- Posts: 2
- Joined: 21 Apr 2020
I am reaching out to the administrators of this website with some suggestions. I am a counselor and therapist based in India who deals with self esteem and self confidence issues in individuals, especially youth. I also practice family psychiatry. Since over a year, I have started using meditation techniques in my practice, together with traditional therapies such as cognitive therapy and EMDR, and as such it has helped my clients quite a lot deal with their personal situations, especially PTSD. I have used Sahaja Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Mindfulness techniques and Raja Yoga (Brahma Kumaris). Although these techniques all seem effective, I have noted that the Brahma Kumaris meditation practice has had the most pronounced effect among all these (although a bit slow to start with). I had come to know about this meditation technique online and also practiced it myself during a workshop organized by one of the local Brahma Kumaris ashrams which I participated in.
Recently (a few weeks before the COVID lockdown), my front desk person overheard one of my patients talking to another patient about some websites they had found which had some information about the Brahma Kumaris and some controversial history. I am assuming this is the website that they were referring to. I spent a weekend going through it and to say the least I feel a bit surprised to know the organization's controversial past. I have to admit I did not understand some of the references and terminologies such as “Avyakt” etc. Still, I really appreciate the efforts that you have put together here.
However, a few of my patients have stopped accepting any sessions where I use the Brahma Kumaris technique, citing the website. I do understand that this organization has had a controversial history and it is probably important for their followers to know about this. However, at the same time, it seems a bit unfair to me that folks who are in genuine need of meditation are being put off by some of the discussions here, which show up directly through a Google Search. I guess not everybody wants to be officially associated with the organization and does not care about its teachings but a lot of people in the world (and definitely in my clinic) need meditation techniques such as these. We are living in very stressful times currently. My fellow medical practitioners and friends are literally going through hell. I am having to counsel some nurses and doctors online or the past couple of weeks.
Is it possible to separate the critique of the organization from their meditation technique so that people do not get confused? For example, could a disclaimer be added to the website that it is an attempt to critique the organization and its teachings only, and not its meditation practice? Another possibility would be to require signing in to access the forum discussions on the website. That way the discussions do not appear in Google search results directly. There could be other options too but these are what come to my mind currently. I hope you would be able to consider this input and take a more balanced approach. I would be happy to discuss further.
We seem to be headed towards a situation that even counselors would need counselors! I hope you are staying safe and healthy.
Recently (a few weeks before the COVID lockdown), my front desk person overheard one of my patients talking to another patient about some websites they had found which had some information about the Brahma Kumaris and some controversial history. I am assuming this is the website that they were referring to. I spent a weekend going through it and to say the least I feel a bit surprised to know the organization's controversial past. I have to admit I did not understand some of the references and terminologies such as “Avyakt” etc. Still, I really appreciate the efforts that you have put together here.
However, a few of my patients have stopped accepting any sessions where I use the Brahma Kumaris technique, citing the website. I do understand that this organization has had a controversial history and it is probably important for their followers to know about this. However, at the same time, it seems a bit unfair to me that folks who are in genuine need of meditation are being put off by some of the discussions here, which show up directly through a Google Search. I guess not everybody wants to be officially associated with the organization and does not care about its teachings but a lot of people in the world (and definitely in my clinic) need meditation techniques such as these. We are living in very stressful times currently. My fellow medical practitioners and friends are literally going through hell. I am having to counsel some nurses and doctors online or the past couple of weeks.
Is it possible to separate the critique of the organization from their meditation technique so that people do not get confused? For example, could a disclaimer be added to the website that it is an attempt to critique the organization and its teachings only, and not its meditation practice? Another possibility would be to require signing in to access the forum discussions on the website. That way the discussions do not appear in Google search results directly. There could be other options too but these are what come to my mind currently. I hope you would be able to consider this input and take a more balanced approach. I would be happy to discuss further.
We seem to be headed towards a situation that even counselors would need counselors! I hope you are staying safe and healthy.