Spirituality teaches us that we are all part of the one spiritual family and in the awareness of my own spiritual identity I recognise the spiritual identity of those around me and I relate to them in that awareness of the eternal spiritual connection of brotherhood. When we forget our spiritual identity, the external, physical identity separates us from others, because of gender, race, colour, profession, position, possessions and ideology, and huge divisions are created. Being stable in the awareness of who I am gives me the power to transcend all the differences and make the link with each one.
In the limited consciousness of matter and my physical identity, there can be loneliness and a sense of not belonging to anyone. With spiritual awareness there’s a feeling of belonging to a spiritual family. As we look around the world and we see the chaos around us, the understanding of spiritual identity reminds us that it is only when we all come together and collaborate and cooperate together that the problems of the world can be resolved. With physical consciousness there’s competition and conflict and the problems of the world escalate without the power to be able to resolve them. In the awareness of the one family and our one home, this planet, together we strive to ensure that we are able to deal with the problems caused by global warming. Together, we can definitely learn to respect nature and work with nature so that a better world may come for all. Keeping myself isolated from others around me or isolating others from the collective doesn’t allow anyone to deal with global issues, such as climate change.
Universal human values unite us and bring us together with dignity and respect. Losing touch with the core values that lie within the self, I don’t treat others with respect and dignity, I focus on their mistakes and weaknesses, rather than seeing the original beauty of the soul.
Connecting with my own inner love and truth, I am able to experience compassion for the self and I can forgive myself for whatever mistakes I may have made, knowing that with the power of realisation I can move forward and put right those mistakes. The ability to experience self compassion and forgive the self, allows the heart to open so that I can now have compassion for others around me and forgive others their mistakes, knowing that through realisation, their specialities will shine. The human family is able to support one another and move forward through compassion and forgiveness.
B.K. Jayanti is Additional Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris.