In 'The Psychology of Death in Fantasy and History', Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, professor of psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel described the Brahma Kumaris as wearing a mask of love and kindness behind which hides a "seething aggression" that wishes the world utterly destroyed by a nuclear holocaust and civil wars which they will inspire ... literally "giving courage" to the scientific architects of it.
Even to this year, BKs cheer at the thought of their god spirit "hitting the button" to start the total annihilation they called "Destruction".
Beit-Hallahmi points out how the BKs generally keep this secret from non-members and we know how they have even cynically re-marketed it, not Destruction but "Transformation" to outsiders ... the terrible death of all 7 billion wicked non-BK human beings. He writes how it was revealed to him by accident during a visit to Mount Abu and how jarring it appeared, especially given the passive and feminine nature of the religion. Presumably his was a VIP invitation that went wrong, as he went on to document how eager BK adherents were to comment on both world politics and military strategy.
We know how in their early days, they actually wrote to "military marshals" and political leaders encouraging them to enact martial law and literally carry out scorched earth tactics on humanity (see below).
Beit-Hallahmi points out how typical this is in eschatological dreams (eschatology being theology concerned with the end of the world or of humankind) and correlates it with the total suppression of sex and aggression within BKism. He writes how classical psychoanalysis assumes that aggression is a permanent instinctual force and finds outlets either in fantasies or causes serious personality imbalances, and asks whether the BKs' secret fantasy and wishing for total Destruction is a mechanism for maintaining psychic balance under the influence of all the cult control of their behaviour?
I, personally, would ask an even more intrinsic question and go right back to the initiator of their apocalyptic fantasies, Lekhraj Kirpalani, and ask what was raging so much inside him that he had to not just imagine such things but believe he was the cause of them, and to be so sure in his wrong predictions of it happening so many times.
Was it that an otherwise so financially success but lower caste and uneducated Lekhraj Kirpalani was raging at both the Western World (the "science proud Christian cats" and Yadavas) and Indian elite castes (literally calling them "devils" (kans), "traitors" and "the crow race") ... social worlds above him that he did not understand and aspired to but which rejected him?
Could it not just have been an infantile rage of ego rejection from a man who at the time thought he was God, and surrounded himself with young women who believed it too? I think we have to study his psychology more, now his followers have turned it into a religion, and tie together the pieces.
This led me to thinking about "Passive Aggressive Behaviour"
In a popular article, Andrea Harrn (MA, MBACP, Counsellor/Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist) describes passive aggressive behaviour as a "non-verbal aggression that manifests in negative behavior ... a creation of negative energy in the ether which is clear to those involved and can create immense hurt and pain to all parties". She writes that it happens when, "negative emotions and feelings build up and are then held in on a self-imposed need for either acceptance by another, dependence on others or to avoid even further arguments or conflict".
Examples of passive aggression:
We've often analysed the Brahma Kumaris from the point of view of cult stereotypes and note how will they fit into the model. Almost perfectly so.
I am thinking it's worth reviewing their response and especially reaction to unaccepting critics, from the point of view of passive aggressive behaviour. They will, I presume, deny they have any in their peaceful souls.
Many people, BKs and ex-BK have noted and been effected by passive aggressive behaviour within the Brahma Kumari community from "difficult" Sisters, to Dadi Jankis turning her back on them and pretending not remember who they were to play with their emotions. Many small BK centers in particular go through very sick periods when individuals are not getting on but are not able to discuss or express it, and many BKs are not even able to respond and react to the outright abuse of themselves by bossy and manipulative center-in-charges.
Only rarely, does the atmosphere explodes as a very last refuge of sanity. Mostly BKs just self-destruct and leave ... sometimes even dying (suicide) ... and are left on their own to pick up the pieces of losing their entire life.
How much of the BKs facade is merely self-control and how much of it masks other psychologies? How much of BKism is a massive passive aggression toward the entire "impure" rest of the world which they want dead, destroyed and out of the way so they can rule a heavenly world of unquestioning and adoring sub-servient automatons?
Even to this year, BKs cheer at the thought of their god spirit "hitting the button" to start the total annihilation they called "Destruction".
