Suicide – a Tragic Outcome
Ranjana Patel RIP
London 1993: Ranjana was a strong, alive, creative spirit from Gujerat. She was a ’surrendered’ sister – to newcomers she was one of the inner sanctum, part of the establishment. Ranjana had been “in gyan” (knowing the Truth) for about 7 years.
Ranjana was a young woman. She fell in love with one of the other members. However one of the main tenets of the Brahma Kumaris is celibacy and she and he broke that vow. She was devastated by a profound sense of guilt and failure, the wanton loss of her eternal fortune, and now to spend eternity among the lower castes. This, because she had fallen in love.
Ranjana was so devastated by her feelings of guilt and loss she jumped off a four story building. Unbelievably she survived, although sustaining significant injury. Later she disappeared. Someone randomly identified a photo of her in a local paper. It was a mortuary photograph of an unidentified body that had been lying on a cold slab for three months unasked for. This time she had succeeded by jumping off a five story building.
The Brahma Kumaris teach that making love is like throwing oneself off the 5th floor of a building and that was exactly what Ranjana did. And she was right, nobody cared. Not even the BKWSU Seniors with whom she had lived and worked for years, the very people who had preached to her about love and kindness, and enlightenment and service.
BKWSU’s management were so indifferent to Ranjana’s death that no effort was made to ensure that others of their membership did not suffer so badly. Shockingly and incomprehensibly Ranjana’s brother Sharad threw himself under a train a few years later. He was a member for many years but always believed himself not good enough – not pure enough, not yogi enough – the stress of the unreasonable expectations that had been imposed on him by the teachings of the Brahma Kumaris had killed him.
The BKWSU have no duty of care policy or exit strategy. After 70 years of enculting genuine, well-intended and intelligent people they have devastated thousands of lives whilst preaching the same spiritual rhetoric that killed Ranjana and Sharad and many others.
Our reason for being here is to attempt to persuade the management of the Brahma Kumaris to introduce an effective duty of care policy and exit strategy to transition and help existing and departing members. Their official line, in keeping with the Founders’ teachings, is that anyone who leaves is a traitor and should be treated accordingly. Thus far we have been ignored, as were Ranjana and Sharad.
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By happy74, November 15, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
I really did want to ask – what happened to the brother who Ranjana fell in love with, and left the organisation to be with? Why is he not more responsible than the organisation in this case? How could he possibly not take care of her when she needed him most, and was clearly suicidal? That must have been an even worse tragedy for her. what about her family and brother – why were they not responsible enough to take care of her when she got to such an extreme state? I haven’t seen any answers to these questions so far.
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By happy74, November 15, 2008 @ 6:44 pm
Sorry – I don’t want to attack you. I do think you have valid points about a cult mentality as being the source of the problem.
But these are also important questions as to how a person got so isolated from their family and lover that they committed suicide. In my experience, having had a family member and a friend of my parents commit suicide, it is very hard to reach a person no matter what you say or do once they get into that extreme state of mind. Usually there is mental illness and chemical imbalance that needs treatment, physically, for any hope of recovering their inner stability and hope.
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editor Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 11:15 pm
“But these are also important questions as to how a person got so isolated from their family and lover that they committed suicide”
The answer to this is simple – the BKWSU ‘philosophy’ teaches that family, friends, colleagues and society is completely impure, karmic bondage at best, and to be renounced. Thus a “good’ BK is one who has completely separated himself from anyone he or she knew prior to joining the cult. So after many years of life as a BK, when someone leaves, they have noone. The BKWSU deliberately removes all family and social structures that existed in an individuals life and denounces mental health professionals as “shudras” (impure and ignorant). The result is that someone who leaves the BKs after an extended membership will be completely isolated and the BKWSU itself will not engage with those people to help them in any way.
Given that a longer term member is also probably unemployable by that stage, they will be poor, jobless, completely alone, totally confused about who they are, and unable to have any hope in the future. Suicide becomes an serious option.
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By admin, November 19, 2008 @ 6:48 am
Happy74, I don’t want to name the brother concerned as he has also suffered a great deal. He did marry her and try to look after her, but the reality was that he was as confused and traumatised as she was – they were of no help to each other. Ranjana’s parents lived overseas I believe.
In my opinion the vast majority of westerners or westernised Indians who join the BKs or any cult are disordered. I don’t mean that in an absolute sense – but they are emotionally and psychologically compromised for some reason – could be divorce, loss of a loved one, dysfunctional childhood or perhaps something like ADHD (which I believe is very common in the ranks of the BKs).
Whichever way you look at it, happy people do not join cults. So something was going on as they joined. And whatever that “thing” is, it just becomes buried under the new beliefs, reductionist explanations and so called spiritual efforts. But at some point suppression, repression or avoidance gives way and this “thing” re-emerges with a vengeance. I think this is the real reason people suffer so much when they leave a cult.
Ranjana was never able to find a new explanation for herself, a new sense of identity, a new place in the world. The one size fits all, pre packaged identity that the BKWSU imposes on its membership was lost to her and she was effectively reduced to the emotional state of an adolescent – a complete loss of self and no clue where to go from there. She was ultimately a 13 year old in a 39 year old body. That is an extremely confusing place to be.
You also have to keep in mind that in her time in gyan she was centre stage. Back in the 1980s she read murli to London class, was a key translator and was right up there with Dadi and Jayanti. So it was not like she passed through without anyone noticing. She must have believed that she was heading for the rosary of 108 – then she fell into lust!
