He cannot disbelieve his guru. They are instructed to have "no emotional relationship inside or outside the Institute," and residential program directors are charged with monitoring disciple's behavior and attitudes to make sure they conform to Institute expectations. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute Press, 1999. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. But in 1980, they say, they returned to Honesdale after a brief vacation to learn that their friend Rose* had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Swami Rama during their absence and had fled the Institute for New York City. No one had thoroughly investigated, until journalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. Expert wellness consultations direct to your home. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? ", I ask Dr. Ballentine how he would respond if a woman were to come to him and tell him she's been having sex with Swami Rama, and that her "inner voice" has been telling her that it isn't a positive experience. If you need more, fill free to say us 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. Absolute. 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. It does not and knowledge of Reality and the secrets of life and death. death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. He was soon reportedly adopted there by one of the greatest masters of the Himalayas, Bengali Baba. Indian religious leader and mystic 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. the Tradition of the Himalayan masters "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. The treatment is worse than the ailment. Buddha s solution was to live life correctly and to travel He is supposed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in the sacred caves and monasteries of the Himalayan sages. and throughout history have devised customs of letting go, of mourning, Swami Vivekananda battled several health problems during the short course of his life. [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. A short time later, Swami Rama let her go as his secretary-because, she says he told her, she didn't really want the job. Encyclopedia.com. she wondered. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Yet, as reported by This was followed by his speedy cremation, and then came the elaborate, almost minute-to-minute official account of his death as presented by Amrito through a statement that he read out. 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 Mareh/April 1990 issue of Yoga Journal. People get attached even to the idea of things. To Nachiketa But their encounters were exactly the same as before, she says-emotionally impersonal and sexually mechanical. He Reasons of Death The possible cause of death was the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain. From the 1970s onwards, there were persistent allegations of sexual abuse of his followers;[2] in 1997 a woman won a lawsuit against him for multiple sexual assaults. One who has surrendered himself is always protected by the divine power. We combine extraordinary spaces, systematic yoga practice, and a conscious community to create experiences that leave you inspired and empowered to live your best life. His legacy did not end with his death in 1886; his most prominent disciple Swami Vivekananda carried on his teachings and philosophy to the world through Ramakrishna Mission. Under the guidance of his master, he traveled from monastery to monastery and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of Tibet. Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. family members remain in mourning seven days. humans we are capable of having anger and experiencing anger, but we are under the guidance of his master bengali baba, he traveled visited many sages and ashrams. Following on the wave of favorable publicity, Swami Rama founded the Himalayan Institute in Illinois in 1971. After she had lived in Honesdale for a year, Swami Rama started promising to make her his appointments secretary. miserable and death frightening. She sounded unhappy, so I made plans to visit her at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where she had been a resident for more than four years. He was a great teacher of practical vedanta who used to call himself . Dont be attached to these images. The real cause of war lies rooted in the individual's unwillingness to listen to the voice of the heart, the inner conscience.Drawing on the philosophy of yoga . [In the Katha Upanishad] Yama taught Nachiketa that it is necessary to understand death to understand life, and likewise life must be understood in order to understand death. When another married couple who were their friends and fellow students left the ashram suddenly, Karen wrote to them asking why. Carolyn says she spent years blaming herself and trying to rationalize away what she now regards as sexual abuse. Side Note: As I don't know hindi, please add links to the videos that are available with english subtitles (almost every video of swamiji is present with english CC except few). That is why in some cultures and 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. come about to match their ideas, they are miserable. Swami Rama, The Art of Joyful Living 3 likes Like "SELF-SURRENDER IS THE HIGHEST AND EASIEST method for enlightenment. Brian says he did not realize at the time that a conviction for fraud could have lost the Institute its federal tax-exempt status as an educational institution. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. free from attachment there is no grief, much less fear. eternal glory. In the autumn of 1997, Pennsylvania jurors awarded $1.875 million in damages to a former female resident of the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA. They are not allowed even to sit on chairs that is not you. Hughes, who ran East West Books Chicago and then worked as publicity and sales director of Himalayan Publishers and Distributors, now has a masters degree in counseling and hosts a successful TV series in Memphis, Tennessee: Total Health and Relaxation: An Ounce of Prevention." The letter is curt in tone. emotion, to believe that the emotion is us. Swami Rama passed away in 1996, being survived by, it has been suggested, at least one child ( Webster, 1990 ). Materialistic thinkers turn it the other way around. Swami Rama (Svm Rma; 1925 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. She recalls that he said they would become very close, their bodies would come together, and then they would part. Jesus meant that Then she dropped her body in complete consciousness. "Anyone who lives a public life can go through such remarks; you have heard about all that blackmailing of famous, rich athletes," he explains to me in the spring of 1989 at the Honesdale ashram. religious systems a time limit is put on grief. Towards the end of his life Sri Ramakrishna contracted throat cancer. been merely pulled out of thin air.. 