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Religious Initiatives of Brahma Kumaris

Views and Perspectives:

Centuries ago, the task of saving people from moral and spiritual degeneration and guiding them to noble aims belonged to religion. Religion had great influence and authority at that time. When religion began to lose that authority, a schism developed between church and state. This schism reflected an underlying rift within the human psyche: self-control had become a matter of social norm rather than one of conscience. Since then, the main religious traditions have been struggling to regain their authority. Unfortunately, the means they have been using — forced conversions, aggressive assertion of dogmas and rituals and transgression of human rights — have not yielded the desired results.

It is a fundamental view of the Brahma Kumaris that just as there are different branches in a person’s family tree, all religions are branches of the human family tree. However, whenever a branch has behaved or expected others to behave as if it were the tree itself, it has lost its value to humanity as a whole — irrespective of how inspiring its teachings or purifying its practices are.
The Religious Wing aims at spiritual empowerment of religion, wherein utmost importance is given to non-violence, tolerance and forgiveness in inter-religious relationships.
When the principles and practices of all faith traditions are enlightened by spiritual wisdom and their dogmas infused with a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation, all religions will co-exist in harmony and complement each other in serving humanity.

Objectives:

  • To stress the parallel and common values and practices in various religions as well as the elements of love and reconciliation emphasized by all faiths.
  • To inspire people to follow, in practice, the teachings of their respective religious traditions rather than putting emphasis on rituals or proselytisation.
  • To encourage members of all faith traditions to develop a broad and liberal attitude as well as a spirit of accommodation and respect for those of other faiths.

Promoting Bhagavad Gita

Rojyogi BK Trinadh conducted an awareness  programme on the “secrets of  Shrimat  Bhagavath Geeta” at Trilok Bavan, Rajahmundry in which public from various occupations participated.

Bhagavad Gita has been written in the form of a dialogue between God and the Pandava warrior Arjuna, and is part of the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata.

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, God revealed to Arjuna profound spiritual truths and expounded the secrets of yoga, Vedanta, bhakti and karma. A notable feature of the Gita is “God speaks in first person, with this saying ‘Bhagavaan Uvaacha’ (God said) preceding all that was spoken by Him. But since God is personified in the form of Shri Krishna in the Gita, there is debate about who is the source of the wisdom contained in the sacred book, which is often called the ‘mother of all scriptures’.

The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita are universal and relevant to all people, as they provide answers to questions that vex human minds everywhere, and show the way to conduct one’s life, achieve spiritual progress, and attain self-realisation..

 

On careful study of the Gita one realises that the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is a part, is an allegorical tale meant to convey many teachings.

 

Shri Krishna is merely a representation of incorporeal God, and not God Himself while Arjuna symbolises the spiritual seeker weighed down by ignorance and doubt. Passages in the Gita make it clear that Shri Krishna, a deity, or in other words a human with divine qualities, cannot be the God of Gita. In the book, God describes Himself as being ‘unborn and of imperishable nature’. Shri Krishna, a deity or, in other words, a human with divine qualities, could not have attributed to himself the qualities of the Supreme Being and exhorted Arjuna to remember him. In another passage, God says, ‘Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself’. Again, Shri Krishna could not have said this, as deities live in the Golden Age, when there is no trace of unrighteousness in the world. Deities don’t exist in the evil world that God comes to salvage.

 

This medium is remembered in the scriptures as Brahma, the first man. Brahma is referred to in other religious traditions as Adam. He is the one who first receives spiritual knowledge from God and becomes instrumental (God’s human medium)in the establishment of a new, righteous world order. The confusion about the God of the Gita has not only denied the book its rightful status as a universal scripture but also prevented a large part of the human family from benefiting from the wisdom contained in it. Removing this confusion will help take the Gita to a wider audience, and also establish the fact that there is just one incorporeal God, and all human souls are linked to that Supreme Soul. Recognition of this spiritual connection will bring the human family closer together and help heal its divisions.