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| '''Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation''', '''Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University''' , or " ] ". | |||
| Teachers of a form of ], or ] ], called Raja Yoga ]'s ] ]. | |||
| A ] with core ] beliefs concerning the imminent destruction of the current impure ] world by a ] between ] and ], ] in ], widespread ] and ] followed by the reward of a paradisiacal ] or " ]" which will take place on the ] for its faithful ]. | |||
| Their followers are known as " B.K.s ", short for Brahma Kumaris or Kumars ] ]. | |||
| ==Origins== | |||
| Formed in ], now ], during 1937 by businessman Lekhraj Kripalani when Kripalani experienced ] by a ] he considered to be ], the Supreme Soul. This ] the B.K.s name as " ] ", took over control of his ] in order to express a message to ] and teach their form of ]. Followers, called Brahma Kumaris or Kumars believe that Lekhraj Kripalani is ]'s only direct ] or instrument. ] being a ] which cannot express its message other than through a ] ] and this being the only time in history that ] intervenes. | |||
| B.K.s believe that their ] " ] Baba " renamed Lekhraj Kripalani as " ] Baba " and that he was the ] of the ] ] ], the ] of ]. Baba meaning " ] " in ]. | |||
| Originally called " ] Mandali ", in the early days Lekhraj Kripalani attracted mostly ] belonging to the ] ] of ] and along with them created much ] until the ] and the ] denounced the ]. ] Lekhraj in turn denounced the ] as " ] '' or ]. Under pressure of ] public opinion, the ] ] reluctantly banned the ] Mandali, which went to court and had the ban order quashed. | |||
| * The Indian version of the religion's ] is found here ; http://www.brahmakumaris.com/aboutus/history.htm | |||
| * The version made more vague and palatable to ] is found here ; http://www.bkwsu.org/whoweare/history.htm | |||
| ==Global Expansion== | |||
| The BKWSU is reported to have more than 5,500 ] centres in 90 ], said to have over 900,000 ] and be expanding. Although no details as to the level or of length of commitment are given. Multi-million dollar registered " ] " ] that does not distribute aid outside of its operations. | |||
| ==Fundamental Beliefs== | |||
| Although borrowing much ] and ] from traditional ], '''Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga''' sees themselves entirely as separate from ] and unique as the only true instruments of ], stating that they are only religious group to have direct instructions from ]. | |||
| Followers believe that this ] or ] and Lekhraj Kirpalani continue to be ] on a regular basis by a senior sister at the headquarters in ], and that Lekhraj Kirpalani's soul will reincarnate as ] god ] in his next birth. | |||
| Central to its faith are the beliefs that: | |||
| * The ] is an eternal ] living within a physical ] and is not the physical ]. | |||
| * ] happens from one human body to another only. | |||
| * The physical ] manifests as an eternally repeating and identical 5,000 year cycle at which the end of it is destroyed and then re-created every time. | |||
| * Time is not linear but rather cyclical. | |||
| * Each repeating cycle is exactly the same as the previous one. | |||
| * ] is currently reaching the end of the current cycle and thus the world will be destroyed. | |||
| * ] incarnates personally onto the ] and speaks only through their founder Lekhraj Kripalani which was the ] known as " ] ", ] " or " ] " in his first birth and is also known as "]". | |||
| * All other religious founders such as ], ] and ] must come to the Brahma Kumaris to receive B.K. " ] " prior to their future ]s in the next cycle. | |||
| * The ] will be the site of the future ]d ] and ] is the original ] of ]. All other ] will be destroyed except for small ] where ] centres once were. | |||
| * Followers are taught that if they make spiritual efforts by getting rid of the 5 ] ], ]. ], ] and ] ] and only they, ] Kumars and Kumaris will live in the coming ]d ]. | |||
| ==Practice== | |||
| The '''Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga''' practice involves; | |||
| * Complete ] involving no ], ] between ] nor ]. | |||
| * ] ], i.e. ] excluding ], ], ] and food not cooked in their God's remembrance which are considered impure. | |||
| * Complete avoidance of ], ] and ]. | |||
| * ] after ]ing involving washing ] or entire ] and changing clothes. | |||
| * Regular daily ] at 4 a.m.. | |||
| * The pursuit of ] in all aspects of life. | |||
| * ] of their ] and beliefs, called " service ", as defined by their senior sisters. | |||
| * ] between ] and ] in housing and activities. | |||
| ]s wake up for 45 minutes ] at 4 am. They then attend a daily morning class at 6.00 am, work or keep their ] during the day and then return to ], teach or do more ] in the evening. B.K.s make regular ] or contributions to the Raja Yoga centre irrespective of means . Donations are generally not accepted from non-B.K.s as their ] is considered as " ] ". B.K.s are encouraged to visit the ] located in ], ], ] once a year if possible. | |||
| In the main, " ] " means teaching their version of ] or evangelizing their " ] " and B.K.s were instructed not to do general ] nor perform what is generally understood as ]. | |||
| ==7 Day Course== | |||
