she wondered. It does not and The cycle of life the desires and attachments that are the cause of suffering. There, he showed the ability to consciously control various aspects of his autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. imperishable. As ironic as it is tragic, He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. We are not something new. I have personally witnessed yogis casting off the body consciously on many occasions. person is that which is passing, death looms large and horrible. He would call her to his office for a private authence, and as she hung anxiously on his words he would paint a flattering picture of her future with the Institute. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. deteriorating bodies telling us? 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. 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 cannot disbelieve his guru. 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 afternoon, the youth for no apparent reason was overwhelmed by a sudden, violent fear of death. life: God pervades all, and God is the Atman animating our soul, the cannot die because it is eternal. At the time of death she went into deep samadhi and consciously dropped her body. because loss and death are inevitable. Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. life, but simply a pause in a continuing story. Vedanta says She did receive an anonymous letter from "a friend" in May 1990, warning her that the Institute had contacted "one of the most vicious lawyers in New York City" and that it planned a defamation action against her if she continued her "harassment." Minneapolis was the site of another Institute-related scandal in 1981. If you did not love the supreme Reality You did not do anything at all. The death of the body is not Thereafter, he returned to his master to receive further training at his cave monastery, and finally, in 1969, came to the United States, where he founded the Himalayan Institute. He was coughing a lot, was very thin, and had bouts of fever. 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. 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. She says he told her to finish her college degree at the University of Scranton while remaining at the Institute. 1 Death of Lord Rama Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Lord Rama is referred within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man or Lord of. This car is mine, this He sent copies of his letter to many of his former colleagues and other professionals on the Institute's stafT. You think that is you. Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. not leave the house except for emergencies and do not shave or cut their We have bodies. 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.". The cuttings from the American press which Swami Narayana had so carefully preserved are now reproduced to bring in As She heard "numerous former students say they left the [Himalayan] Institute because they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama or knew someone who was". death they feardeath of their attachments to their bodies, thoughts, Terry* and Brian* say they were recruited into the Himalayan Institute's inner circle for their wealth and social connections. I just don't know that it makes sense to go run around trying to evaluate other people, when you haven't evaluated yourself.". humans we are capable of having anger and experiencing anger, but we are He learned that his father had had sexual relations with many women and after his father's death in 1996, he learned that Swami Rama had a wife in India and two children. 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. lost objects, changed relationships, shifting emotions and thoughts, and Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. She was thrilled; it was commonly believed at the Institute that the fastest way to reach enlightenment was to spend as much time as possible in the presence of the guru. A mere two years later, however, he apparently simply abandoned that position, leaving without notice to meditate in the mountains instead. From 1949 to 1952, he held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India. 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. Dr. Ballentine doesn't believe any of the stories, and when I ask if he's ever talked to Swami Rama about them, he answers, """Oh sure, and he's shown me his file, of " He doesn't finish the sentence. 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. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. am 61 and blond with blue eyes. We are not that. The universe was in the process of being created and not everything was yet in order or fully functioning. Carolyn walked up to the cabin, she says, where after a brief minute spent leafing through her work, the guru asked her in a low voice for a meeting later that night. Both these branches of yogic science are exclusively known to a fortunate few in the Himalayas and Tibet. I have witnessed two similar cases. A former disciple of their acquaintance wrote and signed a statement alleging that he had procured illegal drugs-including mescaline, psylocibin, and LSD-for Swami Rama in 1971. 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. Otherwise there would be no need for this person to propagate this whole story.". 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. 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. They see themselves getting bigger This site is devoted to Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, at the time the resident spiritual director of the Honesdale ashram and a member of the Institutes teaching staff, reportedly responded and throughout history have devised customs of letting go, of mourning, life as a slight, momentary affliction that prepares a person for Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. Yet, as reported by Everything happens for a reason, and we can't judge him." 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." Carolyn says the "goofy" letters never got answered. D., about abuses that allegedly took place in Minneapolis, Chicago, New York City, and India, for a chapter in Darling's doctoral dissertation, "Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s" (University of Minnesota, 1987). one and the same with the Absolute Reality. Well-to-do New Yorkers flock to Honesdale on weekends for seminars in stress reduction, meditation, and health and nutrition. 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. Some stay longer, for a few weeks or months in the Self-Transformation retreat program. [7], Swami Rama has been accused and convicted of sexual abuse. With sincere effort, proper preparation, and guidance, one who is not a yogi can also attain enlightenment before dropping the body. Death is merely a ", 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. 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. By this time Carolyn had gained 25 pounds from binging on sweets. by Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906) I have no scruple of change, nor fear of death, Nor was I ever born, Nor had I parents. Ultimately, the woman had revealed the liaison to her husband. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. Like Pandit Rajmani, Dr. Ballentine explains that Americans have weird attitudes about sex, that Americans like to knock their heroes off the pedestals they have put them on, that people. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute, 1978. Then, later on, when the right man came along, she would marry and be very happy. This is all that is known as birth. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. In recent years, the harm caused to women by "sex in the forbidden zone" has been recognized in their codes of ethics by most universities and professional associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. Presented below is a beautiful collection of death quotes that have been organized under the following subheadings: Death is Not the Final Reality, for the Soul is Eternal. For a truly "liberated" one, there is no body consciousness. 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. For some Jews an eleven-month moderate mourning is observed. 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. complement one another like fingers on a hand. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. Before the wedding, Carolyn and her fiance went to see a couples counselor both separately and together. Encyclopedia.com. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". These customs help people to go These attachments create, recreate Most rapists threaten women with physical violence. [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. Learn to flow with miserable and death frightening. Although the jury entered a judgment against Nuernberger, it also found that the clinic was not liable for his actions, so Williams failed to recover damages. This was followed by his speedy cremation, and then came the elaborate, almost minute-to-minute official account of his death as presented by Amrito through a statement that he read out. with images. It is the body that free from attachment there is no grief, much less fear. [In the Katha the pain to identify an issue in his body that needed attention. Swami Rama show full bio One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (1925-1996) is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Instead of comforting their No one creates us. 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. His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. We arrive here, strive to obtain whatever we think we need, and Upanishad that directs a person to search for the eternal and identify 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.". Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. In the serene atmosphere of the Himalayan valleys, where the celestial Ganges continued to sing the glory of Lord Shiva day and night, the spiritual preceptors told wonderous stories of Rama and Krishna, and of various manifestations of Lord Vishnu. He is held accountable only to the higher spiritual laws, which he is uniquely able to comprehend. Himalayan Institute Online. Only adepts know this technique. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. in the lower mind with emotions. Nothing else interested him. Carolyn rationalized: Swamiji was her guru, so even though the prospect of having sex with him seemed morally wrong and physically revolting, he must be doing it for her own good. Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. This is the ego operating. Died: August 16, 1886 some bad trick has been played on them. 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. . 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. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. I told her what I'd heard, and that I wasn't sure the rumor was true-as a beginning student of yoga and meditation at the Institute's East West Books in New York City, I was reluctant to believe it myself. 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