2021 Russia & the CIS News Archive 2021 Russia & the CIS News Archive

Table of Content

“The New Year Lights”: Special New Year and Christmas Celebrations at “Light House” in St. Petersburg, Russia

31st December 2021

St. Petersburg (Russia): During these Christmas and New Year days people across the globe are busy buying, making, giving and receiving gifts as a sign of love and care for their near and dear ones. “The New Year Lights” event that took place at the Lighthouse, the Brahma Kumaris Centre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 25, became a wonderful exchange of spiritual gifts that would definitely come in handy to make our next year more powerful, beautiful and essence-full. Although the Lighthouse had never been closed even for a single day in 2021, the event turned out to be the first one when the house was full after a long period of the pandemic restrictions.

BK Santosh, Director of St. Petersburg Center of Brahma Kumaris, shared with the audience the secrets of ever-lasting enthusiasm for self-transformation. She underlined that we, human souls, the children of the Supreme Father, are already filled with the treasures of purity, peace, love and happiness. It is just that the lock and the key to those treasures get rusted in the course of time. We have to make sure we clean them with the oil of knowledge and remembrance on a daily basis, not waiting for the end of the year to come for our New Year resolutions.

The song “The One and Only Soul” performed by Mr. Albert Asadullin, national singer of Russia, resonated emotionally with BK Santosh’s words. And the fairytale drama “The Shop of Happiness” offered every participant of the event a wide choice of unique New Year gifts: a Kaleidoscope for making our worldview bright and colourful, a special Device for Bursting Soap Bubbles of our daily problems and even a Book of Happy Fortune that is to be written by every one of us with our own effort.

The event culminated with the coming of Father Christmas (or Grandfather Frost, as they call him in Russia) and a lovely get-together near the shining Christmas tree.


 

 

Greetings of Bliss and Love for New Year 2022 from Moscow, Russia

29 December 2021

 

 

Programs by Cultural Group of Brahma Kumaris, Moscow

29 December 2021

Moscow (Russia): The cultural group of the Brahma Kumaris in Moscow took part in various programs.

 

There was a big celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the vocal ensemble “Belcanto” led by Mrs. Ekaterina Fouranova. The concert took place at the Center of Culture and Family Leisure in Tomilino, Moscow region, a town that is famous for its achievements in music and literature. For the 15 years the members of “Belcanto” have actively participated in the cultural life of the town of Lyubertsy and the whole Moscow region, have become laureates and prizewinners of All-Russian and international festivals and competitions.

 

On the invitation of Mrs. Ekaterina Fouranova the BK students also decorated the event with their items: Larisa Gridina, Elena Titova, Elena Mishchenko, Vanda Dombrovskaya and Julia Sabitova. All the participants of the concert were rewarded with diplomas.

 

The Music and Poetry Group “Lyre” conducted several programmes dedicated to the 200th Anniversary of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a world-famous Russian writer. One of the programmes was held at the central library of the town of Udelnaya. The audience enjoyed the interesting narrative about the life and work of the writer, beautiful poems, songs, ballads.

 

The video “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man”, based on a novel by Dostoevsky and created by Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, was a great success. The novel gives a clear introduction of the earthly paradise. Watching the video and listening to the inspiring lines from the novel, the public could imagine heaven and experience the beauty and harmony of the Golden Age. The atmosphere became filled with joy and light.

 

Among the BK participants were: Olga Smirnova, Larisa Gridina, Elena Titova, Elena Mishchenko and Elena Polovnikova.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service News from Brahma Kumaris, Moscow

25 December 2021

 

 

 

 

The cultural group of the Brahma Kumaris in Moscow has taken part  in various programmes lately.
 
At the end of November, there was a big celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the vocal ensemble "Belcanto" led by Mrs. Ekaterina Fouranova. The concert took place at the Center of Culture and Family Leisure in Tomilino, Moscow region, a town that is famous for its achievements in music and literature.
 
For the 15 years the members of "Belcanto" have actively participated in the cultural life of the town of Lyubertsy and the whole Moscow region, have become laureates and prizewinners of All-Russian and international festivals and competitions. On the invitation of Mrs. Ekaterina Fouranova the BK students also decorated the event with their items: Larisa Gridina, Elena Titova, Elena Mishchenko, Vanda Dombrovskaya and Julia Sabitova. All the participants of the concert were rewarded with diplomas.
Link to photos https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QzKi1QUXhw6ioA9Pzn8bRGJk_08ZdJIc?usp=sharing
 
In November and December the Music and Poetry Group "Lyre" conducted several programmes dedicated to the 200th Anniversary of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a world-famous Russian writer. One of the programmes was held at the central library of the town of Udelnaya. The audience enjoyed the interesting narrative about the life and work of the writer, beautiful poems, songs, ballads.
 
