14
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 635:
Line 635: + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
→Use of channeling and mediumship
| quote = Prajapita Brahma gave up his physical frame on [[January 18]], [[1969]]. This day is celebrated as the day of his spiritual ascension. It is believed that he continues to aid the organization from inner worlds, but the ultimate guidance and authority still comes directly from God Siva, who has since chosen another to be His "trance messenger." Currently Sister Raday Mohini serves as the instrument to give voice to Siva's messages, but this is viewed as a temporary assignment given by God. Every year, around February/March, a gathering occurs in Mt. Abu where Siva speaks, guides and gives blessings. This sets the patterns for the coming year as the guidance is distributed to the centers around the world, including through their intra-organizational e-mail
| quote = Prajapita Brahma gave up his physical frame on [[January 18]], [[1969]]. This day is celebrated as the day of his spiritual ascension. It is believed that he continues to aid the organization from inner worlds, but the ultimate guidance and authority still comes directly from God Siva, who has since chosen another to be His "trance messenger." Currently Sister Raday Mohini serves as the instrument to give voice to Siva's messages, but this is viewed as a temporary assignment given by God. Every year, around February/March, a gathering occurs in Mt. Abu where Siva speaks, guides and gives blessings. This sets the patterns for the coming year as the guidance is distributed to the centers around the world, including through their intra-organizational e-mail
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
==Controversies and criticism==
* Dr. John Wallis notes the re-editing of mediumistic messages <ref name="Prophecy">{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| year = 1999
| month = Sept
| title = When Prophecy Fails: The Brahma Kumaris and the Pursuit of the Millennium(s)
| book = British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sheffield
| volume =
| issue =
| pages =
| quote = In addition, they accuse the University hierarchy of actively censoring or altering murlis that could potentially undermine their privileged position or which 'don't suit their philosophy'. The 'Special instruments' (senior members are, they allege 'constantly revising Murlis" to the extent that, for example, a passage from a 1969 murli referring to Shiva being unable to 'mount a virgin' was altered in the 1990 revised edition before being removed completely in the 1993 revision..." Dr. Walliss also notes that while the BKWSU was, "originally a reclusive, [[classifications of cults and new religious movements|world-rejecting]] organization, over the last 30 years the Brahma Kumaris have begun a campaign of active [[proselytism|proselytizing]] and international growth. Thus, whilst still retaining its original millenarianism, currently within the West the organization promotes itself as part of the New Age movement and emphasizes ideas around the issues of self-development, empowerment and personal success." Finally, Dr. Wallis disputes BKWSU's belief that Raja Yoga is the precursor to all world religions, including those that historically predate it. Specifically, "This is part of a lengthy answer to the question of how the University could claim that Raja Yoga is the precursor to and influence of world religions that historically predate it often by a few thousand years. Again, 'Baba' is cited as the source of ultimate authority."
}}</ref> and failed predictions of the End of the World <ref name="John_Walliss_Destruction">{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| title = The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity
| year = 2002
| quote = " Destruction did not materialise ... many Brahmins left the (University) because their hopes were dashed. Those who stayed had their faith reduced by half. They sacrificed their lives in this godly instution, left their families and invested all their wealth in this cause."
| publisher = Ashgate Publishing
| isbn = 978-0754609513
| pages = 111
}}</ref> which had been removed from the teachings and hidded from those that came later them.
* In a paper for the book for the Scientific Study of Religion, Howell wrote that teenage girls surrendering to the organisation are required to pay the equivalent of a dowry to the organization. The payment was meant to prevent parents from "dumping" their daughters at the BKWSU as a way to avoid the costs of ordinary marriages. Return to the world for women who have has such a dowry paid for them is difficult.<ref name="Howell_Gender">{{cite book
| last = Howell
| first = Julia Day
| year = 1998
| month = Sept
| title = Gender Role Experimentation in New Religious Movements: clarification of the Brahma Kumari case
| book = book for the Scientific Study of Religion
| volume = 37
| issue = 3
| pages = 453-461
| quote = "The likelihood that surrendered sisters in India will remain Brahmins throughout their lives is increased by the practise of parent giving dowries to the Brahma Kumaris for daughters they concede will not marry. This practise goes back to the early days of the organization but it is not clear how common it was. Whaling and Babb report it as an occasional practice.