| Central to the Brahma Kumaris practice is the teaching of all their core beliefs in 7 one or one and a half hour long lessons called " The 7 Day Course ". Once these 7 lessons are understood, students are then introduced to unpublished scriptures considered to be the direct teachings of ] called "Murlis" named after the ] that the ] god ] is generally illustrated holding. | |||
| In many countries, especially in the ], the Brahma Kumaris have introduced lightweight versions of their ] courses design to capitalize on the interest in ] or personal growth movements which introduce basic elements of their faith and practice but avoid detailed and controversial instruction. Often these course focus on specific interest groups such as women, business people, teachers and so on. | |||
| These seven lessons are: | |||
| * The Soul | |||
| * The Supreme Soul | |||
| * The Law of Karma | |||
| * The Cycle | |||
| * The Tree of Religions | |||
| * The Founder Brahma Baba | |||
| * Brahma Kumaris' Lifestyle and Principles | |||
| ===The Soul=== | |||
| Brahma Kumaris teach ]. That is human beings are a ] or ] living inside the physical body which is not the individual but a " costume ". The ]'s form is a point of light and it is situated in the forehead of the body. The ] is described as having 3 functions: ], ] and ]. The sanskars, or record of experiences, are transmitted from birth to birth. Brahma Kumaris believe in human ] but unlike classical ] and ], they do not believe in ], or re-incarnation between different ]. | |||
| Brahma Kumaris teach that there are only 5.5 Billion human souls. | |||
| ===The Supreme Soul=== | |||
| Brahma Kumaris believe that their " ] " is a ] or ] identical to the ] ], also in the form if a point of light but that this ] cannot take birth in a ] form. | |||
| Their " God " remains disincarnate, eternally unchanged and so therfore is the only individual that can purify impure incarnated ] souls through its knowledge and by their mentally connecting to him through the practise of their Raja Yoga . This ] then is able to ] his spiritual energy through the ] practioners to other ] and into the ]. | |||
| The practice of this form of ] and allowing of their god ] to channel through them is said to be an intense spiritual fire buring away the practioner's previous ] and eradicating their ]. | |||
| ===The Law of Karma=== | |||
| Similar to many ] religions, the Brahma Kumaris believe that ] is a law controlling actions and reactions ; that every action creates a reaction and that individuals experience the effects of those reactions either as happiness or suffering. These reactions can be are experienced in the current or a following lifetime. Thoughts being the origin of actions. | |||
| ===The Cycle=== | |||
| Using the symbolism of classical ], Brahma Kumaris believe that time is cyclical and follows a patterns of a cycle lasts 5000 years. This is refered to as " The Cycle ". Each cycle is identical to the one that came before it and to the one that will come after it. | |||
| It starts with a ] or " Golden Age " of 900,000 human beings, all followers of their religion. This then declines to a slightly less paradiscal " Silver Age " in which humans are also naturally spiritual minded. Then after 2,500 years, the Earth declines further to enter into a " Copper Age " where humanity experience the ] of ] and ]. Suffering is experienced for the first time, the search for God and religions are created for the first time. 1,250 years later, an totally impure " ] " of suffering, injustice and irreligiousness begins. | |||
| Brahma Kumaris believe this " ] " is our current age and that it is " Hell ". The opposite of their " ] " 5,000 years before. They teach that at the end of the Iron Age, the World must be completely destroyed by a nuclear war between Russia and America, natural disasters and a blood bath of civil war in India. | |||
| Between the lowest ] of the " ] " and the high spiritual state of their " ] ", there is a brief period of 100 years when the work to establish the ] must takes place. This period of time is known as the " Confluence Age " and was originally taught to be 50 years for ] of the ] through " the jaws of death, the wail of horror, the rivers of blood and pus, the panic and the desperation, and then, the final death ", and another 50 years for the creation of ] on ]. However " Destruction ", as it is known, did not happen according to their timetable, first 1976 and then some time between 1985 and 1996, and has so become modified according to necessity in order to sustain their ]. At first it was taught 50 years for destruction and 50 for creation, then 60 / 40, now the Brahma Kumaris tend to try and avoid the issue. | |||
| ===The Tree of Religions=== | |||
| The Brahma Kumaris use the ] of " The Tree " to represent the ], or rather decline, of the ] ] of souls. The ] of the ] is made up by Brahma Kumari followers currently practicing their ] only. These individuals alone are to become the residents of " ] on ] ", symbolised by the trunk of the tree, where humanity is one and experiences ] and ]. | |||
| " The Tree " is then illustration to split in 5 major ]. ], they teach, forgets its original nature and each branch represents one of the 5 major religious traditions or seeking for ] and ] ; ], ], ], ] and renunciate tradition of India called " ]sm " and manifestation of this newly impure world. | |||