The video "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", based on a novel by Dostoevsky and created by Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, was a great success. The novel gives a clear introduction of the earthly paradise. Watching the video and listening to the inspiring lines from the novel, the public could imagine heaven and experience the beauty and harmony of the Golden Age. The atmosphere became filled with joy and light.
 
Among the BK participants there were: Olga Smirnova, Larisa Gridina, Elena Titova, Elena Mishchenko and Elena Polovnikova.
Link to photos https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nrsPLPoX9B4E-9Z1NoxjNHb_cb63TmR4?usp=sharing

 

 

 

 

 

The Festival of Lights in the House of Light – Diwali Event at St. Petersburg, Russia

11 November 2021

 

 

“The Festival of Lights in the House of Light” – Diwali at St. Petersburg Center of Brahma Kumaris “Lighthouse,” Russia

Speaker:  Didi Santosh, Director of St. Petersburg Center of Brahma Kumaris

The pure festival of Diwali brings about the auspicious omens of Vrikshpati, or the Master of the World Tree.

It reminds us that the dark night of ignorance is coming to an end, and a new golden era is about to dawn.

All the BKs of St. Petersburg, Russia, celebrated the day of Diwali with these thoughts filled with the light and might from Deepraj, the King of lamps.

Diwali is about CLEANLINESS. It fills us with a determination to discard everything old and useless from our life. On this day we give Baba a pledge to burn our weaknesses and defects in the fire of love for the One.

Diwali is about NEWNESS. It inspires us to keep pouring the oil of knowledge into the lamp of the soul and to wear the new clothes of divine sanskaras.

Diwali is about SWEETNESS. It motivates us to stay sweet and share sweets with others through sweetness and positivity of our attitude and behaviour.

CLEANLINESS. NEWNESS. SWEETNESS. By invoking these specialities in our life, we invoke our future royal status. Diwali is a golden chance to celebrate a face-to-face meeting with our complete and perfect selves.

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19gA7LcGe51uPtk5LVJcrIKweBD1P99zq/view?usp=sharing

 

  

 

 

 

 

Moscow (Russia): Happy and Prosperous Diwali

8 November 2021

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Birthday, Baltic States: Riga - 29 years, Vilnius - 19 years, Tallinn - 13 years

27 October 2021

The online program celebrating the spiritual birthday of the three BK centers in the Baltic States – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – took place on October. The aim of the program was to experience the unity and cooperation of the Baltic Brahmin family, to celebrate our common holiday, and to meet with Senior teachers and students from the Baltic States who are now serving in other countries. We watched a few videos about the unity of the BK family. We congratulated each other, watched a video dedicated to our common history of service and cooperation, sang songs, remembered the days of our spiritual childhood and, of course, lit candles and cut the birthday cake.

 

 

Video "Baltics - 29 Years Together", dedicated to the general history of the BK family in the Baltics.

 

The song "Our Brahman Team" about unity and cooperation the Baltic Brahmin family.

 

 

We were congratulated by our sister Natalia Fakirova, who was one of the first sisters-instruments in the Baltics. For 10 years, sister Natalia has been the coordinator of the BK center in Riga.

 

We were very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Didi Sudha. With great warmth and love, she congratulated all three Baltic centers on their birthday, and also said words of support and kindness to many of us personally and to the entire Baltic family as a whole.

 

Click below links for full report with all photos.

 

English

 

Russian

 

Click here to view all the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

News: All Facets of Joy - 32nd Anniversary of Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, Russia

27 September 2021

Program dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, Russia

                                                     19.09.2021

 

A festive program in honor of the 32nd anniversary of Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, Russia took place at «Mayak Mira», the Lighthouse of the world. The program began with greetings by Didi Sudha and Brother Vijay. Several friends of the university shared their feelings of love and gratitude.

 

Among the guests there were: Mr. Alexander Zimenkov, the actual state advisor to the Russian Federation, Mr. Yury Kurnosov, Dr. of Philosophy, professor, colonel, Mrs. Galina Pokhmelkina, Candidate of Pedagogy, facilitator of peace-making dialogues.

 

The moderators of the programme were Mr. Konstantin Uzhva, actor of theatre and cinema, the lead singer of the Moscow Operetta Theatre, and B.K. Elena Titova, foreign language teacher, interpreter and poetess. During the program, Konstantin sang two songs "Snow in Summer" and a BK song "Enchanted by Purity". Elena recited a few spiritual, heart-touching poems.

During the program, the various facets of joy were revealed: the joy of novelty, the joy of communication, the joy of solitude, the joy of sharing, the joy of freedom, the joy of creativity, the joy of harmony.

