Background
Lekhraj Kripalani was born in a Hyderabad, Sindh in 1876.
Lekhraj Kripalani was born in a Hyderabad, Sindh in 1876.
He became extremely wealthy from a jewellery business in Calcutta. In his fifties, Kripalani reported having visions and retired, returning to Hyderabad and turning to spirituality. Om Mandli
In 1932, Lekhraj established a spiritual organisation called Om Mandali.
Since then, Lekhraj has been regarded by the BKWSU as a medium of God, and as such, speaking channeled messages of high importance within the religious movement"s belief system.
Several women joined Om Mandali, and contributed their wealth to the association. He was also accused of forming a cult and controlling his community through the art of hypnotism.
The Bhaibund anti-Om Mandli Committee that had opposed the group in Hyderabad followed them. On 18 January 1939, the mothers of two girls aged 12 and 13 filed an application against Om Mandali, in the Court of the Additional Magistrate in Karachi.
Om Radhe of the Om Mandali appealed against the decision in the High Court, where the decision was upheld.
Finally, the Sindh Government used the Criminal Law Amendment Acting of 1908 to declare the Om Mandali as an unlawful association.
Originally a follower of the Vaishnavite Vallabhacharya sect and member of the exogamous Bhaiband community, he is said to have had 12 gurus but started preaching or conducting his own satsangs which, by 1936, had attracted around 300 people from his community, many of them being wealthy. In 1937, Lekhraj named some of the members of his satsang as a managing committee, and transferred his fortune to the committee. To avoid persecution, legal actions and opposition from family members of his followers, Lekhraj moved the group from Hyderabad to Karachi, where they settled in a highly structured ashram.
