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. [2], In 1997, a woman won a lawsuit, first filed in 1994,[12] regarding multiple sexual assault by Swami Rama while she was attending the Himalayan Institute in 1993; she was awarded $1.9 million in damages. Yet the Institute's success comes at a high cost for many of those involved. At this time one of us three was destined to leave: he (grandmaster), I or yourself (referring to me). Megan recalls that in one of her first encounters with Swami Rama, she watched as he humiliated a quiet, withdrawn woman resident. 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. Karen, the woman whose claims were ridiculed at the meeting where Swami Rama and the other directors responded to Brian's charges, was one of the first ex-members to confront top Institute administrators. [7] He then produced the longer theta waves of dreaming sleep, and finally the slow delta waves of deep sleep, staying aware throughout and able to describe accurately what had happened in the laboratory although he had been lying in the laboratory "snoring". The great yogi Totapuri (whose name is well known to the students of the life of Paramahamsa Ramakrishna), like many other yogis, changed his name several times. I said, Maharaj ji, then grant me the healing power and I will use it to heal you. Indian religious leader and mystic Pandit Arya radiates calm as he speaks. Dr. Ballentine sent copies of his letter to the same Institute members who had received Hughes's letter. He was among the first notable teachers of Hinduism to lecture in the United States, travelling there in 1902, preceded by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920. No, he says: "Even if it happened, what's the big deal? "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. //. 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. Later, many of the women broke out in head-to-toe swelling and rashes from what had in fact been poison ivy roots. 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." 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. . 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. Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. Swami Vivekananda Death Anniversary: 4th July is the 116th death anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. 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.". When she did not, the young priest sank into despair. Five minutes before her death she called all the family members and blessed them. 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. He is also supposed to have graduated from a homeopathic medical school in India, and studied at Hamburg University, the University of Utrecht, and Oxford University. He was reputed to do the same thing Swami Rama did throughout his life, taking on peoples illnesses upon himself and dissipating them. Encyclopedia.com. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. 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. But my Gurudeva has left his body. Like incest victims, women who say they have been sexually abused by their gurus are sworn to silence by their abusers. Not permitted by the Tradition.. And there is a statement, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" Not only could he die at will, but he also could bring the dead back to life. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immethately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." Sexual contract between gurus and their American disciples is not a new or rare phenomenon. [2][R 1][R 2] However, in 1987 two of his closest followers left his Himalayan Institute when they learnt that part of his official biography had been "fabricated"; further, Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network has stated that his academic background could not be verified. She was feeling so disgusted with her body and afraid of the guru's humiliating comments that one night she couldn't face going to his room, she says. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. With his last name he left his body around 1958. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. - Swami Rama, "Living With the Himalayan Masters". When someone we love dies, it is sad. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Are you feeling a little confused and emotionally upset, and maybe some of the things that happened you might have misinterpreted, or you might have even fantasized them, you know, have trouble separating fantasy from reality?" Carolyn moved back to Chicago, found a job, returned to school, and soon met a non-institute man she wanted to marry. 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. We all wondered if we would ever see him again. Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. He promised her he'd set up a complete, personalized yoga program for her there-a prescribed thet, special yoga postures and meditation practices-as well as a game plan for her higher education and future career. Videos of the Evolution of HIHT with Swami Rama talking about his vision: Swami Ramas Ashram in Rishikesh is Sadhana Mandir. 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. Swami Rama Himalayan University But ultimately he chose to believe Swami Rama. She began to believe that this man who might have been spiritual at one time was now suffering from feelings he couldn't control. He also sent out a letter resigning from the board. Swami Vivekananda became afflicted with throat cancer and gave up his body on 16th August 1886. 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.". She believes Swami Rama was trying to buy her collusion, as he had bought the collusion of the Institute's staff and many residents. Dale Colton, director of public relations at the Himalayan Institute, never returned my repeated phone calls requesting an interview with Swami Rama. ", Pandit Arya is not so reluctant as Dr. Ballentine to articulate is how one can recognize a worthy guru. Dr. Ballentine denies sending out copies of Hughes's letter: 'I didn't do that. They announced the date of their death and I was one of the witnesses. Because that's my whole life Even if I found out - how can I find out? "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. 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?" 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 Institute also offers instruction to counselors and psychotherapists in the application of yoga and meditation techniques to therapy. 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. Swami Rama taught yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health as vehicles to eliminate the gap between human hearts and different religious and ethnic groups. 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. In his new book, At the Eleventh Hour, Pandit Tigunait chronicles the 20-year period that he spent with his . Of all the Institute's swamis and teachers, Pandit Arya is by far the most scholarly. The time of her parting seemed imminent. 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. In 1856, however, Ramkumar died. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". It does not and cannot die because it is eternal. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. According to Karen and George, no legal action resulted. His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses - those are facts. Realizing that Ramakrishna had passed away over 12 hours ago, he asked some of the people present to get a photograph taken. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. My father certainly had sex, and that's why I was born, so will I lose faith in my father? Put that letter in the 'goofy file.'" Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. [2] He further claimed to have gained degree-level qualifications from an Indian school of homeopathic medicine, the University of Hamburg, Utrecht University, and finally the University of Oxford. Finally, on 13th November 1996 he left his body. 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. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. In the year 1938 when I was sent to Benares to stay with a Bengali couple, I was informed that the couple would drop their bodies at the same time. The Ramakrishna Order also played an important role in the spread of Hindu ideas and practices in the West, particularly in the United States. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 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. 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. He studied with many adepts, and then traveled to Tibet to study with his grandmaster. To the ordinary mind this seems like a fantasy. Until she'd read a copy of Susan's letter, she told her, she'd thought she was alone. Such a relationship, instead of giving the woman the healing or validation she seeks, reinforces her feeling that the only thing of value she has to offer a man with worldly power is her body. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! Because I do not want to find out. "I will not tolerate anyone propagating malicious stories about the Institute or its founder on the Institute's own property," Dr. Ballcntine's letter says. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. If a hundred people come and say that the day is night and I know that it's not, the voting system doesn't do it here, you know? At an early age he was ordained as a monk by a great sage of the Himalayas and later journeyed to numerous monasteries and caves, studying with many spiritual masters. Carolyn has been in therapy for the past five years, trying to rebuild her self-confidence and heal the damage done by what she now calls her "sexual abuse" by Swami Rama. [2][R 1] All the same, During those days I was very anxious to know this mystery, termed parakaya pravesha. When they have contacted their friends and former colleagues at the Institute, they have been discounted as liars or labeled "emotionally disturbed." Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. 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. She never received a response. She sounded unhappy, so I made plans to visit her at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where she had been a resident for more than four years. Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. Born in northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. 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. ", I ask Dr. Ballentine how he would respond if a woman were to come to him and tell him she's been having sex with Swami Rama, and that her "inner voice" has been telling her that it isn't a positive experience.
Ravi From Jessie After Drugs,
Craigslist Parkersburg Wv Personal,
Articles H