 

Besides dialogue, two or three cultural items unveiled each facet in its depth. BK Zhanna Yakovenko performed a song dedicated to Russia. Mrs. Elena Syabro, compositor, writer and musician, sang a beautiful song about the soul "There On the Shore" accompanied by Mr. Yury Shiyan, professional guitarist. Mr. Vazgen Oganesyan, opera singer, Ambassador of peace, shared his feelings in a poem and sang the world-famous song "Ave Maria".

 

B.K. Yulia Sabitova, professional violinist, graduate of the Moscow State Conservatorium named after Tchaikovsky, revealed the wonder of music and its power of creating an atmosphere.

 

Ms. Kristina Kim, graduate of the School of Modern Dance by Nikolay Ogryzkov, lead dancer at the theatre "Air Centre", performed the “Dance of Freedom”.

 

The song "Hearth" performed by B.K. Wanda and the other singers reminded of the family feelings and our belonging to the unlimited Family of God who loves all and sees the beauty and specialties of each and every soul.

Didi Sudha talked about and conducted meditation on "Joy of the future in the present." The program ended with a solemn lighting of candles and in the background Ms Yulia was playing on the violin the beautiful piece of music, which took all beyond…and connected to the Supreme Light.

 

During the entire program, the audience enjoyed a special blend of happiness and silence, expressive sharing and deep contemplation.

 

Click HERE to download the PDF version.

 

 

"All Facets of Joy" program dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of Brahma Kumaris in Moscow, Russia  on 19.09.2021. Telecasting quality.

 

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/zZRu2UvoU-ZSLQ

For download click - "скачать".

 

Link to some photographs taken on the occasion.

 

https://disk.yandex.ru/d/j51CLTJjHv9FEA

For download click - "скачать".

 

 

 

 

 

Service News from Vladivostok, Russia

9 September 2021

“Bohay” is the oldest prosperous kingdom whose trace has been lost somewhere for centuries. But nothing is by chance. It is just from this place, Art-space “Bohay” in the city of Vladivostok that a new project of Brahma Kumaris, Russia started. That is a mobile artistic exhibition “Journey to the World of Happiness”.

 

Golden age Harmony, Happiness and Prosperity has appeared on the canvases created by Raja yogis with love and in remembrance of the Supreme Father. The artists of the creative association “Babr”, Raja yogis Ludmila Nekludova and Olga Palzeva (from Irkutsk, Siberia), Irina Mazura (from Chkalovsk, Moscow region) gave the world not just pictures but their happy hearts!

 

 

For four days the residents of Vladivostok got a chance to learn about the eternal Source of happiness, to think of their spiritual qualities, to paint a happy world in which they want to live, to dance the dance of happiness while feeling the true limitless inner happiness. There was a feeling that the Light of the Truth touched the hearts of the guests and participants. Good wishes to the exhibition, happy and shining eyes proved it.

 

 

In the opening ceremony of the exhibition were present:

  •           Mr. Shashi Bhushan, General Consul of India in the city of Vladivostok, with his wife;
  •           Tatyana Baranova, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture in Administration of the city of Vladivostok;
  •           Sis. Ludmila Horoshutina, Coordinator, Brahma Kumaris, Irkutsk, Russia
  •           Sis. Nadezdha Bespalova, Coordinator, Brahma Kumaris, Chita, Russia
  •           Victoria Kolitenko, Director of the Hotel “Equator”, who provided art space “Bohay” for holding the exhibition.

 

The poetess Svetlana Kabanzeva and vocal group “Smile” shared their arts. An elevated atmosphere created by all those who were present pulled the “Goddess Lakshmi” who gave blessings to all the participants of the exhibition.

 

During next days the exhibition was visited by the hotel staff, representatives of the walking league “Ginseng”, artists, children from business school ”Enterprise Fabrik” and others.

 

Everyone could take a booklet of the exhibition, books, “recipes of happiness” from Brahma Kumaris. Some guests has taken part in the workshop “Immersion in happiness” conducted by BK Ludmila Horoshutina.

 

Thanks to the successful exhibition and establishment of close contacts between the three organizations (Consulate of India, Brahma Kumaris and Art-congress hotel ”EQUATOR”) it was decided to hold the program devoted to Indian Culture and prolong the exhibition up to August 15th 2021.

 

 

Click HERE for report in PDF version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rakhi Celebrations in Moscow, Russia: YouTube Video

24 August 2021

 

 

 

National Anthem of India Played on Flute by BK Sis. Larisa Gridina, Moscow

15 August 2021

Listen to the national anthem of India played on flute by BK Sis Larisa, Moscow.

