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A critique of the
BK philosophy as presented in the 7 Day Course
Day 1 - Soul
philosophy
The teaching is that the soul is an immortal infinitesimal point of spiritual
light that enters the foetus at some time after conception and departs the
body at death. As such it is considered to bring life energy to the body and
is believed to be the centre and source of consciousness.
The consciousness is said
to comprise of a Mind the thinking faculty, an Intellect that evaluates the
thoughts of the Mind and Sanskars that represent personality, memory,
habituations, tendencies and sub/unconscious processing. As an example of how
this model works consider what happens when a person becomes hungry i.e. on
feeling hungry the Sanskars may bring about the habituated/subconscious
action of going to a café, on walking to the café the Mind may think of
possible things to eat, though on reaching the café the Intellect will decide
what to eat based on price/taste etc and of course on the Sanskars i.e. what
one habitually eats or remembers as being nice.
Stating that the soul is
immortal forms the basis of a belief in reincarnation i.e. that on
death/birth the soul moves on from one body to another taking with it most
especially its Sanskars i.e. personality/tendencies/propensities which have
been developed/conditioned during numerous lives.
Positive Aspects
The simple Mind/Intellect/Sanskars model of the soul is quite an effective
model for explaining human behaviour and can be readily understood by most
people including small children. It also points to a means of self
development i.e. if the Intellect can be made wiser e.g. through spiritual
study it can then determine the most positive thoughts/words and actions to
perform and hence in the medium to long term overcome any negative
conditioning that may reside in the Sanskars.
Interesting
Aspects
Many religions have struggled to define what they call the soul. However, the
BKs provide a simple and effective definition.
The definition of the
soul as immortal provides the basis for the theory reincarnation i.e. if the
soul doesn’t die with the body it must “go” somewhere and so why not into
another body?
The definition of the
form of the soul as an infinitesimal point of spiritual light is a clever way
of saying the soul is non-physical and yet has an energetic and ethereal
nature.
The idea that the memory,
personality and propensities are contained with the Sanskars also offers an
explanation for how some people are able to remember previous births and how
even infants can have well developed personalities and abilities e.g.
artistic and musical.
Negative Aspects
The idea of a non-physical soul suffers from the “Dualistic” paradox i.e. how
can a non-physical soul interact with a physical world. The BK’s offer no
explanation to this paradox even though they claim that God, the Ocean of
Knowledge, is their teacher. The problem with the idea of a distinct soul is
that modern neuroscience and associated fields have been very successful in
accounting for a great deal of what we call consciousness, in terms of
electro-bio-chemical brain functioning i.e. what we experience as mind is a
product of the complex functioning of the brain. In fact the question has to
be asked, “What aspect of the BK Soul cannot be explained in terms of brain
function?” Oddly the BK teaching is that the soul cannot do anything
including thinking without a body, which infers that the Mind/Intellect is a
property of brain function. This is also borne out by real life experience in
which we know that infants cannot immediately speak a language and in old age
people often lose their mental capabilities. So the BKs belief in a soul,
which is Mind/Intellect/Sanskars, is contradicted by the above belief leaving
the soul to be only possibly comprised of Sanskars. If we now bring in
biological behavioural inheritance i.e. Nature and marry that with brain
development through interaction with the world i.e. Nurture our
conditioning/habits/skills/propensities/memory/personality then even Sanskars
can also be explained in terms of brain development.
Summary
Even though the BK philosophy of the soul is simple/easy to understand and
from a human behaviour aspect quite a good model. The idea of the soul being
immortal, distinct from the body/brain and comprising of Mind and Intellect
and Sanskars is strongly undermined by the dualistic paradox and modern
scientific understanding. In fact the only problem scientists face is the
“Hard Problem” i.e. to explain how seemingly qualitative properties, such as
sense of individuality, emotions, vision etc are produced by the brain, a
physical organ.
At best the soul can only
be defined as a spirit which may have an existence independent of the body
and which may reincarnate, at worst it is simply the manifestation of the
complex workings of the brain.
Day 2 - God
philosophy
As with the
definition of the soul, God is also considered an infinitesimal point of
spiritual light. However God is also defined as the Param Atma – Supreme
Soul, Param Pita – Supreme Father and Sat Guru – Supreme Teacher. With
respect to Hindu mythology God is called Shiva and is normally referred to in
the male sense due to one of his main roles as Supreme Father, even though
the soul is defined as having no gender.
