Thursday, October 25, 2007

Thoughts on 'Celebrating Human Greatness'



The Brahma Kumaris – the World Spiritual Organization have organized an evening of conversations – “Stories and Conversations on Greatness in America”. The meeting is to be held on Saturday, 6 October, 07 at the Anubhuti Meditation and Retreat Center in Novato, California. Janardhan at 415 884 2314, or email janardhan@humangreatness.org provides details.

That same weekend the BKs have arranged a Workshop on “Living Values Education”. The workshop runs from 7:00pm Friday to 5:00pm Sunday, 5-7 October, 07, and will be led by Dianne Tillman a psychologist and primary author of Living Values Series and Kyoko Kimura an experienced LVE teacher. Sister Kyoko at 415 563 4459, www.anubhutiretreatcenter.org, or www.livingvalues.net provide information.

I happened to be reading this morning from a June 2000 issue of the National Geographic which I picked up from the Novato library attracted by an article – “Indus, Clues to an Ancient Civilization”. Before I had dwelled into the article I found myself intently reading the magazine’s publishing page. The Society’s brilliant work and dedication – “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge” – have always impressed me It holds my respect and admiration.

“Human Greatness”, “Living Values”, and “Increase and Diffusion of Geographic Knowledge” conjures in my head an expansive wonderful fabric and a collage of qualities that excite the mind and warm the heart. There is greatness beyond the sum of the three activities, and that greatness is an attribute that arises, and can only arise, from the Trinity of “Greatness”, “Values”, and “Knowledge (Learning)”, as embodied in us ‘Humans’ who have the moral prerogative of nurturing that seed, that little spark of light that is inherent in our nature.

The obduracy of life seems to rob us of this intrinsic ‘goodness’ and replace some of that with ‘discontent’ and rightly so, as it should! Discontentment with our lifestyles and relationships, and what’s out there. Well there is nothing out there except the sky, the stars, the planets, the nebulae, the quasars, the voids, and the Immensity. What makes the Immensity eternal is our mind, our heart, and our spirit which engages 24/7, every minute, every hour, every day, and indeed every moment. Take the spark - of affection, kindness, and caring - out of us and we are left fatherless, motherless and every conceivable relationship less, like an orphaned lost child.

Let Him hold our hands and lead us, even sometimes carry us in His arms and leave footprints of our time, in time to be washed away, standing testimony to that relationship that verily sought to teach us greatness and values.

Samir Mondle

Fri 28 September 2007

Novato, CA

05:30

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