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/E1mgJBzg6VyKsg

In Baba's yaad

BK Sudha 

 

 

Russia - Annual Regional Retreat for Centerwasis “Sadhana. Sewa. Siddhi” - July 2021 (Russia, CIS and Baltic countries, Ukraine, Mongolia, Georgia and Moldova)

4 August 2021

 

July, 2021

“Sadhana. Sewa. Siddhi” (“Intense spiritual endeavour, service and imperishable attainments”). This was the title of a regional retreat for Baba’s server children that took place online in late July. The sadhan, or facilities, of science enabled all the wonderful enthusiastic sadhaks and sewadharis from Russia, CIS, Baltic states as well as Ukraine and Georgia, to get together for sharing their spiritual experience, love and inspirations for the future. For two days and a half, God’s servers from 65 centres of the region were staying threaded in a single rosary by means of Zoom video conference. Time factor was the most challenging one, as all the places are located in different time zones, with time difference up to 7 hours! Therefore a time slot from 10.00am till 14.00pm (Moscow time) was chosen for the classes and interviews with the seniors, group workshops and joint meditations.

Faith

Congratulating the participants of the retreat with a lucky opportunity to meet and greet one another, our respected Didi Chakradhari ji described Faith as the foundation of stable spiritual endeavour, selfless service and imperishable success. We should make sure we maintain firm faith in ourselves, Baba, the beneficial World Drama, and our lovely divine family. Didi remembered the sakar Baba’s time when every Brahmin child was told to write a letter of faith a number of times (even 108 times!) We may feel that it is superfluous, however the subtle checking of the self will keep the tree of our Brahmin life safe amidst the storms of Maya and situations.

Sadhana

Taking the subject of sadhana, Didi Sudha explained that the main features of this special type of effort are bhavna (doing that with deep dedication from the heart), regularity, perseverance and discipline. This is true out there, in worldly life, if you aspire to achieve heights in sports, music or any other field, for that matter. This is true in bhakti and even more so on the path of Gyan. Didi said that Sadhana in our Brahmin life is our spiritual effort to awaken the divinity of the soul. We should keep making this effort with love, on a regular basis, without missing a single day. She shared many inspiring examples from her own life of God’s student and server. For instance, Didi said that before conducting a murli class she always reads that day’s murli herself at least 3 times, in Hindi and then in Russian!

Service

At the session about spiritual service, Br. Vijay took us into a deeper dimension of what it means to do God’s sewa. The ultimate goal of our service is to reveal the truth about the Creator and His creation, and we are able to achieve this aim provided we ourselves become the embodiment of true self-awareness in our thoughts, words and actions.

Siddhi

The second day of the retreat started with all the participants going to their respective virtual “rooms” for a workshop that included a lively chit-chat on the topic of attaining Siddhi. And then Santosh Didi shared some invaluable pearls of Baba’s wisdom on the topic. She said that the main Siddhi in our Brahmin life is attainment of lasting happiness and peace, or becoming liberated in life (jeevanmukt). And the way of achieving this type of success is to have an attitude of benevolence, love, co-operation and selflessness, free from anything waste. The challenge is that we are to achieve the goal of jeevanmukti amidst all sorts of obstacles and bondages in today’s iron-aged world. A practical example of Brahma Baba and our ancestor souls shows us the path to follow for reaching the destination.

We were lucky to have the retreat in the month of July when the entire Brahmin family was remembering specialities and service of Didi Manmohini ji. Every day we would learn something new about Didi’s divine dharna. And we could feel Didi’s subtle presence with us during the retreat sessions as well!

Although the retreat took place online, it seemed that nothing was missed from the regular way of our meetings: we had a brief welcoming cultural programme, drishti sessions with the senior yogis, and special time slots for questions and answers. The most touching moments were those of the finale of the retreat when the photo of every participant was appearing on the screen with a special individual blessing for that soul from our beloved BapDada.

Regards,
In Baba’s Yaad,
Didis &
Annual regional retreat coordinating instruments
St Petersburg

 

Click HERE for the report in PDF format.

 

 

 

A public event dedicated to 31st anniversary of the Brahma Kumaris in St. Petersburg, Russia

9 June 2021

At the Confluence age the Supreme Father glorifies His children, and the children who surrender to Him completely, glorify their Father. Our deeply loved and revered Dadi Janki ji and Dadi Gulzar ji have always been an outstanding example of such a surrendered life and unconditional service to humanity. It was therefore a befitting step of the government of India to release a postage stamp dedicated to Dadi Janki ji on April 12, 2021. It was an act of appreciation of the vastness of spiritual social service carried out by the Brahma Kumaris for more than 84 years. A sequence of the postage stamp presentations have been continuing since then in many cities of India and across the world. A few weeks ago, a special ceremony was held at the Consulate General of India in St. Petersburg. And on May, 27, the stamp was introduced at a special festival event in Lighthouse.

