BRAHMA KUMARIS WORLD SPIRITUAL UNIVERSITYCONSCIOUSNESS AND CLIMATE CHANGE:EMPOWERING PEOPLE FOR A WORLD IN TRANSITION
Statement for the
COP 23 – Twenty-third Session of the Conference of the Parties
United Nations Climate Change Conference
6-17 November 2017, Bonn, Germany

How, as a matter of urgency, do we empower people at all levels of society to respond positively
and whole-heartedly to climate change?
The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University is an NGO with consultative status with theUnited Nations. We believe that spiritual awareness - the recognition and awareness of our innate
spiritual values - has a unique role to play in enabling people to find and develop the inner strengththat is needed for this time of transition. Spirituality can do what information or legislation alone
cannot do: shift consciousness, build confidence and nurture co-operation.
Real, lasting change of any kind starts with the individual - with a change of awareness. It isthrough seeing ourselves and our relationship with the Earth from a broader, higher perspective that
we can find the inner strength to make the attitude and lifestyle changes that nature is now
demanding of us - as individuals, businesses and governments.

Consciousness: Our inner climate affects the outer climate
The crises the world is facing - political, social, financial, personal and environmental - are all
symptoms of a crisis of human, spiritual values. If we are unable to live by our values, our self
respect and self-trust is lost, and with that go our peace of mind, happiness and good relations withothers. To fill an ever-increasing emptiness human beings today try and satisfy themselves throughconsuming and acquiring more and more - leading to competition, greed, dishonesty and violence.
We create divisions, barriers and prejudices, in order to safeguard what we believe is or should be‘ours’. In doing this, we suppress our humanity - our natural instinct to connect, empathise andshare with others.
Spiritual awareness means, essentially, to understand the self as a spiritual being, independent ofour nationality, belief or status, each one with their our own dignity and worth. This understanding
brings us back to a deep feeling of brotherhood and belonging, a genuine caring for the common
good. It is this that will enable us to change not reluctantly or by force but out of self-respect and1love. It is this that will give us the confidence and strength to think and act in accordance with what
we believe to be true and valuable.
If, as we believe, the state of today’s world is a consequence of the individual and collective
consciousness of human beings, then the solution to our current situation also lies there.
Our awareness defines our attitude. Our attitude colours our vision. Our vision dictates
our actions. Our actions create our world.
Everything starts with our awareness - our state of consciousness.

Confidence: We feel good and create trust, as we align with our conscience and values
Many people today do not want to know about the need for change, let alone act upon it. They are
struggling to keep going as it is. They do not feel strong enough to take the risks involved in
adapting to climate change and other global challenges. Others know what they need to do but lackthe confidence and willpower to change their habits and face the uncertainties that come withinnovation. Politicians and government officials are no less challenged. They continue, in the faceof criticism and coercion, to do their best to secure agreements that are acceptable - and achievable- at the negotiating table as well as at home. But is this enough? How can they do more in theirposition? What is needed is a different way of engaging with each other at all levels. This will
happen when we address the underlying consciousness behind our attitudes, decisions and actions.
The quality of the conversations will then improve - and the agenda for positive, co-ordinatedaction amongst all stakeholders can start to accelerate.
Examples of hope and inspiration are popping up in small, committed communities, cities, sectors
and partnerships, especially amongst young people, faith communities, indigenous communities
and women. What unites and empowers these people is their shared values and the desire to carefor others and the Earth. Developing an ‘eco-friendly’ lifestyle is not a matter of duty or fashion but
a bold, ethical honouring of something we hold to be good and true and precious - ‘deep
sustainability’ in practice. As these groups, partnerships and individuals develop confidence anddemonstrate the real, human benefits of behavioural change, they become examples to inspire andencourage others. It has always been a minority of passionate and committed individuals who havebrought about the great changes in human history.

Co-operation: Recognising that there is no ‘them’, only ‘us’
As we as individuals develop inner power, our power to co-operate with others also increases. At
COP22 in Marrakech there were strong calls for more local engagement. Independent of the highlevel conferences and negotiations, civil society needs to work together across nations, generations,boundaries, faiths (and no faiths), organisations and personal interests. Encouraging initiatives canalready be seen around the world - the transition movement, increased community ownership, cooperatives, for example. We are learning to work together in a way that values the relationship as
well as the task or transaction, to put energy into sustaining partnerships and friendships as a vital
aspect of bringing about true, lasting co-operation.

