Psycho-spiritual preparation for and response to disaster

[fluffy bunny]

"Psycho-spiritual preparation for and response to disaster" by Tamasin Ramsay. International Journal of the Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 2. I tried to find a copy to download but it cost $5 or $10 to do so. Working towards, "Spiritual response to disaster: an ethnography of the Brahma Kumaris."

Discuss ... how different is that to Destruction? Are they quite aware of the scale we are talking about sooner than 2036? How much Gyan does this involved? Given that psyche is soul, How do we define "psycho-spiritual"?

In the areas of disaster preparedness, considerable thought is given to everything from the expected things like emergency resources, medical training, and risk management to the more seemingly removed areas of architecture and engineering. In the areas of disaster relief and recovery, considerable thought is given to the individual, social and cultural costs of the effects of disaster. Importance is rightly attributed to counselling, psychological intervention and appropriate emotional care of the disaster victim. One area that has not received due attention is the pre-paration of people.
Little attention is being paid to the necessity and efficacy of inner resources and spiritual strength as a substantial means of handling, coping with and recovering from both the psychological and physical effects of disaster.

It is proposed that these inner strengths can be learned and practised in times of peace to become a part of the arsenal of techniques available for people to call on in times of disaster. This would essentially mean that people would survive the experience of disaster with considerably less personal trauma. They could then be a resource to others and so the related costs both economic and social which are multiple would be substantially reduced.

Loved ones can die, material possessions can be lost, health can be compromised but these inner strengths endure.

From the BK at the UN.

Tamasin Ramsay - intern

Areas of interest include: Reintegrating spirituality into social and humanitarian outreach programs, particularly disaster response. The human rights and dignity of all people. Understanding the mechanics of spiritual transformation as a method to remove suffering. Grounded and pragmatic forms of spirituality.

Endeavour Research Fellow and PhD scholar at Monash University, Australia

Research Interests

Interesting in posstraumatic growth, existentialism, the philosophy of spirituality, religion, suffering and the anthropology of disaster. Currently undertaking research to determine the way in which members of a spiritual community move through the inner suffering experienced as a result of environmental (natural or intentional) disaster.

Fieldwork sites: Manhattan, USA and Orissa, India.

"Intern" is a posh word for volunteer, like "faculty member" was used elsewhere for a notable western BK teacher.

[andrey]

Psycho-spiritual means a spirit that is phycho. When disaster comes the spirit goes mad. On the other hand a calm spirit is called mono-spirit.

[fluffy bunny]

Let's get real. Out of politeness, this is all public doman and self-advertised stuff, so no personal invasion here.

2005 Tutor in Health Practise 1, University of Melbourne
Tamasin was responsible for tutoring undergraduate medical students in the social aspects of health, particularly in the area of physician-patient relationships and medical ethics. The HP tutorials were more interactive than didactic and included small group work, class discussion, peer interviews in a role-play setting, and interviews with simulated patients. Tamasin was also responsible for marking test papers during the semester.

2004 - 2005 Graduate Student, University of Melbourne
The majority of Tamasin's subjects were taken at Masters level and dealt with topics such as ethics, human rights, torture, suffering, social networks, human methods of dealing with trauma, health, development, anthropological field methods and social research.

Volunteer, JWM Global Hospital and Research Centre Tsunami Response
While visiting the hospital in Rajasthan, North India, Tamasin was one of two people asked to respond to South India on the 2nd of January 2005, traveling to Chennai Madhurai, Pondicherry and Nagapattinam. Tamasin, with many locals people, helped distribute clothing, food and provide social support for the tsunami victims.

2002 - 2003 Volunteer, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (NGO)
With few volunteers in Italy, Tamasin traveled widely through the country supporting other centres and helping in the administration of the organization.

1991 - 1992 Counsellor, LifeLine
Tamasin undertook a training course in general and grief/trauma counselling. Her voluntary shift work involved; providing emotional support for distressed callers, helping to identify personal problems over the phone and facilitating solutions with the person involved. Tamasin particularly learned the importance of stability and compassion during this time.

OK ... credentials established. Frankly on the basis of that education, training and experience, I think forum members here could benefit from a little better care, attention and well reasoned response. My feeling is that she would be perfectly aware enough and entirely capable of better.

