news, after one day you are told that your favourite sports team has lost the final of a very famous tournament. You see your team losing and suddenly your happiness is lost. So, enjoy the positive events but don’t think that life will not have its negative events ready to reduce your happiness, if your happiness stands on the wrong foundation.

So what is the right way to be happy? Enjoy everything that life has to offer – all the good things but don’t make your happiness dependent on them. Also, if you are truly and internally happy in this way, as per spiritual principles, then that once in a while negative event or that shocking accident on the road or a sudden loss of wealth will not disturb you either. Constant happiness comes by increasing one’s inner spiritual treasures like peace, love, wisdom and power and not from outside events. That does not mean outside events will not make you happy. They will, but your rule over those events and not get ruled by their influence. Also, by increasing your treasures, you remain happy even when there is a negative situation in your life. That is living happiness the right way!

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Message for the day 06-04-2017
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Determination breaks the barriers that difficulties create.

Projection:Difficulties do come in my life and I cannot avoid them. When they come I find that they create barriers in my way. When such barriers come my way I am not able to experience progress in anyway and I find myself losing interest in doing things.

Solution: Whenever difficult situations come my way, I need to remind myself that such situations come my way in order to help me move forward. When I remind myself of this I find that I get the determination to work on them. Only with determination will I be able to work on them to overcome them.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 05-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 05-04-2017
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Living Happiness The Right Way (Part 2)!

Happiness for some people today is based more on materialism and enjoying different mediums of science and technology in every sphere of life. Do you know that there are two sides to this type of happiness. When the going is good in life i.e. when there are no negative situations in your life, you feel you are on top of the world. Also, when there is even a little negative event like a disturbance at home or a little change in your health or if a friend no longer co-operates and talks well with you, then the same material mediums of science and technology can no longer support you. You feel empty inside. This is a wrong foundation of happiness. On the other hand, true happiness is one which is based on your strengths and qualities and is permanent, even if life presents to you negative events once in a while, which is very common in our present day lives. Try finding one person who has only positive events in their life and you will not find a single person without some problem or the other.

Also, the world is in a way living on a false belief that happiness is increasing because of scientific advancement or because of better medical facilities or because of more wealth. It seems it is but it is temporary. Aren’t there so many people, in fact most people, who are not admitting to the world that they are in pain and unhappy? The richest of people, the most famous of people, the most educated people and the most advanced people are today looking to spiritual wisdom and meditation to get relief from life’s problems. They also want to be free from the pressure that comes in many cases, with being rich and famous and also successful.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 05-04-2017
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To forgive means to forget the mistakes of the past.

Projection:When someone does something wrong to me, I keep holding on to it. I continue to keep it in my mind, which influences all my future interactions with that person. Even if he has changed, I remind him of it with my own attitude and thus he finds it difficult to sustain his change.

Solution: I need to develop the power to forget the other person's mistakes and remember his positive actions. When I give such a conducive and positive environment, I make it easier for him to realise and I inspire him to bring about a change by overcoming his weakness.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 04-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 04-04-2017
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Living Happiness The Right Way (Part 1)!

A very important and influential aspect of our life which defines our way of living is hope and determination. Success in life is largely defined by these two powers. Very often we see a difficult situation effect people so much that after that they no longer believe they can succeed. E.g. a very successful person suddenly falls ill or loses an important relative or experiences sudden financial losses at work. Such type of events or similar to these ones can weaken the enthusiasm of many people and affect their confidence for future actions. Also, there are many different cases in the world when lives of many people have changed after a particular negative event in their life, which they found difficult to face. It is very true that most people in the world are today facing some negative situation or the other. These negative situations are either with the mind or with their physical body or in their role or very importantly in their different personal and professional relationships.

Hope and determination are two powers which we all require to face these different situations and presently the world has seen a decrease in these two powers in many people. Although the world is advancing in many different ways, at the same time people are no longer as internally powerful to face life’s different negative events, which are on the rise. Also, the power to control your thoughts, feelings and emotions is reducing and keeping them positive is becoming difficult for many. Of course, there are some who believe that life is all about ups and downs and also happiness and sorrow both are part of life. But, according to spiritual wisdom, experiencing sorrow is a sign of lack of inner strength and stability. Also, happiness is our natural state of mind, which we like and should experience all the time.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 04-04-2017
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To control oneself is to have everything in control.

Projection:When things go wrong, the first thought is to control the situations or the people involved. But since neither the situations nor the people are in my hands, I am not able to succeed in controlling them.

Solution: Instead of trying to control something that I have no control upon, I need to start with myself. The more I am able to keep a control on myself with constant attention, checking and changing, the more I will be able to have everything in control.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Monday, April 03, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 03-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 03-04-2017
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What Should We Value More - The Soul Or The Body?

When the soul leaves the body, it's not just the body that dies but it's as if all the connections with the world of that individual are simply switched off. Not only the relationships but all specific plans, projects and desires suddenly have no further means (medium) through which they can be expressed or put into practice. The powers of thinking, deciding and the personality traits (sanskaras) connected with the life that is being left behind, stop and get hidden momentarily to emerge again in a new body, a new life. All the material things that belonged to that particular individual are passed on to others.

