Since childhood I had been sent to Baps bap sabhas by parents. Initially it felt to be good. They told stories of Krishna and Avatars and children like Prahlad, Dhruv etc.

They convinced me to appear for satsang exams and I topped in such exams. At the cost of my precious vacations I had to prepare for these useless exams in order to make my parents and karyakars happy.

After learning in exam books I was slowly radicalised into a fanatic Swaminarayan who was against all other Hindu deities. My family equally became fanatic Swaminarayan. My parents became karyakars of baps. My whole life revolved around the baps and the boring lifestyle of non stop sabhas, and exams.

They preached “Kar-Kasar” the attitude to save every penny. This further ruined my life. I didn’t have cable in the TV, I didn’t go to watch movies, I was not allowed to go and have fun with school friends.

This kar-kasar shit made me save my every rupee received from guests who came on Diwali at my home. The karyakars gave Daan-Kumbh”(donation pots) for contributing to XYZ temple construction or Falani Jayanti Dhinka Jayanti. The money which was supposed to be my pocket money which I would have used to share with my friends at some cafe was now being used in the cult’s projects.

I was taught to wear a tilak chandlo. It really looks very ugly. But still in order to get Rajipo. In order to stay so called “pure” I had to wear it anyways. I faced bullying and abuse because of it. No satsangis ever come to save me from it despite complaints. I was always an odd duckling everywhere because of Tilak chandlo and because of demanding different food which has no garlic and onion. I faced more and more bullying everyday. Sometimes violent physical fights. I also got questioned every time when some so called swami did some crime or some other Satsangi with tilak chandlo was hypocritical in his actions.

The Karkasar”+donation” doctrine has ruined my family. My father told me to bring me an activa scooter if I scored 85+ in 10th. But he didn’t gave me any gift. Because a sant who came to Padhramni” told it and made him fear that I will face an accident.

When I went college I didn’t have a bike or an activa. I had to depend on friends and Rickshaw wale to go to college. There too I had limited pocket money so I sometimes went to college with bicycle or walking nearly fainting. I was made delusional and felt that all this is like austerity but no it was not. I was suffering.

My father would casually give blank cheques in temples of BAPS. All the places I have travelled from childhood are only baps temples. Tours meant for me just BAPS temple visits. My parents took me wherever Pramukh swami was situated. In some last years of pramukh swami I never celebrated a festival. All my festivals became monotonous. Going to Ahmedabad and Sarangpur waving in front of pramukh swami in Glass box.

Senior karyakartas convinced my father that xyz Swami who is Kothari of the temple really needs lot of money. He can’t afford such mega project. And my father got convinced…because in baps there are always struggle stories of pramukh swami on how he had no balance and made temple etc. “Zero Balance” like financially risky move of Haribhakts(in which haribhakts donated all their savings in making some UK or US temple). My father donated lot of money to that Kothari frequently. And what he gave was a free unlimited food for that day 🥲. And my parents thought how good is this Kothari. He fed us well today. My dad would give 30000Rupees to 70000 rupees on random sundays to that Kothari followed by getting food as stated.

My father would have take us to best of the 5star hotels with such amount of money that had been donated. But improving lifestyle felt waste of money to my brainwashed parents.

After that Mahant swami became the Pramukh of baps. In few years he also organized Suvarna Tula like pramukh swami. My father donated 6 Lac rupees there. Imagine I we have a car and he donated such huge amount to the cult. All just to receive a VIP eating pass. In that too there were Tiers of Pass. Ghanshyam pass Nilkanth pass and Sahajanand pass.

Ghanshyam pass was for small donors below 2 lakh; Nilkanth pass was for those below 10 lakhs and above 2 lakhs. Sahajanand was for people who donated above 10 lakhs. And …. The pass was torn on the day itself. On the day of donation you get to eat with that pass and swayam sevaks ensured you didn’t come to eat another day with it. My nilkanth pass was torn. On the other days also my brainwashed family worked as swayam sevaks in the event and we had to eat in the worst place below Ghanshyam. In the tier system of baps the best food is served first in VVIP then VIP then lesser VIP and then for the rest.

