Spirituality in Daily Life

Jayanti-bhen is Director of the International Centre of the Brahma Kumaris in London and is a much sort after speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the world.  She is a non governmental representative to the United Nations in Geneva for the Brahma Kumaris and has been teaching Raja Yoga for over 40 years.

I feel doubly fortunate as Cambridge has been blessed with two great speakers within the space of a week!  My brain has been exercised in attending and taking mental notes - if only I could make the simple action of remembering pen and paper!

Jayanti-bhen is a sweet sister who upon appearance is beginning to show some age (greying hair, freckles), but when you hear her voice you are reminded of the young, confident but gentle tones you hear on the meditation CDs sold in Inner Space.  Her voice has not change one bit and the listener who upon meeting her can only surmise that her outward features are a mere illusion.

Her topic, Spirituality in Daily Life, is one which is becoming increasingly popular.  With so many moving away from the mainstream religions, people are finding they still have a gap that needs filling and so they experiment with ways to fill it.  Even though this talk took place on a weekday morning, we were struggling to get enough seats for all who attended!

The Spiritual Triangle

Jayanti-bhen began by describing a model in which we have a triangle where the three points of the triangle are the self, God, and the world outside (relationships, environments, situations, karma, etc.).  If we look at the triangle from the point of the self, then God would be above (on the vertical) and the world outside would be headed outwards (on the horizontal).   When we forget about the vertical - the connection with God - then we find that in our daily lives we get into  situations where someone will say something and then we say something back, then they say 10 things, then we say 20 things, and we end up with a ping-pong game, bouncing things back and forth and not really getting anywhere. 

BUT, if we take the time to go INWARDS and first learn about the self ('Who am I?') and then UPWARDS and establish a firm relationship with God, then our view of the OUTWARDS becomes different.  We see people differently, we respond to their words and actions differently, we have a greater perspective of the world and the situations within it.

A New Perspective

She shared a story about a lady she knew who always had complaints.  She was very discontent about her situation and life in London.  She was then transferred to another area which would be considered by most to be very comfortable, but she still had complaints.  Changing the environment made no difference, the complaints stayed with her.  Then she met with an accident and had to stay in hospital for a spell.  She ended up back in London and when she visited with Jayanti-bhen, she commented on how warm and loving everyone was, and how she had a real sense of belonging.  And she couldn't understand what had changed.  Jayanti-bhen suggested that perhaps she herself had changed.  With the time off in hospital, she had no means of escaping her self and so had the time to really go within and then upwards and reconnect.  That new relationship then had an affect on all her outward relationships.

Getting to Know the Self

In getting to know the self, Jayanti-bhen suggested that we are not our gender, our race, our nationality, etc., but that we are something deeper.  The body is merely a costume, but the real self is a point of light, a child of God.  And so we have good qualities, and mixed with that are some not-so-good qualities.  Usually, the not-so-good qualities come about because we are lacking something.  We have many powers and virtues, but if there is any lack, it can cause us to become unstable.  For example, often we lack patience.  Many situations where we lose it could have been remedied with a little extra patience.  And so we practice adding extra patience to our list of powers and virtues.  And through this practice we become unshakable.

Making the Connection to the Supreme

Jayanti-bhen suggested that many who have ego (arrogance) do so to hide their insecurities.  She recounted meeting someone who constantly talked of his achievements and was very puffed up.  And through their dialog, she sensed his insecurities.  When we have no connection with God, we are alone.  We are responsible for our own successes and we cannot rely on help from anyone.  In this position we are very insecure and, therefore, unstable.  And so we have to continually puff ourselves up and make ourselves look bigger in order to protect ourselves.  But it requires a lot of energy.  When we make the connection with God, we receive His help in all things.  We no longer have to worry about what will happen in the drama because we know that whatever happens, we are secure in who we are and who our help is.  We stand in a place of security.  From a place of security, we then make decisions and interactions that are beneficial and not because we have something to protect – i.e. our self!

A Sense of Belonging

Another aspect of making a connection with God is the relationship we build.  When we have such a relationship, there is a strong sense of belonging.  In today's world, everyone operates as an isolated unit.  Some of the more fortunate will have family nearby and that will give them a sense of belonging.  But with everyone being dispersed around the globe, even families are finding it difficult to stay together.  People are losing that much needed 'sense of belonging'.  But the relationship we create with God is an eternal one.  It is not limited to location or life expectancies, it is limitless.  And when you form such a relationship, you then begin to realise that, not only are you a child of God, but everyone is.  Your outwardly relationships change as you realise that we are all part of the same family.  We all have a oneness to share and this creates a strong sense of belonging. 

Finally...
Jayanti-bhen's talk was well received.  Many had profound experiences during the meditations dotted through her talk.  One woman shared that she had been making effort in 'letting go and moving on'.  Only she was spending so much time 'letting go', that she never got around to 'moving on'.  During the talk, she realised that she just needs to 'move on' and the letting go will happen automatically.  Another confessed to being annoyed when she heard noise interrupting the meditations, but then she remembered Jayanti-bhen suggesting trying a little extra patience, and the annoyance went away immediately.

I've seen her speak many times.  Jayanti-bhen has the gift of making you feel special and capable of anything.  Many are amazed by her wisdom - I've grown used to it and now expect it.  ;-)  But I also realise that this wisdom comes from her 40 years of effort in creating that upward link and using the results in a practical way.
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Ross Galán, NLP Spiritual Life Coach
at the Spiritual Life Coaching School