page_title: Brahma Kumaris
section_title: Study (Murli)
hierarchical_section_title: Brahma Kumaris / Practices / Study (Murli)
caption_attribution_description: English: Dadi Gulzar September 2014
context_page_description: The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.
  The Brahma Kumaris movement was founded by Lekhraj Kripalani. The organisation is affiliated with the United Nations and is known for the prominent role that women play in the movement.
  It teaches a form of meditation that focuses on identity as souls, as opposed to bodies. They believe that all souls are intrinsically good and that God is the source of all goodness. The organisation teaches to transcend labels associated with the body, such as race, nationality, religion, and gender, and it aspires to establish a global culture based on what it calls "soul-consciousness".
  In 2008, the movement claimed to have more than 825,000 regular students, with over 8,500 centres in 100 countries.
context_section_description: Brahma Kumaris' students study the murli. The Hindi word murli literally translates to "flute". It is an oral study, read to the class early each morning in most BK centres on the world. The murlis are derived from mediumship and spirit possession.
  There are two types of murli: 
  Sakar Murlis refer to the original orations that BKs believe to be the Supreme Soul speaking through Brahma Baba.
  Avyakt Murlis are spoken by BapDada. BKs believe BapDada is God and the soul of their deceased founder. BapDada(God) is believed to speak to the BKs through a senior BK medium, Dadi Gulzar.
  Avyakt murlis are still being spoken at the BKs headquarters in India. Students must complete the Brahma Kumaris foundation course and start by attending morning Murli class before visiting the headquarters.
caption: Dadi Gulzar, a member of the Brahma Kumaris since its inception in the 1930s
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.6.6", "Image DateTime": "2014:09:11 02:20:45", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.6.8", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "296", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3584", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}