Relax7 & Mike George
Relax7 is a website created by Mike George. He is charming and a very pleasant person. He has been a member of the BKWSU for decades. He travels around the world on behalf of senior management giving lectures, running seminars and representing the BKWSU to the public and VIP’s.
He has found a niche for himself within the BKWSU and has been allowed to repackage the philosophy and teachings of the BKWSU for personal profit. He has lead the way on the Brahma Kumaris public relations front. Our issue with Mike is not personal. However he has been an effective recruiter for the BKWSU. As is demonstrated on this page, Mike participates in the BK strategy of approaching potential recruits with a “softly softly” approach, facilitating that recruitment, and then denying responsibility for the possibly nightmarish outcomes that may lead to. Relax7 is a good example of this method and an analysis has been created to demonstrate.
Here is the opening page of Mike Georges relaxation website. As an experiment in manipulation and deception, first read the unedited version, and then read the analysis below – you may be surprised at how convinced you may be!
Now read the analysis below to see how the manipulation is effected:
The RelaxCentre: A hearty welcome from Mike George
Welcome to a more enlightened route to relaxation.”It’s a fast, frenetic, crazy, stressful world! These seem to be the opening sentiments of so many books, seminars and modern day gurus, as they advise us on how to calm down, chill out and concentrate on what’s important.
Do you know of any books that open with these sentiments? We are being told this is the case and we are inclined to go with it because it is the voice of an apparent expert – someone who purports to have read all these books.
But is it true? Is the world now a crazy, stressful place on it’s way to hell in a hand basket? Some think it is, as their life is in creasingly filled with tension, anxiety and insecurity, triggered by almost everything they see.
As you may experience tension, anxiety or insecurity sometimes Mike has now established you as the person who needs to listen to this! So read on…
While others, regardless of what is happening around them, seem to be able to remain peaceful, positive, and powerfully focussed on living their life to the full.
The image of a such a remarkable human being – if they exist – has been made to seem normal and tangible. If your inspiration is to be such a remarkable person, Mike is already appealing to you.
Why the difference? Why do some people come out in a cold sweat and react negatively to the smallest of situations,
this fits the negative self image you have of yourself even if only vaguely true, so now you want the experts solution,
while others are able to remain cool and in control of themselves in the face of disaster, or even provocation
again, the remarkable, if imaginary, person you want to be!.
The answer is perception.
A reductionist, unsubstantiated statement but most people will buy it for lack of existing argument and because we are by nature reductionist. Now Mike will enlighten you about perception and why you need it, from him, and ultimately the BKWSU. How perception relates to the end of the world and a world history that repeats identically every 5000 years is something you have to become a member to find out!
How you perceive the world defines the meaning you give to the world at any particular moment. And the meaning you give to the events in the world of your home or office will be what shapes your thoughts and feelings, either stressfully or relaxedly! In other words, it’s not the other person, or the deadline, or the disaster which makes you feel tense or taught, it’s not the ten o’clock news filled with murder and mayhem which makes you feel powerless and hopeless, it’s your perception.
Now that Mike has so eloquently blamed you for being miserable or stressed your self esteem is challenged because it is your fault! Again you have failed. This is the systematic guilt that members become trapped in. But now you must read on to earn your success. Even though you are not in control of world events or even your own circumstances, somehow it is still all your fault! If you were to become a dedicated member you would experience the self esteem of being a conqueror of your own weaknesses – a self esteem that has been given by the BKWSU, a self esteem that they will now control you through.
In other words, no person and no situation can unrelax you without your permission. In other words, all stress, anxiety, tension, worry, anger, fear and depression is self created.
Just a reminder that you are to blame.
For most people this is an extremely difficult idea to accept, and for more than most it can seem almost impossible to practice.
However, as you want to be an exceptional soul you can accept it, right?
And yet, if we do not grasp it’s truth we may find ourselves living our entire lives as slaves to people and circumstances, and not ever see that our own freedom, our own power to choose our own destiny, was only one insight away.
Here you are being warned of the extreme danger of not realising the truth of what Mike is telling you. And incidentally that insight is provided by the BKWSU free of charge!
Welcome to relax7.com where our purpose in life is to influence (with your permission) this may be a wee Freudian slip! your perceptions about yourself, other people and the world, in such a way that you are able to free yourself from any and every kind of stress, tension and anxiety.
Clearly we are in the domain of small promises!
We are here to help you to reach the point where nothing can ‘phase’ you, where you are fully involved in the world, and yet one step back from the world, slightly detached, and yet intimately connected, so that you can choose how you will ascribe meaning, generate right feelings and consciously create the way you respond.
This is a massive claim well beyond the rights and capacity of a completely untrained person – whose profession is as a public speaker! The “permission” you give here is to have your thinking completely rearranged by someone else according to their belief system – when they won’t even tell you what they truly believe. But people love promises and buy into them too easily. Mike has. He believes that God has incarnated to teach him directly, that he is going to reincarnate as a deity prince in paradise in his next life. And because he has helped you in this life, you will be his subject in the next. And now, with your permission, he is going to gift you the perception of a remarkable person.
This is obviously unachievable in a few paragraphs, even a whole book, or a visit to your local guru. This ‘inner work’ takes time, patience and a little perseverance. Freedom from all suffering and sorrow is the aim.
You have got to love that. All you need is Mikes perception of reality – or more precisely the BKWSU perception – and you will be completely free from sorrow and suffering.
