Open Letter to BKWSU

WITHOUT PREJUDICE - WORK IN PROGRESS

A draft, open research project and letter to be addressed to the leadership of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University [BKWSU]

(Please feel free to add/delete and revise as you see fit).

Questions and Comments to be addressed to BKWSU

(approx 27 out of 108 so far - please edit)

To be included in the letter below;

• Specifically how many Sakar Murlis have there been since the beginning of the Yagya and on what dates did they start and stop?
• Why are only five years supply available?
• When did the Divine Decrees start and stop?
• How many copies remain with the BKWSU, where are all the copies of the rest and why were early Murlis destroyed or made unavailable?
• Who wrote all the original early English language materials, what archive exists and where are copies of them?
• When did Brahma Baba and BKs become aware that Shiva Baba was entering, as until at least 1949 there is no mention of ShivaBaba in the BK literature of the time?
• How did Brahma Baba and BKs become aware that Shiva Baba was entering, as until at least 1949 there is no mention of ShivaBaba in the BK literature of the time?
• In 1939, Om Radhe reports Lekhraj Kripalani was aged 54 which would make his date of birth 1885, in 1970s Jagdish Chander states 55 at the incarnation of Shiva, currently the BKWSU states he was 60 and his date of birth was 1879; which is true?
• Are Godly students of Shivababa, who have taken 7 Day course, done Bhatti at Madhuban and followed the lifestyle allowed to receive murli, even though they no longer attend a BK centre?
• Does the BKWSU consider that it is correct for it to copyright and market God's (Shiva) words?
• Does the BKWSU consider that it has the monopoly on God's (Shiva Baba) works
• Why does BapDada only come for a few meetings during the year. Where is He during the rest of the other days and especially during the late spring-summer-early autumn?
• Why the necessity to revise/edit Sakar Murlis? (Please define "revise" and "edit" for clarity).
• Are Avaykt Murlis also revised/edited since 1969? (If so how much?)
• Are the special meetings between Seniors and BapDada recorded and if so are they made public?
• Are the official versions of the BKWSU history falsified, specifically;
• the "incarnation of Shiva in 1936"?
• the story of the creation of the posters in Vishwa Ratan's book?
• Specifically, who has instructed the above and why?
• Has the BKWSU predicted on numerous occasions that Destruction would happen within a period accurate to a year or so during; World War II? 1950? 1976? mid 1980s ("50 Years for Destruction, 50 years for Creation"), Year 2000 ("food storage, water containers")? any other dates?
• When did Janki Kirpalani join and then rejoin the BKWSU?
• Has the BKWSU re-written the population of the world as according to Shiva in the Sakar Murlis in more recent revisions?
• Specifically, who has instructed this, who has carried this out and why?
• Does the BKWSU teach a version of Classical Raja Yoga as describe by Patanjali?
• Is it accurate to describe BK Raja Yoga as "Ancient Raja Yoga" and if so, how when the organization was founded in 1930s?

Specific requests to be addressed to the BKWSU

Requests on the basis of our birthright as BKs

To be included in the letter below. For the purpose of our study as the children of God, we request;

• Copies of all existing Murlis in the following forms, in both pdf (to stop any accusation that we revise them) and 'text only' forms to create an easily searchable database;

oldest version in original Hindi

oldest version in original English

any existing Divine Decrees and Murlis from outside of the 5 year Cycle

most recent version in Hindi

most recent version in English

a constant supply of the current Murli revisions

• A high-level point of official contact where we can receive an official response and clarifications of any issue raised within a reasonable period of time.
• An official commitment to stop the violence and beatings of PBK members and respect their human rights to promote their beliefs.

Requests for public documents

So as to save time and energy and as an act of goodwill, bearing in mind that the organization will in numerous countries have a legal obligation to provide them, the following publicly available documents are requested;

• Copies of the Trust documents of any legal entity presenting the BKWSU worldwide, including any historical bodies, e.g. the original Trust in the 1930s that Lekhraj Kripalani handed over his wealth to and transfer documents.
• Copies of any by-laws of any legal entity presenting the BKWSU worldwide, as referred to official publications.
• An international financial outline of BKWSU activities documenting total donations received annually and the nature of projects funded.

