BK SERVICE NEWS
Dr. Nirmala’s Visit, Philippines
November 24 – December 2, 2009

“BEING EVER READY”
BK Philippines Retreat
BK Center for Spiritual Learning, Tagaytay City
November 28-29, 2009

DIDI Nirmala and Sister Rajni led the Philippine family in a spiritual experience and rediscovery of the stage of being “ever-ready.” In recent months, the country had been the scene of calamities, natural and man-made, that caught global attention. Foremost among these were a spate of typhoons that left thousands in the north devastated and  the politically motivated massacre of almost a hundred civilians down south, in Central Mindanao.

Welcoming some 150 BK students from eight centers all over the country, the two senior sisters shared blessings from Madhuban, and recalled being present at the inauguration of the retreat center six years ago, with Dadi Janki and Sister Jayanti.  Since then the center has seen growth and expansion both in terms of structure, and the service programs through which it has reached out to various communities in the city of Tagaytay , as well as neighboring towns.

The murli of Nov. 28th set the tone for the retreat, with Baba reminding each one of the aim of purity and perfection, which should be kept firm in the mind.  This was encapsulated in the question that Didi posed at the start of morning class:  “How deep is my love for Baba?  Have I given my heart to Baba, or is it scattered here and there?” She emphasized that spiritual power gained from silence is what keeps us children intoxicated, inspiring us to do service fearlessly. But sweetly.

Noontime class focused on the meaning of being ever-ready, which different groups—mothers, kumaris and brothers—explored in a one-hour workshop. Didi Nirmala kept intellects churning by sharing points on the subject. Some of these points were:  being in a constant bodiless stage, clearing karmic accounts through seed/karmateet stage, having no attraction to anything, being self-sovereign and having control over my own thoughts and feelings, total surrender of body, mind and wealth, and keeping my aim and objective always in front of me.   

“Being obstacle-free” was the subject of the afternoon class, during which questions and solutions were posed to Didi after the sharing of individuals and groups. Sister Rajni responded to some questions by saying that thought itself could be the obstacle, so that when a thought comes, we should not get involved in it.  Instead, she said, we should have the “smirti” (awareness) that “I am a master powerful soul.”

She continued to say that we should not watch, get entertained or get trapped in negative thought because the more we think about one such thought, the more impressions it creates in the mind.  “I am a victorious soul” is another helpful point to remember, she said, adding that Baba has given us divine knowledge so that we can be aware and alert.

Didi Nirmala said that, to be obstacle-free, we need to finish the language of bitterness and carelessness, stop thinking of problems and, instead, find solutions.  Looking at a problem as a game also helps, she said, since this keeps us in a flying stage. To achieve this stage, Didi gave several yuktis, like remaining lost in Baba’s love, remaining stable in the yoga stage and having unlimited disinterest while being seated in the self-sovereign stage. The power of saying “My Baba” from the heart and, on the practical level, planning everything in Baba’s remembrance, was also emphasized.

Celebration of the 6th anniversary of CSL and 27 years of Philippine services transpired in an atmosphere of royalty, with the hall festively decked and the participants adorned with tilak and a “raj dulare” red sash.  To simulate a Golden Age royal gathering, songs, dances and royal conversations were exchanged for a whole hour of pure fun and the intoxication of being in Godly company. The evening culminated in a video show of six years of service and a display of  fireworks.

“How to be an embodiment of success” was the essence of the murli on the second day of the retreat.  To become that, Didi said, we need to have faith first of all.  It also means to do service with thoughts, words and actions with Baba as companion.  Questions should change from “what” to “wah,” “why” to “bye,”  “how” to “I know,” and “but” to “fly.”  Merging any expansion into essence is the main thing and we need to keep things short and sweet, so that we never waste our time or that of others.

