The Beautiful Side of Evil

The first thing Jill's experience brings up for me is to ask the question, "what happened to Lekhraj Kirpalani around 1932?"

It would be so extremely helpful if we could ever get to know this.

If what happened to Lekhraj Kirpalani had happened in the West, would he have just been given medication and the rest of us been saved from the Brahma Kumaris?

Probably yes.

If it was just Lekhraj Kirpalani's mental or physiological experience, how did it that manifest into the collective experiences, whether these women, the children going into trance for 7 days and "experiencing heaven", being "possessed" by "Krishna", having "spirits" talk through them or whatever.

On some occasions, I heard Dadi Prakashmani talk about her visions of Krishna. One time during a morning walk she used to take with the double foreigners after Amrit Vela. Seemed to me that she did regret the days of all these visions were over.

Of course, the West and Catholicism mostly has its own heritage of "saintly visions". I am thinking of Lourdes, 'The Apparitions of Medjugorje' and others which have been duly turned into cults and profitable industries. How do we categorise these? Not all turn bad, most just turn mundane. Some might be easily explained away as internal projections of repressed individuals, or whatever, but all?

Cutting back to The Beautiful Side of Evil' by Johanna Michaelsen and other books, and this would be a position mirrored by some Buddhists and Yogic traditions as well as the PBKs, these would just be seen as distractions, delusions, not necessarily "evils" but of no great value. How does one account for all of them? The Vatican, for example, does have its own "due process" before separating the acceptable and authentic. The Brahma Kumaris have had their purges of "false prophets" from the early days (The Golden Circle) to recently, (stopping Bhog messages).

In the meanwhile, I am sticking with the anthropologist view ... that is to say, studying the groups, looking at trends and patterns.

Mexican spiritualism, for example, is a small movement largely confined to Mexico City which is thought to have arisen from the religious Roque Rojas Esparaza, a self-proclaimed as the true Mexican Messiah and the reincarnation of Elijah. His church's doctrine, again, was based on the Apocalypse. The Tromba mediums in Madagascar are, again similar to the Sindhis, disenfranchised women whose voices are generally worthless but seen as empowered by spirit possession.

Although a psychoanalysis of Lekhraj Kirpalani etc would be fair enough, it only goes part of the way. In my opinion, anyone seeking to understanding the Brahma Kumaris should look into the history of other spiritualist groups. There is an active component to spiritualism and, until it is properly understood not theorised about, it should be treated with caution.

Whether spirits are real or not, so many seem to play the same game with humanity, have it running around believing that they are the chosen ones and that the end of the world is about to come.

Just to add to this, there is the argument that the evidence of reincarnation given by individuals "remembering" past lives, identities or languages, is not always actually of reincarnation but actually further evidence of spirit possession ... hence accounting for the often failed or irregular nature of the accounts given.

Michael Shermer on strange beliefs ("you cannot miss it when I tell you what's there ...").

Why do people see the Virgin Mary on a cheese sandwich or hear demonic lyrics in "Stairway to Heaven"? Using video and music, skeptic Michael Shermer shows how we convince ourselves to believe -- and overlook the facts.

Just back to the Mexican medium for a moment ... it reads kind of similar to Lekhraj Kirpalani, doesn't it?

An orphan to his mother ... could only study there for three years because he had no economic means ... He went back to live with his Father and learnt a trade ... got married in a village "living a harmonious life filled with love towards others" ... In 1861 was awoken by a vision of the angel Gabriel indicated that he would receive instructions and messages from God to carry out his mission as a forerunner of the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth amongst men ... simple and kind ... suffered from persecution of civil and ecclesiastic authorities as well as the lack of comprehension of his own people ... received communication of Elijah, the prophet of the First Era ... spiritual mission accomplished, he dies 10 years later in 1879.

On the Tromba, see: The Possessed and the Dispossessed: Spirits, Identity, and Power in a Madagascar Migrant Town by Lesley A. Sharp.

There is an early/contemporary classic on the subject, here: Spiritualism Among Civilized and Savage Races By Edward Lawrence (an opponent of spiritism) from the 1920s showing us how little the debate has moved on since the heyday of 'Modern Spiritualism' in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.

I have been studying Patanjali's sutras in order to know more about what the BKWSO ommitted to teach us. Here is something I thought I'd share:

"How to Know God, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali", translated with a commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood.

Powers, section 52:

When tempted by the invisible beings in high places, let the yogi feel neither allured nor flattered; for he is in danger of being caught once more by ignorance.

"The invisible beings in high places" are the fallen yogis already referred to (Chapter I, aphorism 19) who have reached the state of disincarnate gods or become merged in the forces of nature. Such beings have failed to find liberation precisely because they yielded to the temptations of the psychic powers. Therefore, it is said, they are jealous of those who seem about to overcome these temptations, and they try to drag them back into ignorance.

In the commentary on Patanjali's aphorisms which is attributed to Vyasa, the allurements offered to the yogi by "those in high places" are described, quaintly but forcefully, as follows: "Sir, will you seat yourself here? Will you rest here? You might enjoy this pleasure. You might find this maiden attractive. This elixir will banish old age and death. In this Chariot you can fly through the air. Over there are trees which grant all wishes. That heavenly stream will give you happiness. Those sages know everything. These nymphs are peerlessly beautiful, and you will not find them cold.

Your eyes and ears will become supernaturally keen, your body will shine like a diamond. In consequence of your distinguished virtues, honored Sir, you are entitled to all these rewards. Please enter into this heaven which is unfailing, ageless, deathless, and dear to the gods ..."

The great Hindu teachers all believed that a yogi's spiritual development might be interefered with by external forces - by the disincarnate gods, by beings on the psychic or subtle plane of matter, or by earthbound spirits."

Hi, beautiful quote, Rayoflight!

Temptations. I was just talking about that with some ex BKs, the different pulls towards higher/lower levels of consciousness, and how this is connected with lifestyle and company one keeps. In all religions temptations are mentioned as a test saints or yogis have to pass. Also, people are warned against mediumship, invoking spirits, and similar practises.

What strikes me, is that for the BKs, spooks are not to be avoided as the tempter, rather they are portrayed as examples and saviours!!

Jail officials claim that these courses are likely to inculcate a positive thinking among the inmates and help them keep away from antisocial activities.


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