Abstract:

Brahma Kumaris, the largest women-led spiritual organization in the world with over 8000 centers in over 110 countries, has successfully countered the imbalances of power in the spiritual realm in which men dominate as spiritual authorities. All administrative heads of the Brahma Kumaris organization are women as a foundational principle, and the Brahma Kumaris centers around the world are also primarily administered and staffed by women. Even in patriarchal societies such as India where the organization is spiritually headquartered, women have been empowered to pursue their dreams of having a spiritual focus. They are learning to teach to spiritually serve people from all levels of society versus being limited to their traditional roles of serving their immediate family members. The majority of the organization is mothers living at home with their families, in addition to tens of thousands of dedicated female teachers who reside at centers.

Presenter bio: Sudarshan Sundar has been a student and teacher of Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation since 2001. Sudarshan helped start and co-coordinated the activities of “Inner Space Meditation Center and Gallery” in Harvard Square from 2012 to 2020. Since 2021, Sudarshan has served as a “mellow” (Meditation Fellow) at Northeastern University’s Center for Spirituality Dialogue and Service. Sudarshan has been a Software Engineer by profession at Microsoft since 2003 and also serves as a part-time Regional IT Coordinator for the organization since 2011.

Presenter affiliation: Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization