Many people, including the victims themselves, have trouble understanding how damaging such sexual contact can be, because the women are adults and no one is holding a gun to their heads. He rapidly attracted a following that included many graduate and professional students. Since 1972, Himalayan Institute Excursions have offered purpose-driven journeys to discover the fulfillment your soul is seeking. Himalayan Institute of Technology Ranking and Awards. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. Authentic Ashram Living You're bound to get mixed up. She remembers that Swami Rama received love letters from several women; one of two of them even mentioned "your child." But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. 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. 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. "Anyone who lives a public life can go through such remarks;& you have heard about all that blackmailing" of famous, rich athletes, he explains to me in the spring of 1989 at the Honesdale ashram. In three months, Carolyn says, she gained 20 pounds. 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. The 10-campus system closes a loophole that could have let undergraduates piece together a degree. The original creator of the neti pot, the Himalayan Institute has been offering traditional and modern products for health and spirituality since 1971. One spring evening a couple of weeks later, she says, Swami Rama called her aside to ask why she'd been avoiding him, and she tried to tell him she'd discovered his lies. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. Who We Are; What We Do; Where We Work. 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. Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. See the article in its original context from. 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. I ask Dr. Ballentine in a January 1990 interview why Nuernberger is still on the Institute's staff. At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. 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. 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. The women's fears have aborted projects intended to expose possible exploitation to a wider audience. When he was finished, Rose told them, Swami Rama left her room, saying he's be back the next day. Since the early 1970s, women have been claiming sexual abuse at the hands of this prominent spiritual teacher. But within the Institute, she says, everyone else seemed to accept the guru's sexually suggestive behavior and humiliation of women. Study Online She says Swami Rama began telling her that he had never had sex, that he was dreaming about her at night, and that he was experiencing novel physical sensations because of her. Himalayan Institute Online Our new online platform for community, courses, and content. A week later, Megan blew the lid off Swami Rama's private life, confirming what Carolyn already knew in her heart. "By their fruits you shall know them," he says, paraphrasing the Bible. What a foolish woman! Dr. Ballentine says it is "presumptuous" to judge whether or not someone is perfected. Carolyn and others say Megan caused a scandal in the Honesdale ashram by breaking the silence surrounding Swami Rama's sexual behavior. The jury awarded $275,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages to the woman. 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. Himalayan Institute locations 3.6 Honesdale, PA Show all locations What's being discussed at Himalayan Institute? When Swami Rama returned from India two months later, Carolyn resumed working as his appointments secretary during the day, and, she says, as his sexual servant on some nights. He backed off, Megan says, while telling her that sex wasn't necessary-she could be his special student. But the Institute does not teach the mastery of such powers in its programs, instead focusing on yoga practices with more immediate practical application. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immediately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." Similarly, a woman who had been repeatedly abused by Sri Swami Rama of The Himalayan Institute when she was 19 years old was awarded $1.9 million. In the United States, far from the strong cultural morality of the guru's country of origin, it is not regulated at all. The guru spoiled them, they say, calling them his spiritual son and daughter, and soon invited them to come live in Pennsylvania. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. Its mission, according to the Articles of Incorporation, was "to make known to the members and people in general the real, synthetic, and harmonious view of world religions and philosophy in terms of modern scientific achievements and undertake researches for all around ethical, social, economical, and spiritual development of humanity to attain world peace, international integration, understanding, and spiritual awakening of the human race." Carolyn felt important, entitled to be there because she was one of his secretaries. Trained to meditate and educated in the scriptures from early childhood, he was able to translate and interpret any of the 20,000 verses from the Vedas by the age of 13, according to a biographical pamphlet put out by the Meditation Center. Early the next morning, she says, he announced to her that she was going to leave; he never set up the promised program. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. 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. The daughter of an alcoholic, she longed for guidance from a spiritual authority figure. Megan* started the Institute's graduate program in Eastern studies in the fall of 1982. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. 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 The FBI has confirmed the existence of a file documenting the agency's investigation, but at the time of publication the file had not yet been released under the Freedom of Information Act. Anyone can read what you share. But still, she was afraid to leave the community she'd been part of for so long and reenter a world that had practically forgotten her existence. 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. Two of the guru's most devoted disciples left the Institute three years ago because they had learned while in India as part of an Institute tour group that parts of Swami Rama's official biography were fabricated. Shortly after they started studying with Pandit Usharbudh Arya at the Meditation Center in Minneapolis, he introduced them to his guru, Swami Rama. 