Good ... you will be able to help us fill in questions we raised earlier about the reality of the BKWSU's aid giving during the Tsunami too. Let's all stop the flirting ... and get down to work. I understand you did receptionist's work at the Global Hospital too? You will ought to be able to help us tie down what is going on there. How did you manage to fund yourself during your stint at BKUN?

Thanking you in advance.

[jannisder]

Thanks!! :D

[ms orange]

you will be able to help us fill in questions we raised earlier about the reality of the BKWSU's aid giving during the Tsunami too.

I don't know what the questions are, but I know that in the six days I toured there, the sisters and brothers were working 24/7 making using of all their relationships and connections in the community, to bring blankets, food and cooking utensils to people rendered homeless by the disaster. It was a horrific scene. I was there only 6 days after it happened. It was just dreadful. The BKs cooked food for everyone. And worked tirelessly. I did not do much except be a foreign representative to show international support (which I think has its own benefit) and hand out the goods I was given.

I understand you did receptionist's work at the Global Hospital too?

No. I never did.

How did you manage to fund yourself during your stint at BKUN?

I am on a scholarship.

[fluffy bunny]

I still cant find a free copy of your paper, could you upload one to the download section for peer review?

I am on a scholarship.

State or government funding to do VIP seva (service) for your minority religion at the Brahma-kumari desks at the United Nations Office?

I doubt it would cover the cost of living in New York City. And, of course, if the subject of your thesis was found to be providing support in some way, e.g. accommodation, project funding or whatever. That would raise issues of academic impartiality, wouldn't it? You would have to be very careful that it was not perceived to public relations and take steps to guard against that, e.g. disclosure etc.

Ethnography (Greek; ethnos = people, graphein = writing) is a genre of writing that uses fieldwork to provide a descriptive study of human societies.

Ethnography presents the results of a holistic research method founded on the idea that a system's properties cannot necessarily be accurately understood independently of each other. The genre has both formal and historical connections to travel writing and colonial office reports.

eth·nog·ra·phy, n. The branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.

It is one thing to be an anthropologist amongst a tribe of head hunters. Its another thing to be an anthropologist when the neighbouring tribes of head hunters who have been pee'd off at the way the first tribe has been treating others turns up unannounced ...

Basically, this is my long hand way of saying, let's get real and take this conversation into professional mode. I usually don't want to go off topic but the BKWSU Tsunami Appeal is actually related to this topic. We discussed the whole issue of BKWSU charity giving elsewhere. Basically, the conversation was around how Shrimat is/was that the BKWSU does not do charity or social work (because it incurs Karma and impure souls will only go and do impure things etc) but how the Tsunami could not have been ignored because it would have been too bad PR.

Because it was highly advertised, we were wondering how much money the BKWSU actually gave and if the items it distributed were its own or others?

[ms orange]

State or government funding to do IP and VIP seva (service) for your religion at the UN offices?

You're wrong on both counts. The scholarship is from the Australian Government and it supports my current research in India. Having it forthcoming meant I could afford to go to NY.

Basically, this is my long hand way of saying, let's get real and take this conversation into professional mode... the BKWSU Tsunami Appeal is actually related to this topic. We discussed the whole issue of BKWSU charity giving elsewhere. Basically, the conversation was around how Shrimat is/was that the BKWSU does not do charity or social work (because it incurs Karma and impure souls will only go and do impure things etc)

That's not my understanding at all.

Because it was highly advertised, we were wondering how much money the BKWSU actually gave and if the items it distributed were its own or others?

For that information you'll have to write to the centres in Pondicherry, Nagipattinam, Madhurai and Chennai and also the GHRC. When you're in an environment of such tragedy the last thing you think about is money. But if you're that interested, contact the above for your answers.

Dear ex-l: Before I continue to answer further questions that you post, I'd like to ask you some questions too so that we have an equal standing which I am sure other readers would also support. I don't feel I should continue otherwise - it feels too one-sided. At the moment you know quite a lot about me; not just my name but about my family, my BK life, my professional life and my academic life. Therefore, to support your motto of "independent discussion, mutual support" please tell me who you are, a bit about your family, your BK life and your professional life. It would go a long way to making this less of an interrogation and more of a real discussion. You can send it to my privately if you like, so you can maintain your anonymity online which if course I will respect. With thanks and appreciation.

