Founder of Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya

Prajapita Brahma

Pitashri Prajapita Brahma was the founding father of the Brahmakumaris. He became the instrument of Almighty God for the establishment of the institution in 1936. Prior to the establishment of the institution, he was well known as Dada Lekhraj.

Though by birth he was an ordinary man, there were many special qualities in him, qualities apparent though indefinable, even at first glance. He had a delightful, indescribable attractiveness, a charisma which surrounded him like a glow. One felt even from afar the love, the humility, the heart-felt sincerity of his nature. Even more, one felt the strength and there was the unforgettable, magnetic attraction of his eyes. His ways of living, his gentlemanly manner, his true devotion, won him friends and admirers wherever he set foot. Darkness and depression were unknown to this soul.

Dada Lekhraj was born in 1876 in Sindh province of the present Pakistan. Though his father was a schoolmaster by profession, he began his own career as a small wheat merchant. Later he entered the diamond trade. Almost by instinct, he developed great expertise in discriminating the value of different gems. In a very short time, his reputation grew and his business became more and more profitable. Rajas and maharajas of the native states of India, as well as the British Viceroy became his friends and clients. They afforded him utmost respect - not merely because of his brilliant diamonds, but because of the brilliance they felt in him.

Dada did not have a great deal of formal education. But he had deeply studied philosophy and different religious texts. Being a great devotee, he would never compromise on his religious activities and living style. He was fond of going on pilgrimages and visited various pilgrim centers. He often invited sadhus and sannyasis to be his houseguests. He enjoyed conversing with them on their religious understanding. He had great faith in religious teachers. Being a great philanthropist, Dada was always involved in charitable activities. He was always a selfless donor. He would sit with his uncle and together they would hand out their money to the lines of people who arrived in need of help.

With the establishment of the institution Prajapita Brahmakumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Dada Lekhraj was called Pitashri Prajapita Brahma, the father of humanity and people called him Brahma Baba. Pitashri Brahma followed the directions of God at every step of his life. He always had good wishes for everyone and carefully guided many to their predestined aim.

Pitashri (meaning father) was a picture of humility. He worked long hours, efficiently performing every type of service including the most menial work. The spirit of service, humility and dedication became ideal for everyone. He warned that one should not work for winning personal glory or name, fame and titles, for he considered one’s desire for praise and rewards as a subtle kind of begging and as a weakness of character.

Pitashri Brahma was a constant source of inspiration and wisdom for everyone. He taught the subtlest secrets of how to invoke in the self, divine attributes such as introspection. He spent a lot of time in solitude thinking deeply about the information which God was delivering through him. He re-educated his mind to comprehend from every perspective the meaning of contemporary events and eternal verities. He was able to see the whole world process clearly

Pitashri Brahma gave joy to others through his deep spirituality. His stage of soul-consciousness was so elevated and powerful that most of the people who sat near him felt that they were becoming more and more detached from their bodies. They noticed a divine light enveloping him on all sides and would see a strange radiance there. This experience charmed them so much as to make them long for the lasting joy of this experience.

After leading a life of highest order and principles, in which every of his action was filled with divinity and became ideal for everyone to emulate, Pitashri left his mortal coils in 1969 to attain angelichood.

Courses Offered

Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya offers foundation course in meditation through each of its centers spread across the world. At the heart of the course is a clear understanding of the relationship between spirit and matter, mind and body, and the interplay between the soul, God and the material world. The course enlightens people on spiritual themes and lead to self development and inner transformation so that one feels enthusiasm and attains happiness in life in all situations.

Apart from the basic course in meditation, the institution offers following courses in places like hospitals, schools, prisons, business and industry, etc for the benefit of the society in the spirit of social service. These courses encourage positive values, offer a fresh vision of future and strive to bring out the best in the people.


* Self-Management Leadership
* Stress Management
* Living Values
* Positive Thinking
* Mind Management
* Relationship Management
* Self-Empowerment
* Developing Concentration Power
* Increasing Memory Power
* Increasing Self Esteem
* Exploring Eight Inner Powers
* Developing Positive Attitude


The Self Management Leadership(SML) is a training course for executives and professionals at all levels who wish to develop their personal leadership capabilities to a higher level.

