You have to meet Didi Nirmala

image from brahmakumaris

A lot of our senior yogis are coming to Manila lately it feels like Madhuban (the university of Brahma Kumaris Meditation up in the mountains of Abu, India).

I go to India year after year for my retreat and to learn from our seniors.

I save for it, take the long flights and haul a luggage full of food good for 2 weeks (I don't like Indian food)- just so I can be in their company.

And now in Manila, you have a chance to sit down with Dr. Nirmala Kajaria, the Director of Academy for a Better World (Gyansarovar), one of the campuses in Madhuban, India.

Didi is a real yogi to the core.  I love watching her reaction during cultural presentations- she has none.  She is looking but not looking.  She's not pulled by the music or the dance or the pageantry.  She's beyond this world- high above the sights & sounds, a true yogi.

Of nearly a million students of Brahma Kumaris meditation, Didi Nirmala's among the handful which our Teacher mentions in the classes. 

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"This one has a clean and honest heart.", 

our Teacher says in one class 

when I was in Madhuban.  

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Then, the camera zooms in on her- again no reaction.

She does not take in the praise or the defamation.  This allows her to see things clearly.      

In a plenary with around 500 yogis, a classmate asked, "How can I be content if everyone around me is uncooperative?".

In front of 500 other souls, Didi answered in her signature neutral tone, "Become the solution.  Don't depend on anyone."

We have a term for her in raja yoga lingo- a detached observer.  

For me, it simply means she's able to cut all ties with this old world- culture, desires, relations, possessions, and positions; and simply forge a connection with the true self and the Divine.  

Didi Nirmala talks about spirituality

But, she is loving as much as she is detached.  I usually go to her for spiritual advise about important life decisions- career, relationships and even investments.  


Even when she has a very tight schedule and meets with VIPs from all over the world, she allots personal meeting for all of us in her ward (meditation students from the Asia-Pacific region). 

Such is Didi Nirmala- detached yet loving, a powerful yogi but a nurturing mother to all of us in her care.

You have to meet her!

Dr. Nirmala Kajaria, Director of Academy for a Better World in Rajasthan, India and Brahma Kumaris Regional Coordinator for Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific Region will have a FREE talk on June 13, Wednesday, 6:00 to 8:00PM, Brahma Kumaris Quezon City, 34 T Gener Street corner Kamuning Road Quezon City.

You are warmly invited.

register online here

I don’t know Spade or Bourdain

I’ve never bought a Kate Spade bag or watched any Bourdain show, but I know this guy who nearly took his life.

image from karrierebibel

He's funny and smart and docile and kind.  I like how he makes everyone laugh with his antics and quick remarks.  He’s genteel and always ready to help, too.  

We always talk.  Well, actually he talks and I listen.  

One day, he rolled up his sleeves and showed me the scars on his wrists- some healed slits, some fresh wounds, all ugly random attempts to take his own life.  

“I need to see blood flowing just to make sure that I’m still alive”,  he said.

I was quiet.  For once, I didn't know what to say.  I simply looked at him questioningly.

“There are times when I just want to end it but I always hear my younger sister’s cries in my head and so I’ll stop.”, he opened up.

There was a huge WHY hanging over my head.  I wanted to cry and scream and go crazy at that moment but I mustered all my strength to stay calm despite the shocking news.  

And so, I urged him to tell me his story.  I listened. I asked questions but I never gave him any advice.  

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            At that time, I knew I simply have               to be there for him.

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It went on for days, weeks, months.

So, when we were at mass and he got scared of all the strangers religiously reciting their prayers but were secretly plotting to kill him, we ran out of the church like thieves.  When he was adamant that the neighbors could hear his thoughts every time he takes a bath, I let him stink for days.  When he cut classes because black CIA airplanes were hounding him, I told him to hide inside the house.

There was nothing else I could do at that time but allow him to go through it and make sure he knows I’m on his side.  Everyone else gave him his much needed space, too.

Eventually, he allowed us to seek help.  I would go with him to every consultation.  Everyone else discretely monitored his condition.  With his consent, we also made the necessary changes.

It was a long ordeal.  Years passed.  He gradually became stronger and learned how to manage it.

image from karrierebibel

Recently, I asked him what the struggle felt like.

“I was like a sick chick battling with dear life at that time.  I felt all of you cradled me in the palm of your hands, accepted me for who I am and took care of me.”

image from youtube

I’m not one who likes to give advice.  Please let me just give this one: Be kind.  But first, to yourself so you can have a big heart to embrace others. 

meditation by Release Your Wings