The Survey (2013-2015)

In 2011 Patrizia and I (Tamasin) met in Madhuban and were reflecting on the changing nature of conversations among BKs. Yogis would gather in small groups and do intensive bhatti's together, during which they could speak openly and frankly about their personal troubles. BK were - often for the first time - revealing their vulnerabilities, doubts and worries. Such topics typically are not spoken of in the Brahma Kumaris culture so this was new and, it seemed, necessary. BKs were talking about ageing, sexuality, relationships, health, money, fears, hurts, and culture - many of which had been taboo in the past. So, with our combined talents as scientists (psychologist and anthropologist) Patrizia and I decided to find out what was going on.

We spent the next 18 months carefully designing a survey and working out how to disseminate it. We invited all the Regional Coordinators (senior level managers and administrators of the Brahma Kumaris) to be involved in the creative phase, however less than half accepted our invitation. Nevertheless, those who did offered crucial assistance in the Survey design. It was a secure and anonymous online survey. This was intentional, as we didn't want people to feel cultural pressure to respond in a certain way, as can happen in a gathering. In religious gathering this can be particularly strong (see Group Think). The questions were broad, open and non-leading so that participants could respond as they wished. The pilot study participants included 25 from Germany and 25 from Australia. Participants were gathered through purposeful, snow-ball and random sampling. It was a participatory approach, with Patrizia and Tamasin being convenors and analysers, but by no means the owners or directors of the study. The owners and directors were the participants themselves.  

Shift I (2016)

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Shift II (2017)

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