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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. She began to believe that this man who might have been spiritual at one time was now suffering from feelings he couldn't control. Several months later, the two couples met up again. ALL NEW! she wondered. February 27, 2023. 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. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. The next day, she says, Swami Rama called her to his office and asked her if anyone had said anything to her. During that time, neither of them would see any other, and she should never tell anyone. 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. He reportedly smokes cigarettes, watches television for hours every day, and gossips, but his disciples rationalize this non-abstinent behavior: "Oh, Swamiji just smokes to bring himself down to the earth plane," or, "The TV is on incessantly just to give the student one more distraction to challenge his ability to maintain yogic balance," or, "all the stories Swamiji tells about other people are just to give the disciple the opportunity to develop objectivity and not get caught up in the meaningless gossip.". Carolyn,* an old friend, called me collect. 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. When the couple confided their resulting marital troubles to Karen and George, Karen confirmed her friend's experience by revealing that she, too, had had a supposedly exclusive and spiritual sexual relationship with Swami Rama before her marriage. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! Some were afraid of Institute retaliation; most were afraid of hurting their families, who in some cases do not know about the abuses the women suffered; still others were worried that their professional reputations would be harmed. Quick Links. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. But Mr. Schneider told the jury that evidence indicated the relationship was consensual. Swami Rama is supposed to have freed himself from the bonds of karma. In recent years, the harm caused to women by "sex in the forbidden zone" has been recognized in their codes of ethics by most universities and professional associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. In mid-autumn, the day came for Swami Rama's annual trip to India. She was dreamy! 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. 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. The Institute used to offer an accredited masters program in Eastern Studies and Comparative Psychology through an affiliation with the University of Scranton. Things are moving quickly now in the sex scandal involving the three oldest sons of Steven Anderson of Tempe, Arizona's favorite SPLC hate group Faithful Word Baptist Church. 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. She couldn't make sense out of his behavior, because she found it impossible to believe that it was really about sex-and she repeatedly told him so. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immediately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." 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. 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. However, after Swami Rama talked with them, they either told Brian and Terry that the guru should be allowed a "mistake" or they shunned the couple altogether. But the followers of such "enlightened" men are usually reluctant to find fault with them, since to do so could invalidate the students' own years of study and devotion. She says he arranged for her to meet him at the Gramercy Park Hotel and instructed her not to call him Swami in public. Carolyn is not alone. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute and the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. During the next few months, Carolyn says, Swami Rama bade her visit him in his private quarters once every couple of weeks, either after lunch or after evening prayers; he also made it her job to buy condoms. "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. She renewed her acquaintance with her former meditation teachers and started taking classes in Glenview, Illinois, at the Institute's original headquarters. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. 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. When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. His students believe he is able to read minds and manipulate physical reality with his advanced yogic powers; thus they believe he can heal sickness with the power of the "superconscious" mind. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. A spiritual center should pay close to $1.9 million to a woman who says she was sexually assaulted 30 times by the center's leader, a jury decided on Thursday. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. See the article in its original context from. Impact of Accreditation Sanctions on Enrollment. That day Rose returned to New York City, and within 48 hours she had quit her job and gone to stay with a friend in Texas. According to Karen and George, no legal action resulted. 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. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. Minneapolis was the site of another Institute-related scandal in 1981. In the mythology of the ashram, the guru is the all-powerful, all-knowing father and the disciples are his spiritual children. 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. 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. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. Ultimately, the woman had revealed the liaison to her husband. His early American followers had been spiritual seekers of the counterculture who found their guru at his ashram on the banks of the sacred Ganges in Rishikesh, India. The guru spoiled them, they say, calling them his spiritual son and daughter, and soon invited them to come live in Pennsylvania. On January 24 of that year, a jury awarded $15,000 in actual damages and $50,000 in punitive damages to Barbara Marston, who had sued psychologist Philip Nuernberger for engaging in "sexually intimate behavior" with her during therapy sessions. At a young age, Swami Rama is supposed to have been appointed Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham, an exalted spiritual post. He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. But after they started saying all these things, I never trusted them anymore. where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. 