Enlightenment, meditation and visualisation are the methods. And continuous learning is the process.
Study and meditation – if you read previous pages on this site you will be aware that these are the standard, principle methods by which the BKWSU indoctrinate their members.
Are you ready? to be indoctrinated. Or are you happy being unhappy? Am I being sold perception or a used car? Amazingly, most people have somehow learned to be content with their discontent, comfortable being uncomfortable, and often wake up to this inner contradiction late in life.
Where’s the data on this one? What research is he quoting as a support to this otherwise unsubstantiated claim?
It is a learned and deeply held belief that life was not meant to be a bowl of cherries, that life was meant to be a journey through persecution and pain.
Naturally if you agree with Mike on the basis of your own case you will think that this sweeping statement is universally true. There is nothing to support these statements. But it is a commonly held view of the BKWSU. One of the standard methods of the BKWSU is to appeal to peoples’ sorrow, sense of inadequacy and dissatisfaction with the world. They also make broad generalisations about the miserable state of the world that you will buy into if you are discontent within yourself. They are enormously persuasive if they are able to tap into your current state of mind – your unhappiness and your dreams. They catch people when they at a low point. Like many people who become trapped in cults – they had dreams of being better than their self contempt allowed, they were discontent within themselves, and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time – people like Mike George were waiting for them, to encourage and reassure them.
Throughout the website, you will find some thoughtful ideas (Room 1) on how you can check and challenge some of those deeply held beliefs, recalibrate your perception, and learn to live with a little more calm and clarity.
If you do participate you will want to find out more from Mike, like where to go from here. Once Mike has sold you all his products and you are still interested you will then be directed to a meditation centre of the BKWSU.
You will find visualisation (Room 2) and meditation exercises (Room 7) to help you relax, focus your mind and create a more positive mental energy. And then there are two or three questions for your personal journal (Room 3), designed to challenge and encourage you, as you do the inner work of increasing your own self awareness and personal enlightenment. And if you do find some personal benefit from any of those ingredients, there are a number of other resources (Room 6) which can take you deeper. Once again, a warm welcome from all of us (Us? The BKWSU?) here, I hope you enjoy your visit, and return each day as part of your own journey towards a life filled with success…without stress!
Relax7 reflects the BKWSU tradition of teaching their ‘godly knowledge’ in a 7 lesson course.
Mike George. Founder.
Founder? This type of language is quite attractive – one is generally not the ‘founder’ of commercial or other self interested enterprises. One is the ‘founder’ of a charity or something substantial – like the ‘founding fathers’ of America. What exactly is Mike the ‘founder’ of – a website? Have you also noticed that this great body of work that will change you from a reactive, enslaved stress head into a truly rare and remarkable person is completely free of charge? You have to wonder!
So have we really established a link between relax7 and the BKWSU? Well if you were interested to attend a retreat to deepen your experience, this is what Mike offers:
If you look closely at the contact addresses for all of the retreats you will notice that they are all BKWSU email addresses. The retreats themselves are organised by members of the BKWSU. Should you attend one of these retreats and show further interest you will then be invited back to a BKWSU centre to begin your indocrination program in full!
Mike eloquently invites you to one of his retreats:”We each create our own journey much as a painter paints her painting and a composer refines his symphony. Everyone has a song in their heart and everyone has a canvas called the ‘mind’ on which they will create the panorama of their life. Have you found your song and if so how does it sound? Have you started on your canvas and if so how does it look? You are warmly invited to join one of the weekend Self Awareness Retreats which offers the gifts of insight and understanding, meditation and silence, the company of fellow creators and a chance to relax and look at yourself and life very differently”.
Mike George has found a niche for himself that has created some controversy within the ranks of the general membership –those who are sincere and genuine (albeit misguided) believe that their knowledge is to be given to the world for free, as the ultimate act of charity. Mike has made a mockery of that – and with the permission of the most senior people in the BKWSU.
Relax7 also flies in the face of a generally understood but apparently disregarded BKWSU ‘principle’ that the organisation does not engage in business nor profit from business. What happens to the profits from the books Mike sells on his site? For the vast majority of BKWSU this is very much a secondary question to “what right do you have to repackage and sell this divine knowledge?” And indeed, what right does Mike have to profit from this philosophy when other members are not?
Relax7 is a front created by Mike George in order to filter vulnerable people through to the Brahma Kumaris via a facade of helpfulness – and to make a profit along the way. This is cynical in the very least. That people may ultimately take their own lives as a result of this betrayal seems to be of no concern to him.
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By Kes, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
hi,
i also wanted to understand your view the editor a little bit better and to do this i need to understand what type of job u have and from what part of the world you live, hope this info does not infringe on your privacy, but it is quite essential in understanding where u are coming from
have a great day
[Reply]
ashok sureka Reply:
July 27th, 2009 at %I:%M %p
Dear friends
one thing I want to share with you that the knowledge given by bk’s are not of any individual or from any particular religion or scripture, this is the true knowledge which is given by THE SUPREME FATHER THE SUPREME SOUL HIMSELF. As at present we all are weak souls HE is giving us the true knowledge and also teaching us RAJYOGA the actual true technique of meditation through which we can empower ourselves.
so friends try to recognise the truth, GOD HAS ARRIVED, PLEASE PLEASE ONLY SEE GOD, ONLY FOLLOW THE SUPREME FATHER dont waste your time in waste thoughts.
