The cycle of time beyond BK conditioning.
A deep understanding (if at least intellectual) of the significance of the cycle of time will give us the answers which many different religions, philosophies and “isms” have presented during our history.
Cyclical time is not an exclusive belief of Brahma Kumaris, but in my humble opinion; there hasn’t been writings or “churnings” which I am aware of, considering the depth of it.
Let me present some items to consider using BK philosophy.
Have you heard in “New Age” the popular: “we are all ONE”? Probably we have heard several explanations to try to make sense of that one: “Brahman is Atma. Atma is Brahman” is one of them.
Everything which is included in the cycle of time is bound to belong to it, including “your” thoughts. Yes, we are all ONE.
A jigsaw puzzle has pieces. Every piece has meaning as part of the puzzle. However, the puzzle has meaning thanks to the picture over the pieces (typically landscapes.) That picture is the “Drama of Life” depicted by the movement of the world cycle. Every piece has a small chunk of the whole picture. A piece is nothing by itself; but only in relationship with other pieces to make something bigger than themselves.
Even the picture of the “3 Worlds” depicts a relationship between “Parandham”, the “Subtle Region” and the Physical World. The “world Drama” happens in the physical realm; but there is influence of the other two realms. There is a continuous interchange. What is the “purpose” of “Parandham” other than to supply “souls” to the physical world? At the same time, isn’t the purpose of the physical world to supply souls to Parandham? Isn’t the subtle region in a way, a reflection of the physical world?
Therefore, everything works in synchronicity and there is no one accounted for that feat. No need of a “creator”. It just happens.
The Universe is perfect, despite the popular saying that “Nothing is perfect”, we could now observe that nothing could be but perfect. For it IS as it has to BE.
“Perfection” is not a human ideal to reach. It already IS.
Therefore, Who are you?
Isn’t the “soul” merely an agent of destiny “equipped” for every journey, every Life, with particular experiences?
Where is your “free will” then?
That will probably hurt most “unprepared” egos. That is probably why we haven’t heard about the cycle of time with certain depth yet. It is easier to say: “ Baba says, it is a predestined Drama; but you can change things “now” (free will) because we don’t know what will happen.” A “shrewd intellect” could realize that we have to DO things, certainly; but we are driven to DO something based on circumstances, conditioning, etc. That unobserved drive we could call “free will”, the name is irrelevant; what is important to notice is consciousness behind an action; and consciousness does not depend on us. It happens.
Religions have pretended to go around this obvious observation, by creating an artificial moral system whereby a particular ACTION is labeled as “good” without care on consciousness. The output of such trap is that many followers will DO something labeled “right” although, they do not feel in the same direction.
Let me illustrate: According to BK knowledge, “sex is bad.” Don’t DO it. However, is that truly the way you feel? In other words, is your CONSCIOUSNESS according to that action? That is how repression arrives and many mental problems after that.
Now, let me go into the trap of “I”.
Who “I think I am” is merely that. It has no significance in Life but in our artificial society. Moreover, It has no significance if “I think that I am important, now or in the future.” It is all human day dreaming.
There is NO ONE in “you”. Nothing. Go to sleep at night. The mirage is gone. It happens every day of our life.
Alzheimer anyone? Who are “you” if you don’t remember? Others may remember “you”, but we are always changing. What “YOU,” do they remember then? That “soul” (Atma) is only a container. It is not “self.” As every BK knows, that container can have up to 84 lives (experiences in Life) all “recorded” already. Again, “self” is not “soul.” “You”(self) will not go beyond this experience which we call Life. Please “churn” that. It is all coming from the understanding of the predestined world cycle.
Now, let us take a look at “Predestination.”
It merely means that the consciousness that we have is already set up, as we are part of the cycle of time; and it has to display different circumstances according to “time.”
“We” are merely agents of “time”. “Fabricating” changes which are already set up. Thus, the morality of “good and bad” is another human creation not supported by Life itself. Life is beyond “good and bad”. There will be consequences of “our” actions, yes; but we will be equipped to withstand those as well. That is known as “karma.”
