The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

for ex-BKs to discuss matters related to experiences in BKWSU & after leaving.
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ex-l

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post05 Apr 2021

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warrior

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post11 Apr 2021

The strange and shocking story of ‘Baba’ Virendra Dev Dixit by Makarand R Paranjape

I began seriously to study Indian spiritual traditions as a graduate student in the US. My PhD dissertation, subsequently published, was on “Mysticism in Indian English Poetry”. I discovered long back the enduring truth of the Upanishadic injunction that the path to the highest reality is like a veritable razor’s edge (Katha Upanishad 1.3.14) — the wise (poets) say that the path is impassable, as difficult to traverse as the razor’s edge. Many of us are familiar with the first part of this verse because Swami Vivekananda popularised it. Arise, awake, learn from the wise, which Swamiji translated as: “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.” But the latter part of the verse is of crucial importance too for it cautions against getting conned.

I began seriously to study Indian spiritual traditions as a graduate student in the US. My PhD dissertation, subsequently published, was on “Mysticism in Indian English Poetry”. I discovered long back the enduring truth of the Upanishadic injunction that the path to the highest reality is like a veritable razor’s edge (Katha Upanishad 1.3.14) — the wise (poets) say that the path is impassable, as difficult to traverse as the razor’s edge. Many of us are familiar with the first part of this verse because Swami Vivekananda popularised it. Arise, awake, learn from the wise, which Swamiji translated as: “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.” But the latter part of the verse is of crucial importance too for it cautions against getting conned.

The fact is that many go perilously astray while on this path, ending up in dire straits, even death. We see this frequently with fundamentalists, such as jihadis, who are evidently victims of religious programming. Many Christian evangelical sects are also known the world over for their irrational and harmful beliefs. In Indic spiritual practice, however, the danger is somewhat different, if no less disastrous: delusion, depression, or worse, economic, social, or sexual exploitation. No wonder it is said that the spiritual life is not for the weak, cowardly, or timid; it requires eternal vigilance. It is not an escape from the world, but rather the mastering of the conditions of our existence.

It is one thing to be the victim of a religious cult, but what about the perpetrators? These latter vary from commonplace conmen to abnormal megalomaniacs. The latter are the greater threat, especially if deranged or unscrupulous. This seems to be the case with Virendra Dev Dixit, the head of Adhyatmik Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya. On December 19, the Delhi High Court ordered a raid on one of his ashrams in Rohini. Subsequently, a team led by Swati Maliwal, head of the Delhi Commission of Women, inspected other premises. TV reports showed warrens of cramped and barricaded cells in which the inmates, among them minors, were confined. Maliwal was quick to accuse the Baba of “running a human trafficking racket”. The Delhi High Court ordered a CBI investigation on the goings-on of the organisation. In the meanwhile, Dixit, the “Baba” behind the whole racket, is absconding.

Who, then, is this man? He heads a breakaway faction of the internationally renowned Brahma Kumari sect. The Brahma Kumari is a UN-recognised, new, religious movement founded by Lekhraj Kripalani in Karachi in 1936.

They have over 8500 centres worldwide and several million followers. Dixit came in contact with them in Ahmedabad in 1969, the year that Lekhraj passed away. Dixit ostensibly tried to take over the movement by claiming that Lekhraj’s spirit had entered his body. But the Brahma Kumaris refused to accept his claim; he was driven out of Ahmedabad and Mount Abu, the headquarters of the movement.

Subsequently, Dixit moved to Delhi, claiming to represent the purer front flank of the Brahma Kumaris. He attracted several disenchanted dropouts so that by 1976 his group came to be called the “Advance Party.” But, again, there was an altercation with the main group of the Brahma Kumaris. Dixit left Delhi to set up his headquarters in Kampil in Uttar Pradesh. He proclaimed himself to be “Krishna”, promising his followers that he would create a new world with the help of his “gopis”. Hence all the women inmates in his various ashrams.

This is not the first time that Dixit has been in trouble with the law. In 1998 he was arrested and jailed for six months; the Income Tax department also raided his ashram in Kampil. No wonder, he kept a somewhat low profile during the last nearly 20 years. But the recent raids have revealed his shocking and disgraceful activities. He is once again in the spotlight. The law will, of course, take its course. However, I am afraid that is not enough. As a nation, we need better awareness and education to prevent the recurrence of such tribulations meted out to the helpless and hapless.

Unfortunately, an egregiously over-zealous secular education and a cunningly pseudo-secular polity have confused the populace. Awareness of Dharma is arguably at an alarming, if not all-time, low. It is the Hindu and Indian samaj or society that must rise to the occasion.

While genuine gurus and spiritual teachers will continue to attract large followings, fake babas, godmen, and religious tricksters should be exposed and excoriated. Given how easy it is to brainwash the gullible, this may not be an infallible remedy. But it will at least be a welcome prophylactic. As the adage says, prevention is better than cure.