[Reply]
Anonymous Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at %I:%M %p
He also has a publicists that work in the book industry who recruits for him. The book pr sends book information and ideas of other authors to him so he might get ideas and copy. And the pr also knows mesmerisam so that he can catch clients for himself and for Mike. They work in partnership. Both their targets being mostly women.
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By editor, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
It is not necessary to know where the author of this page lives or what he or she does for a job in order to understand the content of this page or site.
The author can tell you where they are “coming from” however: The BKWSU have a long, documented history of disguising who they really are and what they truly believe. Relax7 is an example of this. The BKWSU has a long history of practicing this form of deception and other forms of dishonesty. This is discussed throughout this site. The net effect is that the BKWSU has developed an effective methodology of entrapment. However they deny any responsibility for the outcomes they create. The outcome they create is an ongoing tale of trauma and suicide. Our motive is to pressure the BKWSU to implement an effective duty of care program, and to learn to be honest about who they are, what they do, and honest in the means by which they achieve this.
Hope this answers you question.
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By rstaff, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Some years ago I attended a weekend retreat at the BK centre in OXford Mike George was there – attendees were told that Baba was more important than one’s family (they describe this as ‘lokic’ attachment). I found that there was a very cold and calculating approach once one got further involved – they openly talked (senior members) in derogatory terns about other religions and especially Hinduism.
Definitely and organisation to be challenged about their apocalyptic views about them being the ‘chosen’ – keep it up!!!! anyone who knows about this organisation should approach their MP, Charities Commission and Press with what they know. So many people are being lied to and their lives taken over.
Cheers Rob
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By Jane, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Are we not here on this earth to live our lives with love and peace in our hearts, do you really believe we are here to judge, critise and put down an organistation which is just a tool for helping people find inner peace and love themselves?. They dont even charge for their help and guidance unlike most organisations. As far as I understand noone is saying that they can cure you and wave a magic wand!, all they are saying is that only you can heal yourself by going within and finding god in your heart, once you really know this and feel it you dont even get upset with what others do you accept them as they are and you just do what feels right to you and disregard the rest. We all have our own opinions and spiritual paths to follow, some are with the BK’s teachings some are not. Does it really matter which organisation/religion or guide or spiritual teacher you choose as long as they encourage and guide you to look inside yourself and love yourself and others. What you need to ask yourself is can anyone else really make you feel bad or happy? My experience has always been very positive and very loving from the BK and meeting Mike George. However it also has to do with what you expect from others and attract, I expect love and peace from other people and thats usually what I get back. “law of attraction” Be happy and at peace life is far too short. love and blessings to you xx
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By Rernham, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
I have read this critique of Mike George and by association, the BKs and I have a serious issue with the comments contained therein. I would therefore ask that the following be published on this website and it will interesting to see if this actually happens.
I am a business man with no particular need for comfort and solace that may be offered by any particular religion; however, I do have an interest in the general benefits that I believe can be obtained through the practice of meditation and with this in mind, I first attended meetings with the BKs when I lived in Hong Kong some 20 years ago.
I must confess that my intial impressions of the BKs were also of a very sceptical. I listened to the lectures on the religious tenets of their belief and I could not accept what I heard. However, when it came to meditation, I found that their methods opened up a completely new understanding of what had previously been a rather esoteric subject. As a consequence, I found that instead of struggling, I was actually able to achieve levels of meditation that were hitherto beyond me.
A this point, I should say that from the outset I had made my religious beliefs very clear to the BKs and I have continued to do so but at no time has anybody even remotely suggested that this was unacceptable. In fact the response I have always received is that I must take whatever I wish from the experience and I have never been even remotely pressured to change my views in this regard.
Over the past 20 years and although not an assiduous devotee of the BKs, I have attended several BK centres and residences in Oxford UK; Blue Mountains, NSW; Singapore, Thailand and India (where I now work). During this time I have never been asked to contribute a penny piece to the cost of my accommodation, food or the courses I have attended. Indeed, I have never been asked to provide a donation by any BK at anytime or, for anything.
Over the years I have attended courses given by Mike George (and Brian Bacon) and I have to say that I am entirely baffled by the scurrilous nature of the comments that you have made about this person.
Mike George is indeed a charming individual whose delivery and appearance is as smooth as any of the many “personal betterment” consultants that I have met during the course of my business life. I can say from personal experience that his delivery of the subjects in which I have a personal interest is both entertaining and informative. I can also say that he has never assailed me with the religious beliefs of the BKs, as to do so would have resulted in me vacating the premises.
Mike George is not earning fat fees from his courses (as stated above, I have never paid anything to attend) and nor is he being enriched by “profits” flowing from the sale of his books and CDs. Please bear in mind that we are talking about extremely small volume sales here and it is not unreasonable that costs should be recovered, hence the low price of these “products”.
The attack on Mike George frankly is astonishing and it so far removed from the truth that I find it hard to believe that the author has actually met the man. Moreover, the impressions given that the BKs are, among other things, a money grabbing cult are so far from the truth that it makes me wonder as to the true intent and purpose of the author. Perhaps the author should reveal himself/herself?
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By editor, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Thanks for your posting Rernham. Firstly, it is common knowledge in the BK “senior” circles who the authors of this site are – personally, I was one of their inner circle for many years.
