The crisis we face today is of consciousness. To overcome this crisis, we are increasingly being encouraged to tap into the spiritual power of Shakti.

In Rajyoga, Shakti is considered to be the feminine power of God — a strength that is received from a Supreme Source through connection and relationship. Shakti is a power that is accessed by the souls in both women and men.

Shakti is deeply respected; it is accumulated through spiritual endeavours; and it is said to bring about subtle shifts that help us to move through pain, grief, crisis, and chaos; it helps us to live with ease and grace.

Shakti is sourced with the aim of becoming empowered. It is also recognised as the power to remove from the subconscious the root causes of all evils — lust, anger, ego, greed, and attachment.

The more we anchor ourselves in Shakti and activate the living system of the soul, the more we will experience our core strengths.

Shakti manifests three essential capacities of higher consciousness: pure thoughts, good wishes (pure feelings), and seeing with love (language of the eyes).

Leadership of any endeavour, which is based on these essentials and acquired through a connection and relationship with the Supreme Source, is collaborative, compassionate and empowered.

Collaborative leadership builds trust and, with the power of Shakti, sharpens the soft spiritual skills of awareness, attitude, nature and behaviour.

Compassionate leadership inspires and guides from the heart, and with pure feelings, uplifts others with good wishes. Empowered leadership connects to the power of Shakti and lets this truth be expressed and seen through the language of the eyes. Seeing with love is a transformative act, and has the capacity to bring forth the world we want to live in through divine insight.

If we are looking at where and how best to serve the world, or asking what my purpose is, what I am here to give, then nothing could be a more powerful answer, than connecting to the strength received from the Supreme Source of the feminine power of God, Shakti, and employing it in all aspects of our life, and most especially in leadership.

Gayatri Naraine represents the Brahma Kumaris at the United Nations in New York.

‘Take care how you speak to yourself because you are listening…’

It is so easy to give respect to those who are worthy of it in your eyes, but how about giving respect to those who do not quite measure up! To give respect to all and not just those you like is the true meaning of giving respect.

Not being able to show respect says a lot more about us than it does about the one in front of us. Sometimes we believe we should only exercise this quality of respect towards those who have demonstrated that they are deserving of it. Yet, it is possible to have regard for all human beings, despite their actions in the moment. In fact, when we do not give regard to all, we deprive ourselves of feeling and exercising this quality, which in fact is a valuable treasure. In spiritual terms, to give is to receive.

It is when we do not realise that we are beings of love, that we go seeking love, approval, or regard from others. We only need something when we feel empty. When we are in our self-respect, that automatically attracts respect from others and also helps them to engender respect for themselves.

When one has self-respect, then one need not compare or compete with another. A person with self-respect understands that to compare is futile, and to compete is nonsensical.

By contrast, comparing and competing are both symptoms of a fragile, inflated ego. Ego and esteem are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Ego is always looking outwards to what others are doing, wondering whether I am ‘better than…’, or ‘worse than…’ and always causes pain. Self-esteem is about building our sense of self from the inside and cannot cause pain. The easiest way to build our sense of self is to spend a little time with ourselves, in peace, in meditation.

If we have love and respect for ourselves, it will be very easy to give respect and create harmony. Always remember that each one of us came onto the earth to share a particular quality with the world. So, if you cannot yet see the quality you are meant to be sharing, then look a little harder, for it will surely be there.

Courtesy of itstimetomeditate.org

Aruna Ladva is an author and the director of Rajyoga meditation centres in Kuwait and Egypt.

A person’s actions reveal their thinking. Powerful and benevolent thoughts produce like actions. If our thoughts are confused or selfish, our actions will be the same, and the results will be ineffectual or cause sorrow.

No matter how much we claim that we are strong, if our actions are weak and indecisive, no one will believe us. Merely understanding something intellectually, without having an experience of it, is like sitting at home and imagining that we are very clever. However, if our knowledge and intelligence are not applied in the correct way at the right time, who will regard us as clever? It is our actions that prove our worth.

Most people try to hide their weaknesses from others. Some speak of their shortcomings but are unaware of the roots, or the seeds they have germinated from—they only have a superficial awareness of it. The result is that they rid themselves of the external forms of the weakness, and for a while feel as though they have become completely free of it. However, since the seed is still there, the weakness crops up again after some time.

