Public Household, Private Congregation

Abstract

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 not available 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.