Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. 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. But ultimately he chose to believe Swami Rama. The Swami, she says, bragged to a crowd of disciples that the woman would do whatever he told her, then put his dog's collar and leash around her neck and walked her back and forth, while the others laughed. The women's fears have aborted projects intended to expose possible exploitation to a wider audience. 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. A guru has the wisdom of experience and the ancient teachings, so he can provide guidance, Dr. Ballantine says, but students should "judge every [practice] on the basis of your own experience." 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.". 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. But something, which is truth, cannot be falsified by having one hundred witnesses. A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. Study Retreat Wellness Travel Shop About HI ONLINE Program Calendar ALL NEW! Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. Carolyn says she experienced their sexual encounters as brief and rough, and that she performed her sexual duties mechanically: "I numbed myself in order to survive.". At the Himalayan Yoga Institute we believe in providing you with a broad yogic education to empower you to make the best possible choices for your students and create a modern yoga class that respects yoga's traditions and foundation while taking into account the unique personal needs of your students. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. Dr. Ballentine, who says he studied psychology at the Sorbonne and completed his training in psychiatry at Louisiana State University, defends Nuernberger. The victim's confusion and loss of trust are compounded when her community refuses to acknowledge her suffering. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. A Swami, or monk, is supposed to be "one who is master of oneself: senses, body, mind." They know, usually without being told, that if they break the taboo of silence they will be blamed for destroying their spiritual families and the "higher" good those families purportedly do in the world. A report has been made to law enforcement, and I'm guessing . 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. To judge by their price tags, these and other Institute programs must bring in a considerable income. Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. He also sent out a letter resigning from the board. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. Meditation. At some point, we ran into Swami Rama in a hallway. A producer for "60 Minutes" was reportedly unable to complete her documentary on Swami Rama when the women involved backed out and refused to appear on camera. She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. Maybe it's an honor that this great yogi asked me of all his students to serve him in this way. They are crazy. 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. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. I informed him that I had interviewed women who sought him out because they respected him and trusted him to be interested in the truth. 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. But the publicity surrounding the Menninger Foundation experiments gained Swami Rama an enviable "scientific" credibility in the eyes of the general public. 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. 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. 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. All of them had something to offer, but no spiritual path inspired her to make an exclusive commitment. Healthy lifestyle products to support your yoga and spiritual practice. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! Within a sect the guru's authority is often absolute: he rules from the pinnacle of the institutional hierarchy. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. Mission Membership is an invitation to put your spiritual values into action by supporting our shared commitment to service while deepening your study and practice in the living Himalayan Tradition. She opted to forego pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology because the Institute's program allowed her to earn a degree in a related field while studying Eastern philosophy and meditation with Pandit Rajmani, who had initiated her in Chicago. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. From her childhood Carolyn had been steeped in Catholic faith and educated in scientific skepticism; now it seemed the Institute could help her harmonize these two seemingly contradictory ways of perceiving the world. 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." Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? He cannot disbelieve his guru. 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. Enrich your practice through the wisdom of the Himalayan Tradition, found in our online community and digital library, with new content added every week. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. Together we ate superb vegetarian meals in the Institute's dining commons and chanted evening prayers. 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. The Himalayan Institute community reaches across the entire globe. You're bound to get mixed up. But all of them, whether they appear here under a pseudonym or as a background source, understand that if this article provokes a libel suit they can be called to testify in court. The scandal convinced Carolyn not to reveal her own secret, she says; she was learning that the Institute administration dealt with such accusations by smearing the women's reputations. 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. 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. He says that Nuernberger's one mistake has "ruined his life, in essence, which is really too bad.". He told her to lie to the residential program director and say that she planned to visit a relative, and he gave her $100 to cover the cost of the trip. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. 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. Cons Not one that I can see. In such a situation, she says, the whole system becomes sick and no one can see the light: "There's no truth allowed; it's a no-talk rule.". Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. Marston's lawsuit, he says, was an act of revenge. 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. 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. Both women and men say they blamed themselves and their own spiritual obtuseness when they repeatedly failed to discern and follow the shifting rules. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. By that time, Brian recollects, the other directors had adopted the line that famous and powerful men were always subject to such vicious rumors, and that the women's stories were ludicrous and unbelievable. Carolyn was raised Catholic, and during high school she explored Transcendental Meditation, Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and the "Jesus freak" movement. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . I like to believe that somewhere inside of him, he is the good person I believed him to be. Health Clinics Health Education Public Libraries School of Carpentry Surrender only leads to enlightenment if the "guru within" is strong and well developed. 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. 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. Burnett is a postdoctoral fellow in Houston's department of education leadership and . She believes Swami Rama was trying to buy her collusion, as he had bought the collusion of the Institute's staff and many residents. She sounded unhappy, so I made plans to visit her at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where she had been a resident for more than four years. 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.". "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. Swami Rama's claims to this spiritual background have been questioned by some of his former students. Our humanitarian projects serve impoverished communities through rural empowerment and environmental regeneration. Study Online Unfortunately, there is some mystery surrounding its founder, Swami Rama, and possible connection with drug abuse and sexual indecency. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. 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. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. For a time, she says, she considered getting a pistol to carry to work. 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. -- Swami Rama, "Living With the Himalayan Masters". 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. We are happy to bring you a combination of Zoom, In-person, and Hybrid options. Quick Links. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Initially, Brian says, most of the other directors responded with concern. The Swami Rama died in 1996 at the age of 69. she remembers him demanding. 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. She listened calmly as I admitted that I'd worried she might be a victim. 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. Our commitment to service both at home and abroad incorporates our global humanitarian impact through projects in Africa and India as well as a commitment to sustainable partnerships with the local community at our world headquarters in Honesdale. Swami Rama has a reputation among his followers as an incredible psychologist who uses his insights to help others. Of all the Institute's swamis and teachers, Pandit Arya is by far the most scholarly. 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. But Trescelli says she had to discourage her. Himalayan Meditation Institute is dedicated to providing authentic and transformative training in the art and science of meditation. The two women who wrote statements for the Cult Awareness Movement were among those involved: One stated that she was a patient at the Institute's holistic health center in New York City, and the other stated she was 17 years old when Swami Rama initiated a sexual relationship with her. Two other women left the Institute shortly afterwards. Born in Northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Back; 2022 Clean Water and Public Health Fund; Make a Donation; Blog; Search for: Log in . She was dreamy! The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. 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. 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. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. He explains that Nuernberger was just a graduate student, inexperienced and lacking in professional judgment, when the incident with Marston occurred: "At a time when he was learning to be a therapist and thought that someone is asking for you to reach out, you reach out and you touch them and you let them see your feelings, and I think that was very bad." She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. 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." Back; Cameroon; India; Mexico; Tibetan Settlements; Get Involved. By 1977, the Institute was able to purchase the Honesdale ashram, a former Catholic seminary in the rural Pocono Mountains, which now houses more than 100 residents and guests. Well organized, fine atmosphere, and a strong community. The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy is an international non-profit organization, which promotes yoga and holistic health through yoga retreats, residential programs, health products and services, media publications including Yoga International magazine, and humanitarian projects.The institute's main campus is located on (1.6 km 2) in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern . That is, an on-going pattern of power abuse within the guru/student relationship. Fortified by their mutual discovery, Karen says, the two couples undertook to inform their fellow students back home in Minneapolis. Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. 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