I do not know if it still goes on in the Western BKWSU but I suspect it still does in India. In the old days, adherents to the BK cult used to be encouraged to confess their impurities (sins) as a tool of enculting ... binding individuals to the BKWSU.
In the old days, the "deal" was that if you confessed your sins to the Seniors, you got an instant 50% reduction in karma! Just how it worked ... as usual no one ever explained.
But you would have to expect a good deal from the Sindhi God they call "the Clever Businessman", I guess.
From 'Confession: studies in deviance and religion' by Mike Hepworth, Bryan S. Turner.
Now when did you ever hear discussion about the dangerous of this aspect of Brahma Kumarism? As usual the so called "Spiritual University" is operating at a kindergarten or cornershop level.
In comparison to other cults, I would say the BKs were fairly modest in their abuse of confession. I have never heard of anyone being threatened by revelations being made but I have experienced false rumours being passed around the BK gossip vine, and we have read about Seniors sharing and spreading personal private information about individuals under their charge.
A lot has been written about the psychology of confession within religion. I don't have enough time right now to look at it. Obviously, confession can be a good copying tool to help individuals within a trustworthy and responsible relationship, e.g. parent-child, therapist-client, but I could not class relationships with the BK elite as being either trustworthy or responsible. They are untrained, except for in their own cult, and a Quixotic law entirely unto themselves.
Here is a typical comment from a ex-cult counsellor on the subject, its author’s 25 years of experience as a counsellor of families and individuals with cult-related problems.
I also do not know much about the place of confession within Hinduism as a whole and wonder if this is something else Lekhraj Kirpalani took from Christianity?
In the old days, the "deal" was that if you confessed your sins to the Seniors, you got an instant 50% reduction in karma! Just how it worked ... as usual no one ever explained.
But you would have to expect a good deal from the Sindhi God they call "the Clever Businessman", I guess.
From 'Confession: studies in deviance and religion' by Mike Hepworth, Bryan S. Turner.
Confession trains or socialises people into a set of culturally defined sins for which it also provides recognised cure of absolution. ... theologians and confessors have been alive to the dangerous side-effects of confession ... The psychological disturbance known as "scrupulosity" ... In such circumstances, confession may well exacerbate rather than solve guilt-feelings.
In a society where there is relative agreement over certain social values, confession may serve to reinforce and underline those values by confirming the beliefs of persons in authority, symbolically restoring 'deviant' individuals to the community and by individuals in terms of anxieties about certain types of misconduct. Confession thus serves to buttress social values ...
Now when did you ever hear discussion about the dangerous of this aspect of Brahma Kumarism? As usual the so called "Spiritual University" is operating at a kindergarten or cornershop level.
In comparison to other cults, I would say the BKs were fairly modest in their abuse of confession. I have never heard of anyone being threatened by revelations being made but I have experienced false rumours being passed around the BK gossip vine, and we have read about Seniors sharing and spreading personal private information about individuals under their charge.
A lot has been written about the psychology of confession within religion. I don't have enough time right now to look at it. Obviously, confession can be a good copying tool to help individuals within a trustworthy and responsible relationship, e.g. parent-child, therapist-client, but I could not class relationships with the BK elite as being either trustworthy or responsible. They are untrained, except for in their own cult, and a Quixotic law entirely unto themselves.
Here is a typical comment from a ex-cult counsellor on the subject, its author’s 25 years of experience as a counsellor of families and individuals with cult-related problems.
Cults encourage members to admit everything about their past and present behavior. Although the member is told that confession will set him free, in effect it binds him to the group since the confessed information can be used against him. Furthermore, leaving the cult becomes more difficult, as the member feels that they will have left behind an intimate part of himself.
Sharing reinforces allegiance to the group ... Common routines include self-criticising and confessions sessions. The members have to write detailed daily reports of activities, their previous night's dreams, their thoughts and even love and emotional daydreams.
I also do not know much about the place of confession within Hinduism as a whole and wonder if this is something else Lekhraj Kirpalani took from Christianity?