It was an incremental process that happened slowly over time.
I knew her quite well. I don’t want to upset anyone, or confuse anyone, but I have a strong suspicion that she was ADHD. This is why she could not redefine herself – something was going on that she could not comprehend. And this is where the BK duty of care fails. As I said, happy people don’t join the BKWSU. There is definitely a temporary or permanent disorder at play with the vast majority of new recruits. These are psychological realities that are dismissed out of ignorance as impure sanskars. This is obviously a dangerous practise and the consequences can be dire – as Ranjana proved.
We will be adding a page on psychological disorders facing BKs at some point. We hope BK management take note. We have approached them directly with quite comprehensive explanations about ADHD, OCD etc but we have been dismissed – that is what led to the creation of this site.
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By Julie, November 25, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Editor, I find it interesting and very shocking that you can make such wide sweeping statements about phychological disorders. I had the good fortune of attending a talk by Dadi Janki recently, it was not her words but her presence that I found extrodinary. I have always had an inclusive spirituality and was interested in getting to understand more about the BK’s. I am glad that I have discovered your site for it gives me another view. I like to think as I have got older my spiritual discrimanation has grown and I am able to listen to both sides and acknowledge that their are strong views and maybe some bias and imperfection on all sides. If there is a truth surely it is beyond concept, boundless and unborn and can only be known experentially by letting go, aided by us strengthening those relative aspects of ourself like love that removes barriers between self and others. Surely love and service extends to all unconditionally. Any thing that tends to superiority or a closing of the heart is surely missing the point.
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By editor, November 27, 2008 @ 4:56 am
Dadi Janki is very charming. That is one of the cornerstones of her success as the political head of a large organisation that she has controlled for a long time. She has been engineered into celebrity status and that also has a powerful effect on those who are new to her “presence”. If you read the History page you will also find that she is a liar and manipulator.
You are quite right when you say “Any thing that tends to superiority or a closing of the heart is surely missing the point.” If you read the pages that identify the BKWSU as a cult you will see that they are entirely elitist and indoctrinate all their members into the belief that they are the chosen ones and that ‘worldly souls’ such as yourself are impure and degraded and that your only salvation lay in becoming a BK. I bet Dadi Janki didn’t tell you that!
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By Julie, November 28, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Dear editor, I had read all of your site it is useful in that it gives me a alternative view. Much of what you say is also true of many religions/religious groups who the world would consider main stream and it is also clear the secular world has many short comings and does not hold all the answers. Much of what you describe is exactly what one expect from individuals earnestly engaged in a spiritual quest. You make little mention of the benefits this organisation may bring to many of its members.(sadly there are casulties as well) If I accept your critic of the organistion then BK obviously have areas where they could improve and personally I would struggle with some of their world views as presented on your website. However I hope this would not blind me to the positives. Surely all of us have the right to choose our own spiritual path however we may arive at it. I for one am not arrogant enough to consider I have the only take on truth. You do seem very angry, no doubt with very good reason. Unfortunately anger sometimes can become all consuming leading to outright hatred causing us to suffer greatly and our minds to become very unhappy. Thank you for providing the information you have. I wish you well and hope you can find away to stay positive and resolve your issues with the BK. On BK’s part, I hope they will fully accomplish the love, humility, respect for others and other spiritual qualities taught by Dadi Janki in her book Companion of God. I will not post again. Much spiritual love to you. Julie
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By editor, November 28, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
Thanks Julie. Yes the tone of this site reflects anger – but I would say that it is the product of frustration of trying to communicate with BKWSU management. I was very much on the inside of the BK institution and know all the main players well. Some years after leaving myself I started to approach some of the most senior people with concerns about those who had left the organisation and the apparently inevitable trauma they experienced. I got a sympathetic ear at first and I was invited to India to see Dadi Janki with a free ticket thrown in.
To my dismay I found that Dadi Jankis only interest was to re convert me back into the fold and all concerns I raised were summarily dismissed. This lead to a concerted effort to raise the profile of the issues which also resulted in zero. Duty of care, organisational responsibility, or even the concern to listen, are apparently not important to the BKWSU.
That left us with only one option – to scream and shout until we got heard. And that screaming and shouting is this site. Honestly, I would rather not be spending my time and energy on this, but the trauma that I experienced and that I know many, many others have experienced, requires that this effort is made. The BKWSU just cannot be allowed to continue to decimate peoples lives and not care.
And I am sorry to tell you that Dadi Janki did not write the book Companion of God. It was a compilation of material put together by a very dedicated sister who is now also listed as ‘decimated’.
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By Julie, November 29, 2008 @ 6:56 am
Dear Editor., Thank you for your response and honesty. I had not wanted to post again, but felt it important to clarify that The Companion of God is a compilation of material that reflects Dadi Janki’s teachings, which is what I’m sure you meant. One has to assume that the sister who compiled it was inspired enough by the content to gather it together. I am sorry to hear she is now ‘decimated’. I hope that your concerns get to be heard and the spiritual qualities like love, humility and respect for others the book talks off will increase.
Julie
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By The Truth, December 26, 2008 @ 12:43 am
What is a book? Its only a manicured PR exercise.
What are “teachings”? More of the same.
Where an individual’s state of mind, or being, becomes apparent is not in stage managed promotion events but in dealing with crises like this one or by long term trends.
