I heard Dadi Janki say this in morning class in London in the early '80's. This discussion was about the Law of Karma. Dadi put it succinctly - because black people seem to be suffering the most, they must have committed the most sins in past lives, therefore they must be the most impure.
It gives racism and predudice a whole new look! Black people are, by default, and all inclusively, the lowest of all - this according to Dadi Janki, the Head of the BKWSU!
But then we are talking about someone from a nation that created the caste system. Whose karma is that?
This subject came back to me when talking to a senior BK recently - we had discussed Cambodia and the reign of terror and murder inflicted by Pol Pot. (Pol Pot and his cronies murdered up to 3 million people of a population of 7 million from 1975 to 1978). He looked at me and said in amazement "what karma is that?" The implication of that question is "how impure the souls of Cambodians must be to suffer such a burden of karma". It has been some years since I left the BKs and had stopped thinking like that. I was appalled at the implication being made.
The irony is that it is the concept of karma that has enabled the oppression and exploitation in Cambodia (and in the BKWSU) since anyone can remember.
Briefly, when Cambodia was at its peak from 800 AD to 1400 AD it was the massively wealthy and powerful kingdom known as Angkor that dominated South East Asia. Angkor was a city of a million people when London was a town of 50,000. Typical of many past great kingdoms, it was built on slavery and exploitation of the masses - the peasants. This was achieved through religion.
Hinduism dominated ancient Cambodia before the rise of Bhuddism in the 1400's. In both cases the kings, who represented the pinnacle of the national religion, used the Law of Karma to suppress the masses into acceptance of the status quo. It was simple - the Kings case was - "I am wealthy beyond belief, I have health and power. According to the Law of Karma, I deserve this magnificence as a reward for my past, obviously meritorious, deeds. You, as slaves and peasants, live a life of suffering which is proof of your past, and obviously significant, sins".
No one could argue the case - their only education was in religion. They did not have the scope to argue. So they accepted it. And nothing has changed. In Cambodia til now, the presidents and politicians maintain the same line - "my position, power and good manners are all proof of my past merits, therefore I deserve to be here". And the peasants don't argue. Cambodians are famous for their benign acceptance of the status quo.
And the BKs are the same. Dadi Janki, Sister Jayanti etc etc are all 'obviously' more powerful souls because they still carry the good karma to achieve high positions in their religion, even after an entire cycle! And the masses - the BK peasants - accept the status quo. And Dadi Janki as their 'king'. And so they continue to be manipulated, controlled, exploited and enslaved. They give everything to their king and religion, and get nothing but promises.
Dadi has moved from her palace in Oxford, a place that was occupied once by the peak of English royalty, to her castle in Mt Abu, where the masses adulate her, bow at her feet and give her everything they have.
Welcome to the Cambodian Kingdom of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, where once again the black people are enslaved to the Kings, where black is too impure to be accepted but more than okay to be exploited!
It gives racism and predudice a whole new look! Black people are, by default, and all inclusively, the lowest of all - this according to Dadi Janki, the Head of the BKWSU!
But then we are talking about someone from a nation that created the caste system. Whose karma is that?
This subject came back to me when talking to a senior BK recently - we had discussed Cambodia and the reign of terror and murder inflicted by Pol Pot. (Pol Pot and his cronies murdered up to 3 million people of a population of 7 million from 1975 to 1978). He looked at me and said in amazement "what karma is that?" The implication of that question is "how impure the souls of Cambodians must be to suffer such a burden of karma". It has been some years since I left the BKs and had stopped thinking like that. I was appalled at the implication being made.
The irony is that it is the concept of karma that has enabled the oppression and exploitation in Cambodia (and in the BKWSU) since anyone can remember.
Briefly, when Cambodia was at its peak from 800 AD to 1400 AD it was the massively wealthy and powerful kingdom known as Angkor that dominated South East Asia. Angkor was a city of a million people when London was a town of 50,000. Typical of many past great kingdoms, it was built on slavery and exploitation of the masses - the peasants. This was achieved through religion.
Hinduism dominated ancient Cambodia before the rise of Bhuddism in the 1400's. In both cases the kings, who represented the pinnacle of the national religion, used the Law of Karma to suppress the masses into acceptance of the status quo. It was simple - the Kings case was - "I am wealthy beyond belief, I have health and power. According to the Law of Karma, I deserve this magnificence as a reward for my past, obviously meritorious, deeds. You, as slaves and peasants, live a life of suffering which is proof of your past, and obviously significant, sins".
No one could argue the case - their only education was in religion. They did not have the scope to argue. So they accepted it. And nothing has changed. In Cambodia til now, the presidents and politicians maintain the same line - "my position, power and good manners are all proof of my past merits, therefore I deserve to be here". And the peasants don't argue. Cambodians are famous for their benign acceptance of the status quo.
And the BKs are the same. Dadi Janki, Sister Jayanti etc etc are all 'obviously' more powerful souls because they still carry the good karma to achieve high positions in their religion, even after an entire cycle! And the masses - the BK peasants - accept the status quo. And Dadi Janki as their 'king'. And so they continue to be manipulated, controlled, exploited and enslaved. They give everything to their king and religion, and get nothing but promises.
Dadi has moved from her palace in Oxford, a place that was occupied once by the peak of English royalty, to her castle in Mt Abu, where the masses adulate her, bow at her feet and give her everything they have.
Welcome to the Cambodian Kingdom of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, where once again the black people are enslaved to the Kings, where black is too impure to be accepted but more than okay to be exploited!