 

The month of May, and especially its last week, carry a great historical, cultural and spiritual significance world-wide. It has always been an important period in the history of St. Petersburg as well. The city was founded by Peter the Great in May, 1703. And Baba’s coming here in May, 1990, became the starting point of the Brahma Kumaris service in this city as well as in many other cities of Russia and other countries. The last week of May is also famous in the world for Buddha’s having reached his nirvana stage. It is a matter of special happiness for Buddhist souls. And the story of Satya Narayan is also narrated in this last week of the month. All these memorable events fill this time with a very special kind of energy. So it was not by chance that the doors of Lighthouse opened on May, 27, to welcome very loving and cooperative souls, dignitaries of the area, who have been unconditionally supporting Baba’s activities in this city during all these years.

 

Mr. Anton Polyansky, deputy chairperson of Vyborgsky district administration of St. Petersburg, and Prof. Alexander Shabrov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a leading cardiologist, became chief guests at the event. They joined Didi Santosh for the ceremony of presenting beautifully decorated albums with the enlarged picture of the postage stamp in Dadi’s memory.

 

A video film “The Eternal Shine of Kindness” enabled the audience to get merged in sweet memories of Dadi’s visits to St. Petersburg in the previous years. And a new cook book “The Golden Spoon” published by the Brahma Kumaris centre became a special treat for everyone! It is not by chance that this large and colourful edition (in Russian, so far) is dedicated to Dadi ji. Dadi was a perfect example of the soul and body balance. She was very particular about the food for the soul that we take in the form of our thoughts. No waste thoughts that drain our energy should be there in our diet! And similarly, she was very particular about every minor detail in terms of our physical food. Therefore a special effort had been made to prepare “The Golden Spoon” cook book dedicated to the first anniversary of Dadi’s ascension. It contains words of gratitude for Dadi and lots of simple, yet subtle aspects of the complete culture of food, that of earning, purchasing, cutting, cooking, offering to God and then serving.

 

The warm family atmosphere of the sneh-milan inspired the participants to share their hearty feelings and sweet memories of visiting Mount Abu for “Peace of Mind” retreats or meeting Dadi ji in this city. Dadi’s loving drishti surely was there throughout the event, showering love and blessings upon all of us!

 

 

Click HERE for the report in PDF format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Postal Stamp Commemoration at Consulate General of India in St. Petersburg, Russia

10 March 2021

“Dadi Janki ji was an empowering leader renowned all over the world for the depth of her wisdom and the power of her presence”, said Mr. Deepak Miglani, Consul General of India in St. Petersburg, at a ceremony dedicated to the release of the postage stamp in the memory of Dadi Janki.  St. Petersburg, Russia, May, 6

The entire Consulate staff and a group of the BK board members, programme coordinators and students joined the ceremony at the Consulate compound on Thursday, 6 May.

Addressing the audience, Mr Deepak Miglani said, “Today we are remembering the vast amount of Dadi’s legacy in the form of her wise teachings, powerful blessings and an unparalleled lifelong experience. Respected Dadi Janki ji was an empowering leader renowned all over the world for the depth of her wisdom and the power of her presence. She traveled to 110 countries crossing all the barriers of status, race, religion and creed. The Consulate is indeed privileged to be part of this commemorative ceremony of the postage stamp release.”

“We wholeheartedly and sincerely appreciate the work of the Brahma Kumaris centre in St. Petersburg who are carrying out their noble mission of bringing people of different nationalities, different religions together and close to one another. It was certainly a rare honour for me to be personally part of the ceremony which was held at your centre when respected Dadi ji was visiting St. Petersburg in May 2019. I have and will continue having vivid memories of those times. One of the rare privileges I had as a diplomat, which I will continue remembering for the rest of my life, is that this job gave me a chance to meet honorable Dadi ji. These are the occasions which you cherish, which make your life rich for all the time to come. I am sure that Dadi ji’s smile, her teachings and her compassion will stay with us in all times to come.”

Mr. Deepak Miglani’s tenure as Consul General in this city is completing soon and he is going to move elsewhere, so lots of words of gratitude filled with warm family feelings were said to him on the occasion.

A heart-touching video film gave the audience a glimpse of Dadi ji’s unique, more than 80 years long, path of serving God and humanity.

Speaking of Dadi’s exceptional personality, Didi Santosh, the Brahma Kumaris director in St. Petersburg, said, “We all understand the meaning of love, because this is the dish that we start cherishing since childhood, in fact, since our very first breath. But very few people in the world know how to cook this dish. And Dadi Janki is one of those rare people. Dadi’s life was full of cooking the dish of pure spiritual love for thousands people on a daily basis, which made her life accomplished with everyone’s blessings. This was the gift from the Supreme Father’s teachings which are called raja yoga.”