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In the same way, in looking at the possibilities for each country, the Nationally Determined
Contributions also need to take into consideration the world as a whole. Natural law tells us that alllife is sacred - all life has equal worth. We are all connected and all in some way responsible foreach other’s wellbeing, as well as our own. Earth is the home of all of us - all living beings - notjust some. Whatever our current circumstances, no one can say, ‘I’m OK, it’s their problem - letthem deal with it’. When we deny people of other nations - or future generations - the right towater, food, shelter or their own culture, we are denying them a basic human right - but we are also
denying our own humanity.

Brahma Kumaris’ contribution to empowering people for transition
As a spiritual organisation, our main focus is to help develop and nurture the spiritual capacity of
individuals of all ethnicities, faiths, cultures and ages in over 100 countries. We seek to enablepeople to experience greater well-being and self respect through a shift in consciousness frompurely physical to spiritual - so that they are better able tap into their own inner resources of innate
values and strengths.
One particular aspect of our work is to bring the underlying spiritual nature of the environmental
crisis to the awareness of governments, civil society and those within our own organisation. In
doing so, we aim to bring greater clarity in decisions for the common good and an understanding of
how to empower people to adapt and flourish in response to climate change through a deeper
awareness of their core values and inner strengths. The Brahma Kumaris Environment Initiative isbased on five simple principles:● Simplicity: Are there ways I can simplify my lifestyle to reduce my carbon
footprint?
● Compassion: Can I choose to buy compassionately, according to myconscience?
● Economy: Can I use and re-use what I have economically?
● Lifelong Learning: Can I open my mind to keep learning - for a lifetime?
● Generosity: Am I able to share generously what I have received?
In addition to collaborating with others through dialogue, partnerships, UN and other conferences
and local initiatives, we are also actively involved in research and development of renewableenergies.

Solar Energy Innovation
Brahma Kumaris has been one of the key developers and promoters of renewable energies in India
since the mid 90's, working closely with our sister organisation, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust(WRST), a registered charity. In 2011 WRST was recognised as a ‘Scientific and Industrial
Research Organization’ by the Ministry of Science and Technology. An ‘Awareness & Training
Centre’ was set up by Brahma Kumaris and WRST in 2014, with financial support from the UN’s
Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility and the Indian Ministry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE). Brahma Kumaris & WRST developed and installed six large
concentrating solar systems, which generate steam for cooking and various process applications. In3addition, they have set up and operate around 350 photovoltaic battery systems all over India, witha total peak capacity of more than 1.4 MW.
In April 2017 India One, a 1 MW solar thermal power plant situated near the Brahma Kumaris
Spiritual Headquarters in Abu Road, Rajasthan, India, was launched. Using 770 newly developed
60m2 parabolic dishes with an innovative thermal storage for continuous operation, the plantgenerates enough heat and power for a campus of 25,000 people.
Implemented by WRST, the project received partial funding from the MNRE and the German
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) throughthe German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ).

We can all contribute, we can all change
How do we want to be in 20 years? A desert with no living creatures? Or a prosperous, engaged,
unified network of nations and communities? If the latter, what do we need to do in order to getthere? What will our homes, our work, our diet be like? Climate change is requiring all of us tochange, not just some. The behavioural change needed is a challenge but it will bring with it hugebenefits to us as individuals and to humanity as a whole, if we can learn to live together with selfrespect, respect for others and respect for our home, the Earth.

_____________________________________________________	  	  	  	  	  Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU), with its spiritual headquarters in Mt. Abu, India,comprises a worldwide network of centers in 110 countries and is an international non-governmental organization of the United
Nations accredited with General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC);
Associate Status with the Department of Public Information (DPI);
Consultative Status with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF);
Observer Status to the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Observer Organization to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
Flagship Member of Education for Rural People (ERP), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

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Environmental webpage: www.environment.brahmakumaris.org©BKWSU, 2017; extracts may be reproduced on condition that the source is indicated and a copy of the publication in which theextract is used is sent to the above New York address.

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