Growing Up in a Spiritual Home

When I look back at my life, it amazes me how the most significant spiritual turning points happened long before I understood what they meant. My journey with Rajyoga meditation began when I was just eighteen, but its seeds were planted much earlier. I grew up in a very spiritual family in the south of London. My mother ran a monthly meditation group, and our home was often filled with deep thinkers, yogis, and philosophers. Listening to them was normal for me. That atmosphere made spirituality feel natural, familiar - almost like a language I already knew.

The First Spark at Thirteen

When I was thirteen, a Brahma Kumari sister came to our house to give a talk. I remember being struck by her serenity. There was something about her energy that touched me deeply. She spoke about Mount Abu in India, and although I was far too young to travel, I silently told myself, One day I will go there. I didn’t think of it again for years, but that moment left a mark.

A Strange Pull to a Man in White

Then something unusual began happening when I was about fourteen or fifteen. I felt a very strong, almost urgent impulse to find a man in white with a mustache. I didn’t know who he was, and I had never seen his picture. But the feeling was so persistent that I began searching for him everywhere. In the West, people don’t usually wear white, so I assumed he must be a doctor or perhaps an osteopath. My mother even took me to different practitioners, and I would stop strangers on the street asking who they were. It sounds strange now, but at that time the pull was so strong that I couldn’t ignore it.

Setting Out to Search the World

By the time I finished school at eighteen, I realised I wasn’t going to find him in England. So I decided to go around the world to look for him. I worked two jobs, saved for a ticket, bought a rucksack, and began my search. My journey took me through Sri Lanka and then to Malaysia. It was in a small bookshop there that everything changed.

The Moment of Awakening

I found a magazine produced by the Brahma Kumaris called Confluence. Inside was a little cartoon of a man whose head opened like a jack-in-the-box, with a point of light emerging. In that moment I had a sudden, profound realisation: I am not this body - I am a soul. It was such an intense experience that I felt as if angels were surrounding me. I knew something extraordinary was happening.

Finding the One I Had Been Seeking

At the back of the magazine was an advertisement: Free 7-day meditation course. I thought, “Why not?” I called the number, bought a Bible because I felt God was trying to speak to me, and the next day I went to the address. As I walked through the tropical garden, a gentle sister welcomed me. The moment I stepped inside, I saw a picture on the wall - a man wearing white with a mustache. I immediately asked, “Who is that?” She said, “We’ll talk about him later.” But I insisted. When she told me he was the founder of the Brahma Kumaris, something inside me settled. I had found the one I had been searching for all those years.

The First Steps of the Spiritual Journey

I completed the 7-day course, experienced Raksha Bandhan in Singapore, and within two weeks I was living with a sister and wearing a white sari for the first time. Everything happened so quickly and so naturally that my mind barely had time to question it. Later, when I reflected on the experience, I understood that the Supreme Soul had been guiding me. Brahma Baba was simply the instrument - the “business card,” as I sometimes call it - through whom that divine connection could be made.

Wrestling With the Cycle

One of the biggest challenges for me initially was understanding the concept of the Cycle - the eternal repetition of time. Coming from the West, where time is seen as a straight line from the Big Bang onward, the idea of a cyclical universe completely blew my mind. I remember sitting in a hotel room for days, hardly able to move, thinking, If I scratch my nose now, I will do this again next cycle. It took time to settle, but the feeling of love - first for Brahma Baba, and then for Shiv Baba - pulled me forward.

Walking With One Foot in Each World

In the 42 years since, Rajyoga has helped me navigate both spiritual life and worldly life. I have always had one foot in each world - working as a BBC radio presenter and documentary filmmaker while maintaining my morning meditation practice. Rajyoga taught me to stay connected to the Supreme while performing action, creating an inner space of stability and protection. In careers like media, where things move fast and often go wrong, that stability is invaluable.

When the Soul Is Called, It Will Find the Way

My journey began with an inner call - a call I didn’t understand but could not ignore. Today, I see it clearly: when the time is right, the Supreme finds a way to reach us. All we need is the courage to follow where the heart is being pulled.

By: Sis. Phillipa - Media and Communication Core Member, 
Brahma Kumaris, UK