By Dadi Janki
AT THIS TIME WHEN WE SEE the condition of the world, many of us want to serve the world. But when our own minds are affected by the conditions of the world, we cannot really serve the world. A mind that is filled with anger or sadness cannot serve.
I often have used the analogy of the boat moving through the water. For the boat to reach its destination, the water must remain outside the boat. For our minds to be able to serve, the atmosphere of the world must remain outside of our minds. It is not that the outside atmosphere leaks into the boat of our mind, but rather that the vibrations of a powerful and clean mind affect the atmosphere outside bringing strength to those who are living in the world.
So, how do we create a mind that is filled with spiritual power? How do we cultivate a mind that is qualified to serve? There are three understandings that we must have in order to cultivate such a powerful mind. First is the recognition that my innate nature is intrinsically good. We may have forgotten that this is our original nature, but we have not lost that innate goodness. This goodness embodies love, peace, happiness, truth, and purity. When I am in touch with this goodness, I become aware that I am a spiritual being, a soul. It is this link back to my original qualities that gives me the further realization that I am a child of God.
Second, to whom do I belong? As a soul, I am the child of God. I, too, am nonviolent. I, too, am peaceful. I, too, am loving. I am pure and powerful in the way that God is pure and powerful. My inherent nature is like God's nature. These are God's gifts to me – these powers, these virtues, these qualities. God is the Bestower. In the same way that a child will often take up his father's business, our business, too, is as donors, those who give our pure thoughts, our good wishes, our virtues and powers to others.
Third, what is special about this time? This is the Confluence Age, the most elevated time in which the old world meets the new world. It is a time when the boat has lifted its anchor and left the shores of darkness, drawn by a new and brighter future. The Confluence Age is the era which dawns in the darkest time of mankind, bringing the first rays of light from the pure and peaceful future world that lies ahead. In this time we can gain the power of discernment. This is the time when that realization that I am a child of God becomes awake within me, allowing me to connect with God, to take strength from God. I am able to feel how weary I have become. I am able to see how weary the world has become under the influence of greed for power, anger at injustice, and fear of violence and ignorance. I begin to understand that the way to heal the world is to heal myself. I cultivate the healing powers of hope, harmony, compassion, commitment, tolerance, and respect. I see how these qualities light the way to the new shore.
It is a time in which we can know our true selves, we can know God, and we can know the future. We begin to make out the contours of the brighter future world. Seeing that emerging world, we feel inspired. We use our pure feelings and elevated thoughts to fill the world with that which is life-giving and, in so doing, sustain ourselves on this journey.
This time carries with it special blessings. When we recognize the unique call of this time, when we realize that the door on our intellects has been unlocked,
our minds open in a new way to receive spiritual gifts. These spiritual gifts, such as inner peace, spiritual love, and power allow us to use the treasures of this time in a worthwhile way. We find we can share our growing strength with others. We could not give to others when we ourselves were weak from the heaviness of the atmosphere of a tired world. We can only give to others when we have reclaimed our spiritual power. This happens in the Confluence Age.
Once we begin to gain spiritual power, what is it that we must do? We must use everything we have in a worthwhile way. We must use time, breath, resources, thoughts, words, and actions for benefit. We must elevate our relationships with others. It is not that we connect with others for efficiencies in the physical world, but that we meet them as our spiritual brothers and sisters, as souls who are as weary as we were and who are thirsty for peace, for spiritual love, for compassion, and for understanding.
No one who comes in front of us should leave empty handed. Everyone who comes in front of me should receive something – a virtue, a power, sweet words of encouragement, drishti. I am a soul, a child of the one who brings life to the world. So I, too, must understand myself to be a donor. At the end of the day we should take the time to reflect back on the day to see if each moment, each breath, each thought, word, and deed were imbued with purity and goodness. We should check to remember whether each one who came in front of us left lighter, easier, and filled with hope.
This is the true meaning of serving through the mind. It is not only that when someone needs special support we send our good wishes. We, of course, would do that anyway. It is something more. We become so filled with the pure power of spirituality that we continuously emanate that. We become those who are filled with light and with goodness, making each thought and each feeling we have beneficial. When the world accumulates enough souls of this quality, then a new golden age naturally follows, bringing peace and light to the world.
