SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN PROGRESS
A Dialogue of Friends at Lighthouse
St. Petersburg, Russia
5 July, 2026
“True and lasting progress starts from within. As we nurture our inner being, it shapes every area of our life in a positive way.”
The Dialogue that took place at Lighthouse, the Brahma Kumaris Centre in St. Petersburg, highlighted the vital role of spirituality in facing the challenges of personal, professional and social life. It gathered together administrators, businessmen, social activists, and students. In spite of July being a month of summer vacations, the auditorium of Lighthouse was filled with people who think, feel and care.
One could easily experience that the atmosphere in the Diamond Hall was permeated with a special fragrance of good wishes and family love due to divine presence of our dear, respected guests, 23 spiritual servers, brothers and sisters from Bharat, especially from ORC, Delhi, Madhuban, Hyderabad and others.
Welcoming the residents of St. Petersburg and members of the Indian community in this city, on behalf of this group of goodwill messengers, Dr BK Shantanu, National Coordinator, Media Wing (Brahma Kumaris HQ, Mount Abu), wholeheartedly introduced the local audience to large-scale activities carried out at the BK International HQ as well as BK centres worldwide. He also said, “We have come here for a spiritual and cultural retreat, and to strengthen bonds of spiritual friendship and cultural understanding. St. Petersburg is a city admired across the world for its culture, creativity, literature, science, and human resilience. It is indeed an honour to be present here and share this moment of reflection and dialogue with all of you.”
Well, the geography of the Dialogue was very wide, indeed! Mr Ivan Kostrov came here, having traveled as much as 4,000 km from Barnaul! As a hard-working businessman and a deeply thinking personality, he had been in dire need of clear understanding and focus to deal with multiple new situations in his personal and business life. Coming in contact with the Brahma Kumaris organization about a year and a half ago enabled him to overcome the looming depression and restore calmness, clarity, and inner strength.
…A dialogue is not all about talking. It is about staying in silence and feeling each other, as well. And it’s not by chance that the event at Lighthouse started with magical live sounds of a flute, followed with moments of deep silence and reflection. BK sisters Khyati, Manju, Varnika and Nina helped the audience to plunge into an enriching space of peace and contemplation. And the song “Let Your Mind Be Calm” performed by sis. Larisa reminded the viewers and listeners that when we open our hearts to the Supreme, we break the vicious circle of sorrows forever.
The event continued with a thoughtful and experience-based conversation of 4 panelists. Mr. Anatoli Likhtin, Dean, Faculty of Public and Municipal Administration (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration), Active State Counselor of St. Petersburg, shared his thought on the topic of “Spirituality and Professionalism”. He said, “Spirituality is about our mind becoming stable, our intellect beginning to work productively, without a hitch or a glitch. It is about my memory not being a trash can where all the unnecessary stuff gets dumped. Spirituality is about unique forms, methods, and ways to change a situation for the better. Our leaders, our politicians, seek answers in the realm of ideology. But the fact is that spirituality is precisely the ideology we need.”
BK Sandhya spoke about how spiritual values could enhance self-awareness, peace and emotional balance. “True self-realisation starts with understanding that my identity is not defined with outer circumstances or roles. Rather, it is defined with my original, permanent inner qualities. As I cultivate this original self-awareness, it naturally leads to strengthening my inner peace which then remains stable, irrespective of external circumstances.”
How does spirituality serve as a compass giving direction to our life? BK Ruchi shed light on this important topic by saying, “Every soul is blessed with some quality, some art, some divine virtue. Actually, each person is Godly gifted. Then, our family, society, country also add something to that Godly gift. The problem, however, is in our missing the clear direction of how to spend this huge wealth. A spiritual compass is something that enables us to appreciate and use the wealth that we have in a wise way, thus making us feel fulfilled and happy.”
BK Vidhatri shared about how being spiritual inspires integrity, responsibility and service to society. “Spiritual dimension tells me to embrace my values with all my heart, to embody them completely. Spirituality gives us a mirror, showing who and what we are originally. By comparing ourselves with our original self and with the Supreme, we are inspired to become pure and complete once again, which makes us trustworthy and enhances harmony and cooperation.”
The song “Time” performed by BK Anna, winner of Pedagogical Achievements-2026 Competition, reminded everyone of the value of every second of our life.
As the event was coming to its conclusion, Santosh Didi invited everyone to spend a few minutes sending hearty good wishes for the sake of peace in the world, thus creating a ray of hope amidst the atmosphere that is becoming seemingly gloomier day by day. She said, “When we forget our true identity and allow ourselves to be influenced with the changing external situations, we easily distance ourselves from purity and strength that used to make us united. Being God’s creation, we, the souls, used to be pure, healthy, happy and prosperous. Now, it’s about time to come back to that original Godly life.”
As per Didi’s suggestion, before leaving the hall, everyone created a determined thought: “From now on, I will play the role of a ray of power and love, a giver of peace… Let there be peace in the world through peace in my heart.”
The Dialogue at Lighthouse is complete, yet the Dialogue of the soul with the self and the Supreme is continuing, and this makes us sure that a world of peace, happiness and harmony is already not far away.
