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. Himalayan Institute Online. Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. 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. "This sudden animosity indicates that there is something fishy in the statement of this person. Our humanitarian projects serve impoverished communities through rural empowerment and environmental regeneration. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. 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. The Institute's "scientific" approach to yoga has made it a success, attracting long-term spiritual disciples as well as large numbers of people who merely want a boost for their psychological or physical well being. Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. 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. 7,616 were here. 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 . Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Here is her report. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". That was why he wanted her to be his secretary. What a foolish woman! Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. 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. She walked around New York City for hours, until it was time for her bus to return to Honesdale. 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. Experts and some inside the system say that in justifying its decision, UC perpetuated outdated claims about online learning. University of California System Bans Fully Online Degrees. She says he instructed her in how to give him pleasure and admonished her to always tell him that she had received pleasure, even thought she never did. Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. There she learned Swami Rama's style of "super-conscious" meditation, which she describes as a basic, impersonal training in mental concentration. After teaching, studying, and traveling throughout India and Europe, he came to the University of Minnesota in the 1960s, where he taught Sanskrit and Indian religions. 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. But the victims of what Jungian analyst Peter Rutter, M.D., has termed "sex in the forbidden zone" (in his book of the same name) submit to sexual advances because of a powerful psychological threat. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. "If the guru's instruction leads to a deeper peace, freedom from conflict, a deepening of meditation, harmony in relationships - all of these. In 1971 Swami Rama founded the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in order to create the means to scientifically verify, document, publish, and teach the experiences of his ancient heritage. 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. Whether youre retracing the footsteps of sages through pilgrimage in the Himalayas, or immersing yourself in the most incredible spaces the US has to offer, you will experience the life-changing power of yoga in action. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. -- Swami Rama, "Living With the Himalayan Masters". At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. On the contrary, they sought opportunities to serve the guru's every whim, or even to be abused by him: Megan remembers one woman saying she wished the guru would kick her. After a bit, she was inclined to dismiss his behavior as a joke or a "test.". The Himalayan Institute publishes over 60 titles on yoga, spirituality, and holistic health, including the best-selling Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama and Yoga: Mastering the Basics by Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik. RFP & Business Plan for Dairy Processing Investor/Operator. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. In such a situation, she says, the whole system becomes sick and no one can see the light: "There's no truth allowed; it's a no-talk rule.". Sexual abuse by yoga gurus is the exploitation of the position of trust occupied by a master of any branch of yoga for personal sexual pleasure. "Nirvana is one," Carolyn says she told him. Some stay longer, for a few weeks or months in the Self-Transformation retreat program. 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. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. 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. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. 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. Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? $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. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. 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. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. Is it not better to follow someone who has charted the path?". The Himalayan Institute publishes over 60 titles on yoga, spirituality, and holistic health, including the best-selling Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama and Yoga: Mastering the Basics by Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik. ", Why would the women want to blackmail Swami Rama? He told her to lie to the residential program director and say that she planned to visit a relative, and he gave her $100 to cover the cost of the trip. 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. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." 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 is held accountable only to the higher spiritual laws, which he is uniquely able to comprehend. Wisdom must show itself in action and lovingness." Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. The Institute used to offer an accredited masters program in Eastern Studies and Comparative Psychology through an affiliation with the University of Scranton. Most of the former members of the Institute who agreed to be interviewed for this article were also afraid to have their identities revealed; they appear under pseudonyms, marked with an asterisk. 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). 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. During that time, neither of them would see any other, and she should never tell anyone. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." 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. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . 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. The Swami Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. 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. 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. A producer for "60 Minutes" was reportedly unable to complete her documentary on Swami Rama when the women involved backed out and refused to appear on camera. A report has been made to law enforcement, and I'm guessing . 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. 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. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. What a foolish woman! One evening she went out to dinner with Martha*, an old friend from East West Books Chicago. But to accept a tuition-free second year, or even to leave the Institute quietly, Megan says, would have meant giving tacit approval to the continuing exploitation. Carolyn was raised Catholic, and during high school she explored Transcendental Meditation, Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and the "Jesus freak" movement. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. Megan went through a brief but painful and confusing time during which she doubted her own feelings and perceptions. 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. 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 . The guru spoiled them, they say, calling them his spiritual son and daughter, and soon invited them to come live in Pennsylvania. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. Rose said that she struggled, but the guru physically overpowered her, throwing himself on top of her on the bed and forcing her to perform oral sex. The Himalayan Institute community reaches across the entire globe. 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. 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. They are crazy. Perfect. Given a mantra but little guidance, Carolyn dutifully performed her assigned practices, hoping that Swami Rama's "scientific" approach to yoga would eventually yield results. Mission Membership is an invitation to put your spiritual values into action by supporting our shared commitment to service while deepening your study and practice in the living Himalayan Tradition. But ultimately he chose to believe Swami Rama. 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. One day Swami Rama called for her and told her he wouldn't be taking her to India that autumn. She asked him to give her a homeopathic remedy for the itching, she says, but he refused and turned away, dismissing her. We inspire, educate, and. 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. 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. Those statements are on file with the cult Awareness network (formerly the citizen's Freedom Foundation) in New York. Swami Rama, she says, would extol his own sexual abilities but tell her she was bad at making love. 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 victim's confusion and loss of trust are compounded when her community refuses to acknowledge her suffering. Carolyn,* an old friend, called me collect. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? Why did Carolyn say these things? Treat yourself to a massage, meditate in the peaceful meditation shrine, or relax in one of the many attractive community spaces available on campus. Then he started giving her practices without any spiritual meaning, she says, and telling her she wasn't doing them right. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! He cannot disbelieve his guru. Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. Swami Rama was the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram, as well as a member of the Institute's teaching staff. After dismissing the other workers, she says he repeated the familiar litany, but this time he slipped in a new message. Many of those beliefs are based on Hindu and Buddhist teachings about the nature of the guru. ALL NEW! His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. Join us in serving a tradition that has served the world selflessly for untold ages. 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. Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. You're bound to get mixed up. 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. And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. 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. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Halfway through their meal, Carolyn remembers, Martha hesitantly said, "I know this will sound like a weird question, but has Swamiji ever asked you to have sex with him?" Elmer and Alyce Green observed that Swami Rama could produce different brain waves at will, including theta and delta (sleep) waves, while remaining aware of his environment. Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. When Swami Rama returned from India two months later, Carolyn resumed working as his appointments secretary during the day, and, she says, as his sexual servant on some nights. Megan says she squelched an urge to speak out, instead deciding, like most of the Institute's residents, to suspend judgment so she could "understand and learn" from this "great master." His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. 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. 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. At a young age, Swami Rama is supposed to have been appointed Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham, an exalted spiritual post. 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. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. She opted to forego pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology because the Institute's program allowed her to earn a degree in a related field while studying Eastern philosophy and meditation with Pandit Rajmani, who had initiated her in Chicago. ", 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. 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. Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast since 2000 as they were in the 25 years before due to human-caused climate change, a 2019 paper published in the journal Science Advances found. 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. Education Advocacy She would live with him in the house he was buying. Early the next morning, she says, he announced to her that she was going to leave; he never set up the promised program. 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