BRAHMA KUMARIES
Brahama Kumaries
Introduction:
Brahma Kumaris, officially known as
‘Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya’ is a worldwide spiritual
movement.
It is dedicated to personal
transformation and world renewal.
Founded in 1936 in Hyderabad, Sindh
(then a part of undivided India) by Prajapita Brahma, Brahma Kumaris has spread
to over 137 countries in 5 continents of the world and has had an extensive
impact on all sections of the society.
It is working as an international NGO,
associated with the United Nations Department of Public Relations.
The organization is committed to help
individuals transform themselves, based on the understanding of their true,
spiritual identity, which transcends their mere material existence.
It supports the cultivation of a deep
collective consciousness of peace and of the individual dignity of each soul.
Being a women – led organization it is
widely known as Brahma Kumaris. Even though the founding father of the
organization was fondly known as Prajapita Brahma, the first Administrative
Head was Mateshwari Jagdamba, fondly known as Mamma.
Dada Lekhraj was the son of a schoolmaster.
Although from a middle class family, with honesty and hard
work he rose to become one of the richest men in India.
He was an ordinary person with special qualities.
As Dada was nearing sixty, something drastically changed his
entire lifestyle.
He had a series of divine visions. He experienced himself as
a point of light, a pure soul afloat in an ocean of bliss.
He then had a few
revelations – a vision of the four-armed deity Vishnu, Incorporeal God Shiva
(the Supreme Soul as a Point of Light), a terrifying vision of destruction of
the present world and then a glimpse of the new World (Heaven). These took him
beyond all consciousness of his body.
Early Beginning- Om Mandali -1936 – 37
Subsequent
to the revelations and having heard the secret voice of God, Dada started
sharing the knowledge with his friends and relatives. They began to lead pure
lives; thus started a unique spiritual gathering, which was named Om Mandali.
This
community started chanting “Om” during their gatherings. Everyone immediately
felt the charged vibrations of warmth, love, bliss and power.
In
October 1937, the institution Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
was formally established.
A
spiritual trust was constituted of a committee of eight young women with Om Radhe as the head. Om Radhe took
charge of administering the institution and became the leading teacher. Dada,
now called Prajapita Brahma, gave away the entirety of his wealth and property
to the trust, and himself remained an advisor.
Opposition -1938
– 39
A group of the community was against
the Om Mandali and at any cost wanted to cease its operations. This group,
called the Anti Om-Mandali, picketed Om Mandali’s premises; prevented members
from entering. This caused considerable upheaval in the community. The crowd
went completely out of control, so much so that they set fire to the house from
outside, hurling torches through windows from all sides. The picketing resulted
in legal criminal proceedings. Om Mandali then decided to leave Hyderabad and
relocated its activities to Karachi. Later, the government appointed a tribunal
to inquire into the activities of Om Mandali. They were declared innocent by
the tribunal but the legal and social difficulties they faced served to
strengthen their resolve. The Anti-Om Mandali even attempted to assassinate the
founding father- Brahma Baba, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
Karachi New Premises-1940
– 50
Then they moved to Karachi. The
members of the institution, in Karachi (now in Pakistan) were involved in
intense meditation and deep spiritual study. The effort was to completely
understand the self and the true nature of oneself. They intensely practiced
soul-consciousness. There were very deep realizations about God and the
relationship between soul and Supreme Soul. Through the practice of the Godly
knowledge and meditation, they became a complete embodiment of purity, peace
and bliss.
Moved
to India
Much after the partition, in 1950 on
completion of 14 years in total isolation, the institution shifted to India. It
selected Mount Abu suitable for deep meditation experiences and for imparting
these teachings to others.
From there, the seed of spiritual
knowledge sown, grew gradually and the organization starting spreading its
branches in different parts of the country. In 1971, the spiritual knowledge
and practice of Raja Yoga spread overseas, with the first foreign centre in
London.
Spread of the
Movement in India-1951 – 60
After having empowered themselves with
deep self-realization and God-realization, the young, teenaged Brahma Kumari
sisters in groups of one or two, with very little knowledge about the world and
resourses in hand but full of the wealth of innocence, Godly experience and
purity, set out to different parts of India to convey the divine Godly message.
They first went to Delhi where a
center was opened in 1952-53. They also went to Kanpur, Lucknow and,
later to Meerut. A little later,
centers were established at Saharanpur,
Amritsar, Patiala, Ambala, Bangalore, Bombay, etc.
Spreading
abroad
In 1954, a delegation, consisting of a
few Sisters and Brothers went to Japan to participate in the World Religious
Conference. It also imparted knowledge to many in Hong Kong, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries on their way back. Thus, the seed for
the Godly service outside India was sown.
