What is "Spirituality"?

A question taken from another topic, so what exactly is "Spirituality"? Both within and without the BKWSU.

We all went to a so-called "Spiritual" University. The BKs, we are told, are more protected/special/gifted etc because they have "Spirituality" where others don't and we know a few BK words to describe it, e.g. soul-conscious, even though no one really seems to know what that is or even if every BK is universally experiencing it.

As my starters for "spirituality within the Brahma Kumaris", I would offer either;

a) "an external conformity to a given set of valued cultural behaviours"
b) "a preparedness for a number of different sorts of mediumship"

One thing for sure, in this day and age "Spirituality" is a commodity to be bought and used to sell products ... as evidenced by the BKWSU trademarks for "online shopping".

I have often wondered myself what the word spirituality really means. As you said, spirituality has become a marketable commodity but as such, in my eyes, it is not spiritual any more.

My understanding of spirituality may have nothing to do with the dictionary definition.

In BK terminology I would say that spirituality is related to soul consciousness. I can not say that I know what soul consciousness is. I explore the concept of soul consciousness, I experiment with it. It is a spiritual practice, a spiritual exercise.

In non-BK terms I would link spirituality to ethics and moral values, to a brotherly attitude towards all humans and respect for all forms of life ... that sort of things.

I am a soul, we are souls, Brothers, Brothers and Sisters ...
On that basis there should be love and respect, a vision of unity, the sense of belonging ...
The world is for all of us to share in peace and harmony ... that sort of things.

Greed, arrogance and selfishness are the opposite of spirituality.

Thus it is fair to say that the BK institution has become non-spiritual or is often acting in a non-spiritual way.

Thank you for your sincere reply. It is also something that I still wonder about often.

I used to wonder how many BKs were actually experiencing soul-consciousness, or even if one could still experience soul-consciousness and then go off and do dumb or mean things later if it was a relative experience based on how we acted the rest of the time. Numinous, "the intense feeling of unknowingly knowing that there is something which cannot be seen" or a "nostalgia for paradise" seems to sum up the sense of awareness surrounding it.

I was always left wondering if I/we were only in "soul conceptness" rather than "soul consciousness" and felt surrounded by the majority of folks just treading water 'following a religion' and a few investing in the intellectualisation and commercialisation of it. Was there anyone actually "in" soul-consciousness at an experiential level or was it all an analogue of soul-consciousness being forced from the outside by social pressures to conform to a Brahmin way, e.g. external behaviour being proscribed by what was decreed as soul-consciousness or "royal" right the way down to dress, hairstyles, methodology of protest etc.

Then there exists the problem of how folks supposed in such a high state of soul-consciousness after 70 years could do such dumb or dishonest things ... that is still not resolved for me I am afraid. I am quite expecting the curtain to be pulled back at some point and God to say, "well, actually folks, you got it all wrong ... those are not the real ones" pointing to the leadership and his finger instead to fall upon unsung and entirely "ordinary" BKs as the heroes.

Dear ex-l.

Good question. Here are some ideas.

Spirituality ... spirit duality to become 1 with yourself.
Spirituality ... live from out the spirit.
Spirituality ... go back to your spirit.
Spirituality ... to be and connected with a good spirit.
Spirituality ... mind over matter.

This word can also be invented with the reason that we lost our inner world, mind-intellect (soul-consciousness).

peterbindi.

Are those concepts or experiences? If the latter, how different is the practical experience of BKs to non-BKs? Are BKs experiencing life differently or has their experience just been labeled differently, e.g. to be unreasonably critical, "I feel dazed and lightheaded, or I feel unnaturally euphoric, therefore I am soul conscious".

What is the difference or relationship between intelligence and spirituality? What part does the development of intelligence play in the "creation" and sustenance of spirituality?

I ask the last question because the aspirant destination of the BKWSU is a sort of "divine stupidity". The perfect deity form is often said to be 'buddhu' rather than Buddha. Is this the genuinely enlightened state?

What I would offer is that, firstly, the Brahmakumaris do separate spirituality into two main forms; 'descendant spirituality' and 'ascent spirituality' by which I mean, their concept of a new soul having its Golden Age in this day and again and BK touch souls experiencing effortful, challenged state of mind rising back to their original state. Secondly, it is ridden with relativity, i.e. "degrees". So who can judge and by what parameter?

Neither of these really answer the original question though, what is this we sell or aspire to called "spirituality"? Is there a fixed, tangible, objective point where consciousness rises into soul-consciousness?

This is a very BK question, one raise in the very first charts you were encouraged to fill in, "for how long were you soul conscious in the day?" or "to what degree we your soul-conscious?" etc. Did no one else wonder what the hell they were meant to fill in and how the hell to gauge it?sustenance

Dear ex-l.

Since I was a BK, I have thought about this word and then it was more slippery than now, I hope. I prefer to say they are definitions of my own mind when I think about this word, at this moment from study.

To go back to the self, for every one, is the same thing BK or non-bk, but there are different colours, caliber, etc. Intelligence and spirituality go hand in hand in creation they help each other in process.

The perfect deity is stupid because he forgets the Father and that is stupid is not it? To be so complete in his own world and forget everything that's important.

I bow to Shiva

peterbindi.

Spirituality is to live and let live ... spirituality is to be at peace and happy from within ... true spirituality reflects altruistic love and harmony, spirituality is purpose in life, spirituality is just to be ...