Yes, Mike is charming, likeable, sincere and has useful information for those who believe they are in need of self improvement. But as the old saying goes, “the path to hell is paved with good intentions” and this is why Mike has been spotlighted by this site – simply, he is a star recruiter for the BKWSU and therefore one of the people within the organisation who is most responsible for the outcome of this entrapment process. Unfortunately he denies this responsibility. Add to this yet another suicide at a BK centre in the UK on Jan 18th 2009 and you can see how fatal his denial can be.
You obviously like Mike and so therefore it is hard to digest our criticism – but keep in mind this is not personal, I actually like Mike too. But as long as he is recruiting for the BKs he has a responsibility and until he accepts that his practises will be highlighted.
Also of note is that your experience is not common. The people you have dealt with have read you well and have kept you close for a long time. The BKs are very skilled at that. You will be labelled as a “close soul” by seniors and they will see that as purposeful. No doubt you have spread the word and recommended people to the centres and events etc. You have fulfilled their requirements so they will ask no more of you.
With regard to money, historically no one is asked for money. Not until they are “in”. I was a new student in London. After a few weeks I had a ‘personal meeting’ with Dadi Janki. The very first thing she said to me was “since you believe this to be the Truth you will give generously to the Bhandara” (and if you don’t we understand you have failed to recognise Baba and are only a step child). I put the last in brackets because it was something she implied, successfully.
If you read our page on Tax Fraud you will see that the BKs have accumulated £4,000,000 +. How does an organisation do this without asking? And in the process come to own freehold many millions of pounds in property?
No doubt you have never been asked for money, but no doubt you gave generously when you could. You fell into the same trap as many, many others.
Lastly, there was no suggestion that Mike was making ‘fat fees’ as you suggest. But the basic principle of the BKs used to be, and is still promoted, that Babas knowledge is NOT for sale in any way shape or form. This is the point we are contesting – it is okay for Mike, and some favoured others, but not for anyone else to engage in this hypocritical practise. But we have seen an increasing trend in this direction. Now that Brian Bacon has left the organisation the BKWSU has found a need to replace him with substitutes like Stella Humphries.
I recommend that you look further into the content of this site. It is all about trying to overcome BKWSU managements refusal to acknowledge duty of care and the dire consequences that stem from that.
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By another one suckered, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
It must be a bit of a shock for a big businesman like Rernham to discover that they have been suckered into giving credibility to a medieval End of the World cult who believe 6 billion plus human beings must die so that 900,000 of their faith followers inherit a Golden Aged Heaven on Earth “purified” by a Nuclear Holocaust.
What are Mike George’s bestselling book sales now? … Up in the mid-100s of 1,000s at couple of dollars commission a time? To a religion’s whose average members who at best earn a couple of dollars a day that is big money and a lifetsyle they cannot imagine.
The big issue here for me is really all about, a) the culture of deceit that is so prevalent in the Brahma Kumaris, b) the culture of unexplained and unaccountable favoritism, and c) the inequity of it all. They are supposedly a charity that has been built up on charitable donations of money and free labor … but at the top, the leaders are cutting out slices of the pie and allowing a chosen few to turn “service” into their income. Even a businessman can see the ethical problem that raises. Is it really just a co-prosperity scheme for a few? A kind of Neo-Imperialism for the Pakisthani trader families at its core?
The Brahma Kumaris allow such favored individuals as Mike George to use their religion to start business because it profits them to have apparently independent “experts” or “best sellers” to promote … by deception … at their religion at events such as the corporate and VIP meetings. It gives them credibility and pulls in the “contact souls” like you. You get a cheap retreat, they get your business contacts and money.
Did you ask or realise, Rernham, that all those “angels in white” at the retreats are actually unpaid workers who believe that, by working for nothing and paying with their lives and families, they are going to “earn a high status in the Golden Age” that is to follow the imminent and desirable Nuclear Holocaust the BKs call “Destruction”.
Yes, you might well ask what the hell is going on … may be you ought to study up what doing business Sindi style is like too.
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By jack, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
I think this is very unfair – to say that Mike and Ken and Marc are all ‘part of it’. When you spend time together – in work or socialising, you get to know others talents and share ideas and thoughts and create together. Brian was noticing the great talents of these people and wanting to work with them. I think it is unfair to say there was something sinister. You have not got all your facts straight!
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By disdat d'udda, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
hi,
i agree with Kes that it’s quite essential to understand where the editor is coming from. resentment is very obvious and one cannot stop thinking that perhaps, his power dreams weren’t realized within the “cult” and now he spends so much energy in trying to “save” others. mmmm . must add that came across this website accidentally (wanted to find out about dates/workshops. and was so surprised by its contents that had to add a comment. (something that i rarely do)
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By Fri. Ed. As'paragus, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Poor old Mike. Hes a nice bloke really and I know he hasnt made loads a money. He makes a living and has found a good gig as a published Author. Best leave him be.
As for the BKs mmm. Yes, I was an inner circle man too. I think it really is a case of what you need at a certain time in your life. It plays on your desire to be a better person and that deep down you are a better person. Funny though that depends on you having quite a high opinion of yourself. All the stuff about Destruction and the chosen few is just good old fashioned evangelical religion, nothing more. Its a load of the same wrapped up in the new age.
