THE SPIRITUAL STARS

Stars have fascinated mankind for ages, guiding travellers, inspiring poets, and presenting the truly heavenly panorama of a star-spangled sky. It has been said that of all things visible, the highest is the heaven of the stars. So, would-be achievers are often told: ‘Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground’. An outstandingly successful person is called a star. There are another kind of stars on Earth—spiritual stars.

These are the virtuous souls close to God who spread His kindly light in the world. Just as the stars in the sky appear at night, the spiritual stars lend their light to others when the latter are enveloped in the darkness of sorrow and suffering.

These stars, with a pure intellect and free from all weaknesses, easily attain success in their tasks. Full of faith and having a clean mind, they are not troubled by doubt or fear. “I do not know whether or not this will happen”, “Will I be able to do this?”— such thoughts are unknown to them.

Success does not make them arrogant. They do not boast about it, but instead to the extent they are successful, they are humble and gentle. Others may laud them, but they always point towards God, who is their source of strength.

Stable in their faith in the Almighty, they guide others to connect with Him in order to draw the power to overcome their weaknesses and be liberated from suffering.

Success does not puff up these souls, nor does the lack of it bring them down. They remain stable in the awareness that situations change but it is more important to maintain an elevated state of mind because that is what brings happiness. A fluctuating mind causes tiredness, which in turn leads to disheartenment. Like the pole star, the spiritual stars remain constant, a support for others, who are drawn to them.

B.K. Sheilu is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.