Joy Giving Society

What is then created becomes greater than the sum of its parts. As integrated beings, we can spontaneously reach a state in which three things guide us.

From this, a lasting feeling of joy blossoms within, enlightening our attention and changing our relationship to the world.

This is nothing new. Human beings have always formed tribes, shared their stories, taken care of each other, dreamt their future, designed their possibilities, built the steps and celebrated their successes. And above all, rejoiced at every moment.

Becoming part of a cell

A living cell is a small circle of people who meet regularly, take care of one another, and serve a shared purpose. Bringing one to life means gathering the necessary and sufficient ingredients.

Helping cells to germinate

This is what we did first, in creating this community. Over several years of experimentation, trial and error, we designed a simple model to help these first cells to germinate.

Inviting many to join

The time has come to share what we have discovered, and to invite many to join, so that together we may accompany the transformation humanity is now going through.

The real challenge of our time, as we see it, is to become a collective being. We want to make it happen with efficiency, joy and balance.

Three simple guidelines give each cell its rhythm: first, take care of each other until everyone feels balanced and energised; then, decide together what to use this collective energy for; finally, tell others what we do.

Our hope is to see many living cells grow across the world, connected with one another, until they form enlightened organs within a collective body of realised souls. From One to Many describes this path step by step, and The Brothers Circle is one of its living forms.

The virtuous tripod

Teams fall apart through three doors: conflict, when we fight instead of collaborating; inefficiency, when our time goes to useless things; immobility, when no solid decision can be taken. The remedy has three legs. Integrate our differences, since each person's view is limited and completes the others. Practise positive interaction, looking first at what is valuable in every contribution. Take decisions that bring everyone on board, involving those who know and those who will be affected.

Joy, the ultimate drive

More and more people hunger for a new state of awareness where they could regenerate themselves. They know the change must come from within; they do not know how to set it in motion. This project explores how to answer them. Its guiding phrase: by teaching a position, to meditate, we initiate a disposition, to connect. Its mission has three parts: find the point of access to their understanding, feed their desire for joy, fulfil their need to know how. It works as a think tank, a do tank and a share tank.

Bliss in the City

A proposal addressed to cities: invite citizens to a short, regular programme of Sahaj meditation, and study with them its effects on well-being, emotional balance, creativity and the sense of belonging. Imagine a city whose inhabitants thank it for such an opportunity.

Over several years, members of the society gathered, tested and refined the practical tools that help a circle come alive: a communication frame, the roles of the facilitator, an introductory programme of five sessions, some twenty exercises and the core tools of collective intelligence, from check-in rounds to consent-based decisions. This work, first known as the CICC project, is the companion of From One to Many.

We share it on request, with those who wish to start or support a circle, so that each new facilitator can also be accompanied by a mentor. Tell us a little about yourself and your circle, and we will send you the link.

The pages of Sahaj Culture are written collectively by members of the Joy Giving Society, on the basis of the talks of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Words in quotation marks are hers; the rest is our reading and our commentary, offered with care and open to correction.

The society is an informal association, without a legal structure, gathering several authors and a wider community of practitioners. It was initiated by Benoît de Bellefroid, whose Indian name is Janaka, and who lives in Brussels.

Sahaj Culture is an independent initiative. It does not speak on behalf of any organisation.

Who collects your details. The Joy Giving Society, an informal community initiated by Benoît de Bellefroid (Janaka), Brussels, Belgium.

What we collect. When you first open the reading pages, we ask for your name, country, email address and your answer to one question about the Virata. When you request the toolkit or write to us through a form, we receive what you choose to send.

Why. Only to know who is visiting this space, and to reply when you write to us. We do not send newsletters, we do not ask for donations, and we never share or sell your details.

How. Forms are transmitted through the service Formspree. Your browser remembers that you have introduced yourself, so that you are not asked again; nothing else is stored.

Your rights. You may ask at any time to see, correct or delete your details by writing to us through the Connect form.