Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu narrated how she experienced a life-changing moment during her recent trip to India.
Mwilu, in a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, narrated that her friend introduced her to the profile of Pramukhswami Maharaj, a prominent spiritual leader among the Hindus, who dedicated his life to the well-being of others.
The DCJ was in India to mark the celebrations of Swami's life at his birthplace in Chanasad, India, and attended a ritual known as Maha Aarti in honour of the Hindi leader who died in 2016.
Maha Aarti is a popular ritual among the Hindi community that is performed as a show of honour for respected figures or deities in their society.
Faithfuls dance and sing around a monument with lit lamps to honour the deity.
The ritual is conducted by a priest who circulates a lamp to the believers surrounding the monument. In turn, the believers cover the lamp and later elevate their hands as a way of receiving blessings from the deity.
Swami was the former President of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), which is a denomination within the Hindu religion.
Throughout his life, the former Hindi Guru had dedicated his life to acts of humanity, community service and fostering love and peace in different parts of the world.
To Mwilu, learning about the spiritual leader's philosophy guided by the maxim, “In the joy of others lies our own" was a life-changing moment that she feels privileged to have had the chance of hearing.
While recounting her experience, Mwilu narrated that Swami’s inspiration still lives on despite his death and speaks relevance to the contemporary world.
Below is the video:
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"I was invited by a good friend of mine who professes the Hindu faith. For me, the most amazing thing is the number of volunteers that I have been told are in place. And I have seen the things that his holiness did and I am asking myself, how much of that have I done? " she narrates.
She committed to practising the teachings from the former leader's life in manifesting love for humanity.
"I thank God for his holiness, he changed a lot of lives, and he touched mine. In his own ways, he helped a lot of people, one thing he said which is very important, is that we do not have joy unless other people are joyous," she stated.
"Even after his death, he is still inspiring us to do good things. I have listened, I have seen and I will try to do the things he taught me," she added.
In addition, Mwilu got an opportunity to visit the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, located in the State of Gujarat, India.
The statue was erected by the Indian government in honour of the country's founding leader Vallabhbhai Patel who also ranks high in the nation's history for his agitation for independence and acts of humanity.
