Donetsk (Ukraine): "Time. Consciousness. Karma". B.K. Santosh conducts a two-days series of lectures in the 3rd largest city of Ukraine.

On 5 May the Donetsk Regional Palace of Children's Creativity hosted the first lecture by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) in the 2 days series "Time. Consciousness. Karma". The song "Candle" performed by Tamara Logunova, People's Artist of Ukraine (highest honorary title for people of arts in this country) became a beautiful symbolic prelude to the meeting. The lecture was delivered by B.K. Santosh, director of the Saint Petersburg BKWSU Centre. On 6 May the dialogue continued in the main hall of the Krupskaya Regional Library.

From the presentation "Time. Consciousness. Karma":

Time cannot be good or bad by itself. Good or bad are our actions (Karma) and they are dependent on our awareness, the system of beliefs about ourselves and the world in general.

Kiev (7-10 May 2002)

From 7 to 10 May a Retreat was held for students of the Kiev and Zhitomir centres of BKWSU. The programme took place in a town of Korostyshev, in beautiful surroundings of a pine forest on the bank of the river Teterev, an hour and a half drive from Kiev. The Retreat made the students contemplate on eternal truths and their personal spiritual development. It provided a unique opportunity to stay alone with one's own self as well as to communicate with one's companions in this spiritual journey.

V-Day celebrations were coloured with new spiritual colours. They turned out to be a celebration of Victory over the greatest enemy of today's man in the form of inner weaknesses, illusions and vices. Communication of the students with sister Santosh became a special gift as she shared an invaluable experience of about 20 years of her spiritual development and service.

A workshop "Humility and Self-Respect" inspired all the Retreat participants to share their experiences and even to play (they were offered to demonstrate in a creative way such qualities as Humility, Arrogance and Humility Balanced with Self-Respect). Night sessions, games and a picnic on a river bank made the Retreat an unforgettable experience!

Here a seminar was held on "Effective Management Systems" for representatives of the town's industries, with about 30 heads of industrial and commercial organisations taking part.

From the presentation "Effective Management Systems":

Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University imparts knowledge about a model of management that takes into consideration not only hands and heads of people but also their hearts. The most vital asset of any organisation, company or enterprise is the human resource. An organisation can ensure stable progress only in case it pays due attention to the human resource factor.

Kiev (11 May 2002)

The Kiev Centre of the BKWSU is celebrating its 6th anniversary! This auspicious occasion was marked with a celebration held in the main hall of the Institute of Pedagogics of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The programme gathered together regular students of the Kiev and Zhitomir Centres of BKWSU as well as numerous friends and well-wishers of the Spiritual University known in Ukraine through its educational and social projects.

Kiev (Ukraine): 6th anniversary of the BKWSU centre in Kiev. Ms. T.Okushko, director of psychological service of Kiev Palace of Children and Adolescents, is greeting members of the Kiev centre on this auspicious occasion. On her Right - Mr. V.Omelchenko, vice-president of International social organisation "House of Europe in Ukraine".

Among the guests of honour were V.Omelchenko, vice-president of International social organisation "House of Europe in Ukraine", T.Okushko, director of psychological service of Kiev Palace of Children and Adolescents, A. Martynenko, candidate of medicine, head of "Vera" company. They congratulated the Kiev Centre of BKWSU, its leaders and students and underlined relevance of spiritual and moral education at the present time. The speakers highly appreciated the BKWSU's contribution in creating positive atmosphere in the city.

The candles were lit on the stage and the cake-cutting ceremony took place. Some of the regular students shared their experience of studying in the University and described positive changes that happened in their life due to spiritual knowledge. The participants of the celebration were offered refreshments and they also enjoyed a cultural programme prepared by the members of the Kiev Centre.

Odessa (13-14 May 2002)

On 13 May B.K. Santosh presented a talk on "Stability in Changing World" in the main hall of Odessa House of Medics. This public programme gathered together around 80 listeners.

From the presentation "Stability in Changing World":

"Our happiness and peace are not to be dependent on perishable things and relationships. Each one of us has to realise that the human soul itself is an unending reservoir of all positive qualities which represent its original nature".

The lecture was followed by a seminar "Self-Management Leadership" for representatives of the city's business circles (around 15 organisations), deputies of the City Council, leaders of several youth and social organisations and others. The dialogue induced lively interest of the audience and, as a result, exceeded the pre-planned time by almost an hour. Audience was introduced to the basic concepts of Self-Management Leadership course developed by the Brahma Kumaris and successfully implemented in dozens countries of the world.

From the presentation "Self-Management Leadership":

"A leader is not just a nominal head of an organisation. And the organisation is not just tables, chairs, computers and other office equipment. Any organisation first of all consists of people, which implies feelings, moods, ideas, relationships. A true leader is the one for whom this spiritual and moral part of his team does matter. He becomes a role model and the source of inspiration for those around him. However, in order to attain that state he has to learn managing himself, controlling his own mind, intellect and nature".

On 14 May B.K. Santosh met Mr. Valery Zaporozhan, Chancellor of Odessa State Medical University, winner of Ukraine State Prize as well as numerous prestigious international awards in the field of medicine, academician of Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine and honorary member of many foreign medical organisations. Last year Mr. Zaporozhan, who is an old friend of the BKWSU, visited its international Head-Quarters in Mount Abu (India). During the meeting he was warmly remembering the Peace of Mind Retreat he had taken part in. It was specially underlined that we have to maintain balance between material and spiritual sides of our life. One should aspire for experiencing peace of mind from time to time throughout the day, even while performing actions, and also remaining light and fair in relationships with others.

A one-day Retreat was held for the students of Odessa Centre of BKWSU in the Black Sea resort centre on 15 May. The morning class conducted by B.K. Santosh was dedicated to the most important features of the spiritual personality, such as Contentment, Cheerfulness and Accuracy. The evening meditation session was followed by a chit-chat on how to make the spiritual life-style stable and natural as well as how to forge harmonious relationships with our own self, the collective of students and the Supreme Father.