Brahma Kumaris

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 12-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 12-04-2020
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Withdraw From Arguments ... Respect Others' Perspectives

Differences of opinions arise in everyday interactions, as the sanskars and perspectives we all carry differ. At such times if we are egoistic to prove our point and criticize the other person, the discussion turns into an argument. But if we choose to emotionally withdraw, remain stable and then speak, the dialogue moves towards harmony despite our differences. What is your threshold for calm interactions during a verbal exchange, when you disagree with someone? Does your temperament flare and you argue to prove your point? Also, do lengthy arguments feel worthwhile? Being heard is important. But healthy discussions need us to pause, process the situation, create a response and then speak. We also need to listen to their opinion without internally concluding they are wrong. There’s more power in being humble than to argue. Humility keeps our emotions in check. Otherwise it becomes a power game of us being right rather than our opinion being right. Arguments arise out of ego and block productive communication. Each one is right from their perspective - this line is to be underlined in our minds. It helps us radiate respect, put our point across calmly, and accept differences with stability.

Throughout the day, living with people, working with them or coming into interaction even with strangers, take care of your mind. If there are difference of opinions put across your opinion with stability. Detach from your perspective and see theirs. If you are still not comfortable with their opinion, accept your differences with dignity for yourself and respect for them. Understand that they speak as per their sanskars and their perspectives, you speak as per yours. Neither of you are wrong, both are different. Use this knowledge to internally withdraw from the unhealthy energies of the scene like how a tortoise gets into its shell. Don’t let it break into an argument or conflict. Don’t allow your ego to argue and prove yourself right and don’t deplete happiness and health by arguing. Radiate vibrations of respect and acceptance to the other person and heal their disturbed mind with your vibrations. Re-establish harmony and delete the incident from your mind. Don’t let it create any emotional wound. Do this every time with everyone.

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Message for the day 12-04-2020
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The one who has the aim to be perfect is the one who learns from obstacles.

Expression: The higher the aim, the more the obstacles that comes one's way. Just as a perfect idol is one that has been chiseled a great deal, each obstacle comes to remove some or the other defect from within. The one, who understands this little secret, is able to use each obstacle as a beautiful learning for growth, and a chance to express the best qualities from within.

Experience: When I am committed to bringing out my own inner perfection, I am never deterred by the temporary situations that come my way. I move on with confidence, taking time to look within and recognize the hidden potential within me. I am able to get closer and closer to the perfection that I always seek.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 11-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 11-04-2020
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When To Tolerate And When To Face

Each of us is blessed with the power to tolerate different behaviors, as much as we have the power to confront them. When there is a clash of values, differences in tastes, contradicting opinions or your own weaknesses, we are sometimes unsure whether to tolerate or oppose them. Knowing how to respond makes us capable of preventing or solving issues. Do you consider it unavoidable to face or confront people who behave or act in ways that you don’t approve of? Do you sometimes find it unavoidable to tolerate abuse, corrupt practices or violence? Does your mind become unsure of which behaviours to tolerate and which ones to face? We all have two inner powers – The Power To Adjust and The Power To Face. Since these powers are opposite by themselves, we need to be very clear in discerning which of them to use in a given situation. One reason our relationships are getting complicated, is because we are wrongly using these powers. If there are differences in qualities, virtues, opinions, moods and perspectives, we need to adjust with people. Adjustment means we understand, accommodate and accept that people are different. Let’s not create negative thoughts, confront or withdraw from them. But if there is abuse, exploitation or compromise of values and principles, let us face or confront such behaviors. Adjust and accepting out of social pressures depletes us. Discerning and choosing the right power is crucial. The more you bring it into practice, the easier it becomes to discern and bring them into action.

Remember you are a wise being. Use your inner powers appropriately in every scene. People you meet today will present their behaviors. Know when to adjust and when to confront them and use your inner powers of adjustment and confrontation, the right way. Accept each one as they are, with stability. Advise or instruct them for their benefit, bless them but do not confront them. Your power to tolerate different personalities strengthens your relationships. At the same time in certain situations, when you have to confront people, rise above social pressures, public approval or obligations, do what is right. Also, when you know about your weakness or a wrong habit, confront it and do not adjust. Do not live with it. You know its consequence. So constantly work on it until you finish or change it. By using the right response at the right time, you increase your inner powers.

