Public Household, Private Congregation: The Brahma Kumaris as a "Public Private" Space for Nepali Women
Members of the Brahma Kumaris movement in Nepal relocate their religious practices away from traditional Hindu puja (worship directed toward images of deities) in households to meditation services held in the movement's centers. Although this change involves a shift from the seemingly private h...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Californiarnia Press
2022
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| In: |
Nova religio
Year: 2022, Volume: 25, Issue: 3, Pages: 32-56 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Nepal
/ Brahmakumari
/ Women member
/ Religious practice
/ Puja
/ Religious institution
/ Publicity
/ Privateness
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism KBM Asia RC Liturgy |
| Further subjects: | B
private religion
B women in Nepal B Public Religion B Brahmakumari B Nepal |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Members of the Brahma Kumaris movement in Nepal relocate their religious practices away from traditional Hindu puja (worship directed toward images of deities) in households to meditation services held in the movement's centers. Although this change involves a shift from the seemingly private household to the seemingly public congregation, household puja is "public" in many respects, while Brahma Kumaris group meditation is comparatively "private." Other public spaces that offer relative privacy, such as restaurants or theaters, are often to Nepali women. The organization of Nepali households, the familiar nature of puja, and its performative aspects suggest that puja is "open and accessible" - and thus public - despite its location in the home. In contrast, the Brahma Kumaris are culturally alternative; their meditation is "isolated and inaccessible," occurring in physically secluded sites, and some practices are "illegible" to other Nepalis, offering a kind of privacy. I suggest that public and private are best conceptualized as situational and temporary, not defining features of physical spaces. |
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| ISSN: | 1541-8480 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nova religio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1525/nr.2022.25.3.32 |