The underlying philosophy of the programme is that authentic, inspirational leadership requires a firm foundation of self knowledge and inner power that can only be acquired through a disciplined process of self-management i.e. management of one’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors.

SML is a fusion of the best modern management practices with the ancient self management principles of Raja Yoga. The programme was developed by the Brahma Kumaris in collaboration with western management development professionals and the senior management of one of India’s leading industrial groups.

The SML programme consists workshop sessions with an accredited trainer from the organisation. Typically, the programme comprises of following sessions

Sesson 1: Vision, Mission and Values – A personal choice

This workshop session deals with the subject of clarifying my personal values and vision. Topics include

* Identifying my innate values and acquired values
* Understanding the power and influence of my
* innate values on my emotions, thoughts and behaviors
* Learning how to empower and motivate myself
* through the application of my innate powers
* Developing my personal vision and mission
* Identifying the blocks and barriers to personal progress.
* Developing my personal self management plan

Session 2: The Change Master Workshop

This workshop equips managers with the knowledge and inner powers they need to manage themselves in order to lead others through periods of turbulence.

The topics covered include

* Why people resist change

* The different approaches necessary for transformational versus transitional change

* The inner powers necessary to deal with change
* How to access the inner powers
* How to change deeply entrenched attitudes,
* behaviors and emotional reactions.


Session 3: The Hidden Powers of Leadership

This session deals with inner powers, which are essential aspects of leadership that cannot be acquired

The topics include

* The eight inner powers of effective leadership

* How to maintain self esteem and fearlessness in the face of criticism and negativity

* How to develop and sustain the charisma of an effective leader
* How to deal with conflict and chaos with calmness and courage


Session 4: The Inner Game of Teamwork

In any organization, successful teams are those whose members are bonded together by a subtle thread of common purpose, mutual respect, honest communication and an agreed code of behavior. This session deals with the subtle process of building a sense of ‘community’ within the group based upon the personal example and practice of the leader

Topics covered include:

* The power and effect of the leaders’ attitude and vision of the group
* How to restore respect and trust if it has been lost
* How to engender open and honest communication without drowning in negativity
* How to inspire commitment and motivation through a powerful mental attitude

Stress happens most in the context of our day to day interactions and relationships. Stress is both a sign of damage and it does damage. Before managing and preventing stress, a new understanding is required - the what, why and how of stress.

This course will incorporate useful techniques for transforming stress that include meditation, creative visualisation and thinking positively.

One will learn how to:

* Identify the type and level of stress that a person is experiencing today
* Relaxing and refreshing mind and body anywhere, anytime.
* Turning negative, energy draining, thoughts into positive, empowering ones.
* Developing a constantly positive attitude and protect the self from negative and stressful influences.
* Strengthen the ability to respond and thereby build confidence in dealing with difficult people and challenging situations.
* Turning resistance into acceptance & release creative energy.

Practice it Now

• Make an appointment with yourself for 10 or 20 minutes each morning or evening.
• Find a quiet place and relax. Soft music, though not a necessity, can create an appropriate atmosphere. Sit comfortably upright on the floor or in a chair.
• Keep your eyes open and, without staring, gently rest them on a chosen point somewhere in front of your room.
• Gently withdraw your attention from all sights and sounds. Become the observer of your own thoughts.
• Don't try to stop thinking, just be the observer, not judging or being carried away by your own thoughts.
• Gradually they will slow down and you will begin to feel more peaceful. Create one thought for yourself, about yourself for example, "I am a peaceful soul." Hold that thought on the screen of your mind; visualize yourself as being peaceful, quiet and still.
• Stay as long as you can in the awareness of this thought. Do not try to fight off or suppress other thoughts or memories that may come to distract you. Just watch them pass by and return to your created thought, "I am a peaceful soul."
• Now think of the Supreme Soul, who is the ocean of peace, bliss, love and so on. Soul receives all these virtues from Him.
• Acknowledge and appreciate the positive feelings and other positive thoughts, which may spring directly from this thought.

Be stable in these feelings for a few minutes. Be aware of unrelated thoughts. Finish your meditation by closing your eyes for a few moments and creating complete silence in your mind.

Benefits of Rajyoga

Benefits of Rajyoga

The benefits of meditation are enormous. It calms our mind and body. In these fast and frenetic times, it has the most important ability to replenish mental and emotional energy.

