He was reputed to do the same thing Swami Rama did throughout his life, taking on peoples illnesses upon himself and dissipating them. Dr. Ballentine says it is "presumptuous" to judge whether or not someone is perfected. When I asked Pandit Arya about the allegations of sexual abuse, he admits that he was very disturbed when he first heard them. [7], Swami Rama has been accused and convicted of sexual abuse. Shri Swami Rama did not teach any particular religious doctrine but his teachings aimed at transforming individuals by inspiring them to take charge of their own lives through discipline and strong willpower. Towards the end of his life Sri Ramakrishna contracted throat cancer. The Combined Therapy program and the outpatient branches of the Institute for Holistic Medicine combine Western medicine, homeopathy, Eastern medicine, psychotherapy, nutrition, yoga, and meditation to treat people with a variety of physical and emotional problems. His students believe he is able to read minds and manipulate physical reality with his advanced yogic powers; thus they believe he can heal sickness with the power of the "superconscious" mind. Why did Carolyn say these things? Another interesting instance I would like to mention here is with regard to a death predicted by a yogi during Kumbha Mela in 1966 at Allahabad. The ant came back to life and started crawling. 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." The Greens' experiments caused a furor in the scientific community because they gave powerful support to autogenic biofeedback research, which 10 years earlier had begun demonstrating that body functions which had formerly been considered involuntary could be controlled. Swami Rama (Svm Rma; 1925 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. With great concern I asked him how he was. He was further seen to create a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius between two areas on the palm of his right hand. I had numerous experiences of the same during my long periods of chronic conditions. The Catholic Church may discipline a priest who has sex with a parishioner, not only because it violates his vow of celibacy, but because his parishioners must be able to confide in him without worrying that he will exploit their trust for his own gratification. On the occasion of his death anniversary, read a few things related to Swami Vivekananda . I was counting years. Finally, she obtained his permission. But in 1980, they say, they returned to Honesdale after a brief vacation to learn that their friend Rose* had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Swami Rama during their absence and had fled the Institute for New York City. [8], Swami Rama authored dozens of books, published in India and America,[10] which describe the path he took to become a yogi. 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. He rapidly attracted a following that included many graduate and professional students. Carolyn says she recognizes the positive work of the Himalayan Institute and has no desire to destroy the Institute's beneficial programs. Carolyn went away to college at the end of that year, as her parents expected. The guru spoiled them, they say, calling them his spiritual son and daughter, and soon invited them to come live in Pennsylvania. He sent copies of his letter to many of his former colleagues and other professionals on the Institute's stafT. Retrieved April 12, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rama-swami-1925-1996. The cancer specialist said it was cancer of this organ or that. It is my firm conviction that people living in the world can practice the higher steps of yoga and meditation even while doing their duties and leading normal lives. Swami Rama of the Himalayas: His Life and Mission. Ramakrishna, originally called Gadadhar Chatterji or Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, (born February 18, 1836, Hooghly [now Hugli], Bengal state, Indiadied August 16, 1886, Calcutta [now Kolkata]), Hindu religious leader, founder of the school of religious thought that became the Ramakrishna Order. Carolyn says she knew that Swami Rama often promised his disciples he would take them to India or appoint them to important positions within the Institute-promises that rarely materialized. Two women wrote statements, which said they had discovered that Swami Rama was attempting to "seduce" both of them contemporaneously. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." The sound tic came from the cracking of the skull as he left his body through the brahmarandhra. Soon Carolyn noticed she wasn't the only woman being favored by the guru; he was also paying attention to Megan and Nirvana. I like to believe that somewhere inside of him, he is the good person I believed him to be. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. These are also available through Lotus Press in USA. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real Self from not-self-real Self from mere self. Tigunait, Pandir Rajmani. Hughes, who ran East West Books Chicago and then worked as publicity and sales director of Himalayan Publishers and Distributors, now has a masters degree in counseling and hosts a successful TV series in Memphis, Tennessee: Total Health and Relaxation: An Ounce of Prevention." Born: February 18, 1833 Hughes is not so easily coerced into silence: he says he plans to continue to press the Institute's administration to fulfill iLs edii-cal obligations to investigate the women's complaints and put a stop to any abuse. They announced the date of their death and I was one of the witnesses. 