Interesting knowledge and I, personally, learned a lot about myself and made and still have good Brahmin friends. But I’ve let it go and learned more about myself in doing so than I did in 25 years of gyan. Best not be bitter though, its just a waste of even more time thatn you wasted in the BKs! As you age you appreciate how short this life is and that you are blessed in just having it. You may as well live the blimmin thing, it cant hurt.
All the stuff about God and his children is again just good old fashioned religious hokum. Of course you are god’s child for goodness sake. You always will be. Again like all religion it takes itself far too seriously and encourages you to do so too. And you do because deep down you think you are so important. Go on admit it. And I think this site probably does too a bit. Crikey Raja Yoga is STILL gnawing away at you and still has a hold on you. Have you thought about it like that? You still need it really. Move on and you will really progress.
As for being damaged, sure religion is heavy stuff dude. It can and often does hurt people. Any religion can and they all have their casualties. Life is always with real bullets and I do sympathise with people who have been hurt and had their lives ruined. Yep I’ve seen them too. I suspect though that those people were merely realising their destiny in a funny kind of way. I was realising mine and I was hurt too.
To finish though, I feel sorry for very religious people now. Very few of them are truly spiritual. Really less than one percent I think. Most long term followers are quite unhappy but used to their lives and so think they are. Its all relative, isn’t it? I have seen the BKs look after their own. I think they do. They dont give you much more than a roof over your head but after that much time in the institution you are such a vegetable that you dont need much more. hahahah.
Anyway get over it everyone. Its just a religion, after so, so many others.
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By another one suckered, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Jack,
what do you really know about the BKWSU?
To a “lokik”, a “shudra”, non-BKs as they call them, what you are writing sounds all very reasonable.
But according to what the Brahma Kumaris teach, and how the enslave the majority of their financier-followers, especially in India, what Brian did is entirely against their rules. Sure, on on level he probably actually did the individuals involved some practical good … but, on the other hand, he used the BKWSU system for his own good and broken the rules.
What makes this interest is that in doing so, he was rewarded and favoured by the leadership doing stuff that if others tried it they would have been condemned. So has Mike turning the path of Brahma Kumari service into his own private business.
Of course, one could argue that this is exactly what the Brahma Kumari leadership has done. We no other means of support, they have slowly learned every trick in the book about turning religion into their means of financial support and, in doing so, have amassed power, wealth and property … the logic of which flies in the face of End of the World Destruction predictions.
So, let’s just be honest. It just one big screw and if you are smart, like Brian, Mike and the rest of them, you get in on the screw instead of being screwed.
But that is not what they tell or encourage the adherents. What the adherents are told, have done to them, is to be reduced into the easily screwable believing their are on some madcap mission to destroy the world, great Heaven on Earth and earn a high status.
There are all sorts of dissonances in this.
What would be really interest is for someone like Mike George or Brian Bacon to come forward and speak openly in public about the reality of life in the BKWSU from the privileged position they saw it … and then have that peer reviewed by other ex-BKs.
Unfortunately, it would appear too much in their business interests to keep up the myth.
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By Ed, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Weasel words for sure.I could not bother to read all of it before I switched off. Don’t tell me that he does NLP as well?Its funny how all this stuff comes out sounding the same after a while.
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By editor, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Yes Mike is a nice guy. We agree with you. But he is also a recruiter for the BKWSU, which is why he is on this site – he is drawing people into an organisation that shows no actual concern for the people whom it indoctrinates.
Yes a lot of people commit suicide, but in the case of the BKWSU they share in the responsibility for those suicides because of their failure to implement any form of duty of care.
It is one thing to spout statistics about suicide, as you have, and another thing to help where and when you can. The BKWSU management could help its members who are in trouble, but does not. Rather they confine themselves to rhetoric and theory.
Mike knows that being involved with the BKWSU can lead to grief, he knows that the BKWSU does not have a duty of care practise, yet he still chooses to recruit new victims. Yes Mike is well intended, but he is equally misguided. Do not encourage someone to belong to a group when there are consequences to belonging to that group, and then remain oblivious to possible negative outcomes. That is not enlightened.
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thenakedtruth Reply:
July 31st, 2009 at %I:%M %p
John Dice,
If Mike George really were an intelligent, respectable and courageous man he would stop recruiting for the Brahma Kumaris. If you are looking at him from the viewpoint of the Brahma Kumaris, of course you would be blinded by his charismatic workshops.
Our time is used very well here. When a person removes the foggy rose colored BK glasses, they will then be able to see things as they are. Once things are clear again, the time we put in to write on this forum is time well used because it can very well save another person from committing suicide.
Living a good life means caring about people which the BKWSU clearly doesn’t do.
Regards,
thenakedtruth
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By editor, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
This posting by Ashok is a demonstration of cult indoctrination and the space that Mike is taking people. Mike also believes these things.