Meditation enables you to create new attitudes and responses to life, giving you a clear spiritual understanding of yourself.

Meditation is the process of re-discovering, enjoying and using the positive qualities latent within you. Like any skill, meditation requires practice to achieve positive and satisfying results. By doing a little every day, it soon becomes a natural and easy habit, which generously rewards you for the little effort it involves.

What Does Meditation Do?
Meditation energizes your awareness bringing both peace and wisdom to a busy mind. It expands your capacity to love and heals broken hearts. Also it dissolves many fears replacing them with lightness and freedom from anxiety.

Meditation is both the journey and the destination, revealing the secrets of consciousness and the treasures of the soul. It develops the power to be more alert and to be effective in our interaction with each other and with our precious world. But perhaps the greatest gift that comes with meditation is the glow of inner peace that is both gentle and strong.

The practice of Raja Yoga meditation or intellectual communion with God brings into the soul many powers. Of these, eight are very important. Please refer to the adjoining diagram.

The Power To Pack-Up
With the ability to go within, one can learn how to pack up all wasteful thinking in a second, so that there is lightness and freedom from burdens and worries, though there may be many responsibilities. One’s mind is scattered over the wide world and so much drawn out to men and matters that he is unable to sleep or to detach himself at his will. With the practice of meditation, one can wind up one’s thoughts at one’s own will.


Power To Tolerate
Just as trees offer the same fruits to people whether they gently pluck the fruits or pelt stones at them, a yogi tolerates all attacks on him and does good even to those who offer brickbats at him. In the light frame of mind, one will be able to tolerate all types of situations and people to the extent that there is no sense at all of having to tolerate something or someone. With the understanding that each one is simply playing their role in this immense world-drama, impatience, irritation and annoyance disappear like mists before a bright sunlight.


The Power To Accommodate
Just as the ocean accepts different rivers that flow into it, whether polluted or clean, one will be able to adjust to all that is happening around him, so will a yogi be able to accommodate others with him. It power makes one broadminded. One will be able to adjust into all the happenings around him. Even when the atmosphere is charged with negativity or impurity, one remains unaffected.


The Power Of Judgment
One will learn to take correct and quick decisions. One will get the ability to accurately assess any situation with clarity and confidence. In a detached, impartial state of mind, one can judge one’s own thoughts, words and actions to see if they are beneficial. One will become a judge of the self and not of others.


The Power Of Discrimination
Just as an expert jeweler can easily distinguish between the false and the pure diamonds (or gems), one will acquire the power to distinguish between right and wrong or good and bad. One can accurately discriminate between real truth and the apparent truth, between things of temporary value and those of eternal value and between superficial and the subtle. The power helps in recognizing illusions even when they are sweetly decorated and enticing.


The Power To Face
Meditation develops the power to endure hardships. Adversities like death of those on whom one depends may come and high storms may rage strongly, yet his flame of equanimity does not get extinguished. Having confidence in one’s spiritual state brings the courage to face any type of situation.


The Power To Co-Operate
The natural result of all the powers is that I am able to share with others the tasks and qualities that my Father has given to me. There is no feeling of competition, so I can give as well as accept suggestion as to how to proceed with the task of world upliftment. By learning meditation, one will develop the spirit of co-operation. This is a great achievement because if everyone gives his little finger, the society could lift great mountains.


The Power to Withdraw
With full awareness that I (soul) am is an entity different from the body, one can withdraw from the senses and become a point. In the same way that a tortoise retreats into it’s shell in a moment of danger, or just to rest, a person would be able to retract himself from any situation and remain protected.

Understanding Rajyoga

The word Yoga means ‘connection’. The mental connection between the soul and Supreme Soul or the remembrance of the Supreme Soul by the soul is called meditation or Raj Yoga. Stability in the Soul-consciousness and God-consciousness will bring peace and bliss to the soul. By this means, all the latencies of the vicious actions of the past lives will be destroyed because intellectual communion with God acts like fire. It burns the sins of the past. Yoga washes off all dirt from the soul; bathing in a river may clean the body but a soul is cleansed only in the remembrance of the Supreme Soul.

Yoga is the only means through which soul gets link or association with God, who is the truth. By dint of Yoga, man controls his otherwise fickle sense organs and overcomes diverse vile thoughts. Yoga has such great force that, under its influence, even the elements of nature are brought to elevated state and the righteousness and peace is established in the world.

