It is sad for him, and for those who cared and were so deeply hurt by him, that his behavior has been allowed to continue with such devastating results to people just looking for help." "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. 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. Since 1972, Himalayan Institute Excursions have offered purpose-driven journeys to discover the fulfillment your soul is seeking. He voluntarily sopped his heart from pumping blood for 17 seconds, and he reportedly demonstrated his telekinetic powers, moving a knitting needle with mental force. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The Institute also offers a dizzying array of education programs, including a diploma program for hatha yoga teachers. The yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. Rose told Brian and Terry that she was afraid to seek help from the family members who'd invited her to the Institute-they were unquestioningly loyal to Swami Rama-and she knew no one else there. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." 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. Yet the women never seemed to complain about such treatment, Megan says. He would call her to his office for a private audience, and as she hung anxiously on his words he would paint a flattering picture of her future with the Institute. She began talking about Swami Rama's exploitative behavior with anyone who would listen, especially women who she thought were being victimized. Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Ayurvedic treatments, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and integrative health services at PureRejuv Wellness Center. Cons Not one that I can see. 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. Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. The institute has branches in the United States, Europe, and India. During her first eight months at the Institute, Megan was able to pursue her studies, but her situation altered dramatically when Swami Rama returned to take up summer residence. 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. Obedience to the guru's commands is implicitly expected of all long-term residents; former students describe him walking through the main dining room and ordering one person to move to the New York branch, another to change jobs. Finally, she obtained his permission. Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. Born in Northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. Pandit Rajmani says he also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama could not be sleeping with his disciples. He bragged about his sumptuous homes in India and Japan and about his shopping sprees for designer clothes, she says. He says he spends most evenings with the guru until midnight or 2 a.m., and that he knows better than anyone who is with Swami Rama late at night and who isn't. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. Discover our new online platform for community, courses, and content. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. 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. 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. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. According to Marston's attorney, Philip W. Getts, his client never recovered the $50,000 in punitive damages Nuernberger owed her, because Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not allow the court to garnish wages. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". Through her sympathy for what appeared to be his plight, and disarmed by his jokes, she says she allowed him to cajole her until she let her defenses down. Carolyn says the "goofy" letters never got answered. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. Himalayan Institute Online. 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. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." she wondered. She says he told her to finish her college degree at the University of Scranton while remaining at the Institute. The FBI has confirmed the existence of a file documenting the agency's investigation, but at the time of publication the file had not yet been released under the Freedom of Information Act. She specializes in Myotherapy, Deep Tissue, Prenatal, Swedish Relaxation, Sports Therapy, and Hot Stone Massage. He warns against relying too heavily on the inner voice: "When we look for the guru within, we only end up finding our own samskaras-vagaries of the unconscious mind are mistaken for directions from the superconscious. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. ", Why would the women want to blackmail Swami Rama? The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. Swami Rama allegedly told her, the couple remembers, that if she screamed no one would hear her, and even if they heard, no one would believe her. In 1969, Pandit Arya met Swami Rama, who gave him "one of the highest meditation initiations," in which he experienced himself "as a being of light." 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. 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. Whether youre retracing the footsteps of sages through pilgrimage in the Himalayas, or immersing yourself in the most incredible spaces the US has to offer, you will experience the life-changing power of yoga in action. But after two unsatisfying years, she left college and returned to the Chicago area. 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. In 1971 Swami Rama founded the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in order to create the means to scientifically verify, document, publish, and teach the experiences of his ancient heritage. 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. She recalls that he said they would become very close, their bodies would come together, and then they would part. Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. 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. Ex-members say he has counseled patients in the Combined Therapy Program, although he lost is license to practice psychology in Minnesota in 1979. ", Pandit Arya is not so reluctant as Dr. Ballentine to articulate is how one can recognize a worthy guru. Because I do not want to find out. Dr. Elmer Green says that he and his wife have heard from a number of women who said they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama. 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. 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. She became outraged at the residents and the professional staff who enable and legitimized the Swami's behavior. 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. toshiba tv screen goes black after a few minutes. 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. God knows whether it was true or not, and even if it was true, this is a normal phenomenon. Megan says her feelings told her that something was amiss, but because of the social environment, she began to entertain the notion that the Swami's motives might not be what they appeared to be, and that his attempts at a con job might be a spiritual test. His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Brian sued Swami Rama, and eventually the guru settled out of court for the full amount. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. At about the same time, Carolyn was accepted into the residential program at East West Books Chicago, the Institute's downtown branch. A world leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit international organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. What Ballentine does not mention is that a second jury judged Nuernberger guilty of unprofessional conduct in his treatment of Nancy E. Williams, another former client, on February 17, 1981. ALL NEW! "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Most rapists threaten women with physical violence. Here is her report. And she was afraid to leave in her old car because a freezing rainstorm had covered all the roads with ice. Within a sect the guru's authority is often absolute: he rules from the pinnacle of the institutional hierarchy. He must also vow that he will not harm any living being. Swami Rama has a reputation among his followers as an incredible psychologist who uses his insights to help others. Finally I found an opportunity to broach the topic of the lawsuit with Carolyn. Himalayan Meditation Institute is dedicated to providing authentic and transformative training in the art and science of meditation. 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. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. Dr. Ballentine says he has good reason to think that Marston "was very anxious for [Nuernberger] to go further, and he didn't. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. 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. A short time later, Swami Rama let her go as his secretary-because, she says he told her, she didn't really want the job. A world leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit international organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. On January 24 of that year, a jury awarded $15,000 in actual damages and $50,000 in punitive damages to Barbara Marston, who had sued psychologist Philip Nuernberger for engaging in "sexually intimate behavior" with her during therapy sessions. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. 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. Community, Courses, and Content. 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." 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. We partner with rural communities to provide health services, public libraries, and sustainable employment opportunities. No one had thoroughly investigated, until journalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. The teachings contained in the sacred texts cannot play any meaningful part in judging who is a good guru and who is not: "How could they? 7,616 were here. I might doubt my own perception, I might doubt my own eyes, but I cannot doubt that strength which has given me everything.". 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. The Himalayan Institute publishes over 60 titles on yoga, spirituality, and holistic health, including the best-selling Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama and Yoga: Mastering the Basics by Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik. Experts and some inside the system say that in justifying its decision, UC perpetuated outdated claims about online learning. But Trescelli says she had to discourage her. The Himalayan Institute community reaches across the entire globe. "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. Is it not better to follow someone who has charted the path?". The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. Once there, Carolyn devoted herself to her yoga practices and threw herself into her assigned jobs. 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