NATIONAL MEDIA CONFERENCE [8-12 September] at BRAHMA KUMARIS Shantivan Abu Road Rajasthan : Media Conference Themed ‘ Empowered Media for Global Peace and Harmony ‘

Abu Road [Chhattisgarh Aas Paas] :
Addressing the inaugural function of the 2023 media conference themed “Empowered Media for Global Peace and Harmony” at the Brahma Kumaris Shantivan campus on Abu Road, Rajasthan, the speakers hammered home one important point: Without being peaceful ourselves, we cannot propagate peace in the world. In fact, the foundational teaching of Raja Yoga is that the original religion of the soul is peace. And yet, the delegates acknowledged, the world has grown increasingly peaceless. Should and can the media be the ambassadors of peace and harmony in the world? This was the question the session explored in depth.

•Prof.Sanjay Dwivedi

•Bro.BK Karuna

•Prof (Dr.)Mansingh Parmar

Sis. B.K. Sarala, National Coordinator, Media Wing, RERF, Hyderabad opened the session by first inviting God Himself to the session followed by a heartfelt welcome to the over 1500 attendees. You are here on God’s invitation, He has a great plan for a new world, and He has handpicked you to be His helpers in this task, she told them to loud applause. The Media Wing has a simple objective, she explained: To make everyone happy and peaceful. We want to empower you such that you can enrich and empower society, she said. Indeed, without being peaceful themselves and without elevated thinking towards society, the media is ill-equipped to serve. Our hopes are in you, she said to the attendees, and we have confidence that you will fulfill them.
Guest of Honor, Sri. Bhola Singh, MP shared how there are commonalities between the lives of politicians as well as media personnel. Both are prone to stress, he observed and so it is critical that we take steps to maintain our inner peace. Without being peaceful ourselves, we cannot serve others. There isn’t a better place than the current one to experience peace and learn how to remain peaceful, he said about the Brahma Kumaris. He appealed to all attendees to take maximum benefit of their stay and learn how to tap into their inner peace.
Guest of Honor, Prof (Dr.) Mansingh Parmar, Former VC, KT University of J&MC, Raipur (CG), in his address noted that in the current world climate where nations are at war, the Brahma Kumaris are exploring ways to empower ourselves for peace. Already, some newspapers and TV channels have taken steps to promote positivity thanks to these efforts but, he noted, there is scope for a lot more. Until there is peace, there cannot be progress, and for peace, he said, there must be spiritual empowerment. When the media performs their duty based on objectivity and truth, then they will be empowered, he said. The world is watching Bharat; Let us, the media, play our role of being messengers of peace and goodwill in the world, he appealed.

Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi, Former D-G, IIMC, Delhi delivered the keynote address referring to the conference as the G20 of spiritual empowerment. Rather than blame others for societal ills, if we instead paid more attention to the self and to our own sphere, then we would all improve and society would automatically be better, he pointed out. Media in and of itself is not bad, it is just a tool, he noted, the onus lies with the creators of content. It is we who decide what to print and what to show; we are responsible, he stressed. So let us choose peace, let us choose humanity, he appealed. Then, he said, the world will be a peaceful world, a golden world.
Bro. B.K. Nirwair, Secretary General, Brahma Kumaris, Mt. Abu noted that these days, only negative and sensational news is considered real news. But what would you like to give the world, happiness, or sorrow? he asked. The duty of the media is not just to report the news, but it is to show society the way to goodness, to positive living. For this, the media needs to first be spiritually empowered themselves, their thinking must be elevated and truthful, he said. And so, he wished that the attendees would return from the conference spiritually empowered and spread the message of peace to the world.
Dr. B.K Nirmala, Joint Administrative Head, Brahma Kumaris, Mt. Abu in her remarks said that everyone desires peace and talks about universal brotherhood. But only when we think of ourselves and each other as children of the same Father, of God, would we truly have this consciousness of being brothers, she said. Only then would we pay attention to what we write about and what we show each other. As we are, so will be the world we live in.
Bro. B.K Karuna, Chairperson, Media Wing, RERF, Mt. Abu provided the audience with a brief overview of the BK media activities as well as the practice of Raja Yoga. He shared his hope that they would learn Raja Yoga during their stay and apply it into their lives to remain peaceful themselves and spread peace into the world.
Bro. B.K. Shantanu, National Coordinator, Media Wing, RERF, Mt. Abu congratulated the over 1500 attendees for taking valuable time out of their schedules to attend the conference to empower themselves spiritually. He summed up his thoughts by invoking Mahatma Gandhi who said in his autobiography: “The sole aim of journalism should be service.”
The session concluded with Sis. B.K. Ranjan, Zonal Coordinator, Media Wing, RERF (Gujarat), Valsad taking everyone through a guided meditation experience.
The event has been organized by the Media Wing of the Rajayoga Education and Research Foundation (RERF), a sister organization of the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya. The Media Wing has taken up the challenge to awaken public interest in spirituality, as found in the teachings of Rajayoga. It also works towards to the practice and promotion of positive and value-based journalism by media persons in print, electronic, cyber, traditional, and promotional media services.

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