Through the meditation or RajYoga, the soul gets immense joy of an extraordinary kind from it’s link with the Supreme Soul.

The Knowledge of our relationship with God

What is our relationship with God? Knowledge of the relationship between the soul and the supreme soul is very essential to remembrance. In his dealings in life, man remembers every now and then only those who are bound to him by ties of one kind or another. The closer the relationship, the more easily one is reminded of it without any effort, as it were. It is very important to realize and feel that God indeed is our Supreme Father-Mother, Teacher, true Friend and Guide, and the real Protector. Relationship is the lever that can lift us to the state of Yoga. So if we have clearly before us, our relationship with God, we shall every now and then be reminded of Him and only this true link redeems all the human beings.


God is the most beautiful being

Beauty is a thing that bewitches man and draws his mind and understanding again towards itself. But beauty of the physical body and other physical things is only temporary and subject to gradual decline and decay. On the contrary, it is the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Father, who is absolutely and truly beautiful. His beauty is spotless; it never suffers change or decline. Remembering Him will make a soul clean and beautiful.


How to practice Raja Yoga?

Whenever one remembers any person or thing, one is reminded of all that person or thing is and what one’s association therewith is. Hence, at the very start, you have the feeling that you are now here to remember God, your mind will at once be transported to the highest world of eternal Light, which is His abode. The qualities of God, the Supreme Soul, a point-of-light will come to the memory.


This means that you have not to utter any sound or syllable, nor recite mentally any formula or maxim. You have to let yourself easily remember Him, or be conscious of Him, the Supreme Soul who is in the Incorporeal World. This is similar to the way in which the memory of any of your worldly relations or ties comes to you. You will then recollect in some such manner as: “ I am a soul… I am a point of light and I am a child of the Supreme Soul… He is also a point of light. God the Supreme Father is an inexhaustible repository of knowledge, peace, bliss and love and is Almighty …. He it is who bestows blessedness on all… How very fortunate I am …”.


The knowledge of both the soul and Supreme Soul is already there. Hence this should not be difficult to practice. You need to withdraw yourself from all your sense organs and establish yourself in the faith that you are a soul, distinct from your body; You will be reminded of the Supreme Soul. As long as we live in the consciousness of the body, we tend to remember only the body and it’s connections. On the contrary, when I understand myself to be a soul, I will naturally put in mind the Supreme Father of the soul.

The Rise and Fall of Humans

The Rise and Fall of Humans

We will understand this lesson with the help of the adjoiningpicture. It is a wonderful story of how the souls, who once were deities became the devotees and very ordinary human beings. It also explains how they lost the divine virtues, spiritual and moral values and developed devilish tendencies. The illustration shows that originally, human souls had complete purity, peace and prosperity and that they became defiled and peaceless later. Now it is time to again inculcate those lost virtues.

First of all is shown the Golden Age or the Satyuga, which is completely righteous. Shri Lakshmi and Shri Narayana and their dynasty ruled the world free from disease, sorrow, worry or vice. The people then had truly virtuous nature and outlook. During this period of 1250 years, the average age was 150 years. In this epoch, the people are most elevated, completely viceless and are invested with all good qualities and live under Divine Law. These people are considered to be class of deities.

Next comes Silver Age. In this epoch of 1250 years, average age of a person varies from 100 to 125 years. All are happy in this period as well. They have the rank of what are called Kshatriyas because they are not as pure as their predecessors – the deities.

Then in the Copper Age, they become body-conscious and are led to vices. So they have a fall, from a deity’s position which is worship-worthy exalted position to be just supplicant men or poor worshippers. Their rank is of middle class or Rajopradhana type. Their position is that of ‘Vaishyas’ –mediocre.

After this comes the Iron Age (Kaliyuga). The picture represents how in this epoch, Maya which symbolizes the vices, has grown in power over the world. In Iron Age, tamoguna, the basest form in man – is pre-dominant. All the persons are ranked as Shudras. In this epoch of 1250 years, there are 42 births. In this era, we see disputes and strifes, based on want of respect for authority and differences in ideology, religion, states and languages. People do not look upon one another as spiritual brothers and are thus turned away from God, who is the Supreme Father.

