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. But still, she was afraid to leave the community she'd been part of for so long and reenter a world that had practically forgotten her existence. 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. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." Five minutes before her death she called all the family members and blessed them. At the meeting, Brian says, Dr. Ballentine presented letters from another woman, Karen,* who also claimed to have been sexually exploited by Swami Rama. We all wondered if we would ever see him again. Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. 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.". Swami Rama has a reputation among his followers as an incredible psychologist who uses his insights to help others. He says that Nuernberger's one mistake has "ruined his life, in essence, which is really too bad.". "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. 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. The letter is curt in tone. I might doubt my own perception, I might doubt my own eyes, but I cannot doubt that strength which has given me everything.". In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. Some stay longer, for a few weeks or months in the Self-Transformation retreat program. Encyclopedia.com. The narrator says again that every person who Ravana sent into battle didn't return. Nor does Dr. Ballentine mention that in 1977 Nuernberger was formally reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Psychology for unethical practices stemming from his relationship with a third woman patient. Not permitted by the Tradition.. He was reputed to do the same thing Swami Rama did throughout his life, taking on peoples illnesses upon himself and dissipating them. Meanwhile Janet,* a Honesdale woman who worked as the couple's babysitter and housekeeper at the time, says she received threatening phone calls at Brian and Terry's house, asking if she was alone with the children. In his short lifetime, he spread Indian culture and spirituality all over the world. With his last name he left his body around 1958. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. The yogi asked me to bring a living ant. That all religions could be seen as different paths to the same divine source or, even better, that this divine source revealed itself in traditional Hindu categories was welcome and truly liberating news for many Hindus. For a time, she says, she considered getting a pistol to carry to work. 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. [R 4], Swami Rama's abilities in yoga nidra, a guided meditation whose name means "yogic sleep",[6] were measured experimentally at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas in 1971. His lifetime of contributing to a reconciliation of scientific and spiritual knowledge brought him the Martin Buber Award for Service to Humanity in 1977. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. [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". But during the next three weeks, she says, she saw the Swami mistreating his disciples, especially the women, on a daily basis-yelling at them, ridiculing them, ordering them around, and occasionally kicking a woman in the buttocks when she was on her hands and knees weeding. It was located on the way to Dhulikhel on the mountain of Janagal. Two of the guru's most devoted disciples left the Institute three years ago because they had learned while in India as part of an Institute tour group that parts of Swami Rama's official biography were fabricated. 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. Swami Rama is survived by his Indian son and daughter, Mohit Dhasmana and Devyani Mungali, and his American son, Robert Walter. The next day, she says, Swami Rama called her to his office and asked her if anyone had said anything to her. Your work is not yet complete. Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. 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. During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. 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. Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. Sadhana Mandir Trust Two other women left the Institute shortly afterwards. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." Swami Rama ( Svm Rma; 1925 - 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. After a bit, she was inclined to dismiss his behavior as a joke or a "test.". 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. [9] The result was a sharp increase of interest in his teachings. However, his body had begun to weaken. 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.". Finally, she obtained his permission. She listened calmly as I admitted that I'd worried she might be a victim. "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.". Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. . 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 yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. However, the date of retrieval is often important. At about the same time, Carolyn was accepted into the residential program at East West Books Chicago, the Institute's downtown branch. Attempts to verify Swami Rama's educational background have been unsuccessful, according to Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network. 8246 Garibaldi Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91775 "But the most important thing," she says, "is that the abuse must stop. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But within the Institute, she says, everyone else seemed to accept the guru's sexually suggestive behavior and humiliation of women. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, 1978. Carolyn says she spent years blaming herself and trying to rationalize away what she now regards as sexual abuse. 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. From 1949 to 1952 he held the prestige and dignity of (Sarada Devi was later deified and is still considered a saint by devotees who treat her as the Divine Mother. Shortly after Marston filed her suit in 1978, Nuernberger moved to Honesdale, where he is currently a member of the Institute's teaching staff. After Ramakrishnas death, his message was disseminated through new texts and organizations. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.". 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. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. At a young age, Swami Rama is supposed to have been appointed Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham, an exalted spiritual post. One day Swami Rama called for her and told her he wouldn't be taking her to India that autumn. Up to that point I had felt like he was a guru, that he cared about me at least, but no, he was just using me.". 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. she remembers him demanding. The 3rd volume is now in preparation, soon to be published. 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. Swami Rama Himalayan University He is held accountable only to the higher spiritual laws, which he is uniquely able to comprehend. The daughter of an alcoholic, she longed for guidance from a spiritual authority figure. 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. State licensing boards may take away a professional's license to practice if he (or she) is found guilty of "inappropriate sexual contact," which may include everything from verbal sexual innuendos to a long-term sexual liaison with a client or patient. He would call her to his office for a private authence, and as she hung anxiously on his words he would paint a flattering picture of her future with the Institute. Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. Here is her report. To the last day of his life he was doing the rounds of his hospital. 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