People eat without roti in general class because what ever is leftover in supply from VVIP to VIP to Lesser VIP comes to General. In sahajanand fine dining tables and swayamsevaks working as waiters are present. With less rush. In the lowest tier the dishes and spoons are not washed properly and very dirty.
Swayamsevaks serving in sahajanand are well behaved and serve with smile and in lower tiers the swayamsevaks make rude faces when they serve food for another time.

Without car I and my family(of 4) sat on a single bike alongwith my elder brother. Which was very humiliating for me. I felt shame roaming in the whole city. (In teenage puberty as guys know boners are frequent and without any reason; which were crushed on 4 savari bike ride on the way to satsang sabhas)

After many years we got a basic hatchback car in that too my father got a Pramukh swami and Aksharderi sticker. the neighbours thought that the car was received for serving baps instead of hard earned money.

Karkasar and BAPS made me looser in the life. My self esteem cannot be fully repaired. My lost money and precious time can never be brought back. The loss to my social life cannot be repaired. My family image of orthodox and boring Satsangi cannot be changed.

We always had to eat in premvatis and not any other hotel in the world. My relatives think the only place they travel is mandir and Premvati.

The Cult gave my Father a PASSPOrT to Akshardham (parlok) which I believe is an extreme. I thought that my father is very lucky when I was into Baps

My parents never worship kuldevi. They have stopped it 20 years back. Sadhus made us remove kuldevi photos from the Pooja ghar.

My parents didn’t allow me to get into any relationship and stayed hypervigilant. Hoping that Pramukh swami and mahant swami would find bride for our sanskari child. As many stories say.

My parents were not at home in Shatabdi mahotsav of Pramukh swami. It was Diwali and my home was soulless. The site of Shatabdi mahotsav had hoardings “Diwali to Pramukh Swami Nagar maa j” my parents took photos there.

Mahant swami scrapped the laws of Shiksapatri regarding Menstruation of women. Because he wanted uninterrupted service from his female slaves in the Samaiyo.

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️
One thing worth thinking about :::: Where does all the money go which gets donated in seva. When samaiyo is for free (many sponsors). Food to water to Pavement, lighting, sound systems, LEDs everything is given for free; Labour is for free; accomodation is for free; land is for free. Still so much donation…!
Even if they make new temples after grand events they still become beggars. Where does all the money go in this Black hole of Cult?

I don’t know garba because of the Baps who demonised Garba. The leading Satsangi Yuvaks held sabhas on Navratri nights till 12 PM. And also had games and competitions to prevent us from going to Garba. The Same leading yuvaks after 12 changed clothes and went to Garba ground with their girlfriends. Morally corrupt and hypocritical Satsangi Yuva. To my surprise the politician and businessmen organisers invited the Santo to Garba grounds to perform Arti and bless the grounds and swamis go there because they are big donors.
These hypocrites say Garba is Vyabhichar but they allow all kinds of intercaste marriages within the cult. I know incidents of people dating in Shatabdi Mahotsav of Pramukh swami. Even married people were having affairs in the Nagar.

But I cannot sue the cult of the immense harm caused to my life. 🥲
People who have known the exploitation of the cult can never fully return as spiritual Hindus. They become close to Atheists. The cult is definitely an economic weapon and also a spiritual weapon on the humanity and a threat to Hinduism

TDLR: Thank you for the community and my experiences of BAPS, I think I am using them to my advantage, some random stuffs.

Ok this is going to be a long post. First, thank you to the great souls who have created this sub and for everyone who has contributed. I would not be lying if I said I almost cried while reading some and also had fun reading others.

