Honesty does take courage. We often shy away from taking a deep look at the self, because when we look within we know we will find all the flaws and weaknesses, memories of things that caused sorrow, and we are afraid to take a closer look – because we think that those parts of us define us, which they do not.

Social honesty is different. We cannot walk through life being totally honest with all people and in all situations – but we can be true to ourselves, as long as we really understand who we are. This takes spiritual honesty. From a healing perspective, which is part of the spiritual journey, this kind of honesty is essential. What must be clear to most of us by now is that the world is presenting ever more intense situations for us to deal with; situational, relationships, circumstances. It is very important to see the influence of these intense energies on us – but to view them as if they were a shadow. Shadows can be dispelled with the light of clarity and honesty.

The shadow influence can prevent us from seeing clearly and distance us from the power to discern what is right and what is wrong. When we know that something is true but suppress that knowledge to conform, some part of us inside, dies. Anything that suppresses my true state – that of the soul – of goodness and the natural state of peace, light, love and joy – should have the light of truth shone upon it. When we come under the influence of these shadows, the first thing we begin to do is lose faith in ourselves. It erodes self-confidence and the faith we once had in ourselves. We start to overthink, lose our ability to discern and we become spiritually depleted. The habit of taking sorrow from things people say, places we find ourselves, the desire for approval at all costs, we become ‘the victim’ very quickly.

We look outwards for someone to blame or find someone to take responsibility for the pain. The ego takes over and begins the endless spiral of analysing. This does not bring clarity – it depletes our energy.
When the inner world becomes very clear through honesty, love begins to work. The soul feels safe and can hear where the hurt is coming from and then we can take responsibility for what is going on – the heart has acknowledged and accepted. When we accept what is going on in our inner world – the interesting thing is that very often the situations on the outside begin to shift. Ignoring something because we cannot face it brings other things we cannot face and then we become so confused we do not know where to start. We have to untangle this web of feelings inside. We can start with just having the simple pure intention:

“Let me at least be honest with myself.” There are three simple steps to begin untangling.

1. Hold that intention of being honest. Give ourself permission to look at the self with honesty – because we deserve peace.

2. ‘Lift the bonnet’ – look closely at where all the ‘steam’ is coming from. This puts a spotlight on what is going on. When we reduce the intensity of one of our shadows –the other shadows begin to diminish too.

3. Check how I am responding to suffering.

Am I, a) suffering but in denial; b) trapped – do not know what to do or how to do it; or c) in a state of inertia – know exactly what to do but cannot or will not do it?

These simple steps are a gateway into receiving guidance. The universe and the drama of life respond, and so does The Divine. We are finding acceptance and this is important to setting ourselves free. Just find out what is in my heart and mind that is not aligned to my true self. Then the shift begins.

Aashish Patel works in IT and coordinates Brahma Kumaris activities at the Lighthouse Retreat Centre, Worthing, UK.

“True freedom is the capacity to do what we ought to do, to follow the path of goodness, truth, and dharma.” – Dadi Janki

There is a quiet, sacred power in truth. Not the kind of truth we argue about, but the deeper truth that lives within us — the voice of the soul, the whisper of a subtle conscience, the inner knowing that never really goes away, even when we choose not to listen. Long before we learn how to explain ourselves, this truth already knows who we are.

Following your truth pays off because it aligns you with life itself. When you are truthful — with yourself first, and then with the world — you move into harmony with something greater than the ego, you come into harmony with the life force of the universe. Many spiritual traditions tell us the same thing in different languages: when you live in truth, you live in alignment with the divine, with dharma, with the natural order of things.

Truth sometimes hurts, especially when it touches upon the ego. Truth dissolves illusion, and the ego survives on illusion! The ego prefers comfort over clarity; familiarity over freedom, and darkness over light. This is why truth can sometimes feel confrontational and a bit scary — not because it is cruel, but because it asks us to let go of who we thought we were, to let go of the illusion of the false self. And this is also why we sometimes resist those who speak the truth. They become our mirrors, reflecting back what we may not yet be ready to face… the truth within ourselves.

So, we wear masks. Spiritually speaking, these masks are layers we place over our true original nature. We learn to perform, to please and to protect ourselves. But every mask creates separation — separation from others, and more painfully, separates us from our authentic self, the soul. The longer we live this way, the more restless and tired we become, even if everything looks “fine” on the outside. We are falling ever faster by degrees of loss and depletion.

