JPhilip wrote:no self confidence.
It no self confidence the same as, or part of, hypnotic susceptibility? I agree with you that what the BKs do not a meditation alone. Or perhaps many never even do it.
So what do you suggest to prevent someone in your family from being trapped by them and what should you suggest family members do if the other starts to fall or has become trapped? Many people ask.
I think there is another element and I do not know if there is a psychological explanation or model to confirm this theory.
Built up over decades of daily practise and ritual, the Brahma Kumaris have a relatively power collective energy which confirms all sort of untrue things in followers minds. Large parts of the religion are false but that does not matter, they are repeated constantly and adherents are subtly encouraged to believe in them and less subtly discouraged to question them.
This "collective unconscious", perhaps it is called, acts upon individuals enter into the religion. Someone a long time ago also suggest the idea of the group spirit or "egregore".
What I think is very clear is that a large part of "collective unconscious" or "egregore" is built upon madness. A 'god-possessed madness', starting from their founder Lekhraj Kirpalani and his long term devotees, which has been built up layer upon layer by countless devotees since until it is like a huge ball kinetic energy or electricity.
What seems to happen is that 'some people', never all (not even in one family), are lulled into a passive state by the hypnosis and are then "zapped" by this huge ball of madness. Imagine it like some kind of osmosis where the stronger energy state of the collective BK unconscious pours into the lower energy state of, generally, a vulnerable, weak, insecure, inexperience individual.
When this happens, the individual and much of their faculties are overwhelmed. They have not felt anything like it. They become "intoxicated", literally like they are drugged. They become over emotional. Their old identity is replaced by a ready made BK angelic mask. And the BKs are then able to start working on their minds ... and wallets ... to take control over them, separating them from their families and friends and so on.
Therefore, the number one way of preventing someone from your family being trapped by the BKs is not letting them anywhere near the BKs. Separating them clearly from anyone promoting the BKs. And pre-educating them about the BKs and their philosophy. No one is a rational state of mind would believe them and no one is a sober state of mind would gamble their life on what the BKs offer.
Once they have tasted the BK "drug" it is very hard to get them off it until, usually, about 6 months or at the most two years later. It will wears off and their old personality will re-emerge. Most will start to think again and leave. The race the BKs have is in that 6 months to capture the individual for life ... or take as much off them as possible.
Please bear in mind that the device the BKs use now is not direct conversion or evangelism. They use a virtual army of demi-BKs to do the initial recruiting ... BK supporters who do not follow the full principles, probably do not even know the full philosophy, and certain do not know the full history of the religion. For example, the woman in the BK Shivani TV shows. They dress not in white but in "lokik" clothes, live perhaps quite modern or even privileged lives, and are basically on the far outsides of the Brahma Kumaris system.
They use a very softly-softly approach and practise "taking the pulse" of individuals to see how much they can reveal to them. Largely, the Brahma Kumaris have become financially secure and so they are not so bothered about recruiting. In the past, if there were problems, they were more concerned about the financial damage and damage to their reputation it might cause ... but now they do not need to be, and so they are quite bold.
However, please remember, whatever the shop window dressing they adopt, nothing has really changed about their core philosophy and core ethics.
Or as I would call it, their core lack of ethics.
"What to do if your family being trapped become trapped by the BKs?" is the next question to ask