To the applause of the audience, Mr Deepak Miglani and Didi Santosh opened beautifully decorated albums with the enlarged picture of the postage stamp in Dadi’s memory that had been released in Delhi by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice President of India, on 12 April, 2021.

This time, due to the pandemic restrictions, the Consulate staff could not come to the Lighthouse for a traditional pure family brahma bhojan. So the brahma bhojan came to the Consulate!

click here to download pdf version.

 

 

 

Celebration of International Women’s Day in St. Petersburg, Russia

9 March 2021

The International Women’s Day celebrations come in variety of hues as per political, social and cultural features of every country. However during all these years March, 8, has been celebrated at Brahma Kumaris Centres of Russia, CIS and Baltic states as the Day of Shaktis. It is an important time for all the souls in sisters’ bodies, who have been given the urn of responsibility for world service, to underline for themselves a number of commitments. On this day, the sisters, spiritual students and servers, reconfirm their pledge to stay simple and become a sample of purity and dignity in order to reveal our Supreme Father. On the same day, they are honoured with special spiritual and physical gifts from the yagya. All the brothers see it as a day for taking most of household tasks on their shoulders, like cooking and serving meals, cleaning, washing utensils etc, so that the sisters stay decorated and shining.

 

High dignitaries of St. Petersburg expressed their good wishes on this special occasion.

 

Mr Alexander Rzhanenkov, chairperson of Social Policies Committee of St. Petersburg City Administration, said in his video message, “My hearty greetings to all women who carry out most important work in the field of social service with lots of love, professionalism and aspiration.”

 

On the eve of Women’s Day, a group of BKs met Mr. Valery Garnets, head of Vyborgsky district Administration of St. Petersburg. Vyborgsky district is one of the largest areas of the city, with  population of more than 5 lakhs. Mr. V. Garnets appreciated the contribution of mothers in creating the atmosphere of mutual co- operation and care in the city.

 

Mr. Deepak Miglani, Consul General of India in St. Petersburg, expressed his greetings on the occasion, appreciating the activities of the Brahma Kumaris in this city and world-wide.

 

A colourful celebration honoring God’s Shaktis on March, 8, pulled about 150 BK sisters from St. Petersburg as well as lots of others who joined the event online from many beautiful cities of Russia and other countries.

 

In March, a nonstop yoga bhatthis are going on in Lighthouse, especially to support the well-being of God’s beloved chariot, Dadi Gulzar. The all-day long tapasya of silence of various groups of mothers contributed a lot in making the atmosphere of the celebrations vibrant and powerful.

 

 

BK brothers shared their feelings of deep respect and love for Shiv Shaktis using the language of poetry, music, drama and even a bhangra dance.

 

At this time of transition, God makes sisters and mothers into caring gardeners who help Him to change thorns of vices into flowers of virtues. As a sign of that, every sister got a special gift of a flower in a flower pot.

 

 

As the pandemic restrictions are still on, a 15-minute video presentation “Secrets of Making One’s Life Beautiful” was released on Lighthouse YouTube channel for the general public who could not take benefit of coming personally to the Centre. Didi Santosh shared 3 spiritual secrets of beauty revealed to us by God, the Supreme Artist. The first secret lies in forging and maintaining deep and loving relationship with God. In order to keep giving to others, one has to get charged with God’s love on a daily basis. The second secret of beauty: we should be able to create a beautiful atmosphere of cleanliness and lightness around us through our attitude of good wishes and positive thinking. And the third secret: we should not eat anyone! As is the food, so is our mind. Pure, sattwic vegetarian food cooked with love and offered to the Supreme Giver of Life, will make everyone who takes it, healthy, happy and beautiful.

 

Click here for the report with photos in PDF version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating the Day of Protectors - Service News from Russia

2 March 2021

The Day of Protectors of Fatherland is a remarkable festival annually celebrated in Russia in February. Mothers, wives and sisters congratulate their sons, husbands and brothers on this special occasion, making love-filled gifts and reminding them of their sacred duty to protect their near and dear ones from all the evils. In a way, love exchange that happens on this cold winter day reminds us of Raksha Bandhan celebration taking place in hot August! And even the names of the festivals sound similar. Raksha means protection, and this festival in February is the day of all the Rakshaks, or protectors of their family and country.

 

SPECIAL GUESTS

 

On the eve of the festival, the Brahma Kumaris Centre in St. Petersburg received very special guests. Mr Vadim Bazykin is a unique helicopter pilot who saved lives of dozens of people in emergency situations in extremely cold Arctic regions. He is also famous for having piloted a helicopter to install a golden angel statue on top of 122m high steeple of Saints Peter and Paul cathedral. Mr Vadim Bazykin became an official partner of the Brahma Kumaris project “7 Billion Acts of Goodness”.