Domain Dispute

• Inquiry into Domain dispute.

Independent Report on the activities and effect of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University

Front Page

70 Years of Cover-ups of the Philosophy and History of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (1932-2007)

What the Leadership of Brahma Kumaris Doesn't Want the United Nations to Know

The BrahmaKumaris.info Research Project

Description of a Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University [BKWSU] Research Project of international scope, presenting a documentation of 108 Questions, Anomalies and Comments on the History and Philosophy of BKWSU, distributing this documentation to libraries, to the printed media and to eminent representatives of public opinion, and addressing open letters to the Senior Members of BKWSU, Religious Communities and cult watch groups, related NGOs, to Governmental departments and journalists of newspapers of note worldwide.

Compiled by BrahmaKumaris.info contributors

Preliminary manuscript delivery for testing purposes September 2007

Section 2

Communications to the Research Project 70 Years of Cover-ups of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University's Philosophy and History (193?-2007)

may be sent to the administrators of this website: URL: www.brahmakumaris.info E-mail: info@brahmakumaris.info

Section 3

Contents

• Preface
• The Research Project
• The documentation
• Open Letter
• Questions, Anomalies and Comments directed to BKWSU
• Recommendations by BrahmaKuris.info Members
• Memorandum of Understanding

Section 5

Areas of Concern

• Financial
• Legal
• The surrender of young girls and acceptance of dowries
• Exit procedures
• Duty of Care
• Banishment
• Leadership response to abuse
• False representation
• Relationship with United Nations
• Effect onto family of new BKs
• Effects of "Hypnosis Induction" in guise of meditation

Section 6

Who are we?

Contributors of BrahmaKumaris.info reflect the broad spectrum of individuals whose lives have been affected by the current leadership of the BKWSU. Those include;

• active Brahma Kumaris or Kumars [BKs]
• independent individuals who consider themselves to be members of the BK religion but who chose not to conform to the proscribe BKWSU lifestyle
• ex-members and survivors of the the BKWSU
• friends and family of BK members whose family have been effected by the influence of the leadership of the BKWSU
• children of active BKs and ex-BKs
• ex-BKWSU members who consider themselves to be Prajapita Brahma Kumars and Kumaris [PBKs]
• members of other BKWSU splinter groups
• journalists, academics and community leaders

Preface

In most countries of civilized human beings, the freedom of religion is a part of the Law of the Land. Together with this freedom is a responsibility of the founding members or its representatives to supply, clarify and guide the members about the true and accurate information pertaining to their establishment. With this, it is naturally understood that people have a right to know the true philosophy and history of the institution that established the religion.

The questions and arguments found on this research project are a partial lists of the many questions found and documented at the brahmakumaris.info website. These questions and arguments were discussed thoroughly by the forum members but sadly without the participation of the Senior Members of the Brahma Kumaris Institution.

The general public does not know the real teachings and history of the BKWSU. Hence, they also do not know the institution's true value in the society.

Problem resolution

The possibility that BKWSU could eventually recognize their undemocratic and unlawful behaviour against the critics and could correct themselves and can be excluded on the ground of their powerful and successful censorship of their true teachings and history, working perfectly until today. Therefore, our research project is working to solve these problems with democratic methods.

One way would be to start a legal action against the institution of BKWSU for the reinstitution of the freedom of religious information pertaining to their teachings. As far as we know unfortunately, we have little or no right to bring our complaint to court. Evidently the ruling class in BKWSU may violate our democratic laws unpunished and without any limitation.

We could however, file a class action, complaint in a Western country on our rights being abridged, as members having giving service (stake holders who were promised by birthright the Knowledge), on having given money earmarked for a particular cause, on being told to give money, surrender retirement accounts/homes/savings because world destruction (yet the seniors kept theirs), on the grounds of mental, verbal, physical and emotional abuse.

Another way is to inform the most important representatives of public opinion about the existence of the documentation and to ask them to inform the general public about the need of restoring the freedom of religious information and to start a free public discussion with the Senior Members of the institution. This we have started without the participation of the BKWSU Senior Members in 2005 (xbkchat.com forum which was shut down for no valid reason) and the next forum at brahmakumaris.info website has been going on up until today but still without the "Official" participation of the BKWSU Senior Members.

