ABOUT THE BRAHMA KUMARIS
Who We Are …
The Brahma Kumaris is a worldwide spiritual organisation dedicated to personal transformation and world renewal through the power of meditation and spiritual values. Originally founded in India in 1937, there are one million students worldwide across 110 countries. The Brahma Kumaris is the largest spiritual organisation in the world that is led by women.
In Australia, The Brahma Kumaris is a non-for-profit registered charity dedicated to spiritual education and practice. We have been serving our communities for over 50 years and offer meditation and spiritual practices around Australia.
The Brahma Kumaris study Raja Yoga, the form of meditation that leads to clear self-awareness and personal transformation. The spiritual principles we study support and facilitate this transformation. We believe that by changing the self, we can inspire others towards positive change in themselves and in the world.
Our gatherings are open to people from all ethnic, religious and social backgrounds who share an intense interest in cultivating peace and virtues in themselves and a connection with the Divine. Some choose to dedicate themselves to this as a path of lifelong learning, study and application in daily life.
We offer a variety of courses that cover positive thinking, meditation, spiritual philosophy, stress management, and personal development. You are warmly invited to join us for our evening talks and meditations, weekend retreats and other events and programs. Please explore this website for details of programs offered and information about our Centres in Australia.
Our Humble Beginnings ...
The Brahma Kumaris was founded in 1937 by Dada Lekhraj Kripalani, a retired businessman living in Hyderabad – a city that now belongs to Pakistan. He was ‘given’ the spiritual name of Prajapita Brahma, and is lovingly known as Brahma Baba.
After experiencing a series of visions, Brahma Baba was inspired to create a spiritual school that emulated the principles of a virtuous life based on meditative practice. He developed a spiritual study that could be taught to people of all ages, cultures and castes and went on to share this with his immediate community. The original school, Om Mandali, consisted of a handful of men, women and children, who later developed a self-sufficient community and devoted their lives to spiritual study, meditation and self-transformation.
As the community grew in strength and numbers, their commitment to living a spiritual life also grew despite the intense social upheavals that came from Partition as Pakistan and Bangladesh were separated from India. The initial connections that forged in Hyderabad, moved to Karachi and then finally settled in Mt Abu, Rajasthan in 1950. During this time, their unique knowledge about the Soul, God and Time was revealed and a distinct curriculum based on these universal principles developed.
The Role of Women as Spiritual Leaders
Mt Abu is located high in the Aravali Mountain range of Rajasthan, and provides an ideal setting for spiritual study and reflection. After partition of India, Brahma Baba used his remaining financial resources to establish what is now known as the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya (Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University) where he nominated eight young women to take charge of administrating the university.
The Brahma Kumaris is the largest spiritual organisation in the world that is led by women and despite the fact that women being in charge was completely unheard of and very controversial back in 1937, Brahma Baba established these young women in their administrative roles and worked with them to develop a ‘spiritual’ administration based on love, courage and virtuous practice from the very beginning. The result was, they grew to have an outstanding capacity and commitment to creating unity.
Who are the Students?
The Brahma Kumaris started with students who then volunteered to create spaces where others could come to study meditation to help them in their lives. The knowledge we teach is available to anyone, and as a result… you could say we have gathered a lot of “friends of the BKs” over the years.
With more than one million students across 110 countries, we are individuals of all different ages, cultures, professional and even spiritual backgrounds. We study a knowledge that nurtures and inspires us to create and live our best lives
The Brahma Kumaris in Australia
Activities and Projects
Read more about The Brahma Kumaris in Australia and the activities and projects in the communities around Australia HERE.
Our Senior Yogis
Inspirational Yogis
Read about the Senior Yogi’s who have led our Spiritual University past, present and future HERE.
Policy Statements
Child Safe Statement
At The Brahma Kumaris in Australia, the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults are important priorities. The right to enjoy a safe environment free from threats, abuse, neglect, bullying or exploitation is our community service commitment. As a child-safe organisation, we value and celebrate children and young people for who they are and the contributions they make. Download The Brahma Kumaris Child Safe Manual HERE.
