'When I Change, the World Changes'

What it means to be a Brahma Kumari in Today's Britain

By David Young

At a meeting on Thursday 19 May at the Brahma Kumaris Centre in Hove , the Inter-Faith Group met to hear about the history and the present working of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University . Those attending included young and old from different faith communities.

Sister Linda Lee described how their foundation was in 1936 in Sind , which is now part of Pakistan , by Brahma, a self-made diamond merchant, from a vision he had of a heaven on earth. It started with his desire to create a school. It began a change in his life, which attracted others to be inspired also. With the partition of India , Brahma moved everything from Sind to Mount Abu , a small hill station overlooking the Rajasthan plains bordering the Pakistan border.

Before he passed away in 1969 Brahma had the strong conviction that he ought to pass on the administration of what had now become a University into the hands of women - a very revolutionary thing to do at that time. It was a bold move and paid off handsomely as the women carried forward his vision with vigour so that after expanding to London and from there to many other countries there are now Centres in 88 nations.

Following this brief history, Sister Sarah Cavanagh went on to describe the daily routine of the Centre, where the day begins with early rising at 4.00 am followed by time for silent meditation with the first classes starting at 6.00 am - clearly a challenge to all the audience! Those attending the classes come for many different reasons, some even coming as a last resort to find peace and a solution for life's difficulties. The classes include rajyoga, positive thinking, special classes on subjects like addiction. The classes include men and women, though there are also some separate classes for women only, as well as recently started courses for men only. From the Hove Centre, there are now new centres in Lewes, Eastbourne , Crawley and soon one to be established in Worthing .

Three students then spoke, giving their experiences of learning from these classes. One, spoke of the positive thinking she had gained, having been rather a shut-in kind of person. She found the early start resulted in her gaining energy for her studies. Another, who was studying pharmacy, had found the courses helped her to concentrate more on her studies and she felt nourished by the times spent on meditation. The third spoke of his upbringing to believe in God, but he had broken away to follow his own enjoyments. After being influenced by others, he felt drawn back to the Brahma Kumaris way which led to change in his life and more understanding of himself. He was able to break out of self-imposed boundaries in his life.

The evening ended with a time for everyone to experience a few minutes of meditation followed by a pictorial presentation on screen of the University centre at Mount Abu , with its excellent buildings and fine facilities set in the natural surroundings of the hills. Before leaving everyone was served with some delicious refreshments. The atmosphere was welcoming and gave everyone a family feeling.