Leicester ( UK ) : Spiritual mentor BK Sister Shivani’s talk, “Think Right, No Matter What,” at the Morningside Arena in Leicester on Thursday evening was attended by about 2,800 people.
The free event was a chance for anyone remotely interested in spirituality to learn about implementing positive thinking into their daily lives.
Since her television show, ‘Awakening with Brahma Kumaris’ which began airing in India in 2007, Sister Shivani has gained worldwide recognition as a spiritual mentor. Her YouTube channel has more than one million followers who watch her public seminars on yoga, meditation, motivation and more.
Her visit was highly anticipated by the organisation’s centre in Leicester as well as the thousands of people who attended the event.
Previously known as Shivani Verma, the spiritual teacher was a successful engineering student from India. As a child her parents became involved in the movement and practiced the yoga they were taught at home. Sister Shivani, who at the time was very content in her life, saw no need for it and therefore dismissed the teachings.
“I was not interested, only because I thought I didn’t need it. I also didn’t know the benefit of it,” she said. “I thought my life was fine so I didn’t need it, but once I saw it at home it started to get to me.”
It is important to Sister Shivani that no one is categorized, particularly her audience who come from all walks of life.
She told LeicestershireLive: “I don’t think there’s a specific type of audience because when we talk about feelings and emotions it’s the same for everyone, it’s universal.
“It’s not about which nationality, faith or religion you belong to, It’s about the human mind, it’s about the soul.”
This was reiterated by one of the members of the Brahma Kumaris centre in Leicester, Binita Thobani. Binita has been following the movement since she was seven years old and although she doesn’t claim to be a perfect devotee, she says she has been able to reap the benefits of applying the core principles of the movement to her life.
According to the Brahma Kumaris, there is a common misconception that to become more spiritual, you must withdraw from other elements of your life.
Sister Shivani was keen to explain otherwise.
“The material side of life and spiritual side of life are not separate, we need to take care of both,” she said. “At the Brahma Kumaris we’re not quitting the rest of what we do.”
As well as being a renowned spiritual figure, the 47-year-old is a wife to a business owner in India. For Sister Shivani, the two sides of her life are not separate.
She said: “I still live at home with my husband so I’m not running away from those responsibilities but my meditation helps me to take better care of them.”
“They’re interconnected so we don’t have to find a balance,” she added.
Coming from an engineering background, the concepts taught by the organisation were initially hard for Sister Shivani to accept.
“A scientific mind can put too many barriers up about proving things and explaining the logic behind this, and it is important for the logical mind to understand this, but more importantly it’s an experience,” she said.
“Science needs to be explained but spirituality is experienced,” the mentor added.
Despite the impact that social media has had on the Brahma Kumaris influence, it is important to the organisation that people consume online content with caution, particularly because of the commercialisation of yoga in the last few years.
“Social media offers everything and you can find guidance online but the benefit of coming to one of our centres is the vibration and energy from other people that you can’t get online,” Sister Shivani said.
Her visit to Leicester was the beginning of a major European tour which continued the next day to the Wembley Arena in London. Even more people gathered there for a chance to see Sister Shivani’s profound life lessons.
For those who are looking to explore spirituality, Sister Shivani left us with a few everyday tips:
- “Every morning, take some time for yourself to meditate and consume information that is good for you.”
- “Take care of what you eat. Try to experiment with a vegetarian diet as it has a calming affect on the body.”
- “Keep away from gossip and arguments which can deplete us more than we expect.”
- “Before going to sleep, make time to clear your mind.”
- “Small things can change the way we think and live.”