 

 

In a heart-to-heart conversation at Lighthouse, he shared his vision of a true hero. “I think it is easier to commit a spontaneous heroic act during a war conflict than to keep sharing love and care with people on a daily basis. This is why our mothers are true heroes. The truth is recognized in silence. A hero is not the one who talks loudly or cleverly. Rather, a hero acts on the basis of love and humility.”

 

Another guest of Lighthouse, Mr Andrey Zlenko, head of Federal Social Service Program “People Need You”, proved to be a true hero and protector last year, when along with other volunteers he served tirelessly, day and night, providing help to senior citizens at the time of the pandemic. During his visit to Lighthouse he expressed his wish that everyone should realise and practice true love, which is an unlimited attitude of respect and non-violence.

 

 

CELEBRATION FOR BK BROTHERS

 

A gorgeous colourful ceremony honouring all the BK brothers, regular practitioners of Raja Yoga, took place the next day. In fact, it had started much earlier, as every brother had received a golden chance to spend any day and a half in Lighthouse from 1 to 23 February, having a powerful yoga bhatti with a unique time-table. Those days spent in complete inner and outer silence in the company of the Supreme provided every brother an opportunity to contemplate on the achievements in their spiritual journey and create a vision for their future progress. And on the special day of the festival every BK brother was decorated with beautiful royal attributes having a deep spiritual significance. A golden armour is symbolic of the golden stage of purity that protects us from attacks of vices and negative influences. This golden dress was tied with a strong belt of a determined thought. And a golden crown became a reminder of being responsible for serving the society through one’s selfless thoughts, words and actions.

 

 

Just like in the earlier days of the institution, every brother was photographed both in their white dress and royal attire. This double photo is going to serve as a beautiful reminder of the aim and object of spiritual effort, that is of becoming a personality possessing the royalty of purity in their life.

 

 

An entertaining and enlightening cultural program culminated with a powerful drishti and blessings session with Santosh Didi, followed with a special feast.

 

Fortunately, about 45 brothers could join the celebrations personally, while about 20 others enjoyed the event online.

 

 

 

 

Friendly Get-together with Indian Families in Moscow

15 February 2021

Moscow (Russia): A friendly get-together with Indian families living in Moscow , which 60 people attended, took place at the Brahma Kumaris center.

 

The Program started with a video “The habit of seeing the good.” The pre-recorded lecture by BK Sudha gave a reply to many questions in the minds of the guests.

 

A series of beautiful performances by the children of the guests was the main attraction of the event. 

 

BK Sudha,  BK Vijay, and the invited guests Mrs. Satya Hemrajani, Embassy of India, and Dasha Kotwani, President, Indian Cultural Centre, Moscow, “SITA”  extended greetings on the occasion. 

 

BK Sudha continued the program with an enlightened talk on the topic: “How to transform yourself so that the world would  become a paradise.”

 

At the end, BK Sudha explained the significance of offering food to the Supreme Father.

 

Please click on the below image below to watch video highlights of this program [14:15] https://youtu.be/FAekzSYYZLk

 

 

 

 

 

“The One Who is Always with Me”: Brahma Kumaris Moscow Observe World Interfaith Harmony Week (Feb 1-7)

9 February 2021

Moscow (Russia): The programme “The One Who is Always with Me” in the Russian language was prepared by the Brahma Kumaris centres in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Mongolia. This online event was dedicated to the World Interfaith Harmony Week annually observed by the UN.

Representatives of different religions and traditions shared their feelings and thoughts addressing the audience in various forms: in speeches, prayers, songs, poems, paintings. A beautiful programme was created with mutual cooperation conveying the message about One God, the Father of one global human family. All the participants of the event became one in their expression of love for God and humanity.

The participants of the programme were :

Sudha Rani Gupta (India, Russia), the General Director of the Centre of Spiritual Development in Moscow, medal holder “The Person of Millennium”

Mrs. Eugenia Ursu (Moldova), ambassador of peace, General Secretary of the Federation of Associations, Centres, and Clubs of UNESCO in Moldova

Mrs. Anna Chernikova and her daughter Amelia Uzun (Moldova), singers

Mrs. Karina Kvazem (Russia), the ambassador of peace; the author of peace-making and educational programmes; the director of the interactive museum complex “Our world yesterday, today, tomorrow; president of the inter-ethnic women’s club “The Commonwealth”

Father Eugeniy Boyko (Ukraine), Greek Catholic priest, the abbot of the Peter and Paul temple in Cozova, Ukraine, creator of the Alley of Kindness

Mr. Akim Salbiyev (North Ossetia, Russia), film director, producer, screenwriter, singer, honoured art worker

Mr. Michael Mostov (Russia), stage director, actor, vocalist, teacher of acting skills

Mrs. Valeria Porokhova (Russia, Syria), translator, theologian, well-known for the translation of the Holy Koran from Arabian into Russian

The Baha’i community in Mongolia addressed all the participants of the programme with a beautiful message of love and harmony performing beautiful songs and prayers together.

