SATYUG
IS AS SURE AS DEATH |
By Suma
Varughese Abundance,
not austerity, was their keynote. A public address system and close-circuit
TV networked the vast complex. The main edifice contained a meditation
hall and a conference hall, with a seating capacity of 1,800 people.
Next to it was the training center, with 13 seminar rooms and offices
for their internal operations. It also accommodated the Spiritual Applications
Research Center which tries to correlate spiritual and scientific research.
Residential enclaves dotted the landscape. At one end, facing an ornamental
lake, was an elegant chalet for the dadis, the group of elderly
women who run the organization. Likewise,
the food. The BKs adhere to a very satvic (ascetic) food code:
vegetarian, and free of garlic, onions and chillies. "Yatha anna,
tatha mana (whatever our food, likewise our mind)," intoned the
keeper of the prasad section, solemnly. Indeed, such is the importance
they place on pure food that no one, including householder members,
eat out. In the dining halls, their sense of service rose to new heights,
as solicitous Brahma Kumars and Kumaris went from table
to table, smilingly offering second helpings. |
At the close of the festival, some of the BK's took us sightseeing to the breathtaking Delwara temples, ending with a picnic at a beautiful landscaped park (one of their many gifts to Mt Abu) called Peace Park, where we played some rousing games, the BKs danced the garba (an Indian folk dance), and all ate bhelpuri, a savoury Indian snack. And when they finally waved us goodbye, it was with packets of food for the journey. Their spiritual intensity is an equally attractive feature of their character. The BKs are up at 3.30 a.m., and occupy themselves until 7.30 a.m. with Raj Yoga (their form of meditation). After a short break for breakfast and work (Karma Yoga), they assemble at 10.30 a.m. for one more Raj Yoga class. At five, they have a Gyan Yoga class, followed at 7 p.m. by another round of meditation and a spiritual service news class at 8.45 p.m. In between, the BKs must find time to look after visitors and guests. All this often means a very long working day, yet their sense of service buoys them and keeps them going. Says Radhabehn, 38, attached to the Goregaon center in Mumbai: "Service to humanity gives me internal satisfaction and the feeling that I've made something of my life." Walking towards a group of ladies busy in the kitchen, Arvindbhai, 32, who mans the vegetable department, offered them a choice. Would they like to break for lunch or would they prefer to do seva (service)? In unison, the ladies chorused: "seva". Nevertheless, Arvindbhai packed off the older ladies for lunch, and did so in style, summoning the lift to take them to the ground floor dining hall, and solicitously seeing them into it. What a lesson in labor management! B.K. Gokak, 38, who looks after the accounts at Pandav Bhavan, a job which takes 14 to 15 hours a day, says: "I'm never tired or bored. I feel someone else is doing the work." Atmaprakash, 46, a gold medallist in M.Sc, sums it up: "This is a university. Those who help others honestly and sincerely make spiritual progress." The schedule for visitors was less rigorous, though we were given full exposure to their spiritual philosophy and practice. At 6.30 every morning, we would straggle bleary-eyed for a meditation session. The BK's believe that it is impossible to meditate upon something one doesn't know, and since they meditate not by watching the breath or the mind, or by using a mantra, but upon God, we were given a succinct picture of their version of divinity. For a populist movement, their strain of spirituality is fairly pure. The emphasis is not on rites, rituals or idol worship, which they abjure, but on the fact that we are souls. Losing sight of that fact and falsely identifying with the body has caused all the evils of our times such as greed, anger, lust, they say. Retribution lies in moving towards greater soul consciousness and realizing the soul's natural attributes such as joy, peace, love, harmony, balance. One does this by contemplating upon God, the Supreme Soul, who, like us, is an incorporeal point of light to whom the BKs give the name Shiva. This Shiva, however, is not to be confused with the member of the triune godhead, who they call Shankar. At the start of meditation, a red wall-lamp (all rooms, including guest bedrooms, are provided with these) is switched on, casting a lurid glow in the room, which supposedly resembles the color suffusing God's domain. Paramdham. In the middle of the lamp issues a point of light upon which we are asked to gaze while the teacher intones a combination of guided visualizations and affirmations such as: "I am a soul. I am eternal, immortal, conceit, radiant and self-luminous…" How effective is this meditation? Personally speaking. I found it difficult to concentrate open-eyed, yet did experience calm and greater stillness at the end of the 10 minutes. The BKs, naturally, report extraordinary results in concentration, personality development and spiritual prowess. Says Atmaprakash: "I used to smoke and drink. Today, I have conquered 70 to 85 per cent of my vices. I'm now looking for perfection." |
The serenity and calm on the BKs' faces is arresting. Particularly true of youngsters
such as Kiran, 20, whose face shines with goodwill and joy. "Here our life is
balanced spiritually, mentally and physically," she says. And their collective
sense of efficiency and organization is superb. |
