himalayan institute scandal

At some point, we ran into Swami Rama in a hallway. This was not true! I ask him. Then, later on, when the right man came along, she would marry and be very happy. Pandit Arya radiates calm as he speaks. 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. The jury called the abuse "spiritual incest . Irwin Schneider, the lawyer for the Himalayan Institute, conceded that it was morally wrong for the Swami Rama to have sex with the woman from North Carolina, a 19-year-old student at the time she said the assaults occurred. 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 program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. When I asked Pandit Arya about the allegations of sexual abuse, he admits that he was very disturbed when he first heard them. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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. Now she says that those who have allowed the abuses to continue unchecked are responsible for destroying the Institute's integrity. "Nirvana is one," Carolyn says she told him. She specializes in Myotherapy, Deep Tissue, Prenatal, Swedish Relaxation, Sports Therapy, and Hot Stone Massage. Who We Are; What We Do; Where We Work. Himalayan Institute locations 3.6 Honesdale, PA Show all locations What's being discussed at Himalayan Institute? They are crazy. He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. What a foolish woman! Those statements are on file with the cult Awareness network (formerly the citizen's Freedom Foundation) in New York. In many ways, the Institute's austere structure is designed to appeal to the personality that yearns for what psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton calls a "totalist" environment, where virtually every aspect of one's life is subject to external control. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. His disciples generally agree that the only reason his soul still inhabits a physical body is because he wants to help others achieve liberation from maya, the realm of illusion. February 27, 2023. Still, she felt she had no right to question the guru's actions. 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. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. The women's fears have aborted projects intended to expose possible exploitation to a wider audience. 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. Within a sect the guru's authority is often absolute: he rules from the pinnacle of the institutional hierarchy. 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. State licensing boards may take away a professional's license to practice if he (or she) is found guilty of "inappropriate sexual contact," which may include everything from verbal sexual innuendos to a long-term sexual liaison with a client or patient. 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. 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. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. The institute has branches in the United States, Europe, and India. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? In recent years, the harm caused to women by "sex in the forbidden zone" has been recognized in their codes of ethics by most universities and professional associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. toshiba tv screen goes black after a few minutes. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. 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. During this spiel, she says, he put his hand on her buttocks, but she told him she wasn't buying it. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. Himalayan Institute | Honesdale PA Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Carolyn had sought a consultation with Pandit Rajmani, who told her that Megan was either lying because she was "on an ego trip," or fantasizing a sexual encounter that had never taken place. 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. $1.9 Million Awarded In Swami Sexual Case, https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/06/us/1.9-million-awarded-in-swami-sexual-case.html. 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. He promised her he'd set up a complete, personalized yoga program for her there-a prescribed diet, special yoga postures and meditation practices-as well as a game plan for her higher education and future career. Anyone can read what you share. But after two unsatisfying years, she left college and returned to the Chicago area. Swami Rama frequently invited them to parties in his private quarters, where they say he entertained them with funny stories and racy gossip. After a bit, she was inclined to dismiss his behavior as a joke or a "test.". Explore our integrative health services & therapeutic treatments to help restore your natural state of well-being. How could she be the only one who realized what was going on? Rose, they explain, was not a disciple of Swami Rama, but had been invited by family members in the Institute's administration to come to Honesdale for medical treatment. He would take her to the Orient-Japan and India. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. Both came from prominent Midwestern families; each had an alcoholic parent, and they now believe they were seeking not only spiritual growth, but also a strong parental figure. Despite this, our rural empowerment programs continue to thrive and grow as we work towards our goal of fighting poverty, illiteracy, and inequality through education, health care, and job creation. Our humanitarian projects serve impoverished communities through rural empowerment and environmental regeneration. Quick Links. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. A few weeks later she moved to Honesdale. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". Community, Courses, and Content. Together we ate superb vegetarian meals in the Institute's dining commons and chanted evening prayers. But Mr. Schneider told the jury that evidence indicated the relationship was consensual. Put that letter in the 'goofy file.'" 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. 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. During that time, neither of them would see any other, and she should never tell anyone. Continue reading Be the first to find this review helpful Helpful Share Report 5.0 Former Employee, more than 3 years Came for a job left with life-long friends Soon Carolyn noticed she wasn't the only woman being favored by the guru; he was also paying attention to Megan and Nirvana. Health Clinics Health Education Public Libraries School of Carpentry Carolyn says she told him no, it "just didn't feel right." "If someone is a saint, celibacy would be his normal condition," Dr. Green comments. Join us in serving a tradition that has served the world selflessly for untold ages. 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. His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses-those are facts. 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. But something, which is truth, cannot be falsified by having one hundred witnesses. A spiritual center should pay close to $1.9 million to a woman who says she was sexually assaulted 30 times by the center's leader, a jury decided on Thursday. 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. 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. Brian sued Swami Rama, and eventually the guru settled out of court for the full amount. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. Ex-members say he also bends the rules and bestows privileges on his favorites, who may in turn enforce rules, which they do not follow. 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. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. She loved him like "a second father," she says, "and the real tragedy is that this is how our relationship ended. She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. 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. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. She was dreamy! A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. Himalayan Institute of Technology Ranking and Awards. 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. In her lawsuit, the plaintiff said the swami sexually assaulted her 30 times while she was attending the institute in the spring and summer of 1993. Live online programs, on-demand courses, and hundreds of yoga and meditation classes. 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. You're bound to get mixed up. 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. Host to HI Mission Programs, seminars as well as private events, we offer five fully equipped practice spaces and comfortable, modern guest amenities. Following on the heels of Karen's and her friend's revelations, several other women and men left the Meditation Center in Minneapolis. That one gesture unleashed a storm of long-suppressed emotions. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! Brian says he refused to tell Rose's story in such an atmosphere. In March 1978, she says, Swami Rama came to Glenview and initiated her. Swami Rama has a reputation among his followers as an incredible psychologist who uses his insights to help others. Had anyone spoken to her? Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? 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." Study Retreat Wellness Travel Shop About HI ONLINE Program Calendar ALL NEW! Nor does Dr. Ballentine mention that in 1977 Nuernberger was formally reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Psychology for unethical practices stemming from his relationship with a third woman patient. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. Shortly after they started studying with Pandit Usharbudh Arya at the Meditation Center in Minneapolis, he introduced them to his guru, Swami Rama. Two other women left the Institute shortly afterwards. She recalls that he said they would become very close, their bodies would come together, and then they would part. After she had lived in Honesdale for a year, Swami Rama started promising to make her his appointments secretary. Lecturing and teaching worldwide for more than a quarter of a century, he is the author of fourteen books, including his autobiography Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker, the best-selling At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama of the Himalayas and a regular contributor to Yoga International. Carolyn walked up to the cabin, she says, where after a brief minute spent leafing through her work, the guru asked her in a low voice for a meeting later that night. The yogis, he says, have demonstrated these abilities in the past and continue to do so. His devotees hovered near the ashram's entrance, hoping for final instructions or a blessing from the guru. "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. He must also vow that he will not harm any living being. What We Do ; where We Work but she told him no, would! 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