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Revision as of 13:21, 8 October 2005
Origin
This organization was found by a jewel merchant called Dada Lekhraj in 1936 being under the name "Om Mandali" and consisted of only a handful of men, women and children living in Hyderabad (now part of Pakistan, but at that time part of colonial India). A year after its establishment, the organization moved from Hyderabad to Karachi. For fourteen years, until after the partition of India and Pakistan, the founding group of 300 individuals, lived as a self-sufficient community spending their time in intense spiritual study, meditation and self transformation. In 1950, the community moved to Mount Abu, mainly due to the religious resistance to its activities in Pakistan. From its modest beginnings, the organization kept progressing in leaps and bounds to reach by early 1996, about 3,200 meditation centers in 70 countries with over 450,000 students. Madhuban serves as the nucleus of the Brahma Kumaris’ centers worldwide and Mt. Abu, ‘the Father’s mountain’ is regarded as a pilgrimage place by many who are in search of spiritual rejuvenation.
Faith
This organization spreads monotheism. It believes that the all the events in this universe is periodic and each and every event will repeat exactly after 5000 years which they call as the 'Eternal Drama'. The total number of souls in this world is fixed and there is only one God - supreme soul Shiva. The god, souls and the 'Eternal Drama' have no beginning or end(Anadi and Avinaashi ). The souls keep on entering the physical body(birth) and leave(death) them as per the rules of the 'Eternal Drama'.
These 5000 years are divided into four Yugas: Satya, Thretha, Dwapara and Kali. The former two yuga's are filled with supreme happiness. The pain and grief starts from Dwapara Yuga. Souls start committing sins and face the fruit of those actions in subsequent births. At the end of Kaliyuga the moral status of the people deteriorates to such an extent that the god incarnates into the body of Dada Lekhraj and provides the knowledge of true spirituality. Only those who follow it will find place in Satya and Thretha of the next cycle. All others will start taking birth from Dwapara Yuga. There is no concept of salvation. The organizatioin considers sexual intercourse as one of the terrible sins.
Achievments
The organization has branches all over the world. All top level management is done by women. It is the first and perhaps the only spiritual organization having membership of UN. Carries out many social service activities.
Critisism
Most of the concepts of this faith seems to be similar to Hinduism. But the organization maintains that they are novel and in turn claims that certain philosophy of Hinduism are memorables or Yaadgaars of its ideas.
Dada Lekhraj has been accused of joking about Indo-China war as "Rats are fighting for perishable assets". He was warned from Indian defence to refrain from such comments. He was able to pass such a comment only because India was democratic and the army is fighting to protect the democracy, not for 'perishable assets'.
Many of its members practice occult and follow blind beliefs like curing a disease through meditation without medical aid etc. They practice a kind of untouchability by not accepting food cooked by non-believers. Even the touch of non-believers will make the food unholy for them.
They openly claim that the Hindu spiritual scripture Bhagavad Gita is actually the teachings of Shiva and they are mis-interpreted by Hindus.