Recently the pattern has been formalized, with retreats at Mount Abu being offered for girls in their mid-teens who may wish to undertake a fuller commitment to the organization. The girls are offered a short period of taking classes and living near Senior Sisters, at the end of which they may nominate to undertake a year trial as surrendered sisters. A payment equivalent to a dowry is required from the girls' natural families to cover their living expenses over the trial period. This payment is also meant to prevent parent "dumping" daughters on the Brahma Kumaris to avoid the dowries and other costs of ordinary marriages. Return to the world for women who have has such a dowry paid for them is difficult."
}}</ref>
* BK followers belief that the BKWSU is the precursor to all world religions, even those that predate it, which are seen as being only facets of "the complete diamond" Raja Yoga. <ref name="John_Walliss_Cycle">{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| title = The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity
| year = 2002
| quote = "This is part of a lengthy answer to the question of how the University could claim that Raja Yoga is the precursor to and influence of world religions that historically predate it often by a few thousand years. Again, 'Baba' is cited as the source of ultimate authority"
| publisher = Ashgate Publishing
| isbn = 978-0754609513
| pages = 105
}}</ref><ref name=Barz1992 />
* Of primary importance is that the members of the Brahma Kumari ‘university’ should undergo a ‘death-in-life’. They should ‘die towards the outer world’. They had to renounce their families and thus be ‘divinely’ in the ‘divine family<ref name="John_Walliss_Family">{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| title = The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity
| year = 2002
| quote = Of primary importance in the revelations Lekhraj is said to have received is that the members of the Brahma Kumari ‘university’ should undergo ‘death-in-life’, they should ‘die towards the outer world’. They had to renounce their families and thus they got the opportunity to be ‘divinely reborn’ in a ‘divine family
| publisher = Ashgate Publishing
| isbn = 978-0754609513
| pages = 37
}}</ref> In 2007, the British [[tabloid]] newspaper [[The Daily Mail]] reported Graham Baldwin, a former university chaplain and army officer who is president of the educational countercult organization Catalyst<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960115/ai_n9636788</ref>, stating that the former members and the families of members had told him that BKWSU has driven a wedge between husband and wife and that there were complaints that it encourages single women and widows to donate property and savings. The BKWSU, a organisation being notable for its sex ban, was said to have "used pernicious methods to control its followers". Ian Howarth of the [[Cult Information Centre]], was further quoted about complaints that people have gone undergone personality changes after joining BKWSU and become alienated from their families. A BKWSU spokeswoman replied, "this is very much a minority thing", declining to comment on allegations that BKWSU encourages followers to donate property and savings. <ref name=Mail> {{Cite web
| last = GALLAGHER
| first = IAN
| last = RICE
| first = DENNIS
| last = CHURCHER
| first = SHARON
| title = The PM's wife, the Druid priestess and the no-sex guru
| publisher = Daily Mail
| quote = Brahma Kumaris, a women-led spiritual organisation that, while striving for world peace, has allegedly used 'pernicious' methods to control its followers. The group is led by 90-year-old Indian spiritualist Dadi Janki, a woman Dwina regards as her guru and whom she consults, according to a source close to her, 'about everything'. Both Dwina and Robin make regular donations to Brahma Kumaris ... "Former members and the families of members have told me that Brahma has driven a wedge between husband and wife,' said Graham Baldwin, a cult expert who has counselled former Brahma members.
| date = 2007
| pages =
| url =http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=426903&in_page_id=1770
| accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}</ref> <ref name=DNA> {{Cite web
| last = Momin
| first = Sajeda
| title = Is Cherie becoming a Brahma Kumari?
