The qualities of the human soul are expressed through actions and relationships. The soul itself has masculine and feminine qualities and according to the karmic situation occupies a male or female body. The spiritual understanding of the Brahma Kumaris is that the human being comprises a soul and a body, functioning together as a living being. The soul carries in itself the imprints of past actions and these tendencies lead to actions in the present and the future. The word karma means action, but within the experience of human life it also means the exchange of action in terms of giving and taking, of accounts to be settled and new accounts to be opened (both positive and negative).
The relationship between two humans is governed by the qualities found in each soul and also the exchange of give and take through thoughts, words and actions. In particular, the key to good relations between genders is the quality of respect. Spirituality enables the individual to maintain the awareness of the eternal identity of the self as a child of God and to see others also as the same. In this awareness, there is inherent dignity and stability in a state of self-respect that allows the soul to be free. Without this, one always needs to be supported by receiving respect from the other and this creates a state of dependency and attachment which inevitably leads to pain. In the awareness of the eternal self, the freedom of self-respect allows the individual to give respect to others without dependency. In terms of the relationship between genders, spirituality allows each one to express the highest in the self and see the highest in the other so the relationship of respect, trust and pure love can develop.
Pain in relationships
When the vision becomes a materialistic, physical vision, then instead of seeing a being of light, the soul, one simply sees the body and this, I believe, is the cause of the pain we experience in terms of relationships between men and women. A reason for many frustrations and unfulfilled desires is that we have unrealistic expectations of what a relationship is. Seeing each other as bodies means having feelings of lust, attachment, violence and jealousy, which lead to anger and discontentment. When expectations are unrequited, we have the ingredients for causing pain to explode and create great suffering.
A vision of the future
As human beings develop spirituality to the highest state of divine being, the relationship between men and women will truly be filled with dignity, love, respect, honesty, truth and freedom and an ability to simply give and share. Every glance is filled with profound communication. Every movement is a dance and every word is like music. There will be the communication of total truth and in such a world of beauty, not only will men and women be in complete harmony but they will also be in harmony with animals and all of nature. The soul is clean and pure, and so the human body is filled with the fragrance of purity; the elements of nature are also pure and cooperate on all levels with human beings. All it takes is a change of vision.