Beit-Hallahmi points out how the BKs generally keep this secret from non-members and we know how they have even cynically re-marketed it, not Destruction but "Transformation" to outsiders ... the terrible death of all 7 billion wicked non-BK human beings. He writes how it was revealed to him by accident during a visit to Mount Abu and how jarring it appeared, especially given the passive and feminine nature of the religion. Presumably his was a VIP invitation that went wrong, as he went on to document how eager BK adherents were to comment on both world politics and military strategy.
We know how in their early days, they actually wrote to "military marshals" and political leaders encouraging them to enact martial law and literally carry out scorched earth tactics on humanity (see below).
Beit-Hallahmi points out how typical this is in eschatological dreams (eschatology being theology concerned with the end of the world or of humankind) and correlates it with the total suppression of sex and aggression within BKism. He writes how classical psychoanalysis assumes that aggression is a permanent instinctual force and finds outlets either in fantasies or causes serious personality imbalances, and asks whether the BKs' secret fantasy and wishing for total Destruction is a mechanism for maintaining psychic balance under the influence of all the cult control of their behaviour?
I, personally, would ask an even more intrinsic question and go right back to the initiator of their apocalyptic fantasies, Lekhraj Kirpalani, and ask what was raging so much inside him that he had to not just imagine such things but believe he was the cause of them, and to be so sure in his wrong predictions of it happening so many times.
Was it that an otherwise so financially success but lower caste and uneducated Lekhraj Kirpalani was raging at both the Western World (the "science proud Christian cats" and Yadavas) and Indian elite castes (literally calling them "devils" (kans), "traitors" and "the crow race") ... social worlds above him that he did not understand and aspired to but which rejected him?
Could it not just have been an infantile rage of ego rejection from a man who at the time thought he was God, and surrounded himself with young women who believed it too? I think we have to study his psychology more, now his followers have turned it into a religion, and tie together the pieces.
This led me to thinking about "Passive Aggressive Behaviour"
In a popular article, Andrea Harrn (MA, MBACP, Counsellor/Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist) describes passive aggressive behaviour as a "non-verbal aggression that manifests in negative behavior ... a creation of negative energy in the ether which is clear to those involved and can create immense hurt and pain to all parties". She writes that it happens when, "negative emotions and feelings build up and are then held in on a self-imposed need for either acceptance by another, dependence on others or to avoid even further arguments or conflict".
Examples of passive aggression:
- Non-Communication when there is clearly something problematic to discuss
Avoiding/Ignoring
Evading problems and issues
Obstructing deliberately stalling or preventing an event or process of change
Fear of Competition and avoiding situations where one party will be seen as better at something
Being cryptic, unclear, not fully engaging in conversations
Being silent, morose in order to get attention or sympathy
Chronic Forgetting, showing a blatant disrespect and disregard for others to punish in some way
Fear of Intimacy
Victimisation or self-pity, turning the tables to become the victim and will behave like one
Blaming others for situations rather than being able to take responsibility
Withholding usual behaviours, etc
We've often analysed the Brahma Kumaris from the point of view of cult stereotypes and note how will they fit into the model. Almost perfectly so.
I am thinking it's worth reviewing their response and especially reaction to unaccepting critics, from the point of view of passive aggressive behaviour. They will, I presume, deny they have any in their peaceful souls.
Many people, BKs and ex-BK have noted and been effected by passive aggressive behaviour within the Brahma Kumari community from "difficult" Sisters, to Dadi Jankis turning her back on them and pretending not remember who they were to play with their emotions. Many small BK centers in particular go through very sick periods when individuals are not getting on but are not able to discuss or express it, and many BKs are not even able to respond and react to the outright abuse of themselves by bossy and manipulative center-in-charges.
Only rarely, does the atmosphere explodes as a very last refuge of sanity. Mostly BKs just self-destruct and leave ... sometimes even dying (suicide) ... and are left on their own to pick up the pieces of losing their entire life.
How much of the BKs facade is merely self-control and how much of it masks other psychologies? How much of BKism is a massive passive aggression toward the entire "impure" rest of the world which they want dead, destroyed and out of the way so they can rule a heavenly world of unquestioning and adoring sub-servient automatons?