What is this idea of “God” then? I will not go into that at this time, as I have offered enough to “churn about”. If you’d like to explore that, you may do it.
Don’t we feel trapped, like “puppets” moved by the puppeteer, the “Drama”? Do you feel unhappy?
That is because we do not understand a thing, yet.
Nothing is asked from “you”. Nothing to “do.” No purpose to reach. “You” are already FREE.
All you have to DO is ENJOY, APPRECIATE and SMILE. That is the “effort”.
Whatever you DO is meant to BE. Wherever you ARE is meant to BE.
Look how the conditioned mind wants you to “achieve,” to “make effort,” to “save yourself”. No time for enjoyment. Got to get busy… “Do service.”
As “I” am dying from “myself”, death becomes not only acceptable but liberating. Do you think “I” am afraid of “destruction just ahead”? Isn’t that only another picture of the jigsaw puzzle?
“I” am a soul. 🙂 How could you BE a soul (container) if “YOU” are not?
“Atman is Brahman”. That is more accurate but typically; misunderstood.
There you have something “new,” precious to churn about; thanks to the cycle of time. 🙂
Brahma Kumaris and Beyond - Avyakt7 
Gayathri 2:30 AM on July 5, 2019 Permalink |
I like the words, “..Every piece has a small chunk of the whole picture. A piece is nothing by itself; but only in relationship with other pieces to make something bigger than themselves….”
“Even the picture of the “3 Worlds” depicts a relationship between “Parandham”, the “Subtle Region” and the Physical World.”
Well, i am a soul, the container, that contains all the roles that i need to play in a kalpa.
Thanks for sharing the gems.
Gayathri.
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avyakt7- New Generation 8:37 AM on July 5, 2019 Permalink |
An empty soul, with nothing other than pre recorded roles to play. It is that emptiness the one that we discover when the mind is still or not there. We call that peace. Another name “Brahman.”
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Gayathri 12:07 PM on July 18, 2019 Permalink |
Here is an article by “Rose Mary” on Drama.
If everything is fixed, why should I try?
When it is told that everything in the Drama is fixed and repeats itself every Kalpa, some may feel: “If so, why should I try? Would it not be boring? ..etc.”
Just like there could be wrong answers, there could be improper questions also. For example, after seeing non-vegetarians enjoying their food, one cannot ask “Is flesh of other living beings a very enjoyable food?” This question is not fully right because it has conflicting answers. Flesh is a delightful food for one group whereas flesh is highly abhorrent for people who value lives of other living beings. Similarly, you can’t ask “Is an idol (pratima) good?” because some religions hate it whereas in India, pratima is helpful. Prathima [from the root ma = to measure] is defined as Prathimeeyathe ithi prathima which means conveying the character of god/goddess in equal measure into another medium, as in the case of picturization of Narayan whose core characteristics are shown through four hands holding swadarshana chakra (knowledge that he is atma), mace (victory over Maya), lotus (purity) and conch (announcing the knowledge of incoming Golden Age with others and enabling others to become like him).
That means conflicting answers can have for certain questions depending on various factors, and true meaning of a statement is inseparably connected with its context. In the context of saying history repeats identically every cycle, God may say ‘even a fly that passes by your face may do so in the next cycle too.’ People who look for essence rightly think: “If so, the more important things too will surely repeat identically.” It is not unusual to take minor things to highlight major things. For example, Jesus said: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye” (Mathew 7:3) He was not thinking about a dust particle. Rather he was saying most people are inclined to see even the minor faults of others (not their own major faults); thus they never feel the need to change, hence good and bad people repeat what they have been doing (Mathew 12:35) and because of this he declared: “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Mathew 7:13, 14)
When God Shiva says ‘everything repeats itself’—it is simply His experience that everything repeats itself. He gives a perfect start to humanity at the start of every Kalpa and they reach decadence in the end, hence He has been renewing what has become old at the end of each Kalpa. Things begin to become old as inhabitants on earth fall into forgetfulness about true nature of themselves and of God; thus history is cycle of “forgetting and not forgetting” (Murli 05.09.2017) which is all about repetition. Things repeat in small and large scale. To mention a few examples: Billions of deaths have occurred, yet people repeat the style of living as though they will not die. Even though mechanism of Cause and Effect is everywhere, most people repeat hoping they can evade consequence for their actions, thus we have increasing crime rate, abortions …etc. Everyone knows sensual pleasures are sweet in the begging but bitter in the end resulting in many sufferings, yet people repeat running after them. Even though everyone in India knows Gandhiji entered into politics with no selfish interest, people repeat entering into politics with selfish interest.
