Female emancipation and the BKWSU

Hi and Happy March 8th to all the Shaktis.

Just to awaken this dormant topic, let me ask myself and others if there are any typical feminine characteristics and qualities (giving, obedience, submission, poor self-esteem, tendency to neglect the self and career in order to look after our loved ones, fear to say NO, pleasing others ...) that the BKWSO takes advantage of?

It is convenient to present the organization as modern and promoting women's emancipation. Unfortunately, the way I experienced it and perceived it, made me extremely uncomfortable because, in truth, just the opposite became visible. I felt very oppressed by the practical display of conservatism and fundamentalism in the Yagya's structure and systems; and its typical patriarchal societies' attitudes left me breathless. No freedom of expression, not empowering, liberating or as New Aged as expected ... in fact, the awful feeling of someone wanting to put shackles back on me! The ancient method of "You shut up, you know nothing, so we take decisions in your place! Wear the veil over your head, cover up, otherwise you are a***** ".

Inquisition round the corner, total intrusion into your private life and a witchhunt if you show a free spirit. It could be that those who felt the same as me, have run so far away riding a turbo broom, that they are nowhere in sight and wouldn't even read the Forum, neither they want to hear anything about BK!!

I smile when I remember the successes of the Brahma Kumaris getting liberated young women back into sensible skirts, dresses and blouses. Out went those practical jeans and t-shirts.

I wonder how many hundreds of dollars of clothes went in the garbage and hundred went spent on a new Avyakt wardrobe?

But on a serious side, I would say that the Seniors have larged just replace themselves as the dominant males within a social structure. It is liberation of the soul only, not the mind and body. Who remembers all the little old Indian women domestic slaves in their own homes doing more of the same in the BK centers?

Do we accept that they were just bound by their own karma and that is the level they are at ... or does the community, busy chasing VIP and funding, have a responsibility to raise them up? How far out of the ambient comfort zone do influential Western BKs step to investigate and change this? In India that is an realism and acceptance of this because of the rock bed of utter poverty that exists in their world. Does that attitude insulate any caste-type chauvinism within the leadership?

Emancipation is a pyramid-style 'numbers game'. Its a good sales pitch and PR but for every emancipated ShivShakti, they require 100, or a 1,000 serfs. Perhaps the deal is that "you too can become one of us ... if you work to build up the numbers of your devotees". So, add to your list for inspection that other female quality of domination other females through dress, speech, social connections. The silver ShivShakti badges taking the place of a Prada handbag.

Every monkey troop has a dominant males and dominant females. Its your karma whether you are a master or a servant ... or just walk away from it all.

Dear Alladin and ex-l

Here, here!!! I agree with both your comments on the above!!

Regards
Iknewit

Hi and Happy March 8th to all the Shaktis.

Thanks for the good wishes, but Baba says everyone is a Brother . Moreover, those who are shaktis today might have taken more births as males in their previous births. The shaktis fighting wars, playing tennis (Martina Novratilova, Willams Sisters, etc.), competing for world wrestling championships definitely do not qualify as shaktis (in physical sense). They can easily floor many men . So, whom do you wish to congratulate? Those who are females in the present birth with male sanskars or those who have more female sanskars than male sanskars ?

Anyways, my good wishes to all the shaktis, especially those on this forum, like Sisters Bansy, Di, Jannisder, Sarah, Aimee, Yudhishtira, etc. All of them have made valuable contributions to the forum.