Something similar happens with physical ailments, which are often not cured permanently because doctors do not know the root of the illness. The illness gets suppressed, but is not fully cured.

Spiritual weaknesses can be eradicated only by destroying the seed. Sometimes people know where a weakness stems from, but they are casual about it and say, “Yes, it will be removed one day. It cannot be finished in one go, it takes time!” Instead of being strong and determined in this regard, they resort to clever arguments. Knowledge is a power, but they do not use it as such and just theorise.

The first requirement for self-improvement is not to hide or gloss over one’s defects. Being casual about them or trying to rationalise them is also not a good idea. To bring about the change we want to see, we need to use our knowledge, discernment and other powers in a practical way.

When that change is visible in our actions, we are able to inspire others. Even though It is true that actions are gross and thoughts are subtle, it is easier for most people to recognise the value of virtues and spiritual powers when they are demonstrated in action. Serving others by creating an elevated atmosphere with our positive thoughts and pure feelings is a great act of charity, but it is important to give expression to our vision and principles through our actions.

B.K. Sheilu is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.

Ethics is a code of conduct which promotes virtue and character. There need to be ethics in my personal, social and professional life.

To be ethical means to have a code of conduct for the self. A personal code of conduct can be maintained when the intellect is not easily shaken by small matters. For this reason, it is useful to have self-discipline.

Self-discipline makes everything accurate, beautiful, spiritual and simple. It is easy to have good relations with somebody who has good self-discipline.

The first level of ethics and code of conduct is to have a generous heart. When your heart is not generous, there is distress; you can neither do what you want nor communicate clearly. You cannot even cooperate with others. Feeling always low on energy, you will be cautious about how much you give.

A generous heart is not a question of giving money, but a state of relating to everyone as an equal.

Man’s life is like a dream. Man thinks that he is living, but in fact, he is only dreaming of living – like everyone else. But is life in reality just a dream of life? Why does Buddha ask us to be wakeful and Nanak ask us not to be forgetful?

The mind is constantly engaged in thought. We can call our thoughts fancier names like ‘the future’, ‘plans’ or ‘our vision’, but they are all just thoughts. The mind keeps jumping from one thought to the other, in an unending chain of thought. This chain of thought is what we call life. This chain eventually breaks one day when life ends. 

Our mind monkeys around the whole day, even when we sleep at night – in dreams. This state of dreaming then continues in our waking state too. Dreaming goes on uninterrupted during the day. So, our minds are caught in a web of thoughts. If we decide to stop and witness the thoughts come and go, we would be surprised to realise the senselessness and uselessness of these thoughts and dreams.

We value our bouquet of thoughts greatly, attaching fancy names to them. But this is life for life’s sake — a life wasted in dreaming.

Thoughts begin in our minds for security. They are meant for a purpose, to be used by us. But, man ends up living in his mind. So, how do we get away from the mind and move into our inner being? First, understand that the mind is not us. The mind and body are not two things; they embody one and the same thing. When you entered the womb of your mother, there was neither body nor mind, but you were. So, the mind is a later phenomenon that came with the body. But today you are driven by your thoughts and your mind has become your master. But you have to have the whip in your hand.

Thoughts make you daydream — while walking, talking, seeing and hearing. The moment the mind, your master, picks up the whip, things are organised the way they ought to be. It is not that your senses or your mind have made you dream. You are in deep sleep. You are unconscious. So how can you expect your senses to keep you in a state of consciousness? It is like you have handed over your whip to the horses of the cart on which you are sitting. These horses are bound to make you go crazy.

The mind is momentary, ephemeral. It is fleeting in thought. It breeds sleep. Even if you are thinking of God, no light will dawn upon you. In the Diamond Sutra, Buddha says that if you look at your mind as it is, you will know that it is simple. Then why is man asleep? Are you aware of your own being? If you are aware of yourself, then who are you? The mind is like a mirror that reflects everything but it cannot reflect you. It is like an organic computer where you can feed information and make use of it, but it cannot be aware of the user. Scientists are toying with the idea of singularity. The human ego is the shadow of your real self. To be you, you have to be what you are. You have to be aware. This is also called self-remembering or self-actualization. It is to remember who you are, in whatever way you are living. Just remember that you are. Just remember who is living. 