[fluffy bunny]

Its difficult, is not it, because one moment a BK is a BKWSU representative, then the next moment they are just an individual. But anything that they do whilst they are just an individual feeds back to the BKWSU

The equality of our standing can start with an equal commitment to transparency. I am not on this forum looking for personal relationships, I believe that our dealings here ought to on an equal commitment to truth nor personal preferences. My feeling is, and others expressed it too, that you are rather blocking or avoiding our important discussions about BKWSU policy.

Without wishing to cause offence, I am not interested in you personally. I am only interested in documenting the BKWSU (especially relating to original documents and the academia surrounding it) and its modus operandi ... unfortunately, that is how you came under the microscope of our attention before you chose to come on this forum and expose yourself.

I have never sought to draw attention to myself, nor advertise myself personally or professionally. I, myself, am off no interest nor benefit to anyone and I would not want to draw your Yoga away from your gods by engaging on that level. I don't see what that has to do with "support".

All that is relevant to say is that I do not take millions of dollar worth of donations per annum from followers nor keep them in a state of flux with false predictions of the End of the World, laced with offers of Heavenly rewards as royalty, and I never have I covered them up when they failed or I changed my mind. Nor have blurred the line between such activity or used it in my professional life.

Just out of interest, if you have read Om Radhe's "Is This Justice?", what is your opinion of the record of Lekhraj Kripalani's age as being 52/53 in 1936, when the Murli says the medium was 60 when Shiva entered him, and the BKWSU say it was 1936 and when he was 60?

How do we account for the appearance of Shiva post 1950? Answers here or on the respective topics please.

[ms orange]

You're just so nasty about everything. I've really tried. And, from the overwhelming support I have received both on the forum and through many private messages, I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. There is no use contributing my experience, understanding and opinions here because all you want to do is slam them. You ask questions, I respond and then you rarely address my response. You come back with an accusation, a label or mix something about your hurts of the BKWSU with your responses to me. I've asked you nicely and respectfully many times to tell me a bit about your story, and to not refer to me as a BKWSU but just to speak to me as an individual and not once have you responded to my request. Nor have you even mentioned it. I am amazed when I think of how I used to stick up for this forum and the people in it. You would be surprised. But no more I am afraid. With all the positive things I used to say about this forum, you've since proved me wrong. Om Shanti.

[jannisder]

Ex-I

Please be nice! It is good to discus all these matters and we all want to know but do not let ms orange be on the stand of the courtroom being questioned in a most unkind way.
Did we not all want more B's to join the forum? This way you kick people right out.

With respect
Jan

[fluffy bunny]

Sorry Jan. I promise you I am entirely 'Om Shanti' about all this and not "nasty" at all.

The moment I find one BK that comes along and says, "gosh, you are right about x, y, z ... let's go and fix it right now!", I will offer to marry them for life (come the Copper Age next Kalpa, of course). I was told the BKWSU is telling people that they could not have stopped the legal action against us once it had started. That is just not true. People need to know the reality of what is going on inside. I am genuinely sorry for that, I am sure entirely reasonable, individuals like ms orange who are both caught in the crossfire and used as shields or frontline by the BK Mujahadin.

I am sorry. I cannot play the game any more. I appreciate the culture shock BKs suffer tuning into this forum but these issues are just staring us all in the face waiting to be addressed. Of course, one gets more of life and others by being "being nice" but I just want to be straight for a change and get down to the business of transformation.

[diwali]

THANK YOU!!! EXL! UP ... EXL!!!

[fluffy bunny]

Thanks diwali. For what I am not quite so sure. But thanks.

misinformation, slanging, venting spleen, anger, bitterness, vitriol, negativity and violence.

Violence!?! :shock:

Can we scotch this for once and for all ... there seems to be a sort of myth going around the BKWSU that ex-BKWSU followers are all pent up with self-centered anger and bitterness and this is what is fueling them. There seems to be a (comic) disbelief that any possible open discussion or criticism of the Brahma-kumaris could be valid or that their modus operandi should be independently inspected or questioned.

Personally, I am quite calm and laid back. I do not feel any need for "healing", least of all from BKs who I consider to still be "under the influence". No individual BK follower owes me any apology and I still get on with others just fine. I know how I feel when I write and I am not blaming or projecting any individual BK follower for the sins of the BKWSU leadership. It is not possible to sustain "anger and spleen" for this long. But ... if some individual or some institution belittles other people, or treats them as if they were stupid, I do tend to want to step in and make satire of them in order to transform the situation. Wit is the greatest, and sometimes only, defense of the underclasses.