Janki Kripalani has either lived off the BK founder, relative Lekhraj Kripalani, or her followers for the whole of her life. She has let her followers publicise her as being “the most stable mind in the world” when it turns out no such claim was ever made by any scientists and turn her into a guru … a demi-god they believe is “one of the top 8 souls in the history of the world”.
She presides over an organization that has;
extensively faked its history,
covered up its past, abuses and tragedies,
continued to “manicure” the spiritualist messages it believes to be from God to hide the failed predictions and factual errors,
no democratic structure and no rights for its followers …
none of that is “Divine” or enlightened.
If Janki Kripalani has a “divine gift” … it is for sniffing out money from her potential devotees and working her way up the greasy pole of power and influence. Brahma Kumaris are desperate to re-market her as some Mother Theresa. They shield her from honest lines of questioning at public events. The private face is quite different. Janki Kripalani’s business savvy might impressive but not her ethics.
She is just another one in a long line of Hindu Gurus that have turned up in the naive West with nothing more than a suitcase and turned spirituality into money making machine.
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By handsomeguy, December 28, 2008 @ 3:43 am
Hi, just had a look at the website, i’m following a 7 day course at the BK medication centre and wanted to know further. All these information make me confused. As from what i gathered Mr the editor you had followed this movement and then quit, but do you still meditate? coz i just want to to take the relaxation meditation stuff, my aim for following the course. Have heard that meditation and food can even cure heart diseases. I even met someone who related his experience of how he became well after taking the meditation and veg food stuff. I have the intention of bringing an uncle of mine who has a heart condition. What do you advise? thanks and keep cool!
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By The Truth, December 28, 2008 @ 7:42 am
handsomeguy …
“Peace of mind” is just the sales pitch … the hook … the Brahma Kumaris use. The BKs will not tell you the truth of their religion until the hook is deep within you.
What the BKs are doing is not “meditation” but hooking you up to a spirit entity that their psychic mediums claim to “channeling”. They want to use your mind, and wealth. They believe that this spirit entity comes and speaks to them at their Indian headquarters and that it is the god of all religions. Their practise is focusing their minds on it 24 hours, 7 days a week … Baba, Baba, Baba …
If you get sucked in, it will turn your life upside down. In most people’s experience, the so called teachers have not got a clue about spiritual matters. They want to convert you into being a follower so that they can claim an inheritance and to do so will tell you anything.
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By editor, December 28, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
Hi Handsomeguy – interesting label you have given yourself. But yes meditation can help in health matters, as can the right diet and lifestyle.
After I left the BKs I stopped meditating because it was too much of a BK thing. But after some years I started again, but now it is a self styled meditation that has a universal feel about it. The Raja Yoga that the BKs teach as meditation is much more a practise of self indoctrination – it is a meditation that is dependent on you being closely involved with the Bks.
So I agree that meditation can be good for you – but not the meditation as taught by the BKWSU. Keep looking, reading and experimenting and develop a meditation that works for you.
The lesson we have learned from the Bks is that using a single organisation / religion / group as the source of your meditation can be fatal!
I recommend Buddhism as a good source of spiritual teachings and meditation techniques.
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By Ravi, December 30, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Dear Brother(editor),
Your concerns are understood. I understand your expression of frustration. As some others expressed, it is our fault to not understand the God and teachings part of it.
The Gyan is very simple for those who are not well formally educated, and really tough for those who are highly educated.
Howmany every times bapdada says ‘Follow Father’, we always follow Bro/Sis and their charm..and there is nothing wrong that you folowed Sis.Jayanthi or Dadi Janki.
But being one responsible at center and having lead many to their destiny and they being happy now and you being out is not so goodto hear. You say all this stuff ‘cult etc..’ but can u see howmany are afected and howmany not. There are somany people who have transformed in real sense to be happy people. And your statement that ‘only unhappy people join’ and continue later goes on to prove that BKs are successful in spreading peace and happiness though not yet perfect.
Your urge to bring ‘Care for ex bks’ into BK institution is wonderful. If that is brought may be all those powerful energetic ones like you will come out as mics and reveal the truth to the whole world. I too hope it comes asap.
And one thing I don’t understand is your reason for anger. Is it about the care and responsibility of BK for ex bks and exit path? or The whole of principles and belief itself. I think the second should not be the real reason..as you have spent 20 valuable years of your life as a matured person. Then why try to defame someone..Why don’t you chose a more constructive path..of being a bk and doing it(caring or ex bks) and advising the same to your mates…who you guide to become a bk.
It is not good to think that becoz you were a VIP bk, Janki dadi or jayanthi ben has to listen to you. You could have started to care about others and gave some proper guidance for their exit when you had so much influence. And the wonderful thing is that there is no written law that you souldn’t do…
Please think in a positive way and take actions which can be like a positive criticism…(else you’ll become an example of bapdadas words of traitor, plese don’t let it become like that).
Just that everyone want to beocme no.1 and try for that, just that we have to understand that not becoming no.1 is no sin. But not being happy is, when there was a golden oppurtunity…..
Please be positive..if we want to see negative, we can always find it. as Julie said it is good to take positive things while we work actively to eliminate negatives if any…
Just spread peace, happiness, love and not hatred…
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editor Reply:
January 1st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
It is unfortunate that most people who visit this site do not understand the purpose of it. As you have noted, all we are asking for is duty of care. That is all. Is it an unreasonable request? Not at all. So why then are BKWSU seniors so determined to not even acknowledge the issue? Why do they, who believe they are angels who are to become deities, refuse to even have a single conversation about the welfare of those who belong to the BK community or have belonged to that community? How is it that they can preach love and compassion and not practise it at all even with those that support them or have supported them?
