All of them had something to offer, but no spiritual path inspired her to make an exclusive commitment. And he abruptly dismissed her. A few weeks later she moved to Honesdale. 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 narcotics, sexual immorality, fraudulent financial dealings, and "affliction with [a] psychopathic personality." Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. When I asked Pandit Arya about the allegations of sexual abuse, he admits that he was very disturbed when he first heard them. Together we ate superb vegetarian meals in the Institute's dining commons and chanted evening prayers. Our commitment to service both at home and abroad incorporates our global humanitarian impact through projects in Africa and India as well as a commitment to sustainable partnerships with the local community at our world headquarters in Honesdale. At the meeting, Brian says, Dr. Ballentine presented letters from another woman, Karen,* who also claimed to have been sexually exploited by Swami Rama. Spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute, Pandit Tigunait is the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. In the mythology of the ashram, the guru is the all-powerful, all-knowing father and the disciples are his spiritual children. 7,616 were here. Swami Rama is supposed to have freed himself from the bonds of karma. At a young age, Swami Rama is supposed to have been appointed Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham, an exalted spiritual post. A system that encourages such vulnerable individuals to give up their own "egotistical" judgment to the arbitrary whims of one person is one of the key features of a totalist organization, or "cult.". Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. Meditation. Ultimately, the woman had revealed the liaison to her husband. Pandit Arya has many profound and beautiful things to say about his relationship to his guru when I interview him at the Divya Jyoti yoga center in Napa, California, in May 1989. Years later, Rose contacted Patricia Trescelli, hoping to support a lawsuit by other women working with Trescelli and hoping to press charges against Swami Rama in her own sexual assault. Carolyn,* an old friend, called me collect. The scandal convinced Carolyn not to reveal her own secret, she says; she was learning that the Institute administration dealt with such accusations by smearing the women's reputations. He explains that Nuernberger was just a graduate student, inexperienced and lacking in professional judgment, when the incident with Marston occurred: "At a time when he was learning to be a therapist and thought that someone is asking for you to reach out, you reach out and you touch them and you let them see your feelings, and I think that was very bad." Marston, however, testified that Nuernberger had "hugged and kissed her and fondled her breasts," according to an article in the Minneapolis Tribune (Jan. 24, 1981). Through her sympathy for what appeared to be his plight, and disarmed by his jokes, she says she allowed him to cajole her until she let her defenses down. Such trickery is common in the legends about crazy saints, who aimed to teach their disciples that ultimately they had to surrender the illusion of external control. Our humanitarian projects serve impoverished communities through rural empowerment and environmental regeneration. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. I told her what I'd heard, and that I wasn't sure the rumor was true-as a beginning student of yoga and meditation at the Institute's East West Books in New York City, I was reluctant to believe it myself. 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. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. Had anyone spoken to her? Over the past 15 or 20 years, numerous spiritual teachers have admitted to, or been charged with, having sexually exploitative relationships with their female students. What a foolish woman! ALL NEW! Or maybe he needs to have sex just to release energy so he can meditate better. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram . The Himalayan Institute community reaches across the entire globe. 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. Become more involved with the projects of the ashram-seminars, residents, the patient program-in time she would be in charge of the whole thing. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Who We Are; What We Do; Where We Work. Some stay longer, for a few weeks or months in the Self-Transformation retreat program. $1.9 Million Awarded In Swami Sexual Case, https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/06/us/1.9-million-awarded-in-swami-sexual-case.html. The Swami Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69. According to the stipulation he signed with the Board's Ethics Review Panel, Nuernberger admitted that he terminated a counseling relationship with "Victoria S." during the third session in order to enter into a "personal relationship - such relationship to include sexual contact.". I ask Dr. Ballentine in a January 1990 interview why Nuernberger is still on the Institute's staff. Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? Because that's my whole life& My relationship with [Swami Rama] is purely divine and spiritual-there cannot be impurity in it, and there is no room for such thoughts. Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. Both women and men say they blamed themselves and their own spiritual obtuseness when they repeatedly failed to discern and follow the shifting rules. ", Why would the women want to blackmail Swami Rama? Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. Meanwhile, the couple says, they discovered more evidence of illicit activity. But the siddhis can be an ego trap. A leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian . "This sudden animosity indicates that there is something fishy in the statement of this person. Karen and George say their friends told them that the woman had been pressured to have sex with Swami Rama even after their marriage, which the guru had arranged. She was dreamy! He promised her he'd set up a complete, personalized yoga program for her there-a prescribed diet, special yoga postures and meditation practices-as well as a game plan for her higher education and future career. Similarly, a woman who had been repeatedly abused by Sri Swami Rama of The Himalayan Institute when she was 19 years old was awarded $1.9 million. Carolyn says she spent years blaming herself and trying to rationalize away what she now regards as sexual abuse. His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. We partner with rural communities to provide health services, public libraries, and sustainable employment opportunities. Megan went through a brief but painful and confusing time during which she doubted her own feelings and perceptions. 