Dadi Janki, the unusual subject of this biography, presides over a unique global spiritual empire run and led by women.
Born in 1916 into a traditional Hindu family, she was expected to follow the standard pattern for Indian women of the day, which was to succumb to an arranged marriage at the earliest possible opportunity and then disappear from view.
But she had other ideas. Since the age of two, she has only ever wanted to connect to one being, and that is God. She never sought nor desired any other relationship and she managed to escape her unwanted marriage in order to dedicate her life to spiritual study, service and contemplation.
She joined the Brahma Kumaris, then in its infancy, in 1937, and for many years, ran centres in India. In the early 1970s, the decision was taken to try and introduce the movement to the West and Dadi Janki arrived in London with no real idea how she would do it.
Her task was made especially difficult as she arrived not speaking any English, with no money, no influence and nowhere to live. But with God as her constant companion, she never gave up and within 20 years of being in London, had established the Brahma Kumaris as a respected, influential, worldwide organization.
This is the story of how she did it.

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Contents

Preface Pgs—5

Introduction Pgs—7

1. Dadi Janki Comes in London Pgs—15

2. The Story of Jayanti Kirpalani, Dedicated BK Since Pgs—1968 Pgs—33

3. The Basic Teachings Pgs—43

4. The First Westerners to Become BKs Pgs—55

5. Maureen and David Goodman Pgs—71

6. The Importance of Celibacy Pgs—91

7. Feminism Pgs—99

8. Two Hindu Women Who Became BKs in 1978: Pgs—Jaymini Patel and Gayatri Naraine Pgs—113

9. Meditation Pgs—122

10. The Importance of Decluttering: Dadi was There Pgs—First Pgs—135

11. The Role of Illness Pgs—149

12. The 1980s Pgs—162

13. The Nineties and Noughties Pgs—179

14. The Middle East Pgs—201

Epilogue Pgs—219

Timeline Pgs—225

Acknowledgements Pgs—227

Further Reading Pgs—228

The Brahma Kumaris Pgs—230

LIZ HODGKINSON has been associated with the Brahma Kumaris since 1981, when she wrote an article about them in She magazine.
Finding much to admire about their principles and way of life, she has stayed in close contact, while never formally becoming a BK herself. Liz has made several trips to their headquarters in India and has often shared public platforms with Dadi Janki and other senior sisters.
In more recent years, writing about the Brahma Kumaris and their impact has become something of a family industry. Liz is the author of two previous books about the BKs: Peace and Purity, an informal history of the organisation, and Why Women Believe in God, a series of conversations with the BKs’ European Director, Sister Jayanti.
In 2014, Liz’s son Will Hodgkinson published The House is Full of Yogis, an affectionate and amusing memoir about his tussle with his formerly conventional father embracing an unusual and austere Indian movement.
Not to be outdone, Liz’s former husband Neville, who became a dedicated BK alter a highly successful career in Fleet Street, has written about Dadi Janki’s core teachings in his 2015 book I Know How to Live, I Know How to Die.
For the whole family, the Brahma Kumaris and in particular, Dadi Janki, have proved a subject of endless fascination and discussion and long may it continue.