Here is her report. But their encounters were exactly the same as before, she says-emotionally impersonal and sexually mechanical. 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. Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. Check our website! Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. 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. And he abruptly dismissed her. 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. Like incest victims, women who say they have been sexually abused by their gurus are sworn to silence by their abusers. Carolyn says he called her out to Glenview for a special appointment, at which he invited her to come live and work at his new ashram in Honesdale-and told her he would waive the usual residential program fees. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. A Swami, or monk, is supposed to be "one who is master of oneself: senses, body, mind." Finally, she obtained his permission. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. Only recently has she acknowledged her anger at Swami Rama. 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. During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. 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. Rose spent the next six months moving from place to place, terrified that the Institute network would track her down. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. "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. Ayurveda Had anyone spoken to her? 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. He says that Swami Rama has been his guru since he was a child in India, and that he came to the U.S. at Swami Rama's request to head up the Honesdale ashram. RFP & Business Plan for Dairy Processing Investor/Operator. They are crazy. Now Carolyn is more articulate: "When I finally start listening to myself, and I tell him I know he's sleeping with other women-and this is the man I came to, to help me learn how to listen to my inner voice, and then he tells me not to listen to it just as I'm starting to get some confidence in it-that's when I realized, this isn't yoga, this isn't truth, this is abuse.". He also sent out a letter resigning from the board. What a foolish woman! Maybe it's an honor that this great yogi asked me of all his students to serve him in this way. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. And there is a statement, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" Swami Rama made Carolyn his appointments secretary in August also. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. 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. 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." Himalayan Institute Humanitarian is a 501(c)(3) public charity supporting the educational and charitable projects of the Himalayan Institute. Unfortunately, there is some mystery surrounding its founder, Swami Rama, and possible connection with drug abuse and sexual indecency. Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. she remembers him demanding. As the couple started making arrangements to move to England, they received another blow. The man, she says, informed her of Swami Rama's long history of alleged sexual misconduct. In the mythology of the ashram, the guru is the all-powerful, all-knowing father and the disciples are his spiritual children. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. 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 couldn't make sense out of his behavior, because she found it impossible to believe that it was really about sex-and she repeatedly told him so. 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. 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. There she learned Swami Rama's style of "super-conscious" meditation, which she describes as a basic, impersonal training in mental concentration. Trained to meditate and educated in the scriptures from early childhood, he was able to translate and interpret any of the 20,000 verses from the Vedas by the age of 13, according to a biographical pamphlet put out by the Meditation Center. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. https://himalayaninstitute.start.page || Yoga. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. 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. Explore high-quality, unique, practice-enhancing products made for yogis everywhere. One spring evening a couple of weeks later, she says, Swami Rama called her aside to ask why she'd been avoiding him, and she tried to tell him she'd discovered his lies. In the United States, far from the strong cultural morality of the guru's country of origin, it is not regulated at all. Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." Our community is held together by dedicated students of the Himalayan Tradition, who value the principles of universal respect and collective responsibility. Given a mantra but little guidance, Carolyn dutifully performed her assigned practices, hoping that Swami Rama's "scientific" approach to yoga would eventually yield results. 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. Carolyn says she told him no, it "just didn't feel right." "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. 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. Wisdom must show itself in action and lovingness." So far, none of their attempts to communicate their experiences has been met by official Institute willingness to investigate their charges. That one gesture unleashed a storm of long-suppressed emotions. Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. 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. However, after Swami Rama talked with them, they either told Brian and Terry that the guru should be allowed a "mistake" or they shunned the couple altogether. Patricia Trescelli, and attorney with Parker, Chapin, Flattau, and Klimpel, agreed to consult with the women concerning possible legal action on a pro bono basis. 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. She took a meditation class at the alternative high school program she attended, and one evening her teachers invited her to a lecture by their guru, Swami Rama, who was visiting the Chicago area. After dismissing the other workers, she says he repeated the familiar litany, but this time he slipped in a new message. Swami Rama is held by his disciples to be a kind of god: He makes up the rules of the game, he can change them at will, and he cannot be judged by them. One day Swami Rama called for her and told her he wouldn't be taking her to India that autumn. See the article in its original context from. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. A leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian . Irwin Schneider, the lawyer for the Himalayan Institute, conceded that it was morally wrong for the Swami Rama to have sex with the woman from North Carolina, a 19-year-old student at the time. toshiba tv screen goes black after a few minutes. A saint is a person who does what he says." After he had, as she describes it, "had sex on my body," she took a blanket into the other room and slept on the floor. Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. But in 1980, they say, they returned to Honesdale after a brief vacation to learn that their friend Rose* had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Swami Rama during their absence and had fled the Institute for New York City. And she would help him write books. Sexual contract between gurus and their American disciples is not a new or rare phenomenon. 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). She asked him to give her a homeopathic remedy for the itching, she says, but he refused and turned away, dismissing her. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. The chapter on the Meditation Center in Patricia Darling's dissertation details the growth of the center and the subsequent disillusionment of many of Pandit Arya's students with his new guru. A rash of articles featuring Swami Rama appeared in national magazines, including Time, People, and Playboy. Study Retreat Wellness Travel Shop About HI ONLINE Program Calendar ALL NEW! Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. This was not true! The Institute's "scientific" approach to yoga has made it a success, attracting long-term spiritual disciples as well as large numbers of people who merely want a boost for their psychological or physical well being. 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. He told her he was writing a book of poetry for her, and he offered to find her a husband. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. Most of the former members of the Institute who agreed to be interviewed for this article were also afraid to have their identities revealed; they appear under pseudonyms, marked with an asterisk. Back; 2022 Clean Water and Public Health Fund; Make a Donation; Blog; Search for: Log in . Lecturing and teaching worldwide for more than a quarter of a century, he is the author of fourteen books, including his autobiography Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker, the best-selling At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama of the Himalayas and a regular contributor to Yoga International. What a foolish woman! But the University of Scranton didn't offer a degree program in Carolyn's area of study, so she saw a way to rationalize leaving the Institute while still saving face; she could still be considered a good disciple if she cold get the guru's blessing to go away to college. Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. She said no: She had been on a work crew Swami Rama had ordered to week poison ivy roots for his new garden, and she was covered with oozing blisters. Education Advocacy Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. Himalayan Institute Online. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. 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. Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram . Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast since 2000 as they were in the 25 years before due to human-caused climate change, a 2019 paper published in the journal Science Advances found. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. She would live with him in the house he was buying. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. But after two unsatisfying years, she left college and returned to the Chicago area. At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. As Rutter explains in his book, a sexual relationship between a man in a position of power-doctor, psychologist, mentor, or priest-and a woman who is dependent on him-as patient, student, client, or troubled soul-almost always involves an element of coercion and a betrayal of trust. In private sessions, ex-disciples say, Swami Rama has arranged marriages and instructed disciples to break off relationships. Why did Carolyn say these things? Megan* started the Institute's graduate program in Eastern studies in the fall of 1982. Numerous former students say they left the Institute because they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama or knew someone who was. 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. 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. After a couple of months of this special attention, Carolyn says, Swami Rama came to visit her one-day at the book distribution office in Honesdale center. Carolyn remembers being amazed: Could Swami Rama possibly be talking about sex? We partner with rural communities to provide health services, public libraries, and sustainable employment opportunities. Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. 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.". But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarchy. Swami Rama is supposed to have freed himself from the bonds of karma. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. Host to HI Mission Programs, seminars as well as private events, we offer five fully equipped practice spaces and comfortable, modern guest amenities. "The person wanted something, and the other person did not agree to fulfill their desires," he says. 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. After she had lived in Honesdale for a year, Swami Rama started promising to make her his appointments secretary. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. Attempts to verify Swami Rama's educational background have been unsuccessful, according to Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network. 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. Carolyn says she feigned shock and tried to mask her distress as Martha told about a woman at the Glenview center who was confused and distraught about her alleged sexual relationship with Swami Rama. They are instructed to have "no emotional relationship inside or outside the Institute," and residential program directors are charged with monitoring disciple's behavior and attitudes to make sure they conform to Institute expectations. 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. He must see something special in me.'" 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. Because I do not want to find out. 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.". "I only needed one person to corroborate my experience," Megan says now. ALL NEW! "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. Publications Health Products Explore high-quality, unique, practice-enhancing products made for yogis everywhere. Of all the Institute's swamis and teachers, Pandit Arya is by far the most scholarly. ALL NEW! Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. 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. 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