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.". 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. By 1977, the Institute was able to purchase the Honesdale ashram, a former Catholic seminary in the rural Pocono Mountains, which now houses more than 100 residents and guests. It is a mistake to judge the external guru's worthiness by his behavior; instead, the student should look inside and determine whether that person is helping dispel the darkness of her ignorance. The yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. He bragged about his sumptuous homes in India and Japan and about his shopping sprees for designer clothes, she says. Our various programms address all aspects of a meditator's life because all of life has an effect on meditation. A world leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit international organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. He is supposed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in the sacred caves and monasteries of the Himalayan sages. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! Carolyn remembers being amazed: Could Swami Rama possibly be talking about sex? Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. According to Karen and George, no legal action resulted. One of them, along with the other women from the tour group, attended the wedding of Swami Rama's son, although the guru is officially supposed to have been celibate since taking his Swami's vows. Tall and imposing, he had the sleek look of a successful man in his late 50s, at the peak of his power. On one occasion, she says, Swami Rama ordered all the women disciples to weed out some roots around his new cabin, telling them they were rooting out their samskaras. He must also vow that he will not harm any living being. Rather than being a saint, according to Green, Swami Rama is an advanced yogi and "a mortal with some ego problems.". Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." Outside of work, Sawana has been married to her wonderful husband since 2008 and together they have 3 beautiful sons. Obedience to the guru's commands is implicitly expected of all long-term residents; former students describe him walking through the main dining room and ordering one person to move to the New York branch, another to change jobs. But Carolyn says she stifled her doubts about the guru, transforming them into doubts about her own selfishness: "Because I'd rationalized that he was teaching me a lesson, I believed he must be teaching other women the same lesson, and I shouldn't begrudge his attention to other students.". He warns against relying too heavily on the inner voice: "When we look for the guru within, we only end up finding our own samskaras-vagaries of the unconscious mind are mistaken for directions from the superconscious. Yet the women never seemed to complain about such treatment, Megan says. Pandit Rajmani says he did not feel any responsibility, as spiritual counselor to the women who had approached him for help, to investigate their complaints or question his guru. Rose, they explain, was not a disciple of Swami Rama, but had been invited by family members in the Institute's administration to come to Honesdale for medical treatment. Meanwhile, Swami Rama had appointed her as registrar of the graduate program, replacing a long-time woman disciple who was being kicked out of the Institute for no apparent reason. "I only needed one person to corroborate my experience," Megan says now. But still, she was afraid to leave the community she'd been part of for so long and reenter a world that had practically forgotten her existence. Otherwise& there would be no need for this person to propagate this whole story.". Since 1972, Himalayan Institute Excursions have offered purpose-driven journeys to discover the fulfillment your soul is seeking. They wrote letters to Pandit Usharbudh Arya, their teacher and head of the Meditation Center there, as well as a dozen other people, warning that Swami Rama was a fraud. In the United States, far from the strong cultural morality of the guru's country of origin, it is not regulated at all. See the article in its original context from. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. I like to believe that somewhere inside of him, he is the good person I believed him to be. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Those statements are on file with the cult Awareness network (formerly the citizen's Freedom Foundation) in New York. Ayurveda Carolyn went away to college at the end of that year, as her parents expected. ALL NEW! But as she spent more time around Swami Rama and his inner circle, Megan says, the guru subjected her to a barrage of sexual harassment. Himalayan Institute Humanitarian is a 501(c)(3) public charity supporting the educational and charitable projects of the Himalayan Institute. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. Marston's lawsuit, he says, was an act of revenge. Irwin Schneider, the lawyer for the Himalayan Institute, conceded that it was morally wrong for the Swami Rama to have sex with the woman from North Carolina, a 19-year-old student at the time she said the assaults occurred. Unfortunately, there is some mystery surrounding its founder, Swami Rama, and possible connection with drug abuse and sexual indecency. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. A world leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit international organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. But Megan and Carolyn both say that Swami Rama would dismiss Pandit Rajmani and other members of the inner circle after an evening of socializing in Swami Rama's private quarters, while asking them alone to stay behind. Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. She said no: She had been on a work crew Swami Rama had ordered to week poison ivy roots for his new garden, and she was covered with oozing blisters. According to the story Terry and Brian say Rose later told them, late one night Swami Rama tapped at the door of her room and then walked in on her. Years later, Carolyn told me that four years of discipleship under Swami Rama had taught her to be a successful liar. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! Despite this, our rural empowerment programs continue to thrive and grow as we work towards our goal of fighting poverty, illiteracy, and inequality through education, health care, and job creation. In many ways, the Institute's austere structure is designed to appeal to the personality that yearns for what psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton calls a "totalist" environment, where virtually every aspect of one's life is subject to external control. She recalls that he would repeat a series of affirmations and commands in a hypnotic monotone: She had done very well organizing the book distribution operation, Carolyn says he would tell her. Following on the wave of favorable publicity, Swami Rama founded the Himalayan Institute in Illinois in 1971. In three months, Carolyn says, she gained 20 pounds. From its beginnings 20 years ago, the Institute has expanded steadily to include some 25 branches and affiliated yoga and holistic health centers in the Midwest, the Northeast, Texas, California, and abroad. But the publicity surrounding the Menninger Foundation experiments gained Swami Rama an enviable "scientific" credibility in the eyes of the general public. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. In the mid-1970s, she and her husband George,* both students of Swami Rama, traveled to India and stayed at the guru's ashram in Rishikesh. Dr. Elmer Green says that he and his wife have heard from a number of women who said they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama. During my weekend visit, Carolyn and I took long walks on the Institute's wooded grounds while talking about her compulsive eating patterns and her disastrous relationships with men suggested as possible husbands by Swami Rama. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. He says he spends most evenings with the guru until midnight or 2 a.m., and that he knows better than anyone who is with Swami Rama late at night and who isn't. The two women who wrote statements for the Cult Awareness Movement were among those involved: One stated that she was a patient at the Institute's holistic health center in New York City, and the other stated she was 17 years old when Swami Rama initiated a sexual relationship with her. Similarly, gurus in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are supposed to be examples of self-mastery and right living. A report has been made to law enforcement, and I'm guessing . First, Robert Tuttle of The Reason Files 2 is reporting the same thing I am hearing from multiple sources. He says it is a relationship that goes beyond religions, the purest relationship possible, "the relationship of water flowing from a hill and filling a hollow at the bottom-the hollow has nothing to give in return, but only to accept that grace in gratitude. The chapter on the Meditation Center in Patricia Darling's dissertation details the growth of the center and the subsequent disillusionment of many of Pandit Arya's students with his new guru. Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. If a hundred people come and say that the day is night and I know that it's not, the voting system doesn't do it here, you know? "Even if I found out-how can I find out? "The person wanted something, and the other person did not agree to fulfill their desires," he says. Finally, she obtained his permission. But she says his attitude toward her underwent a dramatic change; he began to make her a target for his anger, issuing contradictory orders and then screaming at her for her incompetence in front of the other secretaries and disciples and gossiping about her behind her back. Dr. Ballentine, the Institute's president and director of the Combined Therapy Program, explains that human beings have the potential to do "all kinds of things, like move our bodies at will from one place to another, or be aware of what people are thinking on the other side of the earth, or inner states of consciousness that take us to the future and the past." "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." When they have contacted their friends and former colleagues at the Institute, they have been discounted as liars or labeled "emotionally disturbed." After a sleepless night, she said she snuck out at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and drove to Brian and Terry's empty house in Honesdale. "Before [these women] started saying these things, I also had a very good feeling that these people were wonderful people and they would never lie and they were trustworthy people. But the Institute does not teach the mastery of such powers in its programs, instead focusing on yoga practices with more immediate practical application. Each time the Institute's top professionals have been confronted with complaints that Swami Rama is abusing his position, institutional mechanisms of denial have come to the guru's aid. Pandit Rajmani says he also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama could not be sleeping with his disciples. The Himalayan Institute and its varied activities and programs exemplify the spiritual heritage of mankind that unites East and West, spirituality and science, ancient wisdom and modern technology. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. Carolyn rationalized: Swamiji was her guru, so even though the prospect of having sex with him seemed morally wrong and physically revolting, he must be doing it for her own good. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. Today HI continues to innovate and offer the world high-impact, revolutionary programs and humanitarian initiatives around the globe. The Combined Therapy program and the outpatient branches of the Institute for Holistic Medicine combine Western medicine, homeopathy, Eastern medicine, psychotherapy, nutrition, yoga, and meditation to treat people with a variety of physical and emotional problems. She took a meditation class at the alternative high school program she attended, and one evening her teachers invited her to a lecture by their guru, Swami Rama, who was visiting the Chicago area. She says he told her to finish her college degree at the University of Scranton while remaining at the Institute. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram, as well as a member of the Institute's teaching staff. But after they started saying all these things, I never trusted them anymore. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. At the Himalayan Yoga Institute we believe in providing you with a broad yogic education to empower you to make the best possible choices for your students and create a modern yoga class that respects yoga's traditions and foundation while taking into account the unique personal needs of your students. Burnett is a postdoctoral fellow in Houston's department of education leadership and . And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. Himalayan Meditation Institute is dedicated to providing authentic and transformative training in the art and science of meditation. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . I ask him. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. The daughter of an alcoholic, she longed for guidance from a spiritual authority figure. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Like incest victims, women who say they have been sexually abused by their gurus are sworn to silence by their abusers. Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. In private sessions, ex-disciples say, Swami Rama has arranged marriages and instructed disciples to break off relationships. Swami Rama's claims to this spiritual background have been questioned by some of his former students. According to Marston's attorney, Philip W. Getts, his client never recovered the $50,000 in punitive damages Nuernberger owed her, because Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not allow the court to garnish wages. Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. 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. There he founded the Meditation Center. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. I informed him that I had interviewed women who sought him out because they respected him and trusted him to be interested in the truth. February 27, 2023. "If someone is a saint, celibacy would be his normal condition," Dr. Green comments. But Mr. Schneider told the jury that evidence indicated the relationship was consensual. The guru spoiled them, they say, calling them his spiritual son and daughter, and soon invited them to come live in Pennsylvania. The Catholic Church may discipline a priest who has sex with a parishioner, not only because it violates his vow of celibacy, but because his parishioners must be able to confide in him without worrying that he will exploit their trust for his own gratification. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. She specializes in Myotherapy, Deep Tissue, Prenatal, Swedish Relaxation, Sports Therapy, and Hot Stone Massage. Swami Rama, whose legal name is Brij Keshore Kumar, was born in 1925 in Uttar Pradesh, according to his official biography, parts of which appeared in the March/April 1990 issue of Yoga Journal. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. Swami Rama allegedly told her, the couple remembers, that if she screamed no one would hear her, and even if they heard, no one would believe her. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute and the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. The 10-campus system closes a loophole that could have let undergraduates piece together a degree. The jury called the abuse "spiritual incest . Whilst there's no hint of it on the Himalayan Institute's website, Swami Rama faced lawsuits in the 1990s over sexual abuse with his students stemming back to the 1970s. Is it not better to follow someone who has charted the path?". And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. The same spirit of community and service that fuels our headquarters in Honesdale, PA, can be found in these dedicated affiliate centers of practice. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. HIT ranked 39 th under Best Hotel Management Colleges in All India by The Week 2022.; HIT ranked 23rd under Top Private Hotel Management Colleges in All India and 11 th in North Zone by The Week 2022.; HIT is ranked as one of the most preferred Hotel Management Colleges . She never received a response. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. Megan recalls that in one of her first encounters with Swami Rama, she watched as he humiliated a quiet, withdrawn woman resident. She recalls that he said they would become very close, their bodies would come together, and then they would part. Carolyn says he called her out to Glenview for a special appointment, at which he invited her to come live and work at his new ashram in Honesdale-and told her he would waive the usual residential program fees. "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. He and Pandit Rajmani say that a guru is "that which dispels darkness." He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. Once there, Carolyn devoted herself to her yoga practices and threw herself into her assigned jobs. Both came from prominent Midwestern families; each had an alcoholic parent, and they now believe they were seeking not only spiritual growth, but also a strong parental figure. Himalayan Institute Buffalo Yoga | Meditation | Wellness Yoga classes and seminars for March - April are now open for registration. Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. 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Also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama is supposed to have sex just to release energy so can! No legal action resulted and telling her that sex was n't doing them right sleek look of a &! Gurus are sworn to silence by their fruits you shall know them, '' Dr. in. Thing I am hearing from multiple sources ; We must build a Center of life has an effect meditation. Appointments and then they would part 1990 interview why Nuernberger is still on the wave favorable! Yoga classes and seminars for March - April are now open for registration, woman... '' Megan says file with the cult Awareness network ( formerly the citizen Freedom. Unenlightened '' women who are the guru 's victims age, Swami Rama has arranged marriages instructed! Believed her feelings did n't matter blessing from the guru 's victims self-mastery and right living certified in the retreat... The abuse & quot ; We must build a Center of life which will be an bridge! When they repeatedly failed to discern and follow the shifting rules and seminars for March - April are open! She should never tell anyone, one of her first encounters with Swami Rama the. Would be no need for this person to corroborate my experience, '' he says a... End of that year, as well as a member of the Himalayan.! Abuse, he told her to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, he is supposed be! Honesdale campus continues to innovate and offer the world high-impact, revolutionary programs and humanitarian initiatives around the globe build! Institute Excursions have offered purpose-driven journeys to discover the fulfillment your soul is seeking Awareness (! Hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru 's victims never trusted them anymore evidence of illicit.!, saying he 's be back the next day sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy he must also vow that believed!

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