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By JS, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Personally i have attended many of Mike’s workshops over the years. The editor is pointing out his sin of earning money from selling ‘godly knowledge’. The direct knowledge(murli) talks about the practice of soul conscious, point of light, in very basic terms etc. However i doubt that a published book of murlis would make much money on amazon or be very useful for anyone! But Mike has taken these basic concepts, which you find in thousands of other books and has used his own time, intellect, creativity, talent to take them to another level. He mentions no beliefs of the bk’s in his seminars, even about the soul, mind, intellect, sanskaras, or point of light, nothing. Much of his material is very similiar to Ekhart Tolle’s New Earth, only Mike has been explaining soul consciousness for much longer. And like Ekhart Tolle’s book, i have found them very helpful, and spiritual, and has probably helped to -de-institutionalise some of my behaviour. In terms of recruiting for bk’s. I think if you actually spend time talking with him, or listening to his seminars, you would realize he isn’t recruiting anyone for anything. But that’s a whole other issue. I have been closely involved with bk’s for 22 years, and I am a professional business trainer, and work for a training company in the middle east. I have also been accused on the bkinfo website for making money from ‘bk knowledge’. whoever accused me has absolutely no idea of what i am teaching. My audience are arab muslims, and i do not impart bk knowledge, one because it wouldn’t be helpful, and two because that’s not my job. However, in discussing a topic such as assertiveness, i may talk about the belief that intrinsically (as souls) we are all equal, that that is the basic for assertive communication. That passive and aggressive behaviours come from identifying with your role, as the boss, or ‘only the secretary’ etc. This is hardly a divine relevation. It’s in the Koran and a million other spiritual books. And it’s a helpful concept to remember. And i somehow think, if at the end of time, i am presented with a list of my sins, i doubt that that will be on the top of the list. I feel the editor here, and members of other bk expose websites, do have good intentions, and some very valid points, but as a bk friend once sang, ‘there are always three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth!’ Lets not forget as Ekhart Tolle said, Everyone is doing their best, at their current level of consciousness, awareness. All of us.
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Touch Reply:
August 14th, 2009 at %I:%M %p
Let’s be honest, JS, the BKWSU – much because of the whole SML episode and OLA spin offs – has dug its own grave as far as clouding the division between what is “seva” – evangelizing the religion – and what are individual’s own personal business interests. When did God change the Maryadas (BK rules) about all this?
I think the point the ex-members are making is that in the old days, all of these BKs would have been doing what they are doing, for free like the religion claims, as “service events”.
When were the rules changed to allow for this “upper class” of BKs to use all their BK connections and turn it into businesses for themselves? And why do BKs always present each other using their professional standing hiding the fact that they are all BKs?
As an example of how certain Brahma Kumari followers have expertly blurred the division between the all consuming promotion of their ‘End of the World’ religion and their professional interest, a good read would be ‘Constructive discourse and human organization’ by David L. Cooperrider.
Its all done so subtly that only the BKWSU leadership, or experts in the religion, would be able to point out to non-BKs what is going on.
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By brahmakumaris.info, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
As brahmakumaris.info is directly accused, may we please respond accurately.
If ‘JS’ is Jillian Sawers she is only mentioned twice on brahmakumaris.info and by two different contributors;
• Once in a complimentary and sympathetic manner by ex-l in the topic, “Black people are the most impure – Dadi Janki”
“I can think of some wonderful BKs who are being personally, professional and intellectually stultified whilst they sucked dry by the system. I was thinking about folks like Anthony Strano and Jillian Sawers in the Middle East, Suman in Germany – and many others that are not “names” in the BK world but that just gave up left. Their divinity was their own and well above the BKWSUs. In my opinion, the Brahma Kumari leadership is using and living off them. Using them as polish or icing on a turd.”
• Once in a concerned question form by enlightened, “Jillian Sawers – more BKWSU co-prosperity?”
“I wonder if Jillian Sawers is following the same steps as Aruna Ladva and co in selling knowledge through her personal development and coach profession in the Middle East and UK? Only it appears more incognito. … I believe she is also helping the BK centres in Turkey.”
Neither of those quotes read as an “accusation” of money making.
The question of “co-prosperity” amongst the chosen few of BK adherents is one that we have raised often on brahmakumaris.info. It is a recent trend that compounds on older ones of:
• BKs deceiving the public at evangelistic events by posing as “independent” or non-BKs
• the BKWSU deceiving the public by using name changed front organizations
• the BKWSU’s game of wordly “status by association”, e.g. using the United Nations or quoting Eckhart Tolle, individuals who by the teachings of the god of the BKWSU are “ignorant Shudras”.
That Mike George and other SML/OLA trainers do not always not mention their BKWSU faith is only part of this skillful presentation and the BKWSU’s subtle sell. Of course, Mike George has his own ideas (manmat) and virtues but, in our opinion, the books and seminars that he charges are nothing more than what would have been free service events or senior brotherly advice within the BKWSU a decade or so ago.
The trend of a chosen few BKs to be allowed by the leadership to use their BKWSU connections in order to build and strength personal businesses is a recent one. Almost a cult within a cult. The blurred edges, or “revolving doors”, between those professional ventures and the spiritual evangelism or financial sustenance of their religion is obvious to informed observers. As is the incorporation of Brahma Kumari teachings.
Older adherents have a reasonable right to be critical. Such activities were forbidden in their days. Young individuals were encouraged to give up any further education and careers – due to the imminence of the ‘End of the World’ that was to happen in 1976 and then mid-1908s – and instead surrender all their time and money to the organization performing menial tasks. A reality that still exists for the majority of adherents, especially in India.
For such older adherents, the ‘fan dance’ that the BKWSU performs behind quotations from such “famous people” as Tolle, hiding their true teachings, would be seen as calculated and hypocritical. None of it can hide the facts of BK beliefs which are documented accurately on this website.
Although the BKWSU seeks to portray BrahmaKumaris.Info as “defamers” of their god or an “anti-party”, and has spread numerous malicious rumors about us, we remain entirely sympathetic to individuals that are used and misled by the organization.
