Lekhraj Khubchand Kirpalani (15 December 1876 – 18 January 1969), also known as Dada Lekhraj, was the founder of the

Brahma Kumaris The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.Hyderabad, Sindh Hyderabad ( Sindhi and ur, ; ) is a city and the capital of Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the second-largest city in Sindh, and the eighth largest in Pakistan. Founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro of th ...

in 1876. In his fifties, Kirpalani reported having

visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

and retired, returning to Hyderabad and turning to spirituality.

Om Mandali

In 1936, Lekhraj established a spiritual organisation called Om Mandali. Originally a follower of the

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

Vallabhacharya Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...

sect and member of the exogamous

Bhaiband Bhaiband, meaning “brotherhood”, are a Hindu jāti within the Sindhi caste of India and Pakistan. History The Sindh region was ruled by various Muslim dynasties from 711 until the conquest by the British in 1843, when it became a part of Bo ...

community, he is said to have had 12

gurus Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

but started preaching or conducting his own ''

satsang A satsanga (), also rendered satsang, refers to the practice of gathering in the company of good people for the performance of devotional activities. It also refers to an audience with a Satguru for yogic instruction. Satsangas are group events, o ...

s'' which, by 1936, had attracted around 300 people from his community, many of them being wealthy. Once a relative reported that a spiritual being (

Shiv The word Shiv or shiv may refer to: People with the name * Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a West Indies cricketer nicknamed Shiv Arts, entertainment, and media * Shiv, a fictional location in Magic: The Gathering, see Dominaria * Shiv, a villain in the ...

, the supreme soul) entered in his body and spoke through him. Since then, Lekhraj has been regarded by the Brahma Baba as a medium of God, and as such, speaking channeled messages of high importance within the religious movement's belief system. In 1937, Lekhraj named some of the members of his

as a managing committee, and transferred his fortune to the committee. This committee, known as ''Om Mandali'', was the nucleus of the Brahma Kumaris. Several women joined Om Mandali, and contributed their wealth to the association. The Sindhi community reacted unfavourably to Lekhraj's movement due to the group's philosophy that advocated women to be less submissive to their husbands, going against that strong cultural aspect at the time in India, and also preached chastity. Some organisations accused

Om Mandali The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s. He was also accused of forming a cult and controlling his community through the art of

hypnotism Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

. To avoid persecution, legal actions and opposition from family members of his followers, Lekhraj moved the group from Hyderabad to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, where they settled in a highly structured ashram. The

Bhaibund Bhaiband, meaning “brotherhood”, are a Hindu jāti within the Sindhi caste of India and Pakistan. History The Sindh region was ruled by various Muslim dynasties from 711 until the conquest by the British in 1843, when it became a part of Bom ...

anti-Om Mandli Committee that had opposed the group in Hyderabad followed them. On 18 January 1939, the mothers of two girls aged 12 and 13 filed an application against Om Mandali, in the Court of the Additional Magistrate in Karachi. The women, from Hyderabad, stated that their daughters were wrongfully being detained at the Om Mandali in

. The court ordered the girls to be sent to their mothers. Om Radhe of the Om Mandali appealed against the decision in the High Court, where the decision was upheld. Later, Hari's parents were persuaded to let their daughter stay at the Om Mandali. Several Hindus continued their protests against Om Mandali. Some Hindu members of the Sindh Assembly threatened to resign unless the Om Mandali was finally outlawed. Finally, the Sindh Government used the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908 to declare the Om Mandali as an unlawful association. Under further pressure from the Hindu leaders in the Assembly, the Government also ordered the Om Mandali to close and vacate its premises. After the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, the Brahma Kumaris moved to

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...

, Rajasthan in India on 05 May 1950. Lekhraj died on 18 January 1969, and the Brahma Kumaris subsequently expanded to other countries.

Om Mandali

References

Further reading