| publisher = Daily News and Analysis, Mumbai
| date = 2007
| pages =
| url = http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1073280
| accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}</ref>
* Questioned how [[dinosaurs]] fit within a 5,000 year Cycle of Time BK Neville Hodgkinson, a former scientific correspondent for an English national newspaper, questioned the existence of dinosaurs on the basis of the lack of bones that have been found whilst other BK [[follower]] argued that dinosaurs exist in a parallel [[space-time]] [[dimension]] and because of a [[Black Holes and Time Warps|warp hole]] end up in this dimension. <ref name="John_Walliss_dinosaurs">{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| title = The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity
| year = 2002
| isbn = 978-0754609513
| pages = 106
}}</ref>
* The Brahma Kumaris have featured in the 'Wissen schtzt' reports of Austria (edited by then Austrian Minister for Family Affairs Mr. Martin Bartenstein), <ref>http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/austria_2003.html#TheStateOfReligious</ref>, Russia (International Conference "[[Totalitarian]] [[Cul]]ts - Threat of Twenty-First Century", Nizhny Novgorod, 2001) and in a [[MIVILUDES ]] report submitted to the French National Assembly as a "sectes dangereuses" (harmful cult) and "groupe d'enfermement" (group of confinement).<ref name = MIVILUDES > {{Citation
| last1 = Gest
| first1 = Alain
| last2 = Brar
| first2 = president, Jean- Pierre
| last3 = Sauvaig and others
| first3 = Suzanne
| contribution = Cults in France
| title = Cults in France
| publisher = French National Assembly in the name of The Board of Inquiry into Cults
| pages =
| url = http://www.cftf.com/french/Les_Sectes_en_France/cults.html
| year = 1995/6 }} </ref> This has leading to the presecution of followers in local media leading to job losses after it discovered that they belonged to a [[sect|secte]] <ref name=CAPLC> {{Cite web
| title = Orthophoniste et naturopathe, il est dénoncé comme "gourou"
| publisher = Coordination des Associations & Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience
| date = 2000
| pages =
| url = http://www.coordiap.com/temo13.htm
| accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}</ref> and denouncement for their influence on children under their care. <ref name=AFP>Licenciements dans une crèche en Gironde pour appartenance à une secte, Agence France-Presse [http://www.afp.fr/english/home/] 18 Juin 2003 [http://www.prevensectes.com/rev0306.htm#18c]</ref>
====Claim of divine indication====
[[Pratibha Patil]], the [[United Progressive Alliance|UPA]]-[[Indian left|Left]] candidate and current [[President of India]], said on camera during the [[Indian presidential election, 2007]], that she had communicated with the spirit of the deceased leader<ref name="ibnlive_ghost">{{cite web
| url = http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/43632/pratibha-patil-speaks-to-a-ghost.html
| title = Race for Raisina: Shekhawat vs Patil
| publisher = IBN
| accessdate = 2007-07-22
| quote = Dadiji ke shareer mein Baba aye ... Maine unse baat ki ("Baba entered Dadi's body and he communicated to me through her")
}}</ref> of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University at their headquarters in [[Mount Abu]], Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/June/subcontinent_June1110.xml§ion=subcontinent
| title = Patil kicks up another row
| publisher = IBN
| accessdate = 2007-07-22
| quote =
}}</ref> Patil added that she had received a [[Channelling (mediumistic)|mediumistic message]] indicating great responsibility coming her way.<ref name="ibnlive_ghost"/><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=shankar%2Fshankar227.txt&writer=shankar
| title = Battle for the palace
| publisher = The Pioneer
| accessdate = 2007-07-22
| quote =
}}</ref><ref name="Spirit">{{cite web
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pratibha_believes_in_spirits/articleshow/2152156.cms
| title = Pratibha believes in spirits?
| publisher = Times of India
| accessdate = 2007-07-22
| quote =
}}</ref> She had gone to seek the [[blessings]] of Hirday Mohini, also known as Dadi Gulzar or Dadiji.<ref name="BKWSU_Official_Site">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bkwsu.org/whoweare/spiritualleaders/dadihirdayamohini.htm
| title = Dadi Hirdaya Mohini- Joint Administrative Head
| publisher = BKWSU
| accessdate = 2007-07-28
| quote =
}}</ref>
==Relationship with splinter and reform movements==
===The Advance Party===
{{main|AIVV}}
A number of Brahma Kumari splinter groups exist, the most notable documented by Dr. John Walliss as the ''Advance Party'', or "Shankar Party" to the BKWSU.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Walliss
| first = John
| title = The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity
| year = 2002
| publisher = Ashgate Publishing
| isbn = 978-0754609513
| quote = Another rendition of the University's Millenarianism [is] put forward by a group named the Advance Party. This group is made up of predominantly disaffected ex-members of the University and are highly critical of what they allege to be the increasing worldliness and corruptness of the University's hierarchy. The University, they claim on their website, has become a true Ravan Rajya (Kingdom of Devil) where pomp and show and grandeur are given preference over true godly knowledge. At a deeper level, the Advance Party's critique is aimed at the BK theodicy and the manner in which they allege its millenarianism has been understood.
