Dadi Janki and the Janki Foundation

for ex-BKs to discuss matters related to experiences in BKWSU & after leaving.
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tinydot

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Post03 May 2007

CaptPorridge wrote:I spoke to a few people at the University of Texas ... I kept getting transfered because no one really seemed sure who could help me out but when I explained the claim made, they all just said, "WTF?"

Anyway, I was finally put in contact with a researcher at the University of Texas Archives, so if anyone can confirm or deny that claim and the very existance of that institute, it is them.

Good job, CaptPorridge. Please post your findings as soon as you find out.

I am waiting for some news entilted "BKWSU made biased claim on the most stable mind in the world" or something like that. Who is the news reporter by the way?
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captporridge

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Post03 May 2007

tinydot wrote:I am waiting for some news entilted "BKWSU made biased claim on the most stable mind in the world" or something like that. Who is the news reporter by the way?

I got a reply, and this is from an archivist at the University of Texas, and not surprisingly:
I have searched the likely places and found no mention of the experiments performed on Dadi Janki in 1978. Indeed, I did not even find any University of Texas organization called the "Medical and Science Research Institute." Presumably if it did exist it would have been part of the UT Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, but I can find no evidence to support this.

I am not a reporter, but I am writing an article for my university's English magazine and website. The above info is very usefeul because the Texas claim is made on the Korean BK website, and that website was given to audience members of the BK lecture I am writing about.

This is going to be fun!

The article is pretty much finished, but I am just waiting for a few other replies, then I'll post a link.

Thanks, Peter
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john

reforming BK

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Post03 May 2007

EEG Tests were also reported to have been carried out at: Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, San Francisco, California.

Somewhere in Australia Michael Haust described her as "A woman of perfect rhythm" (ziruz, Feb 1979). This is from a BK book called 'Positive Health'. 1st edition 1981, 2nd edition 1984.
It had an editorial Board of 6 different people:
    Robert Shubow B.A. J.D.
    Hansa Raval M.D.
    Nirmala Kajaria D.G.O
    Harold Streitfeld Ph.D (Psychologist) (one of the first westerner BKs from USA)
    Heidi Fittkau Ph.D (Psychologist) (Infamous BK worth looking into)
    Prem Masand M.D.
I am assuming mostly BKs and a script by Girish Patel. Doctorate in Psychiatry
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ex-l

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Post04 May 2007

Dr Prem Masand, radiation oncologist with some connection to the Global Hospital at the HQ in Abu.
• Robert Shubow left a long time ago. You might ask him why. He has become Shunyamurti with his own Yoga, Sat Yoga, and an ashram. Sat YogaInstitute in Costa Rica.
• Heidi 'Madkau' split the BKs to start her own Atman cult and got into trouble with police on the Canary Islands. Its all over the internet.
• "Dr Hansa" was a pathologist for the US Army and we can spill some beans about her. She goes down in writing as promoting BK Raja Yoga as a cure for cancer.
• Dr Nirmala is the zone in charge of Pacific-Asia region (whatever they call it). I do not know how, when or how much she doctors.
Harold is dead.

BKWSU has a habit of still referencing high profile BKs that have left in their literature.

If you are at an academic institute and can access JSTOR, you ought do a search for the Brahma Kumaris onit for papers; Juila Howell on ASC (Altered States of Consciousness), Lawrence Babb, Richard Barz, John Walliss. I am looking for the text/pdf of Howell's work.
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john

reforming BK

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Post04 May 2007

ex-l wrote:Harold is dead.

Harold wrote a BK book called 'God's Plan' published in 1981. In it he says he arranged for the EEG testing in San Francisco of Dadi Janki He also wrote, "In her late 60's now she is too ill to leave her room". So she is indeed a tough old boot.

He also writes when Brahma Baba left his body it was the first time since 1937 that there was no daily Murli.

sweetsajani

friends or family of a BK

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Post04 May 2007

i have access to jstor!!! will definitely check it out for you exBK1
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ex-l

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Post04 May 2007

Wasn't Harold a big Muktananda follower before the Brahma Kumaris?
SweetSajani wrote:I have access to jstor!!! will definitely check it out for you exBK1

I appreciate your kind thought but, contrary to the opinion of the BKWSU, I honestly am not ex-BK number 1. I am just another number 0!

You will find a number of useful papers list there. PDF or text files of them would be useful for other. There is a growing biography of BK related literature here in the Encyclopedia section if individuals wish to contribute. A new login is required.

ex-l
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captporridge

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Post07 May 2007

You guys may have already seen this, but it's still good for a laugh.

