Rose told Brian and Terry that she was afraid to seek help from the family members who'd invited her to the Institute-they were unquestioningly loyal to Swami Rama-and she knew no one else there. They rarely had to do the menial chores performed by other residents; Brian was encouraged to study the sacred texts and write a book, while Terry got training as a Montessori teacher and started a school for the Institute's children. One evening in early June, Carolyn remembers, Swami Rama's housekeeper phoned the women's dorm and asked her to bring the manuscript she was preparing over to Swami Rama's new cabin. What a foolish woman! The 10-campus system closes a loophole that could have let undergraduates piece together a degree. ", Why would the women want to blackmail Swami Rama? Whilst there's no hint of it on the Himalayan Institute's website, Swami Rama faced lawsuits in the 1990s over sexual abuse with his students stemming back to the 1970s. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. And she was afraid to leave in her old car because a freezing rainstorm had covered all the roads with ice. He cannot disbelieve his guru. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. Yet the women never seemed to complain about such treatment, Megan says. 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 . A spiritual center should pay close to $1.9 million to a woman who says she was sexually assaulted 30 times by the center's leader, a jury decided on Thursday. After a bit, she was inclined to dismiss his behavior as a joke or a "test.". And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. Brian and Terry say her family members at the Institute harassed her by mail and by telephone, with accusations that she had "a habit of inducing this sort of behavior from men.". Ayurveda From its beginnings 20 years ago, the Institute has expanded steadily to include some 25 branches and affiliated yoga and holistic health centers in the Midwest, the Northeast, Texas, California, and abroad. 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. Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. She was dreamy! Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute and the successor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Publications Health Products Explore high-quality, unique, practice-enhancing products made for yogis everywhere. Similarly, a woman who had been repeatedly abused by Sri Swami Rama of The Himalayan Institute when she was 19 years old was awarded $1.9 million. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. 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. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." 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. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." Why did Carolyn say these things? Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. Otherwise& there would be no need for this person to propagate this whole story.". Community, Courses, and Content. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. 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. 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.". They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (19251996) is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. She remembers that Swami Rama received love letters from several women; one of two of them even mentioned "your child." "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. The Catholic Church may discipline a priest who has sex with a parishioner, not only because it violates his vow of celibacy, but because his parishioners must be able to confide in him without worrying that he will exploit their trust for his own gratification. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. The annual congress, held each June, offers a smorgasbord of lectures and "new age" workshops. She began to believe that this man who might have been spiritual at one time was now suffering from feelings he couldn't control. In retrospect, Megan says, she believes that Swami Rama was indifferent to the problems that his behavior might cause the Institute, but was using such scandals to purge it of anyone who questioned his authority. We are happy to bring you a combination of Zoom, In-person, and Hybrid options. 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. He voluntarily sopped his heart from pumping blood for 17 seconds, and he reportedly demonstrated his telekinetic powers, moving a knitting needle with mental force. Obedience to the guru's commands is implicitly expected of all long-term residents; former students describe him walking through the main dining room and ordering one person to move to the New York branch, another to change jobs. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. 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. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. Our members consist of a vibrant residential community of practitioners, karma yogis (service-driven seekers), and faculty-in-residence as well as a global community of seekers, committed to living their spiritual values. Carolyn went away to college at the end of that year, as her parents expected. Is it not better to follow someone who has charted the path?". The daughter of an alcoholic, she longed for guidance from a spiritual authority figure. But she says his attitude toward her underwent a dramatic change; he began to make her a target for his anger, issuing contradictory orders and then screaming at her for her incompetence in front of the other secretaries and disciples and gossiping about her behind her back. Authentic Ashram Living Himalayan Meditation Institute is dedicated to providing authentic and transformative training in the art and science of meditation. The two couples referred to this statement in a petition to the FBI: they asked the FBI to investigate the threat letter and argued that Swami Rama could be deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service as an undesirable alien on four grounds: possession of narcotics, sexual immorality, fraudulent financial dealings, and "affliction with [a] psychopathic personality." 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. Our endeavors are distinguished by their living connection to an ancient wisdom tradition of the Himalayan Masters, expressed through a unique offering of online and in-person mission programs. "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. 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. Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. 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. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Finally, she obtained his permission. 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. 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.". "Even if I found out-how can I find out? The jury awarded $275,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages to the woman. Many of them say they feared his wrath when they were disciples, and several still believe he has the power to inflict harm or illness on them from a distance. In the mythology of the ashram, the guru is the all-powerful, all-knowing father and the disciples are his spiritual children. Treat yourself to a massage, meditate in the peaceful meditation shrine, or relax in one of the many attractive community spaces available on campus. where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. Many disciples come from alcoholic and dysfunctional families where they have learned how to deny emotional abuse directed against them or their siblings, in order to believe that their parents really love them and are acting in their best interests. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! 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. The Himalayan Institute has been and continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. The accumulated testimony of their personal experiences through the years exhibits a pattern typical of "sex in the forbidden zone," coupled with institutional mechanisms of defense and denial. Burnett is a postdoctoral fellow in Houston's department of education leadership and . Carolyn is not alone. Carolyn says the "goofy" letters never got answered. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Who? Quick Links. Ultimately, the woman had revealed the liaison to her husband. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." 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. In 1969, Pandit Arya met Swami Rama, who gave him "one of the highest meditation initiations," in which he experienced himself "as a being of light." Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. 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. 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. He must see something special in me.'" My initial experience with yoga in the 1990's at the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo led me to making a radical shift in lifestyle and moving to the Institute's educational headquarters in Honesdale, P.A. Finally I found an opportunity to broach the topic of the lawsuit with Carolyn. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. 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. 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. Things are moving quickly now in the sex scandal involving the three oldest sons of Steven Anderson of Tempe, Arizona's favorite SPLC hate group Faithful Word Baptist Church. Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. 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. 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. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram . It was years more before she felt she had the right to be angry at her spiritual family, the staff and residents of the Institute who, she says, denied the signs of abuse all around them. A world leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit international organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. To judge by their price tags, these and other Institute programs must bring in a considerable income. Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. But a deeper anxiety also motivated my visit: I'd heard a rumor that several women, ex-members of the Institute, were taking Carolyn's guru to court on charges of sexual misconduct. She was afraid to stay in her room, which had no lock on the door, or to use the hall telephone, because all calls had to be routed through the main switchboard. Megan recalls that in one of her first encounters with Swami Rama, she watched as he humiliated a quiet, withdrawn woman resident. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." 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. 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. 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. $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. Our various programms address all aspects of a meditator's life because all of life has an effect on meditation. Explore our integrative health services & therapeutic treatments to help restore your natural state of well-being. 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. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. By this time Carolyn had gained 25 pounds from binging on sweets. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. A system that encourages such vulnerable individuals to give up their own "egotistical" judgment to the arbitrary whims of one person is one of the key features of a totalist organization, or "cult.". TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. It is sad for him, and for those who cared and were so deeply hurt by him, that his behavior has been allowed to continue with such devastating results to people just looking for help." When he told her to visit him at night again, Carolyn says she did not have enough self-confidence to say no, but she hoped that this time he would treat her differently, with more sensitivity and respect. 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. 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. You're bound to get mixed up. * "Nirvana was up at his cabin, walking his dog at 5:30 in the morning, and Megan was with him day and night." The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. 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. The Swami Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69. Relax, restore, and nourish yourself with a wellness retreat. 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. 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. See the article in its original context from. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. He reportedly sat down on a chair next to her bed and proceeded to make sexual advances. Healthy lifestyle products to support your yoga and spiritual practice. According to Karen and George, no legal action resulted. Dr. Ballentine says it is "presumptuous" to judge whether or not someone is perfected. Perfect. That one gesture unleashed a storm of long-suppressed emotions. Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69 `` new age workshops. 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