}}</ref> elsewhere they are referred to as the [[AIVV|Prajapita Brahma Kumaris]] or PBKs <ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.shivbaba.org.pl/
| title = Advance Knowledge
| publisher =
| accessdate =
| quote =
}}</ref>. Walliss states that as Lekhraj Kripalani's original message of separation, spiritual introversion and violent Destruction becomes repackaged as the emergence of a [[New Age]] through self-understanding and self-development, this direction has caused discontent within certain segments of the Brahma Kumari movement, likening them to the "[[Protestant Reformers]] to the BKWSU's [[mediaeval]] [[Catholic Church]]".
The "Advance Party" offer a radicalised rendition of the BKWSU's original [[millenarian]] message. In particular, they are exceptionally hostile to the University's New Age and UN involvement claim that Shiva is now manifesting Himself through a different medium to correctly interpret the original teachings and that Lekhraj Kirpalani's business partner Sevak Ram was the original medium. PBKs report hostile resistance from the BKWSU and Walliss met with a wall of silence and irate phone call from the University threatening him that the BKWSU would "block [him] every step of the way if [he] persisted along this line of investigation". The University restricting its member's "knowledge and access to the group so as to prevent any further defections." Founder Baba Dev Dixit was debarred from the BKWSU.<ref name="John_Walliss_reflexive"/>
==See also==
* [[Hinduism]]
* [[Cult]]
'''Concepts associated with Brahama Kumaris'''
* [[End times]]
* [[Spiritualism]]
* [[Meditation]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
<!-- needs to use cite book and cite book templates. Also, books/books already covered in references can be removed from this section -->
===BKWSU publications===
<!-- needs to use cite book and cite book templates -->
<div class="references-small">
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| title = Easy Raja Yoga: Taught by God Shiva
| publisher = Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Visha-Vidyalay
| year = 1977
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Versions of God Almighty for Attainment of God-Fatherly Birthright of Heavenly Happiness
| publisher = Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishva-Vidyalaya (Abu, India)
| date = 1969
| pages =
| isbn =
}}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Song Divine (II) : God the Supreme, Speaking with the Angel Brahma to his Brahman Children in Madhuban during the 1979-80 Season.
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (London, England)
| date = 1984
| pages =
| isbn =
}}
* {{cite book
| last = O'Donnell
| first = Ken
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = New Beginnings
| publisher = BKWSU
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 0-9637396-4-6}}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Brahma Baba, the Corporeal Medium of Shiva Baba
| publisher =
| date = 1983
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Descent of incorporeal God into the Human Body of Brahma : a Brief Biographical Account
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Mount Abu, India
| date = 1984
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Observance of Brahmacharya and Conquest of Sex-Lust
| publisher =
| date = 1977
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Moral Values, Attitudes and Moods: a book on ethics for a new world order
| publisher = BKWSU
| date = 1978
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Human values, Moral values, and Spiritual values: A book on divine values for the coming Golden Age
| publisher =
| date = 1980
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Inner Beauty
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1999
| pages =
| id = ASIN B000JVYGT6 }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Practical Meditation
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1995
| pages =
| isbn = 09637396-0-3 }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Blessings
| publisher = BKWSU
| date = 2000
| pages =
| isbn = 15587483-8-5 }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Just a Moment
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1996
| pages =
| id = ASIN B000JMA3OW }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Power and Effect of Thoughts
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1995
| pages =
| id = ASIN B000JI7MJK }}
* {{cite book
| last = BKWSU
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Kaleidoscopic View of Issues, Ideas, Events, Intentions, Attitudes, Individuals, and Institutions
| publisher = Prajapita Brahma Kumaris
| date = 2000
| pages =
| id = ASIN B000FVUAGI }}
* {{cite book
| last = Radhe
| first = Brahma-kumari Om
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Is this justice? Being an account of the founding of the Om Mandli & the Om Nivas and their suppression, by application of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908
| publisher = Pharmacy Printing Press
| date = 1938
| pages =
| id = ASIN B00089UWHE }}
* {{cite book