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. she remembers him demanding. Attempts to verify Swami Rama's educational background have been unsuccessful, according to Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network. 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. When the manipulation started to involve her meditation and spiritual practices, she says, she decided to confide in one man who had been at the Institute for a long time and who was planning to leave. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . Ayurveda She was afraid to stay in her room, which had no lock on the door, or to use the hall telephone, because all calls had to be routed through the main switchboard. Brian says he felt betrayed, but the knowledge that Swami Rama had financially exploited him made it easier for the couple to cut their ties to the Institute. God knows whether it was true or not, and even if it was true, this is a normal phenomenon. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. Teaching since 1971, the Himalayan Institute offers a wide variety of wellness supplies. 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. Dr. Ballentine says he has good reason to think that Marston "was very anxious for [Nuernberger] to go further, and he didn't. Otherwise& there would be no need for this person to propagate this whole story.". Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. In the spring of 1983, Swami Rama began to court her again, she says: He told her that she would help him prepare a book of sacred poetry he was writing, and he assured her repeatedly that he would take her to India the following autumn. A saint is a person who does what he says." 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. There she learned Swami Rama's style of "super-conscious" meditation, which she describes as a basic, impersonal training in mental concentration. Born in Northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. "If someone is a saint, celibacy would be his normal condition," Dr. Green comments. Like incest victims, women who say they have been sexually abused by their gurus are sworn to silence by their abusers. Health Clinics Health Education Public Libraries School of Carpentry Why did Carolyn say these things? Most rapists threaten women with physical violence. They enjoy spending their free time adventuring, camping, exploring, and creating memories together. The core of HIs service mission relies on a community of volunteers and karma yogis, and the generosity of its members and donors to fulfill its mission. Although the jury entered a judgment against Nuernberger, it also found that the clinic was not liable for his actions, so Williams failed to recover damages. In his enlightened state, they believe, he could never commit any selfish acts, which would create new karmic burdens. But Trescelli says she had to discourage her. 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. 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. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. Since its inception in 1971, the Himalayan Institute has been at the leading edge of personal and social transformation. Our humanitarian projects serve impoverished communities through rural empowerment and environmental regeneration. When they have contacted their friends and former colleagues at the Institute, they have been discounted as liars or labeled "emotionally disturbed." In three months, Carolyn says, she gained 20 pounds. The Greens' experiments caused a furor in the scientific community because they gave powerful support to autogenic biofeedback research, which 10 years earlier had begun demonstrating that body functions which had formerly been considered involuntary could be controlled. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. 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. Meanwhile, the couple says, they discovered more evidence of illicit activity. Megan* started the Institute's graduate program in Eastern studies in the fall of 1982. 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 . During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. 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. In the United States, far from the strong cultural morality of the guru's country of origin, it is not regulated at all. 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. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." He cannot disbelieve his guru. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. The Swami Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69. He would call her to his office for a private audience, and as she hung anxiously on his words he would paint a flattering picture of her future with the Institute. She specializes in Myotherapy, Deep Tissue, Prenatal, Swedish Relaxation, Sports Therapy, and Hot Stone Massage. 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. 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." Carolyn says she knew that Swami Rama often promised his disciples he would take them to India or appoint them to important positions within the Institute-promises that rarely materialized. Dr. Ballentine, who says he studied psychology at the Sorbonne and completed his training in psychiatry at Louisiana State University, defends Nuernberger. Who We Are; What We Do; Where We Work. 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. RFP & Business Plan for Dairy Processing Investor/Operator. 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. 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. Many disciples come from alcoholic and dysfunctional families where they have learned how to deny emotional abuse directed against them or their siblings, in order to believe that their parents really love them and are acting in their best interests. 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