Anonymity of the project

While featuring some 300 members of our online community, who are identified by their usernames, a main feature of our project is the anonymity of the persons who work on the documentation. The Open Research Project has decided to present itself to the public only through the results of research and not through persons. The documentation and the progress reports are published under the collective name of brahmakumaris.info Members, on the Internet. As a consequence of anonymity there is no way of material transfer to the Research Project. To distribute its publications to selected addressees the Research Project uses exclusively ordinary mail.

Why do we need strict anonymity? The reason is to be found in the undemocratic and unlawful and uncivilized behaviour of the governing BKWSU Senior Members against any criticism of their “holy teachings” from the Supreme Father, they call God Shiva. Therefrom do arise five strong motivations to remain anonymous.

• (1) To preserve the autonomy of the project, prevent any influence and hindrance from outside the project.
• (2) No lawful citizen has to expose himself to the slander and calumny usually thrown upon the critics by the BKWSU Senior Members, or junior members acting independently, as their only means to answer the criticism.
• (3) The BKWSU Senior Members can divert the attention of the public from the criticism of their teachings to the persons of the critics by stating that the person has personal agenda or issues. Since we don’t present persons the public only has to look at the documentation of criticism.
• (4) In our documentation we present a great number of living critics or forum members who are waiting for a free public discussion. They have to say the decisive word. There is no anonymity of the critics - only the anonymity of the organizers of the documentation.
• (5) Some people behind the project only research and report the factual information about the history and teachings of the BKWSU as discovered and revealed to them by knowledgeable individuals who must remain anonymous.

Section 8

Notes Regarding the Effects on to the Families of BKs

• History
• Current
• Trends

Notes Regarding Mental Health within the BKs

• Suicides
• Mental Breakdown
• Hospitalization due to lack of knowledge of teachings by Mental Health Professionals (as documented on xBKchat.com).

Notes Regarding Patterns of Abuse within the BKs

• Mental
• Sexual
• Financial
• Assault on ones Character/persona

External Review and Ombudsman

• Lessons learnt by ISKCON, Scientology, FWBO and others
• The need for a child Advocate until those responsible for past abuse are brought to justice and progressive/protective changes made for the protection of all children, even those merely visiting.

Responses from cult and NRM professionals

• Defining the terms cult, sect and New Religious Movements
• BKWSU self-identity within the framework of cultic studies

Section 9

Correspondence with and Official response from BKWSU

Legal Action Against this site

If you won't help your members and exBK members, why prevent others from offering resources to them? See the the article on Depression as an example of such a resource. Site members are doing what the BKWSO have failed or refused to do.

References

The following documentation were used for the Research Project:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma_kumaris

2. Brahma Kumaris: A New Religion?. Reender Kranenborg, Free University of Amsterdam. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.

3. Brahma Kumaris: Conquering A Callous World with Purity. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. “"The most strict will not eat food which is not prepared by a BK. While traveling they abstain from public fard and carry their own utensils for cooking."”

4. Hardy, Hardayal (1984). Struggles and Sorrows: The Personal Testimony of a Chief Justice. Vikas Publishing

House, 37-39. ISBN 0706925637.

5. Walliss, John (2002). The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity. Ashgate

Publishing, 99-129. ISBN 978-0754609513.

6. Chander, B. K Jagdish (1981). Adi Dev: The first man. B.K. Raja Yoga Center for the Brahma Kumaris World

Spiritual University..

7. Walliss, John (2001), Reflexive Traditions: New Religious Movements and the 'Negotiation' of Identity

8. Brahma Kumaris Administration. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-08-10. “Present statistics indicate that the University

has 825,000 students and over 8,500 centres in 100 countries and territories.”

9. Babb, Lawrence A. (1981). "On celibate marriages: the Polish Catholics' encounter with Hindu spirituality".

Glancing: Visual Interaction in Hinduism", Journal of Anthropological Research Winter (4): 387-401.

10. Ratan, Vishwa (2000). A Unique Experience. Autobiography of Dada Vishwa Ratan. Om Shanti Press, 57. ISBN 955-

95823-3-X.

