BKWSO lose legal action against BrahmaKumaris.Info

Excuse my french but you dumbfucks, you never knew you had it so good. The insult wasn't gratuitous.

I have recently been challenged in an email on the tone and vocabulary of the above quote. Perhaps the reply I sent that person privately is of relevence here:

The insult, as I stated, was not gratuitous, nor was it an expression of anger – in fact quite the opposite. It was coolly considered. The two main insults bestowed upon those who leave the BKs – and not only by BKs but also by their God in his/her/its Murlis - is that we are impure (in particular because of our sexuality) and ignorant (because when you leave your intellect gets locked again). Thus God and his angels have for decades and decades been calling us dumbfucks.

As their behaviour towards us is apparently getting worse, not better, my prediction is that there will appear types of opposition to them that will be more reciprocal in nature. Hence my phrasing and use of their insult. Anyone who knows about the BKs should realize that it would be hypocritical of any of them to take offence at my language.

Nevertheless, in the same piece I tried to point out that there is a big difference between rude opposition and unprincipled opposition. Of course, in the case of this particular organisation there can be no such thing as opposition that is not rude – to even question or challenge them is itself impertinent. Hence the current attempt to close us down.

Well, we aren't going anywhere so they are going to have to choose, learn to live with our rudeness or watch us joined by a much less principled type of opposition. However bad it seems now, things can get a whole lot worse.

I have lost one of my closest BK friends to suicide and I myself came within minutes of killing myself. These have been documented here, but they are in the past. And yet I am in regular contact with more than one ex-BK who describes themselves now as being in danger of suicide.

And the causes that pushed me to the edge have still not been rectified or even acknowledged by the BKs. Twenty years later. And in this forum people come and state with a candour that sends shivers up my spine that they nearly killed themselves yesterday or they don't know how they are going to survive tonight.

As is also documented here I have a friend who was sexually molested as a child both in Delhi and Madhuban by a Madhubanniwassis. In each successive year that she went, her and her Brother had to endure seeing him and wondering when they would next have to fend him off.

Again a long time ago but nothing has been done to stop it continue to happen. That Madhubanniwassis predator could still be active now. Why wouldn't he? As for the victims. they remain ignored by the BKs. They have received no apology and no attempt has been made to make any kind of atonement.

These facts, these failures are the real obscenities not insults like "dumbfuck" or indeed "Shudra" for that matter. But the people who have allowed that Madhubaniwassis to avoid justice may well deserve the title, and probably need to consider the possibility that they could be viewed as such.

Eugene

... email to friends and colleagues and we leave it to the consciences of forum readers and members whether these are issue worthy of wider discussion within the BK family. ...

Have forwarded "articles" as you requested and will keep you informed of any BK feedback.

Thanks again and thanks also to eromain.

If this legal action goes ahead the BKs will see a real resistance to their movement.

[admin]

|RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
OF
Brahma Kumaris WORLD SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATION|
ARTICLE ONE

The name of this corporation is Brahma Kumaris WORLD SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATION.

ARTICLE TWO

The period of its duration is perpetual.

ARTICLE THREE

This corporation is a non-for profit corporation.

ARTICLE FOUR

This corporation is a religious institution organized exclusively for religious activities and educational purposes. It will operate primarily to regularly conduct religious services and classes to accomplish the following objectives, and these objectives only:

a) To propagate the teachings, beliefs and practices of the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa-Vidyalaya (PRAJAPITA Brahma Kumaris WORLD SPIRITUAL UNIVERSITY) which is headquartered in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India, and which is the parent institution of the World Renewal Trust, a public educational charitable trust registered in Bombay, Maharashtra State, India under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950.

b) To teach knowledge of Raja Yoga, thereby to give relief from mental and physical distress through soul-conscious and God-conscious stages.

c) To train, ordain and maintain a corps of clergy dedicated to the spiritual purposes of the corporation.

d) To establish centers and meeting places for meditation (Raja Yoga) and prayer, for the conduct of regular religious services and classes in spiritual matters and for other activities of the corporation related to its religious purposes.

e) To conduct missionary activities, including but not limited to religious, social, scientific, medical and literary activities and to establish and help religious and medical centers, hospitals, libraries and such activities throughout the United States and worldwide.

f) To establish centers and ashrams for the followers to follow and practice living a pure life; celibacy, vegetarian diet, daily morning study of religious education and inculcation of divine virtues in personal life in a home like environment.

g) To arrange for lectures, programs, conferences and other means of conveying the message of the corporation, and to prepare and distribute books, pamphlets, posters, articles, video tapes, movies, DVD's, CD's and by other electric media and information materials containing spiritual information regarding the religious teachings, beliefs and practises of same.

h) To exercise all powers, to perform all acts and to conduct such activities as shall be in furtherance of or germane to these aforementioned purposes for the use and benefit of all people irrespective of national origin, culture, creed, age, race, sex or religion.