The author is a poet and professor at JNU. Views expressed are personal.

jayadeepan

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post04 May 2022

Dear EX Brother

Here the Virendra dev did not invest multi-millions, with sofas and marble all over the rooms, with Western paints, doors, and window systems like Sadguru Vasudev, Yoga gurus or Brahma Kumaris, so definitely it looks like a prison for somebody from outside.

Besides if there is Destruction in the near future, what is the point of building palaces and luxury apartments?

Third, the Virendra Dev Dixit is an old man and he preached no sexual relation and very simple life on the one side, but the truth is he is strong criticizer of lots of religious organisations, including Hindu, Brahma Kumari and Brahma Kumari splinter groups.

On one side, the Brahma Kumaris have always given luxury treatment to politicians, especially congress politicians. It is not possible with Kejriwal, he is ruling Delhi now, but Delhi is still under the influence of congress politicians in the government office.

And the Indian media, 90% of them will do anything for you if you publish advertisements in their media, especially the media associated with Congress.

Baba does not have enemies in Islam, Christianity or Western media because he is strictly focussing criticising Hinduism and Hindu way of life in Brahma Kumari. Obviously he talks about Islam and brutal invasions, and he consider some one need courage to face Islam, but he is a strong supporter of Allahu in Islam, and Adam and Eve, so most of the Abrahamic religion has not find him an enemy. He is not against conversion and he is not associated with BJP RSS, and he does not discuss news in the world media like Islamic terrorism or hindward politics (so he does not have enemies in this area).

But, as far as the Brahma Kumaris and their supporters, he is the number one enemy and there are PBKs who left Baba's teaching, inspiring the Brahma Kumaris to make fake cases against Virendra dev Dixit. And what is most interesting is Virendra Dev tried very little to prove his innocence because these days if you have no money to deal with corrupt police media politicians and court then you better keep quiet.

I am not saying accusations are bad, but here it looks like a smear campaign and police brutality going around. They should deal with such issues in court with Maryadas (democratic decency).

So, let the court deal with it and I think Virendra dev Dixit is right in the way he is defending the issue. I lived in Kerala and if you are running a business in Kerala then you must bribe the Communist Party and its union otherwise police and officers will destroy your institution.

But here Virendra dev Dixit is claiming Supreme Soul Shiv is with him so, in my opinion, this should not happen to him. But look at the history of all good people who went through this including Jesus and Gandhi. Again if you have a Supreme Soul in you then you don't need a palace and 10 thousand dollar couch like the Brahma Kumari and Indian gurus running a charity (forget the worldly charity and its corruption). Yes, Virendra dev is not doing a single charity and look like bit selfish when he is not donating money to the poor and needy. In reality, he is poor and PBKs are poor too so they don't have lots of money to donate. On the other hand, if their teachings are true then the charity is not an important factor.

Again, you may ask why no miracle and no miracle cure of disease and why Shiva does not protect Virendra dev? The teaching does not support such acts and he is not Jesus to create a miracle and convert people. He is only promoting this knowledge to a hand full and converting or transforming a very few handfuls of souls. He does not have an interest in spreading knowledge like Abrahamic religion, communism or Brahma Kumaris.

He did not say he is 100 percent lust free, but he said is the most lustful thorn on earth and he is on his way to purifying his soul, so even if he does consensual sex I would not complain about it and it should be none of other people's business. But I honestly think he is not promoting sex in his teaching and Ashram.

jayadeepan

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post04 May 2022

Dear Ex Brother,

In 2006, he was 89 and now he must be more than 100 years old. I still hear there is a rape charge against him in 2019 too. A person can be sexually active when they are young, but sexually is very little active when they are 100 years old. And I have not seen many rapists at this age.

He claims he will live another 15 or so years, so far he is healthy and preaches his teaching like a gentleman with a few hours of sleep. When you look at Sister Shivani's very young Dadi she always looks sleep-deprived and can hardly speak loudly. Virendra dev may not sound very spiritual when he talks that's because he tries to be himself and not pretend to be someone he is not. Besides, modern science say you need 30 minutes of exercise, and to eat meat and fish to be healthy, but he only eats rice (bread) and dahl (beans), and looks very healthy to me.
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ex-l

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post05 May 2022

I, personally, never believed the rape charges but I was told by PBKs that there had been consensual sex which, as you write, I am not concerned about.

As adults, it is a private matter between individuals and I think one of the big problems with the original BKs - including Lekhraj Kirpalani - is that they never had good (or any) sex with someone they loved. Whether sex is a "good" or "bad" thing, at least if one experiences it, one has the authority to judge it, and there are problems with the arranged marriage system. We have analyzed Lekhraj Kirpalani behaviour in this aspect and it is clear Virendra Dev Dixit was just following his example.

I had no idea Virendra Dev Dixit was so old now. I've lost track of him. It's pretty insane to still be chasing a 100 year old man.

But what is happening to him now? The last I heard, Interpol had a red notice out to try and catch him and he was hiding somewhere. Has it blown over now, and is he back with the PBKs?

What happens when he dies, is it all over?