Shiva is referred to as
Supreme Soul in that he is said to be the Ocean of Love, Ocean of Peace, etc,
i.e. an ocean of all virtues. He is referred to as Supreme Father in that all
souls are considered his spiritual children and referred to as Supreme
Teacher in that he is considered the Ocean of Knowledge.
According to the titles
given to him, Shiva also plays the respective roles. In the role of Supreme Father,
he at a certain time (see The Cycle) acts on behalf for his suffering
spiritual children by taking on the role of Supreme Teacher by channelling
the spiritual knowledge of how to become like himself i.e. all virtuous. In
role of Supreme Soul, Shiva covenants to remove the burden of negative karma
(sin and negative conditioning) from souls through their practice of
meditation upon him, see below.
The channelling of Shiva
occurred/s mainly through two instrument souls, Brahma Baba the founder of
the BKWSU and Dadi Gulzar one of the senior sisters. As such Shiva does not
incarnate into a body rather he is said to reside in Paramdham - the Supreme
Regions beyond the physical world and as such is considered to be Ajanama
(without birth), Abhogta (without sin) and Akarta (beyond influence).
Two-way communication
with Shiva occurs via channelling and trance, however, as mentioned this is
restricted to typically 2 persons. For the most part, one-way communication
(to Shiva) occurs via a type of mediation called Raja Yoga (Supreme Union).
In Raja Yoga meditation Shiva is visualised as a point of light and his
qualities become the focus of the meditation e.g. Ocean of Love, Ocean of
Peace, etc. The purpose of the mediation is two fold, firstly the removal of
negative karma through the remembrance of Shiva and secondly the positive
conditioning of the soul by the experience his divine qualities.
Positive Aspects
Whether or not Shiva exists, meditation on qualities such as love, peace,
serenity, patience will bring about a relaxed and calmed state of being and
if the meditation is practised regularly bring about a positive conditioning
of the personality and a greater appreciation/understanding of virtues and
values.
Interesting
Aspects
Up until now the above has been referred to as BK philosophy but in fact it
is actually Shiva’s teachings in that all BK philosophy is based on the
channelled teachings of Shiva i.e. the supposed words of God, scripture and
not just the thoughts of the BKs. As such when appraising the philosophy
there need not be given margin for error i.e. the teaching of Shiva, the
Ocean of Knowledge ought to be the truth. However, some margin for error is
granted due to channelling interference from the less than perfect mediums
e.g. Brahma Baba. However, even though a great deal of spiritual knowledge
has not been revealed by Shiva the main teachings and hence focus for this
critique have been expounded numerous times and are clear and unequivocal.
The definition of God
Shiva as being Supreme Soul, Father and Teacher provides a great deal of
comfort and hope for people i.e. the belief that there is supreme being
watching over and guiding them, a spiritual guardian.
Through the application
of the teachings to daily life and the practise of meditation, the BKs
believe that souls will become angelic beings (i.e. completely virtuous) and
that when a sufficient number of souls become angelic the combined positive
effect on the world will bring about Satyug – The Golden Age – Heaven.
With respect to the above,
Shiva is not actually considered the “Creator of the World” as in other
religions and hence the problems associated with mechanics of creation are
avoided. Rather he is referred to as the Liberator and Creator of the Golden
Age in that he facilitates the liberation of souls from suffering, teaches
them to become angelic and in so doing creates the Golden Age.
The definition of God as
simply an infinitesimal point of spiritual light, Supreme Soul, Father and
Teacher is typically not at odds with the concepts of God held by other
religions. In this respect, Raja Yoga, as the teachings and the practice of
meditation is generally called, is claimed to be the one true religion from
which other religions have branched (see the section on The Tree).
Negative Aspects
With reference to the section on the soul, though the teachings say that
without a body a soul cannot perceive, think or act, apparently Shiva who has
the exact same form can, in that he is able to receive and send
communication, observe souls and remove sin. A coherent philosophy would
either claim that all disembodied souls can or can’t perceive, think and act.
