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5.
Experiences of the Founders/Messengers
of Less Well-Known Religious Traditions
Brahma Kumaris
This is a predominantly female movement – the name means the pure
daughters of Brahma. It was, however, initiated by a man, Dada Lekhraj
(1876–1969) who became known as Brahma Baba. He was brought up a
Hindu and made his fortune as a jeweller. It was not until he was 60 years
old, that his spiritual revelations began, in the form of visions of Shiva
which occurred over a period of several months. He gained an insight
into the divine which led to him giving up the business and founding a
movement of Raja Yoga, which emphasized meditation and aimed at
purity of body and soul, with members dressing symbolically in white.
Brahma Baba lived until the age of 93.
He was succeeded by Dadi Prakashmani (1923–2007) as Chief Admin-
istrative Head (Dadi means elder sister). Born in Hyderabad, Sind, Dadi
Prakashmani’s childhood name was Rama. Her father was a renowned
astrologer and foresaw his daughter’s destiny to lead a spiritual life in the
service of humanity that would span eight decades and reach across all
continents. When she was only 14 years old, Rama became one of the
Brahma Kumaris trustees, all of whom were women, and she took the
name ‘Prakashmani’ (‘Jewel of Light’). The course of her life was set and
she went on to lead the movement, later joined by Dadi Janki (born 1916),
as from its inception, the movement was led by women.
In 1984 Dadi Prakashmani was awarded the Peace Medal and she gave
the presidential address at the Parliament of the Worlds’ Religions Cente-
nary in Chicago in 1993. The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
(BKWSU) now has centres worldwide and is increasingly socially engaged.
In 1980 became a UN Non-Governmental Organization.
Brahmo Samaj
Rammohun Roy (1772–1833), son of a Brahmin, was a well-educated
free-thinker who studied various religious traditions and disagreed
Less Well-Known Religious Traditions
41
with any form of what he considered idolatry, whether in Hinduism,
Buddhism, Christianity or Islam. Seeing himself as a Hindu Unitarian,
finding a monotheistic purity in the Vedas, he eventually founded the
Brahmo Samaj in 1828 as a group of people committed to the worship of
One God. He campaigned, ultimately successfully, against the practice of
Sati (suttee).
The movement was subsequently led by Debendranath Tagore (1817–
1905), the eldest son of Prince Dwarkanath Tagore. He had experiences
of the immanence of God in all things, which moved him to turn his back
on the luxurious life he could have led. Tagore disseminated the views of
the movement, gained a large following and initiated services of worship.
He compiled the
Brahmo Dharma
from passages in the
Upanishads
and
established and a forest ashram in Bengal named Shantiniketan – the
abode of peace. The movement expanded and spread, but ultimately split
in 1866, when the Brahmo Samaj of India was formed. Tagore’s son,
Rabindranath, became a Nobel Prize-winning poet.
Baha’i
Baha’u’llah (1817–1892) which means ‘The Glory of God’ in Arabic,
was the name taken by Mirza Husayn Ali when he assumed leadership
of a group who thus became known as the Baha’is. A well-educated noble-
man, married with three children, Husayn Ali, instead of following a
political career, devoted himself to good works. This earned him the nick-
name ‘Father of the Poor’. He was a follower of the Bab (meaning ‘the
gate’) who led a religious movement, which aroused the ire of the Islamic
clergy and led to the Bab’s execution in 1850 and subsequently
to Husayn Ali’ s arrest. Husayn Ali was spared death but imprisoned
for four months in the ‘Black Pit’, a notorious dungeon in Tehran. It
was there that he had a revelation that God sent manifestations to
humanity from time to time, such as Zarathushtra, the Buddha, Jesus
and the Bab.
During the days I lay in the prison of Tihran, though the galling
weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little
sleep, still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something
flowed from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty
torrent that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a
lofty mountain. Every limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire.
At such moments My tongue recited what no man could bear to
hear.
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Religious and Spiritual Experience
42
On release, he was banished but was accompanied by loyal followers
who accepted that he was the next manifestation of the divine, as foretold
by the Bab. A prolific writer, he wrote letters to world leaders including
Queen Victoria, urging cooperation on an international level to bring
about world peace. It was in exile in Akka (Acre) in Palestine, where he
spent the last 24 years of his life, that he wrote the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the
Most Holy Book). His teachings emphasize the oneness of God, religion
and humanity.
Quakers
George Fox (1624–1691) having become disillusioned with formal creeds,
decided to leave the Church of England to seek a more direct spiritual
response to God. He led a solitary life, travelling widely throughout the
country, and was known for his strong egalitarianism, epitomized by his
refusal to doff his hat to anyone.
He had an extraordinary experience which he recorded in the first
chapter of his diary,
then, oh, then, I heard a voice which said, ‘There is one, even Christ
Jesus, that can speak to thy condition’; and when I heard it, my heart
did leap for joy.
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He found comfort in a close relationship with Jesus Christ through the
guidance of his own ‘Inner Light’ and spirit. He travelled around the
country, spreading his message to groups of friends. Although welcomed
by some, he endured harsh conditions and no little opposition as he spoke
to crowds of people in towns and market places. He occasionally inter-
rupted church services, to proclaim ‘the truth’, and was imprisoned eight
times. Such was his faith that he did whatever he felt God told him, how-
ever strange. One day he felt compelled to leave his shoes with shepherds
outside the city of Lichfield and to go through the streets crying ‘Woe to
the bloody city of Lichfield’ during which he had a vision of blood run-
ning through the town and the market place. It was not until some time
later that he learned of events many years before, which had led to a great
number of Christians having been martyred there.
His spiritual experiences led George Fox to set up The Religious
Society of Friends (of the Truth). They also became known as Quakers.
It is said that this was as a result of Fox, when up before a judge on a
charge of blasphemy, telling his honour to ‘Tremble at the word of the
Lord’. It is also perhaps an allusion to their actual trembling in meetings.
Less Well-Known Religious Traditions
43
They eschew hierarchy, liturgy and any of the trappings of formal
worship, and rely solely on the prompting of the spirit. Fox’s movement
grew and is still strong today, although more open-minded theologically.
Friends are notable for their pacifism and their simple lifestyle, living
according to the guidance of the spirit, seeing ‘that of God’ in everyone.
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