The Shift
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Strengthening the Feminine
Schauen, Germany (2017)
Excerpts from Shift II. 'Our conversations began with one participant sharing her dream of an “undernourished woman” the previous night. This image inspired us to talk about the feminine aspect, which we all felt is quite undernourished in BK. Strikingly, the brothers spoke with particular
depth and eloquence about this. It resonated deeply with us that although it is a female-led
organisation the attitudes and structures are very masculine. In our experiences, these
manifest as feelings of pressure, competition and comparison, and often repress human
feelings and needs. The aim we are generally given is a narrow ideal of perfection. And
efforts towards that end are made within a hierarchical structure where spirituality is
defined by strict rules. This has led to souls feeling inadequate, unfulfilled, fearful and small.
Genuine spiritual growth was often not supported in a way that resonated with our lived
experiences. We identified the need to strengthen the feminine by...
Read more about the Shift II that took place in Schauen, Germany in 2017. The full report and the summary are available here on Research Gate.
Reforming the Yagya
Sister Denise (16.08.2016)
"We are on the brink of massive collapse and reforming of the yagya. I see it as a phoenix who dies by fire and takes rebirth by fire.... In the yagya from time to time there have been cataclysmic moments where things have shifted form one condition to another condition. I do feel we're on the brink of one of those. Most people are aware that something's happening and that they need to be very grounded, very strong, very in their spirituality and very very clean. Because when anything like this happens if you're clean you can get through. If you're not then maybe you can't. The way the BK world is set up is itself sort of disappearing into being out of date... and I really do see that it will reformulate itself. People are probably not really aware... but when Dadi Prakashmani took over from Brahma Baba (in 1969) she transformed the yagya totally and completely. And when we came (in the early 1970s) into we saw what she had done. No-one mentioned much about how she had changed it but she had. Her whole generation is now disappearing and what is next is under question. It's not clear.. It may not be a smooth transition. But whatever it is will be brilliant and rudderless and innovative. If we're up to it we can just jump into the new way. Some people may find it unusual or strange, but... we need to think about how to make ourselves comfortable with deconstruction of many things and then a whole new construction and then looking at the essentials of gyan (spiritual wisdom and knowledge).... It all has to do with your ability to hold your mind in manmanabhav... There are a lot of people who are doing very deep silence retreats and deep inner work and they're finding that it's bringing all their monsters up to the surface and they're having to deal with it and they're becoming different people. I think this is becoming part of the new geography, the new normal for BKs."
Listen to the original audio file from which this transcript was taken.
The Shift
Extracts from the Schauen Report (19.07.2016 - 22.07.2016)
Out of no special purpose, just because we wanted, a small group of BKs met in Schauen, Northgermany, near Bad Harzburg in the House of Peter, a contact. We were seven... We just wanted to spend time together, exchange our thoughts, have a good time, walk in the mountains, swim, harvest fruits and vegetables from the garden, and cook together. Because the talks among us became so interesting, we decided to write a small protocol which we want to share. We called our meeting "The next level” first and then changed it to "The Shift“. It was a name which we thought would capture the spirit we felt.
These were the topics which came up: What is service and what does it mean for us now? What are the points in the Yagya Survey Pilot study which resonate with us? What made us stay in the beginning and now? Do we need centers, retreat places, organisation? What is it what connects us all? Do we need hierarchy? What is real leadership? What is the real Core/Seed of the Yagya? What is really spirituality today? How do we study? What is the Seed of the Yagya?
Raja Yoga has to be part of a good life today where every area is included: spiritual growth, health, happiness, healthy finances, good relationships. How to create a connection? What is service really? It is not to create Brahmins. That thought is even a hindrance. To always try to be a perfect BK leads to tension, mental problems, breaking of relationships. Old BKs are really suffering because of that.
How did all of us survive till now? Through interconnectedness, friends, that keeps us alive. There are always pioneers and tipping points. Something new is now coming. Is it the next level, the next step, a shift? There are undercurrents visible everywhere. Undercurrents come from all the topics which never have been integrated and could not be addressed. Some are carried away by these currents. To feel them and still keep our path is a kind of paradox.