This corporation will receive and accept voluntary donations and gifts from the general public, in such amounts as donors may choose, such funds are to be expended exclusively for the accomplishment of the objectives in the United States of America and worldwide. No part of its net revenue shall inure to the benefits of any private individual, nor shall it carry on propaganda, attempt to influence legislative or otherwise engage in political activities of any kind whatsoever.

ARTICLE FIVE

This corporation is to have no members.

ARTICLE SIX

The affairs of this corporation shall be managed by a Board of Directors.

Upon dissolution of this corporation and after paying or making provision for payments of all its liabilities, this corporation shall distribute all of its assets exclusively for the purpose which it was organized to such organization or organizations operated for charitable, religious or educational purposes as shall at that time qualify as an exempt organization under 501 (c) (3) of the US Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provisions of any future US Internal Revenue Code). Any such assets not so disposed of shall be distributed exclusively for such purposes by a court or competent jurisdiction of the country in which the principle office of this corporation or organizations are the court shall determine.

ARTICLE SEVEN

The street address of the Registered Agent of this corporation is 710 Marquis, San Antonio, Texas, 78216, and the name of its Registered Agent as such address is: DR HANSA RAVAL.

ARTICLE EIGHT

The number of directors constituting the Board of Directors of this corporation on the date of the adoption of the Restated Articles of Incorporation is five, and the names and address of them serving as directors are:

Ms Mohini Panjabi Global Harmony House, 46 S. Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, NY 11021
Ms Chandrika Deai 401 Baker Street, San Francisco, CA 94177
Ms Kalarani Iyengar Global Harmony House, 46 S. Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, NY 11021
Mr Ramesh Shah 121 Mahatmaa Gandhi Road, Mumbai, 400023, India
Ms Dorothy Steinfeld Peace Village Learning & Resource Center, PO Box 99, Haines Falls, NY 12436

Dated February 4 2000 by Mohini Panjabi – President

State of New York
County of Nassau

On 4th day of February, 2000, before me, the undersigned, personally appeared MOHINI PANJABI personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledge to me that he executed the same in his capacity, and that by his signature on the instrument, the individual, or person upon behalf of which the individual acted, executed this instrument.

Notary Public

So it is clear the BKs as a whole are behind such action?

If old Ramesh is on the list. This is probably what Neville meant when he said they'd offered us the olive branch ... it means they knew full well what was coming.

2005 World Summit - Images and Voices of Hope July 31, 2005

Our purpose is to strengthen the role of media as agents of world benefit, expanding awareness of the choices those in media make that raise public trust, generate constructive meaning, and amplify human hope, thus enhancing humanity?s capacity for life-promoting action.

Dear Friends,

For over 6 years Images and Voices of Hope has convened media professionals in cities all over the world to consider the impact of public image making and public story telling on societies. In that same period, the media saturation has only increased ? much of it creating a sense of fear and alarm about what appears to be a progressive darkening of the world. For those of us in media related fields who want to contribute in some way to the uplifting of the world, this poses a challenge: how do we tell the truth about the conflicts, betrayals, and cruelty in the world and still work to lift the world ? to bring hope to those without hope, to shine a light on the way forward?

We are writing to invite you to the Images & Voices of Hope's world summit, "Media as an Agent of World Benefit: Expanding Awareness of Innovative Initiatives in Media", from Thursday evening, September 29 through Sunday lunchtime, October 2, at Peace Village in the beautiful Catskill Mountains in New York State (http://www.peacevillage.com).

For those of you who have been with us before, you know that we will use that time for Appreciative Inquiry based dialogue focused on the assets and possibilities of our field ? for one-on-one, small group, and large group conversation. For those of you who haven?t yet been with us for a summit, it will be a true pleasure to have you with us. In addition to the dialogue, we will be screening some of the best work in our various fields and beginning work on a worldwide media awards initiative for 2006.

In three days of dialogue together we will explore the various ways we can help to expand awareness of the choices true thought leaders and pioneers in media are making: The choice of Robert Redford and others to support the New Leaders documentary project showcasing courageous social entrepreneurs; the choices independent producers are making that are giving the world films like Born into Brothels in which the children?s own photography is paying for their schooling; the choice some ad agencies are making to shift traditional concepts of beauty to deeper values in advertising.

