“Youth for Transformation. Dialogue about Values in Education- St.Petersburg, Russia

BK Mruthyunjaya bhai and BK Banarsi bhai took part in “Youth for Transformation. Dialogue about Values in Education” event in St. Petersburg, Russia

7 May, (Tue). BK Mruthyunjaya bhai and BK Banarsi bhai became chief guests at a public event “Youth for Transformation. Dialogue about Values in Education” held at Lighthouse, the Brahma Kumaris Centre in St. Petersburg.

Opening the dialogue, Mr Anatoli Likhtin, Head of Department, Russian Academy of Economics and Civil Service under the President of the Russian Federation, said, “Parents and educators invest a lot of energy and resources in raising the younger generations, however we can see that the lack of values in the lives of young people make those huge investments go waste. I have practised the raja yoga meditation for quite a while and have got a practical experience of its usefulness. Today I am happy that we have an opportunity to get a first-hand introduction of the programs offered by the Education Wing and Medical Wing of the Brahma Kumaris.”

The appreciation letter for Santosh Didi, Brahma Kumaris director in St. Petersburg, has been sent recently by the Chairperson of the Social Policy Committee of the City Administration. The Committee expressed their gratitude to the BK organization for their active participation in the annual All-Russia voluntary initiative “A Week of Goodness” (April, 2024). The guests were shown a briefpresentation of the event.

A detailed video introduction of the “Nasha Mukt Bharat” campaign (“Addiction-Free India”) caused a round of applause from the audience. Everyone was especially happy that respected Dr. Banarsi, one of the main instruments behind the project, personally came to St. Petersburg. Talking about the impressive results of the 1^st year of the project implementation, Dr. Banarsi bhai ji said, “The uniqueness of the project is in its getting an overwhelming support of the President, central government, state governments as well local people irrespective of their caste, creed, nationality, or profession. We have done a study which shows that the lifestyle based on raja yoga meditation enables 97% of substance addicts to leave their addiction without any withdrawal symptoms.”
The next day, 8 May (Wed), Dr. Banarsi ji conducted an extended Zoom session dedicated to the project for centrewasi BK sisters in 12 cities of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Respected BK Mruthyunjaya bhai ji gave a talk on the Value Education program carried out by the Brahma Kumaris in co-operation with the leading universities of India. He said, “This education is not just for “learning, earning and living”, but for overcoming all the weaknesses of our consciousness, removing negative, impure and unnecessary thoughts. This is why this knowledge has been embraced by all communities, all religions, and almost all the nations. Thought Labs have been added recently to ourongoing programs, in which an individual can go deep into one’s original nature, original qualities and purpose of living in this world.”

BK Mruthyunjaya bhai ji requested those in the audience who had never experienced anger to raise their hand. Just one guest raised his hand! That was Prof. Alexander Shabrov, former rector of St. Petersburg Medical Academy, famous cardiologist, author and science administrator, who had visited Mount Abu a few years ago. BK Mruthyunjaya bhai noted, “We see that even after having so many degrees etc, we still get affected by anger! This education is meant to eradicate such negativities, and overcome a lack of inner power, tolerance, understanding, good wishes and pure feelings. Let us work together for divinization of human consciousness and ultimately for divinizing our society, making it holy, pure, peaceful and blissful.”

Summing up her experience of the dialogue, Ms. Elena Kalinina. Rector of St. Petersburg Social and Economic Institute, president of Women’s Alliance, said, “Your idea that thoughts transform one’s character and that our joint spiritual decisions can transform the world is very important. Everyone is experiencing now that the layer of civilization in today’s world proved to be very thin. The concept of Goodness is no longer present in interpersonal and international relations. Spiritual renaissance is the way to achieve both individual harmony and world harmony. Your experience is very interesting, and we are definitely going to think about how to apply it in this country.”

Prof. Victor Romanov, president of St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, former Olympic champion and world champion in bicycle racing, thanked the guests from Mount Abu “for another subtle and deep lesson for me and all of us”. He said, “As I listen to you, I feel that although I knew these things before, here they become a truth one cannot reject. You mentioned your agreement with the Ministry of Social Justice of India. I feel that if we make an effort to bring about values and justice in our society, we can overcome the issues of drug addiction and other social evils.”

After a few minutes of powerful meditation, special guests of the event proceeded to the Conference Hall of Lighthouse for a brief sneh-milan with Santosh Didi, BK Mruthyunjaya bhai, and BK Banarsi bhai.