06 Apr 2008
Hi Jean,
sorry for the delay in replying to your question. Joel makes a concise and interesting point to which I bow. That 15,400 lb elephant is God himself (no, this time it really is the real thing) possessing a little old lady in India on a regular basis, the imminent and desirable End of the World including death of 6 billion, a sub-text of exclusive and total spiritual supremacy, talk of indoctrinated followers and humans as "subjects" and "worshipers" of their kingly status ... and a whole host of minor Hinduistic idiosyncrasies such as obsessive bottom washing. So, in comparison, cold turkey and the DTs seem quite mild really. If you are a professional in the field, perhaps you ought start off by reading some of the letter published in the BKWSU history forum first and tell me what the early Brahma-kumaris were coming off of. I am not being entirely supercilious here.
I do not know ... I have been outrightly critical of the BKs' policy to target seminars at recovering addicts ... BECAUSE ... they are not honest about the bigger picture. The context for the outreach. For me, it is evangelism clearly targeting vulnerable individuals in a very subtle manner. Although the individuals operating such scheme, within their own context, mean well and may well be in recovery themselves, outsiders ought be aware of how the BKs seek to use such experiences wrapped up in their own unique, "I was lost but now am found-again ... and you too can be 'found' again" type savour stories.
If the BKs were honest and said, "we are BKs, this is what we believe ... x,y,z as above ... and we are going to initiate you into a relationship with our Holy Ghost who tell us all of this via our mediums", then I would say, "fair enough ... folks can take it or leave it as they please". But they don't. They couch it in vague, attractive terms, a bit of ambient music, if you are lucky an attractive blonde singer or Indian dancer ... and then once you have taken the hook, pull on the strings surely.
It is difficult and something that should be analyzed closely. What is the BK practise? Skip the 'New Age' and 'self management' stuff, that is just the wrapping paper. What are the goods on the inside? Whereas if you sit staring at a candle, or chanting OM, you can be pretty sure that that is all you are doing, with the BKs there is an extra added ingredient or ingredients; the channelled entity or entities, all the talk of founders coming back as angels and overshadowing individuals and this "intoxicated phase" or "Honeymoon Period" that most to all BKs go thought when they first hit the main vein.
I have personally seen the effects of this "intoxication" destroy families where it is not managed properly. We have documented other cases of where individuals have had full-on psychotic experiences. The latter happens only in a tiny minority of cases but the former is very common. Indeed, we documented one family breaking apart under the BK influence on this forum with an individual who was in recovery. All these ought to be taken to make a picture of the whole.
Now, on the other hand, folks do go the BKs, do a few introductory course, feel better and walk away. So do not allow me to be too alarmist. Just do not kid yourself, or allow others to be kidded, about what their ultimate agenda is all about. It is the End of the World and the BKs duty is to make new BKs by using whatever tools they have ... and if a history of being in recovery is their best pitch, that is what they will use. Their god, speaking through their mediums, tell them to make new subjects and bring them to him.
So, no. I am sorry. I think individuals in recovery ought probably sort themselves out before diving into another deep end. Or at least be clear about the risk of replacing one drug with a more subtle but perhaps more crazier one. It might well be a good exit route ... I do not know. As an aside, it would be very interesting for an analyst or social services professional to look at the BK community as a whole, how it deals with its anomalies, critics and many cognitive dissonances.