Some of the questions we will look at together include:

What are the ways that media is giving hope to those without hope?
Who are the ?media trail blazers? ? magazine publishers, radio producers, and news journalists -- who are using media to shine a light on the cutting edge solutions, best ideas, and new possibilities?
What are the ways that we can cultivate resilience in cultures (including the US culture) where people are experiencing a growing sense of helplessness and despair?
What might we do together to apply the considerable force of media to benefit humanity and the world?

Although IV of Hope is not about "keynotes" we are planning to invite some thoughtful media leaders to join us for an interactive panel. We will provide more on this in our confirmation letter to you.

We hope that you will plan now to be with us at the Summit, arriving after 5 PM on Thursday, September 29 and staying through 2 PM on Sunday, October 2. The conversations will be richer and the designs for going forward stronger because of your presence.

Please RSVP before September 6th to Dorothy Steinfeld, Program Coordinator, Peace Village at programs@peacevillage.com. We will then follow up with a confirmation letter with specific details on the summit and registration instructions. As always with IV of Hope, there is no charge for the Summit itself -- just a request that each attendee contribute on the basis of capacity to cover the cost of their room and food.

We are looking forward to being with you in two months.

Warmest wishes on behalf of the international sponsoring partners,

Judy Rodgers Founding Director, Images & Voices of Hope & Executive Director, Case Western Reserve University's Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Joan Vitello President, Visions of a Better World Foundation

Mohini Panjabi President, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization in the Americas, Caribbean, and Canada & Peace Village Representative

... And just in case the website never ever gets disappeared ...

This is probably what Neville meant when he said they'd offered us the olive branch ...

I must have missed it whilst they were passing the olive paté around. Sorry, what did they offer us?

What I think is interesting is that, "This corporation is to have no members". Not exactly the same as we were led to believe by the SS. So what all those individuals that go to, run and finance the centers? To me, it is more clear that they consider Brahma Kumaris to be some closedshop of "clergy" and we are just the donators to their "missionary work". This is, of course, contrary to the definition given early from the Murli. All the same, I can confirm that I have seen in writing the UK BKWSU state exactly the same thing; "No membership. Open door policy."

What are the ways that we can cultivate resilience in cultures (including the US culture) where people are experiencing a growing sense of helplessness and despair?

Judy Rodgers Founding Director, Images & Voices of Hope & Executive Director, Case Western Reserve University's Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Interesting, Judy Rodgers was on Jayanti Kripalani's bulk email list discussing the handling of these matters. I have nothing bad to say about her. I do not know her. I am sure she is very professional and means well. But it does appear to me that all 3 parties are one, despite appearances, and either they are with Hansa or agin' her ...

All the same, I can confirm that I have seen in writing the UK BKWSU state exactly the same thing; "No membership. Open door policy."

Corporation has no members, but the university has. What do you think about this???
BKWSU.com website wrote:

Corporation has no members, but the university has. What do you think about this???

I think that there is no such thing as a university, so how can it have members either? There is no such thing as "Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa-Vidyalaya". We are all attending Ramesh Bhai's World Renewal Trust. It does mention "followers". Do they think of us as BK followers?

There is a trust. There are foreign charities and businesses. But the University appears to be a figment of Lekhraj Kirpalani imagination, a BapDada inspired-in-the-Murlis cover for whatever it is they are up to. There are no members. The Trustees are the trustees, not members. The, we presume, unpaid administrators are administrators ... everyone else are just donors passing through their "open door".

I presume this is because if BKs were "members", they would have rights and the trustees responsibilities to them. No membership, no rights, no responsibility? So, there is the reality which are the trusts and corporation and there trustees and directors ... and the fairy story or Murli version sold to the donors. But what we are getting here for the nature of the business registrations is that it is a business.

We asked before, "Who are Brahma Kumaris [BKs]?" and I agree on both the Murli version. If you received spiritual initiation from Prajapita Brahma, regardless of what you are doing or whether you are sucking up to the trustees of a charity or corporation, you are a BK (... but does that mean through Lekhraj Kirpalani only?). Where does it say, you are 'World Renewal Trust Kumaris' or 'BKWSO Kumaris'?

I find the Articles fascinating... "prayer", anyone? ... Does anyone know any BKs that have been "ordained as clergy" or a "missionary"? Did not they say they were not a religion?

Is it Dorothy Steinfeld of Images & Voices of Hope?

Yes. She used to run the Center in Tampa (Florida, USA). She has been in Peace Village since its beginning. She is director of programs there. I did not know she was also on the board of directors of the BKWSO in the US.

"prayer", anyone? ... Does anyone know any BKs that have been "ordained as clergy" or a "missionary"

Wow! The whole thing is getting more and more exciting!