Life happens on the canvas of being. Being means the one who is in the present. There is no future of the being, there is no past of the being. Being is in newness and newness occurs in timelessness. Contrarily, man wants to find happiness in dreams of tomorrow. But life is here and will happen on the canvas of being. Dreams are bound to happen when you are not there in the being. You are living a false life with your ego and your ego is not the real you. It is a shadow in which you are trapped, in that gap between the real and unreal. This is how the world is made up of your dreams.

There are two ways of going beyond dreams. You have to practise dreamlessness. At night when you sleep, you should make a firm resolve that you will see the dream. And by and by, one day you will see the dream and you will realise that it is different from reality and you are just an observer of the dream. That would be your first step into the realm of wakefulness. In wakefulness you would be able to observe your ego, that it is just a tool with which you live in society, but you would not be captivated by it.

Another way you can attain dreamlessness is just by being. Just be. Ask yourself, ‘who am I?’ Ask this question and don’t answer in words. Let the answer emerge on its own, beyond words, as a feeling of ‘who I am’. That’s the answer that emerges from your feelings, not the thoughts imported from your mind. And when the answer emerges, embody it. Immerse yourself in that feeling of being. Do it repeatedly. The answer will come from your being and the whole being would be revealed to you. Then take a walk with it, see the world with it. Then while walking, talking, sitting, seeing and doing, remember that you are, remember who you are and who is walking and engaged in activity. Over time, by self-remembering you will attain your real self and the state of dreaming will disappear. You will meet real life in all its colours.

The author is a spiritual teacher and an advisor on policy, governance and leadership. He can be contacted at arunavlokitta@gmail.com 

In human society, if one kills a man he has to be hanged [or punished]. That is the law of the state. Because of ignorance people do not perceive that there is a complete state controlled by the Supreme Lord. Every living creature is the son of the Supreme Lord, and He does not tolerate even an ant’s being killed. One has to pay for it.

—Srila Prabhupada, Iskcon Inc founder and achraya

Capital punishment is the state’s ultimate act of reprisal, and no sacrifice surpasses offering one’s life for the sake of others. But although we seemingly attach great value to life, each year all over the world hundreds of millions of defenceless animals are butchered. This wholesale slaughter of animals is not necessary to prevent us from starving. Moreover, it is economically extravagant and ethically reprehensible. Most seriously, however, animal killing violates the universal law of karma, which is similar to the modern scientific principle of action and reaction.

Scientists clearly understand how the physical law of action and reaction (“for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”) applies to material objects, but most are unaware of the more subtle laws of action and reaction in the realm of consciousness. Nevertheless, we do have a kind of instinctive awareness that somehow we all create our own happiness and distress. This realisation dawns upon us when in response to some mishap we reflect, “Well, maybe I had that coming to me.”

In fact, we sometimes find people jokingly attributing unfortunate occurrences in their lives to “bad karma”. But the law of karma ensures that those who cause violence and suffering to other living beings must themselves experience equivalent violence and suffering—immediately or in the future.

Karma, as many in the West now know, is intimately related with the principle of reincarnation. In India’s greatest spiritual classic, Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes the soul as the source of consciousness and the active principle that animates the body of every living being. This vital force, which is of the same spiritual quality in all beings, is distinct from and superior to the matter comprising the temporary material form. At the time of death, the indestructible soul transmigrates into another physical body, just as one changes clothing. All living beings (not just a few select individuals) undergo this process of reincarnation, lifetime after lifetime. The Bhagavad Gita states, “As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”

THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL

The Vedas explain that the soul, known as the atma, may inhabit any of 8,400,000 general species of material bodies. The physical forms vary in complexity, beginning with the primitive microbes and amoebas, continuing on through the aquatic, plant, insect, reptile, bird, and animal species, and culminating in human beings and demigods. In consequence of its own desires to enjoy matter, the atma continually journeys through these various bodies, on an endless voyage of births and deaths.