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Message for the day 11-04-2020
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The best way to get respect is to give respect to the self.

Expression: There is always an expectation of getting respect from those around. The one who is totally dependent on others for their own sense of well-being tends to react to situations, even if they are very insignificant ones. On the other hand, the one who is able to give respect to the self gives respect to others too and so gets respect himself.

Experience: When I am able to see my own specialities I am able to have respect for myself. Then I am not dependent on external sources for my inner state of mind. I remain free from all external influences, and am able to become a source of influence for those around me. I constantly enrich my own internal state with each thing that happens.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Friday, April 10, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 10-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 10-04-2020
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Success In Your Stride (Part 3)

When told for the first time, we all think that isn’t it a little natural to be a little egoistic when coming into contact with people who are connected to us in our roles of success. Also sometimes some of us, in the wave of success, think it’s fine to order around people, either our family members or other people who come in contact with us. This could be at the workplace or in the spiritual service of humanity or for that matter any sphere of action. But do we remember, the moment we try and control people, we will stop influencing them and our ability to bring about changes in them reduces. And a successful person without the ability to influence people’s opinions and bring the same in the favour of a common cause is like a ship without a rudder, which is used to steer a ship or change its direction. He cannot steer or change people as per the demands of the role of success and make it even more successful. Also, many people leave their basic goodness after having achieved something. Often, we see many people, after having become successful, talking rudely to others, taking for granted the others’ good behavior and also seeing them as inferior. Success seems to bring for them, on the surface, the negative personality characteristics which were not a part of their natures before becoming successful. So, for them, success is temporary because a sweet natured individual, after having tasted success, can truly be called successful.

Also, success for some, takes them away from the Supreme. On the other hand, for some a relationship with the Supreme is strengthened because he has blessed them directly or indirectly with the gift of success – that belief is strong. There are many examples of successful people who became better people after becoming successful. How do we remain egoless after success? Love for God is the deepest and purest love in which surrendering the ego becomes very easy. It is said commonly at the Brahma Kumaris – the return of the love and success that God showers on us is to turn or transform ourselves. So keeping praising the Sweet Lord in success and remain seated on the throne of pure pride or self-esteem. And in return of that, he will fill your life with more and more success, admiration, praise, respect, love and good wishes from each one.

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Message for the day 10-04-2020
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To receive blessings is to become worthy of them.

Expression: Sometimes there is a desire to receive blessings from God or someone who is considered more powerful. But the one who has truly a thought of winning the love, regard and blessings of the other person is able to put in effort to be worthy of it. So he is constantly trying to be better and better in what he does. Thus he becomes worthy of everyone's blessings.

Experience: When I am constantly making myself more and more worthy, I naturally win the love, trust and blessings from all those I come into contact with. I am committed to whatever I do and know that the blessings of God are with me because I am making effort. I have no fear or insecurity, but go on doing what I have to do with confidence.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Thursday, April 09, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 09-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 09-04-2020
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Success In Your Stride (Part 2)

Success stories across the world are measured for their worth not just by what was achieved in a particular life sphere. They are also seen by how the people excelling in their field took success in their stride. Also, how much did they dedicate the success to the Higher Power with the wisest intellect and the one responsible for bringing them the success directly or indirectly. We commonly say Thank God in our thought prayers to him. This has been done since hundreds of years. But do we ever be an embodiment of that i.e. do we really, in our interactions with others and in our sacred space of our mind be completely sweet and humble in living our success. Our success should be filled with the fragrance of God’s love and a dignified and humble feeling of servantship dedicated to the Supreme. Only then, will we be called completely successful.

