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? 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. Finally, she obtained his permission. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. 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. Who? 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.". After a sleepless night, she said she snuck out at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and drove to Brian and Terry's empty house in Honesdale. Carolyn says she experienced their sexual encounters as brief and rough, and that she performed her sexual duties mechanically: "I numbed myself in order to survive.". He must see something special in me.'" That was why he wanted her to be his secretary. 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. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. She loved him like "a second father," she says, "and the real tragedy is that this is how our relationship ended. 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. She became outraged at the residents and the professional staff who enable and legitimized the Swami's behavior. The jury awarded $275,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages to the woman. In August, Carolyn says, Swami Rama told her to meet him in New York City for the next step in her spiritual training. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. No one can expand his consciousness if he remains egotistical. Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. I ask him. The Swami, she says, bragged to a crowd of disciples that the woman would do whatever he told her, then put his dog's collar and leash around her neck and walked her back and forth, while the others laughed. 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. 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. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. She remembers that Swami Rama received love letters from several women; one of two of them even mentioned "your child." In her lawsuit, the plaintiff said the swami sexually assaulted her 30 times while she was attending the institute in the spring and summer of 1993. "Before [these women] started saying these things, I also had a very good feeling that these people were wonderful people and they would never lie and they were trustworthy people. He warns against relying too heavily on the inner voice: "When we look for the guru within, we only end up finding our own samskaras-vagaries of the unconscious mind are mistaken for directions from the superconscious. See the article in its original context from. Here is her report. kono oto tomare main character; best supported football clubs in europe; rolling ridge conference center Had Nirvana said anything? 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. 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. Experts and some inside the system say that in justifying its decision, UC perpetuated outdated claims about online learning. So far, none of their attempts to communicate their experiences has been met by official Institute willingness to investigate their charges. Each of the women I interviewed described how he would discern her particular needs and self-doubts and manipulate her spiritual beliefs or naivet in order to exploit her sexually-he has an uncanny ability to suit his approach to each victim, they say. 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. What a foolish woman! She renewed her acquaintance with her former meditation teachers and started taking classes in Glenview, Illinois, at the Institute's original headquarters. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. Dr. Ballentine, who says he studied psychology at the Sorbonne and completed his training in psychiatry at Louisiana State University, defends Nuernberger. Marston, however, testified that Nuernberger had "hugged and kissed her and fondled her breasts," according to an article in the Minneapolis Tribune (Jan. 24, 1981). The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, nestled in the beautiful Pocono Mountains in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1971. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. 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. The Meditation Center became affiliated with the Himalayan Institute, and eventually Pandit Arya achieved his dream of having his own ashram in India, when Swami Rama made him president of his Rishikesh ashram. 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. Meanwhile, the couple says, they discovered more evidence of illicit activity. 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. After dismissing the other workers, she says he repeated the familiar litany, but this time he slipped in a new message. 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. You're bound to get mixed up. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. The Combined Therapy program and the outpatient branches of the Institute for Holistic Medicine combine Western medicine, homeopathy, Eastern medicine, psychotherapy, nutrition, yoga, and meditation to treat people with a variety of physical and emotional problems. 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. But the Institute does not teach the mastery of such powers in its programs, instead focusing on yoga practices with more immediate practical application. 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. 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. 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. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. 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. Who We Are; What We Do; Where We Work. He is also head of the Institute's Holistic Studies (formerly Eastern Studies) program and has written a number of scholarly books on yoga philosophy. Dr. Ballentine, the Institute's president and director of the Combined Therapy Program, explains that human beings have the potential to do "all kinds of things, like move our bodies at will from one place to another, or be aware of what people are thinking on the other side of the earth, or inner states of consciousness that take us to the future and the past." February 27, 2023. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. Both women and men say they blamed themselves and their own spiritual obtuseness when they repeatedly failed to discern and follow the shifting rules. When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. Back; 2022 Clean Water and Public Health Fund; Make a Donation; Blog; Search for: Log in . Ayurveda Explore high-quality, unique, practice-enhancing products made for yogis everywhere. 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. And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. In order to believe in his perfection, they must rationalize behavior that others would judge to be tyrannical, cruel, or self-indulgent. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? Education Advocacy 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. "If the guru's instruction leads to a deeper peace, freedom from conflict, a deepening of meditation, harmony in relationships - all of these. Back; Cameroon; India; Mexico; Tibetan Settlements; Get Involved. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. He says that Nuernberger's one mistake has "ruined his life, in essence, which is really too bad.". Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. Spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute, Pandit Tigunait is the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. He told her he was writing a book of poetry for her, and he offered to find her a husband. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. But for a man of Pandit Arya's background and beliefs, the relationship with one's guru is more momentous than any merely temporal bond. And she would help him write books. The Institute also offers a dizzying array of education programs, including a diploma program for hatha yoga teachers. Carolyn is not alone. Because I do not want to find out. But Mr. Schneider told the jury that evidence indicated the relationship was consensual. And that was the first time I realized what all that stuff meant-the other women, the 'goofy' file, and the rumors about the lawsuit. 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. 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.". A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. Two other women left the Institute shortly afterwards. A rash of articles featuring Swami Rama appeared in national magazines, including Time, People, and Playboy. 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. By this time Carolyn had gained 25 pounds from binging on sweets. Swami Rama's claims to this spiritual background have been questioned by some of his former students. Shortly after Marston filed her suit in 1978, Nuernberger moved to Honesdale, where he is currently a member of the Institute's teaching staff. The Institute also offers instruction to counselors and psychotherapists in the application of yoga and meditation techniques to therapy. But after they started saying all these things, I never trusted them anymore. In a few months time she would handle his bank account, income taxes, everything. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. Several months later, the two couples met up again. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. There she learned Swami Rama's style of "super-conscious" meditation, which she describes as a basic, impersonal training in mental concentration. Soon Carolyn noticed she wasn't the only woman being favored by the guru; he was also paying attention to Megan and Nirvana. 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