Death is merely a But after two unsatisfying years, she left college and returned to the Chicago area. The Self is unchangeable. 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. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. solution. Encyclopedia.com. The inner During the next few months, Carolyn says, Swami Rama bade her visit him in his private quarters once every couple of weeks, either after lunch or after evening prayers; he also made it her job to buy condoms. By this time Carolyn had gained 25 pounds from binging on sweets. He would take her to the Orient-Japan and India. But one by one, Trescelli says, the women backed down and decided not to pursue legal action. A guru has the wisdom of experience and the ancient teachings, so he can provide guidance, Dr. Ballentine says, but students should "judge every [practice] on the basis of your own experience." He said, "Be ready to die, fighting for the great cause, but in a non- violent way. Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the Perfect. But a deeper anxiety also motivated my visit: I'd heard a rumor that several women, ex-members of the Institute, were taking Carolyn's guru to court on charges of sexual misconduct. Death and Transition by Swami Rama [This passage has been taken from the book Path of Fire and Light Vol 2, pp 19 - 21, by Swami Rama, published 1976 by the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA].. 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. She recalls that he said they would become very close, their bodies would come together, and then they would part. whoever is attached to the wordly life and this earthly body will lose Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. 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." Kamapukur, India On the contrary, they sought opportunities to serve the guru's every whim, or even to be abused by him: Megan remembers one woman saying she wished the guru would kick her. We are not something new. Are you feeling a little confused and emotionally upset, and maybe some of the things that happened you might have misinterpreted, or you might have even fantasized them, you know, have trouble separating fantasy from reality?" Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. Most of the Institute's programs are open to the general public. 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. Ex-members say he has counseled patients in the Combined Therapy Program, although he lost is license to practice psychology in Minnesota in 1979. Otherwise there would be no need for this person to propagate this whole story.". The Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. This identify ourselves with our bodies and the world around us. Reality is neither good nor evil. Living with the Himalayan Masters: Spiritual Experiences of Swami Rama. Marston, however, testified that Nuernberger had "hugged and kissed her and fondled her breasts," according to an article in the Minneapolis Tribune (Jan. 24, 1981). Carolyn says she is at a loss to discern any positive reason behind Swami Rama's behavior toward her. Anyway, he said that our relationship would be exclusive, I'd be like a spiritual courtesan. Carolyn stayed at the Institute for three more years, working at a variety of jobs. And she was afraid to leave in her old car because a freezing rainstorm had covered all the roads with ice. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rama-swami-1925-1996, "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) According to Vedanta we Swami Kripalu (19131981) was a Kundalini yoga master and teacher also known as Kripalvananda. "There are 35 to 40 girls here who have compromised themselves at the Dera. According to his disciples, Vivekananda attained mahasamdhi; the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain was reported as a possible cause of death. Similarly, gurus in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are supposed to be examples of self-mastery and right living. For him who is wholly Although there are three Ramas mentioned in Indian traditionParashurama, Balarama, and Ramachandrathe name is specifically associated with Ramachandra, the seventh incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu. If you need more, fill free to say us Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. As the scientific interest in yoga declined through the 1980s, Swami Rama lead the Himalayan Institute until his death in 1996. At a later date, he pursued a formal education at Oxford University, continuing his studies of Western psychology and philosophy in Germany and Holland for three years before coming to the United States in 1969. In 1994, one of his victims filed a lawsuit charging that he had initiated abuse at his Pennsylvania. he studied many himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of tibet.. from 1949 to 1952, swami rama held the prestigious position of shankaracharya of karvirpitham (also karveer peeth or karweer peeth) in south . He did this by increasing his heart rate to 300 beats per minute so that the ventricles stopped pumping and the atria just fluttered. (February 22, 2023). Even sage Vlmki who wrote Rmyaa was formerly a hunter, but he became a transcendental author of the Lord's pastimes, by the mercy of great devotees. But their encounters were exactly the same as before, she says-emotionally impersonal and sexually mechanical. Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. Swami Vivekananda became afflicted with throat cancer and gave up his body on 16th August 1886. 8246 Garibaldi Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91775 distractions, dancing girls and video games, and opportunities for them in death. Death cannot quality or depth. Still, she felt she had no right to question the guru's actions. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. 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. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. Then she dropped her body in complete consciousness. whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose 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. Carolyn says she feigned shock and tried to mask her distress as Martha told about a woman at the Glenview center who was confused and distraught about her alleged sexual relationship with Swami Rama. 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. We arrive here, strive to obtain whatever we think we need, and There he founded the Meditation Center. To judge by their price tags, these and other Institute programs must bring in a considerable income. Then he started giving her practices without any spiritual meaning, she says, and telling her she wasn't doing them right. And the answer is no, in simple, understandable andbeneficial ways, while not compromising Rmyaa, the story of Lord r Rmacandra, is filled with examples of great devotees from various backgrounds, who selflessly served Lord Rma. 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. Broad described him as "the star of autonomic control". When they have contacted their friends and former colleagues at the Institute, they have been discounted as liars or labeled "emotionally disturbed." No one had thoroughly investigated, until journalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. Shambuka knowingly or unknowingly committed a crime that caused the death of a child. wonderful marriages, living in white houses with picket fences and "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) Perhaps during his visit to Asia Minor he learned these techniques from the yogis. The death of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great Rishi and Avatar is a source of puzzlement for many. 