At present, we are in the Confluence Age – the confluence of the fag end of the Kaliyuga and the dawn of Satyuga or the Golden Age. This is the time to receive Divine Knowledge from God and practise spiritual discipline and easy Raja Yoga and re-acquire deity status. When the Iron Age is very near it’s end, unrighteousness is eliminated to make room for Righteousness (Dharma) and the deity-world. With this comes the Golden Age.

The Cycle of Time

The Cycle of Time

In this lesson, we learn about the beginning, the middle and the end of one complete ‘time cycle’ of this world. More than anything else, we will understand the great significance of the period we are undergoing at present.

The world has been in existence since eternity and it will continue to be eternal. The world was neither created anytime before nor will it get destroyed later, because matter can neither be created nor destroyed, it only undergoes transformation from one form to another. Similarly this world also undergoes changes in its characteristics, but as such the world was not created out of nothing nor will there be a total annihilation.

The cycle of time is best understood with the help of the picture of the world drama wheel. It illustrates the “flow” of time. In the middle of it is the Fylfot ( Swastika ) which divides the Time into four equal parts. The Swastika is considered to be very auspicious.

In the first part of this Wheel of Time, marked by Swastika is shown Golden Age. Here the arm of the Swastika is pointing towards right because the right arm symbolizes what is good or what brings about goodness. In these early times, when the cycle started, people of the diety religion ( Sanatan Dharma) were possessed of divine qualities and nature and they enjoyed complete purity, 100% peace and complete prosperity.

Then came the Silver Age. In this era too, people were possessed of purity, peace and prosperity to a very high degree. But the degree of their divine qualities had decreased a little. They were two degrees less divine than the people of the Golden Age who were divine to the extent of 16 degrees. Therefore the arm of Swastika that indicates this epoch is bent downwards because souls in this era had come down from the state of super-righteousness to what is just righteous.

Next came Copper Age.After having experienced beatitude and fruition for many a life, turned ti the path of vices or unrighteousness. This is why the arm is reversed because the left hand symbolizes what is impure and auspicious. People then were second-grade by their nature, qualities and actions. Mankind is now divided on various religions; strifes and disputes started to appear and the five vices brought disquiet and sorrow in homes.

Steadily, unrighteous doings, ie the actions done under the sway of one or the other of these five vices, led the world to more and more impurity and sufferings and the world came under the yoke of Iron Age ( Kaliyuga). Strifes, wars, bellicosity and the resulting peacelessness increased rapidly in frequency and intensity in this era. Therefore the fourth of Swastika is shown raising itself up to indicate the rise in conflicts, clashes and calamities. Then, a stage comes when ignorance, lassitude, stupor, moral turpitude and sin become dominant. People become devilish by nature and religion becomes utterly degenerate.


The Significance of the present period
At present, we are undergoing through a critical phase in the history of mankind. This is the period of the confluence of the ending phase of the Iron Age and the starting phase of the Golden Age. This is the most important of all epochs, called the Confluence Age, when God, the Highest Being, descends in this world to meet the human beings, His beloved children and gives the most precious boons of Redemption and Beatitude.

Through the Godly Knowledge and the easy Raj Yoga, God creates the Golden Age or new viceless order. The act of ‘creation’ does not mean constructing something out of nothing but it means the moral reconstruction of mankind or the re-establishment of the ancient most Deity Religion. The reader would be pleased to know or, perhaps, surprised to know that God Shiva, the Supreme Father of all, is indeed doing this great task of resurrection of mankind at present. The world will soon be free of all miseries and the paradise, which is full of peace and happiness, will be established again.


The Nature of the World Drama Cycle
The cycle of five epochs, comprising Golden-Age, Silver Age, Copper-Age and Iron Age and the confluence Age repeats exactly everytime after it has turned full wheel. During every cycle, the souls who are the actors on this world-drama stage will be the same. Each soul will act the same part in every cycle since, in the soul itself is indelibly ingrained the part it has played life after life in the previous cycle or that it has to repeat cycle after cycle. Just as in a tape record or a gramophone record, a whole song or drama is recorded and it repeats every time the record is played, even so, a soul’s role in this world drama is recorded in the soul itself which is only self-luminous, conscient point. The soul replays the part once every 5000 years because each one of the four eras of the world-drama being equal to 1250 years, the duration of one World Cycle is 5000 years.