Bhakti

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desi_writer

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  • Joined: 06 Nov 2011

Bhakti

Post29 Apr 2012

Hi all,

I have a family member who attends the Brahma Kumaris everyday. In the whole family, he is the only one that goes. What I find a little uneasy is when they say that 'Bhakti' or devotion is wrong and only knowledge is right. If I am correct, whenever I see the way they conduct their programmes, when they meet 'Shiv Baba' who speaks through a lady, it all seems like the very thing they are against - Bhakti.

The family member seems to be against everything now and thinks only BK have the right way. His diet has changed and its difficult for the family to adjust. We are all spiritual in the family, I myself listen to many masters but what I have heard from the BKs themselves can be at times, nonsense and anyone with a little intelligence can see this a mile way.

The other issue I have is that their 5000 year cycle is just wrong. One just needs to watch the news, or pick up a science magazine to know the earth is billions of years old, human beings have been on the planet for 100,000 years and with such information, I am sure God never missed that out? Also, if they really believe in knowledge then how can they accept such ideas?

Not only that, their God and description matches none of the eastern scriptures. They have embraced the abrahamic version of a god, which is basically putting a persona on something formless like god.

How can I get my family member, who is older than me, I am from a typical Indian background, how can I get my family member to wake up and smell the garlic?

xephani

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  • Joined: 06 Jun 2012

Re: Bhakti

Post06 Jun 2012

You got that right ! LOL - I really don't know - perhaps you can find out what she gains from her interaction with the BKs and hope to fill that need in an other way. ?

Koolbloke

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Re: Bhakti

Post08 Jun 2012

"The other issue I have is that their 5000 year cycle is just wrong. One just needs to watch the news, or pick up a science magazine to know the earth is billions of years old, human beings have been on the planet for 100,000 years and with such information, I am sure God never missed that out?"

I don't think you got this right.

I remember questioning this in my few years in the BK and the answer I got is that the "human" cycle is 5,000 years. The world itself has been around for much, much longer.

I believe the "human cycle" theory makes sense but I am not so sure of its length.
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ex-l

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Re: Bhakti

Post08 Jun 2012

Hi, Koolbloke. Welcome on board.

The original poster is quite right. The god of the Brahma Kumaris says that only they are right and everyone else is not just "wrong" ... but a poor copy, a fraction, of their religion. And it leaders encourage this belief time and time again.

BKism is pure, all other religions are impure. BKism is enlightened, all other religions are ignorant. BKism saves, all other religions mislead us into degradation. It is written black and white in their teachings.
Koolbloke wrote:I remember questioning this in my few years in the BK and the answer I got is that the "human" cycle is 5,000 years. The world itself has been around for much, much longer.

An interesting response ... it is either a half-truth or not an "official" belief. Western BKs have a tendency to make up theories to try and explain the inexplainable or fill in the gaps.

The half-truth would be that before the current 5,000 year cycle, there was another 5,000 year cycle, and before that there was another 5,000 year cycle and so on ... therefore one could say the planet has been around for "much longer".

However, "The Knowledge" also states it must start identically fresh and new every Cycle ... right down to the same individual atoms ... and so, therefore, there really is only one 5,000 year period.

On the other hand, there was a theory amongst Western BKs we call "The Loop Theory" which suggests that time is a much straighter or longer line ... but that humanity or even just BK souls do a 5,000 year loop on it, in essence 'time travelling' backwards to the same place every 5,000 years.

Basically looking like this ...

Big Bang ________________O_____________________>

Time ... ... ... ... ... the BK Cycle ... ... ... ... ... the rest of time and space continuing.

Yes, it is an utterly whacked out, inexplicable theory that the BK leadership never gave one seconds thought about and it demonstrates what efforts perfectly intelligent Western BKs go through to try and justify The Knowledge to themselves.

Sticking 'on topic', I guess Brahma Kumarism was able to get such a grasp on individuals because it started in a privileged community that was largely uneducated and deeply sheltered. Read "dumb" and self-absorbed. They had probably never heard of dinosaurs and Lekhraj Kirpalani, with a huge chip on his shoulder and at the same time he thought he was God and the Gita sermoniser, was condemnatory of the pomp, arrogance and evils of "the Christians' science.

Once you have a small dedicated group going, it is relatively easy to encult other individuals despite however outlandish your beliefs are. Now they continue to encult and hold adherent by polishing up and refining their stories ... and downplaying or hiding their failures and extreme belief.

Letting generally Western BK Brothers theorise without challenging them is one way they manage to hold on to them. They pay them on the heads like children and say, "good soul" ... as long as they keep turning up to class, giving money and doing service ... and don't screw up too much in public ... they really don't care what they believe.

