Brahma Kumaris

07.10.15 In Silence and Stillness In the silence of my being, in the stillness of peace, I ponder the greatness of my existence, and the truly endless love and power I have within me. Inner Peace and Harmony My own perfection moves away from me when I look at the weaknesses of others. If I indulge in looking at the weaknesses of others it is very likely that my inner peace and harmony will be lost. Others move forward on their journey when I see their strengths. It's time to see strength and nothing but strength in others, so they move forward on their journey and my inner peace and harmony remains intact. The Power To Co-operate In India, there is a saying that when everyone gave a finger of co-operation, the mountain of sorrow was lifted. If we look with open eyes at the world of today, and at current social, financial and environmental trends, it's clear that there is widespread suffering and sorrow, that it is likely to get worse, and that to remove this sorrow will be a task like lifting a mountain. Meditation ignites a conviction inside us that the task will be done. Although we have such different backgrounds, cultures, personalities, and so on; meditation shapes our personalities in such a way that it becomes easy for us to share our resources, work together, and give our own finger of co-operation in the task. The way meditation achieves this is interesting. Look at the other side - at what prevents co-operation: it is ego, where I am in a state of self-glorification, hungry for personal praise or fame, and not concerned about the wellbeing of the team. In ego, I think I am the only one who knows, the one who is right. Ego kills co-operation. Ego is closely connected to body-consciousness. An enormous 'I and my' factor comes in when I think of myself as this body, and lose sight of the soul. My race, my color, my gender, my physical appearance, my education, my family, my job, my position, my possessions - all these become part of the build-up of ego. Working with others with co-operation, who may at any moment challenge my ego with their own different agendas and needs, then becomes stressful. (To be continued tomorrow ....) Soul Sustenance Motivation – The Life Driving Force (Part 2) Life throws different types of challenges at us. A difficult relationship with one particular person, we have all experienced, can at times have the potential to completely overpower our thoughts for days and even for years. Most of us will have endured the trauma of exams at some stage in our lives, usually at school, college or university. The looming prospect of having to answer questions on your most hated subjects often meant that even the most laid-back of personalities will have experienced feelings of anxiety, worry and exam stress. A sudden physical illness can at times have the destructive ability to not only bring about physical discomfort but make us dejected, discouraged and sorrowful for days until it subsides. A deadline at work or a sudden crash of the business market are types of challenging situations on the professional front. A difficult personality trait which constantly hinders our progress and harms our relationships is an example of a challenge on the personal front. So challenges can be unpleasant, even scary, but they are important as in the process of overcoming the challenge, you work harder on yourself and they make you more determined and powerful. If you are not spiritually equipped to rise to these challenges, these tests of your internal strength, when they come about, it is unlikely you will be motivated enough to cross them. When faced with challenges, people can find that they are able to go the extra mile and pull from the backs of their minds answers to questions they did not realize they had ever learnt or ever knew. So, challenges can be helpful – but only if you turn the challenges into internal positive energy, you remain motivated while crossing them and by doing that you transform the challenges into blessings or gifts in disguise which will help you advance ahead and become more experienced and wise. (To be continued tomorrow ….) Message for the day To know the fruit of efforts will surely come is to remain happy and healthy. Expression: To know that the fruit of my effort will eventually come one day, is to understand the importance of making effort. Once there is this understanding, it becomes easy to continue making effort, which is like nourishment that keeps one happy. So effort is never stopped till what has to be achieved is achieved. Experience: Knowing that my effort will surely be fruitful makes me enjoy everything I do. It makes me remain happy, keeps me enthusiastic and free from tiredness, even when things are not going right for me. My mental happiness and well being thus keeps me healthy.