Friend wrote:You have to ask the people who believe they've experienced it to understand what it means. I cannot help with that. I haven't experienced it so I cannot say whether it is God, or not. Some people (New Age) also believe that God is a point but not exactly how the BKs think of Him.
I've never heard that.
For example, The Great Invocation by Alice Bailey (1880 – 1949) starts, "From the point of Light within the Mind of God ... From the point of Love ..." etc. It has been hugely influential (Lucis Trust/Findhorn Foundation etc) but doesn't say "God is a point of Light". Bailey was a contemporary of Lekhraj Kirpalani and another spirit medium, her guide "Djwahl Kuhl". It's a shame all the Ascendended Master spirit guides could have coordinated with each other or stick to the same script. And why, from their other worldly view, were they unaware God had arrived on the scene, as per BKs?
I tend to think, that if "9 out of 10 housewives cannot tell the difference between butter and maragarine", then they - or a jewellery shopkeeper, cannot tell the difference between a seraphim, a cherubim or an arch-angel or a dominion. Or a deceptive demon, an Angel of Light.
Sure, people in all places and in all times have had weird and wonderful and inexplicable mystical experiences. A tiny minority do actually manifest strange powers. Some of us are intrigued and hanker after them, a few of us dedicate ourselves in an attempt to invoke or embody them. A tiny proportion dedicate themselves into turning that into a religion-business and live off it. It's just frustrating that none of the enlightened masters and their visions seem to be reliable, or agree with each other.
It seems that the proportion of successes within individuals trying to have an experience are very low. That most notable cases happened completely randomly. But there's a lot of money in the market to be milked between the point of an individual becoming curious and giving up.
You do seem to try to make everything so vague that it ultimately doesn't matter. What is "love", what is "bliss" etc But maybe bu the same logic we could say "what is "trying to get everyone's money" or "destroy humanity"?"
Skepticism born of years of sitting in classes where BKs were forced to "give their experience" and then meeting them years after and having them admit they experience nothing but just used to say whatever. And charts, a kind of diary kept by BKs, in which you were suppose to practise "Happiness", "Love" or "Bliss" every other day, on schedule, and then mark yourself according to what percentage you felt and for how long ... "67% Bliss for 46 minutes between 2 and 4pm".
It's so robotic.
Personally, I still don't get the criticism about the money. They allow donations
Pink has largely answered that. They don't do "service" of anyone, they do self-publicity (PR) and marketing with it.
The only thing I underline is a different double standard, e.g. when Super Dadi Janki came to London in the early 1970s, the BKs were pushing Destruction in 1976. She encourage new BKs ...
individuals who she had hidden the failed predictions of Destruction in 1950 and WWII ... to surrender our lives and money to them again.
And then invested it in one then three freehold properties, which were re-developed and maintained via our free labour. Meanwhile, all the young BKs were encouraged to live in rented accommodation, not to pursue their studies and careers etc and promote the religion; and, as Pink said, were used to con-vince Indians of their power. In India, things were even more manic with people selling properties and donating all their wealth to the BKs. Events repeated in 1986 and Year 2000.
Again, the majority of the people being "shaken down" had not been told about the previous failures, although Super Jacki certainly knew about them. Does that strike you as benign, enlightened or spiritual? Or just a con? Things are much worse in India, village women being shaken down for their wedding jewellery so it can be given as gifts to VIPs etc (they don't have bank accounts, that is their wealth) etc etc etc.
Interested to hear your thoughts on these subjects. When you say you're not a monotheist are you refering to something that has to do with everyone have a personal set of guides and guardian angels?
It seems the "one god" trick is just a tool of imperialists who want all other tribes to kneel before them, via the metaphor of their god; and for their tribal god to be the supreme one.
If there is a Supreme god, what would be its qualities for you and how does the god of the BKs match up to them?
He falls far short to mine. Mined would be infallible, non-manipulative, and not put up with unethical abuses amongst his representatives. I could far more easily fit Lekhraj Kirpalani/BapDada into the spiritualist/multi-dimensional model of the world as a slightly more ascended human "master". I accept Lekhraj Kirpalani mastered some elements of being human, at least in the business world, and acted as a medium for ... something. I just have a hard time making the leap to it having to be a Supreme God. That, to me, is his grandiose, expansive, narcissistic ego coming into play.
Delve further into spiritualism -
which BKism is - and you'll uncover many trance mediums and channellers and far more detailed and intricate world views. Some are just demented as Lekhraj Kirpalani, others a lot more humble and practical. All, I think, are ultimately unreliable ... entertaining, sometimes insightful, but ultimately unreliable. I think that most are having a huge big joke at humanities expense, others are specifically deceitful and devious. Literally evil.
This is an area where I have disagreements with Pink over. As far as I understand, he sees them as part/projections of the ourself. I don't think they can all be simply reduced or understood away in that manner; and especially not the effects of them (real or not).
I don't think we fully understand the human psyche and the psychic realms of our existence. I certainly don't think the BKs do (I think they want to keep a cap on our understanding and limit our growth so they can exploit us). As you say, when faced with the multi-realm spirit world/ghost realm ideas ... they just draw a blank. Even though their world view included ghosts and spirits.
I think that the lesson is not to rely on anything external to yourself. If you are doing good and on the right path, and there is a "They" out there, I am sure they come to help you or introduce themselves as they did to Lekhraj Kirpalani and others when your time is right. To "follow the Father", in BK terms, means to follow your own path, learn your own lessons, starting from where you are now ... not copy and fall in behind Lekhraj Kirpalani's path. A path which for Westerners is 99% outdated and inappropriate.