Dadi Janki talks about those non-existant experiments performed on her by those non-existant Uni of Texas scientists working at their non-existant Medical and Science Resarch Institute:
Dadi Janki, now around 90, had many good things to tell. She recalls her 1978 experience at Texas University, USA, where after a thorough research on her for more than seven hours by top scientists, she was adjudged as the one with the most stable mind. At that time, Janki said, she did not know much of English language, yet she was able to give convincing answers to the flurry of questions asked by the Americans.

Citing an example, she said they asked her to pronounce 100 minus seven, which is 93, then further minus seven, 86 and so on. She could do this with ease and perfection. Then they asked her a host of other questions. Finally, they bestowed on her this rare honour. Based in London for the past more than 27 years, Janki said the Westerners were now showing an interest in spirituality. This was because they were now able to understand what constituted grief.

100-7? Link: Tribune India Article Need to scroll down abit.

PS thanks for all the help and links.
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ex-l

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Post07 May 2007

captporridge wrote:Dadi Janki talks about those non-existant experiments performed on her by those non-existant Uni of Texas scientists working at their non-existant Medical and Science Resarch Institute.

Actually, I err on the side of caution here. Janki was tested in the Texas. I remember the pictures of it. By whom, or in what capacity, or by what department I do not know. It could have just been a pre-graduate project or a Saturday morning job. Why not call up the BKWSU Texas center and ask them. The details would have been published in the inhouse "Purity" magazine.

I agree with you that the public statements are unscientific and misleading, and that is condemnation enough for a so-called University. If it were to mean something, she would have been compared, the results published in some Journal and analysed further. To my knowledge, it was not. It does not guarantee where she is at now. She still gets angry, she can be dishonest, a BK on forum said she still has such issues about when she first came into Gyan that she cannot talk about them and tell the truth. Ho hum.

What one does notice is a general grandiousness in the statements, e.g.
She said even Muslim countries like the UAE had evinced interest in the path followed by Brahmakumaris. Though Pakistan had never invited her for any such discourse, she was more than willing to go there.

Note that they deal in whole countries not individuals or organizations. What does that mean? The Government of ... or "decided by a referendum". It probably means one individual spoke nicely to them or someone through their UN network connections voiced interest in the LVEP (Living Values Education Programme). You need to put up an "Indian-colored filter" to reduce the cultural differences.
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captporridge

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Post07 May 2007

ex-l wrote:Actually, I err on the side of caution here. Janki was tested in the Texas..

Maybe she was tested, but not by top UT scientists and not at the Medical Research Science Institute. Whether some quack BK "scientist" examined her or not is irrelevent to the claims they made.

But in my article, I'll be a little more diplomatic, I'll just put the BK quote in and say, "... despite those claims, an archivist from the UT archives found no reference to either the experiments on Dadi Janki or even the institution named on BK sites ...", something like that - make the reader reach the only conclusion possible on their own.

It's just inconcievable that any kind of scientists ran those tests. 100-7? and declared the leader of an obscure doomsday cult had the most stable mind in the world. And there were language barrier problems! It's so inconeivable, the idea does not even deserve entertaining, not even for a milli-second.

But I will ask the BK UT guys, I found their website a few days ago ... they specifically state they aren't associate with any "religion". I've had a lot of experience wth cults, but in terms of spreading bullsh**, BK gets an A+.

Link; Brahma Kumaris is a student organization
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ex-l

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BKs in further education

Post07 May 2007

captporridge wrote:I've had a lot of experience wth cults, but in terms of spreading ******, BK gets an A+. Link; Brahma Kumaris is a student organization

Oh my blessed Aunt ... that is the best one yet!!! NOT the 'Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University' BUT the 'Brahma Kumaris Student Organization' ... targeted as students on campus.

I cant believe it! Its all endless contortions. Yes, the Murlis state that we are/were all 'Godly Students' at the 'Godly University'. Just to give you a reference point. "Brahmacharya" (that Brahmins follow) is the "student stage" of the Hindu system, e.g. celibate, pre-marriage/householder, studying age.

