CHICAGO: Brahmakumaris Center of Elmhurst, a Chicago suburb, organized a program on “Peace Through Spirituality” at Waterford Banquets & Conference Center on Saturday, January 6 for hundreds who were eager to learn more about the role of peace through spirituality in life.
The program began with the Vandana meditation followed by welcome and introduction of Brahmakumaris of the center and the special guests. Special speakers of the program namely Pt. Anil Joshi from Hindu Mandir of Lake County, Grayslake, IL and Brahma Kumari Jyotsnabehn gave their enlightening and thought provoking talk on the topic of the program.
Pt. Joshi started with the Bhagavad Gita’s profound dialogue between Krishna and his student, the warrior-prince-yogi Arjun.He said that the three Yogas: karma (action), jnana (knowledge), and bhakti (devotion) explained by Krishna are not totally separate yogas but rather interconnected paths that help us achieve the goal of eternal peace—finding the purpose and meaning of life through inner realization and fulfillment.
Dhyana Yoga is important for the attainment of stability/peace of mind but it cannot be attained without the practice of Abhyasa Yoga. If you cannot practice Dhyana Yoga to attain peace then you can attain peace through your karma Yoga or services toward the Lord, family, society, and nation with faith and without hope of personal benefit or ambition. One can also attain peace though Bhakti Yoga by involving with satsang, bhajans, surrender, and trust. Finally, Lord Krishna told Arjun that you will attain peace after following Buddi Yoga which is blessed by me.
He said that whether you follow Dhyana Yoga or Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga or Buddi Yoga, you cannot attain peace until you surrender yourself to Lord Krishna who will take care of all your wishes in life and pardon all your sins done in the past, present, and in future. And he also removes your bad thoughts, anger, pride, jealousy and greed. All this can happen only through your unconditional devotion toward the Lord.
He further said that in order to get the peace of mind and blessings of the Lord, we need to read and enjoy the sayings of the Lord given in the holy books and listen to explanations of sages of all times. Finally, Joshi Ji quoted the conversation among Shiva, Parvathi, Garuda and Kagabushandi from Ramayana by saying one will experience the Satchidananda Swaroopa and eternal bliss through practicing all these Yogas.
Pt. Anil Joshi and Brahma Kumari Jyotsnabehn blessed all the devotees and volunteers with their Ashirvachan. Brahma Kumari Sonia Bhatia proposed vote of thanks and Shri Sudhir Ji moderated the program very methodically.
Geetha Patil