• We were you once.
Eventually, we all come to see through the veil the leadership presents, the failed predictions of “Destruction”, the re-writing of their personal history and the channeled messages they believe to be God speaking to humanity. Eventually, the constant chasing after VIPS, the manipulation and abuse, becomes too much.
• “God” does not work this way.
When that point comes, and when you decide you want no more to do with it … we are here to support you too.
Part of that healing, though, will require a deep honesty about the nature of one’s involvement in the BKWSU.
As a rule, we chose to protect individual’s anonymity unless they themselves wish it others but where their is a clear public interest, or the individual is a public figure, then our first responsibility is to the rest of society.
In this case, we are absolutely sure that JS has been just as misled by the leadership such as Dadi Janki as the rest of were and so do not condemn their comments.
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By editor, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
The Editor would like to point out that the core issue with Mike’s activities is that he is, as has been demonstrated on the relevant page, promoting and recruiting for the BKWSU.
As the BKWSU does not have any concern for duty of care Mike is guilty by complicity in any damage done.
Anyone who thinks that damage is not being done is uninformed and naive. Mike would be wise to stick to his own game and not assist the BKWSU recruit for as long as they continue to deny a need for duty of care.
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By Heli, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
11 years ago went to lectures in Brahma Kumaris centre. Not to find a religion, but for self-improvement. At no point did I feel recruited or indoctrinated into anything. Left England shortly after, but still remember Mike George’s lectures. What he said was realistic and logical, seemed based on ideas and conclusions he had reached himself …
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editor Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at %I:%M %p
well that was an unwitting escape I would say. Mike is articulate and says many good things. One of his key objectives is to get you to the BK centre by attracting people through self improvement lectures. This is a strategy practised by many cults, including scientology.
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By Heli, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Well, during one year, Mike George gave maximum 3 lectures. If his key objective was to attract people to the cult, he surely would have tried harder. I don’t remember any of the lecturers ever insisting of coming back and never paid a cent for any of those weekly Friday lectures I attended
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By Pro Bono, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Welcome here http://propublicobonopr.wordpress.com/
leave the rest. You will get the official documents sent to BKIVV. They are in the site at the bottom. Start acting
pro bono
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By vh, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Hi I’ve just come back from a BK retreat and have occasionally dipped in and out of BK events over several years. after first getting to know who they were several years before that. The practice of meditation does not hurt anyone and as far as I can see if anyone is being ‘indoctrinated’ it is because they have left their intellect behind. This is not necessary. There is a good argument that conventional lives (and I live one of them; have a job, meet friends for drinks, go for runs, enjoy relaitonships, have some hobbies, watch, tv, go travelling) are ‘indoctrinated by the media we become beholden to and teh values we learn from parents and society. Surely it is always our job to watch out for any kind of mind control. If meditation gives me access to freedom then good. I certainly feel freer from my personal limitations and get more done of the job, have a better time with friends, get more runs in, in other words I meet my own ambitions with more pleasure and more success thatn when I don’t meditate. Anything wrong with that? Thanks BK ALONG WITH MANY OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND TEACHERS< PAID OR UNPAID< ALONG THE WAY.
VH
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editor Reply:
May 7th, 2010 at %I:%M %p
So you personally can participate in BK culture and practices without being sucked in. Not everyone is so lucky. Many have been sucked dry and thrown away. This site serves as a warning to the vulnerable, to whom the BKWSU has rejected its duty of care.
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By Filthy Shudra, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Like a few of you here, I knew Mike from when he started learning and practicing BKism ( I no longer like using the term Raj Yoga and BKs together, because the BKs have expropriated and diminished it).
Pity the intelligent person who becomes convinced by the teachings of the BKWSU.
Because, given the appropriate situation and circumstances (i.e. where they are in their life at any time) its the intelligent person who is most adept at rationalizing anything to themselves (like most respondents on this site) and thereby creating their own “version”.
We are all into marketing to ourselves all the time, its called ‘ego”.Mike is a very humble, intelligent and capable marketing man.
Part of the process we all periodically go through in life, even with external factors left aside, is to reach a point where we feel who we are,and what we think or believe, is unsatisfactory. We experience this as “dukh” (unsatisfactory-ness, suffering, pain) to some degree or other. They can be considered like “growing pains”. We need a paradigm shift.
When it is intense – like teenage insecurity, or during our astrological “Saturn return”, or a mid-life crisis – we either reinforce what has served us in the past, or we shake it off and take on board the lessons of the season, and evolve or mature to another level.
Many of us make the mistake of, having once shaken off the old and feeling the benefits of a “rebirth”, not allowing ourselves to recognise it next time it comes along. it worked so well last time – hang on to that.
That is, at the time of rebirth/conversion there is a zealousness that makes us want to shout from the proverbial rooftops what we have found. We develop a new language to explain to ourselves what we have “found” and we inevitably seek to share it with others
Mike went through one “dark night of the soul” soon after becoming a BK. He disappeared for while – about a year? – and reassessed whether or not he was going to commit to the BK teachings and all it entailed.
When he came back, it was with 100% committment, and from there on he contributed as much as he could. He was reborn. And the talents hebrought were exactly what the western BKs needed
The BKs encourage this rebirth – this self annointing baptism or “confirmation” as the roman catholics would call it – that leads to a new “child of baba”.