When we begin to follow our truth, something sacred unfolds. We return to ourselves and we reclaim our power. We stop betraying our inner knowing. We stop fighting the current of life and begin to flow with it. There is a lightness that comes from living honestly — not because life becomes perfect, but because resistance dissolves as we step into the oneness of the universe.

This is real freedom. Not freedom from responsibility, but freedom from inner conflict. When our thoughts, words, and actions are aligned, the heart softens. Joy becomes simpler. Peace becomes accessible. We no longer need to manage appearances or uphold a false identity. We become more honest with ourselves and others, and we definitely become free. We are easy in ourselves, and that ease becomes magnetic.

Spiritually, truth is not just something we speak — it is something we embody. It is a way of living that invites grace. When we walk in truth, life meets us there. Doors open not because we force them, but because we are finally standing in the right place. Actually, truth is the lifeblood of the soul, but we forget that with each small untruth, lie, or half-truth, we are haemorrhaging our own inner power. Spiritual truth cannot be bought or negotiated; it does not change. By coming back to truth, we stop living prescriptive lives and become authentic. In the end, the truth sets us free because it brings us home — back to who we really are.

Like the brilliance of the sun, the light of the sun can never be diminished by any form of artificial light. Just like light, truth does not need to prove anything, truth stands in its own power.

It’s time… to gather up the full force of the power of truth, as we return to our own light of truth.

Aruna Ladva is an author and Rajyoga meditation teacher based at the Global Retreat Centre, Oxford, UK.

One of the more regrettable effects of the rise of social media across the world is the impact it is having on young people. Although there are many young people who do have an awakened social conscience, care about the environment, and eschew what is artificial, others seem to be losing social skills. They have lost their ability to communicate with even their peers, as they sit ‘together’ scrolling through their mobile devices. However, one of the most insidious effects is the growing obsession with physical image, and even the very young are searching for beauty enhancers – all based on images that they see on screen
– little realising that those images are already false. The pursuit of illusion is destined to bring suffering, and anything that is unreal will lead to deception, dissatisfaction, or unhappiness.

One of the first things that is learnt on the spiritual path of Rajyoga is how powerful an impact the physical body has on us. Having an overly strong identification with the body is an imbalance. We do not deny the body but recalibrate our conscious awareness of the self, the being, inside the physical body. Secondly, we question our relationships with what we call ‘mine’. My house, my country, my relatives, my car … these ‘possessions’ have a deep effect on our inner feelings. Attachment to these possessions lays us wide open to unhappiness. If anything happens to any of these things, we are disturbed. There is an underlying, inbuilt desire to possess more, and to secure them at all costs. The third layer of living in imbalance with the body is more subtle. We become attached to the invisiblethings we also call ‘mine’; my culture, my role in society, my personality, my belief system. All of this is still connected to a limited sense of identification with the body.

In meditation, we say that the influence of these three layers is illusory – they partially define who I am, but they are not the whole truth. The quality of detachment is powerful in freeing us from this ‘illusion’. Many think that by being detached we stop being able to love, but it is not that. It is creating a small distance between the self and everything else so that whatever happens to ‘my’ body, ‘my’ possessions, ‘my’ ideas and beliefs does not happen to the real ‘me’, the soul. It is a very useful quality to maintain a certain state of mind, or equilibrium, when things go wrong on the outside.

This does not mean we reject or deny anything, we just rebalance. We begin by learning to be 10 per cent aware of the soul, the non-visible part of me. What is it? How does it feel? How do I recognise it? Thoughts, feelings, and personality are the soul expressing itself. As we increase the awareness to 20 per cent, 70 per cent, or 80 per cent, we become increasingly ‘spiritual’. It re-establishes a different lens through which I see everyone else – as a soul. Conflicts in the world are all based on discrimination – a very low level of consciousness. How did we ever arrive at the state we find ourselves in; that we have to
pass laws to say that we are all equal?