There is no reasonable answer. Duty of care is a matter of great importance, but the simple fact is that they just don’t care! Sister Ranjana was very close to Sister Jayanti. They lived and worked together. And yet after Ranjana AND THEN SHARAD killed themselves, Jayanti continues to ignore the issues!
She has been approached on this matter so many times and she she still refuses to even listen! This website was the result of enormous frustration and at the endless stonewalling of which BKWSU management are guilty. Then the authors of this site are labelled angry?! Well, yes, we are. People are leaving the BKWSU in the west in large numbers – many more have left than stayed. And of those who have left the consequences have been very significant. Yet there is not even a thankyou for the contribution they have made let alone any meaningful care or support.
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By jay, January 19, 2009 @ 2:07 am
This web is just plain confrontation, causing confusion and sadness. It’s all about the individual.
I, personally, do not like the maanmat that goes on, but the shrimat that is directed by GOD can never be compromised. Meditation is between you and GOD and no-one else. So handsome guy go for it. Don’t get to involved. Keep away from unnecessary things. Concentrate on yourself and GOD. I, myself, and many other BKs do this and are happy. Often invited for meetings, if I don’t like what I hear, I simply walk away.
You can join any other organisation and trust me, you will experience the same negativity.
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MC Sharma Reply:
June 17th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Great, Jay, that is the way it should be. I do not believe in the Kalp cycle, Sangam Yug, the Millenium to come etc and yet keep on going to the classes. I do not argue or contradict, but occasionally come across a good thought or two in the murli and pick it up for practising.
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Moses Reply:
June 28th, 2009 at 2:52 am
Dear Jay,
Are you celibate or normal? BKs preach celibacy and yet they were born like everyone else, how do you explain the teach that will stop the world continuity if implemented?
Moses
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thenakedtruth Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
jay, do you really believe that God, and I mean, the real God not some deceased entity, has chosen Mount Abu to reveal Himself? Have you ever questioned why, of all God’s children on planet Earth, BK’s would be so specifically special? Isn’t that a bit BK-ocentric? Indian-ocentric? (This is derived from the word egocentric by the way.)
Do you not think that the mere idea of God revealing Himself is something made up by man?
How can you pretend to trust a disembodied entity who gives directives to die alive and then call it God? It is anti-God, anti-anything that allows you to live freely.
This is not all about the individual, as you say. This is about the healthy and free human being. The one who chooses for himself because he knows how to live without relying on someone or something else to make decisions for him and tell him how to live his life.
And by the way, after an experience with the BK’s I doubt anyone will be looking to be part of another religious cult organisation.
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By The Truth, January 19, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
I read in the news of another young woman from Orissa was burnt alive in the local BKWSU centre. The police and the intelligence agencies were in the dark because the body and other relevant clues were deliberately cleared up and the BK center in charges disappeared after the crime. The headquarters went into denial claiming it was a plot to discredit them.
The driver Prem Singh and two others went missing and the center-in-charge said there was no information available about the background of the deceased.
Meanwhile, a follower hanged himself at Mount Abu HQ. In Delhi another follower committed suicide in the center and the sister went on giving class and serving food only to deal with the corpse after all the followers had left the center late.
I, mean, come on folks … wake up to reality!
Its not just that folks kill themselves but, as with the child sex abuse incidents, its the way the leadership time and time again deal with situation. It would be a farce if it was not so tragic
Meanwhile … all the followers are waking around spaced out of their minds going, “Baba, baba, baba …”.
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By klangcentreex, January 19, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
Dear mr editor,
Your site is an eye opener to everyone who is and was charmed by this so called “promoting Hinduism” tactic. I am one of the victim. I started joining the cult after reading about yoga. Wanting a peace of mind, I was introduced to bk by a neighbour. Everthing was ecentric and joyful until the part when they started attacking our saints and gurus. I was confused. this is supposed to be a satsang. During satsang we have discussion about God. everthing from the temple, brahmins, Ganges was filthy. I cannot take them in but continued to follow them.
Murali seems always to be angrily attacking other religion. When the senior reads the murali and comes to the part of attacking other religion, all the members will nod happily or laugh out loudly. I sincerely was not brought up insulting other people’s beliefs.
Prayer is another aspect that left me confused. They say that they promote Raja Yoga. Isn’t that part of Hinduism? Then I cannot pray like is normaly do. Now what do I do with all the gods I have at home? I cannot just throw my god. I believe in Shiva, so do I believe in Vishnu and Krishna.
Attacks on our Bhagwad Gita had me unhappy. I still went for classes diligently and took more notes. I was becoming BK. I get up early for my amrit vela and try not to doze off, cooked my food with utter cleanliness and tried not to forget traffic control. Besides all this grassroot work I was doing I was still skeptical about this organisation. I tried to understand their way of life and the understanding of sacred knowledge. Later it came about all these ladies are actually parrots. I am not about to made into one. So I put my cards down. There were resentments.
I was not prepared to be ridiculed. I was so stoned by them that I refused to eat food cooked by my own mother. Can you believe that! She brought me into this world. She fed me and educated me. She was never wrong about what she fed me with until these Brahma Kumaris came along. I felt very sad. This incident left me sadder than not sleeping with my husband. Oh God, that was another chapter of my stupid dealing with those manipulative people.
