Texas law includes a provision in which a religious leader can be charged for having sex with someone by "exploiting the other person's emotional dependency on the religious leader and the religious leader's professional character as spiritual adviser".
An article in the Texas newspaper, the 'Austin American Statesman' documents yet another guru to fall to accusations by followers of their guru making sexual advances on them. The followers have since quit the organization which refused to make the guru available for comment. Representatives denied the accusations, suggesting they were part of an "orchestrated plan to disparage the organization by disgruntled ex-devotees".
In another explicit article, which should be reading for all about the nature of such groups, the newspaper documents how the sect, the International Society of Divine Love, developed its highly financially rewarding commercial interests, under the guidance of business executives, to build buildings in order to draw in followers and exploit them. Exploitation of a nature the Brahma Kumaris are not entirely free ... e.g. exploiting the Hindu superstition of donating to temples or temple leaders in order to receive boons.
The victims who spoke to the American-Statesman requested anonymity because they feared reprisal from the Hindu organization. All the followers say the incidents they recall are troubling because of the gurus' influential positions as teacher, spiritual guide and ashram leader. They compare the power imbalance in their relationships with that found in teacher/student or counselor/client liaisons.
Sounds familiar ... what with BK followers who are reported to pay to have special Bhog offered to them on the stage at Madhuban etc ... not quite as gross perhaps but do the rich and famous and potentially financially beneficial (if not Maryadas following), like the Beegee Robin Gibb and his wife or big businessmen, not get a better deal out of guru Janki Kripalani and others? The more seva you do, the better a Brahma Kumari you are.
One question, would a Brahma Kumari carrying out the same not be equally guilty?
An article in the Texas newspaper, the 'Austin American Statesman' documents yet another guru to fall to accusations by followers of their guru making sexual advances on them. The followers have since quit the organization which refused to make the guru available for comment. Representatives denied the accusations, suggesting they were part of an "orchestrated plan to disparage the organization by disgruntled ex-devotees".
In another explicit article, which should be reading for all about the nature of such groups, the newspaper documents how the sect, the International Society of Divine Love, developed its highly financially rewarding commercial interests, under the guidance of business executives, to build buildings in order to draw in followers and exploit them. Exploitation of a nature the Brahma Kumaris are not entirely free ... e.g. exploiting the Hindu superstition of donating to temples or temple leaders in order to receive boons.
The victims who spoke to the American-Statesman requested anonymity because they feared reprisal from the Hindu organization. All the followers say the incidents they recall are troubling because of the gurus' influential positions as teacher, spiritual guide and ashram leader. They compare the power imbalance in their relationships with that found in teacher/student or counselor/client liaisons.
- The guru "was supposed to be their guru," said one of the victims. "Not my boyfriend."
Sounds familiar ... what with BK followers who are reported to pay to have special Bhog offered to them on the stage at Madhuban etc ... not quite as gross perhaps but do the rich and famous and potentially financially beneficial (if not Maryadas following), like the Beegee Robin Gibb and his wife or big businessmen, not get a better deal out of guru Janki Kripalani and others? The more seva you do, the better a Brahma Kumari you are.
statesman.com wrote:Generally speaking, devotees pay for a connection to the guru: from $20 to bow to him in the morning, $200 to push him on a swing, $220 to share a cookie, $600 to wash his feet and $2,500 to celebrate a birthday with him, according to a written list provided by a former resident.
"The pressure to give was intense," recalled Anastasia Blaschke of Austin, a 10-year devotee who lived on the ashram for almost three years. "The more seva you did, the better a devotee you were."
One question, would a Brahma Kumari carrying out the same not be equally guilty?