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. "Nirvana is one," Carolyn says she told him. In an early co-authored book, Yoga and Psychotherapy (1976), he presented Hatha Yoga with reference to western psychology. Fortified by their mutual discovery, Karen says, the two couples undertook to inform their fellow students back home in Minneapolis. 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. At the same time, she felt anxious, because she'd seen how severe Swami Rama could be with those closest to him. Megan says she squelched an urge to speak out, instead deciding, like most of the Institute's residents, to suspend judgment so she could "understand and learn" from this "great master." He laughed gently and said but then, it is my power you are using for me. Realizing that Ramakrishna had passed away over 12 hours ago, he asked some of the people present to get a photograph taken. I am keeping this last arrow in my quiver to use at that time. Attempts to verify Swami Rama's educational background have been unsuccessful, according to Vanessa Webber of the Cult Awareness Network. But for a man of Pandit Arya's background and beliefs, the relationship with one's guru is more momentous than any merely temporal bond. Although she told an institute official about the assaults and the institute was aware of similar complaints by other women, the complaint said, the center did nothing to stop them. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, 1978. But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarehy. Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Swami Rama ( Svm Rma; 1925 - 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. In his new book, At the Eleventh Hour, Pandit Tigunait chronicles the 20-year period that he spent with his . The surgeons at our hospital were happily surprised that when they asked for his blessing for a difficult surgery the surgery would go smoothly easy flowing. At some point, we ran into Swami Rama in a hallway. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rama-swami-1925-1996, "Rama, Swami (1925-1996) And there is a statement, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" 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. "If someone is a saint, celibacy would be his normal condition," Dr. Green comments. 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. Once there, Carolyn devoted herself to her yoga practices and threw herself into her assigned jobs. 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. The Swami. Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute, 1978. As the couple started making arrangements to move to England, they received another blow. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "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.". Dr. Ballentine denies sending out copies of Hughes's letter: 'I didn't do that. When Carolyn had to work, I attended classes in Hatha yoga or read. This was sometime in September 1980. [1] Views He has been subject to criticism over his racist views against blacks, discrimination against lower castes, anti-Semitism, negative views on women, and advocacy of crimes of Adolf Hitler. . When she shared her news with the other residents at East West Books, they told her she should feel honored: She had been chosen, while long-time devotees had been denied the privilege. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". "Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one's own progress. [9] The result was a sharp increase of interest in his teachings. According to traditional accounts, Ramakrishna was on the verge of suicide when he was overwhelmed by an ocean of blissful light that he attributed to Kali. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. . Since she had taken over, everything had been put in order. It is a mistake to judge the external guru's worthiness by his behavior; instead, the student should look inside and determine whether that person is helping dispel the darkness of her ignorance. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Even so, it was a blow to find out that she wasn't particularly special: Swami Rama apparently had other "spiritual courtesans." We heard nothing from him after he left the USA. The Mission conducts extensive work in health care, disaster relief, rural management, tribal welfare, elementary and higher education. Like Pandit Rajmani, Dr. Ballentine explains that Americans have weird attitudes about sex, that Americans like to knock their heroes off the pedestals they have put them on, that people. This period of separation is painful to the ignorant. 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. Not permitted by the Tradition.. And then he departed, accompanied not by Carolyn, as he had promised, but by another "gorgeous" devotee. Moreover, his disciple and successor Narendranath Datta (died 1902) became the world-traveling Swami Vivekananda and helped establish the Ramakrishna Order, whose teachings, texts, and rituals identified Ramakrishna as a new avatar (incarnation) of God. [2] The official biography states that when he was 28 he became the Shankaracharya or spiritual leader at Karvirpitham, part of Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka, South India, demonstrating extensive knowledge of ancient texts to qualify, and holding the position from 1949 to 1952. EVEN IF. He performs ritual prayers, dresses in his armor, and when he's dressed, he looks very heroic. 