Every single human soul is worthy of regard, respect, love, and kindness. Some we see may be ‘broken’, but they need even more love. There are terrible things happening in the world, but I should be able to remain slightly detached, to be able to see beyond, be one to generate hope and inspire a new generation to move in a different direction. Being trappedin illusion and falsehood, building a sense of self from that which is destined to deceive, is to cause great sorrow to the self. I need to find spiritual energy to generate the beauty within to bring real beauty back to the world. Those who first ventured into outer space were able to be totally detached. The moment they saw the beautiful planet from space, with love and detachment, they say it had a profound impact on their awareness of life.

They returned completely transformed. That is what meditation does. It makes us see things, everything, differently. It is only then that I can contribute in a naturally beautiful way to a new reality.

Eric Le Reste was a producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for more than 35 years. He coordinates the Brahma Kumaris centres in Canada and is based in Montreal.

Empathy enables us to deeply appreciate other people who encounter the world differently from ourselves. Unlike sympathy – which means being so affected that we get pulled into the same state – empathy allows us to help them by retaining our own resourcefulness. Put simply, with empathy, a problem shared is a problem halved. With sympathy, a problem shared is a problem doubled…

It is easy to empathise with those who see the world the same way we do. But when others see things differently, the knee-jerk reaction is to judge them as mad, or bad, or both. You do not need to look further than today’s highly charged atmosphere of political polarisation to see where this eventually leads.

The key realisation that unlocks the capacity for empathy is recognising that none of us ever sees the whole picture in any situation. In effect, all that each of us ever has is a two-dimensional perspective on a three-dimensional reality that none of us ever sees in its entirety. In other words, none of us has access to the “God’s eye” perspective.

To cultivate empathy, instead of dismissing the different perspectives of others as misinformed, mistaken, or misguided, it is wise and kind to take a step back and ask: “Why might a competent, well-intentioned person see things this way?”. Once I genuinely grasp that their perspective is just as biased, one-sided, incomplete, and as valid as my own different, biased, one-sided, incomplete perspective, it ceases to be a threat. With this understanding, their perspective enriches, as opposed to undermining, my own.

Think about a pig. A veterinarian sees it as a patient. A pig farmer sees it as money. A butcher sees it as meat. A xenotransplantation scientist sees it as a host to grow organs for life-saving transplantation into humans. An animal rights activist sees it as a sentient living being. The fundamental truth is that we do not see things as they are, we see them as we are. This is simple enough to grasp in theory, but in practice imagine how difficult it will be for the animal rights activist to empathise with the scientist. That is the deeper challenge – when our identity is too deeply invested in our perspective, we cannot separate “what we see” from “who we are”. I will be convinced that I am right and so you must be wrong.

Rajyoga strikes at the root of this misidentification by teaching us that we are not our roles. We are souls – spiritual actors playing uniquely different roles on the world stage. As Shakespeare pointed out in his play “As You Like It” (Act 2 Scene 7), “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts …”. As soul actors, we see others not just as fellow actors but as fellow members of one spiritual family. When we realise that each of our perspectives is always partial, we no longer have to impose a single, uniform 2D perspective to be united. The beauty of a bouquet of flowers is in its variety of shapes, colours, and fragrances, not in bland conformity.

Try experimenting with the above understanding as follows: explore with someone who holds a different perspective what formative life experiences and personal influences led them to see things the way they do. If you do this with curiosity whilst suspending judgement, you will discover that if you were in their shoes, the world would seem the same way to you. That experience is the ultimate key to cultivating empathy.

Geoff Marlow is an organisational consultant and Rajyoga practitioner based in Cambridge, UK.

I am peace. The Home is peace. The Father is the Ocean of Peace. Our true religion is peace. This is not a mood; it’s a map: who I am, where I belong, whom I belong to. And how to live: in peace.

God is the Purifier, and I am the one being purified. This is the meeting: God’s purity cleanses; my remembrance of Him receives.

Every soul longs for peace, yet many confuse it with escape: a quiet room, a mountain retreat, a pause from noise. But God’s peace is not an interval between struggles; it is eternal, unbroken, beyond circumstance. God is never pulled by sorrow, never shaken by storms. The world turns in turmoil, but this divine presence remains unmoved, like the silent depths beneath the ocean’s waves. We lose peace over the smallest matters: a word, a glance, an unexpected change. His stillness, however, is limitless. Nothing disturbs Him; nothing clings to His being. He abides in silence, beyond the reach of fear, loss, or desire. Peace is His nature, not a response to conditions.

