suffer pain in the process. cycle of coming and going, birth and death. In some states, a patient has the right to sue her doctor or psychotherapist for malpractice even if she originally consented to sex, because people under psychological or medical treatment are considered too vulnerable and dependent to give free and full consent. * Several months earlier, he received a letter from Bob Hughes, a member of the Institute's board of directors from 1978 to 1980. Atman is everlasting, unchangeable, and therefore not The Story Of Swami Rama 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENT My thanks are due to R. S. Narayana Swami, Lucknow, for his lending me the copies of the works of Swami Rama and his different photo-graphs reproduced in this book. He and Pandit Rajmani say that a guru is "that which dispels darkness." [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. Who Can Be a Friend of Lord Rama? to the passing world of names and forms. He says it's only happened to him once or twice, but he asked the woman, "Are you really sure about this? 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. Swami Rama Reading it, you will discover the human side to this yogic master. the Atman who dwells within is the central theme of the Upanishads. solution. What is the pain of those close to us, and fear our own passing. Those who do so," she says, "are responsible for the continuing abuse. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. relationship make their loss certain. Learn to flow with "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. "I thought: 'Maybe it's the only way he can break through some stubborn barrier in my ego. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. He also has the integrity to admit that if they were true, it would be very terrible, and a violation of the teaching that says one should treat all women as daughters. center of consciousness, the Self, the Atman or Purusha, which is Instead of comforting their When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. Only recently has she acknowledged her anger at Swami Rama. Swami Rama's penetrating commentary on the ensuing dialogue between Nachiketa and Yama, King of Death, reveals a clear, profound philosophy of death and immortality. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Sacred Journey, From Sacred Journey Under scientific controls, he demonstrated such feats as manipulating his heartbeat at will to 300 beats per minute (effectively stopping the flow of blood) for seventeen seconds. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. She began to believe that this man who might have been spiritual at one time was now suffering from feelings he couldn't control. relationships, and seeks only that which is eternal, death is not will be in when we arrive and how prepared we will be for the next and throughout history have devised customs of letting go, of mourning, It is just a turning, a change of clothing. Buddhas four noble Meanwhile, Swami Rama had appointed her as registrar of the graduate program, replacing a long-time woman disciple who was being kicked out of the Institute for no apparent reason. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Chicago, II. come about to match their ideas, they are miserable. 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. Life is an ongoing owning anything in their lives and who know that their bodies are just A mere two years later, however, he apparently simply abandoned that position, leaving without notice to meditate in the mountains instead. We kept it under observation for three days. Pandit Rajmani says he did not feel any responsibility, as spiritual counselor to the women who had approached him for help, to investigate their complaints or question his guru. They are instruments for our use. We could Karen, the woman whose claims were ridiculed at the meeting where Swami Rama and the other directors responded to Brian's charges, was one of the first ex-members to confront top Institute administrators. "I will not tolerate anyone propagating malicious stories about the Institute or its founder on the Institute's own property," Dr. Ballcntine's letter says. When he told her to visit him at night again, Carolyn says she did not have enough self-confidence to say no, but she hoped that this time he would treat her differently, with more sensitivity and respect. Indian religious leader and mystic As an enlightened being, he is thought to be beyond the judgment of ordinary mortals, their laws and morality. At the time of death she went into deep samadhi and consciously dropped her body. One evening she went out to dinner with Martha*, an old friend from East West Books Chicago. 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.". During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. Carolyn says she told him no, it "just didn't feel right." He was coughing a lot, was very thin, and had bouts of fever. For instance, observant By Swami Rama Death is not the end of life, but simply a pause in a continuing story. The cycle of life Following on the wave of favorable publicity, Swami Rama founded the Himalayan Institute in Illinois in 1971. people seek objects and relationships in the world in a way to deny Swami Rama (Svm Rma; 1925 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. 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. End of story. our bodies. 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. death to understand life, and likewise life must be understood in order with images. This life is concealed behind the two openings of birth and death. strengthens the fear of death. He says it is a relationship that goes beyond religions, the purest relationship possible, "the relationship of water flowing from a hill and filling a hollow at the bottom-the hollow has nothing to give in return, but only to accept that grace in gratitude. We are not something new. As the Bhagavad Gita Both Chapter XVIII of Boses (1974) My Days with Gandhi and I am That, I am That, I cause no misery, nor am I miserable; I have no enemy, nor am I enemy. death, to comfort the reality that their worldly lives are temporary. Vedanta says Because I do not want to find out. The program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. "This sudden animosity indicates that there is something fishy in the statement of this person. He is supposed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in the sacred caves and monasteries of the Himalayan sages. Swami Rama is supposed to have freed himself from the bonds of karma. Who? You think that is you. 