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Arts of Life
| publisher = BKWSU
| date = 1998
| pages =
| isbn = 09637396-2-X }}
* {{cite book
| last = Kumaris
| first = Brahma
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Future of Mankind
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1975
| pages =
| isbn = B0007CBK0U }}
* {{cite book
| last = Chander
| first = B.K. Jagdish
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Raj Yoga Illustrated (Raja Yoga, The Science for Attaining Purity, Peace, and Bliss)
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
| date = 1975
| pages =
| id = ASIN B000M3EGEQ }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Pearls of Wisdom
| publisher =
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 15587472-3-0 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Perlas de Sabiduria
| publisher =
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 15587479-1-5 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Wings of Soul
| publisher = 1999
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 15587467-2-2 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Las Alas del Espiritu
| publisher =
| date = 2000
| pages =
| isbn = 15587478-2-6 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = InsideOut a better way of living, learning, and loving
| publisher =
| date = 2003
| pages =
| ID = ASIN 000H7LIPM }}
* {{cite book
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Correspondence Course
| publisher = BKWSU
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = O'Donnell
| first = Ken
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Raja Yoga for beginners
| publisher =
| date = 1987
| pages =
| isbn = 0-340-82915-X }}
* {{cite book
| last = Janki
| first = Dadi
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Companion of God
| publisher = Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Literature Dept. (London)
| date = 1996
| pages =
| isbn = 1886872023 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Stephan
| first = Nagel
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Brahmas geheime Schöpfung. Die indische Reformbewegung der "Brahma Kumaris
| publisher = Theion
| date = 1999
| pages =
| isbn = 3-631-35484-3 }}
* {{cite book
| last = B.K. Jayanti
| first = Kirpalani
| authorlink = [http://brahmakumaris.info/files/Jayanti1999.pdf]
| coauthors =
| title = Valuing the Future : Education for Spiritual Development
| publisher =
| date = 1999
| pages =
| isbn = }}
</div>
===Other publications===
<div class="references-small">
===Books===
* {{cite book
| last = Anti Om Mandli Committee
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Om Mandli : a true authenticated story about its activities being a reply to "Is This Justice"
| publisher = Anti Om Mandli Committee, Hyderabad
| date = 1940
| pages =
| oclc = 32117471 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Lalrinawma
| first = V.S.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Liberation of Women in and through the Movement of the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris
| publisher = ISPCK, Cambridge Press, Delhi
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 81-7214-771-6 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Shaw
| first = William
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Spying in Guruland: Inside Britain’s Cults
| publisher = Fourth Estate, London
| date = 1994
| url = http://www.csj.org/infoserv_bookreview/csjbkrev122spy.htm
| isbn = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Babb
| first = Lawrence A
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Redemptive encounters : three modern styles in the Hindu tradition
| publisher = Berkeley : University of California Press
| date = 1986
| pages =
| isbn = 0520056450 }}
*{{cite book
| author = Barz, R.K.
| year = 1992
| title = A reinterpretation of bhakti theology: from the Pustimarg to the Brahma Kumaris
| book = Devotional Literature in South Asia: Current Research, 1985-8
| url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&id=BE40dp6SCFUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA298&dq=+brahma+kumaris&ots=IPrew0g-1f&sig=Q1R_YpUPX5wKgdZ_fRMuOPjcq4s
| accessdate = 2008-01-25
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Mayer
| first1 = Jean-François
| last2 = Kranenborg
| first2 = Reender
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = La Naissance des Nouvelles Religions
| publisher = Geneve, Suisse
| date =
| pages =
| isbn = 2-8257-0877-1 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Whaling
| first = Dr Frank
| title = Understanding the Brahma Kumaris
| publisher = Dunedin Press ltd
| date = 2008
| pages =
| isbn = 1-903765-51-X }}
*{{cite book
| author = Francis, L.J.
| coauthors = Katz, Y.J.
| year = 2000
| title = Joining and Leaving Religion: Research Perspectives
| publisher = Gracewing Publishing
| isbn = 0 85244 517 2
| pages = 336
}}</ref>
===books===
*{{cite book
| author = Brasher, B.E.
| year = 1998
| title = Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements
| book = Nova Religio
| volume = 1
| issue = 2
| pages = 309-311
}}
*{{cite book
| author = Arweck, E.
| coauthors = Nesbitt, E.