Sin/bad karma is defined
as being removed through meditation on Shiva. Whilst it is plausible that
negative conditioning can be removed by meditation on virtues and positive
values as symbolised by Shiva, no explanation of how sin or bad karma is
removed has ever being explained in spite of Shiva being called the Ocean of
Knowledge.
Another stated aspect of
meditation, in order for sins to be removed, is that it needs to be the
accurate remembrance of God in the form of a point of spiritual light. This
appears to be an unnecessary restriction in that it automatically devalues
other forms of remembrance e.g. prayer as a means for sins to be forgiven/removed.
This then begs the question “What is it about Raja Yoga meditation that makes
it far superior to prayer?” One may say that prayer in the form of asking
things of God is meaningless and hence worthless, however, a great deal of
prayer is offered with sincerity and love which surely ought not to be
considered worthless in comparison to Raja Yoga meditation.
As mentioned, meditation
is only considered to be a one-way form of communication i.e. to Shiva. Why
should this be so? If Shiva is the Supreme Father and Teacher why is it that
he doesn’t/cannot communicate with his children? The explanation put forward
by the BK’s is that the mind has to be made very still and quiet in order for
it to hear the communication of Shiva. However, this doesn’t bear much
credence, as it is actually quite easy to still the mind for short periods
whilst focusing attention on Shiva. In fact, strangely enough it is actually
somewhat frowned upon for an individual to claim that God has “spoken” to
them through meditation as the general opinion of the organisation is that
any such communication is simply an individual’s imagining.
With respect to the
teachings of God Shiva being the truth, the critique of Shiva’s teachings of
the Law of Karma, The Cycle and The Tree in later sections will demonstrate
that the teachings are patently untrue thus completely undermining any
assertion that Shiva is actually God.
Summary
As with the definition of the soul, the simple and positive definition of God
and his role is very appealing and in fact meditation on God as the symbol of
values and virtues will have a positive effect on the spiritual development
of an individual. However, the assertion of the forgiveness/removal of sins
only through Raja Yoga meditation and the assertion of a coming Golden Age
and other teachings as the truth are unfounded and in certain cases
completely incorrect thus undermining the definition of Shiva as God.
Day 3 - Karma
philosophy
Though the
philosophy of karma is common to a number of religions, the BKs actually have
a Law of Karma i.e. a law that governs the effects of thoughts, words and
actions. The Law of Karma can be stated simply as
Every thought, word
or action will have an equal reaction
or
Every karma will have an equal reaction
The consequence of this is that any good karma will beget an equal amount of
good karma in return and likewise any bad karma will beget an equal amount of
bad karma in return. However unlike with physical karma in which physical
reactions are instant, e.g. if you stab your toe, a cascade of physical
actions and reactions lead to you feeling pain, in the case of the non
physical karma the reactions can be time delayed e.g. if you make a financial
donation you may not see the positive return till perhaps sometime in your
next life.
The law also provides the
foundation for the BK belief that a better world can be created and indeed
that eventually a Golden Aged world or perfect world can be created. This is
because the implication of the law is that if souls act positively with
themselves they will develop spiritually and eventually become the embodiment
of all virtues, if souls interact with everyone positively then eventually
divine relationships will be established and if souls interact with their
environment in a positive manner then eventually the world will become a much
better place.
The law of karma can also
be said to be a law of responsibility in that whatever future befalls an
individual will be the result of the individuals past and present thoughts,
words and actions, i.e. an individual’s future is their own responsibility.
Positive Aspects
Even though the “Law of Karma” may not exist we do live in a world created by
consequences. For example the physical world that we live in is the end
result of a vast number of consequences and at present many people are
concerned of the consequences of global warming. Similarly our relationships
with other people are the consequences of our and their attitudes, beliefs,
habits, likes, dislikes etc. Likewise we ourselves are the consequences of
our genetic inheritance, upbringing, education etc. So thinking of
consequences will help us make more positive decisions in life.
Interesting
Aspects
The Law of Karma is actually the basis for the belief in a “Just World” i.e.
a world in which the good are rewarded and the evil are punished. In fact the
Law of Karma does away with the troublesome construct of a separate Heaven
and Hell in that the consequence of the law is that life in this world can be
either heavenly or hellish depending on whether a person performs good or
evil actions.