Thus, according to the BKs, Satyug inevitable yields to a silver age and a copper age and finally the iron age (each lasting for 2,500 years) before the cycle starts again. Their mission has its root in the vision and visitations experienced by Dada Lekh Raj. Though he once used to be nattily dressed in three-piece suits and rubbed shoulders with royalty, he was a devout and upright man. In 1936, his increasingly contemplative temperament yielded a horrific vision of complete destruction and devastation. He saw the US and Europe blown up by a nuclear bomb and India driven by civil war, the culmination of Kaliyug. A few days later, he experienced a visitation from Lord Shiva (the BKs believe that Shiva descended into him and henceforth began using him as a medium), followed by glorious visions of the coming Satyug, with its one dharma, one language and one world order. He was to set up this new world order, he was told. Subsequently, he liquidated his business and started daily satsangs at home, attracting a number of women and children. However, the rigorous code of conduct, which included vegetarian satvic food and strict celibacy, alarmed his rich business community. The escalating hostility forced him to relocate in Karachi, along with his disciples for whom he opened a school, which eventually became known as the Prajapita BKs Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya. In 1951, on invitation from the families of the Brahma Kumaris, they shifted to Mt Abu. Soon the BKs began disseminating their knowledge, opening centers wherever their families had settled down, in places such as Lucknow, Bombay and Delhi, cities within India. "We thought we had done a lot of work, but Baba said: `Children, this is nothing; you must awaken the world," recalls Dadi Manohar Indra. "We were unlettered, knew no foreign languages, yet wonderfully, people came to us from all over the world." | ||
Invited by NRI members, the sisters spread their message in Russia, Holland, Japan, until it reached 66 countries. Today, around 15,000 foreigners come to their headquarters each winter and their conference halls at Gyan Sarovar and Pandav Bhavan have facilities for simultaneous translationin 16 languages. Half a century after its inception, the mission has snowballed into a mass movement. It has 400,000 lay members, some 5,000 surrendered sisters and 1,000 men, and over4,500 centers in 66 countries. "We have told God that we will bring the whole world to soul consciousness," says Dadi Manohar Indra. "Before destruction, all must know God and purify the self." To this end, the BKs unleash a vast array of initiatives of which the youth festival was one. Their members are everywhere, holding meals to promote the concept of holistic health, and padayatras (journey by foot) across the country to create awareness of the evil effects of substance abuse. In addition, they hold yoga camps, conferences and workshops for professional groups such as psychiatrists and jurists. They have held innumerable national and international conferences on subjects such as peace, spirituality, global harmony and global co-operation. Their distinguished panelists have included heads of state. For their mammoth efforts, they have been awarded a Peace Medal and six `Peace Messenger Awards' by the UN. The group is also affiliated as an NGO with the Economic & Social Council of the UN and the UNICEF. Their latest initiative is the establishment of the Raj Yoga Education & Research Foundation, which divides society into roughly 13 professional and special interest groups such as scientists, engineers, doctors, educationists, media, businessmen, politicians, farmers, women and youth, for whom they hold regular workshops. Whatever the subject, the contents boil down to just one thing: the art and science of living. They even have a curriculum, which encompasses subjects such as applied spiritual psychology, ethics, natural and human history, science of behavioural transformation. While the workshops concentrate on specific subjects, the BKs disseminate the general curriculum through the daily meditation classes held at all the centers, which are regularly attended by all members. The three fundamental tenets of their university are soul consciousness, egolessness and vicelessness, important attributes for the establishment of Satyug. In the meantime, the BKs continue to take up new projects. Their J. Watumull Memorial Global Hospital and Research Centre, a charitable institution in Mt Abu offering holistic healing, became operational in 1991. And apart from the newly built Gyan Sarovar is their headquarters, Pandav Bhavan, which has departments for baking, flourmill, tailoring and printing. It also has a 3000-seat conference hall called Shanti Bhavan. But that palls in comparison with their latest edifice, a mammoth hall to seat 20,000 people at Taleti, on the plains of Abu Road. | ||
The
BKs believe that as the millennium approaches, and the calamities of Kaliyug assume
more fearsome proportions, more and more will reach their doorstep, all of whom
must be accommodated. So what horrors lie ahead of us and what will Satyug be
like? The BKs have all the answers. The Kaliyug scenario is grim enough. America
and much of Europe will be destroyed by a nuclear bomb, and Australia will become
an island. Much of the earth's land mass will be submerged. India will suffer
a civil war. Mumbai will return to the sea. As time goes on, grain will become
inedible and there will be no drinking water. Money will be valueless. In order to withstand those days and give succor to the suffering, the BKs are urged to develop themselves and become spiritually powerful. But cheer up. All this is necessary for the glorious dawning of Satyug. And the prognosis is good. Laxmi and Narayan will be the ruling deities. Under them, all will live like a happy family, without regard for status and hierarchy. There will still be servants and masters, but the arrangements will be informal, as in a family. While some will be wealthier than others, all will be prosperous. There will be no courts, jails, judges or lawyers because there will be no criminals. Likewise, since all will be free of desires, there will be no accounting. People give what they have and those who want take. The weather will be perpetual spring. Fruits of all flavors will ply year round, so that instead of cooking, all we will need is to use the juice of whatever flavored fruit we wish for. Cooking, if any, will be by solar power and planes, our main form of locomotion, will be sourced by atomic power. Birdsong will be as melodious as a musical instrument, and musical instruments themselves will play at a touch. Everyone will be an artist, and there will be an abundance of music, art and games. Life spans will increase to 150 years on an average. Males will not have a beard. And yes, reproduction will transpire through yogic power and not sexual union. Now for the catch. Only 900,000 souls will make the grade. If you would like to be one of them, you know where to go and what to do.
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