SHIFTING TO MOUNT ABU

In August 1947, India was partitioned and Pakistan came into existence. For a couple of years, the institution served the people of Pakistan. But the country was in a disturbed state and its people had things other than spirituality on their minds.

In 1950, the institution shifted to Mount Abu in India. The new place was a quiet hill resort and a place of pilgrimage suitable for a life of meditation and imparting spiritual knowledge to others.

The 300-odd spiritually empowered women then set out to different parts of India to share their spiritual knowledge and experiences with others.

The Brahma Kumaris went first to Delhi, where a meditation centre was opened in 1952-53. They also went to Kanpur, Lucknow and Meerut. A little later, centres were established in Saharanpur, Amritsar, Patiala, Ambala, Bangalore, Bombay, etc.

The Brahma Kumaris sisters, with little money and worldly experience, faced financial and physical hardships at first. The spiritual concepts they propagated were new to the public and sometimes invited opposition from people firm in traditional beliefs.

However, their service activities expanded and, in 1954, a delegation went to Japan to take part in the World Religious Conference in Shimizu City. It also visited Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia for spiritual service. Thus the seed for service activities outside India was sown.

Today, the organization has more than 8,500 centres in 137 countries.