| The outer branches of " The Tree " are said to symbolise the " ] " of a fractured ] where even major ]s are split into many small branches, representing ] beliefs, ] and ]. ], ], ], ] and all other religious founders are said to ] at the beginning of their ] and then continue to ] through out the ] of their ] until coming to the " ] " at this time and seeking out the Brahma Kumaris for re-] in ]. | |||
| It is specifically taught that none of the religious founder have a direct connection with ] nor are they able to escape human ] many times over as is believed by ], ], ] or ]. | |||
| " The Tree " of ] must be destroyed each " Cycle " in order that a new " Tree " repeats the pattern exactly. The " ] " for this new tree is their " ] " ] alone. | |||
| ===The Founder Brahma Baba=== | |||
| Under the inspiration of their " God " businessman Lekraj Kripalani, became known as " ] Baba " and was said to have had 84 human births, the maximum number of births for any human soul. The Brahma Kumaris believe that Lekraj Kripalani was the first pure being in the world known as " ] " or " ] ". | |||
| Since they believe that their " ] " needs a human body thorugh which to communicate and Lekraj Kripalani was considered to be the most experienced of all human beings, their " ] " took possession of his mental faculties and body in order to communicate with body conscious, impure humanity. Lekraj Kripalani is considered by the Brahma Kumaris to be number one soul, higher in divinity than ], ], ] and all other religious founders who must come to him, or his followers, for re-education in spirituality. | |||
| Lekraj Kripalani by his actions in a previous incarnation 2,500 years ago is also taught to be the individual that lead humanity to " ] ", that is out of ] and ] on ] and into ] suffering. | |||
| ===Brahma Kumari Lifestyle and Principles=== | |||
| The final lesson traditionally taught by the Brahma Kumaris relates to the disciplines they follow as regards, religious practices, ], ] and ]. | |||
| B.K.s accept food cooked only by practitioners that maintain their strict regime, which they call ] food or " pure ". They believe that food cooked by those that do not follow their regime, even ] food, is ] or " impure ". | |||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| * Documented incidents of ] within the organisation brushed aside by leaders as due to the ] of the children suffering ] and outside of their responsibility, the perpetrators avoid punishment or reporting to ]. | |||
| * ] and ] problems faced by ex-followers including multiple ] with families. | |||
| * ] and physical violence from families and partners of Brahma Kumaris. | |||
| * Questionable relationship with ] Organisation. | |||
| * Name changing from University to Organisation. | |||
| * Discreet ] and re-writing of their " ]'s " spoken word to avoid controversy, to accommodate increased ], to change speculation over the timing of destruction of the world and other matters. | |||
| * Self-proclaimed " ] " status not recognised by any external authority. | |||
| * From a ] point of view, B.K.s claim that the ] spiritual scripture ] is actually the teachings of ] and that it is misinterpreted by other ] and that the current version of the ] has been modified and enlargened by human beings. | |||
| ==Sub-sects== | |||
| Believing himself to be a reincarnation of Lekhraj Kirpalani's business partner, Virendra Dev Dikşi split away from main body of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation to form the ] or " ] " after being barred from B.K. Raja Yoga centres. Continues teaching and is considered to the the true ] their guiding ] or " ] ". | |||
| ] ] and high-profile Brahma Kumari ] was charged in the ] with a plot of ]-] in which 31 ] followers, including five children, were to ingest ]. After the ]s they were told they would be picked up by a ] and taken to an unspecified destination. | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * http://www.bkwsu.org/ Official website | |||
| * http://www.brahmakumaris.com/ site based in India | |||
| * http://www.peacevillage.com/ B.K. sponsored Peace Village Retreat Center-USA] | |||
| * http://www.xbkchat.com - an open discussion forum mainly for ex-members of the Brahma Kumaris but also B.K.s, P.B.K.s and friends and family of B.K.s by invitation. | |||
| * http://www.shivbaba.org.pl/ P.B.K. website | |||
| * http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~eromain/childprotection.htm Report on Child abuse within BKWSU and response by Senior Administrators. | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| * Dr Julia D. Howell, Asian and International Studies, Griffith University, Australia & Dr Peter L. Nelson, Nelson Center for Humanities and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia. " Surviving Transplantation: The Brahma Kumaris in the Western World ", http://www.rajayoga.org.pl/pl/files/BKTransplantation.pdf | |||
| * Ken O'Donnell. " Raja Yoga for beginners ", 1987. | |||
| * Jagdish Chander. " Adi Dev: The First Man ", 1981. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] and the ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||