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. 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. After a sleepless night, she said she snuck out at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. and drove to Brian and Terry's empty house in Honesdale. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. The yogi suddenly went into deep meditation. The Hindus draw out the liquid and call it jal. According to his disciples, Vivekananda attained mahasamdhi; the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain was reported as a possible cause of death. The man, she says, informed her of Swami Rama's long history of alleged sexual misconduct. [3] [note 1] He was born in Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. 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. Lectures on Yoga. She would live with him in the house he was buying. He looked hale and hearty, standing as usual tall and erect. The narrator says again that every person who Ravana sent into battle didn't return. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. Had anyone spoken to her? 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. [2][R 1][R 3] Swami Rama founded other teaching and service organizations, including a large medical facility, in Dehradun in Uttarakhand in the north of India, to serve millions of poor people in the nearby mountains who had little access to health care. Instead, he told the other board members that he believed Rose, and that they should investigate the incident for themselves. Patricia Trescelli, and attorney with Parker, Chapin, Flattau, and Klimpel, agreed to consult with the women concerning possible legal action on a pro bono basis. 'In one mirror there was one face. He was ready to embark on his project to build the hospital, but first he chose to establish an ashram in Nepal. A Practical Guide to Holistic Health. 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. 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.". and Sister Audrey Rymars, a Catholic nun who had worked with the Institute in Glenview for 13 years. 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. When the doctors were trying to heal his cancer, he is reported to have said something like: "Here, I am trying to rid myself of the big disease called the body by using a small disease and you all are trying to rid of this small disease that is my instrument". [2] He further claimed to have gained degree-level qualifications from an Indian school of homeopathic medicine, the University of Hamburg, Utrecht University, and finally the University of Oxford. Carolyn has been in therapy for the past five years, trying to rebuild her self-confidence and heal the damage done by what she now calls her "sexual abuse" by Swami Rama. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Giving the empire to Luv-Kush Rama, apparently repenting for his sins, decided to give all his empire to Luv and Kush to rule. No one had thoroughly investigated, until journalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. For in his previous births too he had incarnated as the Avatars Lord Rama and Krishna. If somehow Pandit Rajmani were forced to acknowledge that the women were telling the truth, would this shatter his faith in the guru? His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. by Joannne Sullivan, Shiva Country Himalayan Pilgrimage by Silvia, Listen to Your Inner Wisdom by Sabina Cesaroni, The One and Only Church of Universal Ice Cream by Steven J. 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. She says she confessed her secret relationship with Swami Rama for the first time, telling her counselor that she was still confused about it. If one can learn to control the heartbeat, he can experience conscious death, as did St. Paul ("I die daily"-I Corinthians 15:31) and many yogis of India who have practiced this Hong-Sau [concentration] Technique, and through it achieved mastery over the action of the heart. Analysis. Until she'd read a copy of Susan's letter, she told her, she'd thought she was alone. Box 400, Honesdale, PA 18431: (717) 253-5551. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems create suffering for themselves." To the last day of his life he was doing the rounds of his hospital. Because I do not want to find out. To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. "Believing such stories means disbelieving in myself. Looking through the evidence, they concluded Ramanujan had hepatic amoebiasis, an infection of the gastrointestinal tract that is . Swami died on 14 November 1977 at the age of 81, in Vrindavan, India. 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. [2] [3] During his American tours Swami Rama Tirtha spoke frequently on the concept of 'practical Vedanta' [4] and education of Indian youth. A saint is a person who does what he says." 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. Many of those beliefs are based on Hindu and Buddhist teachings about the nature of the guru. The Swami also continued to teach and write from his centers in India. : //www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rama-swami-1925-1996 reference entries and articles do not have page numbers t return their mutual discovery, Karen,. 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