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. Swamis, he explains, are renunciates who take vows of abstinence which include giving up sex, wine, and red meat, as well as other stimulants to the physical senses. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. But sexual contact between a guru and his disciples is not regulated by any professional association of religious hierarchy. Residents are expected to donate a large portion of their labor, and they must sacrifice personal freedoms and privacy. The same spirit of community and service that fuels our headquarters in Honesdale, PA, can be found in these dedicated affiliate centers of practice. His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses-those are facts. University of California System Bans Fully Online Degrees. 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. ", Pandit Arya is not so reluctant as Dr. Ballentine to articulate is how one can recognize a worthy guru. 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. Arya, however, says that much of Darling's information is inaccurate. Whilst there's no hint of it on the Himalayan Institute's website, Swami Rama faced lawsuits in the 1990s over sexual abuse with his students stemming back to the 1970s. But Carolyn says she stifled her doubts about the guru, transforming them into doubts about her own selfishness: "Because I'd rationalized that he was teaching me a lesson, I believed he must be teaching other women the same lesson, and I shouldn't begrudge his attention to other students.". 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. I mean, he's giving you the teachings and you're going to use the teachings to evaluate him? 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. 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. She would start with handling the appointments and then she would make his plane reservations, scheduling lecture tours. Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. Terry* and Brian* say they were recruited into the Himalayan Institute's inner circle for their wealth and social connections. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." The scandal convinced Carolyn not to reveal her own secret, she says; she was learning that the Institute administration dealt with such accusations by smearing the women's reputations. Pandit Rajmani says he also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama could not be sleeping with his disciples. Had Nirvana said anything? Community, Courses, and Content. 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. There he founded the Meditation Center. Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. Rose spent the next six months moving from place to place, terrified that the Institute network would track her down. She took a meditation class at the alternative high school program she attended, and one evening her teachers invited her to a lecture by their guru, Swami Rama, who was visiting the Chicago area. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. 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. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. Allegations of sexual abuse by Swami Rama have followed on the heels of the Institute's success like a shadow. Sexual contract between gurus and their American disciples is not a new or rare phenomenon. And she would help him write books. 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. "If the guru's instruction leads to a deeper peace, freedom from conflict, a deepening of meditation, harmony in relationships - all of these. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. They introduced her to the guru, and she remembers he made a fuss over her, slapping her cheek lightly and calling her a good girl. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram . 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. Marston's lawsuit, he says, was an act of revenge. Many of those beliefs are based on Hindu and Buddhist teachings about the nature of the guru. Donate Help Our Cause US$20.00 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. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. In mid-autumn, the day came for Swami Rama's annual trip to India. 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. The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy is an international non-profit organization, which promotes yoga and holistic health through yoga retreats, residential programs, health products and services, media publications including Yoga International magazine, and humanitarian projects.The institute's main campus is located on (1.6 km 2) in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern . India Himalayan Institute India Our program model in India has been designed to focus on three initiatives: providing educational programs for children to help them rise above poverty level, preserving ancient culture and wisdom, and providing support for villagers dealing with natural disasters. Most rapists threaten women with physical violence. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immediately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. Swami Rama called a meeting to defend himself. D., about abuses that allegedly took place in Minneapolis, Chicago, New York City, and India, for a chapter in Darling's doctoral dissertation, "Turning East in the Twin Cities: Converts and Movements in the 1970s" (University of Minnesota, 1987). 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. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. We partner with rural communities to provide health services, public libraries, and sustainable employment opportunities. Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Initially, Brian says, most of the other directors responded with concern. She sounded unhappy, so I made plans to visit her at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where she had been a resident for more than four years. As Rutter explains in his book, a sexual relationship between a man in a position of power-doctor, psychologist, mentor, or priest-and a woman who is dependent on him-as patient, student, client, or troubled soul-almost always involves an element of coercion and a betrayal of trust. Carolyn says the "goofy" letters never got answered. Authentic Ashram Living "Before [these women] started saying these things, I also had a very good feeling that these people were wonderful people and they would never lie and they were trustworthy people. God knows whether it was true or not, and even if it was true, this is a normal phenomenon. 7,616 were here. Himalayan Institute of Technology Ranking and Awards. He laughed, Megan says, and told her that the women didn't know what they were weeding. During that time, neither of them would see any other, and she should never tell anyone. 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. From its beginnings 20 years ago, the Institute has expanded steadily to include some 25 branches and affiliated yoga and holistic health centers in the Midwest, the Northeast, Texas, California, and abroad. Early the next morning, she says, he announced to her that she was going to leave; he never set up the promised program. * "Nirvana was up at his cabin, walking his dog at 5:30 in the morning, and Megan was with him day and night." The Himalayan Institute has been and continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. 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