By: Neville Hodgkinson
Source: The Daily Guardian https://epaper.thedailyguardian.com/view/1928/the-daily-guardian%09/15
Dated: January 18th, 2025

A chilling tagline from Steven Spielberg’s second Jaws movie, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” has a resonance for many in today’s world. Human predators seem ready to exploit others at every twist and turn.

At all levels in our societies, we see the damage caused by selfishness and greed. Dark forces exist both within us and around us. 

The good news is that around the world, out of this darkness, a spiritual revolution is emerging. Through it, millions are improving the quality of their life, excelling in their field of work, building fruitful and enriching relationships, and at the same time coming close to God. 

In fact, it is because of a sense of actually being able to learn how to draw on God’s love and wisdom that those other improvements are taking place.   

At its root, the change involves a shift in our sense of who we are. 

When we identify with our bodies and the physical side of life, it becomes inevitable that at some point we will become victims of loss, because the world is in a constant state of change. The resulting suffering then leads many to take refuge in increasingly limited and negative ways of thinking and behaving. 

Unaware of our divinity, we develop addictions of various kinds, which give us a short-term boost but increases our vulnerability to exploitation by others.  A slippery slope of negative karma pulls many into a state of depression and hopelessness. 

Once, it was left to renunciates such as sanyasis, hermits, monks and nuns to try to counter this decline, seeking to experience divine peace by embracing a life of simplicity.

Today, countless others are evolving spiritually while living in normal, everyday circumstances. People from every walk of life are finding that ancient understandings about our spiritual essence help to both protect and enhance our character. They include business leaders, scientists, engineers, politicians, philosophers, doctors and teachers as well as housewives and ordinary working folk.

In my own experience, the shift has been enhanced through recognition that at this troubled time in history, when egotism and related vices have reached a peak, a Supreme Being becomes present among us in order to turn things round.  

God is not human, but is the Source or Seed of all that is highest in human beings – a Supreme Parent.  When we learn how to connect with that One and absorb divine truth into ourselves, our worries and fears automatically start to fall away. 

The key is to practise and restore in oneself the consciousness that we truly are eternal, spiritual beings, who have all come from that One.  When this awareness sinks right in and we become an embodiment of it, peace and happiness start to return naturally into our lives. We develop the power to act with kindness and wisdom, even in difficult circumstances, and these qualities then enhance the lives of those around us. 

Although incorporeal, God brings an energy of truth that will eventually restore all souls to their original condition. This energy is like a light that passes from one to another as we learn that we are eternal souls, and not the temporary roles we are called upon to play. 

With this consciousness, it becomes much easier to play our parts on the stage of the world with detachment and generosity of heart, rather than driven by the neediness we suffered when unaware of our divinity. The change of awareness brings a commitment to honesty, purity of intention, good wishes and non-violence, which all help us to grow spiritually.

We discover that it is the quality of our thoughts, feelings and actions that make us spiritual, not our clothes, place of living, or any religious or spiritual pretensions. 

A Biblical saying goes: 

‘What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’

It was a similar realisation that led Lekhraj Kirpalani, a family man and hugely successful jeweller, to found the Brahma Kumaris as a movement for global spiritual renewal nearly 80 years ago. 

His foresight, dedication, and surrender made possible the creation of an army of white-clad sisters who have so far carried the light of self-realisation into more than 130 countries. Spreading unobtrusively, this light is preparing the ground for the return of a golden age – a shark-free world where love and wisdom will once again make it safe for us to swim!     

Neville Hodgkinson is a UK-based 
author and journalist, and a long time student of Rajyoga.