I've been absent for a few days and so it has been interesting to come back and see how this conversation is going. I still feel that the BK's as an institution will eventually come unstuck when the fiction it has conveyed as truth finally catches up with it. By that I mean things like changing the Murli. When I first came into Gyan destruction, according to the Murli, was to be in 50 - 60 years (as of 1936). However, every 10 years the Murli gets changed. It has changed again this year, and we are now up to 70 - 80 years. Is this Gods Murli, or what? That is one simple example.
Actually, Didi Manmohini (Big Didi as she was known) was charged by Brahma Baba to modify the Murli before it was distributed. As her right to do so was 'according to Shrimat' nobody has ever questioned it. Big Didi then handed that function over to Rajubhai, an obscure Brother who sat in a little office under the Global Meditation Centre in Pandhav Bhawan fiddling with the Murli. The Murli cycle is 5 years, and every 5 years they get a little more 'palatable' as they are watered down.
Apart from that, if anyone were to make a serious effort to establish the facts they would easily discover that there is no possibility that The Cycle is 5000 years - history of language (spoken and written) would enlighten blind freddy on that one. I believed in The Cycle for many years, I taught it in class, but then I needed to believe it - and it is a wonder of the human psyche that we can believe whatever we want to (or need to) - like the Martyrs (suicide bombers) who passionately believe that their death will take them to heaven and into the laps of 73 virgins (nobody told him they were all ugly
The 'truths' that I so enjoyed in Raja Yoga are actually quite universal to eastern philosophy. For me Raja Yoga was all about the dharna. Loved it, lived for it. But then whatever I gained was undermined by the ultimately disempowering, narrowing beliefs such as The Cycle and being 'special' - which was just an egoistic need.
I have no doubt that God and the BK's are in no way related.
Someone mentioned that the Dadis did not necessarily know the truth either, they were just in love with B.B. I do not doubt that. I have seen young Kumaris come into Gyan (around 15 years old - there was a group who were my students, so I know them well). At that age, and with their indain tradition, they willingly absorbed themselves in the belief and very quickly Raja Yoga became the basis of their thinking. They are all in their 30's now, and have absolutely no other way of looking at the world. Raja Yoga is the totality of their perspective.
And I imagine it was the same with the Dadis. They were children, in India in the 1930's overwhelmed by the charisma of this Godly gentleman. Their whole perspective was based, intwined and owned by Raja Yoga.
I remember being in a class in Madhuban with Dadi (cannot remember her name) who was Brahma Babas lokik daughter. Someone asked her what B.B.s lokik wife thought when she found out B.B. was god (in the early days everyone believed B.B. was God, including himself, which is why we don't get Murlis from prior to 1964) Dadi whatshername said that it did not make any difference because she already thought he was God. Der, we all giggled as we got it - according to Indian culture, the husband is already god. So, in that environment, at that time, how easy would it have been for a bunch of girls to buy into it and run with it for the rest of their lives?