Brahma Kumarism, despite its God's endless criticism of other religions, is just as much "Bhakti" as Bhakti.

prashant007

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Re: Bhakti

Post21 Jun 2012

according to me what Brahma Kumaris say and I do not feel correct is as follows
1)their 5000 year cycle
2)that no human being can be free from cycle of birth and death
3) all gods and goddesses is symbolic
4)they do not beleive ib ghosts and devils and demons which infact do exist
5)they think Satyug to be heaven which is entirely wrong concept


and lastly there can be chance also that the spirit that cmes in dadiji which they believe Shiv Baba or GOD might be some advanced sirit guide

Koolbloke

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Re: Bhakti

Post21 Jun 2012

=> Below are my comments based on what I learnt during the time I spent with them:

according to me what Brahma Kumaris say and I do not feel correct is as follows
1)their 5000 year cycle
=> unlike what I read here, I was told all of us (not only BKs) go through that cycle.

2)that no human being can be free from cycle of birth and death
=> this is like saying "two certain thinks in life: death and taxes"

3) all gods and goddesses is symbolic
=> I am Christian and believe the word God is only a simplification of something far bigger than our imagination can conceive. They may be using symbol in a metaphorical way.

4)they do not believe in ghosts and devils and demons which infact do exist
=> I questoned them on this too. The response was that not all souls traverse The Cycle smoothly and there is a transitional stage in which "guardians" help them out. I was told I should focus on understanding The Cycle for a smoother transition instead of spending time on negative things.

5)they think Satyug to be heaven which is entirely wrong concept
=> Not sure what you mean
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ex-l

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Re: Bhakti

Post21 Jun 2012

Koolbloke wrote:4)they do not believe in ghosts and devils and demons which in fact do exist

=> I questoned them on this too. The response was that not all souls traverse The Cycle smoothly and there is a transitional stage in which "guardians" help them out.

I don't know where you encountered the Brahma Kumaris but the talk of "guardians" does not exist in The Knowledge. That must have been the personal musings of the BK you spoke to and borrowed from Western spiritualism.

Ditto, they don't teach about ghosts specifically but they do believe in them and spiritual possession, at least in India where numerous case of hauntings and possession are 'dealt with' by senior BKs. When they arrived in Abu, they believed certain buildings were haunted.

They don't go into this much in the West and, for all we know, the supposedly possessed individuals might just suffer from mental illness, but the idea of ghosts is part of their framework. The funny thing is, they don't say where they are or why they are locked out.

What you might mean is that they lack a concept of other realms, such as hell like realms and the denizens of those realms, which appear in all the other major religion. The BK basically teach there is only the 'here and now'. No other spiritual worlds apart from the "angelic" Subtle Regions that they occupy. Regions they believe only exist between 1936 to 2036 (approximately).

A good question to ask that BK is, "where are they then?" It's not in The Knowledge.

They would hating having to consider that their god spirit and their spiritual realms are just one of many ... and perhaps trapped at a minor level, distractionary or even demoniac itself. Many spiritualistic traditions speak of other realms more enjoyable than this one as well as more hellish. According to the BKs they don't exist.

prashant007

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Re: Bhakti

Post26 Jun 2012

Koolbloke wrote:5)they think Satyug to be heaven which is entirely wrong concept
=> Not sure what you mean

I just meant that brahmakumaris believe that Satyug is itself heaven which I do not believe to be true. I believe that Satyug is different from heaven.

bin

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Re: Bhakti

Post27 Jun 2012

Hi,

if a member in your family who is a BK, don't worry, just be with him or her. Don't discus anything, be just clear about what you think and let your member be free to believe what they want. If you do you disconnect, that makes it more difficult. Almost all BKs going away sooner or later and it very nice if they can go to family. You can discuss if it is true or not but if it not make sense to you, it is not true for you clear. I still believe a lot off what they have told me but there are many things that makes no sense to me. Some are symbolic things and every religion thinks the have the truth. The only thing you can do is believe in your own truth. Be open and loving to you member because that is the only thing you can do.
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ex-l

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Re: Bhakti

Post27 Jun 2012

bin wrote:I still believe a lot off what they have told me but there are many things that makes no sense to me. ...

Which bits make sense to you and which bits do not? An honest question ...

I accept what you say but I think family also have to make it clear the BK follower should not push their views on other members of the family. Especially when the BK is new, they are encouraged or can be a little crazy trying to tell everyone to convert them.

Just how the BKs trigger that state of mind, I do not know. Of course, it does say so in the Murlis, so perhaps it is hypnotic suggestion?

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