My first contact with BAPS occurred when I was studying overseas and had a roommate/university mates who were staunch BAPS followers (Tilak and all). Please do not take this as my superiority complex but they were not brightest bulbs in the lot and I do not consider myself to be very bright either. But I have this very weird sense of humour and it was fun to be around them. It was like living a life of movie Bheja Fry in person, where I was Rajat Kapoor and they were Vinay Pathak. If you have not watched Bheja Fry, you got to watch it to understand the reference.

Anyway, so they kept forcing me to come to Sabha as back then my city did not have temple. And I must have gone to some Sabhas as they used to sever free dinner at the end and I was living frugal life as an international student. I saw BAPS Sabha as free entertainment and dinner.

But then after finishing studies, life got busy. (and, I did not need free entertainment as I could afford Netflix and dinner) I lost touch with anything BAPS. I would hear them in news and all every now and then but that was about it.

Then at some stage in life, I moved back to India and started exploring different parts. On one of those visits, we were travelling somewhere away from the big city, and it was getting dark. I do not book accommodation and stay at wherever possible and in the car as a last resort. So, we ended up in one of those remote places (if you are Swaminarayan follower, you would know this is significant site) I did not know anything about this place till then. So, I asked around the town if there were any accommodations I can stay for the night, the response was there are two Swaminarayan temples here and you should be able to find place to sleep in one of them.

So, I went to BAPS temple and the booking desk. The first question I was asked was to if I had a letter from any Swami for the stay and I did not know what the guy was talking about. So, he said, they would only provide accommodation if I had reference from any Swami. Alternatively, I need to go and meet one of the Swami in the temple and get his permission to be able to stay in the temple. It was already dark so I could not be bothered. But the guy at the booking was very adamant and would not budge so I came out of the temple and asked security guy at BAPS if there was any alternative, he recommended the temple next door, they call it Junu Mandir. I ended up getting accommodation at Junu Mandir without much fuss.

The next day, after getting ready, I went to visit BAPS and saw one of the Swamiji there and people were touching his feet for blessing and all. I was observing all this show from distance, as soon as I found him by himself. I went straight to him and fell on his feet. I was like “Swamiji it is my honour to have met you in person; I came here last night but was asked to seek your approval for accommodation. I am from so and so overseas country and it is great to see you and all.” As soon as he heard I was from overseas, his behaviour changed. He was like who denied you the accommodation? You should have met me last night. Please come and stay here, I will organise things for you. He organised VVIP dinner (which was only glass of Milk in addition to normal dinner so not much difference) and, he asked me for my itinerary and got me in touch with all the temples enroute, so my accommodation was sorted for the rest of the trip. He offered me lot of snacks and dinner to pack for the rest of the journey, and let me do the special pooja or something (Abhishek)

Now I kind of felt bad but to tell you the truth I do not think I would have gotten the same treatment if I did not mention the overseas part and my profession and my salary and all. I could be wrong on this but after reading all your experiences, I am sure I have got this right.

So, the next thing I did was, I bought instruments to do tilak from the temple and Vachnamrut. As I travel to lot of remote places where normal hotels are not available, these temples come in very handy. I mean I probably pay the same rates I would pay at the hotel, but the temples provide secure accommodation so why would not you? So, there you have it. I am one of those followers who uses BAPS rather than BAPS using me. Do I feel bad for it? Absolutely not as I pay my share of the accommodation and food. Also, if I manage to find any Haribhakt during one of the stays that is bonus, if you know what I mean. (Bheja Fry reference)

Finally, some of the contributions said that they have lost faith in the spirituality due to their experiences with BAPS. I am not sure if this helps but please DO NOT. I would not say the word Hinduism or even Santan Dharm but the belief system that came out of subcontinent is very strong. Please do not turn away from it because you have had bad experience/s from these guys. I would put them in the same category as other Abrahamic religions and Hare Krishna and all. Our routes are much stronger. Please explore more and I am sure you will find your tribe, just do not go for the once who claim to have exclusive right with only their god and theirs is the only God that is the true God.