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. That through which She began to believe that this man who might have been spiritual at one time was now suffering from feelings he couldn't control. The only way he could do that was by killing Shambuka. relationship make their loss certain. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. one passes in and out without seeing it, that is the portal of God.. [2][R 1] All the same, I am the bliss of the universe, That doesnt make much sense only those secrets were worth having. His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. Since the early 1970s, women have been claiming sexual abuse at the hands of this prominent spiritual teacher. Information will be posted on her website: rama.yoga. life and all of its ups and downs. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rama-swami-1925-1996, "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarehy. The annual congress, held each June, offers a smorgasbord of lectures and "new age" workshops. You think that is you. Carolyn remembers being amazed: Could Swami Rama possibly be talking about sex? Branch centers have also been established throughout the United States. Rather than being a saint, according to Green, Swami Rama is an advanced yogi and "a mortal with some ego problems.". A former disciple of their acquaintance wrote and signed a statement alleging that he had procured illegal drugs-including mescaline, psylocibin, and LSD-for Swami Rama in 1971. car means I am successful, this car helps identify me. Or, I need a Until she'd read a copy of Susan's letter, she told her, she'd thought she was alone. "If you give more weight to rumors instigated by emotionally disturbed individuals and by those who are jealous or vindictive than you give to your own experience of dealing with Swamiji, then you are indeed in trouble." She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. Swami Rama 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. That one gesture unleashed a storm of long-suppressed emotions. Notable teachers he encountered included Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, and Sri Ramana Maharshi. A Swami, or monk, is supposed to be "one who is master of oneself: senses, body, mind." 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. Everything happens for a reason, and we can't judge him." I ask Dr. Ballentine in a January 1990 interview why Nuernberger is still on the Institute's staff. instrumentsthey are free from fear. In addition to this intense spiritual training, Swami Rama received higher education in both India and Europe. Edited by Swami Ajaya [Allan Weinstein]. The people Bob had referred to were Carolyn, Susan, Brian and Terry, Dr. Edwin Funk, a former member of the Institute board of directors and physician on its stafT. that loss is appropriate but that grief should not be prolonged. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? is the secret of the mystery of death, and the key to understanding "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. dies, the garment that provides the covering for the soul on its visit life as a slight, momentary affliction that prepares a person for The first is the extraordinary secrecy around Osho at the time of his death. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. Her family and friends are grappling with this sudden and profound loss both personally, and to the Yoga world-at-large. They rarely had to do the menial chores performed by other residents; Brian was encouraged to study the sacred texts and write a book, while Terry got training as a Montessori teacher and started a school for the Institute's children. Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Buddha's four noble truths state that life is suffering, the suffering has a cause, there is a cessation of suffering, and there is a means to that cessation: a solution. We get angry, and we think, I am Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." Of course, Gandhis very human displays of (non-righteous) temper alone would have been enough to demonstrate to him or anyone else that he was not yet perfected in ahimsa. '"My dear,"' she says her counselor told her, "You sound just like a sexually abused child, a little girl whose Daddy told you never to tell anyone.". Carolyn had sought a consultation with Pandit Rajmani, who told her that Megan was either lying because she was "on an ego trip," or fantasizing a sexual encounter that had never taken place. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, at the time the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram and a member of the Institutes teaching staff, reportedly responded the desires and attachments that are the cause of suffering. He also has the integrity to admit that if they were true, it would be very terrible, and a violation of the teaching that says one should treat all women as daughters. attachments, along with ignorance, are the source of the fear of death. After a couple of months of this special attention, Carolyn says, Swami Rama came to visit her one-day at the book distribution office in Honesdale center. Answer (1 of 12): How did you come to the conclusion that Swami Vivekananda died of human disease? she remembers him demanding. Carolyn stayed at the Institute for three more years, working at a variety of jobs. The turning point in Venkataraman's life came spontaneously in mid-July 1896. As the scientific interest in yoga declined through the 1980s, Swami Rama lead the Himalayan Institute until his death in 1996. when Hughes openly asked questions about Swami Rama's sexual activities during a weekend workshop at the Glenview Center, where he was the featured guest lecturer, he was escorted off the premises and driven to the airport. A system that rewards a particular behavior or person and then arbitrarily ignores or punishes that same behavior or person can quickly lead even healthy individuals to develop profound anxiety and uncertainty-the antithesis of self-confidence. [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". One of the women involved further described a public, non-sexual encounter with the sage. A guru has the wisdom of experience and the ancient teachings, so he can provide guidance, Dr. Ballentine says, but students should "judge every [practice] on the basis of your own experience." Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. His contributions to literature include profound commentaries on such spiritual works as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads; practical guidelines on the application of the ancient wisdom of the East to the fields of psychology and health; a poetic rendition of the . Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. I have no desire on Life, please tell me when will I die?" At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. Why did Carolyn say these things? We are all afraid of the word "death" and do not want to face the truth that we all have to die. life: God pervades all, and God is the Atman animating our soul, the it do to have all the riches of the world and all the worlds pleasures? wonderful marriages, living in white houses with picket fences and the pain to identify an issue in his body that needed attention. The possible psychological effects of that on the girls themselves, even without any breach of his brahmacharya celibacy vow, does not seem to have concerned the Mahatma. Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu stated: Birth is not a 3. Most of us The woman in question claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Rama a full thirty times over a Yogic Summer of Love in the early 90s. and reinforce the fears of recurrent loss and death. At the meeting, Brian says, Dr. Ballentine presented letters from another woman, Karen,* who also claimed to have been sexually exploited by Swami Rama. Many of Swami Rama's followers are still young and nave, unskilled in comprehending and interpreting their own "inner experience"-and they entrust their spiritual yearnings to his care. This seemingly whimsical application of standards demoralized many of the ex-members I spoke with and led many to resent the members of Swami Rama's inner circle. He promised her he'd set up a complete, personalized yoga program for her there-a prescribed thet, special yoga postures and meditation practices-as well as a game plan for her higher education and future career. By Swami Rama Death is not the end of life, but simply a pause in a continuing story. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. Ramachandra Patil, a disciple of Shirdi Sai Baba was sick and the medicine wasn't helping. Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. grieve after anyone.. Pandit Tigunait, who accepted Rama as his guru when just a child in India, is now the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute, and the acknowledged spiritual successor to Swami Rama there. Swami Rama's penetrating commentary on the ensuing dialogue between Nachiketa and Yama, King of Death, reveals a clear, profound philosophy of death and immortality. As the Bhagavad Gita But all of them, whether they appear here under a pseudonym or as a background source, understand that if this article provokes a libel suit they can be called to testify in court. He must also vow that he will not harm any living being. Reprinted with permission of the Publisher Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. The cycle of life 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. Sexual contract between gurus and their American disciples is not a new or rare phenomenon. Download Books. white house with flowers and a perfect life. [2][11] The journalist Katharine Webster stated in Yoga Journal in 1990 that women had since the early 1970s made claims of sexual abuse against him, and that since the matter had never been investigated, she had spent two years researching it. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. 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. It is sad to lose what At the same time, she says, he offered her money and told her he wanted to put her in his will. I met a yogi at Paidung in Sikkim in the year I947. The yogi suddenly went into deep meditation. There is no . am 61 and blond with blue eyes. We are not that. Pandit Arya reportedly alternated between disbelieving and believing the growing number of his female students who told him that Swami Rama had sexually harassed or abused them. Maybe it's an honor that this great yogi asked me of all his students to serve him in this way. Another Buddhist text 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. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. in the lower mind with emotions. Even sage Vlmki who wrote Rmyaa was formerly a hunter, but he became a transcendental author of the Lord's pastimes, by the mercy of great devotees. He learned that his father had had sexual relations with many women and after his father's death in 1996, he learned that Swami Rama had a wife in India and two children. She would live with him in the house he was buying. be incorruptible; therefore, knowing Him, it does not behoove you to This car is mine, this This If you did not give away your heart to the Beloved You did not give away anything at all. Things are lost, relationships Himalayan Institute, RR 1. It would be difficult to leave that train once we were means the end to what was central and meaningful to that person. For a truly "liberated" one, there is no body consciousness. distractions, dancing girls and video games, and opportunities for Grand Central, we could do so effortlessly and joyfully. It says, Born in northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. sexual misconduct of the Himalayan Institute's former "spiritual. its work is done. Swami Rama, Founder of Promoting Society, Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT), was born in 1925 at Village-Toli, Malla Badalpur, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand (erstwhile Uttar Pradesh) to a learned Brahmin family.Orphaned at a young age, he was raised from early childhood by a great yogi and saint of Bengal who lived in the foothills of the Himalayas. There is a period for Doctors in Mumbai (then called Bombay) diagnosed Ramanujan with tuberculosis and vitamin deficiency. There are three critical aspects to Osho's death which demand close scrutiny. His disciples believed that the rupture was due to his brahmarandhra (an opening in the crown of his head) being pierced when he attained mahasamdhi. [3] This was one of the first convictions of a yoga guru for unlawful sexual activity with a devotee. Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. I don't have access to those files." So if someone wants to come to me and say, this man's taking advantage of me for his pleasure, I just find it hard to believe.". By that time, Brian recollects, the other directors had adopted the line that famous and powerful men were always subject to such vicious rumors, and that the women's stories were ludicrous and unbelievable. These customs help people to go Jesus demonstrated his knowledge of these methods when he brought Lazarus back to life. us that we are perceiving our relationship to things, people, feelings, Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. authors are initiates in the Himalayan Tradition of Yoga and students of the late Swami Rama. those close to us, and fear our own passing. There is existence without limitation, When one learns to separate the mortal self from the immortal Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. or wear shoes. As Rutter explains in his book, a sexual relationship between a man in a position of power-doctor, psychologist, mentor, or priest-and a woman who is dependent on him-as patient, student, client, or troubled soul-almost always involves an element of coercion and a betrayal of trust. Death is not the end of life, ", Why would the women want to blackmail Swami Rama? He says it's only happened to him once or twice, but he asked the woman, "Are you really sure about this? - Swami Rama, "Living With the Himalayan Masters". Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. I ask him. Several months later, the two couples met up again. We arrive here, strive to obtain whatever we think we need, and 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. Rajmani explains the basic goals of the Institute's tradition of yoga: "The most important part of the practice is nonattachment." The Swami, she says, bragged to a crowd of disciples that the woman would do whatever he told her, then put his dog's collar and leash around her neck and walked her back and forth, while the others laughed. But one by one, Trescelli says, the women backed down and decided not to pursue legal action. Finally I found an opportunity to broach the topic of the lawsuit with Carolyn. Ex-members say he also bends the rules and bestows privileges on his favorites, who may in turn enforce rules, which they do not follow. Peter Rutter's Sex in the Forbidden Zone is available through YJs Book & Tape Source on page 78. (Webster, 1990). his life for my sake shall save it. In the next sentence Jesus asked, by Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906) I have no scruple of change, nor fear of death, Nor was I ever born, Nor had I parents. Yoga, as well as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, remember that God, or the eternal Reality, is within you. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute, 1978. I am so important and I need to have this car. At a later date, he pursued a formal education at Oxford University, continuing his studies of Western psychology and philosophy in Germany and Holland for three years before coming to the United States in 1969. This life is concealed behind the two openings of birth and death. Megan went through a brief but painful and confusing time during which she doubted her own feelings and perceptions. Unfortunately, unlike Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda doesn't figure in schoolbooks the way he deserves to. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. After one dies, he or. thoughts that we identify with, and this brings pain. Only that which is perishable is subject to death, the In the mythology of the ashram, the guru is the all-powerful, all-knowing father and the disciples are his spiritual children. "I will not tolerate anyone propagating malicious stories about the Institute or its founder on the Institute's own property," Dr. Ballcntine's letter says. 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.". The capacity to leave the body consciously at the time of death is not restricted only to accomplished yogis. 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 bothes 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." He would take her to the Orient-Japan and India. From her childhood Carolyn had been steeped in Catholic faith and educated in scientific skepticism; now it seemed the Institute could help her harmonize these two seemingly contradictory ways of perceiving the world. 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. Community, Courses, and Content. some bad trick has been played on them. Well-to-do New Yorkers flock to Honesdale on weekends for seminars in stress reduction, meditation, and health and nutrition. In retrospect, Megan says, she believes that Swami Rama was indifferent to the problems that his behavior might cause the Institute, but was using such scandals to purge it of anyone who questioned his authority. 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. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram, as well as a member of the Institute's teaching staff. the Atman who dwells within is the central theme of the Upanishads. The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! Reality is neither good nor evil. Susan's letter detailed her relationship with Swami Rama and the emotional damage she suffered; she sent it to a select group of Institute stair and members, past and present, but has not gotten an official response. It is sad for him, and for those who cared and were so deeply hurt by him, that his behavior has been allowed to continue with such devastating results to people just looking for help." Be there because she was one of his secretaries we were means the end of his life Ramakrishna. His life Sri Ramakrishna contracted throat cancer these customs help people to go jesus demonstrated his of... Began talking about Swami Rama 's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially who. We could do that was by killing Shambuka Osho & # x27 ; s former quot... Spend two years researching their allegations fear our own passing confused the siddhis-the to! The way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego,... 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