Pragmatic statement

ex-l:

"When you assume the appearance of power, people soon give it to you "

" Äct royal'

Brahma Kumaris

Pragmatic statement:

"When you assume the appearance of power, people soon give it to you or, most probably, make fun of yoü"

"Act normal"

Non-Brahma Kumaris

Or even better ... become normal.

However, being normal can take some work ... undoing all the little messes your family and society left you, and a few of your own mistakes and regrets. Then finding a way ahead in this crazy, messed up world. It is worth trying though.

I think there is a truth to Cooper/Rothschild quote. They worked their way up from the ghetto slum to become some of the most powerful people on earth.

I don't know what other people think but I think it is a good idea to get all the other worldly ideas out of your head, like becoming an angel or a god. Like you say, it's better just to be an honest human being and drop as many pretenses as possible.

I remember one "notable" BKs I spoke to, one of the founders/chairperson of the Janki Foundation. He, at least, could admit he suffered from "delusions of grandeur" ... and is that not part of the attraction of becoming a BK?

When I hear any person, irrespective of his convictions and beliefs, connecting "grandeur " with "delusions ", I can not help but take my hat off to him ...

Either Brahma Kumarism is absolutely true and what it says it is, or ...

Delusion of Grandeur by John M. Grohol, PSY.D.

A delusion of grandeur is the fixed, false belief that one possesses superior qualities such as genius, fame, omnipotence, or wealth. It is most often a symptom of schizophrenia, but can also be a symptom found in psychotic or bipolar disorders, as well as dementia.

People with a delusion of grandeur often have the conviction of having some great but unrecognized talent or insight. They may also believe they have made some important discovery that others don’t understand or appreciate.

Less commonly, the individual may have the delusion of having a special relationship with a prominent person (such as being an adviser to the President). Or the person may believe that actually are a very prominent and important person, in which case the actual person may be regarded as an imposter.

Grandiose delusions may have religious content, such as the person believes he or she has received a special message from God or another deity.

Sometimes, in popular language, this disorder may be known as "megalomania", but is more accurately referred to as narcissistic personality disorder if it is a core component of a person's personality and identity. In such disorders, the person has a greatly out-of-proportion sense of their own worth and value in the world. People with this issue can also sometimes have a taste for the finer, more extravagant things in life.

Whatever else happened and is happening ... and I mean this fairly and compassionately ... can we not accept that Lekhraj Kirpalani ... despite his goodness, charm, wealth and worldly wisdom ... was suffering from some kind of mental illness? And possibly ... the big question ... part of that has been turned into religion which satisfies a certain sort of people at some level, e.g. a need to feel special?

It is very unusual of a BK to confess that he/she is suffering from Grandiose Delusions, and whoever got the courage and honesty to declare it, deserves to be complimented.

In BK ideology, what is it that leads to this psychological problem ..??

In BK ideology, what is it that leads to this psychological problem ..??

BKism does not go into the causes of mental illness, the only "theories" of mental illness I can remember is that it is "caused by karma", too much vice or cause by "spirit possession".

Beyond offering itself as a cure for depression and addiction, the BKWSU does not really discuss mental illness. It used to have a rule saying that anyone suffering from mental illness was not allowed to do the course and people who have had episodes, in some case triggered by a meditation course, have been excluded or banned from centers. "More Yoga" and "more service" are their only cures.

We know of at least one case where an individual "went mad" after becoming involved in the BKWSU, completely flipped, and the senior BK zone-in-charge more or less just "shrugged their shoulders" and had not a clue what to do. The woman was left for her family to deal with. We never heard what happened to her afterwards (she was in Japan). Many more have had nervous breakdowns from the stress of the lifestyle and system.

Obviously, with Lekhraj Kirpalani the circumstances are different. The story we were told is that he started becoming obsessive, childlike, his family sent him away to another city, he lived in the house drawing pictures on the wall (that were to become the foundations of The Knowledge). But this wasn't "caused" by BKism, it was the start of BKism. What was Lekhraj Kirpalani going through? Some kind of mental breakdown ... a mid-life crisis? Or was it triggered by the mysticism/psychicism that he was getting involved with?

It is reported that he paid money to a Saddhu in the West of India to learn "hypnotism", or some other kind of spiritual initiation, and that he changed after this. I have never been able to find out who that saddhu was.