Negative Aspects
In our world all
actions do have reactions i.e. consequences. However, though all physical
actions have instantaneous and equal reactions according to the laws of
physics, “non physical “ actions are thought to have typically “time delayed”
actions. Take for example the spiritual crime of a killing, according to the
law of karma the killing would need to be exactly compensated i.e. the killer
will have to experience in recompense the exact amount of suffering and loss
experienced by the killed. How would this occur? When would this occur? Some
eastern philosophies refer to “Akashic Records” i.e. a spiritual
recording/accounting system, however this would need to be a phenomenally
complex system to keep track of all karma and its appropriate and timely
recompense. No the simplest explanation is that there is no law of karma
merely consequences e.g. in the case of the killing, the person killed dies
due to physical consequences and the killer may or may not leave sufficient
incriminating evidence and therefore as a consequence may or may not be
punished by a criminal justice system.
Summary
Though is very
beneficial to contemplate the consequences of our every thought, word and
deed in order to make the most positive decisions in our lives and though we
know that the world is governed by actions and their consequences there is no
support/explanation for a “law of karma” beyond that of the currently
understood physical laws.
Day 4 - Cycle
philosophy
The BKs believe
that the world goes through a social/political/religious “cycle” comprising 4
ages i.e. Satyug -Golden Age, Tretayug -Silver Age, Dwapur -Copper Age and
Kaliyug -Iron Age each lasting 1250 years. As such each cycle lasts 5000 years
and more significantly the cycle is believed to repeat identically each time
in much the same way as a film can be repeatedly screened. In addition, the
BKs believe that a soul can only take a maximum of 84 births in the duration
of any one cycle.
The Golden Age is
considered to be an entirely positive age in which all beings live in
happiness, health and prosperity. The Silver Age is considered to be similar
to the Golden Age though slightly less so in quality as negativity starts to
creep into affairs. The Copper Age represents a period when negativity
reaches a level when suffering is experienced and people start turning to
religion for solace. Finally the Iron Age represents a time when appreciable
negativity and suffering is experienced in all forms of life. In addition to
these five ages, at the end of the Iron Age there is a short age called
Sangumyug – Confluence Age lasting only approximately 100 years. It is in
this age that God-Shiva is said to incarnate to teach souls the knowledge of
God (himself), the Soul, Karma, the Cycle, and the Tree and hence facilitate
the re-creation of the Golden Age. As such for most souls this will be their
last birth before the ensuing Golden Age.
Positive Aspects
Perhaps the only
positive aspect is that though it may not be possible to bring about a new
Golden Age it is well worth striving to bring about at least a better world
for all mankind.
Interesting
Aspects
It is interesting
to note that recorded Indian history does not stretch back much more that
2500 years. This fact coupled with the Hindu belief in deities such as
Krishna, Rama, Sita, Laxshmi, Narayan, etc probably gave rise to the idea of
the Golden and Silver Ages i.e. that there were “heavenly” periods in the
world’s history.
As we see for ourselves,
a lot of nature and affairs of the world are cyclical in nature e.g. the
seasons, stock markets, etc. However it is a bold claim to say that the
entire geography and history of the world is cyclical let alone identically
cyclical!
Perhaps everyone would
like to wish that a “Golden Age” world could be created. The thought of a
Golden Age appeals to our romantic nature and in itself is a harmless and
positive thought.
Negative Aspects
There is no
explanation by the BKs of
a) What is the mechanism
by which the world “degrades” through the passing of the cycle? Though the
immediate answer would be that it is due to sin i.e. the performing of
negative actions, this cannot be the reason for the degradation of the Golden
Age into the Silver as the Golden age is defined as an age entirely free of
negativity.
b) How was it that, according to various historical timelines e.g.
Assyrian/Egyptian/Greek, wars and hence considerable suffering was actually
experienced in times corresponding to the Golden and Silver Ages i.e. in
contradiction to the definition of these ages?
c) What is the mechanism by which the nature of this world, which has always
been “red in tooth and claw” can be to changed to an entirely peaceful one in
the Golden Age?
d) What is the mechanism by which the cycle can repeat identically every 5000
years even down to the smallest aspect?
Summary
The cycle would
appear a wonderful model for the history of the world, giving great hope for
wonderful times ahead even though things would inevitably deteriorate.
