Mr Green wrote:Dr Vinay Lakshmi was shunned at first by the Dadis for helping the shudras in the villages, then as the Dadis realised that that the double foriegners liked the idea they then embraced it.
We discussed Dr Vinay in the past, here:
The Global Hospital Village Outreach Program.
The BKs are not "well-known for their charitable acts". Quite the opposite. Philosophically, they consider charity a bad thing, only surrender to the organization and doing evangelism for it is good. That is what they call "service", and they fool people with the word.
For me, this is a typical example of the fruit IP (Important Person) or VIP service where the BKs are turning someone into a "Microphone Soul", as they call it. Someone the BKs have seduced and is recycling their PR for them. They come to Abu on a special deal, never get told the real "Knowledge", and then go off twittering just she did.
For example, cross-reference this with what an academic who spent 3 years with the BKs wrote, e.g. '
Possessing knowledge: organizational boundaries among the Brahma Kumaris'; by Richard Musselwhite;
I doubt that Mrs. Patel ever would have spoken of the Brahma Kumaris if I had not raised the topic with her, but I quickly discovered that she had plenty to say about them, almost all of it negative ... she criticized their theology, meditative technologies, recruitment strategies, financial practices, and what she called their “unnatural” practice of celibacy within marriage.
She conceded that the Brahma Kumaris run an efficient hospital, but she also claimed that no Mount Abu residents were Brahma Kumaris. She said Mount Abu residents do not believe their God is the same God to whom the Brahma Kumaris are dedicated, and that their spiritual practices amounted to little more than "autosuggestion," which yielded “two second enlightenments” at best.
Mrs. Patel also objected to their social and financial practices. She claimed they recruit new members by telling them that they are "one of ours," instead of empowering them to look within themselves and discover their own true selves. She said the Brahma Kumaris advise their members to abandon greed but then take their adherents' money for themselves. She said they relentlessly proselytize rich people and do not relent until they convert.
Another Mount Abu resident who explained his views on the Brahma Kumaris to me in considerable detail was Mr. Sharma. Mr. Sharma claimed that “no locals are Brahma Kumaris” and said that the Brahma Kumaris hospital in town “served mostly their own people,” bringing little benefit to the town. In addition to Mr. Sharma and Mrs. Patel, these sentiments were often expressed to me by other Mount Abu residents ...
Mr. Sharma mentioned disapprovingly that entire families sometimes join the Brahma Kumaris. He said, "at first everything seems alright because they do not ask for anything. But then when someone in the family dies, the deceased wills all their property, land, and money to them."
Two other shopkeepers with stores nearby Mr. Sharma's independently expressed similar concerns about the organization's financial strategies. After observing that "not a single Mount Abu resident is a Brahma Kumaris," one of these shopkeepers added with apparently heartfelt distress that they are doing absolutely nothing for the poor. He said, "they will not even allow a poor person to sit next to them." The other shopkeeper also said that "no Brahma Kumaris live in Mount Abu," and that "no local residents go there." He said that "only foreigners from India and abroad go there." He expressed his view that the Brahma Kumaris "are only about the money." During one of my first visits with Mr. Sharma, he even went so far with his criticisms as to say, "I hate them. They are politically very powerful. They are members of the United Nations. If we don't like something, there is nothing we can do."
In this case, part of the problem arises from the Brahma Kumaris' organizational objectives and methods. Their objective is to become rulers over a world kingdom of nine hundred thousand of the most elite souls; their methods involve inserting themselves at the highest levels of the world polity and economy global economy. Without a mandate to serve local constituencies for their own sakes, it is not surprising that the Brahma Kumaris aren't directing many of their charitable efforts toward local recipients. As one of my most productive Brahma Kumaris consultants once told me, "God said that when the end comes, there will be only Brahma Kumaris living in Mount Abu." According to this consultant, Mount Abu residents won't be staying long, anyway.
In response, I was told that public disapproval stems from jealousy and a reluctance to give respect where respect is due.
09 Mar 2012