So at every meeting I will be asked, “Already practising celibacy???”. My answer was always a smile. At this juncture I felt like throwing my self from the building. All this so called members are actually retired or their children supporting them not like me. I have a job and cannot be that liberal with time. So that created a gap. There will be my gang, and those not so well off gang, and poor gang, and not so “smart ” gangs. Seniors will always gang up they surely know how to make you feel not welcomed in the joint.
Back to the neighbour who introduced me. Nice family, sweet understanding husband (brother). These were the people I depended to go for my clasess. Very helpful at the beginning. So I and her became souls sharing Baba’s notes and, of course, I was happy to be “enlightened”. As time went by, this lady started to behave rather funnily. She does not like it when the husband accompany us. The tone of voice changes. So noticing it I reduced the number of times that I went to the centre. Sometimes she will be nice but sometime manipulative. It runs in the (blood) members I suppose.
This lady is also a big gossiper. Things got even bad after the much spoken of trip to Mount Abu. She started to become even more egoistic. Talking bad about everyone even the Dadis. So each time after the morning murali, I have to listen to her murali now. So and so has done this. So and so has given me the maya. The list goes on until I reach my house. Then the phone calls pursue with Sister, “Do you know ?…” That will sometimes took 1 to 2 hours.
All the while I cannot bring myself to tell her off because Baba always say do be a thorn and prick each other. After 2 years I told her that I will not be going to classes with her. I will make an effort to go alone. She asked why and I told it is my personal request that Baba allows me to do so. So that he knows I’m making an effort without depending on anyone.
All this time this sister is also running children class in her home which my children attends. One day she told me to tell stories from Bhagawad Gita but to mention they are the words of Baba not Krishna. I dont like to lie a said. She dropped the subject. This left me thinking about her true character.
I want things positive in life not just lay the blame on karma and test paper as they call it. I like to plan my life and my children’s life in a positive manner. There are some things that she teaches at the children’s clasees are very disturbing. One of it like beat your face with a slipper if you lie. Now that is not the way to teach children. That is violence. Raja yoga is not violence.
At the end I had enough of the sister and the dozing off sisters in the center. My advise to people wanting peace and tranquility in life to slow down and think carefully before you made decision of remarks. You are your best friend and no one can actually lead your life but you. Remember the BKs are just there to reap from you. They cannot give you everlasting happiness because it is a form of hypnotism.
There is nothing to it. Sit down quietly and try to listen to your own heartbeat and believe me you will be calm. After some time you will learn the art of self awareness. So do not need any big time guru as you are the greatest guru for your self.
Dont get cheated.
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By pooja patel, March 6, 2009 @ 8:03 am
editor,
thank you for making a very true and honest website regarding this cult … I hope that more people like you speak up about this cult … I have a lot of documents saved from this cult and I know how horrible it is.
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star Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 12:27 am
where did you find these documents? I think it is important that we really investigate what it is we are actually getting ourselves into. do not be fooled..
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By thenakedtruth, March 17, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
If you haven’t gone into the organization deeply, you cannot know what this website is truly about. So for those of you who are curious to have your own personal experience, keep your eyes and ears open but most importantly, listen to YOUR OWN SELF. If your intuition sends you a red flag, heed the warning for it is there for a reason and most importantly for your own good.
As klangcentreex said above, if you are searching for peace just slow down and listen to your own heartbeat. All the answers are in us anyway. The BK organization preys on people who are psychologically and emotionally fragile. They will convince you that your family is bad and that you are a dirty scumbag if you remotely think about the opposite sex. The seniors are all actors who smile when they are on stage, snub you when they come off stage and then stab you in the back if you don’t follow their dictates.
Life is meant to be celebrated and enjoyed, and we are meant to be vibrant and ALIVE, not walking dead zombies controlled by people who constantly put the fear of God into us. I feel terribly for those poor souls who could not reconcile the confusion and whose sole exit was death. The BKs are some of the coldest and most manipulative people I have ever encountered in my entire lifetime.
I am very sensitive to energy so I was easily seduced by the vibration and the charm of some of the leaders, but thank goodness I had enough sense and strength to recognize what was truly happening and thank goodness I loved my family and friends enough to never turn my back on them. It is important for people to speak up. The difficulty in this however, is that the throat chakra gets completely shut down from the brainwashing and mistreatment and speaking one’s truth is often overshadowed by multiple layers of fear.
There is a difference between standing up for one’s self and anger without purpose. This website has purpose and those of you who are too afraid of expressing your own anger will try to make nice nice just to avoid the much needed activism and confrontation that this brave editor is taking a stance on. The truth of the matter is, anyone who suppresses their own natural impulses for too long will then take revenge on those who are still alive and justify it with any dogma or principle of their own choosing.
The proof lies in the many diseases Brahmins develop especially in the second chakra where desire is suppressed. Sisters with ovarian cysts and brothers with colon cancer are but a few of the cases I have heard of. There would be no case if there weren’t so many people who were ill not just physically but emotionally and psychologically too. A power hungry organization has the same sanskars regardless of whether it is on Wall Street or on an ashram in India.
We know that we should look beyond appearances so let’s do that. Who said that a white sari and a long braid were representations of God’s truth anyway? Take charge of your own life and be the master of your own destiny. Inform yourself and read as much as possible. We all just want to be loved and this ambitious organization has taken advantage of our vulnerabilities to suit its’ own agenda.
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By pooja patel, March 24, 2009 @ 7:57 am
My mother is a part of this cult…does anyone know how I can get her out of it?