However, there is absolutely no physical evidence of the cycle ever occurring
and not even any explanation of how it can possibly occur. As such the cycle
with its golden and silver ages can only be considered an alluring romantic
vision.
Day 5 - Tree
philosophy
The Tree
represents the religious/spiritual history of the world. At the roots are the
BKs and God-Shiva representing the source and basis of spirituality. The
trunk of the tree represents “The Eternal Deity Religion” i.e. the spiritual
state in the Golden and Silver Ages, the times in which divine beings/deities
lived. The branches then represent the spiritual state of the Copper Age and
early to middle Iron Ages in which the main religions of Hinduism, Buddhism,
Christianity and Islam came into being and finally the twigs represent all
the sects and other isms derived from the main religions. At the very top of
the tree are the BKs a “twig” of Hinduism, that in connection with the BKs at
the roots represent the cyclic nature of spirituality/religion as per The
Cycle.
Positive Aspects
The branches and twigs of the tree offer a good simple depiction of how
the various religions have developed, but only from the time of Abraham.
Interesting
Aspects
By taking on the
mantle of the roots/foundation of the spiritual history of the world, the BKs
have actually put themselves in an extremely responsible position. Indeed the
BKs are often referred to, by Shiva, as the spiritual ancestors and spiritual
law makers.
Negative Aspects
As with the Cycle
there simply isn’t any physical evidence or record of any spirituality
advanced systems/cultures prior to the development of the main religions i.e.
no evidence of any “Eternal Deity Religion”
As is plainly depicted in
the model of the Tree, spirituality is shown to be steadily declining over
the period of the Cycle, however, the BKs offer no explanation of why this
should be so.
Summary
As with the
philosophy of the soul etc, the Tree offers a delightfully simple model of
spiritual development. However beyond the correct symbolic depiction of the
development of the main religions there are no grounds whatsoever to claim
that the main religions were preceded by a culture with a superior
spirituality.
Day 6 - Brahma Baba
It is said that in 1937
at the age of 60 Dada Lekhraj (1877-1969) a jeweller living in Hyderabad,
received the first communications from God-Shiva. These were primarily in the
form of visions of a forthcoming Golden Age and the suffering that souls would
have to go through as the world is transformed/purified and karmic accounts
settled at the end of the Iron Age. To bring about the Golden, Shiva gave
Dada Lekhraj the spiritual task of enlightening the souls of the world as
regards the spiritual knowledge of God, Soul, Karma and Reincarnation, Cycle
and Tree so that all souls could be given the opportunity to liberate
themselves from sin and hence experience the Golden Age. From 1937 to 1969
Dada Lekhraj, who in time was referred to as Brahma Baba became the main
medium through which God-Shiva revealed spiritual knowledge in the form of
discourses called murlis. Though in the privileged position of being
God-Shiva’s medium, Brahma Baba was never considered a Guru i.e. teacher,
instead he was simply considered an instrument of Shiva and the foremost
student of the spiritual knowledge. As such he founded the present day
movement called the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. In 1969 at the
age of ninety three Brahma Baba is said to have reached his “angelic stage”
and to have ascended to the “subtle/angelic” regions to continue the service
of world transformation from a higher more unlimited plane.
Positive Aspects
Despite the
negative critique of the Shiva/BK philosophy, there are some purely positive
aspects of the philosophy which if practised will bring benefit to people’s
lives. In this respect Brahma Baba, who apparently became the “living
embodiment” of the philosophy, inspired many others to follow a more
spiritual path in life.
Interesting Aspects
Curiously the founding of the BK movement was not actually based on the
spiritual knowledge but on visions and trance experiences, as a great number
of the early students received visions of Brahma Baba as Krishna and
experienced the “Golden Age” in trance states. As such in the early days of
the movement it was these experiences that founded a belief in the teachings.
