A SLIGHT woman no more than five feet tall, with braided long hair nearly as white as her immaculate saree, spoke gently but firmly, inviting the listeners to embark on an inner journey. “Let us see the goodness within us. Let us ask the question, ‘How shall we be?’ before asking ‘What shall we do?’” That, she said, was how worthy leaders conducted themselves.
Jayanti Kirpalani of Brahma Kumaris (BK) was facilitating an “inside-out process” group discussion during the 2014 Spirit of Humanity Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland. The global initiative periodically brings together leaders from all backgrounds to explore the attainability of governance based more on compassion than legislation.
Today, Sister Jayanti, 75, is one of the top three administrators of Brahma Kumaris, the world’s largest spiritual organization/university led by women, and a partner organization of the Iceland forum.
She has never modified her position on authority: “When there is a gentler spirit at work, there is truth and kindness. Then leadership takes on a force for good.” Her work with the university illustrates this. Though she is much appreciated for her administrative competence, students are drawn to her first, and in the long-term, as a teacher. She has authored books on subjects of perennial interest in that nonsecular setting— spirituality in daily life, inner wisdom, the true self, dreams vis-à-vis reality, and the centerpiece of BK principles and practices, Raja Yoga.
Re-visiting Manila
Her voice is heard in an extensive archive of meditation commentaries that continue to be used from East to West.
Videos of numerous classes she has given around the world are available on YouTube. Still, there is no shortage of invitations for future speaking engagements abroad. In the Philippines, which she has visited many times, she is set to speak to local audiences yet again in two free public programs.
On Sept. 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Sister Jayanti will discuss “Sowing Seeds of Hope for the Future” at the JYD Hall, Security Bank Head Office in Makati City (RSVP 09178340118).
It could be said that all of her talks have consistently carried that same message of hope. “We want to put things right? It’s not difficult. Thousands of years have gone by. Historically, man has always done everything for himself; few are motivated to do for others. It is time to collectively take responsibility and use our inborn qualities—kindness, peace, love, happiness— to transform the world. We just need to understand who we are and who God is, and understand what He wants us to do at this moment in time.”
Sister Jayanti has brought the subject of spirituality to the discussion tables of politicians, economists, business leaders, scientists and other stakeholders, via her work in the United Nations. Brahma Kumaris holds a General Consultative Status within the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). She has been the BK representative to the UN in Geneva since 1982. And since 2009, she has headed the delegation to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP). Thus, she has spoken internationally on the link between consciousness and climate change.
On Sept. 11, at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation in Sta. Mesa, Manila, she will be one of three resource persons in a dialogue about the environment, “Journey Towards a Climate of Healing and Hope (Forum for a Healthier Planet).” (Registration Link: https://forms.gle/abzv45N195uwzvcd7 )
In a recording of an earlier class she says, “Climate change— who would have imagined that humans could do that? But people across the planet now understand that everyone should contribute in a better way to the global efforts at mitigating its effects. The BK slogan (for COP) has always been ‘Change consciousness!’ It means to move away from the limited identity of the physical ‘I’ and come to my unlimited identity as the being within. In this consciousness, I see the earth as my home, I see the people of all nations as my family, and also see that only together can we find and apply solutions.”
Whirlwind worker
Brahma Kumaris operates from 4,500 centers in 110 countries. Sister Jayanti is based in the international coordinating center, Global Cooperation House, in London. From there she directs BK activities around Europe and in the Middle East. As senior administrator, she spends a portion of every year at the general headquarters/main campus in Mount Abu, a picturesque hill station in Rajasthan, India. There, students from five continents get to interact with her during the annual pilgrimage season between September and March.
And there, in rotation with other participating countries, leaders from the same five continents meet for The Call of the Time dialogues, started in 1998. Sister Jayanti is a key figure in these talks that cover a variety of subjects based on the most pressing questions of the day.
“At the heart of the global crisis is a spiritual crisis,” she says. “The solution requires a reunion with the eternal self and the Eternal Parent.” She points to materialistic consumerism as a major cause of the environmental emergency. “Conquest of matter has led to forgetting the inner being; matter occupies the mind at every moment. Awakening the heart to this will transform both our inner and outer worlds.”
Where everything starts
Two years ago, Sister Jayanti spoke at a Call of the Moment meet (an offshoot of The Call of the Time) in Leicester, 140 kilometers north of London. The theme was “Inner Strength and Human Kindness.”
“Inner strength— which has nothing to do with force— and kindness are not opposites,” she said in her address. “They go perfectly well together. Everything starts from inside the human being. My thoughts create my consciousness, my consciousness creates my awareness, my awareness shapes my attitude, my attitude changes my vision, my vision leads to actions. Together, our actions create a culture, and that culture determines the state of the world. When I have that awareness, I know that I can’t just look out for myself.”
Sure, she conceded, “There’s chaos out there, so much darkness— greed, violence, apathy. It may be hard to see kindness in all of that. But kindness is part of human nature. It is not separate, not ‘out there.’ It is within every one. You will discover a treasure of calm inside, once you resolve to find it. Peace, clarity, love, good intentions: Bring all that out to the world around you. Radiate with your light. We are not meant to live in the dark forever.”