Here is the divine paradox: though God is silence itself, He comes into the noisiest age to give that silence back to us. He does not silence the world; He awakens silence within the soul. All other beings, no matter how elevated, become stained by time. Every soul gathers the dust of sorrow and the rust of forgetfulness. But God alone remains forever stainless, beyond the reach of karma or decay. From this divine purity comes the power to purify. The world has searched for purity in rivers, fire, and ritual. Yet water can only wash the body, not the heart; fire can only burn what is seen, not what is hidden. God’s purity alonereaches the soul, washing the deep impressions of sorrow, fear, and guilt that nothing else
can touch.

Here is the divine paradox: the One who has never fallen comes to lift those who have. The One who never tasted impurity enters the impure world not to judge, but to heal. He cleanses without condemning, liberates without force, restores without reminding us of the stain.

Read more from Experiencing God: tiny.cc/GodBook

Shireen Chada is the Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre in Tampa, USA.

For generations, before psychiatry and pharmaceutical labels, communities had people who held space for life’s deeper questions. They listened without judgment. They told stories that helped people find their way back to themselves. They pulled meaning out of the unseeable. In different cultures and languages these figures wore many names — wise woman, elder, seer, keeper of stories — but their role was always the same: to help the community carry what cannot be carried alone.

This quiet kind of wisdom does not make headlines. It does not broadcast itself on television or social media; there is no need for likes or followers. Yet, it still lives, in towns and neighbourhoods across the world. It lives in the gentle way someone listens, in the simple ritual of sharing a story, in the garden herbs tended with care and a wealth of age-old knowledge. These are the modern echoes of an ancient, essential human role: the healer, the witness, and the meaningkeeper.

Even though today we live in a world that is brilliant in its science and technology, a startling number of us feel adrift. Depression and anxiety are at record highs in wealthy nations. And while contemporary mentalhealth care has brought lifesaving tools, there is a part of human suffering that medical models are not equipped to deal with: the loss of meaning, connection, and story.

Meaning matters. This is not just intuition; it is backed by research. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, found that meaning — not comfort, not distraction — is what sustained people through the deepest suffering. In his classic work, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he observed that those who could hold a narrative larger than their pain were more likely to survive, more likely to continue, more likely to live.

Anthropologists such as Byron Good and Laurence Kirmayer, document how across cultures, healing is not just about eliminating symptoms. It is about restoring someone’s sense of place in a story, a community, and a world of shared symbols. When we lose the cultural roles that hold meaning — the storytellers, the listeners, the meaningmakers — we lose part of our ability to integrate suffering into life.

The healer (the one who listens and holds meaning) did not disappear entirely. They went quiet. They took refuge in the everyday, in the relational fabric of community. There will be one (or more than one) in your neighbourhood; maybe even next door. If we look closely, they can be recognised as:

• The neighbour who tends a garden of medicinal herbs and knows how to make teas that
  calm the spirit
• The friend who sits with you and lets you speak — without interrupting, fixing, or
  diagnosing
• The person who reads stories aloud and creates a container of rhythm and presence
• The elder whose lived experience speaks in silence and gesture
• The intuitive listener who holds, without judgment, the mystery of what you carry

These figures are not demanding proof. They are not offering themselves as miracle workers. They are offering presence, attention, and narrative — the very things that help pull someone back from isolation and into belonging. We can all be healers. Doing something as simple as sitting with someone who is struggling, and saying, “Tell me a story.” It could be a story about nothing at all — a memory, a childhood
moment, the way the wind moved through the trees last autumn. The content does not matter; what matters is that together you create a shared narrative space, a tiny bridge between isolation and connection. Healers can use stories, tinctures, rituals, plants, quiet conversations – these are just the portals to healing.

The true gift is not in the object or the story itself, but in the relational space that is created. The healer’s work is to hold that space fully and openly, without trying to make the other person do, say, or think anything in particular. They simply allow presence to happen. That presence, subtle and undemanding, is the conduit for meaning, for restoration, and for reconnection.

We do not have to seek magic or explanation to experience it. The healer next door — however humble, however quiet — carries that timeless, universal gift: the capacity to hold space for another human soul, and in doing so, to remind us that we are never truly alone.

