Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya), founded by Lekhraj Kripalani (Dada Lekhraj) in 1937 in Hyderabad, Sindh, is the world’s largest spiritual organization led predominantly by women — now centered at Mount Abu.
Overview
Dada Lekhraj, a jeweler, experienced visions (1936–37) and formed the Om Mandali; the community relocated to Karachi and then (1950) to Mount Abu (Madhuban); Didi and Dadi (the senior sisters, especially Dadi Prakashmani and Dadi Janki) led its expansion into a global university of Raja Yoga teaching.
Core teachings
Raja Yoga meditation (the “easy Raja Yoga” of soul-consciousness and remembrance of the Supreme Soul, Shiv Baba), the eschatological cosmology of the world cycle (the five-epoch kalpa), spiritual purity (brahmacharya for all members), and the soul (not body) as the self.
Practice and work
Meditation centers in 100+ countries; the Madhuban campus’s conferences and the annual Shivaratri gatherings; environmental initiatives (the Solar? — India One solar plant) and values-education programs (Jyoti? — the JVB programs); UN consultative status.
Modern status
Over a million students; leadership collegial (the Administrative Body of senior sisters); the organization’s UN status and interfaith role are notable.
Verification notes
- Founding (1937) and the Mount Abu relocation are documented; the movement’s distinctive doctrines are treated as the tradition’s own claims.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).