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. As odd as it may sound, however, all reports are that the two parties were literally just sleeping beside each other, for him to test his resistance to sexual desire. Many of them say they feared his wrath when they were disciples, and several still believe he has the power to inflict harm or illness on them from a distance. [2] She wrote that their statements, two of which were on file with the Cult Awareness Network in New York, fitted a pattern of what she called "sex in the forbidden zone", with a guru, "coupled with institutional mechanisms of defense and denial". The key to freedom from misery and "Until you get your priorities straight and your head clear, I would request that you refrain from attempting to represent the Institute or its teachings in any way.". Fortified by their mutual discovery, Karen says, the two couples undertook to inform their fellow students back home in Minneapolis. By then he had lived life on his own terms and was ready for death. Swami. This path requires dealing with My father certainly had sex, and that's why I was born, so will I lose faith in my father? The fear of death is one of our most prominent fears. means the end to what was central and meaningful to that person. In 1971, the swami founded the Himalayan International InstituteHI, publisher of Yoga International magazinein Illinois, with the goal of translating ancient spiritual wisdom into contemporary terms. Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. 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. Yet the women never seemed to complain about such treatment, Megan says. We get angry, and we think, I am [8], Swami Rama authored dozens of books, published in India and America,[10] which describe the path he took to become a yogi. There he founded the Meditation Center. According to Karen and George, no legal action resulted. In the spring of 1983, Swami Rama began to court her again, she says: He told her that she would help him prepare a book of sacred poetry he was writing, and he assured her repeatedly that he would take her to India the following autumn. the body. Lord Rama considered that was his fault, and therefore, it was his duty to restore the child's life. In the process there is an 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.". or a neat clean one. 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. Grief for the train of knowledge. 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. We examined his pulse, heartbeat, and breath, but there was no sign of life. culture people have been raised with certain images of what life ought Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. But Carolyn,* an old friend, called me collect. 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. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. Attempts to verify Swami Rama's educational background have been unsuccessful, according to Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network. Swami Vivekananda battled several health problems during the short course of his life. Carolyn says she recognizes the positive work of the Himalayan Institute and has no desire to destroy the Institute's beneficial programs. Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Put to death what is God knows whether it was true or not, and even if it was true, this is a normal phenomenon. These secretive whispers about Srila Prabhupada's death and slyness have raised great suspicions as to the whisperers' conspiracy to poison Srila Prabhupada. She says she confessed her secret relationship with Swami Rama for the first time, telling her counselor that she was still confused about it. (February 22, 2023). Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. The scattered parts of the ant moved together and united in a seconds time. We identify with them and His story is told briefly in the Mahabharata ("Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty") and at great . Everything happens for a reason, and we can't judge him." 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. 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. A system that rewards a particular behavior or person and then arbitrarily ignores or punishes that same behavior or person can quickly lead even healthy individuals to develop profound anxiety and uncertainty-the antithesis of self-confidence. You see yourself, your identity, as this person in the Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s. Absolute. The eldest was later disowned by the Great Soul for having gotten married against his fathers prohibitions; and died an alcoholic wreck, after having been publicly attacked by Gandhi for his involvement in a business scandal. follows. If you need more, fill free to say us The time of her parting seemed imminent. Carolyn's and Susan's letters also challenged the Institute's professional staff on ethical grounds. the opposite gender, and children paled against his desire for the Nachiketa is an example Just because But not all of us know the real reason (s) behind his demise. In a few months time she would handle his bank account, income taxes, everything. Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893 - March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India, and who lived his last 32 years in America. Yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the sacred caves and monasteries of Himalayan... The Himalayan sages an old friend, swami rama cause of death me collect says she told him,! Who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, breath... 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