Even when there is no one else to listen, the most quiet and humble Healer of all is God, who listens to our hearts and offers subtle, powerful support of love and upliftment.

Michael Frank is a teacher of Rajyoga meditation with the Brahma Kumaris and is based in Halifax, Canada.

The powerful and beneficial effects on the brain of someone who meditates are quite dramatic. Research shows that someone who meditates has better memory function, a better functioning IQ, improved concentration and focus. Memory shapes who we are, and gives us our sense of self in the world we inhabit. As we age, we start to become more forgetful and we think that this is a normal part of aging. However, modern neuroscience and ancient spirituality offer hope and practical techniques to preserve and maybe even enhance memory.

Memories are formed in a three-step process. First, ‘registration’ (taking in the information). This activity takes place in the prefrontal cortex. The second stage is ‘consolidation’ that takes place in the hippocampus, and finally ‘storage’, (keeping the information) which takes place in the whole brain. ‘Retrieval’ (recalling) can then happen when required. A major reason for poor memory in the young is faulty registration due to a distracted mind with a poor attention span. A brain structure near the hippocampus is the amygdala, which is used for emotional tagging of experiences so that the emotionalised memories or memories that have strong emotions attached to them, remain in the brain for a long time. We can think of the brain as a mesh of wires (84 billion of them) that we call neurons. They are storehouses for memories and belief systems. Some memory networks are inherited while others are acquired with time. Because we are all different; we have a distinct set of experiences from
early childhood; parents, education, nationality and so on, so each set of networks (memory
systems) is unique to each individual.

Memory is a dynamic process, not static. Every time we learn, practise something, or meditate, we strengthen that particular neural pathway. The brain physically changes in a process of neuroplasticity. The brain memory system is not fixed: with use, connections are strengthened, and with disuse, they fade.

Why do we forget things? Pseudo-dementia (false-forgetfulness) is caused by negative thinking. When negative emotions are hyperactive, then memory is suppressed. Stress emotions and depression result in brain dysfunction, poor intelligence, and poor memory. Many young people are hooked on mobile phones and consistently exposed to violent or negative videos. Their memories and intellectual capacity are diminishing. When we are angry, we feel stress and negative emotions. This results in a lack of concentration and loss of focus. Negative emotions also hijack the logical brain. People blinded by greed cannot think logically. Attachment results in pain and suffering that lower our brain capacity. Pride
and ego result in the loss of common sense.

Dementia (pathological forgetfulness) is a different kind of forgetting. Some things are normal to forget, especially when we do not refer to those things often. The brain erases what we do not need. Aging slows our recall but does not erase the memory – supplied with a clue, we can remember. However, if someone completely forgets, for example where they keep certain things, repeatedly asks the same questions, often get lost (disorientated), and struggles to name familiar objects with the correct word, then it is time to seek medical advice.

There are many myths about forgetting. For example, it is often believed that when we forget something, it means it is gone forever. That is incorrect; it can resurface with prompts. It is also not true that by merely repeating something you will remember it better; there has to be active engagement when learning. We do not use just 10 per cent of the brain, as some people assert; all regions of the brain work together. There is also no evidence for a photographic memory; strategies are used in recall. Multitasking does not, in fact, improve memory; it fragments attention and weakens registration (taking in of
information).

Here are some everyday tips for improving and enhancing memory function:

1. Make sure to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep.
2. Exercise in some way (move) every day. Exercise triggers neurogenesis, i.e. new
   brain cell production, and helps with recall.
3. Eat brain-healthy food – green vegetables, nuts, Omega 3, and keep hydrated.
4. Stay socially active – this combats memory decline.
5. Keep the mind happy with good and positive thoughts. Happy minds are intelligent
   minds.
6. Meditate: it takes little time, is completely free of charge, promotes better focus and
   recall, removes negativity, and stabilises the mind.

Dr. Swapan Gupta is a neurologist at the GB Pant Institute, New Delhi.

“Sit peacefully. Breathe peacefully. Be peaceful. Then the vibration of the peace you experience will reach far and wide.”

