Himalayan Institute of Technology Ranking and Awards. But as she spent more time around Swami Rama and his inner circle, Megan says, the guru subjected her to a barrage of sexual harassment. 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 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. There's no need for finding out, if I know it is completely wrong.". Himalayan Institute Online. 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. Through her sympathy for what appeared to be his plight, and disarmed by his jokes, she says she allowed him to cajole her until she let her defenses down. Instead they deny the experience of the "unenlightened" women who are the guru's victims. She became outraged at the residents and the professional staff who enable and legitimized the Swami's behavior. At some point, we ran into Swami Rama in a hallway. Now Carolyn is more articulate: "When I finally start listening to myself, and I tell him I know he's sleeping with other women-and this is the man I came to, to help me learn how to listen to my inner voice, and then he tells me not to listen to it just as I'm starting to get some confidence in it-that's when I realized, this isn't yoga, this isn't truth, this is abuse.". Himalayan Institute locations 3.6 Honesdale, PA Show all locations What's being discussed at Himalayan Institute? Residents staff the Institute's administration, bookstores, and other small businesses, including Himalayan Publishers and Distributors and an elementary school. Dr. Ballentine, who says he studied psychology at the Sorbonne and completed his training in psychiatry at Louisiana State University, defends Nuernberger. And there is a statement, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" Healthy lifestyle products to support your yoga and spiritual practice. Impact of Accreditation Sanctions on Enrollment. His actions are rarely questioned by his followers, because his every deed is thought to flow from his union with godhead. 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. In order to believe in his perfection, they must rationalize behavior that others would judge to be tyrannical, cruel, or self-indulgent. 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.". Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. Hadn't he taken vows of celibacy? Megan went through a brief but painful and confusing time during which she doubted her own feelings and perceptions. According to ex-members, Swami Rama often acts in ways his disciples find humiliating, but they tell each other he is humbling their stubborn egos to help them reach enlightenment faster. He said, "We must build a center of life which will be an important bridge between East . Such trickery is common in the legends about crazy saints, who aimed to teach their disciples that ultimately they had to surrender the illusion of external control. In the mid-1970s, she and her husband George,* both students of Swami Rama, traveled to India and stayed at the guru's ashram in Rishikesh. Most of the former members of the Institute who agreed to be interviewed for this article were also afraid to have their identities revealed; they appear under pseudonyms, marked with an asterisk. Rajmani explains the basic goals of the Institute's tradition of yoga: "The most important part of the practice is nonattachment." The same spirit of community and service that fuels our headquarters in Honesdale, PA, can be found in these dedicated affiliate centers of practice. she remembers him demanding. Born in Northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Meanwhile, Carolyn says, Swami Rama began singling her out for special attention. Carolyn says she told him no, it "just didn't feel right." The lawsuit I heard rumors about in New York City never materialized. Explore our integrative health services & therapeutic treatments to help restore your natural state of well-being. When I asked Pandit Arya about the allegations of sexual abuse, he admits that he was very disturbed when he first heard them. Sanctions on an institution can cause students to look elsewhere for higher education. 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. Both women and men say they blamed themselves and their own spiritual obtuseness when they repeatedly failed to discern and follow the shifting rules. Dr. Ballentine, the Institute's president and director of the Combined Therapy Program, explains that human beings have the potential to do "all kinds of things, like move our bodies at will from one place to another, or be aware of what people are thinking on the other side of the earth, or inner states of consciousness that take us to the future and the past." Our Honesdale campus continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. HIT ranked under Top Commerce Colleges in All India by The Week 2022. She was thrilled; it was commonly believed at the Institute that the fastest way to reach enlightenment was to spend as much time as possible in the presence of the guru. A world leader in yoga, meditation, and holistic health, we are dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian programs. Years later, Carolyn told me that four years of discipleship under Swami Rama had taught her to be a successful liar. Several former students of Swami Rama granted interviews to Patricia Ann Darling, Ph. 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 must also vow that he will not harm any living being. In my interviews with current and former members of the Institute, I heard an almost unvarying litany of beliefs about Swami Rama's abilities. Pandit Arya radiates calm as he speaks. Community, Courses, and Content. 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. In three months, Carolyn says, she gained 20 pounds. Every time he saw her, she says, he told her she was "perfect," as if she had passed some important test. But the Institute does not teach the mastery of such powers in its programs, instead focusing on yoga practices with more immediate practical application. 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. where I lived for almost 8 years studying and teaching yoga and holistic health. She became paralyzed by her fear of angering him. Humanitarian, Swami Rama, Teacher. 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. He must see something special in me.'" Carolyn says she spent years blaming herself and trying to rationalize away what she now regards as sexual abuse. In August, Carolyn says, Swami Rama told her to meet him in New York City for the next step in her spiritual training. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Read More 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. In retrospect, Megan says, she believes that Swami Rama was indifferent to the problems that his behavior might cause the Institute, but was using such scandals to purge it of anyone who questioned his authority. A guru has the wisdom of experience and the ancient teachings, so he can provide guidance, Dr. Ballantine says, but students should "judge every [practice] on the basis of your own experience." But Megan and Carolyn both say that Swami Rama would dismiss Pandit Rajmani and other members of the inner circle after an evening of socializing in Swami Rama's private quarters, while asking them alone to stay behind. 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. 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.". Before leaving, Megan says, she tried to confront Swami Rama publicly-but he went into seclusion, claiming illness. And that did not undermine Mahatma Gandhi's work!& No, this would not be shattering, certainly not. His early American followers had been spiritual seekers of the counterculture who found their guru at his ashram on the banks of the sacred Ganges in Rishikesh, India. In March 1978, she says, Swami Rama came to Glenview and initiated her. 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. A pearl necklace that Brian had bought from Swami Rama as an "investment" was appraised at roughly one-third of the $100,000 he had paid for it. As the couple started making arrangements to move to England, they received another blow. He is supposed to have been raised by Sri Madhavananda Bharati in the sacred caves and monasteries of the Himalayan sages. 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. Sexual contract between gurus and their American disciples is not a new or rare phenomenon. Most of the women who say they were abused by Swami Rama express feelings of fear, frustration, and betrayal. His response: "Listen, there are certain things which are based on witnesses-those are facts. Everyone said you had to surrender to the guru, so she would simply have to follow through with whatever he ordered her to do. He explains that Nuernberger was just a graduate student, inexperienced and lacking in professional judgment, when the incident with Marston occurred: "At a time when he was learning to be a therapist and thought that someone is asking for you to reach out, you reach out and you touch them and you let them see your feelings, and I think that was very bad." Our commitment to service both at home and abroad incorporates our global humanitarian impact through projects in Africa and India as well as a commitment to sustainable partnerships with the local community at our world headquarters in Honesdale. His disciples believe he knows them better than they know themselves, and that if they want to achieve their spiritual goals they should do exactly as he says. 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. 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. 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. A few weeks later she moved to Honesdale. But it is also common in the thought-control techniques of totalitarian states. Meanwhile, the couple says, they discovered more evidence of illicit activity. "We were Brahmins in the Institute's caste system," Terry recalls. Authentic Ashram Living The Himalayan Institute has been and continues to be home to a service-driven community of yogis, volunteers, and faculty-in-residence. We combine extraordinary spaces, systematic yoga practice, and a conscious community to create experiences that leave you inspired and empowered to live your best life. But Mr. Schneider told the jury that evidence indicated the relationship was consensual. "A lot of people have confused the siddhis-the powers to control body, emotions, and mind-with spirituality. At about the same time, Carolyn was accepted into the residential program at East West Books Chicago, the Institute's downtown branch. He cannot disbelieve his guru. Community, Courses, and Content. 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. I informed him that I had interviewed women who sought him out because they respected him and trusted him to be interested in the truth. She believes Swami Rama was trying to buy her collusion, as he had bought the collusion of the Institute's staff and many residents. Sex with a guru is a form of spiritual incest. The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, nestled in the beautiful Pocono Mountains in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1971. 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 program seemed to provide the ideal family she'd never had, where everyone shared her values and spiritual goals. 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? Because that's my whole life& My relationship with [Swami Rama] is purely divine and spiritual-there cannot be impurity in it, and there is no room for such thoughts. She recalls that she blushed as she forced out the words: "I think you have been sleeping with other women." No, he says: "Even if it happened, what's the big deal?& People say that Mahatma Gandhi& slept with women. Long-term residents must get administration approval for any overnight absences; permission may be denied if their destination is judged inappropriate. She listened calmly as I admitted that I'd worried she might be a victim. Anyway, he said that our relationship would be exclusive, I'd be like a spiritual courtesan. Cons Not one that I can see. 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. Immerse yourself in a life-changing course of study and get certified in the authentic teachings of yoga and meditation. Now Megan says that in a different atmosphere, she would have immediately recognized Swami Rama's behavior as sexual harassment or "sadistic manipulation." Pandit Rajmani cannot entertain the notion that the women's stories could be true. Rather than being a saint, according to Green, Swami Rama is an advanced yogi and "a mortal with some ego problems.". Rose spent the next six months moving from place to place, terrified that the Institute network would track her down. 