Money Can't Buy Happiness

Today I had the privilege of speaking to Bhupendrabhai, head of Brahma Kumaris in Wellingborough. The founder of the movement, Dadaji was a diamond merchant and possessed great wealth and had all the worldly desires that he cared for. However, he was still not happy. He found that the power of meditation was the answer to achieving a peaceful and loving world. It was evident to him that money cannot buy happiness.

Therefore, the aim of Brahma Kumaris is to take a journey within ourselves to seek for answers such as, 'what is my purpose in my life?' - only once we change ourselves can the world change. Thus, there is great emphasis on self improvement. The interesting feature of this message is that it is strikingly similar to the aims of other organisations such as Swadhiya. This supports the pluralistic nature of Hinduism, that there is only one God but many different paths to it; a message that the Vivekananda Centre strongly promote. This again shows the diverse approach to our Hindu tradition but the goal for all the different organisations is the same and this is what unites us all.

After a session in the gym, I attended the Wellingborough District Hindu Association's Youth Committee's forum along with two fellow swaymsevaks. There, Kunalji gave a talk on the Guru Poornima utsav and we discussed a variety of activities planned for the youth in our area. e.g. Bal Gokulam. It was a productive meeting and the pizza afterwards made it even more worthwhile.

Finally, to end what had been a very informative day, I attended a talk organised by the Brahma Kumaris. As with all their talks, it was extremely thought provoking and reaffirmed much of what I had learnt about them earlier. What stood out most from the talk was the technique where we meditated with our eyes open! I find trying to focus with my eyes closed difficult as it is; but that is the power of Raja Yoga.