• Dadi Janki

From ancient spiritual teachings to modern physics, one idea appears again and again: everything vibrates and has its own frequency. Whether interpreted as emotional energy, spiritual resonance, or symbolic currents that shape the mood of a room, vibrations form an invisible language that influences how we feel, think, respond, and interact with the world. We have forgotten that we are all intricately and invisibly connected. Vibrations, whether spiritual, emotional, or symbolic — offer a rich language for understanding the unseen forces shaping our lives. They help us describe what intuition already knows: that every moment carries a tone, every place has a feeling, and every person radiates something uniquely their own, like a cosmic fingerprint and personality signature.

In scientific terms, a vibration is any oscillation — a back-and-forth movement. Whether it is the hum of a guitar string, a piano chord, the pulse of light, or the movement of atoms. In a spiritual or psychological sense, “vibration” is used as a metaphor for the energetic tone of a person, place, or experience. People often describe others as having “good vibes,” “heavy energy,” or that there is a “strange feeling in the air.” These are not measurements — they are intuitive impressions, but we have real emotional responses to them. When we resonate with someone, our energies just align and it feels right. We call this resonance, an energetic alignment, instant chemistry, a rapport, or we simply ‘click with them’.

Vibrations, then, become a bridge between the physical and the symbolic. So, when we are tuned in, vibrations are the method we use consciously to interpret the world’s subtle signals. We call this intuition. High vibrations are associated with elevated emotional states such as joy, compassion, creativity, gratitude. These states tend to make people feel expansive, open, and connected. Many spiritual traditions teach that high vibrations arise naturally when we are aligned with our values, practise mindfulness, or simply spend time in nature. When we walk in a calm forest or on a picturesque beach, enjoy a meaningful conversation, or experience a moment of inspiration, we can lift our internal frequency.

Just as sound can be beautiful or dissonant, our emotional atmosphere can shift into lower or heavier vibrations. These are often experienced as anxiety, anger, confusion, or emotional outbursts. We feel these heavier vibrations when we enter environments that feel “tense” or “off”.  These vibrations can arise from stress, unresolved conflict, or even the lingering emotional imprint of a difficult experience.
Across cultures, darker or chaotic vibrations appear in folklore and fairy tales. These stories show signs of imbalance. They might manifest as a house with a “cold presence”, an object that carries a troubled history, a character whose energy distorts the room, or a frequency that triggers fear or confusion. In fiction, these vibrations can be tied to curses, psychic interference, or emotional immaturity and confusion — but always symbolically.

Whether understood spiritually or symbolically, vibrations emphasize one deep truth: we are not isolated beings. We affect each other constantly. A person walking into a room can shift the atmosphere without speaking a word. Empathy, intuition, and emotional sensitivity are all ways of “reading vibrations.” When we pick up on tension, warmth, dishonesty, or affection, we are interpreting the energetic clues
expressed through mood, posture, presence, and environment. If we learn to trust our “gut feeling,” or intuition, it will guide us in the right direction. Intuition cuts through all the logic and the beliefs we hold, whether we are aware of them or not. These beliefs, which we cling to so strongly, shape how we see the world and influence the choices we make. Lifting our “vibrations” doesn’t require mysticism. It can be as simple as:

• Practising mindfulness
• Taking time to turn within and reconnect with yourself
• Creating environments that feel safe and uplifting
• Being honest with ourselves
• Making art and being creative – brings a harmonious vibe
• Connecting with supportive and like-minded people
• Taking breaks from over-stimulation. Why not try a digital detox?

Harmony is not about being positive all the time — it is about cultivating balance, so that all the emotional noise of life does not drown out our deeper sense of self. By turning within and moving away from life’s distractions, we can reconnect with ourselves through silence, meditation, and quiet contemplation.

By becoming more aware of these subtle frequencies, we gain insight not only into the world around us but also into the rhythms of our own inner life. Meditation is a way for us to get back in step with our own music of life.

Aruna Ladva is an author and Rajyoga meditation teacher based at the Global Retreat Centre, Oxford, UK.

God is so deeply involved in our upliftment, yet so completely detached, and this is the secret of His eternal purity.

God is the Ocean of Love: steady, endless, and overflowing toward every soul.

Human beings stumble through the cycle of falling and rising. Time has clouded all of us, butnever God. His purity is not something He earns, recovers, or defends; it simply is. He is the light that never gathers smoke. For us, purity often feels fragile, a vow to keep, an effort to resist waste. For Him, purity is effortless. Where ours falters and fluctuates, He remains steady in eternity.