Death of Om Radhe 1961
– 70
She was lovingly called ‘Mamma’, the
first Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris. She left her mortal coil and
attained ascension on June 24, 1965. Irrespective of her mortal young age, she
served and sustained the organization with whole-hearted devotion and
dedication. She is also called ‘World-Mother’.
Death
of Founder and after
On 18 January 1969, Prajapita Brahma
achieved the final stage of perfection. Becoming the first complete man – all
virtuous and fully in the image of God and with the authority of God. Dadi Prakashmani was appointed the
Chief Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris. She guided organization to its
global growth. By 1969, there were 125 centres across the globe that saw many
adopting Raja Yoga as a way of living.
Dadi Janki 1971 – 80
The Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya
Vishwa Vidyalaya believes that it is guided and directly administered by the
Supreme Soul Himself. The Brahma Kumaris is unique in that it has only grown
multifold and spread far and wide after its founder has left his mortal coil.
In April 1974, Dadi Janki through her intensive meditation drove deep spiritual
roots into the United Kingdom. Today, London is the international Headquarters
of this Spiritual University. Centres were started in all the continents of the
world. The Brahma Kumaris institution became a member of the non-governmental
organizations of the United Nations.
2021
- Until the Present
After the death of Dadi Janki, 104, on
27th March 2020,Dadi Gulzar, was appointed the Chief Administrative Head
of the Brahma Kumaris until she attained her Angelic form on 11th March 2021.
The present Chief Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris is
Dadi Ratanmohini who at 96
tirelessly and wonderfully is fulfilling the responsibilities and services.
Brahma Kumaris is a worldwide
spiritual movement dedicated to personal transformation and world renewal. They
are spread to over 137 countries. Their real commitment is to helping
individuals transform their perspective of the world from material to
spiritual. It supports the cultivation of a deep collective consciousness of
peace and of the individual dignity of each soul. Brahma Kumaris continue to
spread the message of one God, One World to each and everyone in every corner
of the world. Today, there are over 8700 branches of the Spiritual University
in over 130 countries.
Different BRANCHES
The Brahma Kumaris perform their
various socio-spiritual roles and responsibilities with the help of some sister
institutions constituted with a specific objective. While the overall goal of
all these remains spiritual enlightenment through the practice of Raja Yoga,
each of these institute tends to execute its purpose in a focused manner. The
major sister institutes are :
Registered
as a charitable trust, with its Head-Office in Mumbai, the WRST was
incorporated in December 1968 with the sole goal of:
Promotion,
propagation and research in ancient Indian Culture, knowledge, yoga and
philosophy.
Arranging and
managing museums, exhibitions and seminars with special emphasis on imparting
knowledge, ennobling character & uplitiing human lives. For this purpose
the WRST makes provisions for the study and teaching as also establishing and
managing institutes for the said purpose.
The Rajyoga Education
and Research Foundation (RE&RF)
RE&RF was registered under the
Societies Registration Act, XXI, in 11 August 1982 as an educational &
charitable Society. RE&RF executes its various responsibilities with the
help of its 20 constituent wings, each of which is dedicated to the service of
specific sections of our society. Its main objective is:
To establish centres
of Rajyoga and propagate Rajyoga education
To foster
soul-consciousness; universal brotherhood
To promote literacy
& encourage scientific research in Rajyoga
The 20 wings are:
Administrators Wing, Agriculture
& Rura Wing, Art & Culture Wing, Business &
Industry Wing, Education Wing, IT Wing, Juristis Wing, Media Wing, Medical
Wing, Politicians Service Wing, Religious Wing, Scientists & Engineers
Wing, Security Services Wing, Shipping Aviation Tourism Wing, Social Service
Wing, SpARC Wing, Sports Wing, Transport Wing, Women's Wing, Youth
Wing.
Its Head Office at Mumbai. Its main
objectives are:
To establish,
conduct, run and manage spiritual education institutions;
To impart education
in moral, cultural and spiritual values.
To promote scientific
temper and spiritual vision.
To promote emotional
balance & self-restraint for holistic personality development and conduct
related training.
The Radio Madhuban
Community Society (RMCS)
Incorporated
as an educational and charitable society, the RMCS was registered at Delhi in
April 2013. The aims and objectives of RMCS is:
To provide community
service with the new communication techniques
To advance the cause
of education, particularly value and spiritual education
To establish, manage
and operate Radio Broadcast Station(s)
To remove
superstition, moral and social evils
To create
environmental awareness and responsibility
To work for de-addiction
objectives etc.
