My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

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OceanIam

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My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post04 Feb 2020

My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Brahma Kumaris fake claim of Spirituality has been completely bastardized; time and again they are hitting new lows. Another rape incident within Brahma Kumaris. Still their followers will neglect all the facts and criminal acts and will say- "Oh! We all are students trying to clean ourselves, hear no evil see no evil."

Congratulations BK FOLLOWERS you're now what you feared most and you don't even realize it.

The news article says:
Trigger Warning: This article contains information and details about alleged sexual assault and/or violence, which may be upsetting to some readers.

KUALA LUMPUR: A devoteee with the Brahma Kumaris spiritual centre told the Session’s Court today that she was raped by a religious teacher in Bangsar in September last year despite telling him that she wanted to keep her virginity.

The 26-year old final year psychology student with International University of Malaya-Wales said the incident took place at the Brahma Kumaris hostel in Jalan Limau Purut, Bangsar. The Brahma Kumaris follower from Jasin, Melaka, said she had been a devotee since she was 7 years old and had been living in the hostel since the end of 2017.

“I got a job at Pantai Hospital, Bangsar, and because it was near Brahma Kumaris, my grandmother told me to live in the hostel for safety reasons,” she told the court on the first day of trial of religious “guru” S Baskaran, 47. Baskaran, an engineer, was charged in the Sessions Court in September last year with raping the devotee on Sept 14, 2018. He has pleaded not guilty.

The devotee said Baskaran had taken her to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, on Sept 13 last year as he claimed that he wanted to talk to her about the two of them and the centre in Bangsar. “But he was indecent. He tried holding my hand. He tried hugging me. He tried kissing me. But I stopped him for doing that and told him to drive me home,” she said, adding that he tried to do the same in the car. She said Baskaran apologised when they were reaching the hostel and said he had no bad intention and was “overcome by sexual desires”.

After that, she alleged that he tried forcing her mouth down to his private parts but she managed to pull away. She then quickly washed her mouth with a bottle of water that she had with her and asked him to send her back to the hostel. She said Baskaran called her the next day to apologise, stating that “he did not do it purposely. And that he regretted his actions.”

She said he wanted to meet her again and she agreed to meet him outside the hostel. They met in the car.

“I thought to myself that he had been a spiritual guru for 20 years. He had done something that was not good and he regretted it,” she said in Tamil which was translated into Malay by the court interpreter. She alleged that after talking for almost half an hour in the car, he asked for a glass of water. She went to the first floor of the hostel to get the water and placed her handbag on the dining table.

“When I went to the ground floor, he was in the living area. I gave him the glass of water and went upstairs to get my bag before going to the third floor to my room,” she added. The devotee said she was about to drink some water in her room when Baskaran held her tightly from behind and dragged her to the bed.

She said Baskaran had pulled down her pants and pinned her down.

“I was shocked. I felt paralysed and didn’t know what to do. No one was at the hostel. “I tried to push him but I couldn’t do anything, he was on top,” she said in tears, adding that she told Baskaran that she wanted to keep her virginity. She alleged that Baskaran told her he was doing this as he did not want her “to go to someone else”.

After the rape, she alleged that Baskaran had covered her with her blanket and declared that he loved her.

The trial continues tomorrow before judge Suraya Mustafa Kamal. The deputy public prosecutor is Nur Farah Adilah Noordin while the alleged victim is represented by lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan.
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ex-l

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post04 Feb 2020

Thank you for posting this. The case is still going on. Interesting to see how strident the BKs are becoming while defending themselves. See also, Brahma Kumaris devotee had old tear in hymen, doctor tells court. Unfortunately, she took five months to lodge a report because she felt scared of going for a medical examination and was also worried about the stigma.

But it is confusing, and illustrates the perverse confused nature of BKism, because they refer to them as boy and girlfriends. Nice touch ... the BK teacher raped her "because he did not want her to go to anyone else". Well now, that fixed her, did not it BKs?
Brahma Kumaris ‘guru’ and devotee were in love, says lawyer
S Baskaran, a Brahma Kumaris ‘guru’, is charged with raping a devotee.

KUALA LUMPUR: A “guru” from the Brahma Kumaris spiritual centre charged with rape was in fact in a “relationship” with the alleged victim, a defence lawyer told the court today.
BASKARAN-rape.jpg

Lawyer Kamarul Zaman Abdul Rahman said the text messages between S Baskaran and the 26-year old Brahma Kumaris devotee “peaked” from August to October last year. “Their love messages are in the WhatsApp,” he said before judge Suraya Mustafa Kamal. Due to this, he said, he needed the court’s permission to ask a telecommunications company for a copy of the WhatsApp messages as the exchanges were crucial for the defence.

Suraya allowed Kamarul Zaman to make an application with a suggestion on the specific law that would allow him to do so.

Kamarul Zaman made his request during the second day of trial at the Sessions Court. He is defending Baskaran, who has been a spiritual teacher for the past 20 years at the Brahma Kumaris centre in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

The alleged victim, a final year psychology student, said she was raped by the religious teacher on Sept 14, 2018. The trial, which started at 9am today, focused on the devotee who related in detail the incidents that led to the alleged rape.

She was asked by deputy public prosecutor Nur Farah Adilah Noordin about the setting in her room and what transpired during the alleged rape at the hostel in Bangsar as well as her trip to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, on Sept 13, 2018.

Sketches of the room were also shown to the judge.

Yesterday, the alleged victim said Baskaran had taken her to Bukit Tinggi after claiming he wanted to talk to her about the two of them and the centre in Bangsar. She alleged that he had kissed and held her hand there. She alleged that he tried forcing her mouth down to his private parts but she managed to pull away.

The trial will continue from March 30 to April 3.

arvind.giri

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post05 Feb 2020

I am just trying to understand how 'ego' works. A girl has been raped. And instead of understanding the severe mental pain she might be going through and being a little sensitive to her, 'ego' tries to find its 'pride' by using this news to enforce it's view point.

Second quality of'ego' is, it shadows neutral objective judgement of intellect and quickly accepts news/facts which aligns with what 'ego' wants to prove, or interprets it to suit the view point it is attached with. While ignoring/doubting the news which dilutes it's endorsed side.

And it seems true for almost all of us.
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ex-l

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post06 Feb 2020

Hi.

I don't quite understand your position or point of view; and, of course, if there is any criticism of my reaction, I completely encourage and accept it.

What's the official BK response?

One might start with why the graphic interest in the prurient* details of the story on behalf of the newspapers that, after all, are just in the business of selling newspapers? They might argue, and I would agree, that there is a 'public interest' in the story.

In our case here, the is a further a more specific interest given our past experiences with, and expertise in, BKism and the documentation of it. Arguably we could add a greater perspective, from a BK point of view that a secular court would miss.

Are you simply saying we should not wash the BKs' dirty linen in public?

Human love, sex and the face saving coverup of crimes are a big problem within BKism. I am sure that we only see the tip of the iceberg in the public reports we document. Where did the long term BK Brother even get the ideas to do what he did to the Sister? I will place a bet that it was from watching pornography prior.

I have been in love and "lusted" after women, and have had women "lust" back at me and I come from a culture in which sex is seen as healthy ... and I have never once even thought to force a woman's head down to perform oral sex. Where does such an idea come from? Only from violent, largely American-style pornography, I would say. I don't know anything about the roots and form of Indian rape culture (Baskaran is an Indian name, it appears he at least is an Indian in Malaysia).

Of course, from a BK point of view, h wasn't a "guru", so what as he? A senior BK bother?

What concerns me is that his defence lawyer, Kamarul Zaman Abdul Rahman, told the court they were in fact in a “relationship”. Now we, as BK souls, must have a different view upon that. Either, a) he's lying, or b) he's just admitted to committing a great sin from a BK point of view

He was 47, she was 25 years old and a virgin at the Brahma Kumaris hostel in Jalan Limau Purut, Bangsar. She had been a devotee since she was 7 years old and had been living in the hostel since the end of 2017. Her grandmother told me to live in the hostel for safety reasons.

He tried to get out of bail and pleaded not guilty. His lawyer is fighting to get access to the victim's phone. Why if there were messages, doesn't he have them on his own phone? Has he just admitted to covering up the relationship he claim they had?

* having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters
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Pink Panther

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post06 Feb 2020

arvind.giri wrote: instead of understanding the severe mental pain she might be going through and being a little sensitive to her, 'ego' tries to find its 'pride' by using this news to enforce it's view point.

Dear arvind.giri,

The girl has been raped, her name and the story has been published in popular local media. Her mental pain is caused by the violence and hypocrisy of her attacker, along with any social stigma such events may still carry in her immediate society but which should only evoke compassion. It is not caused by this story being repeated in this minor and obscure website.

The role of this web site has many parts but it is about revealing truth about an organisation that has an ”ego” - an identity - as do its members, built on self-proclaimed '’ supreme '' teachings, many of which are about how people should relate to each other, especially sexually.

We all here know BK teachings on this stuff. If you look around the web site you will find many people's experiences of abuse, exploitation, lies, hypocrisy, greed, bribery, immigration breaches, and cover ups of crimes including theft, murder, and rape including child rape.

To call it out or share it as a news item is not ”ego trying to enforce its viewpoint” at the expense of the victim’s pain. if that were the case, the best way to deal with any crime would be to stay silent about it.

It is a stark warning that no matter what any person or organisation proclaims about itself, you need to be careful.

Reading the transcript, I think the girl repeatedly trusting him and returning, giving him repeated benefit of the doubt after his earlier less extreme attempts, led him to fantasise that maybe she wanted the relationship to go further and only needed to get more used to him. (Just speculating). Knowing the story can be educational for others.

arvind.giri

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post07 Feb 2020

The girl has been raped, her name and the story has been published in popular local media. Her mental pain is caused by the violence and hypocrisy of her attacker, along with any social stigma such events may still carry in her immediate society but which should only evoke compassion. It is not caused by this story being repeated in this minor and obscure website

I agree. I shouldn't have correlated 'being sensitive' part with 'sharing a news'.
To call it out or share it as a news item is not ”ego trying to enforce its viewpoint” at the expense of the victim’s pain. if that were the case, the best way to deal with any crime would be to stay silent about it.

I agree again as far as 'sharing' is concerned. But what lead me to think 'ego' is at work is language and tone.
It is a stark warning that no matter what any person or organisation proclaims about itself, you need to be careful.

True.
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ex-l

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post07 Feb 2020

If it is my ego, then I happily accept that accusation. Unfortunately she is 1,000s of miles away and so there is nothing I can do practically. From this perspective, at best her suffering can only become a warning to others, and an encouragement to speak out.

What will happen to her, and him, now? We can guess from previous incidents.

She will get special attention from Seniors, invitations to come to Abu and given privileges ... to shut her up. But spiritually, if she believe in the religion, she is spoilt. She may even believe "it was her karma" that she must have been a rapist too in her past and the incident was her fault. She will be looked at differently by other BKs, told to do more Yoga to fix it. If she stays.

If she leave, then what? If she believes in the religion, she will feel she has "lost her inheritance" for every Kalpa. That every 5,000 years ... she will be raped again. Because that is what BKism teaches.

Everything repeats identically. 5,000 years ... rape, 5,000 years ... rape, 5,000 years ... rape ... for eternity. Imagine that. It's patently not true and when it as conceived, no one had a thought what it might feel like to victims of abuse.

What happens to him, is he moved off to some remote centre and made to manual, low level work for them ... or is he expelled (as he should be)? If he is expelled, he too will believe himself to be a failure ... repeating identically every 5,000 years too.

What a hell for both of them.

Unless she gets a little angry and leaves. Frees herself ... but what hope for a girl indoctrinated from the age of 7 years old by her mother to break away? She was there at the hostel because her mother told her to be (was it because she could be free of her daughter or do they live far from her university?).

Her mother wanted to control the daughter's sexuality by not allowing her to go to university accommodation (and possibly have normal relationships with "impure" boys), so instead she got raped by a middle-aged "pure" BK man.

And he and his practice ... why doesn't his doing BK meditation for 20 years cure a person of such gross and evil idiocy that they'd think raping a girl would stop her going to anyone else and a good idea?

It does not say much for the "power" of BK Raja Yoga or "Baba's protection", does it? Baba says, "not a hair on your head will be touched".

If they were both of the same age, then I might wonder if they were both just attracted to each other and it was a tragedy, or perhaps even, e.g. revenge to accuse him of rape because he would not leave/marry her etc. But in a case such as this where there is an inequality of age and status ... no. Not possible. She would not choose suffering the indignity of having the state of her torn hymen read out in court and reported in public, a condition which, in traditional Hindu society, will leave her unable to marry or find a good husband.

It was on that basis that he intentionally ”spoiled” her, so she could not be anyone else's. What an animal. And what is this Muslim lawyer doing, arguing they were in love, as if this excuses rape as normal in that situation?

arvind.giri

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post07 Feb 2020

Please don't take it personally. Ego is a disease and almost all of us are under it's influence. This disease affects our objectivity and ability to see the truth as it is (depending on how much influenced we are).

Kind of makes us partially blind to the accurate truth.

Your interpretation/speculations may be right or may not be right. My only fear is that in the battle of ego, truth suffers.
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ex-l

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post10 Feb 2020

arvind.giri wrote:Please don't take it personally. Ego is a disease and almost all of us are under it's influence. This disease affects our objectivity and ability to see the truth as it is (depending on how much influenced we are).

Kind of makes us partially blind to the accurate truth.

I am not offended at all. All I can do it ask questions and put forward proposals. This case is remarkable in that it's gone to court.

In the cases we've had before, the BK/s in question have tended to abscond or the system work against it going public.

Could there have been some degree of relationship that went too far? Possibly, that has also happened. But a woman can still be raped within a relationship.

I just wonder how many of these events will keep happening until people give up and stop believing in it as something special.
arvind.giri wrote:Your interpretation/speculations may be right or may not be right. My only fear is that in the battle of ego, truth suffers.

Let's keep 'on topic', for this topic.

An trend I note within the BKs is to be vigorous in using the law to defend or progress their interests and, in this case, to be hypocritical in the use of non-BK values in doing so, eg the male BK arguing that the sex was OK because they were in a relationship, thereby further traumatising the victim. Noting that women within a relationship can still be raped.

What is the position of the BKWSU in all this?
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ex-l

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Re: My ‘guru’ raped me, Brahma Kumaris devotee tells court

Post10 Feb 2020

I hope the BK Brother is thrown in jail. The punishment should be worse because he is a BK. In fact, the BKWSU should be demanding it.

Seems like it's from seven years to ten years (in cases where "aggravated") to imprisonment for life, and liable to fine, in India. If, as a BK, he is lying to escape that, it should be higher than the minimum.

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