11. Brahma Kumaris: Landmarks in History. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

12. Om Radhe (1939), Is This Justice?. The Pharmacy Printing Press, Bunder Road, Karachi

More

1. (1994) Women under the Bo Tree: Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka, Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521461290.

2. Robbins, Thomas (1997). Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary ApocalyptiMovements. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415916486.

3. Babb, Lawrence A. (1987). Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0706925637.

4. Reender Kranenborg. Brahma Kumaris: A New Religion?. Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

5. Klimo, Jon (1998). Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources. North AtlantiBooks, 100. ISBN 978-1556432484.

6. Wilson, Bryan; Eileen Barker, James Beckford, Anthony Bradney, Colin Campbell, George Chryssies, Peter Clarke, Paul Heelas, Massimo Introvigne, Lawrence Lilliston, Gordon Melton, Elizabeth Puttick, Gary Sherpherd, Colin Slee, Frank Usarski (1999). in Bryan Wilson: New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415200493.

7. Hardy, Hardayal (1984). Struggles and Sorrows: The Personal Testimony of a Chief Justice. Vikas Publishing House, 37-39. ISBN 0706925637.

8. Radhe, Brahma-Kumari (1939). Is this justice?: Being an account of the founding of the Om Mandali & the Om Nivas and their suppression, by application of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908.. Pharmacy Printing Press, 35-36.

9. Walliss, John (2002). The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity. Ashgate Publishing, 99-129. ISBN 978-0754609513.

10. Chander, B. K Jagdish (1981). Adi Dev: The first man. B.K. Raja Yoga Center for the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University..

11. Abbott, Elizabeth (2001). A History of Celibacy. James Clarke & Co., 172-174. ISBN 0718830067.

12. Chryssides, George D. (2001). Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements. Scarecrow Press, 35-36.

13. Barrett, David V (2001). The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions. Cassell & Co.. ISBN 978-0304355921. “'sex is an expression of 'body-consciousness' and leads to the other vices', probably stems in part from the origins of the movement in the social conditions of the 1930s India when women had to submit to their husbands.”

14. Hodgkinson, Liz (2002). Peace and Purity: The Story of the Brahma Kumaris a Spiritual Revolution. HCI, 2-29. ISBN 1558749624.

15. Howell, Julia Day (2005). in Peter Clarke: Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge, 63-64. ISBN 978-0415267076. “The call for women brahmins (i.e. kumaris or 'daughters') to remain celibate or chaste in marriage inverted prevailing social expectations that such renunciation was proper only for men and that the disposal of women's sexuality should remain with their fathers and husbands. The 'Anti-Om Mandali Committee' formed by outraged male family members violently persecuted Brahma Baba's group, prompting their flight to Karachi and withdrawal from society. Intense world rejection gradually eased after partition in 1947, when the BKs moved from Pakistan to Mt Abu.”

16. Coupland, Reginald (1944). The Indian Problem: Report on the Constitutional Problem in India. Oxford University Press.

17. Hunt, Stephen J. (2003). Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 120. ISBN 0754634108.

18. Howell, Julia (Sep 1998). "Gender Role Experimentation in New Religious Movements". Journal for the ScientifiStudy of Religion 37 (3): 453-461.

19. Howell, Julia Day (September 1998). "Gender Role Experimentation in New Religious Movements: Clarification of the Brahma Kumari Case". Journal for the ScientifiStudy of Religion 37 (3): 453-461. DOI:10.2307/1388052. “Today the leadership of the BK movement in India remains heavily female. Sisters, or kumaris (daughters), are still "put in front", that is favored for the position of "center-in-charge" (head of a local center). As of De1995 all Indian centers were run by "sisters". However, "brothers" also reside in many of the centers run by "sisters". Brothers are expected to work to earn an outside income, which provides a substantial share of the support of the centers, and do the domestiwork other than cooking. This frees the sisters to engage full-time in service to the organisation as teachers, leaders of meditation sessions and spiritual directors. Indian migrants made up half the number of Brahmins in the UK and brothers headed only 1/3 of the 42 centers there.”

