Brahma Kumaris

Two years ago, I spent the summer with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents in Chennai, India. My aunt was going through a rough time with my cousin struggling to figure out what degree he wanted to pursue in university and my uncle’s alcohol addiction. In this time of stress, she turned to Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BK). Brahma Kumaris does not align itself with any religion, instead asserting itself a spiritual organization (though academically, it can be categorized as a new religious movement). They offer free spiritual education, such as meditation classes, free healthcare at their private facilities, and is in consultative status with the UN.

My initial experience with BK was listening to lectures broadcasted each morning on a local TV station by a woman in all white speaking Hindi, not the local language. After some time, I visited the BK center with my aunt to learn more about what seemed to be a kind of pseudo-Hindu self-help group. What I found felt far more religious, perhaps even bordering on the cultic. Their beliefs are quite intriguing, but their teachings on the 5,000-year cycle of life and accompanying metaphors are particularly fascinating.

BK’s teachings are wide-spread and their altruistic efforts have aided thousands of people in their local and global initiatives. But for my aunt, the meditative practices they taught were incredibly helpful in giving her a sense of peace. This meditation is an inward journey, a path to self-realization and fulfillment in order to better live in these turbulent times. I am unsure where I stand on this organization, but their education meditation provide an entrance to discussion on ritual and the creation of identity and self, as well as the expansion of a religious movement through publics. 

-Anita