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. She renewed her acquaintance with her former meditation teachers and started taking classes in Glenview, Illinois, at the Institute's original headquarters. https://himalayaninstitute.start.page || Yoga. 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. By 1977, the Institute was able to purchase the Honesdale ashram, a former Catholic seminary in the rural Pocono Mountains, which now houses more than 100 residents and guests. There she learned Swami Rama's style of "super-conscious" meditation, which she describes as a basic, impersonal training in mental concentration. Yet she is vulnerable to feeling re-victimized every time her experience is denied or distorted. 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. 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. 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. 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. They resided in their own house in Honesdale, unencumbered by the strict rules of the residential program. According to the story Terry and Brian say Rose later told them, late one night Swami Rama tapped at the door of her room and then walked in on her. Since the early 1970s, women have been claiming sexual abuse at the hands of this prominent spiritual teacher. When she asked him what she should do with the love letters, she says, Swami Rama would laugh and say, "Oh, these goofy women! Today HI continues to innovate and offer the world high-impact, revolutionary programs and humanitarian initiatives around the globe. At bottom, however, she believed her feelings didn't matter. Then he started giving her practices without any spiritual meaning, she says, and telling her she wasn't doing them right. Numerous former students say they left the Institute because they were sexually exploited by Swami Rama or knew someone who was. Relationships are the first test of spirituality. Gurus were supposed to have conquered their desires, but in the spiritual literature they were often portrayed as contradictory, tricking their disciples into enlightenment. Study Online At the same time as he dismissed her, Swami Rama also gave her a Sanskrit name. Well organized, fine atmosphere, and a strong community. Terry, who is now a practicing psychotherapist, says she believes Swami Rama's behavior is compulsive-he can't help it." Meanwhile Janet,* a Honesdale woman who worked as the couple's babysitter and housekeeper at the time, says she received threatening phone calls at Brian and Terry's house, asking if she was alone with the children. The next day, she says, Swami Rama called her to his office and asked her if anyone had said anything to her. Ag Innovation Center Business Plan. She walked around New York City for hours, until it was time for her bus to return to Honesdale. 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. 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. At that, she says, he raged at her until she was sobbing, unable to speak a word in her own defense: No! Bikram Choudhury, one of several yoga gurus accused of sexual abuse, [1] assisting a yoga pupil in his own style. In May, Swami Rama visited the area again. Megan remembers asking him why he was trying all this on her. 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. 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. During a series of biofeedback experiments in 1970 and 1971, Drs. Brian says he felt betrayed, but the knowledge that Swami Rama had financially exploited him made it easier for the couple to cut their ties to the Institute. Teaching since 1971, the Himalayan Institute offers a wide variety of wellness supplies. He would call her to his office for a private audience, and as she hung anxiously on his words he would paint a flattering picture of her future with the Institute. To my relief, I could detect no flash of recognition, guilt, fear, or anger in Carolyn's eyes. The jury called the abuse "spiritual incest . Once there, Carolyn devoted herself to her yoga practices and threw herself into her assigned jobs. Carolyn is not alone. He is also head of the Institute's Holistic Studies (formerly Eastern Studies) program and has written a number of scholarly books on yoga philosophy. Since its inception in 1971, the Himalayan Institute has been at the leading edge of personal and social transformation. But the victims of what Jungian analyst Peter Rutter, M.D., has termed "sex in the forbidden zone" (in his book of the same name) submit to sexual advances because of a powerful psychological threat. 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. A rash of articles featuring Swami Rama appeared in national magazines, including Time, People, and Playboy. HIT ranked 39 th under Best Hotel Management Colleges in All India by The Week 2022.; HIT ranked 23rd under Top Private Hotel Management Colleges in All India and 11 th in North Zone by The Week 2022.; HIT is ranked as one of the most preferred Hotel Management Colleges . The women's fears have aborted projects intended to expose possible exploitation to a wider audience. Join us for studies in the true meaning of yogaincluding asana, meditation, mantra, tantra, sacred scripture, and the art of joyful living. The victim's confusion and loss of trust are compounded when her community refuses to acknowledge her suffering. After he had, as she describes it, "had sex on my body," she took a blanket into the other room and slept on the floor. ", Shortly after Pandit Rajmani introduced her to Swami Rama, Megan says, the guru called her into his private quarters and told her that they'd been together in a past life, that he'd waited to meet her again in this lifetime, and that now they were reunited. It is sad for him, and for those who cared and were so deeply hurt by him, that his behavior has been allowed to continue with such devastating results to people just looking for help." In 1966, he founded the original Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Kanpur, India; this was followed by an institute in Glenview, Illinois in 1971; it is now headquartered in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, purchased in 1977. A leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute is dedicated to serving humanity through educational, spiritual, and humanitarian . Pandit Rajmani says he also has concrete reasons to know that Swami Rama could not be sleeping with his disciples.
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