The reason why people repeat is that each atma is unique and has also unique sanskar. Hence even though one may think that he is choosing his action, in fact he is only unfolding according to his likes and dislikes. People going to a restaurant and ordering for different items may give the impression that they are choosing. In fact, each one is only acting according to his taste and liking which is NOT CHOOSING. Likes and dislikes are fixed whereas choice is dynamic. One may unwillingly donate for a welfare cause all because he is worried about his image, thus his donation was a forced giving, NOT A CHOICE. What people do is only an expression of what they really are. What one is doesn’t depend on him. What is in the tank only will come through the tap. What is in one’s sanskar only will come out as his actions/reactions. Hence whatever one does is unfolding of his likes and dislikes which is, in effect, like ROLLING DOWN, hence choice is not a right word to describe our actions. Our actions are best described by the word nimith or “instrumental consciousness,” says Gulzar Dadi (World and Wisdom of Gulzar, p. 74). Because it is under various factors and forces that each person acts. This word nimith is a combination of ni (down, back) and mitha/mith (moderate/measure, from the root ma, to measure) [as in nirog which means “free from disease”]. Hence when you say “I am nimith” it means your part in any happening is too small to measure as you are flowing with many factors and forces (seen & unseen, discernible & indiscernible). When you say “I had my lunch” it may look too simple. But, to make it possible, how many people should work directly and indirectly—including the invisible labor force of micro organisms working beneath the mud in the farmlands?
In view of the above, one would easily understand the import of what Baba says “even the fly that passes your face will repeat it in the next Kalpa.” This is just another way of saying everything (micro and macro) repeats, and this statement often comes with other statements such as: “BKs are those who do not engage in vices. If a BK commits any vice, he/she will lose his/her status and will also receive 100 times punishment…..etc.” Thus in essence what He says is that Drama is a play of both freedom and destiny. All those who are acting do not feel they are acting in a fixed way but feel that they are choosing, yet in fact they are only unfolding according to their sanskar. There is no choice in unfolding, it is fixed. Hence actions are fixed, and results are inseparable from action, hence they too are fixed.. Fixed by whom? By each individual. For example, Baba says: “You could even go higher than Mama and Baba, but the conscience says that no one can go higher than Mama and Baba.” (Murli October 09, 2017) In other words, in Drama everything repeats because of the fixed thinking of individuals. In some cases it is very obvious. For example, habitual late comers have a fixed thinking; and habitual time-keepers too have a fixed thinking; hence both groups repeat their habit.
When BK gyan was introduced to us we readily and delightfully accepted it, and superficially it seemed it was our choice. Yet truth is that we accepted because it matched with our sanskar. When I went through the 7-day course of Brahmakumaris, I felt an overwhelming leaning towards it from my subconscious mind to accept it readily as though I have lived through the first perfect half of the Kalpa. In other words, it was like I was re-awakened to BK gyan just like I am awakened from sleep by the sound of an alarm clock which is not a choice in its real sense. Those who reject BK gyan too do the same in every Kalpa. They are like those who have never visited foreign countries; and to them names of foreign countries are just names with no memories attached. But name Switzerland comes with many fond memories to a person who has already visited that country. Those who accept truth will do so in every Kalpa and those who reject it will do so in every Kalpa. Everyone knows there is love, and there is real love too; there is seeing, and there is real seeing too….etc. Similarly, those who see will always see [what physical eyes can see], and those who really see will always really see [what non-physical eyes can see]. Physical eyes see seed-tree-seed mechanism whereas non-physical eyes see an eternal cycle behind them. Physical eyes see the end of Kaliyuga and non-physical eyes can see beginning of the next cycle too.