20. Nesbitt, Eleanor; A. Henderson (April 2003). "Religious Organisations in the UK and Values Education Programmes for Schools". Journal of Beliefs and Values, 24 (1): 75-88.

21. Bedi, Kiran (2007). It's Always Possible : One Woman's Transformation of India's Prison System. Himalayan Institute Press. ISBN 978-0893892586.

22. Lochtefeld, Ph.D., James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism Vol. I, entry "Brahma Kumaris". Rosen, New York. ISBN 0-8239-3179-X.

23. Bartholomeusz, Tessa J. (1994). Women Under the Bo Tree,:Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions, Edited by John Clayton (University of Lancaster), Steven Collins (University of Chicago) and Nicholas de Lange (University of Cambridge). Rosen, New York. ISBN 0-521-46129-4.

24. Brahma Kumaris: Conquering A Callous World with Purity. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. “"The most strict will not eat food which is not prepared by a BK. While traveling they abstain from publifard and carry their own utensils for cooking."”

25. Whaling, Prof Frank (2004). Encyclopedia of New Religions; New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities, Edited by Christopher Partridge and Gorden Melton. Rosen, New York. ISBN 0-745-95073-6.

26. Hinnells, John (1997). The Penguin Dictionary of Religions, Extract by Eileen Barker. Rosen, New York. ISBN 0-14-051261-6.

27. Barker, Eileen (1989). New Religious Movement: A Practical Introduction. HMSO, London, 168-70. ISBN 0-14-051261-6.

28. Melton, J. Gordon (1993). The Encyclopedia of American Religions, 4th edition. Gale, Detroit, 909-10.

29. Brahma Kumaris: A New Religion?. Reender Kranenborg, Free University of Amsterdam. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.

30. Pathways To Higher Consciousness. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.

31. The Divine Descent of God. Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishawariya Vishwa Vidyalaya. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

32. Hindus In America Speak out on Abortion Issues. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-18. “The Brahma Kumaris view the body as a physical vehicle for the immortal soul, and therefore the issue is not "pro-life" or "anti-life" but a choice between the amount of suffering caused to the souls of the parents and child in either course, abortion or motherhood. They view existing legislation in America as fair and reasonable, with the proviso that abortion after the 4th month should be avoided except in medical emergencies, since in their view the soul enters the fetus in the 4th to 5th month.”

33. Barrett, David V (2001). The New Believers. Cassell & Co, 265. ISBN 0-304-35592-5. “Time is cyclical with each 5,000 year cycle consisting of a perfect Golden Age, a slightly degraded Silver age, a decadent Copper Age, and an Iron Age which is characterized by violence, greed, and lust, each of these lasts for exactly 1,250 years. Our current Iron Age will shortly come to an end, after which the cycle will begin again.”

34. Brahma Kumaris: Conquering A Callous World with Purity. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

35. Beit-Hallahmi, Benjaminin (2003). ApocalyptiDreams and Religious Ideologies: Losing and Saving Self and World. PSYCHOANALYTIREVIEW, VOL 90; PART 4, 403-439. ISBN 0-304-35592-5. “A case study of Brahma Kumaris, a contemporary group characterized by an apocalyptivision (kept hidden from nonmembers).”

36. Babb, Lawrence A. (1987). Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0706925637. “Sexual intercourse is unnecessary for reproduction because the souls that enter the world during the first half of the Cycle are in possession of a special yogipower (yog bal) by which they conceive children”

37. Lalrinawma, V.S. (2003). The Liberation of Women in and through the Movement of the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris, ISPCK. Cambridge Press, Delhi, 13. ISBN 81-7214-771-6.

38. Babb, Lawrence A. (1981). "On celibate marriages: the Polish Catholics' encounter with Hindu spirituality". Glancing: Visual Interaction in Hinduism", Journal of Anthropological Research Winter (4): 387-401.

39. Ratan, Vishwa (2000). A Unique Experience. Autobiography of Dada Vishwa Ratan. Om Shanti Press, 57. ISBN 955-95823-3-X.