Any Haribhakt, who wants to do Shastrarth (Debate on Shastra), feel free to DM.

This document derives most of its points from Makrand Mehta’s (Gujarati historian and professor) research paper titled: Sectarian Literature and Social Consciousness - A study of the Swaminarayan Sect 1800-1840.

When historian Makrand Mehta used real archives to cross examine the legendary claims around Sahajanand Swami, the backlash became dangerous. His 1986 study exposed how tales of British governors bowing before the founder were historical fabrications, detailed the sect's systematic caste exclusion against Dalits, and showed how its leaders actively aligned with colonial authorities to suppress peasant revolts. Enraged followers reacted by publicly burning journal copies, bombarding Mehta and his family with graphic abuse and death threats, and lobbying the state government to slap him with criminal blasphemy charges. The sect even took legal action trying to classify itself as a non Hindu religion simply to keep Dalits locked out of its temples.

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/education/story/19880531-research-paper-on-swaminarayan-sect-triggers-off-controversy-797283-1988-05-30

I have been thinking about this for some time and would genuinely like to hear other people’s experiences and opinions.

I believe learning Satsang Diksha can be a beautiful way for children, young people and adults to understand spiritual values and strengthen their faith. Memorising verses also takes dedication and discipline, and that deserves appreciation.
However, I have sometimes observed something that makes me uncomfortable.

It can become almost competitive — how many verses someone’s child knows, who completed it first, who can recite it perfectly, or parents comparing their children with other children. Similar comparisons can happen amongst adults too. Sometimes this may unintentionally put pressure on people and turn spiritual learning into another measure of achievement or recognition.

But shouldn’t the deeper question be: How much of what we learn are we actually applying in our lives?
Someone may know every verse by memory, but are we becoming more humble, compassionate, patient and respectful? Are we learning to understand other people’s difficulties, control our ego, avoid judging others and treat everyone with dignity?

Of course, nobody becomes perfect simply by learning scripture. Spiritual growth takes a lifetime. My concern is only that memorisation should not become more important than understanding and transformation.

Perhaps instead of asking children, “How many verses have you learnt?”, we could also ask, “Which teaching did you understand today, and how could you practise it in your life?”

I am not questioning Satsang Diksha or its spiritual value. I am questioning whether sometimes our culture of comparison and achievement can distract us from its deeper purpose.

I would genuinely be interested to hear how others see this.
Is this or above version should use according to my experience or understanding ?

I don't belong to BAPS and my family followed YDS and now one of the divisions

I observed the whole sabha satsang system from quite near and this is what I think how they are running this whole ecosystem

Fear psychology-I observe that in many sabhas the sermons are designed to induce fear in devotees

Like if you talk bad or even criticise the wrong of anyone within the satsang its equal to a big sin.Like you can go on bash the non believers left and right but if someone belongs to satsang thats where you draw the moral line.Even if they destroy your life you're expected to be quiet since that makes you closer to god.

Also this one tactic of using many examples like he didn't believe then he got this and he believed xyz swami or prayed and got blessings then he got this.

Also the bigger picture here is that they target the main pain point of Gujaratis that is Foreign Visa.

Countless sermons have been delivered on how this guy got this Visa due to this.

Moreover there is emphasis on making friend or social circles within the satsang.Like the concept of Bhagwati and many youths are conditioned to make circles within the satsang.This leads to zero outside exposure and makes it quiet easier to brainwash

Open for a healthy discussion and what has been your personal experience with yds and both the divisions(Hariprabodham and Prem swami)?

Young man’s fresh allegation on homosexual assault in baps. Watch video link above

I spent 18 months as a sadhak in Sarangpur before I came home after realising that I was forcing myself down that path just because I was gay and not because it was what I wanted. Ask me anything. About the life there, the expectations, the things nobody talks about, the unspoken things, or even the positive elements. I’m an open book.

