kmanaveen wrote: You are right, there are some positives in BKs but many negatives. Also I think life is so open for everyone that if you have not experienced the so called negatives, you will never be able to value and enjoy the positives. In the same sense, I find BK Satyug just BORING!
I just sat down to think about the positives and negatives of my 25+ years of encounter of involvement within the the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. This is purely my own personal experience, view and opinion based on what I personally encountered, experienced and witnessed.
POSITIVENEGATIVE1) Did Raja Yoga meditation really bring me closer to knowing myself, my feelings and my emotions?
NO
It took me even further away from myself, my feelings and my emotions to the extent that I could not even feel any more
2) Did Raja Yoga Meditation actually bring me closer to God whoever that may be?
NO
As it took me further away from myself, it obviously took me further away from God
3) Did it allow me to have any friendships within the Brahma Kumaris?
NO
Clearly not as they preached detachment from everything and everyone. I, personally, did not have any friends whatsoever! Not one person has kept in touch with me since I left the organisation.
4) I was told that the Brahma Kumaris is one big spiritual family with members worldwide. In the real world, families generally look out for one another especially when they are a close knit family. Did anyone look out for me when I left after my 25+ years of involvement and dedication to them?
NO
Not one member of the supposed Brahma Kumaris spiritual family.
5) As a child growing up, did the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University really prepare me for the "real world" or " the outside world" as they call it?
NO
If it preached and imposed detachment from oneself, how on earth can one engage themselves to the "real world" which we live in.
6) Did the Brahma Kumaris Management allow their members to have any fun or enjoyment in their life?
Only in the way they wanted us to enjoy our lives. Only when they allowed it.
7) Did the Brahma Kumaris management encourage further education, career etc ...?
NO
They discouraged it because they preached that the END OF THE WORLD was coming. They encouraged us to give our time, money, wealth and our bones in the Service of the Brahma Kumaris and their God.
8) Did the Brahma Kumaris have any safety procedures for children, adolescents and adults during my involvement as a child, adolescent and adult?
NO! NONE WHATSOEVER
I personally was molested by members of the Brahma Kumaris World Spritual University on at least 4 occasions. I had no one to turn to. In fact, I was absolutely scared out of my pants when it happened in my childhood and adolescence. When it happened as an adult, I took the courage to tell the management and, yes, you guessed it right, they blamed ME for allowing it to happen!
9) Did Raja Yoga really make me happy, blissful and at peace with myself?
NO
How can I be happy if I cannot even be in touch with my feelings, emotions and the very core of my being. To me, it was all a question of putting on a smiley face that came across as spiritually happiness! but underneath that mask, there was immense suppression, unhappiness and bottled up emotions and feelings.
10) Did the Brahma Kumaris diet and Tolis make me feel healthy and strong?
NO
It made me feel more and more addicted to sweet things!! And made my gums totally black!! And the inside of my body full of toxins!!
11) Did the Brahma Kumaris really instil moral, ehical and spiritual values in me? Did I really need the Brahma Kumaris to instil so called "moral and spiritual" values in me?
NO
In my personal case, I was born in a family whose religion already encouraged spiritual values, non violence, good deeds etc without imposing all the restrictions of detachment, celibacy, destruction, Golden Age etc in my life.
The way I see it is that as a child, I was brought into an environment where someone else's vision was imposed on me, someone else's theory or perception was imposed on me to the extent that members of the Brahma Kumaris took control of how I live my life, took control of what I did in my life, took control of how I did things in my life, took control of what I did with my possessions, took control of what I did with my wealth, took control of how much I educated myself, took control of how I should groom myself, took control of what I should wear, what I should eat, who I should have contact with, and the list goes on and one and on ...
12) Did the Brahma Kumaris allow me to create my boundaries as a human being?
NO
I wasn't even aloud to get that far as to even have knowledge of what boundaries are. They got in there before I was even able to develop my boundaries.
13) Did the Brahma Kumaris encourage friendships, having partners, marriage, having children etc etc?
NO
They are completely and utterly opposed to this. They only preach celibacy and detachment. They preach that that is the only way that we can come close to god and get a good status in their so called "Golden Age".
14) Did they actually practice what they preach?
Well not really!! I witnessed many having affairs, many using our money for their securing their own futures and possessions, many using people like myself as a slave to them. providing them with food, cooking for them, cleaning for them, going out to work for them and most importantly, SLEEP DEPRIVATION for them.
As a child, adolescent and adult, I was told to wake up at 3.30am to meditate ... and made to feel guilty if I did not wake up at 3.30am to meditate at 4am every single day.
15) Did my involvement bring happiness within my lokik family life? i.e with my mum, dad, siblings and extended family?
NO
the Brahma Kumaris encourage me to move further and further away from my immediate and extended family. they even created conflict between my mum and dad because one was involved with the Brahma Kumaris and one wasn't. In fact, I wasn't even able to develop the thought of expressing love towards my mum, dad, siblings and extended family. very sad indeed!!
16) Did the Brahma Kumaris encourage freedom of speech, ideas, opinions, suggestions, constructive criticisms etc?
NO
I felt like I was not even allowed to go against anything that they preached, conveyed and imposed. I felt like I was forced to accept absolutely everything they said and did, whereas, I had to accept their opinions about me and what I should or shouldn't be doing ...
Well, as you can see, based on my personal experience, I actually am unable to come up with anything positive about the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University/ Raja Yoga Meditation/Living Values/Inner Space etc.
My life within the Brahma Kumaris was one of total suppression, pretence, guilt, fear of the future as the world was to be destroyed, fear of leaving them, fear of doing anything that went against what they preached and imposed. So I guess it's no wonder I cannot come up with anything positive or good about my involvement with them.
The Brahma Kumaris management preach that if you leave them once you have been a Brahma Kumar or Kumari, then we will neither feel we belong to them or to the outside world!!
Those words are SO TRUE!! but what they don't realise is that its their dogma and indoctrination that makes it almost impossible to engage with the real world again ... SO, I guess what goes around comes around!!
I don't even know if that is true any more!! The "Law of Karma" as they called it!!
Sorry for such a lengthy posting. If anyone can think of any positives about the Brahma Kumaris world spiritual university, I would certainly be interested in reading about it. Please feel free to add any further negatives that I may have missed!
Yours Enlightened