The action of the mind is the prime force compelling the living entity to transmigrate from one body to another. The Gita explains, “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state of being he will attain without fail.” Our minds are constantly recording all of our thoughts and desires, and the totality of these memories floods our consciousness in the last moments of life. The nature of our thoughts at this critical juncture propels us into the appropriate physical body. Thus, the body we now occupy is an accurate physical projection of our state of mind at the time of our last death.

The Bhagavad Gita explains, “The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of eye, ear, tongue, nose, and sense of touch, which are grouped around the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.”

According to the Vedas, a soul in a form lower than human automatically evolves to the next-higher species, ultimately arriving at the human form. But because the human being possesses freedom to choose between matter and spirit, there is a chance that the soul will descend again into the lower species. The laws of karma are so arranged that if a human lives and dies with the animalistic mentality of a creature such as a dog, then in the next life he will be able to fulfill his doglike desires through the senses and organs of a dog. This is certainly an unfortunate occurrence, but such a fate is a definite possibility for a person immersed in ignorance. The Gita declares, “When he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom.”

So, the soul in the body of an animal may once have inhabited a human form and vice versa. Although a soul may successively occupy plant, animal, and human bodies, its intrinsic nature remains the same. Because the soul is pure spiritual energy, it cannot be altered in any way by matter. Bhagavad Gita explains that the soul is “immutable and unchangeable.” It is only the bodily covering, with its particular combination of mind and senses, that temporarily restricts or releases the conscious energy of the soul.

THE EQUALITY OF ALL LIVING THINGS

The basic and transcendental equality of all conscious entities is not an abstract notion but is obvious to everyday sense perception—if only we look beyond the superficial differences in the varieties of material bodies. Anyone who has ever had a pet or visited the zoo has experienced that animals behave much like humans as they search for food, protect their young, play, sleep, and fight. The outstanding difference is that their intelligence and emotions are less developed, but this distinction is insufficient to discount the far more numerous and significant similarities in thinking, feeling, and willingness that clearly point towards the universal equality of the consciousness within all bodies.

In nonhuman species, the living being is stringently controlled by his natural instincts. He is deprived of freedom of choice in eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, being compelled by bodily demands to follow rigid behavioral patterns. For this reason, the atma dwelling within forms of life lower than humans is not responsible for its actions and thus does not generate new karma. A similar principle operates within our everyday experience—a dog chasing a cat across the roadway is immune from any traffic citations. Animals are not expected to understand or obey a sophisticated set of laws. On the other hand, in both the social order and the universal order, a human being is obligated to be informed and obedient.

Therefore, when a human unnecessarily takes the life of another entity, especially under conditions of great pain and suffering, this act of overt aggression produces a severe karmic reaction. And, if year after year millions of animals are mercilessly butchered in huge, mechanised slaughterhouses, the accumulated negative karma produced by all those participating is almost unfathomable.

In his Bhagavad Gita commentary, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada sternly warns about the karmic danger of animal slaughter. “In human society, if one kills a man he has to be hanged. That is the law of the state. Because of ignorance people do not perceive that there is a complete state controlled by the Supreme Lord. Every living creature is the son of the Supreme Lord, and He does not tolerate even an ant’s being killed. One has to pay for it.”

‘DO UNTO OTHERS…’

This same instruction is present in all religious teachings. The Bible emphatically states, “Thou shall not kill,” and Lord Jesus Christ, who always displayed deep compassion for all living beings, stated, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Lord Buddha also taught the principle of ahimsa, nonviolence, specifically to protect innocent creatures from being slaughtered.

People who find that personally killing an animal is too gruesome tend to believe that merely eating flesh does not implicate them in violence. But this opinion is shortsighted and unsupported by any valid spiritual authority. According to the law of karma, all those who are connected to the killing of an animal are liable—the person who gives permission for the killing, the person who kills, the person who helps, the person who purchases the meat, the person who cooks the flesh, and the person who eats it. In a court of law all those who conspire in a murder are considered responsible, especially the party who purchases the assassin’s services.

Psychological and emotional growth are essential to a progressive life, and all our thoughts and actions influence our character development. The Bible explains, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” And the subtle laws of karma inform us that negative personality traits such as hostility, cruelty, depression, arrogance, apathy, insensitivity, anxiety, and envy are the psychological harvest of those who directly or indirectly make killing a regular feature in their life. When someone adopts a vegetarian diet, it is much easier for him to remain peaceful, happy, productive, and concerned for the welfare of others.