BRAHMA KUMARIS AT THE UNITED
NATIONS
The Brahma Kumaris is an international
non-governmental organization of the United Nations. Through its international
network of centers in 137 countries, the Brahma Kumaris provide people with
opportunities and settings to voice their opinions on critical matters that
impact their daily lives and ensure that their messages make their way back to
the UN through written and oral statements and other publications presented at
UN conferences and meetings.
Brahma Kumaris contribute to the work
of the UN in promoting the purpose and principles of the United Nations
Charter, the trajectory of awareness, attitude, vision, and action is used in
the areas of the Millennium Development Goals, Climate Change, Food Crisis,
Gender Equality, Global Public Health, Humanitarian Emergencies, Human Rights,
Women, Children, Youth, International Decades, Days.
Brahma Kumaris and
their beliefs
Brahma
Kumaris is a spiritual awareness mission not affiliated to any religion. It is
different from Hinduism, being based on mediumistic teachings. The Brahma
Kumaris follow complete celibacy both in and out of marriage. Brahma Kumaris
are strictly lacto-vegetarian and eat food that is cooked either oneself or by
a member of BKWSU (Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University). They wear white
clothes as a symbol of purity. Meditation is part of their life, and Brahma
Kumaris start it at 4 a.m. every day. They claim to teach practical meditation
for developing inner strength, believing in personal transformation. But the
sect is also not free from controversies. Splitting up families, use of
hypnotic methods, and being a destructive religious group are a few of the
allegations leveled at them.
Beliefs of Brahma
Kumaris are:
The
soul is everlasting and resides within the physical body. However, it is not a
part of body.
In
reincarnation, the soul leaves one human body and enters another. It does not
take non-human bodies.
The
time of destruction is about to come as humanity is close to its end. According
to them, the world is going to end and with this, the Golden Age Paradise will
commence.
Only
the Indian subcontinent will survive in the Golden Age Paradise. Hindi is
regarded as the original language of humanity. Only Brahma Kumaris who have
been spiritually purified will take rebirth in the Golden Age Paradise as gods
and goddesses.
God
Shiva
Baba, god of all religions, is considered as a spiritual guide of Brahma
Kumaris, whose objective is to awaken the humanity and remove evils. Shiva Baba
is a supreme soul and a point of light. Followers of Brahma Kumaris believe
that Shiva Baba speaks to humanity through the spirit of Brahma Kumaris.
Because they believe all matter to be eternal, He is not the creator of any
matter.
Explanation of the
Self
Human
atmas as well as animal souls are extremely small part of the ultimate
spiritual light. There is a ‘Soul World’ where all souls live with God, a world
of tranquility and endless light. That world is known as Nirvana. The soul
cannot experience anything in that world. In order to experience life and to
give meaning to their individuality, souls enter bodies. But a human soul never
transmigrates to another species. By the process of rebirth, the soul gets
devolved rather than evolved. Brahma Kumaris also believe that a soul can
possess another body against its will.
Time repeats itself
After
every 5,000 years, the cycle of time comes full circle and repeats itself. It
consists of five yugas or ages – the Golden Age (Sat Yuga), the Silver Age
(Treta Yuga), the Copper Age (Dwapar Yuga), the Iron Age (Kali Yuga) and the
Confluence Age (Sangam Yuga).
End and Destruction
Brahma
Kumaris passionately believe that world would end one day. The time between
hell and heaven on earth is 100 years’ long and has already been started in
1936. This is the time in which the entire civilization would come to an end by
natural or man-made means. Though different years for destruction have been given
by Brahma Kumaris, nothing has happened till now. According to Brahma Kumaris,
the Golden Age will start in 2036.
Raja Yoga –
Meditation
Raja
Yoga is a form of meditation and is different from the one propounded by
Patanjali. Mind purification is stressed in Raja Yoga.
Murlis – Their teachings
Teachings of Brahma Kumaris are not present in ancient texts as the sect is very new. Murlis are the mediumistic messages of Brahma Kumaris in the form of sakar and avyakt. Sakar are actually the teachings of Shiva, which were told to Lekhraj Kripalani by Shiva himself in the 1960s. Avyakt Vanis, or Murlis are the teachings of Shiva and the soul of Lekhraj Kripalani. Hirday Mohini, or “Dadi Gulzar” is the medium. Murlis are used both for the personal spiritual endeavor and institutional.
Murli is the recorded teachings spoken by
the incorporeal supreme soul through his corporeal medium. These are
the sweetest words of true raw knowledge.
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