Thanks for sticking it out Mike and picking up on this. Interestingly enough, I just noticed it myself (although I did not see the Jayanti clip). Someone else mentioned them in passing a while ago.
The site has been jazzed up a bit since I looked at it and, beyond the obvious logo, now I notice the ubiquitous "Lucinda Drayton" and "Relax Kids" plug ... BK or post-BK co-prosperity strikes again. You also have the Casa Sangam in Italy, BKs' semi-commercial retreat center, the Global Retreat Centre in Oxford, and the BKWSU does get one single tiny URL link ... but no mention of the Brahma Kumari connection if their is one. Do they offer financially rewarded services to BKWSU followers?
We have developing initiatives in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Plymouth, Cornwall and Bristol. In addition to this, we also have a significant international interest with over 30 countries regularly downloading our materials and a variety of individuals and organisations undertaking distant learning initiatives with us.
What I don't see is a simple
"Who is it ...
Where and how were they trained ... and
Which professional body they are accredited with."
Surely the most important piece of information to give. There is not even a simple "registered office".
Being uncharitable, from my days in the BKs, one would have just put the individual down as "some Brother with a massive amount of manmat (
his own opinions)". Possibly even that worst of insults, "still doing Bhakti". But what is the inside story? A frustrated healer therapist who gave away too many of their years to the BKWSU trying to get back on track again?
BKs or Post-BK are one thing, I even more cynical when it comes to folks rolling out that Japanese guy Dr Imoto because he is a bit of a con (not a real doctor, does not submit his claims to proper scientific scrutiny) ... but using the appeal of therapy, to push cultish beliefs to vulnerable individuals are genuinely seeking help, that is very unethical.
But what to do? I am not sure of the legal requirements to advertise oneself as a "psychotherapist". Anyone done wrong would have legal rights to take action or at the very least to go to the local trading standards departments and speak to them.
We need to do some more research, I do not know these individuals but the vagueness of the modus operandi and language appears to be very typical to BKs and post-BKs.
I am just always surprised by how commercial they allow them to be these days, it is like the flood gates are open. Perhaps the leadership have made so much money they don't care any more and are letting the following do as they please ... perhaps the leadership have just lost their power and influence over their followers? You tell me ...
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I want to try and include some images of what these BK "oval lights" look like. Obviously I have not see the one referred to above and some of these are Indian versions, but readers will get a good idea of what we are talking about. Brahma Kumari adherents will stare into these for upto 45 minutes or even longer in their mind imagining their are connected to god. They symbolise the BKs concept of the god spirit they call ShivBaba.
Elsewhere we have commented on how similar this technique is, staring at a dot, to those used by some hypnotists.
- Examples of Brahma Kumari oval "trance lights"