BKs were engaged in a lively exercise of completing the phrase “Suddenly…” to indicate the changes they have experienced as a result of being with Baba.  Questions on the subject for the day were entertained by Didi, who responded with the following points:

1. In terms of “hundred years of confluence age,” we cannot take the figures literally.
2. We cannot ask each one to make the same effort, as each one is different. Our main effort is purity.  Good yoga is necessary for purity. For yoga, we need to be bodiless, pay attention to all the maryadas. If anyone is having some sort of weakness that is pulling them down from their yoga, we need to pay attention to them.
3. To conquer Maya, we need to understand Maya. Realization is the first step to transformation. We need to know the forms of Maya. The biggest Maya is body consciousness which comes in the form of extroversion, looking outside, material things, ego-centeredness, reactiveness, defensiveness, getting influenced, anxiety and worry,  being tense and uptight, bearing grudges for a long time, denial of personal responsibility, trying to impress other people through external outfit and body figure,  denying mistakes and refusing to apologize, rudeness, and neglectfulness.
4. We need to pay attention to being soul-conscious, so then it becomes easy to conquer Maya.  Maya comes in subtle forms as we become older in gyan.  It comes in the thought of being a senior, better than others, pride about education, position and  the community they belong to.  Sometimes they have so much ego, they don’t want to listen to the murli. Another form comes in subtle laziness, and also thoughts of, “I will do it; it will happen.” 
5. Fear is a sign of attachment. Losing a friend, relative, name, fame and position are often on one’s mind.  We try to avoid seeing ourselves by putting on a mask and this is a sanskar that we have cultivated from childhood. Sometimes we want to appear nice but internally there is a lot of pain and sorrow. Now we need to break the mask, be introverted and honest and look at the self in light of gyan.  But we should not misuse gyan, either—for instance, like when we say “drama” or “karma” to explain why some things happen, instead of seeing one’s contribution to that situation.
6. Keep in mind: I am now a Brahmin and so my values are different from society and family. Whatever we are doing must not be only for the sake of pleasing others.  Through yoga power, we will develop opposite power.  I will not get so upset with them. Change anger with the power of tolerance, love, patience and understanding. We conquer greed by having the awareness that Baba is giving me imperishable wealth. I have the awareness of what Baba has given me and what Baba will be giving me in the future and so I can remain content.
7. To conquer attachment we need to have a full relationship with Baba.  To conquer ego we need to develop humility; having the awareness of what Baba has given me. If I am grateful to Baba for what he has done, then I will not have the ego to say, for instance, that “I am like this.” We change ego to humility and remind ourselves that Baba is ‘Karankaravanhar’.
8. If I have a loving relationship with Baba, then naturally I will have loving relationships with others; I will not have attraction and lustful feelings.
9. We have to change animosity into friendship. Baba always says those who defame you are your friends.  Sanskars of jealousy should also transform into appreciation.  If we are body conscious we might be impressed or have jealousy if we are soul conscious we will not be impressed or have jealousy. We need to have such a deep yoga and silence power thru solitude concentration and observe a pure diet. As we pay attention to all these, we gain power.  We have to check all the time what thoughts and feelings we have; how we are expressing ourselves. Old habits can come back very easily. We have to watch all the time and be open to the feedback of others. When Maya attacks, it attacks the intellect first and Maya does not allow mind to think clearly. So we need to be open to feedback.
10. If we are in yoga all the time, we are receiving all the powers. We need to have an aim in our yoga on the quality that we want to be changed. Even on the subtle level I cannot be aggressive or irritated . Baba is also emphasizing: don’t waste your treasures.  See that my thoughts are not wasted in eating, sleeping, cooking, etc.
11. I should be careful not to give sorrow to others and also how many souls I am able to give happiness. This is what is meant by charitable souls. I have to value time and so I will not be careless.  We can overcome carelessness by valuing our time.
12. The main thing is : A lot of attention is needed on soul consciousness. Once I am paying attention to soul consciousness then it will be easy to remember Baba and conquer Maya, who is like a clever thief. Keep the self busy and then Maya will not keep you busy.