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By disdat d'udda, March 28, 2009 @ 7:00 am
have attended their meditation days/weekends for at least 4 years (on and off) and have never been asked for money, nor felt there was any pressure to join anything…found them kind and -if anything -nor invasive but quite private. found also people attending smart and independent. am i missing something? or are others trying too hard to find fault. i will continue to take advantage of their kind offers of free courses and choose what i need and leave what i don’t out. as a cult, they look pretty relax to me…
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By klangcentreex, April 1, 2009 @ 5:30 am
dear pooja,
you can start by reading the bhagawad gita itself. Your mother will get alot of enlightenment. Believe me there is nothing but pure hypnotism in Brahma kumari. They are all out to accumulate wealth at your expense.
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By pooja patel, May 25, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
Hi Klangcentreex….
If I read the Gita how will that help my mom get enlightened?
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By pooja patel, May 25, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
The naked truth!
Amazing
. i agree!
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By star, June 5, 2009 @ 12:23 am
i want to thank ‘thenakedtruth’ for such a clean comprehensive argument. I completely agree with what you r saying. I am usually a very proactive, strong, dynamic and confident person but after a few sessions at the local BK centre, my throat chakra too would completely shut down and i would lose all my sense of self and barely be able to even squeak out a little word due to fear which i thought i could overcome but have had trouble doing so..
I personally am still feeling extremnely confused about this whole ‘damn’ organisation. I am extremely angry that i have trusted the and almost fallen completely in love with many of the members there only to find after some reading that it was all a sham and hoax aimed at brainwashing me completely. It really saddens me because i believe so much in humanity and peace and freedom of expression, and respecting all living things, and my passion and integrity and innocent trust were used for ‘other’ negative motives. It really is like abuse in the most overt form possible. Manipulation and charm, a mask of sweetness and kindness only to lure the open hearted and trusting. I have personally experienced so much love and joy and freedom and peace with the BKs, but now that i have really grounded myself and taken this place very seriously as opposed to a ’simple place i just meditate at’ i can recall certain incidents that felt quite uncomfortable. There have been some slips with some of the members whom i thought were really loving. Rough comments here and there, masks fading at times, much positive denial. You can feel it in their energy if you were really honest with yourself. There is so much positive denial going on, i wanted to believe it was all real and true but have realised now that bk or not, we are all human and at the end of the day are our own boss, our own masters, knowing what is best for us. I think it is important to have the courage to stand our own ground, like some of the great world leaders like ghandi etc. and not surrender our own truth and identities to neone or thing, be it a cult, person, organistion. We are no ones slave! I am saddenned that i have to let the BK family go. There were some very intelligent, inetresting and beautiful ppl there, and my vision of a greater world was so huge and i enjoyed sharing it amongst others. But i will not ever surrender my soul or self to anyone. I am now seriously questioning the validity of the BK centres and practices and have realised that although there is much good in personal evolution and greater awareness, to have my growth manipulated by an organistion that i wholeheartedly trusted only to find that there was much more to meets the eye, is uncalled for, unhealthy and quite seductive, rude, misleading and brutal. I am saddenned and angered by the oragnisation so far and have decided that i can create a peaceful, wonderful, joyous and self respecting life for me and the world around me without haveing to be maniplauted by ‘mysterious’ motives of an organisation that from 2 years experience only want to rob you of your independence and free will. I am so deeply sorry to all the good hearted ppl that enter the centre in search for something greater in this world, but i highly recommend to everyone that attempts Bk practices or are thinking about it, to tread carefully and do not every block out the voive of your own inner guidance. take care to everyone. God bless
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By editor, June 7, 2009 @ 6:14 pm
There is quite a bit of documentation available to those who want to investigate. I think we have enough on this site to make our case. Also, if you go to http://www.brahmakumaris.info you can get more information.
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By FacialFace, August 7, 2009 @ 11:43 am
I speak as an “ex-BK” who hopes one day to return to the spiritual practice. I can’t agree with any of the negative things you have to say about the organisation. Every bad thing people say they have experienced in relation to the BKs seems to be more about the person they’ve had contact with than the actual teaching. And that’s the same with any spiritual teaching or religion.
The BK philosophy isn’t one of “we are the only way to salvation”. It’s one of “we are the only way to salvation for those who are supposed to find this form of salvation”. If you are destined to be a Christian, then your salvation lies within Christianity. If you’re destined to be a Muslim, then that is where your destiny lies.
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Tell the truth Reply:
August 14th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
You don’t mean “spiritual practice” you mean “being a BK follower”. There is a difference. BKs seem to think they have a monopoly on being spiritual.
Likewise, it does not sound like you are “ex-BK” … you are a BK supporter. You just don’t follow the principles any more.
What concerns me is that the manner in which you represent the teachings is not honest.
Not only are the BK teachings absolutely supremacist … “they are pure, all others are impure … theirs in the highest religion”. The BKs even teach, and believe, that all other religions and religious leaders MUST come to the Brahma Kumaris are their BapDada spirits to re-learn their own religion. That includes Christ, Buddha and Mohammed who they believe have reincarnated many time and are now in their “most degraded form” on earth.
Is that an accurate quote or not? All other religions are “stumbling around in darkness” is what Lekhraj Kripalani – or God – said.
No, the rot goes right to the core of the insane teachings that BK adherents go out of their way to hide from the rest of the world.