Why i think this site and others like it are critical of the BKWSU is because unlike truly altruistic paths , even charities, they discourage anyone from going through another such metamorphosis, moving on, becoming independent. A sincere practitioner of the BKs is constantly practicing affirmations of the value of following the teachings and the eternal cosmic loss and failing in that.
On the other topic discussed above: Why does the BKSWU allow “professionals” like Brian Bacon and Mike George etc to do what they do regardless of the earlier practices and codes regarding money – making?
Because as an organisation that relies on donations, they reach a kind of person that has more to give. They are used to paying 3 and 5 start hotel rates, so donating even a quarter of that for a weekend retreat is done almost without thinking. And that is much more than most low income attendees could ever consider at a stretch.
And in the same vein, that is why such professional “co-operative souls” are allowed to bend or ignore many other rules that are applied to plebian BKs
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By patrick, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Is the ed sayin that the bks source is not the one refered 2as god please excuse directness
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By Filthy Shudra, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
If I may…?
Dear patrick,
The muslims say God is the source of Koran. Jewish and Christians say God inspired the authors of the old and new testaments. Bk say god enters Lekhraj and now Gulzar. PBK say even weirder stuff….. Pagans say God enters the priest or priestess…
is it the one god in many forms? is it a number of competing gods? Do they know about each other?
If you choose to make something or someone your god, it is probably because you have decided you like what they say or reveal – it is what you need at that time.
Humans need. That is true. We also have found by using intellect and philosophical discipline we can discern more clearly what is true will give us what we need more satisfactorily in the longer term.
I have spoken to BKs who say they don’t care if what the Bks teach is not true, if it is not god, they like what they feel. They enjoy playing with that gang in the playground of life. At least they choose “less than truth” consciously.
I cannot do that. What about you?
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By wim minten, %A %B %e%q, %Y @ %I:%M %p
Dear companions on the slippery path to enlightenment,
Just today I stumbled on this website and read the pages on financial abuse, suicides and Mike George.
For those who do not want to read a lot:
You are invited to come to Fátima, Portugal and heal whatever issues you have.
Go to http://www.couchsurfing.com and look for Wimpt or a couch in Fátima.
For what it’s worth:
To prove other people’s wrong does not imply that you are right? Right?
To prove the validity of your statements, start something more integer, more valid and more attractive and let us know how you are doing…
I have been through quite a few things that people commented about, including suicidal periods, major depressions, bad health, poverty etc.
18 years of Bk-life, living in places like Oxford, Peace Village and Gubbio and once a year to Madhuban have not helped in that sense. Many of the stories and lines of thinking or “points of view” are very familiar. But for now, in my not so humble opinion these are just that:” points of view or viewpoints”. Change your viewpoint and the whole picture changes.
Once I was so tired of seeing how this organisation operated, that I booked flights to Barcelona, Holland and UK for 4 weeks without contacting London, Oxford or Amsterdam on the mere statement:” If this is a family, I want to experience BK as such right now.” The whole trip was magic, staying in Rotterdam, London, Oxford and Cambridge and having warm and loving family feelings all the time, people showed up and offered help at the right moments, lots of respect and regards and fun as well. And all of that simply by changing my “point of view”, nothing more.
As for the issues around Mike George: I think he is a wonderful person and a great artist in his field of work, inspiring lots of people to bring out the best in themselves and many times making me jealous of his accomplishments. As for SML and Brian… I share the mixed feelings, but it has finished before it ran out of hand.
Slowly the feelings or insights emerge that ego is such that it completely blocks our vision on ourselves, leading us to thinking in ways that are not healthy, wealthy and wise. So I moved away from the family to seriously explore what was going on and found that living alone in Fátima, Portugal is a valid option, at least and at last for now, and healing.
Visits to London many times gave me the feelings that the brothers mainly and some sisters were not all happy and content. For some it might have something to do with last/past lives in Christian or Catholic environments, in which guilt and fear are valid tools to maintain the status quo. I came across many situations and feelings in which the inquisition emerged, causing feelings of resentment towards God and anyone claiming to be God’s legal representative on this planet.
Big cities make me depressed and angry and give me stomach problems and sleeping disorders and all of this gets projected onto the Brahma Kumaris, or the instruments. Electrosmog is my weak point. Have a look at http://www.ana.com.pt
Suicide is an issue in the whole of society, not just the BK and for some people it might indeed be invoked by some sort of medical mental or physical situation, such as wireless devices, polluted air, or plain lack of oxygen, rest or minerals.
To cut a long story short: Fátima heals: the air is clean, little electro-smog, a lot of devotion going on, no nightclubs, people having simple and uncomplicated lives, amazing nature and power-spots.
Anyone willing to give it a try is more than welcome to come and experience. Incognito if you want: go to http://www.couchsurfing.com, create an account and search for Wimpt or couches in Fátima. Flights to Lisbon are the easiest; Porto is possible also, but takes a bit longer to reach here.
If you are interested, use the couchsurfing site or send an email: wim2@sapo.pt or call mobile (00351) 961116223, but keep it short, since I have to pay part of it. No expectations other than that you help in keeping the house in order and running. Whether you prefer to talk or remain silent… whatever. If you want to complain about the BK for more than 1 hour a day I will charge you a therapist’s fee.
My dream is to have a healing and retreat centre. Come and share your dreams…you might end up living it…
With utmost regards for anyone who dares to enter a BK centre,
Wim Minten
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