As the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein said, “The vegetarian manner of living, by it’s purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.” But when human consciousness is polluted by the effects of the negative karma resulting from destructive and injurious actions, its good qualities become covered.

THE CAUSE OF VIOLENCE

At present, despite impressive progress in science and technology, the world is faced with a crisis of unremitting violence in the shape of wars, terrorism, murder, vandalism, child abuse, and abortion. More than 140 wars have been fought since the United Nations was formed in 1945. With social and political solutions conspicuously failing, perhaps it’s time to analyse the problem from a different perspective—the law of karma. The callous and brutal slaughter of countless helpless animals must be considered as a powerful causative factor in this wave of uncheckable violence.

In his purports to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada has pointed out how the widespread violence among humans is a karmic reaction to animal slaughter. “In this age the propensity for mercy is almost nil. Consequently, there is always fighting and wars between men and nations. Men do not understand that because they unrestrictedly kill so many animals, they must also be slaughtered like animals in big wars. This is very much evident in the Western countries. In the West, slaughterhouses are maintained without restriction, and therefore every fifth or tenth year there is a big war in which countless people are slaughtered even more cruelly than the animals. Sometimes during war, soldiers keep their enemies in concentration camps and kill them in very cruel ways. These are reactions brought about by unrestricted animal-killing in the slaughterhouse and by hunters in the forest.”

The question is sometimes raised that if the atma (soul) is completely transcendental to the material body, why should killing, if great pain is avoided, be considered wrongful violence? Even the Bhagavad Gita states, “For the soul there is neither birth nor death. He is not slain when the body is slain.” In his Srimad-Bhagavatam purports, Srila Prabhupada addresses this question. “All living entities have to fulfill a certain duration for being engaged in a particular type of material body. They have to finish the duration allotted in a particular body before being promoted or evolved to another body. Killing an animal or any other living being simply places an impediment in the way of his completing his term of imprisonment in a certain body. One should therefore not kill bodies for one’s sense gratification, for this will implicate one in sinful activity.” In short, killing an animal interrupts its progressive evolution through the species.

We can also appreciate the unjustness of animal-killing by seeing that the body is a dwelling place for the atma residing within. An individual unexpectedly driven out of his comfortable home suffers great inconvenience and distress. Such merciless and unjustified action is undoubtedly criminal. Furthermore, in order to receive his next material body, the living being must suffer extended pre-birth tribulations. For the human being this involves months of being tightly packed in the darkness of the womb, where one is constantly disturbed by infections, acid fluids burning the skin, jarring motions, and discomforts resulting from the eating and drinking habits of the mother.

IS KILLING VEGETABLES WRONG?

Another common metaphysical question is, “If all living entities are spiritually equal, then why is it acceptable to eat grains, vegetables, etc., and not meat? Aren’t vegetarians guilty of killing vegetables? In response, it may be pointed out that vegetarian foods such as fruits, nuts, milk, and grain do not require any killing. But even in those cases where a plant’s life is taken, the pain involved is much less than when an animal is slaughtered, because the plant’s nervous system is less developed. Clearly there is a vast difference between pulling a carrot out of the ground and killing a lamb. But still, one must undoubtedly suffer karmic reactions even for killing plants.

For this reason, Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita that not only should man eat only vegetarian foods, but he should also offer these eatables to Him. If we follow this process of sacrifice, the Supreme Lord, Krishna, protects us from any karmic reactions resulting from the killing of plants. Otherwise, according to the law of karma, we are personally responsible. The Gita states, “The devotees of the Lord are released from all sins because they eat food that is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.”

Srila Prabhupada elaborates on this principle of spiritual vegetarianism. “Human beings are provided with food grains, vegetables, fruits, and milk by the grace of the Lord, but it is the duty of human beings to acknowledge the mercy of the Lord. As a matter of gratitude, they should feel obliged to the Lord for their supply of foodstuff, and they must first offer Him food in sacrifice and then partake of the remnants.” By eating such sanctified food (prasadam) one is protected from karmic reactions and advances spiritually. 

Gauranga Sundar Das is Iskcon Inc Communication Director and SM IT Head.