40. Brahma Kumaris: Landmarks in History. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.

41. Howell and Nelson (1998). "On celibate marriages: the Polish Catholics' encounter with Hindu spirituality". Glancing: Visual Interaction in Hinduism", Journal of Anthropological Research. “in order to progress to the next stage of membership - the visit to the University's headquarters in Rajasthan during the period where its deceased founder communicates via trance-medium - they have to not only demonstrate their commitment by following the recommended lifestyle but also, more importantly, be seen to be doing so by the university. this is instrinsicly linked with the second technique, the utilisation and negotiation of different metaphors or readings of the university's theodicy at the different events and in different types of literature in relation to its intended (core or periphery) audience" ... "amongst committed, core members "...the tradition is lived [and expressed] without apology, translation or dilution".”

42. Howell, Julia Day (2005). in Peter Clarke: Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge, 63-64. ISBN 978-0415267076. “The BK teachings revise Hindu beliefs in a Golden Age that deteriorates into successive ages in an endlessly recurring cycle of time; according to the movement, we are now in the worst age, on the eve of destruction, and only BKs who have purified themselves through a vegetarian diet and chastity and cultivated 'soul consciousness', will be reborn into the Golden Age.”

43. George D., Vishwa. A Reader in New Religious Movements, co-edited by Margaret Z. Wilkins, 270. ISBN 0-80826-6168-9.

44. Pavitra, B.K. (Feb 2000). "Nari Uthan Samaya Ki Avsayakta". Prgati Path Pradarshak 6 (3 - 6): 8.

45. Babb, Lawrence A. (Spring 1984)). "Indigenous Feminism in a Modern Hindu Sect". Signs 9 (3): 399 - 416.

46. Brahma Kumaris: Global Hospital. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.

47. ECOSOC. UNO. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

48. List of UN NGO and respective status within UNICEF. UNO. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

49. BBC. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

50. Hinduism Today. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

51. Walliss, John (2002). The Brahma Kumaris As a Reflexive Tradition: Responding to Late Modernity. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0754609513. “Another rendition of the University's Millenarianism [is] put forward by a group named the Advance Party. This group is made up of predominantly disaffected ex-members of the University and are highly critical of what they allege to be the increasing worldliness and corruptness of the University's hierarchy. The University, they claim on their website, has become a true Ravan Rajya (Kingdom of Devil) where pomp and show and grandeur are given preference over true godly knowledge. At a deeper level, the Advance Party's critique is aimed at the BK theodicy and the manner in which they allege its millenarianism has been understood.”

52. Advance Knowledge. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

53. Introvigne, Richardson, Massimo, James T (2001). "Brainwashing theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reposts on Cults and Sects". Journal for the ScientifiStudy of Religion. “the reference to "alternation and control of the personality" hides a notion of brainwashing, as evidence by the district attorney Fiscal of Tenrife Canary Islands, in the 1999 case that he hopes will become a landmark example of prosecuting an association accused of practising "alternation and control of the personality" of its members. the District Attorney states that the new provision introduced in the criminal code represents an in-depth modification of Spanish law and offers the possibility of prosecuting a 'destrcctive cult' whose features are group dynami"hypnotiprocedeures" ("turning the attention of the member from outside to inside") and "mind control (Casanovas 1999). The case refers to the Atman Foundation (originally a splinter group form the Brahma Kumaris).”

54. Beam them up, Heidi - Remembering the Las Cañadas suicide sect scare. Tenerife News. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. “She told her interlocutor: "The group was no sect and I have never worked in one. I was accused of planning the suicide of a group of friends who had merely come over to spend Christmas in Tenerife, “What actually happened in 1998 was the result of an act of a daughter’s vengeance on her mother who was one of the group. Six months before they had had an enormous family row and it was the daughter who contacted Interpol and told them her mother and another hundred people were in the mountains of Tenerife intending to commit mass suicide.” The daughter, she said, had informed the authorities that the group was a destructive sect."”

55. Walliss, John (Sept 1999). "When Prophecy Fails: The Brahma Kumaris and the Pursuit of the Millennium(s)". British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sheffield.

56. Kościańska, Agnieszka Z. (2003). "On celibate marriages: the Polish Catholics' encounter with Hindu spirituality". Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. “To be successful on this path one must fulfil very strict requirements, which totally reorganise everyday life of both members and their families. Families of converts become arenas of conflict between spirituality rooted in Hindu tradition”

57. Walliss, John (2002). . “"This is part of a lengthy answer to the question of how the University could claim that Raja Yoga is the precursor to and influence of world religions that historically predate it often by a few thousand years. Again, 'Baba' is cited as the source of ultimate authority".”