| year = 2004
| title = Living Values: an educational program--from initiative to uptake
| book = British book of Religious Education
| volume = 26
| issue = 2
| pages = 133-149
| url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/carfax/cbre/2004/00000026/00000002/art00003
| accessdate = 2008-01-25
}}
* {{cite book
| author = Skultans, V.
| year = 1993
| title = The Brahma Kumaris and the role of women
| book = Women and Teachers and Disciples in Traditional and New Religions
| pages = 47-62
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Howell
| first1 = Dr Julia D.
| last2 = Nelson
| first2 = Peter L.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Surviving Transplantation: The Brahma Kumaris in the Western World
| book = Nelson Center for Humanities and Human Science
| volume =
| issue =
| pages =
| date =
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate = }}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Howell
| first1 = Dr Julia D.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) Induction and New Religious Movements
| book = Sociology of Religion
| volume = 58
| issue =
| pages = 141-164
| date = 1997
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate = }}
* {{cite book
| author = Howell, J.D.
| coauthors = Nelson, P.L.
| year = 1997
| title = Structural adaptation and ‘success’ in the transplantation of an Asian New Religious Movement: the Brahma Kumaris in the Western world, Part I
| book = Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion
| volume = 8
| pages = 1-33
}}
*{{cite book
| author = Howell, J.D.
| year = 1998
| title = Gender role experimentation in new religious movements: the case of the Brahma Kumaris
| book = book for the Scientific Study of Religion
| volume = 37
| issue = 3
| pages = 453-461
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Babb
| first = Lawrence A.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Amnesia and Remembrance in a Hindu Theory of History
| book = Asian Folklore Studies
| volume = 41
| issue = 1
| pages = 49-66
| date = 1982
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate = }}
* {{cite book
| last = Babb
| first = Lawrence A.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Glancing: Visual Interaction in Hinduism
| book = book of Anthropological Research
| volume = 37
| issue = 4
| pages = 387-401
| date = 1981
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate = }}
*{{cite book
| author = Babb, L.A.
| year = 1984
| title = Indigenous Feminism in a Modern Hindu Sect
| book = Signs
| volume = 9
| issue = 3
| pages = 399-416
| url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-9740(198421)9%3A3%3C399%3AIFIAMH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E
| accessdate = 2008-01-25
}}
*{{cite book
| author = Barker, E.
| year = 1986
| title = Religious Movements: Cult and Anticult Since Jonestown
| book = Annual Review of Sociology
| volume = 12
| issue = 1
| pages = 329-346
| doi = 10.1146/annurev.so.12.080186.001553
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Beit-Hallahmi
| first = Benjamin
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Apocalyptic Dreams and Religious Ideologies: Losing and Saving Self and World
| book = Psychoanalytic Review
| volume = 90
| issue = 4
| pages = 403-439
| date = Aug 2003
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate = }}
===Websites===
* {{Cite web
| last = Kranenborg
| first = Reender
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Brahma Kumaris: A New Religion?
| publisher = Free University of Amsterdam
| date = 1999
| pages =
| url = http://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/br_kranenborg.htm
| accessdate = 2008-01-24}}
* {{cite web
| last = Varughese
| first = Suma
| title = Brahma Kumaris, World Spiritual University
| publisher = Interreligious Insight
| date = 1998
| url = http://www.interreligiousinsight.org/October2004/Oct04Madhuban.pdf
| accessdate = 2007-07-28 }}
* {{Cite web
| last = Velde
| first = Paul van der
| title = The Brahma Kumaris as a ‘reflexive Tradition’: Responding to late modernity by John Walliss
| publisher = Ars Disputandi
| date = 2002
| pages =
| url = http://www.arsdisputandi.org/index.html?http://www.arsdisputandi.org/publish/articles/000108/index.html
| accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
</div>
== External links ==
; Official BKWSU sites
* [http://www.bkwsu.org/ Brahma Kumaris International website]
* [http://www.brahmakumaris.com/ Brahma Kumaris Indian website]
; Critical resources
* [http://www.brahmakumaris.info/ BrahmaKumaris.Info - Independent help and support for current and former members]
* [http://www.reachouttrust.org/articles/othergrp/brahma.htm ReachoutTrust.Org - Overview of Brahma Kumaris], [[Reachout Trust|Reachout Trust report]]
* [http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general924.html RickRoss.Com - End of the World Predicted]
* [http://www.pbks.info PBKs.Info - Alternative interpretations of murlis]