New Religious Movements
Brahma Kumaris
Eastern Movements
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Origin 1937
A modern spiritual movement founded in 1937 in Hyderabad, Sindh, then British India and now Pakistan, by Dada Lekhraj, a wealthy diamond merchant who reported a series of visions and reorganized his household and followers as Om Mandli, later renamed the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. He came to be addressed within the movement as Prajapita Brahma. Its teaching centers on raja yoga meditation aimed at recognizing the self as an eternal soul distinct from the body, on belief in a single Supreme Soul it calls God Shiva, and on a disciplined ethical life that includes strict celibacy and vegetarianism for its committed members. Unusually among new religious movements originating in South Asia, its administrative leadership has been predominantly female since its founding. It holds general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and runs meditation and values-education programs in many countries.
Facts
Trajectory
Membership Over TimeJulia Howell's 2006 scholarly chapter records about 450,000 people on the Brahma Kumaris' own rolls at the turn of the twenty-first century, up from roughly 35,000 in 1993 and 400,000 in 1998, while noting that most of those counted were casual participants rather than fully committed adherents. 3 Membership Over TimeThe Brahma Kumaris' own official website states over one million students worldwide across 110 countries, matching the figure Wikipedia separately reports for 2019 of more than eight thousand centres and over one million members, up sharply from Howell's turn-of-century figure. 4 Membership Figure As Of Membership Figure As Of Basis of the Membership Figure Basis of the Membership FigureScholarly or Demographic Estimate 3 Status
Status TodayIn active religious use 1 Legal StatusHolds general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, a formal standing few new religious movements have obtained. 1 Belief
TheologyTeaches belief in a single incorporeal Supreme Soul, God Shiva, distinct from the many human souls it holds are likewise eternal. Open Questions
Institutional Wealth or FinancesNo aggregate figure found. 2 The Brahma Kumaris charges no membership or course fees and states on its own site that it runs entirely on voluntary cash and in kind donations, including land or gold on occasion, with large events and programs often self funded by the followers who benefit from them rather than drawn from a central treasury. No consolidated worldwide asset or revenue figure for the organization was found in the sources consulted this wave. Origins
Origin Period Place of OriginHyderabad, Sindh, then British India, now Pakistan 1 FounderDada Lekhraj (later addressed within the movement as Prajapita Brahma) 1 Finances
Financial Disclosure RegimeThe Brahma Kumaris is a non governmental organization holding consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and with UNICEF. It publishes a general funding statement on its own website but no consolidated worldwide financial account was found. Donations to affiliated bodies such as the Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation qualify for tax deduction in various countries. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Founded By
Originated In
Sources
1. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements
James R. Lewis (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2004
2. Funding (Brahma Kumaris official site)
3. Howell, "Brahma Kumaris (Daughters of Brahma)," in Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, 2006
Julia Howell, Routledge (in Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, ed. Peter B. Clarke), 2006
4. Brahma Kumaris, Official Website (About Us)
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (Australia)View the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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