Luv
Enlightened

But are these spirituality itself or the produce, the symptoms, of spirituality? Can one "be spiritual" like it is a light switch, one way spiritual, one way not spiritual? Can spirituality be induced from the outside?

I was always left wondering if I/we were only in "soul conceptness" rather than "soul consciousness" and felt surrounded by the majority of folks just treading water 'following a religion' and a few investing in the intellectualisation and commercialisation of it. Was there anyone actually "in" soul-consciousness at an experiential level or was it all an analogue of soul-consciousness being forced from the outside by social pressures to conform to a Brahmin way, e.g. external behaviour being proscribed by what was decreed as soul-consciousness or "royal" right the way down to dress, hairstyles, methodology of protest etc.

Then there exists the problem of how folks supposed in such a high state of soul-consciousness after 70 years could do such dumb or dishonest things ...

I guess that the actual experience of soul consciousness will vary with each individual.

At the very beginning of my venture into the BK world, all I had was the concept of "I am a soul, a point of light in the middle of the forehead" and as I was trying to concentrate on this in my meditation exercises, I actually experienced it to some extent. Not the light part of it but the point form, the location, the being distinct from the body, the original nature of ultimate serenity, the sense of eternity or to say it better of timelessness... and, to top it all, the most wonderful experience of God's motherly love.

Through all of my 24 years as a BK, using the concept of soul consciousness in my meditations has always brought some experience but it is not enough, I think. I like to use it in my daily life and interactions. The meditation experiences have induced a change in the way I look at others, in the way I feel about others. It has become easier for me to see the beauty and the good in others and whenever I fell annoyed or upset with someone, if I remind myself of the concept of the soul, it helps me a lot to feel better about that one. What use would there be of practicing soul consciousness if I did not get that kind of results from it?

As for the "royal" ways of dressing, hairstyles and methodology of protest, I think that there is a lot of heavy body consciousness that get mixed into it, don't you?

I generally never had the Seniors on too high of a pedestal but what I learned here since I join the Forum has pretty much ended any trust that I still had in them. I was in Madhuban for the end of the season and I had the opportunity to take toli from some of them. It was interesting for me to see that I still had natural feelings of love for them. There was also a feeling of mercy for them, that they are trapped in their role, trapped in a cage that they build around themselves.

Having now been exposed to some shocking truth about the BK organization, even my faith in Shiv Baba being God has been shaken to some extent and I will probably need to hear him say

well, actually folks, you got it all wrong ...

before I can get it back to where it used to be.

Thanks!

I guess that the actual experience of soul consciousness will vary with each individual.

I agree.

A question taken from another topic, so what exactly is "Spirituality"? Both within and without the BKWSU.

If my recent post in the BK section under the thread 'BKWSU positive news' could be copied to this thread it would be nice to have further discussion on it in this thread. It contains a reference to an article published in the magazine 'The Week' on the importance of spirituality in the life of Indian CEOs.

Thanks,
OGS,
Arjun

Quoted from the BK Section:

Omshanti. The latest issue of The Week magazine, which is one of the reputed and best-selling weekly magazines of India carries a cover story titled "CEOs and spirituality - India Inc. embraces the new mantra" and includes the examples of how some of the top Indian CEOs cope with stress.

Anu Aga, former Chairperson, Thermax, while praising Vipassana, a Buddhist form of meditation, says that her employees are into Art of living and Brahmakumaris.

According to the above magazine, K.S.Raju, CEO, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals is associated with the Brahmakumaris apart from Swami Parthasarathy's Vedanta Institute and Swami Sukhbodhananda.

I have learnt from my BK sources that K.S.Raju's late Father Shri K.V.K.Raju who was the CEO of NFCL till his demise had become a pukka BK during his lifetime. He was one of the one of the first major industrialist/CEO followers of BKWSU. Actually, it was he who changed the course of BKWSU's functioning by diverting their focus from the traditional seven-day course to self-management courses. He was one who gave the BKWSU access to the global Inc. by investing a huge amount of money.

He sent many of his employees to Mount Abu for spiritual training and even got a BK center opened exclusively for his staff at Nagarjuna Hills with such luxuries that BK teachers or even Dadis had hardly seen in India. He hails from the same city (actually a twin city consisting of Hyderabad and Secunderabad) whose teachers were introduced to this forum by ex-l recently wearing crowns along with Dadi Janaki.

Before the arrival of KVK Raju on to the scene, the BK empire of the above mentioned twin cities was divided into two areas named Hyderabad and Secunderabad. But such was the hostility between the two zones that special teachers were brought from the financial capital of India - Mumbai to manage this special center at Nagarjuna Hills. And it was neither affiliated to Hyderabad nor Secunderabad group of centers. After the demise of KVK Raju his son probably did not show as much interest as his Father, but nevertheless continued to patronize it and the BK center at Nagarjuna Hills continues to be a special center for BKWSU. I have also come to know that this center also runs a BK shop on the lines of those available in Western Countries selling BK products.

KVK Raju was also responsible for giving a stronghold to the BK Management gurus from abroad like Brian Bacon, etc. in the Indian Inc.

Dear Admin,
Will I need to upload the scanned pages of 'The Week' magazine once again here?
Alternatively, if anyone could upload just the necessary portion of the two pages (related to Anu Aga and K.S.Raju) of the above magazine, it would be nice.