Thanks.
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Pink Panther

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post12 May 2022

It is a mistake to think that older (or younger, or even castrated for that matter) men who are "impotent" don't engage in sexual activity. Hands can touch, bodies can be touched, mind can experience pleasure, desire, satisfaction dissatisfaction etc at any age.

I agree that it's is appropriate to not cast any moral value judgements about what consenting adults do. But it is widely accepted in sexual politics that when there is an imbalance of power, even seemingly consenting adults may be in an abusive situation. That is, the abused may not realise they are responding at least partly to that power relationship, until it gets more overtly abusive. The more powerful figure becomes dismissive, disrespectful, aggressive or violent in small or large ways, blackmailing or threatening ...

That power can be through a relationship with an authority figure (boss, older relative, teacher, guru, priest, politician, scout master, mother superior), or it can be simply through the personalities of those involved, dominant v submissive.

The newest area being considered legislatively is "coercive control" - where subtle psychological and emotional means are used to control a person. It is seen where the perpetrator of abuse is also the rescuer from that same abuse. A form of Stockholm Syndrome.
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ex-l

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post20 Nov 2022

The latest update on Virendra Dev Dixit who, I am surprised to discover, may still be alive and is still on the run and yet still uploading videos from unknown locations. The government has appointed a BK VIP contact to head a committee managing the situation, and established a 10 person security team to hunt Virendra Dev Dixit down.

PBK members have also now started their own counter claims against the government, based on their religious rights being violated.
Team formed to find absconding godman of Rohini Ashram: CBI to Delhi HC

The CBI informed the Delhi High Court Thursday that a 10-member team has been constituted to locate absconding ‘godman’ Virendra Dev Dixit.

The submission was made before a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in a plea pertaining to the welfare and protection of rights of women living in Adhyatmik Vidyalaya, an ashram run by Dixit, who has been declared as a proclaimed offender.

The HC asked the counsel appearing for the CBI about the steps taken by the agency in accordance with the court’s last order. The HC was informed that a 10-member team has been constituted to arrest Dixit; further physical and electronic surveillance is being carried out to trace him. The counsel said teams were sent to various branches of the ashram across the country and that Dixit has probably escaped to Nepal.

A status report of November 7, filed by the CBI, states that a lookout circular, followed by a blue corner notice, a red corner notice by Interpol and a non-bailable warrant were issued against Dixit.

What's equally concerning is the court has put a long term BK association in charge of the inquiry committee, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi (seen here with Jayanti Kirpalani).
Kiran Bedi to head Virendra Dev Dixit ashram inquiry committee: Delhi High Court

Delhi High Court has constituted a committee under the supervision of Kiran Bedi to look into the affairs of absconding godman Virendra Dev Dixit's ashram, where women were found to be living in "inhumane conditions".

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla stated that the committee is being constituted to ensure that no woman or child in the institution is subjected to any treatment which may tantamount to breach of their fundamental or other legal rights, Bar and Bench reported.

While clearly breaching their fundamental rights!

During the hearing of the matter, the bench was told that a team of doctors from AIIMS and the Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) had visited the ashram on the orders of the court, and found nothing wrong.

The committee will include the concerned district judge or his nominee, local District Magistrate, Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Crime against Women cell, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, one nominee of the Delhi Commission for Women and a district officer of the Women and Child Development Department.

Earlier this year, the bench was confounded how the women in godman Virendra Dev Dixit's ashram were clearly indoctrinated. In a confusing and concerning statement, following almost excatly the worst course of action that they could, Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi stated that "it can’t be accepted that any sane person would choose to live in such 'inhumane conditions' prevailing at the ashram and even though the inmates may say that they are living there out of their free will". The Delhi Government is seeking to obtain instructions from the Women and Child Development Department as to whether they are ready to take over the institution.
“It seems the court previously called the inmates and spoke to them. The judges were satisfied that these women were there due to their own free will and therefore no direction was passed. But there is one aspect which appears to have missed out. That is how we can accept that any sane person can live in this condition. This indoctrination is there. They may say they are there out of their own free will but can shut our eyes to this. Who is funding this institution? Who is providing for it? They are not willing to come up?"

Would that not also apply to women trapped by the BKs, or the 1,000s of other extreme cults in India, even Christian converts, all of whom would find circumstances as a test of faith and only make them more determined?

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Pink Panther

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Re: The Story of Virendra Dev Dixit

Post22 Nov 2022

All the best grifts, con tricks, rely on the consent of the mark, the victim.

The world is currently experiencing a plague of data hackers. Money & identities stolen, people being fooled by cat-phishing, fake romances, ransom ware etc. All of these have been practiced by cults and religions for centuries.

Cat-phishing: Cat-phishing is a form of deception that involves a person or persons pretending to be someone they are not to lure unknowing victims into a relationship with the intent of exploiting them...

Trojan (see Trojan Horse): something disguised, often as a gift or a benign thing, to be able to bypass defences and exploit the person.

Ransomware: takes over a person's computer (mind/life) and refuses to let them operate freely until they co-operate or hand over money, information, secrets.

You get the picture... Nothing new under the sun
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