PRAJAPITA BRAHMA KUMARIS ISHWARIYA VISHWA VIDYALAYA
Instituting a revolution for peace and harmony
By Brahma Kumari Meera assisted by Brahma Kumar Mohan Tejwani
The Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya – the Godly World Spiritual University, is an Institution that has been working tirelessly for the past seven decades towards creating a world filled with peace and love. The Institution now internationally recognized, has received worldwide acclaim for having created opportunities for people from 129 countries to be in the forefront of various international projects aimed at creating a world where people live in peace and harmony. Acknowledged around the world, the Brahma Kumaris Institution recognizes the intrinsic spirituality and goodness of every human being and helps people rediscover goodness within them, encouraging and facilitating the development of spiritual awareness, attitudes, behaviours and skills through a process of lifelong learning. The Institution provides a caring, co-operative and supportive environment, which encourages individuals to bring out the best in themselves.
As an international Institution, Brahma Kumaris offer people of all backgrounds an opportunity to learn meditation and deepen their understanding of universal principles and innate values through a variety of ducational programmes, courses and learning resources.
The Brahma Kumaris Institution started during the years before the World War II, a period when the world was seen engulfed in hatred and bloodshed, a period when the need for love and peace was immense. It was around the same period that Dada Lekh Raj, then a diamond merchant from Sindh in his late fifties, felt a deep urge for rediscovery of the self, understanding the mystery of the world and realizing the true nature of the Supreme Being. He experienced a series of revelations (Sakshatkars – divine visions) of the Incorporeal Supreme Soul – The Being of Light. Dada Lekh Raj had a call to be a human medium of the Divine so that God might speak and manifest His knowledge though him. He had a call to be an embodiment of virtues, to set an example to inspire others by his practical life and to create other instruments like himself to spread education in Values, Meditation and holistic knowledge so that the Golden Age might dawn. And so an Institution was created, out of the love of souls for God, an Institution of purification, a sacrificial fire, a Yagya. Thus, in the year 1936 acting on the will of the Shiva Baba – the Supreme Father, Dada Lekh Raj initiated his children to form a trust for the greater glory of mankind and formally founded the Brahma Kumaris Institution in its nascent from to further propel his vision of a Value-based society, characterized by love, peace, harmony, health and happiness.
The Brahma Kumaris Institution was initially formed by the many devotees who used to gather at the Satsangs (Spiritual Gathering) conducted by Dada Lekh Raj in Hyderabad in his hometown Sindh. Dada used to offer his religious discourses through these Satsangs. In a short time, the word spread and crowds from various parts of Sindh gathered to attend these spiritual gatherings. Dada’s Satsang came to be initially known as Om Mandali, because when Dada used to chant Om, the listeners used to get into a trance and thus, Dada was also addressed by many as ‘Om Baba’. In course of time, Dada Lekh Raj came to be known as Brahma or Prajapita Brahma and those who were spiritually regenerated through oracles of Brahma were known as Brahma Kumaris and Brahma Kumars.
The Satsangs continued to grow, and with the increase in numbers, a formal structure was needed. Various classes were necessary for the people at different levels of spiritual development. The Knowledge had to be revised and organized into books, so that it would be made available to public. All this took administrative leadership and money. Therefore, it was the will of the Supreme Soul, Shiva Baba, that Brahma appoint someone to be in charge, and that Brahma should donate all of his money to the furtherance of God’s spiritual academy. By now, Dada had already renounced his diamond business and, handed over his entire wealth for the cause of humanity. He then formed a Trust, consisting of only women, and placed his entire movable and immovable properties in their hands to run the Institution.
Thus, he gave dignity and honour to women and they have since then been in the forefront as leaders of revolution in moral, spiritual and human values. In October 1937, devotee Om Radhe and eight other women formed a trust committee for the new Institution, which was called the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya.
The Institution, which started operations from Hyderabad in Sindh was later shifted to India, following the large scale migration of the Yagya devotees after partition, on the command of Shiva Baba, speaking through Brahma Baba, “The Yagya must be moved to India, because the people there would take advantage of this Godly Knowledge. There is a bigger field for service there, and much testing also.” Thus in 1950, the Institution along with then 400 Yagya members left Sindh, and re-established its headquarters at Mount Abu in the state of Rajasthan in India. Subsequently, the activities of the Institution spread to many a territory, and more and more people from all across the globe gathered towards this movement of cleansing this world. Today, the Brahma Kumaris is a worldwide family of men and women working together with unity, a word unknown in the world of today.
The Brahma Kumaris is currently a divine family of about 6,00,000 members who daily study moral and spiritual values and practice meditation at more than 5,022 centres spread over India and 80 other countries. The Institution has gained international recognition for its work on spirituality and the Rajyoga meditation technique. The Institution is affiliated as an NGO to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and also to the UNICEF. The Brahma Kumaris have also been awarded a Peace Medal and ‘Peace Messenger Awards’ by the United Nations.
The Institution offers a seven-day introductory course to those interested in spiritual knowledge at all its centres, which is open to everyone irrespective of nationality, race, religion, caste, creed, sect, gender or age. Recognising the importance of understanding the wider context of human existence, the Institution’s core curriculum addresses the spiritual significance of religious and cultural traditions and explores such themes as life after death, our relationship with God and the purpose of life. The Institution organizes and participates in dialogues across a wide spectrum of issues promoting peace in many local and global for a. Inspired by the vision of a world where people live in harmony with others, the Institution’s purpose is to share that vision of the future while strengthening individual awareness of the dignity inherent in every human being while preparing the framework for a truly harmonious and happy society.