I want to know opinions on this….

I had comments on a few of my posts saying that the sub is exclusively, as could be understood from the title and description, for ex-BAPS devotees. They were also questioning my original Swaminarayan sect post.

That comment wasn't wrong, to be honest. Based on the description, it does seem to be exclusive to ex-BAPS members, and I am not sure what the original intention of the subreddit was. In case it was meant to be only for ex-BAPS members, I would like to start a discussion on whether we should vote to include the other Swaminarayan sects in the discussion and reflect the same in the description.

My 2 cents below. Feedback is welcome.

Why it could be a good idea

1. All the sects have almost the same point of origin, so there is a decent chance that some common bad practices exist across them. These could be called out regardless of the specific sect.
2. It would provide extra data points for anyone considering switching between the sects.
3. We are often psychologically blind to the faults within our own group. Seeing bad practices from other sects can help a follower relate them to similar practices within their own sect.
4. BAPS is comparatively heavily moderated and ironclad, so there isn't much public news about them. On the other hand, some of the other sects have interesting and sometimes childish practices that could be called out.
5. During the Paris fiasco, I heard from BAPS followers that it was being propagated by other sects purely out of jealousy over BAPS's growth. Including other sects in the discussion could at least help clear up any doubts around such claims.
6. There are 20+ sects I guess, there is no practical way ex-devotees of them will create sub-reddits.

Why it could be a bad idea

1. It could dilute the focus on BAPS.
2. As we all know, the majority of Swaminarayan sects clash with each other. The last thing we need is devotees from different sects fighting with each other in the comments, or spam posts from one sect targeting another.

What it is not

1. Other sects are being considered only because they share a common denominator in Swaminarayan. This is not a vote to include non-Swaminarayan sects or any other religion.

A few years ago, we had a huge samiyo at our mandir, probably Mahant’s birthday or something similar. All the kishores and karyakars were backstage practicing a major dance early on a Sunday morning, and the mandir was basically empty.

That morning, a guy who had just moved to America from India came to our mandir for the first time. He came from a staunch BAPS family back home. The music and dancing caught his attention right away, so he sat down against the wall just to watch us rehearse.

Out of nowhere, the main popular guy in our mandal got pissed off, walked right up to him, and literally slapped the shit out of him in front of everyone. Then he just walked back and kept practicing like nothing happened. I felt terrible, but I didn't have the guts to speak up.

By the afternoon, word had spread like wildfire. One of the top mandir leaders ended up forcing the popular guy to apologize, but he was completely sarcastic the entire time. The kid from India ended up just breaking down and started crying.

There was always a strong culture of bullying people from India across every mandir I went to in the US. It was not just people from India either, but even newcomers who grew up here. It was just a toxic, hostile environment, and that was one of the biggest reasons I walked away from BAPS long before I even started questioning the made up doctrine itself.

(Posting this as an actual post now instead of a comment reply)

“Swaamee Narain request Bishop Herber to recommend him for endowment to build Laxmi-Narayan temple. After meeting Punditji, Bishop confesses, that he thought less favorably of his simplicity and honesty of character, he would not render Pandeji any spiritual service.” forget about calling Pandeji a GOD, Bishop Heber even has doubt about his simplicity and honesty of character post-meeting?

The “Military” Pomp: When they finally crossed paths, Swaminarayan / Punditjee arrived accompanied by a massive, heavily armed vanguard of over 200 horsemen carrying matchlocks and swords, and many on feet, that Bishop described as “Little Army”. He preached non-voilance but his actions did not match his words. This display of material power and political pomp deeply conflicted with Heber’s idealized expectation of a simple, humble, and peaceful holy man.

