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. The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 1992. The Christians draw out the liquid and call it water, but it is all the same substance, no essential difference. On Vasanta Panchami (the celebration of the first day of spring) morning at 4:30 suddenly he said, Now the time has come. Then he sat in the meditative posture, siddhasana, closed his eyes, and became silent. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. It was located on the way to Dhulikhel on the mountain of Janagal. 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. [3] This was one of the first convictions of a yoga guru for unlawful sexual activity with a devotee. 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. One evening she went out to dinner with Martha*, an old friend from East West Books Chicago. 3 Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. 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 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. Now no power can hold me back. But ultimately he chose to believe Swami Rama. 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. Carolyn is not alone. I asked him why these specialists cannot agree on a diagnosis. "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. The teachings contained in the sacred texts cannot play any meaningful part in judging who is a good guru and who is not: "How could they? Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. When the couple confided their resulting marital troubles to Karen and George, Karen confirmed her friend's experience by revealing that she, too, had had a supposedly exclusive and spiritual sexual relationship with Swami Rama before her marriage. Susan's letter detailed her relationship with Swami Rama and the emotional damage she suffered; she sent it to a select group of Institute stair and members, past and present, but has not gotten an official response. Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. This was to us a lesson in what total selflessness of a yogi means. There are in a tank or pool, he said. IT HAPPENED.. (SWAMI RAMA) S WAMI R AMA WAS SUPPOSEDLY BORN in 1925, and allegedly grew up as an orphan in northern India. At age 23 Ramakrishna married Sarada Devi, a five-year-old girl, but, because of his advocacy of celibacy, the marriage was never consummated, even though they remained together until his death. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. 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. 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. Two years ago. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. Ramakrishna, originally called Gadadhar Chatterji or Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, (born February 18, 1836, Hooghly [now Hugli], Bengal state, Indiadied August 16, 1886, Calcutta [now Kolkata]), Hindu religious leader, founder of the school of religious thought that became the Ramakrishna Order. 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. 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.". He performs ritual prayers, dresses in his armor, and when he's dressed, he looks very heroic. Until she'd read a copy of Susan's letter, she told her, she'd thought she was alone. In August, Carolyn says, Swami Rama told her to meet him in New York City for the next step in her spiritual training. 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. Because I do not want to find out. [5] 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.". Mr. Mitchell found background "whispers" with statements such as: " the poison is going down," " push real hard it is going down him," " poisoning for a long time," " he's gonna die," " yes, a heart attack time," " the poison is in you Srila Prabhupada," followed by, " he's going under," and so on and so forth. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Swami Rama is survived by his Indian son and daughter, Mohit Dhasmana and Devyani Mungali, and his American son, Robert Walter. 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. "But the most important thing," she says, "is that the abuse must stop. Dr. Ballentine says it is "presumptuous" to judge whether or not someone is perfected. Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! At the age of twenty-four, the story goes that he was given the position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham . There he founded the Meditation Center. Alternate titles: Gadadhar Chatterji, Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya. He cannot disbelieve his guru. 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. When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. He claimed that he was raised somewhere in the monasteries and holy caves of the Himalayas by his personal guru or master Sri Madhavananda Bharati. The Ayurvedic Centre, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Subtle Science of Altering the Mindstream by Swami Rama. Born into a poor Brahman (the highest-ranking social class) family, Ramakrishna had little formal schooling. I have witnessed two similar cases. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram, as well as a member of the Institute's teaching staff. He was further seen to create a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius between two areas on the palm of his right hand. According to ex-members, Swami Rama often acts in ways his disciples find humiliating, but they tell each other he is humbling their stubborn egos to help them reach enlightenment faster. 2023 . Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. The scattered parts of the ant moved together and united in a second's time. Once when Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa was suffering from throat cancer, Swami Vivekananda could not bear His sufferings and planned to apply his yogic powers to cure him. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. I brought one, personally cut it with a sharp blade into three parts, and scattered them at a distance of ten feet. "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. I must go. We watched his body steadily in pain and looking emaciated, but still tall and erect with no sign of any sadness on him; always inspiring, guiding the final phases of the hospital construction. Researchers pored over his medical records and letters to figure out what he was sick with, according to the Royal Society of London. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. And he abruptly dismissed her. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. I spoke to him excitedly; Maharaj-ji, where are you calling from? He was calling from Hong Kong. But he did not cure himself of the diabetes he took on from someone. The yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. [3] [note 1] He was born in Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. When someone we love dies, it is sad. 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. Why did Carolyn say these things? He must also vow that he will not harm any living being. 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. When they have contacted their friends and former colleagues at the Institute, they have been discounted as liars or labeled "emotionally disturbed." * Several months earlier, he received a letter from Bob Hughes, a member of the Institute's board of directors from 1978 to 1980. After six months she fell sick and became bedridden. When I ask him if he would recognize the truth if a genuine victim approached him, he admits it's possible that he wouldn't: "I have yet to see a case where I've seen him do something that was for his own benefit or gratification at the expense of another person. I don't have access to those files." Born: February 18, 1833 Through her sympathy for what appeared to be his plight, and disarmed by his jokes, she says she allowed him to cajole her until she let her defenses down. "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) 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. ", 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. 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. Rama, Swami. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. Finally I found an opportunity to broach the topic of the lawsuit with Carolyn. Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. Box 148252. 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.". Dr. Elmer Green says that he and his wife have heard from a number of women who said they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama. //]]>. She believes Swami Rama was trying to buy her collusion, as he had bought the collusion of the Institute's staff and many residents. . I met a yogi at Paidung in Sikkim in the year I947. It does not and cannot die because it is eternal. Mantra is a spiritual guide that dispels the fear of death and leads one fearlessly to the other shore of life. For in his previous births too he had incarnated as the Avatars Lord Rama and Krishna. From an early age he was raised in the Himalayas by his master Bengali Baba and, under the guidance of his master, traveled from temple to temple and studied with a variety of Himalayan . During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. He had also commanded me to move my family from the USA to India and locate myself in his Ashram in Rishikesh. At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. I informed him that I had interviewed women who sought him out because they respected him and trusted him to be interested in the truth. 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. Here is her report. He also sent out a letter resigning from the board. Many people, including the victims themselves, have trouble understanding how damaging such sexual contact can be, because the women are adults and no one is holding a gun to their heads. In a few months time she would handle his bank account, income taxes, everything. 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. What a foolish woman! He told her he was writing a book of poetry for her, and he offered to find her a husband. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. 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. I just don't know that it makes sense to go run around trying to evaluate other people, when you haven't evaluated yourself.". As the couple started making arrangements to move to England, they received another blow. 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. The liver specialist said it was liver disease. There is a family of doctors there whose mother was a great devotee of the Lord. Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. 20/20 20 Deciding his fate It is also said that Rama knew. The yogi asked me to bring a living ant. 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