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. 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. Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. The Institute's program is no longer accredited by the University of Scranton. 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. Carolyn was raised Catholic, and during high school she explored Transcendental Meditation, Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and the "Jesus freak" movement. 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. After she had lived in Honesdale for a year, Swami Rama started promising to make her his appointments secretary. She was feeling so disgusted with her body and afraid of the guru's humiliating comments that one night she couldn't face going to his room, she says. A system that encourages such vulnerable individuals to give up their own "egotistical" judgment to the arbitrary whims of one person is one of the key features of a totalist organization, or "cult.". By that time, Brian recollects, the other directors had adopted the line that famous and powerful men were always subject to such vicious rumors, and that the women's stories were ludicrous and unbelievable. Sexual abuse by yoga gurus is the exploitation of the position of trust occupied by a master of any branch of yoga for personal sexual pleasure. One evening she went out to dinner with Martha*, an old friend from East West Books Chicago. 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. Brian and Terry say her family members at the Institute harassed her by mail and by telephone, with accusations that she had "a habit of inducing this sort of behavior from men.". Had Nirvana said anything? 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). Nestled in the rolling hills of the Poconos, our stunning 400-acre campus is a gathering place for seekers from around the globe. Choose from 8 signature wellness retreats to help you restore balance and achieve optimum health and healing. He told her he was writing a book of poetry for her, and he offered to find her a husband. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. But ultimately he chose to believe Swami Rama. I might doubt my own perception, I might doubt my own eyes, but I cannot doubt that strength which has given me everything.". 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. Burnett is a postdoctoral fellow in Houston's department of education leadership and . 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. 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. In private sessions, ex-disciples say, Swami Rama has arranged marriages and instructed disciples to break off relationships. He is held accountable only to the higher spiritual laws, which he is uniquely able to comprehend. Or, in the words of Rudolph Ballentine, M.D., president of the Himalayan Institute and Swami Rama's designated successor, "to take the wisdom of the ancients and couch it in terms that are intelligible to modern man.". Years later, Rose contacted Patricia Trescelli, hoping to support a lawsuit by other women working with Trescelli and hoping to press charges against Swami Rama in her own sexual assault. 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. The Institute also offers instruction to counselors and psychotherapists in the application of yoga and meditation techniques to therapy. Carolyn remembers being amazed: Could Swami Rama possibly be talking about sex? where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. He says that Nuernberger's one mistake has "ruined his life, in essence, which is really too bad.". At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. Brian didn't believe his teacher, and he spoke with several other Institute administrators and board members about Rose's claim of abuse. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." Years later, Carolyn told me that four years of discipleship under Swami Rama had taught her to be a successful liar. 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. Treat yourself to a massage, meditate in the peaceful meditation shrine, or relax in one of the many attractive community spaces available on campus. The teachings contained in the sacred texts cannot play any meaningful part in judging who is a good guru and who is not: "How could they? His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses-those are facts. And Carolyn's residential Program supervisor told her that the scandal was "a big test for all of us and a cleansing for the Institute-we'll see who stays.". Halfway through their meal, Carolyn remembers, Martha hesitantly said, "I know this will sound like a weird question, but has Swamiji ever asked you to have sex with him?" RFP & Business Plan for Dairy Processing Investor/Operator. Yoga seminars, retreats, and professional certifications taught by our world-class faculty, designed to bring you the best of an authentic yoga tradition. 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. Although the jury entered a judgment against Nuernberger, it also found that the clinic was not liable for his actions, so Williams failed to recover damages. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. 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. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! 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. 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. Host to HI Mission Programs, seminars as well as private events, we offer five fully equipped practice spaces and comfortable, modern guest amenities. she wondered. The Swami, she says, bragged to a crowd of disciples that the woman would do whatever he told her, then put his dog's collar and leash around her neck and walked her back and forth, while the others laughed. Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. She walked around New York City for hours, until it was time for her bus to return to Honesdale. Who? 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. Community, Courses, and Content. I just don't know that it makes sense to go run around trying to evaluate other people, when you haven't evaluated yourself.". Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. She could not control her emotions, he could not talk to her! Pandit Arya has many profound and beautiful things to say about his relationship to his guru when I interview him at the Divya Jyoti yoga center in Napa, California, in May 1989. She thanked me, but assured me I had no reason for concern. 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