Makati City ( Philippines ): Close to 1,000 turned up for the public program at the Makati Sports Club Ballroom in Makati City on the topic “Silent Mind, Happy Heart“. Most were teachers and guidance counselors from all 16 districts of the Department of Education’s National Capital Region.
VIPs in the audience were led by Indian Ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar and Mrs. Parvati Mazumdar as well as Philippines Ambassadress to Rome Grace Princesa with international fashion designer-entrepreneur Ditta Sandico (a meditation practitioner herself). Employees of the Philippine National Police, Cebuana Lhuillier microinsurance, The Prestige fragrance company, and other professionals also took benefit from the program.
The program opened with a live meditation commentary by BK Sister Rajni, National coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris for the Philippines and Japan.
In his talk on the Neuroscience of Meditation and Mindfulness, eminent Filipino psychiatrist Dr. Rene Samaniego cited extensive scientific research on meditation. “Dr. Rene,” past president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association and current consultant at Makati Medical Center (a first-tier multi-speciality hospital), advocates calming the mind through a sustained reflective practice alongside clinical methods. Dr. Rene is the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Association’s secretary for education and training. The federation gave him an Award of Excellence for Exceptional Contributions during its 7th Congress in February. He especially noted one of the new paradigms in modern psychiatry — neuroplasty — which he said has proven that the brain, when positively and persistently stimulated, could repair itself and regenerate or grow new tissue. Thus, he added, meditation done properly would result in increased attentiveness and even help manage mild cases of mental disorder.
BK Sister Jayanti, Director of the Brahma Kumaris in Europe and the Middle East, later said that Dr. Rene’s thesis validates the practice of Raja Yoga, uniting the self with the Divine. Happy hearts depend on the self, she said. “If you have it inside, you won’t have to depend on others.”
Because the doctor supported the Mental Health Bill in the Philippines, he had the opportunity to share salient points during the interview portion of the program. For instance, regarding the onset of suicidal tendencies: “A suicide threat situation is a psychiatric emergency that should be taken seriously and addressed urgently. It definitely calls for professional help. There is no absolute way to know how severe someone’s mental health issue is; only proper assessment could determine this. The obvious signs include a sharp departure from the person’s usual behaviour, especially if it compromises his functionality.”
BK Sister Jayanti, who discussed the spiritual aspect of mental health, proposed an on-the-spot approach. “When someone tells you he wants to kill himself, instead of asking why, may be help him remember all the good things that happened in his life.”
Asked — as BK head delegate to the UN Conference on Climate Change since 2009 — how much hope remains for Planet Earth, BK Sister Jayanti said, “The planet will survive. Nature has its own mechanisms for renewal. Meanwhile, human consciousness should be conditioned to positively impact nature. Man’s gross material, physical needs deplete natural resources. At the rate we are going, we consume three times more than the planet can give. We need to live simply, adopt a plant-based diet, live in harmony with nature. More than climate change, there is a need to change minds.”
The program, one of BK Philippines’ best-attended on record, concluded with BK Sister Jayanti giving a live meditation commentary, a most fitting takeaway for the audience, which stayed enthusiastic for two-and-a-half whole hours.