Thus two types of people are repeating two different sanskars. Spiritual person and physical person may always repeat acting in a fixed way. For example, when a spiritual person sees a purse falling on to the road from another person, he simply returns it to its owner and feels happy about that very act and WOULD NOT WANT ANY PUBLICITY to it. On the contrary, when a physical person sees a purse falling on to the road from another person, he simply takes it to himself and feels happy about the things he can buy with the money in that purse and WOULD NOT WANT ANY PUBLICITY to his taking the purse. These two types of people would always repeat their style of functioning. This is true in large scales also. In the first half of the Kalpa, inhabitants only enjoy the fruits of their actions performed in the Confluence Age. In second half more souls descend and divisiveness starts—and it is unstoppable. If anyone tries to introduce the features of first half of the Kalpa (such as one Government for all, one religion for all, one economical system for all, one language for all …etc), he will simply be resisted by all, and he will understand how impossible such change is, even though everyone knows it is highly beneficial. What an irony it is! Yet it is a fact! It means highlights of first half of the Kalpa and highlights of second half of the Kalpa simply repeat identically. It is an endless cycle of elevation and entropy! The only thing individual can do is acceptance or Amor Fati (love and accept everything that happens)—a beautiful concept the ancient Romans understood. In acceptance, there is peace, which brings other virtues such as love, joy…etc.
Thus, in overall view, there is contentment. It is like one praising rain in overall view: “What a wonderful arrangement the rain is! It pours on all places.. It starts from ocean and travels through air as cloud and falls as drops and flows back to ocean. In the process, it cleanses the land and nourishes the living beings.” See what happens when he has limited view about rain: “What wastage! It pours water on rock, mountain, deserted areas …. etc.” Similarly, in limited view one may not fully appreciate the repetitive aspect of Drama saying “What a boring it would be!” Some would even ask: ‘If everything is fixed, why should I try or do seva?’ Such question has no meaning in their personal life because if someone is a skilled cook/dancer/driver/singer …etc, he/she would not ask “why should I be careful while cooking/dancing/driving/singing …etc?”
The more attentive to one’s talent, skill, and work, the more enjoyable life would be no matter how repetitive the action is. As John Milton rightly wrote (in Paradise Lost): ‘The mind in its own place and in itself, can make Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.’ You can find this true by a simple experiment. Imagine you are a grandfather. You kept a ladu [Indian Sweet] on dining table and went to washroom, and when you returned to eat it, it was missing. Now you begin to think who the possible culprit could be. You feel anger, when you think your maid as the culprit. You feel no anger when think of your wife. You feel happy when you think of your daughter. And you feel double happiness when you think your grand-daughter ate it. See how negative emotion of anger changed into double happiness according to the change in thought! A person who interacted with over 12000 persons during their wait for death, in the dusk of their lives, gives the highlight of what they all said: “One should try to find joy in the small things, for that is what would bring a blot of happiness. One should learn to accept the situation and choose what you deeply feel will be of value to you.” (Vibes: Incessant Journey of thoughts, by Mizuma Lenin)
It’s all in our mind. If one feels “repetition is boring,” then it is boring; and if another feels “repetition is not boring,” then it is not boring. People who have overall view have no problem with the teaching that ‘everything (micro and macro) repeats’ because they know that happiness does not depend on whether something is repetitive or non-repetitive. Happiness depends on doing what we enjoy doing or on liking what we do, fully concentrating on the now, regardless of whether it is small thing or big thing, repetitive or non-repetitive. There are many things we do daily, on repetitive mode, such as brushing the teeth, bathing, eating … yet we don’t feel they are boring to us. Such routine things become even more enjoyable when we do them consciously. Apply this principle to everything we do; and you will find every moment become moment of joyfulness. Shrewd ones would also safeguard his happiness by keeping only positive and inspiring friends. And this is all the more necessary now as we are very close to the Golden Age.
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