. That all religions could be seen as different paths to the same divine source or, even better, that this divine source revealed itself in traditional Hindu categories was welcome and truly liberating news for many Hindus. The Muslims draw out the liquid and call it pani. One of my friends, Vinaya Maharaj, sent a messenger to my camp informing me that he was going to drop his body and I should come to witness it. [2][3] Abuses alleged to have taken place against former students of Swami Rama in Chicago, in Minneapolis, in New York, and in India in the 1970s were documented by Patricia Ann Darling in a chapter of her 1987 University of Minnesota PhD thesis. In that letter, Hughes had told Swami Rama why marriage and parenthood were probably not for him. A small band of disciples, most of them Western-educated, gathered around Ramakrishna in the early 1880s, drawn by the appeal of his message and by his charisma as a guru and ecstatic mystic. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work! Williams, however, did not sue Nuernberger himself; she sued the clinic where he worked, alleging that the clinic "knew or should have known" that Nuernberger was engaging in harmful sexual activity while treating her. What Ballentine does not mention is that a second jury judged Nuernberger guilty of unprofessional conduct in his treatment of Nancy E. Williams, another former client, on February 17, 1981. Here is her report. At 7:00 p.m. Vivekananda went to his room, asking not to be disturbed; he died at 9:20 p.m. while meditating. He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. //]]>. During her first eight months at the Institute, Megan was able to pursue her Studies, but her situation altered dramatically when Swami Rama returned to take up summer residence. As the couple started making arrangements to move to England, they received another blow. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. [2] He further claimed to have gained degree-level qualifications from an Indian school of homeopathic medicine, the University of Hamburg, Utrecht University, and finally the University of Oxford. In one context as found in Atharva Veda, as stated by Monier Monier-Williams, means "dark, dark-colored, black" and is related . And Yes! Megan*, a former graduate student in the Eastern Studies program, wrote a letter to the Jesuit administration of the University of Scranton saying that Swami Rama was subjecting women students to sexual exploitation. Gurudeva said: My work is now complete but I still have 14 years left to this body. After he had, as she describes it, "had sex on my body," she took a blanket into the other room and slept on the floor. He would take her to the Orient-Japan and India. Because I do not want to find out. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. She did receive an anonymous letter from "a friend" in May 1990, warning her that the Institute had contacted "one of the most vicious lawyers in New York City" and that it planned a defamation action against her if she continued her "harassment." Swami Rama created his first ashram near Kathmandu in Nepal, apparently in the late 1950s. These volumes give out numerous examples of the ways in which Gurudeva Swami Rama guided the sincere disciples. [13], Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, "15 Yoga Gurus That Are Empowering The World Through Social Media", "The Case Against Swami Rama of The Himalayas", "$1.9 Million Awarded In Swami Sexual Case", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swami_Rama&oldid=1147688250, This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 15:01. The sadhu now revealed himself in his original form. Yet the women never seemed to complain about such treatment, Megan says. [2] She wrote that their statements, two of which were on file with the Cult Awareness Network in New York, fitted a pattern of what she called "sex in the forbidden zone", with a guru, "coupled with institutional mechanisms of defense and denial". Finally, she obtained his permission. . Similarly, gurus in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are supposed to be examples of self-mastery and right living. ." . This is not the case with a spiritual person who has remembered the mantra faithfully. Perfect. No one can expand his consciousness if he remains egotistical. Gold, http://www.hihtindia.org/SRC%20NEW/src_home.htm, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHwDV9UeyfE. He laughed gently and said but then, it is my power you are using for me. Swamis, he explains, are renunciates who take vows of abstinence which include giving up sex, wine, and red meat, as well as other stimulants to the physical senses. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. The Ramakrishna Math and Mission is the main organisation founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. Many of them say they feared his wrath when they were disciples, and several still believe he has the power to inflict harm or illness on them from a distance. Brian sued Swami Rama, and eventually the guru settled out of court for the full amount. "Nirvana is one," Carolyn says she told him. Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. The narrator says again that every person who Ravana sent into battle didn't return. Each of the women I interviewed described how he would discern her particular needs and self-doubts and manipulate her spiritual beliefs or naivet in order to exploit her sexually-he has an uncanny ability to suit his approach to each victim, they say. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." [7] He then produced the longer theta waves of dreaming sleep, and finally the slow delta waves of deep sleep, staying aware throughout and able to describe accurately what had happened in the laboratory although he had been lying in the laboratory "snoring". A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. He is widely respected in the East, where he held, and later renounced, the office of Shankaracharya, Indian's highest spiritual position. In a few months time she would handle his bank account, income taxes, everything. As soon as that ashram was established, he left from there, came back to the Rishikesh ashram and earnestly set about to establish the grand hospital for the service and benefit of the mountain people. Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. The Healing Network (former Himalayan Institute members), BO. Then she dropped her body in complete consciousness. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. My work is now complete. She would live with him in the house he was buying. When he told her to visit him at night again, Carolyn says she did not have enough self-confidence to say no, but she hoped that this time he would treat her differently, with more sensitivity and respect. Wisdom must show itself in action and lovingness." Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. Calcutta, India Swami Rama made Carolyn his appointments secretary in August also. Megan says her feelings told her that something was amiss, but because of the social environment, she began to entertain the notion that the Swami's motives might not be what they appeared to be, and that his attempts at a con job might be a spiritual test. The Amitabha Foundation, is a Tibetan Buddhist organization of the Drikung Kagyu school f, VIVEKANANDA She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! One evening she went out to dinner with Martha*, an old friend from East West Books Chicago. During those days I was very anxious to know this mystery, termed parakaya pravesha. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Unfortunately, his health kept deteriorating and he died in 1920 at the age of 32. Why do you now not use that healing power to cure yourself? He replied, This kind of use of power for oneself is not permitted in the Tradition. But something, which is truth, cannot be falsified by having one hundred witnesses. When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. he was critical of the tendency for yogis to use supernatural feats to demonstrate their enlightenment, arguing that these only demonstrated the ability to perform a feat. "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. * "Nirvana was up at his cabin, walking his dog at 5:30 in the morning, and Megan was with him day and night." To judge by their price tags, these and other Institute programs must bring in a considerable income. He was soon reportedly adopted there by "one of the greatest masters of the Himalayas," Bengali Baba. His best known work is Living With Himalayan Masters; the cultural historian Alistair Shearer calls it "an influential autobiography". [5], In 1966, he founded the original Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Kanpur, India; this was followed by an institute in Glenview, Illinois in 1971; it is now headquartered in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, purchased in 1977. And the secondary trauma of having every single one of her former friends turn their backs on her, she says, has scarred her and left her with a legacy of emotional distrust and feelings of betrayal. To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. He and Pandit Rajmani say that a guru is "that which dispels darkness." She listened calmly as I admitted that I'd worried she might be a victim. I might doubt my own perception, I might doubt my own eyes, but I cannot doubt that strength which has given me everything.". In March 1978, she says, Swami Rama came to Glenview and initiated her. Only adepts know this technique. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. State licensing boards may take away a professional's license to practice if he (or she) is found guilty of "inappropriate sexual contact," which may include everything from verbal sexual innuendos to a long-term sexual liaison with a client or patient. [7], Swami Rama has been accused and convicted of sexual abuse. The Institute also offers a dizzying array of education programs, including a diploma program for hatha yoga teachers. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! Dr. Ballentine denies sending out copies of Hughes's letter: 'I didn't do that. That was why he wanted her to be his secretary. But Swami Rama's disciples do not hold him to these standards. The two couples referred to this statement in a petition to the FBI: they asked the FBI to investigate the threat letter and argued that Swami Rama could be deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service as an undesirable alien on four grounds: possession of nareotics, sexual immorality, fraudulent financial dealings, and "affliction with [a] psychopathic personality." Ravana summons his chariot and vows that at the end . The ant came back to life and started crawling. Edited by Swami Ajaya [Allan Weinstein]. But his disciples did not realize that and kept massaging his back till the wee hours. She remembers that Swami Rama received love letters from several women; one of two of them even mentioned "your child." They announced the date of their death and I was one of the witnesses. His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. Initially, Brian says, most of the other directors responded with concern. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. Everyone knows about Lord Rama's wife i.e. Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. The Institute's "scientific" approach to yoga has made it a success, attracting long-term spiritual disciples as well as large numbers of people who merely want a boost for their psychological or physical well being. The Swami also continued to teach and write from his centers in India. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute Press, 1999. STEINER, RUDOLF (18611925), who wrote more than 350 volumes on philosophy, science, and the arts, was the originator of an esoteric, Although the word "spirituality" was originally a Christian one, derived from the Pauline definition of whatever was under the influence of the spiri, YOGANANDA Swami Rama ( Svm Rma; 1925 - 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." No, he says: "Even if it happened, what's the big deal? When the mantra is remembered consciously, it automatically is stored in the unconscious mind. If one can learn to control the heartbeat, he can experience conscious death, as did St. Paul ("I die daily"-I Corinthians 15:31) and many yogis of India who have practiced this Hong-Sau [concentration] Technique, and through it achieved mastery over the action of the heart. She heard "numerous former students say they left the [Himalayan] Institute because they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama or knew someone who was". God knows whether it was true or not, and even if it was true, this is a normal phenomenon. Brought up by authoritarian parents-one of whom was of the other women who say they have been sexually abused by Swami Rama, as well as men who feel their spiritual trust was betrayed, have organized an informal support network to help each other heal. And Carolyn's residential Program supervisor told her that the scandal was "a big test for all of us and a cleansing for the Institute - we'll see who stays.". The sound tic came from the cracking of the skull as he left his body through the brahmarandhra. "Even if I found out-how can I find out? Swami Rama, she says, would extol his own sexual abilities but tell her she was bad at making love. It is unknown whether he has other children. Not only could he die at will, but he also could bring the dead back to life. The yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. Two months after Swami Rama left for India, Carolyn went to Chicago to visit her family for Christmas. Born in northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). A pearl necklace that Brian had bought from Swami Rama as an "investment" was appraised at roughly one-third of the $100,000 he had paid for it. Towards the end of his life Sri Ramakrishna contracted throat cancer. But a deeper anxiety also motivated my visit: I'd heard a rumor that several women, ex-members of the Institute, were taking Carolyn's guru to court on charges of sexual misconduct. 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