Here is the paradox: He enters the dirtiest age, yet not a speck of dust clings to Him. Only the One who has never lost purity can awaken it again in others. This is why His purity is power. What trembles in us under pressure is unshakable in Him. He enters the impure world so that even the most stained can remember their own innocence.

Human love, though precious, is often mixed with need or expectation. It rises and falls with moods and circumstances, sometimes strong, sometimes weak. But God’s love is different. It is pure; it does not cling, it does not demand, it does not tire. God does not love me for my role, my actions, or my appearance. He loves because it is His nature to love. Like the sun that shines on mountain and valley alike, this divine love reaches every soul, saint or sinner, strong or weak. God gives without keeping account, without ever running dry.

Here is the wonder: this love is as vast as an ocean, yet it touches me as though I were the only one. In the expanse of eternity, He makes space for intimacy. This is the miracle of divine love, unlimited, yet deeply personal.

Shireen Chada is the Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre in Tampa, USA.

Fear is often described as the seventh vice – after lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego, and laziness. The reason is that fear is an overwhelming emotional response to situations and people that paralyses us from making powerful decisions, and reduces the quality of life. It robs us of our ability to be the best we can be. It can often be controlled on the surface, but the underlying force, which shapes our behaviour, is very difficult to control.

There is an ancient saying: “An intellect that has fear or doubt is led to destruction, and an intellect that has love and faith is led to victory.” It means that fear and doubt affect our ability to decide and discern the correct way to live. Fear means I lose out, I panic and become confused. I come under the effect of negative emotions and my self-respect diminishes; I lose happiness and peace of mind. Whereas, love and faith give strength and my thinking is one single line of congruence, leading to victory within. The scenes and people involved pass by, and I am left with an inner state of stability.

The journey of spirituality teaches us to constantly give importance to what is going on inside – in stark contrast to what the world generally recommends, which is to pay close attention to what is going on outside. People say: “I believe it when I see it.” Those with a spiritual perspective say: “I believe it, so I will see it.” This understanding frees us from so many limitations and enables us to transform our lives. Fear of anything, be it fear of being wrong, being alone, being with people, being in the spotlight, being ignored, looking like a fool, or of failure, is in the main, based on the fear of loss.

Fear is usually due to an attachment that I have that is being challenged. Yet, we are continuously in a state of change. We are moving along parallel with time. Our perception of the self and others, of situations and scenes from the past or the imagined future, are all being seen and experienced from whatever current state of consciousness we are in. Because our consciousness can change quickly, sometimes in a second, it means instantaneously, our perceptions of the past and future can suddenly change. This is an indication that the things I fear are controllable and I can release myself from any fear by going on the internal journey; doing the inner work.

We are all spiritual beings, human beings, souls occupying a physical form. The soul is originally pure in nature and is full of peace. The journey of life, indeed lives, is to regain and experience the true inner qualities of the soul – peace, love, joy, wisdom, and purity. When we cannot truly experience this, then we turn to substitutes. It becomes important then to retain our attachment to those substitutes, in fact we cannot help but do that. To free ourselves from these attachments, those things and people we fear losing, we must go to the centre of our truth. This is in direct contradiction to what happens in the physical dimension. If there is something we do not want in the physical world, we pick it up and throw it away. In the spiritual dimension we must not touch that which we do not want. If we do not want to live in fear, then do not touch that which triggers the fear. Do not touch the feelings that trigger the fear. We need understanding of the trigger, but we must not enter into the feeling, otherwise we are just reinforcing the fear. We need to keep returning to the centre – reminding the self that I am a peaceful, love-full, powerful being. Sit in the cave of this inner awareness and yet continue to live a full life, with all its duties and requirements, in a state of peace and joy.

We have a tendency to give importance to people, things, and events, that is we raise the value of them in our minds in relation to ourselves. As soon as we do that, we open ourselves to worry, stress, and fear. We must take everyone and everything off any kind of pedestal we may have placed them on. The more we go into the depth of this understanding, the more fears automatically disappear. I realise just how much authority I have – to choose my own thoughts, full of power, and free from fear.

Mark Fleming teaches Rajyoga meditation at the Brahma Kumaris Global Retreat Centre, Oxfordshire, UK.