Indeed it was only the discourses of Shiva from 1963 onwards that have
formally been disseminated as the “scripture” of the movement. All records of
the spiritual knowledge prior to 1963 have either been destroyed or are off
limits to all but the senior members of the organisation. The reason given is
that the teachings prior to 1963 are not sufficiently coherent in
structure/content. However, it seems very strange that 26 years of Shiva’s
teachings should be considered of no value to current students. After Brahma
Baba died in 1969, a new medium was chosen for Shiva and Brahma Baba,
collectively referred to as BapDada (Father and Grandfather) in that it is
taught that both Shiva and Brahma now come together to impart the spiritual
knowledge. Curiously the new medium was not appointed by Shiva but selected,
after trials with other mediums, as the medium least likely to interfere with
the channelling process. After 1969 it was thought that the BK movement would
soon disintegrate due to the loss of the founder Brahma. However from 1969
the nature of the spiritual discourses changed considerably in tone and
content and actually provided a considerable source of strength enabling the
movement to continue and actually grow. Why the discourses changed so
abruptly in nature, considering the source was still the same, is a mystery.
To this day BapDada still comes, though typically now only about seven times
a year through the medium of Dadi Gulzar at the movement’s head-quarters in
Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India.
Negative Aspects
Surprisingly the
discourses are not actually the sole teachings of Shiva. In fact Brahma Baba
was actually allowed by Shiva to add his own comments and in the discourses
between 1963 and 1969 one can readily believe that it was actually two
different souls that were speaking. Why should this be the case? The BKs
readily admit and believe that Shiva used the “worldly experiences” of Brahma
Baba as the basis to communicate more effectively during the discourses.
However, this reliance on Brahma Baba simply does not tally with the title
given to Shiva as the “Ocean of Knowledge”. Indeed it is also readily
admitted that BapDada is restricted in worldly ability to the ability of the
medium e.g. BapDada can only communicate fluently through the language of
Hindi and requires translation if questions are put to him in other
languages. Another curious aspect is that the discourses take the form of a
monologue often lasting several hours and there is no opportunity for
students to ask questions of BapDada. Instead students are only encouraged to
pose questions about the teachings to the seniors teachers who unfortunately
don’t themselves know the answers to simple and yet profound questions e.g.
“How does the Law of Karma actually work?” or “What is the soul actually
comprised of?” Strangely, even these innocuous questions have not been
answered by BapDada. As such even though Shiva claims that the movement is
based on true spiritual teachings and not blind faith, this claim is grossly
absurd as so many spiritual questions have been left unanswered leaving the
movement primarily based on the blind faith that Shiva through Brahma has
actually spoken the truth.
Summary
Due to the very patchy quality of the discourses up to 1969 and the
unsubstantiated claims of the teachings e.g. the definition of Shiva, Law of
Karma, the Cycle, The Tree etc, a more rational explanation for the
phenomenon of Shiva and the teachings is that there is no being called
God-Shiva and thus the so called teachings of Shiva are simply the inspired
thoughts of Dada Lekhraj who thought that God had incarnated in him. However,
this explanation will not appeal to those BKs who have experienced
visions/trance states or have simply experienced greater spirituality by
following the teachings.
Day 7 - BK Lifestyle
philosophy
The BK lifestyle
has four main aspects Gyan – Study of the Spiritual Knowledge, Seva – Spiritual
Service, Yoga – Meditation on Shiva and Dharna – Righteous Conduct.
Gyan
As recognition of the importance of the study of the spiritual knowledge
imparted by Shiva, BKs meet everyday at a local centre, normally around 6am,
to meditate and then listen to an excerpt of the knowledge. This “spiritual
breakfast” is considered good preparation for the challenges of the day
ahead. If there is time in the day BKs are also encouraged to study the
knowledge for the purposes of self-development.
Seva
The BKs believe that the spiritual service of the self, family, friends and
public is the best way of bringing benefit to oneself and also the best way
of accumulating the good karma necessary to guarantee a happy, healthy and
prosperous life. As such as well as the spiritual service of the self through
study and meditation, BKs are encouraged to provide various courses to the
public and also aid the organisation. As a result the BKs have grown from a
founding group of 300 to a worldwide organisation comprising approx 400,000
members. The main course offered is the “7 Day Course” in which the seven
main aspects of the BK philosophy are outlined in seven sessions i.e. Soul,
God, Karma, Cycle, Tree, Brahma Baba and Lifestyle. However, as the 7 Day
Course is typically too extreme for most people not familiar with eastern
belief systems, other more readily acceptable courses are offered on subjects
such as Meditation, Positive Thinking, Stress Management, and Self Esteem.
