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. He studied with many adepts, and then traveled to Tibet to study with his grandmaster. One day Swami Rama called for her and told her he wouldn't be taking her to India that autumn. The headquarters of the mission is in Belur Math, a monastery near Kolkata. 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. 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. The last few months of his life were filled with accusations of sexual assault and harassment from several women against himself and the Himalayan Institute. ." While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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.". Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute Press, 1999. He wept for hours at a time and felt a burning sensation throughout his body while imploring the Divine Mother to reveal herself. Box 400, Honesdale, PA 18431: (717) 253-5551. In the meantime, though, Swami Rama returned to India, where he died of lung cancer on Nov. 13, 1996, before Jasmine Patel's case came to trial. But their encounters were exactly the same as before, she says-emotionally impersonal and sexually mechanical. Its mission, according to the Articles of Incorporation, was "to make known to the members and people in general the real, synthetic, and harmonious view of world religions and philosophy in terms of modern scientific achievements and undertake researches for all around ethical, social, economical, and spiritual development of humanity to attain world peace, international integration, understanding, and spiritual awakening of the human race." Everything happens for a reason, and we can't judge him." Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Giving the empire to Luv-Kush Rama, apparently repenting for his sins, decided to give all his empire to Luv and Kush to rule. Mr. Mitchell found background "whispers" with statements such as: " the poison is going down," " push real hard it is going down him," " poisoning for a long time," " he's gonna die," " yes, a heart attack time," " the poison is in you Srila Prabhupada," followed by, " he's going under," and so on and so forth. 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. I said, But, then, Swamiji, you have healed so many in life. //]]>. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. Dr. Ballentine says it is "presumptuous" to judge whether or not someone is perfected. The Christians draw out the liquid and call it water, but it is all the same substance, no essential difference. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute, 1978. But the siddhis can be an ego trap. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. She was thrilled; it was commonly believed at the Institute that the fastest way to reach enlightenment was to spend as much time as possible in the presence of the guru. Well-known Indian teacher of yoga, meditation, and holistic health. 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. He performs ritual prayers, dresses in his armor, and when he's dressed, he looks very heroic. ." He demonstrated this feat in my presence five times. After dismissing the other workers, she says he repeated the familiar litany, but this time he slipped in a new message. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. After her death, the walls of that room in which she lived vibrated with the sound of her mantra. After each of these sadhanas, Ramakrishna claimed to have had the same experience of brahman, the supreme power, or ultimate reality, of the universe. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ramakrishna, IndiaNetzone - Biography of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York - Biography of Sri Ramakrishna, World Religious and Spirituality Project - Ramakrishna, Cultural India - Reformers - Biography of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarehy. One evening in early June, Carolyn remembers, Swami Rama's housekeeper phoned the women's dorm and asked her to bring the manuscript she was preparing over to Swami Rama's new cabin. Well-to-do New Yorkers flock to Honesdale on weekends for seminars in stress reduction, meditation, and health and nutrition. (His interest in Roman Catholicism ended with a vision of the great yogi Jesus embracing him and then disappearing into his body.) Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. Carolyn is not alone. by Swami Veda Bharati, Glory to All Saints (interview) -- Swami Veda Bharati, Parents, Children, and Spirituality by Swami Rama, 50 Kids in a Memorable 4-day Program by David Rodrigo, Yes! And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. When she questioned him, Megan says, he became angry and dismissed the women's suffering, saying that a little poison ivy could be good for them. Before he reached the state of deep meditation, there were violent jerks in his body. . Rose told Brian and Terry that she was afraid to seek help from the family members who'd invited her to the Institute-they were unquestioningly loyal to Swami Rama-and she knew no one else there. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. The scattered parts of the ant moved together and united in a second's time. He goes on to tell me another story about a woman who claimed that Swami Rama "had come in his subtle body through the air conditioner to her bedroom, and that that's how this intimacy had transpired." As the disease advanced the great Yogi instead of curing himself through his yogic powers, gave up his body in Samadhi. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. Atin Ghosh with the monks in belur on Saturday, Copyright 2023 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. They would travel together to England. And I feared that Carolyn-young beautiful, idealistic, and worshipful of Swami Rama, the Institute's founder and spiritual leader - could be vulnerable to such exploitation. . Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) One woman Institute member, who was desperate to talk with someone but afraid to give her name, called twice. [3], Swami Rama was born Brij Kiore Dhasmana or Brij Kiore Kumar,[2] to a northern Indian Brahmin family in the village of Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. Who? Megan* started the Institute's graduate program in Eastern Studies in the fall of 1982. The liver specialist said it was liver disease. He said What will the japa of others do for me? He spoke Bengali and knew neither English nor Sanskrit. A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. I don't have access to those files." The next day, she says, Swami Rama called her to his office and asked her if anyone had said anything to her. 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. I like to believe that somewhere inside of him, he is the good person I believed him to be. Then he started giving her practices without any spiritual meaning, she says, and telling her she wasn't doing them right. 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. He called a few of his disciples to spend some time with him in silence, told us my Master is calling me and I must go. Your work is not yet complete. Swami Vivekananda died of diabetes. There are in a tank or pool, he said. Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. I have personally witnessed yogis casting off the body consciously on many occasions. 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. However, his body had begun to weaken. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Later, many of the women broke out in head-to-toe swelling and rashes from what had in fact been poison ivy roots. His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. Carolyn,* an old friend, called me collect. 8246 Garibaldi Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91775 Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. 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.". Numerous former students say they left the Institute because they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama or knew someone who was. [3] This was one of the first convictions of a yoga guru for unlawful sexual activity with a devotee. At the insistence of concerned disciples many other specialists were called. Because I do not want to find out. The Medical College and the Nursing College were already recognized by the Government of India. As he relaxed, he created alpha waves by "imagining an empty blue sky with drifting clouds". (April 12, 2023). No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. Dr. Ballentine says he has good reason to think that Marston "was very anxious for [Nuernberger] to go further, and he didn't. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. The narrator says again that every person who Ravana sent into battle didn't return. Shri Swami Rama did not teach any particular religious doctrine but his teachings aimed at transforming individuals by inspiring them to take charge of their own lives through discipline and strong willpower. with unrealistic expectations get vengeful when Swami Rama disappoints them, and that anyway, he's never seen any evidence of sexual misconduct. One spring evening a couple of weeks later, she says, Swami Rama called her aside to ask why she'd been avoiding him, and she tried to tell him she'd discovered his lies. She was my initiate. During her last days she was completely detached and merged in her sadhana. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. The BB viewers got a major shock after the former contestant died. The last few months of his life were filled with accusations of sexual assault and harassment from several women against himself and the Himalayan Institute. Shri Swami Rama clearly understood that Health, Education and Livelihood skills form a triangular primacy and that holistic development . But no one knows the date of when he left. 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. The victim's confusion and loss of trust are compounded when her community refuses to acknowledge her suffering. When she shared her news with the other residents at East West Books, they told her she should feel honored: She had been chosen, while long-time devotees had been denied the privilege. He was reputed to do the same thing Swami Rama did throughout his life, taking on peoples illnesses upon himself and dissipating them. She never received a response. In daily lectures by the Institute's teachers and in conversation with Swami Rama's disciples, she frequently heard that Swami Rama had a "greater purpose that we couldn't understand," and that he was "beyond morality and judgment. But Trescelli says she had to discourage her. Yet Swami Rama, knowing that Hughes was gay, had repeatedly urged him to marry various women Institute members and had insisted that his homosexuality was unnatural and unhealthy. Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. 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. Indeed, seeing God in everything and everyone, he believed that all paths led to the same goal. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. Following on the wave of favorable publicity, Swami Rama founded the Himalayan Institute in Illinois in 1971. Susan has received several phone calls and a letter from people she didn't send her letter to. 60614. The Ramakrishna Order also played an important role in the spread of Hindu ideas and practices in the West, particularly in the United States. This was not true! A rash of articles featuring Swami Rama appeared in national magazines, including Time, People, and Playboy. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. According to traditional accounts, Ramakrishna was on the verge of suicide when he was overwhelmed by an ocean of blissful light that he attributed to Kali. It stresses the divinity of human nature and oneness of mankind. At a young age, Swami Rama is supposed to have been appointed Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham, an exalted spiritual post. Once when Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa was suffering from throat cancer, Swami Vivekananda could not bear His sufferings and planned to apply his yogic powers to cure him. His disciples believe he knows them better than they know themselves, and that if they want to achieve their spiritual goals they should do exactly as he says. 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. 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. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Carolyn says she experienced their sexual encounters as brief and rough, and that she performed her sexual duties mechanically: "I numbed myself in order to survive.". Finally, she obtained his permission. Omissions? Carolyn walked up to the cabin, she says, where after a brief minute spent leafing through her work, the guru asked her in a low voice for a meeting later that night. Truth alone is the real teacher and master" - and asking for an explanation of the women's stories and challenging a possible Institute "cover-up" on professional ethical grounds. The Ayurvedic Centre, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Subtle Science of Altering the Mindstream by Swami Rama. Women need to be informed that this could happen to them-be it with Swami Rama or any man in a position of power-so they will be able to see it coming and avoid it. Not only could he die at will, but he also could bring the dead back to life. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. Yoga and Psychotherapy. For in his previous births too he had incarnated as the Avatars Lord Rama and Krishna. "Until you get your priorities straight and your head clear, I would request that you refrain from attempting to represent the Institute or its teachings in any way.". He laughed gently and said but then, it is my power you are using for me. The yogi asked me to bring a living ant. Put that letter in the 'goofy file.'" Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." He had also commanded me to move my family from the USA to India and locate myself in his Ashram in Rishikesh. 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.". To the ordinary mind this seems like a fantasy. I asked him why these specialists cannot agree on a diagnosis. * Several months earlier, he received a letter from Bob Hughes, a member of the Institute's board of directors from 1978 to 1980. 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. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." 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