I do not know the history but in the US, the BKs don't, or cant, use the "University" moniker. Generally, they use 'Brahma Kumari World Spiritual Organization' instead. My guess is that this is for legal purposes as in America your ass can be sued tout de suite and if the Feds land on you, you will feel it. That might be worth looking into as well (Ditto their legal statuses), one might need to be legally registered in order to be a University. It was their god/spirit guide that advised them to call themselves this. "ATMA - a Socio-Cultural Spiritual Organization at the University of Texas at Austin"

Their general structure is a minefield of liability in my opinion. Individuals are lumbered with mortgages on properties used for centers in their own name but operating on behalf of the organization. They are then given Wills to sign made out entirely in the favor of the BKWSU. Some BKs in the US were/are even made to sign over Power of Attorney agreements to the SS. Who gets the donations/income, where do they go, how are they taxed ... I have no idea. I cant understand why if the organization does not own theproperties, each center is not actually a franchise.

The centers collect donations but just use them for their own budgets. May be even to pay their mortgages off. Except when a big donations come in, then the zone-in-charge has been know to sweep in and hoover it all up. Proselyting is their service or charity. You will probably find a BK faculty member in there, some where, pulling strings.
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ex-l

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Dadi Janki does Disney Land at a $1895 Gig

Post11 May 2007

Well, actually its $700 Dollar a night Disney Yacht Club and you can get a $200 discount if you book this month ... Florida? is not that down near Tampa and Miami?

The Power of Positive Change: a symphony of Change. September 16-19, 2007 Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, Orlando, FL
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Appreciative Inquiry Conference wrote:[url=http://www.2007aiconference.com/DAY3-3.htm]Closing Keynote: Barbara Frederickson and Dadi Janki,
The Scientist and the Yogi:
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In this plenary, Barbara Frederickson, one of the top researchers and scientists in the field of positive psychology shares her latest work in the study, “What good are positive emotions in sustaining positive change?” She is the recipient of Positive Psychology’s top research prize for her breakthrough work. Implications that can change your life and lessons that are applicable to every organization, this session will be an amazing way to move toward closure in our conference. Following Barbara’s scientific presentation, Dadi Janki, a 91 year-old Yogi from India will reflect and comment on the new science of the positive and will connect this science to ancient wisdom. Dadi Janki is one of the to 'wisdom keepers' in the world, an eminent group of spiritual leaders invited by the U.N. to help advise leaders at several U.N. summits. She is co-administrative head of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University in India. Her words take our theories of the positive to deeper levels of life meaning, significance and value.
Barbara Frederickson

Dr. Fredrickson is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Principal Investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina. She is a leading scholar within social psychology, affective science, and positive psychology. Her research centers on positive emotions and human flourishing and is supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health. Her research and her teaching have been recognized with numerous honors, including, the 2000 American Psychological Association's Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology. Her work is cited widely and she is regularly invited to give keynotes nationally and internationally. She lives in Chapel Hill with her husband and two sons.
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ex-l

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Dadi Janki does £45 Quid Gig

Post15 May 2007

OK, its a bit of a come down from Disney Land but another sign of the times 'paid for' gig.

This time £45 at the Central London Business School; What Doctors Don't Tell You. Janki should consider leaving Gyan and going professional. Her name and fame is obviously well established enough.

£45 Quid a ticket. What, say, 100 people (capacity is 370) ... that is £4,500 less an evening room hire of £900 (more than double an annual income in India). Nice enough earnings for an evening's work though you could get it for free, if you got up at 6 am to listen.

The only problem is, I cannot see them getting that big an audience if BKs have to pay to come in. Normally you can ensure half the punters will be white clad or BKs in mufti. I wonder if she gets to have a rider and a guest list like a pop star? Imagine, if the organizers got 300, off the back of the Daily Mail stories, that would be £13,500 or $25,942. The minimum wage in America is about $15,000. In India the mean annual household income is 34,551 rupees or $735. You've come a long way Dadi.
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john

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Post15 May 2007

9.30 - 10.00 Questions from the audience.

Is this usual?
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ex-l

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Post15 May 2007

john wrote:Is this usual?

Do you mean usual that folks get to ask questions or usual that she stays up that late?

I see BK Janki also got herself on the faculty of "The Great Rethinking". Momentous pilgrimages ... $2950 (double occupancy rate). More paid for gigs. May be this is where her bank balance comes from!?!
Dadi Janki, at 90 years old dedicates her life to the principles and practices of the Brahma Kumaris organization, sharing a vision of a world of peace, purity and passion to experience the essence of spiritual truths.

You see what I mentioned somewhere else about the New Age being a solid business with an established circuit. And here you have Janak along side all the first division players; Tom Robbins, Gabrielle Roth, Rupert Sheldrake, Vandana Shiva, Andrew Cohen, Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra, M.D.
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