That is, an on-going pattern of power abuse within the guru/student relationship. The jury awarded $275,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages to the woman. Friends of the two couples set up a "truth booth" outside the entrance of the Institute's first annual congress in 1976. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." 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. 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. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immediately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." 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. 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. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! Meanwhile, the couple says, they discovered more evidence of illicit activity. Within a sect the guru's authority is often absolute: he rules from the pinnacle of the institutional hierarchy. My father certainly had sex, and that's why I was born, so will I lose faith in my father? But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarchy. * "Nirvana was up at his cabin, walking his dog at 5:30 in the morning, and Megan was with him day and night." What a foolish woman! Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. 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. Pandit Rajmani says he also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama could not be sleeping with his disciples. 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. 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. She remembers that Swami Rama received love letters from several women; one of two of them even mentioned "your child." 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. 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. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. Two months after Swami Rama left for India, Carolyn went to Chicago to visit her family for Christmas. 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. Ultimately, the woman had revealed the liaison to her husband. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, nestled in the beautiful Pocono Mountains in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1971. Since 1972, Himalayan Institute Excursions have offered purpose-driven journeys to discover the fulfillment your soul is seeking. 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. One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (19251996) is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Dr. Ballentine says he has good reason to think that Marston "was very anxious for [Nuernberger] to go further, and he didn't. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. Soon Carolyn noticed she wasn't the only woman being favored by the guru; he was also paying attention to Megan and Nirvana. In August, Carolyn says, Swami Rama told her to meet him in New York City for the next step in her spiritual training. Himalayan Institute Humanitarian is a 501(c)(3) public charity supporting the educational and charitable projects of the Himalayan Institute. He would take her to the Orient-Japan and India. Donate Help Our Cause US$20.00 "The person wanted something, and the other person did not agree to fulfill their desires," he says. He is supposed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in the sacred caves and monasteries of the Himalayan sages. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." He is held accountable only to the higher spiritual laws, which he is uniquely able to comprehend. 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." Expert wellness consultations direct to your home. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! When she shared her news with the other residents at East West Books, they told her she should feel honored: She had been chosen, while long-time devotees had been denied the privilege. Brian also received a threat, he says: a note telling him he "might get hurt," which was accidentally shoved under the door of a lawyer who rented the office next door to his in a Honesdale office building. She renewed her acquaintance with her former meditation teachers and started taking classes in Glenview, Illinois, at the Institute's original headquarters. But Swami Rama's disciples do not hold him to these standards. 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. February 27, 2023. Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." The Himalayan Institute and its varied activities and programs exemplify the spiritual heritage of mankind that unites East and West, spirituality and science, ancient wisdom and modern technology. 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. Some stay longer, for a few weeks or months in the Self-Transformation retreat program. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? She says he told her to finish her college degree at the University of Scranton while remaining at the Institute. Pandit Arya radiates calm as he speaks. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. Despite the questions about his background, there is no denying that Swami Rama made a terrific impact on western thinking when he served as a research subject at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. The victim's confusion and loss of trust are compounded when her community refuses to acknowledge her suffering. You're bound to get mixed up. Rajmani explains the basic goals of the Institute's tradition of yoga: "The most important part of the practice is nonattachment." In order to believe in his perfection, they must rationalize behavior that others would judge to be tyrannical, cruel, or self-indulgent. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. 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. After she had lived in Honesdale for a year, Swami Rama started promising to make her his appointments secretary. Perfect. In today's Academic Minute, the University of Houston's Christopher Burnett determines how bad the damage can be. "Anyone who lives a public life can go through such remarks;& you have heard about all that blackmailing" of famous, rich athletes, he explains to me in the spring of 1989 at the Honesdale ashram. At the same time, she says, he offered her money and told her he wanted to put her in his will. 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. No, he says: "Even if it happened, what's the big deal?& People say that Mahatma Gandhi& slept with women. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. Yet the Institute's success comes at a high cost for many of those involved. 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. Megan*, a former graduate student in the Eastern Studies program, wrote a letter to the Jesuit administration of the University of Scranton saying that Swami Rama was subjecting women students to sexual exploitation. 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. 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. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . toshiba tv screen goes black after a few minutes. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. The Greens' experiments caused a furor in the scientific community because they gave powerful support to autogenic biofeedback research, which 10 years earlier had begun demonstrating that body functions which had formerly been considered involuntary could be controlled. His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. Brian says he felt betrayed, but the knowledge that Swami Rama had financially exploited him made it easier for the couple to cut their ties to the Institute. "I only needed one person to corroborate my experience," Megan says now. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. 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. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". Early the next morning, she says, he announced to her that she was going to leave; he never set up the promised program. The women's fears have aborted projects intended to expose possible exploitation to a wider audience. Williams, however, did not sue Nuernberger himself; she sued the clinic where he worked, alleging that the clinic "knew or should have known" that Nuernberger was engaging in harmful sexual activity while treating her. 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. Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. 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. She walked around New York City for hours, until it was time for her bus to return to Honesdale. 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. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. Pandit Tigunait holds two doctorates: one in Sanskrit from the University of Allahabad, India, and one in Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. 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. Swami Rama, whose legal name is Brij Keshore Kumar, was born in 1925 in Uttar Pradesh, according to his official biography, parts of which appeared in the March/April 1990 issue of Yoga Journal. And I feared that Carolyn-young beautiful, idealistic, and worshipful of Swami Rama, the Institute's founder and spiritual leader-could be vulnerable to such exploitation. In private sessions, ex-disciples say, Swami Rama has arranged marriages and instructed disciples to break off relationships. But one by one, Trescelli says, the women backed down and decided not to pursue legal action. Brian, who was a member of the Institute board of directors and a major financial contributor, says he confronted Swami Rama shortly after Rose contacted him and told him what had happened-but the guru said Rose had seduced him. Swami Rama was the founder of the Himalayan Institute. The Himalayan Institute community reaches across the entire globe. 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