What you mean from a BK point of view by “we are the only way to salvation for those who are supposed to find this form of salvation” … is that all the other “ignorant” “body-conscious” religions like Buddhism, Christianity and the Yogis of India are doomed never to be reborn in Heaven because only the Brahma Kumaris are. No other religion leads to salvation (moksha) according to the God of the BKWSU.
Only Brahma Kumaris followers are eternally destined to enjoy heaven on earth for 2,500 years. None of the other religions, nor their leaders, do so ever. They only enjoy “Hell on Earth” for 2,500 years. Nor are their any “Heaven” in any other real for them to enjoy.
• Those are the real teachings of the BKWSU Facial, are they not?
What you are saying regards “salvation lies within Christianity” is false according to the BKWSU Knowledge, isn’t it. Only the Holy Ghosts of the BKWSU (BapDada) can grant salvation … and their founder was the number One human being.
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By The Torch, August 14, 2009 @ 11:15 pm
all these BKs line up to defend their leaders and religion………none mention the parents of Ranjana and Sharad Patel who died because of this cult
what about the other Indians in India who have committed suicide too?
i suppose for all these rich whites followers that is just “their karma” and down to “personal problems” too…………..no one wants to take responsibility
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By Tom, August 15, 2009 @ 7:15 am
Dear Torch,
You said: “none mention the parents of Ranjana and Sharad Patel who died because of this cult”. Please clarify. Who is Sharad Patel? Has he also died because of BKWSU? How? Or have the parents of both mentioned died because of BKWSU? What do you mean?
You said:” what about the other Indians in India who have committed suicide too?”Who are these Indians who committed suicide in India?
Please be specific and tell us what you mean and whom you mean?
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By Tom, August 15, 2009 @ 1:19 pm
Hi Torch and all,
Now i read the Admin’s article “Suicide- A Tragic Outcome” and learned about the first suicide attempt of Ranjana jumping from the 4th floor of a building from which she survived miraculously with injuries and then disappeared and some months later somebody identified a photo of her from a mortuary where her corps was lying 3 months long unidentified, that she jumped from the 5th floor of a building to death,and few years later Ranjana’s brother Sharad threw himself under a train.I have never heard such a family tragedy before.
I am repeating these facts to help myself to comprehend the tragedy their parents are confronted.After the first suicide attempt if the Seniors of the BKWSU in Madhuban and in London and “Baba’s instruments” in Ranjana’s center had some feelings as human beings they should let her have professional help and if she would refuse professional help they should never let her stay alone.
After such a suicide attempt whole family needs help, her desperate husband and her brother and the parents of course.If the Seniors would care for her and for her family both suicides could be avoided.
I did not know about her first suicide attempt and her final suicide from a higher building. I did not know about her brother’s tragic death also.
Now i am very sorry for the years i have spent in the BKWSU loving and respecting the Dadi’s and Dada’s.What a shame that nobody searched for her even not through the security forces after her first suicide attempt as she got lost with injuries.
These Seniors are not Divine as they believe to be,i see them as some sort of miserable freaks who are looking at the mirror and thinking that they are right and left hands of God.
Dear Torch, please let us know about other suicides in India which have not been published in these forums.
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brahmakumaris.info Reply:
August 16th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
As a selection of reports we have received at brahmakumaris.info:
• male suicide in Delhi center. Center-in-charge locked the door went on with the groups rituals and feeding adherents before calling police etc.
• young female suicide in Agra by self-immolation (fire). Evidence removed by adherents. Girls believed to be in love and seeking to marry a non-believer.
• male follower in Madhuban by hanging.
• male follower, and major funder, of Panipat center, India who had previous raised the issues surrounding the death of a young female at the same center. Center-in-charge absconded from the police. Allegations of poisoning, most likely suicide.
• “Yogini”, South African sister.
• female suicide in UK on January 18, the most holy “Baba’s Day” according to the BKWSU.
• Numerous minor failed attempts.
This list is not exhaustive. What is clear in every case above, including Ranjana’s and Sharad’s are direct and often symbolic connections to the BKWSU, e.g. Ranjana’s 5th floor, the “fire of lust” and suicides in the “Baba’s Rooms” of major centers.
As the BKWSU is not open about the history of such incidents, nor the mental breakdowns that occur before them, it is impossible to know the full and accurate picture.
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By editor, September 2, 2009 @ 4:55 am
You will notice that the main complaint we have here is about the ORGANISATIONS failings – of which there are many – and therefore the problem lay squarely on the shoulders of senior leadership. As has been said before, if Dadi and Jayanti wanted duty of care, there would be duty of care – but they don’t and there isn’t. That is THE problem.
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By james kahn, December 24, 2009 @ 1:28 pm
The introduction paragraph says that she was a ‘young woman’. Yet her death certificate states she was born in 1955 meaning she was in her 40’s. That is not young. That is the action of a woman desperate to get laid…poor girl
These BK’s talk about Kalyug being here. However they fail to realize that they are responsible for it. There is no way they will have anything to do with this death or have a ‘duty of care’. They hide behind the law, and take advantage of democracy. One day they will get caught out, and every single one of them will jump off a 5th floor building.
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because.parmeshwar Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 12:25 am
As long as we are following their shrimat(rules), every thing goes smooth and rather better. After some time, these shrimats, seems to be boring as one feels very lonely and separated. Forcefully he has to follow them, as by this time we get caught by them. Then the real game starts. We remain in the guilty consiousness of not following their shrimat and not reaching the absolute purity. The feeling goes on increasing, if you are not able to perform, resulting in severe trauma and extreme decisions.