I think most folk on this forum know BKs, BK groupthink and BK yuktis pretty well. Beyond that, there are always issues of individuals' culture and class. If I look back over these past threads, I think we have to give ms orange time to get up to speed on where we are coming from, how far we have gotten and the sort of broad-based, grassroots commitment we have here, and remember back to how safe and controlled the BK environment is. "Not thinking" is Dadi Janki's Shrimat for BKs after all.

"Drama is accurate" we are told though ... I am sure that ms orange will be pressed to make a better thesis now and I have privately offered to help her with the historical revision and anomalies (as long as it is a two way process and she is willing to help up by getting original documents/statements out of the BKWSU). I hope others will join in to make it accurate rather than a repeat of the usual old PR like so many of the other academic papers.

[alladin]

There seems to be a (comic) disbelief that any possible open discussion or criticism of the Brahma-Kumaris could be valid or that their modus operandi should be independently inspected or questioned ... and remember back to how safe and controlled the BK environment is. "Not thinking" is Dadi Janki's Shrimat for BKs after all.

This is very serious and frightening, more than any horror movie that was ever made. When I think about it, it scares the s***t out of me. Thank God I am not an atheist and I feel I am under the Almighty protection's, so I can say he saved me, have awakened me, and I am open to know more about this sect, keep and develop the good teachings I received, and get any negative imprinting out of my system.

I, of course, for some time also accepted that what ex-l reminded us of; was the way it should be "us - the ones who hold the truth, them - the ignorant ones and the anti", and "obey, don't ask any questions". But there's a sense of justice and desire for truth that some of us cannot suppress. And it pulls us, more strongly than the delusive promise to be in Paradise soon or the flattering idea of belonging to the elect caste.

Dear ex-l, for some reason, some souls do not mind at all being surrounded by hypocrisy and inconsistencies do not make them feel uncomfortable. They soak in a foambath of lies and find it relaxing.

About the jinns you mentioned elsewhere, I will think about it. Baba himself warned us about negative energies. They too are karankarawanhar and give "touchings".

I think that precisely because the core of BK is mediumship, it is criminal to ask people not to question anything. It would be better to stay away from it, like all religions recommend. And if one still wants to associate himself to a "university" based on such practises, he /she should be very alert, have a clear and refined intellect, and be able to observe unbiasedly the teachings. The behaviour others - and especially leaders have -, the direction in which the BK org is going and especially the effect that this is having on my life, work, relationships, health and state of mind.

Is it safe to give up our instinct, our intellect and any previously acquired experience or knowledge? Stop reading and learning anything else? Turning friends and relatives into prospect proselytes only, so that we do all the talking and we don't listen to any opinion or warning they may give us. In case we are going insane, it could be useful!

Both animals and humans fall prey of hunters, without the protection of the above assets. Sure, the predator may keep us alive, but to use us as slaves. The BKs distribute the sweet narcotic potion of, "You have found God, every teaching and request comes from him. Everything and everybody else, and especially any doubt you may have , is Maya!" This way, the trap door shuts over us.

[ms orange]

From ex-l: I am sure that ms orange will be pressed to make a better thesis now and I have privately offered to help her with the historical revision and anomalies (as long as it is a two way process and she is willing to help up by getting original documents/statements out of the BKWSU). I hope others will join in to make it accurate rather than a repeat of the usual old PR like so many of the other academic papers.

Yes indeed, my thesis will certainly be more rounded and thorough now, but not in the way that you may think or hope. And your kind offer of help (and at first I did see it as that) was conditional, as was mine. For there is little trust between us now, although we both claim interest in the same thing - truth, openness and transparency. My only condition in our private history discussion was that it be a fully investigated history that revealed all the complexity of that time with stories from both sides. That it not be used as an opportunity to slam the BKs. In reply you condoned "slamming" and "exorcism" as you put it. I do not wish to work this way, either as an academic or a human being.

This site will certainly be included in my thesis, and I am taking professorial advice so as to not let my own personal experience and proximity to the situation sway my perspective. The advice I have received so far, based on their academic and disinterested position, is to cease communication to protect the integrity of our research work. So ... third time lucky!

I wish you no ill will. In fact, now that I know who you are, I feel more for you than before. And I wish you well in your life, and that whatever your pure-hearted intentions and good work come to fruition. I wish you peace, happiness, love and comfort in your life. However, may your ill-hearted intentions remain forever fruitless - there are enough of those already in this world.