It's interesting to note that even when the body is sick it can only be treated when the soul is still present. If we take out the soul no one remains to look after the body.

On the other hand, the body is a truly marvelous vehicle for the soul to express itself through. No manufactured machine could hope to compete. For example, it is calculated that in just one day, the brain is able to complete a hundred times more connections than the entire telecommunications system of the planet. Or compare the human eye with any manufactured camera or the heart with any manufactured pump. The body's importance cannot be played down or not taken into account.

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Message for the day 03-04-2017
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The power to listen brings inner peace.

Projection:Sometimes I find myself hurt even though the other person did not mean anything. This is because I am hearing the words but not able to understand the meaning behind it. This brings misunderstanding and conflicts and even spoils relationships.

Solution: When someone is telling me something I need to listen to the other person rather than merely hearing to his words. When I am able to understand the intentions behind his words I am able to take something from them instead of just creating conflicts in relationships.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Sunday, April 02, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 02-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 02-04-2017
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The Four Pillars Of A Spiritual Lifestyle - Achieving A Balance

A balanced and fulfilling spiritual life is like a table. It stands on four legs and if one leg is shorter than the others then both balance and equilibrium will be difficult. The four legs or pillars of a spiritual life are given below in the form of four subjects. If any of the subjects is not a part of our lives or is a part of our life, but not to as great an extent as the others, then the overall balance of our spiritual life will be affected adversely (negatively).

1. Daily spiritual study (knowledge or gyan)
Daily spiritual study provides the right quality of nourishment for our mind and intellect, the two important energies of the soul.

2. Daily meditation (spiritual yoga)
Daily meditation provides the means to explore, discover and reconnect with oneself and with God.

3. The inculcation and development of virtues (dharna)
Giving some time each day to the conscious development of our character (virtue) helps to eliminate any negative sanskars or personality characteristics (vices) arid improves our ability to build positive and harmonious relationships. The quality of our relationships is a mirror reflection of our dharna.

4. The service of others (seva)
A life purpose based on some kind of service is the foundation of personal growth through the practice of giving. Finding appropriate ways to use our increasing spiritual power and understanding (through the three subjects mentioned above) for the benefit of others is the most satisfying way to use our energy today. It also ensures happiness for the present as well as for the future through accumulation of positive energy in the form of blessings of those who are served.

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Message for the day 02-04-2017
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Openness to learn brings progress.

Projection:When someone corrects me or gives me any advice or suggestion, I am usually not willing to listen to them. After putting in a lot of effort, I normally feel I have done the task to the utmost perfection and so am not able to listen to any suggestions from anyone. But with this kind of attitude I am not able to learn and progress.

Solution: I need to keep my mind constantly open to learning in order to experience progress. With this attitude I can learn from everything that happens. And thus I will be able to bring improvement in each and every task that I do.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris

Saturday, April 01, 2017

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 01-04-2017

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Soul Sustenance 01-04-2017
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A Powerful Consciousness Of Faith In Critical Situations (Part 3)

In the latter part of the birth-rebirth cycle, as our accounts of negative karma increased, we have experienced large number of ups and downs in the four parameters explained in the last two days messages – mind, body, wealth (or profession) and relationships. All these bitter experiences, which we obviously do not remember today, have weakened us and left deep scars on our subconscious mind and are in fact the main cause of the creation of sanskaras of fear, uncertainty, doubt, pessimism, etc. which we find in ourselves today. Repeated experiences cause the formation of similar sanskaras. If we experience peace repeatedly i.e. we think about peace, visualize peace, make peaceful conversations repeatedly, sanskaras of peace are created inside us. In the same way each time something went wrong with any of the four parameters (mentioned above) in the past births; due to a lack of spiritual awareness and power, we experienced sorrow, pain, peacelessness, anxiety etc. and that caused the creation of similar sanskaras inside us. This is the main reason why today we find ourselves in a situation, when faced with a problem, we are not being able to have the faith in ourselves, that we can emerge victorious in the situation.

We have experienced failure in the past births at different points of time and many times and that is why each time something goes wrong, although we emerge thoughts of victory we dilute these thoughts with a large number of weak thoughts, of possible failure. This kind of a weak consciousness during problems is not only prolonging the time period of our problems but is also keeping the solution away much longer. Today, with the help of spirituality, we need to inject the power of faith in our thoughts, words and actions. For that, we need to increase our thought power tremendously, which will have an effect on our words and actions automatically. The food of powerful thoughts through listening to or reading spiritual knowledge and the experience of emotional power through meditation given to the mind only can heal the emotional scars inside us over a period of time, the result of which we can become full of fierce determination and will-power so as to weaken negative situations and not let situations weaken us.

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Message for the day 01-04-2017
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To remain cheerful is to simplify all problems.

Projection:When faced with problems it seems very difficult to maintain the inner cheer and the mind is caught up with more and more negativity, either fear or worry. Because of this, firstly, the problem looks bigger than it is and secondly, I am not able to find solutions and work constructively to solve the problem.

Solution: The first step I need to take when I recognise that there is a problem, is to smile to myself. When I make sure I am happy within knowing that every situation will pass away and it surely has something to teach me, I will find solutions quicker and easier.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris