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Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris (Sanskrit: ब्रह्माकुमारी ("Daughters of Brahma")) is a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan during the 1930s. Founded by Lekhraj Kripalani, the organisation teaches the importance of moving beyond labels associated with the human body, including race, nationality, religion, and gender, through meditation that emphasizes the concept of identity as souls rather than bodies. It aims to establish a global culture centered around what they refer to as "soul-consciousness". The members of the organisation believe that all souls are good by nature and that God is the source of all goodness.
In 2019, the organisation had more than eight thousand centres across 110 countries and more than one million members. Women continue to hold primary leadership positions within the organisation.
The Brahma Kumaris organisation was founded in Hyderabad, Sindh, in northwest India (present-day Pakistan). They were initially known as Om Mandali, as the members would together chant Om before engaging in a spiritual discourse in traditional satsangs (meetings). These original discourses were closely connected[vague] to the Bhagavad Gita.
Founder Lekhraj Khubchand Kirpilani (also known as Om Baba) was in the jewelry business. In 1935, after witnessing a series of transcendental experiences and visions, he gave up his business to lay the foundation of Om Mandali. He believed that there was a greater power working through him and that many of those who attended the discourses were themselves having spiritual experiences. The majority of those who came were women and children from the Bhaibund caste, which consisted of wealthy merchants and business people whose husbands and fathers were often overseas on business.
Three years after the organization came into existence, it became clear that Om Mandali was giving special importance to the role of women and was not adhering to the caste system. The group had named a 22-year-old woman, Radhe Pokardas Rajwani (then known as "Om Radhe"), as its president, and her management committee was made up of eight other women. People from any caste were allowed to attend meetings. The group also advocated that young women had the right to not marry and that married women had the right to choose celibacy. In tradition-bound patriarchal India, these personal life decisions were the exclusive right of men. A committee headed by influential male members of the Bhaibund community began to form in opposition and became known as the 'Anti-Om Mandali Committee'. On 21 June 1938, this group picketed the premises of Om Mandali and prevented members from entering the campus and caused considerable upheaval in the community. Women attending the discourses were verbally abused. There was an attempt to burn the premises down, and the police made several arrests. Many women and girls were subjected to domestic violence.
The picketing led to criminal proceedings against both groups. On 16 August 1938 the local District Magistrate ordered that Om Mandali be prevented from meeting. This ban was reversed on 21 November 1938 after an appeal to the Court of the Judicial Commissioner of Sindh. In an unusual move, the judges directly criticised the district magistrate for trying to punish the victims for the disturbance caused by the perpetrators and for trying to apply the law according to their own personal bias. Following these events, Om Mandali decided to leave Hyderabad and relocated their activities to Karachi in the latter half of 1938. Approximately three hundred members moved.
On 31 March 1939, the government appointed a tribunal to enquire into the activities of Om Mandali. When the tribunal released its findings, Om Radhe responded by compiling a book entitled Is this Justice? criticising the tribunal, which they alleged did not have a constitutional basis and made its findings without obtaining evidence from Om Mandali. In May 1939, the government used the tribunal's findings to effectively reinstate the ban, declaring Om Mandali an "unlawful association" under section 16 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1908. Nevertheless, Om Mandali continued to hold their satsangs, and the government did not enforce the ban. Possibly because of this, the committee then hired someone to assassinate Om Baba. The attempt was unsuccessful.
In May 1950, Om Mandali moved to Mount Abu in Rajasthan, India. In 1952, a more structured form of teaching was offered to the public through a seven-lesson course.
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Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris (Sanskrit: ब्रह्माकुमारी ("Daughters of Brahma")) is a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan during the 1930s. Founded by Lekhraj Kripalani, the organisation teaches the importance of moving beyond labels associated with the human body, including race, nationality, religion, and gender, through meditation that emphasizes the concept of identity as souls rather than bodies. It aims to establish a global culture centered around what they refer to as "soul-consciousness". The members of the organisation believe that all souls are good by nature and that God is the source of all goodness.
In 2019, the organisation had more than eight thousand centres across 110 countries and more than one million members. Women continue to hold primary leadership positions within the organisation.
The Brahma Kumaris organisation was founded in Hyderabad, Sindh, in northwest India (present-day Pakistan). They were initially known as Om Mandali, as the members would together chant Om before engaging in a spiritual discourse in traditional satsangs (meetings). These original discourses were closely connected[vague] to the Bhagavad Gita.
Founder Lekhraj Khubchand Kirpilani (also known as Om Baba) was in the jewelry business. In 1935, after witnessing a series of transcendental experiences and visions, he gave up his business to lay the foundation of Om Mandali. He believed that there was a greater power working through him and that many of those who attended the discourses were themselves having spiritual experiences. The majority of those who came were women and children from the Bhaibund caste, which consisted of wealthy merchants and business people whose husbands and fathers were often overseas on business.
Three years after the organization came into existence, it became clear that Om Mandali was giving special importance to the role of women and was not adhering to the caste system. The group had named a 22-year-old woman, Radhe Pokardas Rajwani (then known as "Om Radhe"), as its president, and her management committee was made up of eight other women. People from any caste were allowed to attend meetings. The group also advocated that young women had the right to not marry and that married women had the right to choose celibacy. In tradition-bound patriarchal India, these personal life decisions were the exclusive right of men. A committee headed by influential male members of the Bhaibund community began to form in opposition and became known as the 'Anti-Om Mandali Committee'. On 21 June 1938, this group picketed the premises of Om Mandali and prevented members from entering the campus and caused considerable upheaval in the community. Women attending the discourses were verbally abused. There was an attempt to burn the premises down, and the police made several arrests. Many women and girls were subjected to domestic violence.
The picketing led to criminal proceedings against both groups. On 16 August 1938 the local District Magistrate ordered that Om Mandali be prevented from meeting. This ban was reversed on 21 November 1938 after an appeal to the Court of the Judicial Commissioner of Sindh. In an unusual move, the judges directly criticised the district magistrate for trying to punish the victims for the disturbance caused by the perpetrators and for trying to apply the law according to their own personal bias. Following these events, Om Mandali decided to leave Hyderabad and relocated their activities to Karachi in the latter half of 1938. Approximately three hundred members moved.
On 31 March 1939, the government appointed a tribunal to enquire into the activities of Om Mandali. When the tribunal released its findings, Om Radhe responded by compiling a book entitled Is this Justice? criticising the tribunal, which they alleged did not have a constitutional basis and made its findings without obtaining evidence from Om Mandali. In May 1939, the government used the tribunal's findings to effectively reinstate the ban, declaring Om Mandali an "unlawful association" under section 16 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1908. Nevertheless, Om Mandali continued to hold their satsangs, and the government did not enforce the ban. Possibly because of this, the committee then hired someone to assassinate Om Baba. The attempt was unsuccessful.
In May 1950, Om Mandali moved to Mount Abu in Rajasthan, India. In 1952, a more structured form of teaching was offered to the public through a seven-lesson course.