58. Walliss, John (2002). , 110-111. “"I conclude by speculating on the possibility that a number of prophetifailures may have been instrumental in the University's shift in world orientation and the Advance Party's schism in the mid 70s."”

59. Walliss, John (2002). , 98. “In addition, they accuse the University hierarchy of actively censoring or altering murlis that could potentially undermine their privileged position or which 'don't suit their philosophy'. The 'Special instruments' (senior members are, they allege 'constantly revising Murlis" to the extent that, for example, a passage from a 1969 murli referring to Shiva being unable to 'mount a virgin' was altered in the 1990 revised edition before being removed completely in the 1993 revision."”

60. Howell, Julia Day (Sept 1998). "Gender Role Experimentation in New Religious Movements: clarification of the Brahma Kumari case". Journal for the ScientifiStudy of Religion 37 (3): 453-461. “"The likelihood that surrendered sisters in India will remain Brahmins throughout their lives is increased by the practise of parent giving dowries to the Brahma Kumaris for daughters they concede will not marry. This practise goes back to the early days of the organization but it is not clear how common it was. Whaling and Babb report it as an occasional practise. Recently the pattern has been formalized, with retreats at Mount Abu being offered for girls in their mid-teens who may wish to undertake a fuller commitment to the organization. The girls are offered a short period of taking classes and living near Senior Sisters, at the end of which they may nominate to undertake a year trial as surrendered sisters. A payment equivalent to a dowry is required from the girls' natural families to cover their living expenses over the trail period. This payment is also meant to prevent parent "dumping" daughters on the Brahma Kumaris to avoid the dowries and other costs of ordinary marriages. Return to the world for women who have has such a dowry paid for them is difficult."”

61. The PM's wife, the Druid priestess and the no-sex guru. The Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

62. Is Cherie becoming a Brahma Kumari?. DNA India. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

63. BKWSU History. BKWSU. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.

64. Beloved "Didi," Sivabhaktar and Co-Head of Brahma Kumaris, Passes In Bombay. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. “Sister Denise, Director of the San Francisco Center, flew right away to Mt. Abu, and shared this very intimate account of the traditional 13-day period of sacred ritual and vigil which honored Didi: "Large piles of red rose petals covered her - offered by nearly 1,500 devotees who managed the difficult ascent up Mt. Abu, braving the driving rains. After two days, we put her on a wooden litter and carried her through the city of Mt. Abu, pinnacled high above the flat plains of Rajasthan far below. Ghee, sandalwood and other substances were applied to her body. She was placed on the wood pyre and cremated. Soon afterward, messages began to come from Didi through one of previous month, while apparently in a coma state, had been in trance, in total God-consciousness, enjoying the fulfillment of all her deep spiritual sadhanas. Didi shared detailed accounts of everything that was transpiring in the so-called "transition experience.' One message said that the sincere and deep meditations performed by so many of the Brahma Kumaris worldwide during this time had purified the womb that Didi would enter for her next birth on the 13th day. On that 13th day, rather than just deliver a message through the medium, she came fully into the body. I was there and saw this.”

65. Hinduism Today. Hinduism Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. “Prajapita Brahma gave up his physical frame on January 18, 1969. This day is celebrated as the day of his spiritual ascension. It is believed that he continues to aid the organization from inner worlds, but the ultimate guidance and authority still comes directly from God Siva, who has since chosen another to be His "trance messenger." Currently Sister Raday Mohini serves as the instrument to give voice to Siva's messages, but this is viewed as a temporary assignment given by God. Every year, around February/March, a gathering occurs in Mt. Abu where Siva speaks, guides and gives blessings. This sets the patterns for the coming year as the guidance is distributed to the centers around the world, including through their intra-organizational e-mail”

66. Race for Raisina: Shekhawat vs Patil. IBN. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. “Dadiji ke shareer mein Baba aye ... Maine unse baat ki ("Baba entered Dadi's body and he communicated to me through her")”