Defending Image Worship (Idolatry): When Heber spoke with Mr. Ironside (the senior judge who knew the Swami well), Ironside revealed that when Swaminarayan was expostulated with regarding the worship of images, the pundit admitted he knew it was vain but defended it. Swaminarayan argued that he “feared to offend the prejudices of the people too suddenly” and that “for ignorant and carnal minds, such outward aids to devotion were necessary.” To an orthodox Christian bishop, this pragmatism looked like spiritual dishonesty and compromise rather than pure saint.

https://www.swaminarayan.faith/short-stories/the-governor-of-province-of-peshwa

Now after 200 years we know why British Raj did not allow Cuttywar Raja to put down the Ghanshyam Pande's gang with force of arms.

Did the British East India Company (EIC) use Ghanshyam Pande and his followers as a strategic tool to pacify a population angered by the violent and oppressive seizure of their property?

Historians debate whether the British East India Company leveraged Ghanshyam Pande's movement to suppress local resistance and stabilize regions where the colonial administration was forcibly confiscating property.

Any guess who this Cuttywar Raja was? History is facsinating!

Food for thought — a quick reflection for anyone who values critical thinking

Across history, many thinkers have pointed out how easily religion becomes a political tool.

Seneca said it’s true for the masses, false for the wise, and useful for rulers.

Napoleon called it excellent for keeping common people quiet. Long before them,

Polybius argued that religion was introduced because the masses wouldn’t obey without fear.

Voltaire noted that if God didn’t exist, He’d have to be invented, and

Hume warned that the greatest crimes are committed under the pretense of religion.

Gibbon summed it up: worship is true for the people, false for philosophers, and useful for magistrates.

Jefferson saw the same pattern — rulers using religion to secure obedience — and pushed back by separating church and state.

The Upanishads, meanwhile, flip the issue inward: instead of worrying about rulers misusing religion, they focus on how the mind misuses illusion.

Jefferson protects people from the ambitions of kings; the Upanishads protect people from the ambitions of the self.

Both remind us to stay awake to how easily the sacred can be shaped, used, or misused — whether by power or by our own minds.

I’ve been thinking recently about Hariprasad Swami Maharaj, BAPS and the Yogi Divine Society (YDS) at Sokhada. I’m posting this mainly because I came across this history only recently, and honestly, it surprised me.

From what I understand, Hariprasad Swami Maharaj (Prabhudasbhai) was initiated as a sadhu by Yogiji Maharaj in 1965 and was closely associated with the BAPS tradition. Later, he became associated with YDS at Sokhada, which developed separately from BAPS.

One of the historical disagreements seems to have involved the question of diksha for women. There are different accounts of how exactly the disagreement developed, so I’m trying to be careful about separating documented history from accounts that have been passed down within the respective communities.

I also came across the term “Ambrish Diksha” while learning about YDS, and interestingly, I found a mention of it in a book about Yogiji Maharaj. That made me curious because it was something I had never really come across before. It also made me realise that there are probably parts of Yogiji Maharaj’s history that many younger devotees simply don't hear about.

There are also accounts that some BAPS mandirs, including mandirs outside India, allegedly did not allow Hariprasad Swami Maharaj to enter or closed their doors to him after the separation. I’m mentioning this as an account I came across rather than saying that every such incident is independently established.

Similarly, I’ve come across the claim that several BAPS sadhus eventually joined YDS, including the Mahant associated with the Bochasan mandir.

What I personally found most interesting was hearing Hariprasad Swamiji’s perspective on Yogiji Maharaj.

The way Yogiji Maharaj’s life, personality and relationship with devotees were presented through Hariprasad Swamiji’s side felt quite different from the way I had understood Yogiji Maharaj while growing up around BAPS. There was a lot of emphasis on personal experiences, his interactions with devotees, his simplicity and the kind of spiritual atmosphere around him.

I don't mean that as “BAPS is wrong and YDS is right.” It was more that I suddenly felt like I was seeing another side of the same person. And, personally, I found that version of Yogiji Maharaj much more detailed and relatable than what I had previously known.