Complainant BKHansaRawal wrote:
• inappropriately suggesting that BrahmaKumaris.Info is an organization consisting of "associates of" BKWSU

All past and present members of BKWSU are associates of BKWSU because first of all the official literature of BKWSU says that, "once a BK always a BK". Secondly, BKWSU does not award any written certificate or document to any of its members at the time of joining or at the time of leaving. So, how can they label someone as their associate or ex-members?

ARTICLE FIVE

This corporation is to have no members.

The article five of restated articles of incorporation of BKWSO USA confirms what I had written a few days ago as quoted above.

I presume this is because if BKs were "members", they would have rights and the trustees responsibilities to them. No membership, no rights, no responsibility? So, there is the reality which are the trusts and corporation and there trustees and directors ... and the fairy story or Murli version sold to the donors. But what we are getting here for the nature of the business registrations is that it is a business.

The above mentioned article five means as if all BK students are donors and casual labourers while all Administrators and Trustees are the Employers/Owners. Even in the outside world even if someone is not working in a business house/Company, but just holds one share, he is called a share holder of that company. But here the entire BKWSU is running on the basis of the donations given by BKs (from one rupee to millions) and they say that these donors are not even members!!!

Many people might have heard about the Reliance Industries of India started by Dhirubhai Ambani (famous for the rags to riches story) which at present owns billions of rupees worth of corporate empire. When Dhirubhai Ambani left his body a few years ago, lakhs of ordinary Indians who owned shares in his companies shed tears because he had brought real improvement in the standards of their living. Every shareholder felt like being a member of his family. But here, the BKWSO Corporation says that BKs are not even Members!!! It is shocking!!! And this is totally against the Shrimat.

Regards,
OGS,
Arjun

Even in the outside world even if someone is not working in a business house/Company, but just holds one share, he is called a share holder of that company. But here the entire BKWSU is running on the basis of the donations given by BKs (from one rupee to millions) and they say that these donors are not even members!!!

And ... "This corporation will receive and accept voluntary donations and gifts from the general public" ... "The followers ...". So far in all of the official papers God does not exist ... if he actually exists in all this at all. Ordinary BKs are donors, general public, and followers ... of whom? Do you know of one BK that has been "ordained" and is held by some accountable code and body?

At the most simple level it is deceptive and, to me, a painful compromise towards both the outside world and the family but one that reflects the consciousness of the directors. Of course it is contrary to Shrimat to accept voluntary donations and gifts from "the general public". So, either they are breaking Shrimat (which excludes then from being Brahma Kumaris by Baba's definition), or their donors and followers are being misled to believe they are equals and party of a family.

Who is to decide who is part of a family, the parents or the other siblings?

Does it matter? Its just a battle of wills now. "Practical". Business as usual. Frankly, I am shocked too arjun but my feelings are that this is the reality of what things have become. A handful of individuals "doing business" running a franchise they were given by another handful of individuals in India.

Its something entirely separate from God and religion. And how often have we heard, and we taught, that they are "not a religion" ...

Guys, this worldwide family of individuals has no "family members" 'corporately' speaking ...

Brahma Kumaris Wellington website wrote:

Even the interfaith religious community has been deceived into believing that this organization has some 600,000 members worldwide in 2004.

Interreligiousinsight.org website wrote:

You can see where the dissonance between their own self-image and reality is appearing. Self-image is not soul-conscious.

"We nurture the well being of the entire human family"

its part of this whole grandiose exaggeration of their own importance that has been imbued by countless Murlis and meetings with BapDada; their schemes where everything is "Global", "Million fold", "Supreme". Reality; the abuse, the revisions, the hipocrisies, is a rude awakener. Forget the world, can they not just tidy up their own back yard?

I am starting to think that what we are doing is actually quite a dangerous thing psychologically. You have individuals that are very human with many faults, have things to hide, have invested heavily in self-image both on a personal and financial basis; and then we come along and ... pop ... turn the lights on! Equally, I am wondering if, cosmically, these are individuals with chronic self-esteem issues that require propping up by their own personal "God, Father, Husband, Lover, etc ...".

Ditto, we come along again and discuss the dangers (as well and bonuses) of indiscriminate engagement with their leaders, or illustrate their leaders' modus operandi on the basis of our experience, and they go crazy because we are threatening to separate them from that which their egos are "feeding" on; public status, new recruits, etc.

I do not believe these individuals enjoy a broad base of support within the Brahmin Family. Personally, I do not accept the unlimited totalitarian superiority of these self-appointed leaders and I do not see grounds within the Murlis that one must do so in order to grow spiritually. (Especially, when I know otherwise).

Its like dealing with a medieval Vatican. Not only do they want to control what is said in church, they want to control what is said in the village square, and how.