Mr. Arthur Makarov (Russia), theatre and cinema actor, poet, member of the Union of Writers of Russia

Mrs. Viktoria Lepko (Russia), theatre and cinema actress, honoured artist of Russia and Poland, writer, poet

Dr. CH. Dambajav, Khamba Lama (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), Dashichoiling Monastery

Mr. Pavel Khoroshutin (Russia), musician, songwriter, singer, psychologist

The beautiful paintings by two artists — Mrs. Irina Matsyura (Russia) and Mrs. Gutiera Prodan (Moldova) — were shown at the beginning of the programme. Their works are filled with light and deep spiritual meaning, conveying the ideas of peace and universal harmony.

The Presenter of the event was Ms. Elena Titova (Russia), a BK student, English and German teacher, interpreter, poet.

The program was streamed live on 5th February and you can watch the replay (in Russian only) here: https://youtu.be/6Mq8VTljiqc

 

 

 

 

New video produced by Russian BKs "Music of Silence": Pure Angel Flying Above The Earth - Dedicated to Brahma Baba's Remembrance Day

20 January 2021

Dear divine family, Om Shanti,

Greetings from freezing Rusland!

 

Here is a beautiful song 'Pure Angel' in Russian with subtitles in Hindi. The song is created by BK's "Music of Silence", Moscow and is dedicated to Brahma Baba's Smriti Diwas (Remembrance Day). Watch, listen, and feel the unearthly joy... of our beloved Prajapita Brahma Baba ascending to an Angel.

 

Music of Silence - Pure Angel Flying Above The Earth

Link: https://youtu.be/-yLOA2yTSEc

 

With best wishes and divine love

In Baba's yad

BK Elena

Multi-media department

Moscow

 

 

 

 

New Year Greetings from Centres in Russia, Baltic countries, CIS and Mongolia - YouTube Video

15 January 2021

Dear divine family, 

Please accept Happy New Year's greetings and a short video of the holiday from Moscow and the performance of BK brothers and sisters from different centers of Russia, the Baltic countries, Mongolia, and the CIS with explanations in Hindi. This video can be shown in class or sent to BKs. Not for posting on social media.

In Baba's yad

BK Sudha

Link to video is here. Duration is  5 minutes.

https://youtu.be/f9MQSBSH47M

IN HINDI:

प्रिय दैवी परिवार, आप सभी नव वर्ष की शुभकामनाएँ स्वीकार करें |  एक छोटा वीडियो जो की मास्को में छुट्टी और रूस के विभिन्न केंद्रों, बाल्टिक देशों, मंगोलिया और सी.आई. एस के बी. के. भाई- बहनों की सेवाओं को प्रदर्शित करता है, लिंक समेत भेज रहे हैं, हिंदी में स्पष्टीकरण के साथ|  यह वीडियो क्लास में दिखाया जा सकता है या बी.के. भाई- बहनों को भेजा जा सकता है। सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट करने के लिए नहीं है|

वीडियो का लिंक यहाँ है। इसकी अवधि 5 मिनट है।

https://youtu.be/f9MQSBSH47M

 

 

 

New Year Celebrations in Brahma Kumaris Moscow

9 January 2021

Moscow (Russia): The New Year program by Brahma Kumaris Moscow started with a small performance “The Magic Mirror or Garland of Virtues”. Parts from popular films were shown where some kind of virtue was presented. Everyone gathered in a garland to decorate the Christmas tree.

Senior BK teachers Didi Sudha and BK Vijay were invited to the stage,
along with the rest of the heroes of the performance for lighting candles, offering bhog to the main Dedushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost)-Baba and cutting the cake.

The program ended with the song “A davaite mye budem schastlivyemi” (Let us be happy).

 

 

 

Center for Spiritual Development in Tyumen Awarded with Letter of Gratitude for Selfless Work

1st January 2021

Serving the Leaders of Non-profit Public Organizations

Tyumen (Russia):  In honor of the five-year anniversary alliance of socially oriented NGOs of the Tyumen region, there was a presentation of certificates and words of gratitude. The collective of the Center for Spiritual Development was awarded a letter of gratitude for the contribution to the development of public initiatives, civic activity, and selfless work for the benefit of people. BK Larisa Juravskaya received the award.

The event was held at the Semya regional center with the support of the Trajectory of Hope Charitable Foundation. A business game was organized, meeting the leaders; many personal meetings and individual negotiations took place.