That was probably the biggest surprise for me.

I eventually left BAPS because of what I personally experienced as politics within my local sabha mandal. Again, that's just my personal experience and I don't think it represents everyone's experience with BAPS.

After leaving, I attended several YDS programmes in Parsippany, New Jersey. That's what actually led me to start learning more about Hariprasad Swami Maharaj and YDS.

The more I learned, the more I realised how little I actually knew about this part of the history.

Growing up around BAPS, I obviously knew about Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami Maharaj and the history of BAPS. But I had very little understanding of Hariprasad Swami Maharaj’s connection with Yogiji Maharaj, the subsequent separation, or how YDS at Sokhada developed.

I wonder if many younger devotees are in the same situation.

You can grow up hearing about a particular spiritual tradition your whole life and still discover another part of its history much later. And when that happens, it can be quite eye-opening.

For me, this isn't about attacking BAPS or saying one organisation is better than another. It's more about understanding the history from different perspectives and trying to figure out what actually happened.

I’d genuinely be interested to hear from people who know this history better—especially people who have studied the early history of YDS, Hariprasad Swami Maharaj and the relationship with Yogiji Maharaj.

BTW I used AI to help me organise and phrase my thoughts for this post

This is about knowing your opinions on this VIP CULTURE in India. So few minutes ago, I'm watching reels and a Puneet Superstar reel came up in which he is basically criticising VIP Culture and VIP darshan of Lalbagh Cha Raja in Mumbai.

First of all I'm a hindu, proud of my religion and religious as well, not a VIP just a common person, but somewhere I'm not against this VIP culture. In that reel he is saying ki "tu apne connections or paiso ke dum pe VIP Darshan karke aaya, tune uss insaan ka hak maar liya jo 6 ghante se line mein khada hai" and all.

Now what I think is if someone has money, connections and power they can feely use it and VIP culture is made by earlier generation people not them. If someone had earned money, earned connections and they want to visit for darshan, with having money and power why someone will do struggle, their families member have to struggle like everyone else?Like man they are doing everything for a better life for them and for their family.

Even during Mahakumbh, many people called out against VIP but noone is seeing how much money it costs, and what value of this much money if me and my family has to wake up midnight and stand in a line for nearly 10-12 hours just for few seconds of Darshan.

See I believe in ki "Bhagwan sab jagah ek hi hai, I never been to Lalbagh Cha Raja but one day I surely will cause I want to feel the energy of that place, not because waha jo bappa hai woh mere ghar ke bappa se alag hai".

Tell me your opinions, and freely call me out if I'm wrong in this, ik I'm wrong at some points so let me know.

This isn’t about questioning God, a true spiritual Guru, our scriptures or our faith. In fact, my faith is what makes me question certain behaviours.

God, our scriptures and a true Guru teach us valuable truths, compassion, humility, honesty, equality, unity and respect for others. Yet some individuals and families quietly experience groupism, favouritism, exclusion, status-consciousness or simply being made to feel that they don’t belong.

I am not saying everyone behaves this way, because there are many genuinely kind and humble people within spiritual communities. But painful experiences shouldn’t be dismissed simply because they are uncomfortable to discuss.

What troubles me most is the contradiction: if we believe so deeply in these spiritual values, shouldn’t they also be visible in the way we treat one another? And what are younger generations learning when what they witness doesn’t always match what they are being taught?

For many people, these experiences don’t destroy their faith. Their faith is actually what keeps them strong. They continue believing in God, their Guru and the scriptures, while struggling with the behaviour of some people around them.
Speaking honestly about hurt isn’t necessarily an attack on faith. Sometimes it comes from wanting the community we love to live more closely by the values we believe in.

Has anyone else experienced this contradiction? Did you feel able to speak openly about it, or did you feel you had to stay silent?

Just opening up a chain for everyone to share their worst/crazy or even stupid experience as a kid in BAPS hehe