Other activities organised at a local level including lectures, exhibitions
and festival programmes. As the BKs form a global organisation they have also
taken part in worldwide projects such as the Million Minutes of Peace Appeal
and Global Co-operation for a Better World. At present they are promoting a
project called “Living Values in Education”.
Yoga
BKs are encouraged to spend as much time as possible in mediation for the
purposes of reducing any negative karmic burden and to also benefit from the
contemplation of the virtues Shiva.
Dharna
The BK philosophy encompasses non-violence and as such the BKs follow a
vegetarian diet. However, they go a step further than most vegetarians in
that they also abstain from eating eggs (not considered a foodstuff) and
onions and garlic (due to their odour), however, they do eat dairy products. As
the BKs believe that this is the last birth before the Golden Age it is
considered that a great deal of spiritual and positive karmic development
needs to be done in preparation. As such in order to concentrate on spiritual
study, service and meditation, BKs believe that there is no purpose in
dedicating themselves to relationships or family. As such the BK philosophy
advocates a single and a celibate life as a means of maintaining the best
spiritual focus and avoiding the commitments/complexities associated with
relationships/families. However, those BKs who are already in relationships
or have families are encouraged to honour their respective commitments.
With respect to the theme
of spiritual focus, BKs also abstain from alcohol and hence do not expose
themselves to any of its potentially negative effects.
Positive Aspects
The only totally positive aspect of the BK Lifestyle is the contemplation of
the value of virtues, all the other aspects, though seemingly positive, are
based on ill-founded beliefs.
Interesting
Aspects
As with any other organisation the BKs bring together a great number of like-
minded people. As such being a member of BKs can be a socially very enjoyable
experience.
Unlike Christian,
Buddhist and Hindu religions in which a life of meditation/prayer, spiritual
study and service of humanity is only considered for nuns/monks/priests, all
BKs are encouraged to follow such a lifestyle. As a reflection of this all
practising BKs are referred to as Sisters or Brothers even though most have
not actually taken any vows.
Negative Aspects
A fact of life is that some of life’s opportunities only present themselves
at certain times in one’s life. In the case of the BKs, they believe that
this is the only time in the Cycle in which God Shiva comes and that time is
best dedicated to the task of preparing oneself spiritually for the Golden
Age and hence the rest of the Cycle. In deference to this aim most BKs
relinquish personal relationships, starting a family, career development,
personal wealth creation, further education, holidays, health care, general
socialising, etc. That is they relinquish most of the opportunities afforded
to everyone at some time in their lives. Therefore, with reference to the
above critique of the BK philosophy, BKs give up most of life’s opportunities
for “pie in the sky”. Though the loss of such opportunities would be small
for older BKs i.e. those you have already had careers, relationships,
families, etc the losses can be very considerable for younger BKs.
In addition the very high
ideals of the philosophy though supposedly attainable are simply unattainable
and so the inevitable lack of progress towards these ideals often leads to
depression and loss of self-esteem.
Executive Summary
The 7 Day Course is a
concise discourse covering the entire philosophy of the BKs. As such it deals
with topics such as The Nature of the Soul, God, Meditation, Karma,
Reincarnation, the Spiritual History and Future of the world, Brahma Baba the
Medium of God and BK Lifestyle. The main purpose of the philosophy is to
provide a means by which a “Golden Age” i.e. a purely positive age can be
brought about.
As with many other
New Age Movements though the philosophy is superficially positive in
intent, it is profoundly flawed and if followed for any significant
length of time can be socially and financially detrimental to the individual.
Unfortunately the philosophy is quite complex and so not easy to immediately
refute and as such can draw in the open minded or non-critically minded
individual for undue amounts of time. The philosophy is also very appealing
to romantics, to those seeking spiritual enlightenment and to those
seeking a refuge from the harsh realities of life i.e. to gullible people
and to varying degrees vulnerable people.
Links
www.xbkchat.com - Forum primarily
for xbk's
www.wikipedia.org - People's
Encyclopedia with an entry on the BKWSU
www.skepdic.com - Skeptic Dictionary
www.skeptic.com - Skeptic Magazine
www.brahmakumaris.info - Independent Information Service for the BKWSU
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