BK Service News: Update 2 on Parliament of World Religions, Australia
Please find below a further update on the events that are unfolding at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions.
On Sunday Bks were involved significantly in three events. In the afternoon, a session entitled Come into the Presence of God!, which was facilitated by Rev Stephanie Dowrick who had invited BKs to be a part of it. The event was a contribution of musical performances by Dr Kim Cunio and Heather Lee, and multi-faith extracts of poetry which were presented by Robin Ramsay. Br Charlie opened the afternoon, inviting souls into a meditation as the session unfolded with the music and poetry. Many souls left the event feeling deeply moved by the beauty of the poetry, music and the vibration of meditation.
Simultaneously, at another event entitled Religious Leadership in a Global Perspective a session co-ordinated by the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders on the future of Religious Leadership. Dadi was invited to this panel however Dadi only arrived in the evening. As drama would have it the only other women who was invited to that session was Sr. Joan Chittister, who also could not make it resulting a panel of only men. Many questions from the floor were raised as to what are religious leaders doing to ensure the role of women as leaders in a religious context. This resulted in the facilitator requesting Sr. Maureen to share a perspective from on behalf of the Brahma Kumaris. Sr Maureen in essence shared that the revolution started by Brahma Baba by empowering women to be spiritual leaders and teachers was with the foresight that the qualities of women are needed in the world at a leadership level. Women are ready and willing to be leaders but it is up to our brothers to let go and allow them to take those roles. It is partnership between men and women that is needed to make a better world for all of us. Many participants expressed their gratitude to Sr. Maureen for what she had shared and this became a perfect opportunity to inform everyone of Dadi's talk the next day.
The evening plenary was a Sacred Music Concert, where David Jones, Carmen Warrington and Dr Kim Cunio and Heather Lee who were part of a rich performance of religious and spiritual music.
Dadi Janki, Didi Nirmala and Bhavnabhen arrived in Melbourne last night where a bouquet of Brahmins received them at the airport with great joy and love.
On Monday morning Br Charlie and Sr. Christine facilitated a morning observance/meditation called The Power of Spiritual Experience. There was a beautiful atmosphere created and souls appreciated the guided meditations and silence. They were guided through with commentaries which facilitated an exercise in soul consciousness, soul consciousness whilst walking and exchanging drishti. Many souls appreciated these exercises because it provided practical approaches to help souls bring the experience of meditation into their daily practices and lives. Another session in the morning with Didi Nirmala and Sr. Gopi Elton was on the Tree of Humanity and the One God of All Religions. The participants took a deep interest in what was shared and had many questions. From 11:00 until 16:00 a joint reflective session was facilitated with Marcus Baybrooke, President of the Worlds Congress and Sr. Maureen. The workshop offered an opportunity to pause and ponder how interfaith involvement had enriched their personal lives and an opportunity to spend time in silence. Dadi addressed the group for about half an hour on how to go into silence and how to use the power of silence. Dadi inspired the group to use the time in silence to deeply reflect inwards on what faith means to them individually. Participants were extremely appreciative of the space of silence and inner reflection many expressed that it provided an opportunity for their personal spiritual growth within the whole program. Many were moved by Dadi's presence and words of wisdom. Dadi also had a personal meetings with Aunty Joy an Aboriginal elder who had a private ceremony with Dadi to welcome her to the land of their ancestors, D.R Kaarthikeyan former Director General of the National Human Rights Commission - India, Zabrina Santiago PWR Deputy Executive Director & Partner Cities Director, Andrew Cohen a spiritual teacher and Swami Chidanana Saraswati the spiritual head of Paramarth Niketan, one of the largest spiritual institutions in India.
In the afternoon Dadi was on a panel entitled, Sharing wisdom Fostering Peace, a panel co-ordinated by the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders. The key question asked of each participant was, What is Wisdom? The panel through their sharing expressed how through the sharing of wisdom found in their religious traditions can collectively addressed the multiple challenges posed to us as people of the 21st century. The audience was spellbound by Dadi who highlighted that wisdom is about bringing knowledge into practical daily life. Since most of the panelists shared from a very theoretical perspective, the audience appreciated Dadi's lightness, warmth and practical approach to spirituality and wisdom.
In the evening Dadi went to meet Dada J.P. Vaswani. They had a very sweet meeting, Dadi and Dada Vaswani had known each other since childhood. Many of Dada's followers were there and sat around as Dadi and Dada Vaswani shared spiritual gems.
Br Shekhar has invited participants to send messages of goodwill from PWR to the Copenhagen conference on Climate Change. The letter is about 50 metres long and drew attention of many participants. There was front page coverage on it in the newspapers.
More to follow tomorrow.
In Baba's yaad
The Australian family