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By first_time, January 12, 2010 @ 3:01 am
Respected peoples
i am 29 year old man from india..from my childhood, i am inclined towards religion because of lots of unsloved or solved (to me unsolved) question kept running in my mind…who am i ?? what happens after death ?? why i am alive ?? this type of basic unsolved paradox..which is still going on…i have heard so many theories..scientific or religious..philosophical..ideas from rank and file…but nothing seemed to satisfy me fully for long time…confusions kept on coming and could not get the answers..currently, i decided to practice patonjali’s raj-joga ( which i previously done..got some preliminary results…but later somehow discontinued)..and i think it is a mixture of science of religion..so, why not practice faithfully..as it is told in vedas that in religion hearing and learning is nothing without practice…
now,i started to read the patanjali’s method as told by swamy vivekananda..and started preliminary preparations…but as swamiji had warned that practice of rajjoga may be dangarous if your body and mind is not capable of..you may become mad..so, you need a guru or experienced teacher who can guide as well as curb you from over-doing..now, as i am married for two years now ( so my ojas may have been depleted) with one year daughter, and as i have some experience before( like ringing bells in my ears, hearing soung of cricket continously, increased brightness of the objects, smelling good scent ), i took swamiji’s advice seriously ( as according to me swamiji must have got some results which was shown by the activities of his life who conquered the west 120 years back religiously…and he was a great patriot and to some extent atheist also…) so, i long for a guru..
as i am new to this city..i donot have many contacts..but one -day while searching for a medical shop, i came accross a hoarding in front of a house that free rajjoga maditation coaching is available..i decided to have a try…
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By first_time, January 12, 2010 @ 3:30 am
continued….
i meet with the peoples…in the first meeting, four days back,one middle-aged man asked me preminary questions about me..and enquired me what type of meditation, i am doing…i told i am currently doing nadi-sudhhi..he told me, ok come monday, and we will teach how we do meditation…i was in joy that finally i have got some organisation to practice..went yesterday, morning at 7 am but as i did not take bath, they told me to come next day…
so, today i went there at 7 am after taking bath…the room was quite cosy..red-light lit room…but i did not see any asanas to sit there…chairs are there like class-rooms…i thought, how i will meditate sitting on a chair..no-one was there when i went…so, i started reading the wall-pictures…there i came accross about the juga-cycle ( 5000 years cycles)…this is new theory i saw there…previously, i have heard the vedic kalpa juga-cycle which i think millions of years ( which is controversial but science could not refute it fully also)…also i knew there may be cycle within this cycle ( means relative ups and down in terms of religious consciousness)..but never heard of 5000 years cycle…which surprised me that muslim would be born 1400 years before destruction..then it struck me that then we are on verge of destruction…as mohammed was borned at around 600 a.c. now it is 2100 so…then right at that moment confusion came to my mind…two question came …whether they have failed in there prediction or it is like 2012 ( mayan prediction which is now famous because of the movie)…
sudenly one lady in her early twenties came and asked me which language i know ( because you know in india there is so many languages)..i told hindi will be fine for me…
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By first_time, January 12, 2010 @ 4:43 am
Then she lead me to an another room and came back with lots of laminated picture sheets with her..she was white-dressed ( i know you all know these but i am tring to narrate my experience like a story..enjoy it )…and started discussion…i felt very nice as i think it will be very nice to have a good religious discussion, i love it…but i was to some dis-appointed also, because i thought i have to again listen the same stories ( theories) which i had enough..i want to realise the god or atma or self..but think ok..go through it..give a patience hearing it may turns out to be very fruitful to you…she started to explain me Who am i ??…in the sheet it is written.i am a soul (atma)..she expalined very nicely…i liked it…then there is paramatma…we are son to him..atma resides in between our eye-brows..thats why we get tilak (like the hare-krisnas) in that portion…and god (i.e paramatma) have no form…he is like a red conglomarration of light…he resides after four stage of world….then she told how we can feel the paramatma…she told that he communicate with us through mediatation…then meditation started…she told me i can meditate with my eyes open…it was totally unexpected for me…because open- eyes are distraction for mind..how you can concentrate within with eyes wide open…one more thing, she explained the eight qualities of atma and three forms of atma..mind, intellect and sanskara ( impresions)..etc etc…
then in the meditation session she told me to visualise what she is telling…in a deep voice, she told..that i am atma…i am going to meet paramatma..etc etc….which had some effect on me… when she asked..i told that i could not realise it well…as i can not feel myself as a atma clearly…i am not feeling properly about the paramatma…everything is like hazy…then she told me that you are concentrating on your eye-brows….try to visualise…i had no clue..how to visualise..if i donot have a clear idea in my mind…but i kept silence…then she adviced me to write afterwards what i have learnt today..and always think about what have been taught today…
finally, i asked that i never heard about this organisation…what about this…she told me this is 70 years old…we are coming in TV now..we have lots of oversees branches…then i asked what is your philosophy..she told come tomorrow, we will discuss…
now, some-how confusions created on my mind…and after coming back to my room, i google it…then i came to know these horrofic stories and great discussuons..then i thought to write down my first-days experiences…but as you can see i started well but i got tired so, finished quickly…
so, now lots of thoughts are going through my mind…any-way i will write it later may be to-morrow or evryday for one week…
altough, at first after reading two or three related sites, some fear came in my mind…if i get trapped in the trance..thought i will not go again…but now i am thinking, i will attend the full course…
i will keep you updated…
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