They announced the date of their death and I was one of the witnesses. At this time one of us three was destined to leave: he (grandmaster), I or yourself (referring to me). Ravana stands in a tower and watches the battle for a while. For a time, she says, she considered getting a pistol to carry to work. Then, after a few weeks I saw him in Delhi. Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. 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. "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Since our interview, Dr. Ballentine has been sent at least two letters by women who say they were sexually abused by Swami Rama: one from Carolyn and one from Susan. Or, in the words of Rudolph Ballentine, M.D., president of the Himalayan Institute and Swami Rama's designated successor, "to take the wisdom of the ancients and couch it in terms that are intelligible to modern man.". Realizing that Ramakrishna had passed away over 12 hours ago, he asked some of the people present to get a photograph taken. Please read the series At the Feet of a Himalayan Master. For the At the Feet of a Himalayan Master books: The website of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) is http://www.hihtindia.org/ . The link for the Swami Rama Centre is http://www.hihtindia.org/SRC%20NEW/src_home.htm The yogi suddenly went into deep meditation. The Institute used to offer an accredited masters program in Eastern Studies and Comparative Psychology through an affiliation with the University of Scranton. Swami Rama taught yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health as vehicles to eliminate the gap between human hearts and different religious and ethnic groups. Now she says that those who have allowed the abuses to continue unchecked are responsible for destroying the Institute's integrity. 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. 8246 Garibaldi Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91775 Despite the questions about his background, there is no denying that Swami Rama made a terrific impact on western thinking when he served as a research subject at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? His American followers hear the spiritual teachings from his mouth, with his interpretation, and they rarely have the exposure to a variety of gurus, which would teach them to be skeptical of their own guru. 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. The scattered parts of the ant moved together and united in a seconds time. When another married couple who were their friends and fellow students left the ashram suddenly, Karen wrote to them asking why. 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. I am keeping this last arrow in my quiver to use at that time. The couple had been meditating together for several years. We examined his pulse, heartbeat, and breath, but there was no sign of life. [2][R 1] All the same, As the scientific interest in yoga declined through the 1980s, Swami Rama lead the Himalayan Institute until his death in 1996. His poems reveal his creative genius and lofty ideals. Dr. Ballentine says he has good reason to think that Marston "was very anxious for [Nuernberger] to go further, and he didn't. Interview with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. Terry* and Brian* say they were recruited into the Himalayan Institute's inner circle for their wealth and social connections. ", Shortly after Pandit Rajmani introduced her to Swami Rama, Megan says, the guru called her into his private quarters and told her that they'd been together in a past life, that he'd waited to meet her again in this lifetime, and that now they were reunited. For in his previous births too he had incarnated as the Avatars Lord Rama and Krishna. "Even if I found out-how can I find out? Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. He was asked why he is not healing himself. Rose spent the next six months moving from place to place, terrified that the Institute network would track her down. In 1969, Pandit Arya met Swami Rama, who gave him "one of the highest meditation initiations," in which he experienced himself "as a being of light." 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. 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. 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. He bade us good-bye and left guidance as to what to do with his body if he were to leave it. Born: February 18, 1833 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. 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 was my initiate. Wisdom must show itself in action and lovingness." Branch centers have also been established throughout the United States. "The person wanted something, and the other person did not agree to fulfill their desires," he says. she wondered. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." In his short lifetime, he spread Indian culture and spirituality all over the world. 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. 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. Swami died on 14 November 1977 at the age of 81, in Vrindavan, India. [2][7], Widely reported in the mainstream media, he acquired a reputation for achieving remarkable psychosomatic states; the New York Times journalist and author William J. by Joannne Sullivan, Shiva Country Himalayan Pilgrimage by Silvia, Listen to Your Inner Wisdom by Sabina Cesaroni, The One and Only Church of Universal Ice Cream by Steven J. 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.". Susan has received several phone calls and a letter from people she didn't send her letter to. But his disciples did not realize that and kept massaging his back till the wee hours. 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 above is an excerpt from Swami Veda Bharatis planned book about Gurudeva Swami Rama. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. 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. The Christians draw out the liquid and call it water, but it is all the same substance, no essential difference. Six months before her death, she decided to live in a room by herself remembering the Lords name and meditating. The capacity to leave the body consciously at the time of death is not restricted only to accomplished yogis. And Yes! She says she confessed her secret relationship with Swami Rama for the first time, telling her counselor that she was still confused about it. various ghats (steps to the water). 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. [2] The official biography states that when he was 28 he became the Shankaracharya or spiritual leader at Karvirpitham, part of Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka, South India, demonstrating extensive knowledge of ancient texts to qualify, and holding the position from 1949 to 1952. 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." Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. The headquarters of the mission is in Belur Math, a monastery near Kolkata. Born in northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. Jesus demonstrated his knowledge of these methods when he brought Lazarus back to life. Marston's lawsuit, he says, was an act of revenge. 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. Fortified by their mutual discovery, Karen says, the two couples undertook to inform their fellow students back home in Minneapolis. 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. Unfortunately, his health kept deteriorating and he died in 1920 at the age of 32. 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. D., about abuses that allegedly took place in Minneapolis, Chicago, New York City, and India, for a chapter in Darling's doctoral dissertation, "Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s" (University of Minnesota, 1987). 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. Not only could he die at will, but he also could bring the dead back to life. As Sri Ramakri. 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. She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. They would travel together to England. Maybe it's an honor that this great yogi asked me of all his students to serve him in this way. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. The letter is curt in tone. Yet the Institute's success comes at a high cost for many of those involved. His disciples generally agree that the only reason his soul still inhabits a physical body is because he wants to help others achieve liberation from maya, the realm of illusion. That one gesture unleashed a storm of long-suppressed emotions. The ant came back to life and started crawling. - Swami Rama, "Living With the Himalayan Masters". 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. 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. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. In response to this, the sadhu just flashed a mysterious smile the reason behind it, which Lord Rama immediately grasped. 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. After he had, as she describes it, "had sex on my body," she took a blanket into the other room and slept on the floor. In 1856, however, Ramkumar died. I asked him why these specialists cannot agree on a diagnosis. The scattered parts of the ant moved together and united in a second's time. The movement is considered one of the revitalisation movements of India. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. With great concern I asked him how he was. 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. Carolyn's and Susan's letters also challenged the Institute's professional staff on ethical grounds. 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. Hughes is not so easily coerced into silence: he says he plans to continue to press the Institute's administration to fulfill iLs edii-cal obligations to investigate the women's complaints and put a stop to any abuse. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". The ant came back to life and started crawling. 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. The 3rd volume is now in preparation, soon to be published. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. It stresses the divinity of human nature and oneness of mankind. During her last days she was completely detached and merged in her sadhana. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. 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. . In some states, a patient has the right to sue her doctor or psychotherapist for malpractice even if she originally consented to sex, because people under psychological or medical treatment are considered too vulnerable and dependent to give free and full consent. They know, usually without being told, that if they break the taboo of silence they will be blamed for destroying their spiritual families and the "higher" good those families purportedly do in the world. He replied: I am very well, sonny. Only recently has she acknowledged her anger at Swami Rama. 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