There was once a daughter of a farmer in a far off land, who was married to the richest prince of that particular time. She started ruling the kingdom with the newly crowned king with much pride and confidence. There was no one in the kingdom who did not look up to her. She controlled the treasure of the kingdom, which included ruling many far off lands. From a simple village girl, she had the whole kingdom giving her the respect and praise, reserved for the highest of the highest. All was good, until slowly over a period of time, she starting becoming arrogant and her relationship with the successful king and the people of the kingdom starting suffering. She forgot that this sudden change in her fortune was a gift of her noble actions that she had performed in her past births. Also to maintain the rich fortune that she had earned, she had to continue her noble actions i.e. she had to remain egoless and sweet because that is the first sign of nobility. Also, she forgot that a humble leader, before ruling people had to rule their hearts, which is the sign of a true leader. When that happened, people of the kingdom starting remaining away from the queen and she starting being seen with disrespect and she lost all that she had earned. So success can come crashing down in a few moments or days if not maintained by remaining noble and humble.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 09-04-2020
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To be free is to be free even from the bondage of things.

Expression: The one who is dependent on the presence of a particular thing to succeed in a task is also under the bondage of that thing. Such a person will not be able to put in effort to his full capability since he is always thinking of what is lacking. On the other hand the one who tries to find a way to do the task at hand even when there is nothing available is the one who finds new resources. He is then able to use these resources too for accomplishing the task.

Experience: When I am thinking more about what is to be done rather than thinking about what is lacking, I am able to be content with what I have. I am able to appreciate every small thing that is present in my life that I could use for my own benefit and that of others. I am able to work for what I want to achieve without being caught up only with the desires.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Wednesday, April 08, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 08-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 08-04-2020
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Success In Your Stride (Part 1)

Reaching milestones or arriving at significant turning points in life bring with them praise and respect from different people whom we are connected with. Life does not remain the same as a fresh flavor of a pure pride based on what we have achieved is added to life. If spiritually defined, a pride based on soul-consciousness can be defined as being in the positive consciousness of the qualities, powers and skills of the soul. These are non-physical capabilities and are given a physical face by karmas, which involve words, actions and relationships. This pride is called self-esteem. On the other hand, a pride based on the physical body consciousness, which is called ego, can be defined as attaching yourself to your role. Also, the non-physical aspect is forgotten completely, forgetting that the qualities and the talents which are responsible for success are not exactly mine. They are a gift of my past actions, which were inspired by the remembrance of the Supreme.

We might argue that the skills are mine and are the only reason behind the success story of my life. But we do forget that all good actions performed by us over many previous births are the reason why we are gifted with specialties today (as a result of those actions). These actions were directly or indirectly related to the remembrance of God and performing pure actions or punya karmas in the name of God. Both were an absolutely common part of our lives just about 100-150 years ago. Do you know that all of us, even the most advanced personalities amongst us presently, remembered God everyday for quite some time till a few hundred years ago in different physical costumes or bodies? We did that not only in the form of prayers but also thanking him many times each day for everything he gave us. It’s only after the advancement of science and technology that we starting remaining away from the Supreme. Also, instead of taking success in our stride as a God-given gift, we start taking it as only my destiny, with no role of God to play in the same. That’s when self-esteem starting changing to ego.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

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Message for the day 08-04-2020
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The one way of finishing waste thinking is to find a solution.

Expression: When there is something negative that happens the mind tends to create a lot of waste and negative thoughts. At such a time there is no clear understanding of what is to be done and so there is difficulty in being positive at such a time. But once the problem is identified and the right solution found, i.e., the right explanation is given, there is no more waste thoughts, words or actions.

Experience: When I am able to find the right solution at each step, whenever even negative situations happen, I am able to remain happy and content. I am not worried about the problem at hand but I know instead that this problem has come to increase my own inner strength and capability. Thus I am able to maintain my inner positivity under all circumstances.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 07-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 07-04-2020
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Bringing Your Dreams Alive

Each one of us has dreams that we nourish right through our lives. Some are short-term dreams and some long term ones. Dreams keep changing as we progress through different phases of our life. Some are achieved, some are not. Some of us possess the ability to realize our dreams more than the rest. The most important and influential factor in this process is how much we believe in our dream and believe that it will be realized. Some of the factors that hamper this belief are:

- The influence of the past - the memories of our past failures, which sow seeds of doubt in our mind; as well as successes, which keep us in an illusionary consciousness and distance us from the present moment and our present actions. Also, sometimes we associate present temporary failures or ups and downs which may come in our way, with failures of the past.

