Freedom from Cult Nithyananda – A Prison Without Walls

Reminiscence of an ex-follower

Today is a day that fills me with great pain, as well as the joy of freedom. Today is the day I was liberated from the mental shackles of Nithyananda’s cult, while he stood exposed as the avatar of moral corruption!

I was one of the thousands of devotees who had dedicated my life to Nithyananda’s mission. But I was not just a devotee on the fringe, attending a few free events or programs. I was an organizer and coordinator for many years, working closely with Nithyananda and his ashram, receiving awards and accolades for my service to his mission.

I was a hard core “Nithyananda missionary”. I call myself that because I worked with a missionary zeal for several years to convince every tom, dick and harry that he must meet Nithyananda at least once in his lifetime, assuring them their life will change dramatically.

And I did it because I believed with every cell of my body that Nithyananda was the greatest enlightened master to be alive, that Nithyananda was on a noble mission to enlighten the world. I believed that Gandhiji, my guru before Nithyananda, was a merely great human being who lived an exemplary life of truth and courage. But Nithyananda was no mere mortal, that he was God incarnate, and worthy of every bit of regard, respect and trust that every one of us devotees placed on him.

But 2 years ago, on this day I was stunned to see that he was just another ordinary man! And what was even more disgusting was events that followed - Nithyananda disappearing for almost a month, making self-contradictory statements from a hideout (about his experiments in bed, about his parivaraja of 9 years, etc), admitting to few devotees about his actions and denying it publicly, so many standard tactics while in custody (including the chest pain on his way to police station), a sex contract (never heard of any great master creating such a contract!!!!!!) and many more!

Suddenly all the lies were unfolding, and all the inconsistencies I had been made to ignore seemed to complete the jigsaw puzzle called Nithyananda! I could hardly deny the truth that was staring in my face… that Nithyananda fell short of even an ordinary human being.

I would have had much more respect for him, even as just an ordinary human being, if he had displayed the most basic decency to admit to his human folly and apologize to his millions of followers worldwide for misleading them into believing him to be something else!

Nithyananda is no comparison to an exemplary man like Gandhi, where is the question of him being an enlightened master like Ramakrishna or even a God incarnate like Rama or Krishna! I was most disturbed by my realization that Nithyananda is the most untrustworthy man and that I wasted several years of my life in his service.

I have heard many use the words ‘crook’, ‘conman’, ‘fraud’, etc to refer to him, and it is hard to deny them. I have heard his followers vehemently argue about his teachings being great, about their personal spiritual experiences being inexplicable. There are many great teachings in great books and scriptures, and many great teachers who have come and gone. And there are many who claim to have great ‘spiritual experiences’ on LSD or marijuana!

I say to his followers - call a spade a spade. Claim he is a great teacher, maybe even an extraordinary teacher who presents the works of many others in his own style as simple ideas. Nobody will expect him to be the most virtuous, truthful, honest, dharmic person on earth. But don’t call him divine and an incarnation when his life is not an open book, when he leads a secret double life, when he cannot even be truthful in public about himself, and worst of all, when critics are attacked viciously with hate and vengeance while claiming to be a spiritual and compassionate master!!

The usual escapism that it is not Nithyananda who attacks the critics, its only his followers doing it is the most ridiculous statement to save a spiritual leader! Even the CEO of a company is held responsible for the actions/mistakes of his employees, then how much more responsibility lies on the shoulders of one who claims to be an enlightened spiritual leader, or an avatara purusha?!

The vengeance of his followers can only be a sad reflection of his own state! If this is the effect he has on his followers, then he is definitely not a spiritual leader, but has every indication of a cult leader!

Everything that has happened over the last 2 years has made me realize that I was an unfortunate victim of deceit and manipulation by a very clever and convincing cult leader.

My mind had been imprisoned in Nithyanada’s glorified and illusory world of lies, deception and make believe. And the unfortunate reality is - I see the same sad programmed/brainwashed beliefs and talks by those devotees who still vehemently argue for him!

If you are still believing Nithyananda to be a truly spiritual person, an enlightened master or an incarnation, please wake up from the mental slavery of this cult. Don’t waste your life, or it may be to late when you wake up to the truth!

I am ever grateful to the divine mother parashakti, for liberating me from the maya of Nithyananda, and saving thousands, if not millions through dharma. My mental shackles have been destroyed and I am free from the most dangerous kind of prison - a prison without walls!!