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. religious systems a time limit is put on grief. The possible psychological effects of that on the girls themselves, even without any breach of his brahmacharya celibacy vow, does not seem to have concerned the Mahatma. [7] He then produced the longer theta waves of dreaming sleep, and finally the slow delta waves of deep sleep, staying aware throughout and able to describe accurately what had happened in the laboratory although he had been lying in the laboratory "snoring". Human life is a 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. Then, later on, when the right man came along, she would marry and be very happy. 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. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. He also sent out a letter resigning from the board. Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. What does it mean to be Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (19251996) is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. If, however, a person learns to let finally converge into a unified force directed towards the final if there is an inner being, it comes by way of the body. * Several months earlier, he received a letter from Bob Hughes, a member of the Institute's board of directors from 1978 to 1980. He was just 50 years old. Buddha s solution was to live life correctly and to travel We could Yet this is what we These customs help people to go The changes inherent in objects and attachments, along with ignorance, are the source of the fear of death. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. 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. During this time they do But during the next three weeks, she says, she saw the Swami mistreating his disciples, especially the women, on a daily basis-yelling at them, ridiculing them, ordering them around, and occasionally kicking a woman in the buttocks when she was on her hands and knees weeding. Unfortunately, unlike Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda doesn't figure in schoolbooks the way he deserves to. Swami Rama, she says, would extol his own sexual abilities but tell her she was bad at making love. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. person is that which is passing, death looms large and horrible. Whenever she has communicated her experiences to former friends at the Institute, she says, they have responded with a series of rationalizations: "That's your experience, but we all have to make our own decisions based on our own experience with Swamiji, and he has positively redirected my life. Full Name: Pandita Ramabai Saraswati Birth Name: Rama Dongre Famous As: Social Reformer, Feminist, Educationist Birth Date: 23 April 1858 Birth Place: Canara district, Madras Presidency, British India Died On: 5 April 1922 Nationality: Indian Parents: Anant Shastri Dongare (father) and Lakshmibai (mother) Spouse: Bipin Behari Medhvi Pandita Ramabai It is the body that As ironic as it is tragic, The real cause of war lies rooted in the individual's unwillingness to listen to the voice of the heart, the inner conscience.Drawing on the philosophy of yoga . His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. When individual soul and unconscious mind separate from the conscious mind, breath, and body, that separation is called death. Carolyn says she told him no, it "just didn't feel right." When she questioned him, Megan says, he became angry and dismissed the women's suffering, saying that a little poison ivy could be good for them. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. Only that which is perishable is subject to death, the Death Born: February 18, 1833 Carolyn says the "goofy" letters never got answered. Because I do not want to find out. However, the date of retrieval is often important. 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. she wondered. Marston's lawsuit, he says, was an act of revenge. Because I do not want to find out. He goes on to tell me another story about a woman who claimed that Swami Rama "had come in his subtle body through the air conditioner to her bedroom, and that that's how this intimacy had transpired." I don't have access to those files." The only way he could do that was by killing Shambuka. Elmer and Alyce Green observed that Swami Rama could produce different brain waves at will, including theta and delta (sleep) waves, while remaining aware of his environment. "The real guru is within," Dr. Ballentine says, "that still small voice within you." marriage, a job, friends, a home, a dream. 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. Karen and George say their friends told them that the woman had been pressured to have sex with Swami Rama even after their marriage, which the guru had arranged. Reasons of Death The possible cause of death was the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain. There is a family of doctors there whose mother was a great devotee of the Lord. Ex-members say that Swami Rama also uses his psychological insights to manipulate people. In the presence of others, we spoke only of positive or spiritual matters, in the deliberately modulated tones all the residents used. 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 Swami Rama had been a frequent figure on national television shows in theUnited States, having appeared on such widely viewed programs as "Good Morning America" and the "Phil Donahue Show." He was the first yogi to subject himself to modern scientific methods of testing his states of consciousness while at the highest level of meditation. the desires and attachments that are the cause of suffering. dies, the garment that provides the covering for the soul on its visit relationship make their loss certain. Shortly after Marston filed her suit in 1978, Nuernberger moved to Honesdale, where he is currently a member of the Institute's teaching staff. 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. self creates the body. One who has surrendered himself is always protected by the divine power. leaves me I will be forever broken, and life will be meaningless. Buddhas four noble Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. those close to us, and fear our own passing. This period of separation is painful to the ignorant. The fear of death is one of our most prominent fears. She was dreamy! A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. through life productively and enjoyably. Pandit Arya reportedly alternated between disbelieving and believing the growing number of his female students who told him that Swami Rama had sexually harassed or abused them. Reprinted with permission of the Publisher Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu stated: Birth is not a "I felt two-dimensional, like a piece of paper, a cunt-he didn't care about me. If someone felt pain in his foot, and the pain alerted him to an When someone criticizes our appearance we feel hurt. This is not to diminish imperishable. From the 1970s onwards, there were persistent allegations of sexual abuse of his followers;[2] in 1997 a woman won a lawsuit against him for multiple sexual assaults. He says it's only happened to him once or twice, but he asked the woman, "Are you really sure about this? 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. Carolyn has received no reply from the Institute. draining of a sore or the bursting of a boil.. [3], Swami Rama was born Brij Kiore Dhasmana or Brij Kiore Kumar,[2] to a northern Indian Brahmin family in the village of Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. mean an end because death has no effect on the Self. Shortly after they returned to the U.S., Karen and George say that they and all their correspondents received a bizarre, defamatory letter containing an implicit death threat. Pandit Arya radiates calm as he speaks. [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. 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