- Lack of inner strength or power, when faced with obstacles in your path. Tendency to get dejected very easily and creating weak thoughts like we do not deserve it or we are not capable of it or are we not lucky enough or it is not in our destiny or maybe it is our negative past actions which are influencing our dream realization process adversely, etc.

- The opinions or comments of people surrounding you who sometimes, are not in tune with your consciousness and are not able to empathize with your purpose. Their comments easily de-focus you from your purpose.

- Lack of ability to mould or adjust during the dream realization journey. Any journey is always full of twists, turns and sudden changes. A rigid state of mind, which is not able to change its tactics as required, may make the path seem more difficult than it actually is.

- It is very good to dream but excessive attachment to the dream also may make the journey towards the dream stressful and bring down your self-belief at times.

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Message for the day 07-04-2020
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To make the effort to take and give good wishes is to constantly experience contentment.

Expression: Whatever the kinds of personality of the person, if there is this one aim of taking and giving good wishes, there is positivity in every interaction. Attention is paid to make every word and action full of positivity. Words spoken only give happiness to others and give some kind of support to the other person to be better than what he is.

Experience: When I understand the importance of having good wishes for all, I am able to receive good wishes from others too. I am able to be free from the influence of the negativity of the situations and people. So I constantly experience inner happiness and contentment, even if I don't get something outwardly.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website

Monday, April 06, 2020

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 06-04-2020

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Soul Sustenance 06-04-2020
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Gratitude For Challenging Situations

We usually express our gratitude for all the good things in life, but we rarely practice gratitude for challenging situations. It is important to be grateful to the toughest struggle and the deepest grief, because those difficult experiences are beneficial - either they result in something good, or they make us internally stronger. Can you recall a situation you really struggled to cope with? While going through that challenging phase, did you get angry, critical, anxious, bitter or hurt? And after you successfully crossed the issue, were you grateful to the chaos, for bringing out your best? Instead of accepting challenges, we feel it’s normal to get hurt, upset, blame our fate, or blame someone else. These reactions deplete our energy further and snatch our strength to face the circumstance. Our weakness makes the problem appear even bigger than it actually is. Let us be grateful to challenges for showing us our true potential. When pushed out of our comfort zone we emerge certain qualities which we were not even aware of. Our power to face, power to tolerate, power to adjust are activated. Gratitude strengthens us internally, increases our capacity, protects us from negative energies and radiates our highest energy to the scene. Accept and respect challenges by showing gratitude. Your energy influences them and helps you cross them with stability.

Start teaching your mind to be grateful to adversities in life for showing your inner potential. Experience contentment and thank God for who you are and what you have. Thank every situation in your life. Remember every scene is perfect, as it is meant to be. Thank whatever it brings to you. Accept every situation as if you had chosen it. Understand it is a karmic outcome, a result of your past karma. Even in the face of a tragedy, a calamity, a crisis, don’t question the scene. Understand it is accurate and beneficial. Situations can be imperfect, but your state of mind should be perfect. Don’t create stress, pain or fear. Your gratitude influences the situation positively, your acceptance silences your mind. Choose the right thoughts, activate your intuition and listen to your inner voice. Do the right karma now and cross the situation with stability and dignity. Be grateful for the opportunity to settle your past karmas. Be grateful for the opportunity to increase your inner power, to come out of it stronger and to take the lessons forward.

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Message for the day 06-04-2020
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To have the ability to listen is to learn.

Expression: When there is the ability to listen there is the ability to understand others and what they are saying. So the one who listens is able to learn from every situation and each and every person whom he comes across. So what he does and what he speaks is much more effective.

Experience: When I understand that I am a student for my entire life, I am able to be open to learning. So I am able to listen whole-heartedly. Then, instead of only putting across what I have to say, I am able to pay attention to what others are saying too. I am thus able to enrich myself with new treasures constantly.

In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris | Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Intl Website