Brahma Baba, the founder of the movement, which now prefers to call itself the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya or the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University,

Brahma Baba, the founder of the movement, which now prefers to call itself the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya or the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, was born in 1876 in Hyderabad, Sindh (now in Pakistan) and was named Lekhraj. The son of an ordinary school teacher, Lekhraj was brought up observing all the family traditions and Hindu rituals, as was the norm of that time. The only tradition that he probably broke was his refusal to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a school teacher. Instead, he decided to chart his destiny as a diamond trader. In the jewelry business, Dada Lekhraj, as he began to be called, met with huge success. However, although he had entered this business, his pursuit was not for mammon alone. He was a generous man and was involved in several philanthropic activities. In 1936, at the age of 60, Dada Lekhraj began getting several trance-like visions. In one such vision he saw Vishnu and various forms of Narayana. In another he saw awful scenes of destruction. He felt that a voice, in one such vision, was telling him that he would be instrumental in laying the foundation of a new world order based on peace and a spirit of brotherhood. From Dada Lekhraj to Brahma Baba Spurred on by these life-altering visions, he began giving discourses in the courtyard of his residence. Initially his relatives, friends and neighbors attended these Satsangs (community gatherings). At these meetings they would chant Om and some members in the audience would also get trance-like visions. He would strongly advise on leading a life following a strict moral code and eating only satvic (vegetarian non-spicy diet and not consuming certain foods like onions, garlic and chilies) food. Soon Dada Lekhraj was being addressed as Brahma Baba and the congregation decided to as call itself the Om Mandli. Power to women Although, traditionally India is a land which worships Shakti (pure energy which is supposed to be the creative mother force from which emerged the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva), in that era women hardly had a say in society. So, therefore, it came as a shock to all when Brahma Baba surrendered all his assets and property to a trust, which was headed by a committee of women. This was a first where a spiritual organization was instituted to be run by women or Brahma Kumaris as they came to be known as. The male workers at the organization were called Brahma Kumars. Brahma Baba felt that the traditional feminine qualities like patience, tolerance, kindness, sacrifice and love were of utmost importance in order to nurture caring communities. He chose a young girl - Om Radhey, later known as Mother Saraswati, as the first administrative head of this spiritual institution. Another girl by the name of Kumarka, later called Prakashmani, was the second administrative head.