When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. Carolyn stayed at the Institute for three more years, working at a variety of jobs. I spoke to him excitedly; Maharaj-ji, where are you calling from? He was calling from Hong Kong. Had anyone spoken to her? YOGANANDA (18931952) was one of the earliest and most influential of the Hindu gurus to come to the West. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." To the last day of his life he was doing the rounds of his hospital. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. Himalayan Institute, RR 1. 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. Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. 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. Swami Rama created his first ashram near Kathmandu in Nepal, apparently in the late 1950s. "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. But after two unsatisfying years, she left college and returned to the Chicago area. Brought up by authoritarian parents-one of whom was of the other women who say they have been sexually abused by Swami Rama, as well as men who feel their spiritual trust was betrayed, have organized an informal support network to help each other heal. Even today his thoughts are used as a priceless mantra by his followers. The people Bob had referred to were Carolyn, Susan, Brian and Terry, Dr. Edwin Funk, a former member of the Institute board of directors and physician on its stafT. Had Nirvana said anything? I ask him. We all wondered if we would ever see him again. With his last name he left his body around 1958. He said What will the japa of others do for me? I was counting years. [9] The result was a sharp increase of interest in his teachings. He looked hale and hearty, standing as usual tall and erect. A pearl necklace that Brian had bought from Swami Rama as an "investment" was appraised at roughly one-third of the $100,000 he had paid for it. Rama, Swami. I said, But, then, Swamiji, you have healed so many in life. She asked him to give her a homeopathic remedy for the itching, she says, but he refused and turned away, dismissing her. The yogi suddenly went into deep meditation. No one had thoroughly investigated, until journalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. He and Pandit Rajmani say that a guru is "that which dispels darkness." He was asked why he is not healing himself. But no one knows the date of when he left. 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." His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses - those are facts. Perhaps during his visit to Asia Minor he learned these techniques from the yogis. The mother of a famous psychiatrist, Dr. Whitacre, had practised meditation for many years. The Swami. Jesus demonstrated his knowledge of these methods when he brought Lazarus back to life. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. Why did Carolyn say these things? 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.". I am the one who has given the mantra!. 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. Swamis, he explains, are renunciates who take vows of abstinence which include giving up sex, wine, and red meat, as well as other stimulants to the physical senses. In private sessions, ex-disciples say, Swami Rama has arranged marriages and instructed disciples to break off relationships. 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. 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. by Joannne Sullivan, Shiva Country Himalayan Pilgrimage by Silvia, Listen to Your Inner Wisdom by Sabina Cesaroni, The One and Only Church of Universal Ice Cream by Steven J. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. Who? The Great Raman Maharshi died of cancer. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute Press, 1999. Like incest victims, women who say they have been sexually abused by their gurus are sworn to silence by their abusers. On the occasion of his death anniversary, read a few things related to Swami Vivekananda . Rma is a Vedic Sanskrit word with two contextual meanings. His disciples believe he knows them better than they know themselves, and that if they want to achieve their spiritual goals they should do exactly as he says. (His interest in Roman Catholicism ended with a vision of the great yogi Jesus embracing him and then disappearing into his body.) In the United States, far from the strong cultural morality of the guru's country of origin, it is not regulated at all. According to his disciples, Vivekananda attained mahasamdhi; the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain was reported as a possible cause of death. If one can learn to control the heartbeat, he can experience conscious death, as did St. Paul ("I die daily"-I Corinthians 15:31) and many yogis of India who have practiced this Hong-Sau [concentration] Technique, and through it achieved mastery over the action of the heart. These are also available through Lotus Press in USA. He was further seen to create a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius between two areas on the palm of his right hand. The carnage makes him exceptionally angry. 20/20 20 Deciding his fate It is also said that Rama knew. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. As the disease advanced the great Yogi instead of curing himself through his yogic powers, gave up his body in Samadhi. Then she dropped her body in complete consciousness. 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. Swami Rama's and the Himalayan Institute's mission is to create a bridge between East and West, spirituality and science, and ancient wisdom and modern technology. I said, Maharaj ji, then grant me the healing power and I will use it to heal you. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. Peter Rutter's Sex in the Forbidden Zone is available through YJs Book & Tape Source on page 78. 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. 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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In a few months time she would handle his bank account, income taxes, everything. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 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. As the other disciples looked on with envy, Swami Rama called her aside for a final, intimate word: She should work on herself, he reportedly told her-lose some weight and learn to admire herself. Notably, Ramakrishnas teachings are preserved in Mahendranath Guptas five-volume Bengali classic Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita (190232; The Nectar-Speech of the Twice-Blessed Ramakrishna), best known to English readers as The Gospel of Ramakrishna, a remarkable text based on conversations with Ramakrishna from 1882 to 1886. Om wasn't keeping well for quite sometime now after he . Why do you now not use that healing power to cure yourself? He replied, This kind of use of power for oneself is not permitted in the Tradition. STEINER, RUDOLF (18611925), who wrote more than 350 volumes on philosophy, science, and the arts, was the originator of an esoteric, Although the word "spirituality" was originally a Christian one, derived from the Pauline definition of whatever was under the influence of the spiri, YOGANANDA How could she be the only one who realized what was going on? But something, which is truth, cannot be falsified by having one hundred witnesses. 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. Still, she felt she had no right to question the guru's actions. My work is now complete. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. 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. //