Madurai Law college students protest outside Aatheenam mutt

Thursday2013-11-28

மதுரை: மதுரை சோலையழகுபுரத்தை சேர்ந்தவர் சோலை கண்ணன். இந்து மக்கள் கட்சியின் மாவட்டத் தலைவர். இவர் நேற்று காலை போலீஸ் கமிஷனர் சஞ்சய் மாத்தூரிடம் அளித்த புகார் மனு: மதுரை ஆதீனம் அருணகிரிநாதர் கடந்த 33 ஆண்டுகளில் சுமார் ரூ.750 கோடி வரை கையாடல் செய்து மடத்துக்கு வர வேண்டிய வருமானத்தை அபகரித்துள்ளார். தற்போது மடத்தில் உள்ள உதவியாளர் வைஷ்ணவி, அருணகிரிநாதருடன் சேர்ந்து மோசடி செய்து வருகிறார்.மடத்துக்கு முன்னோர்கள் கொடுத்த ஆபரணங்களை வைஷ்ணவி தனது சொந்த உபயோகத்துக்குப் பயன்படுத்தி வருகிறார். ஆதீன மடத்தைச் சுற்றியுள்ள 200 கடைகளில் ரூ.3 ஆயிரம் முதல் ரூ.10 ஆயிரம் வரை வாடகைக்கு விட்டதில் மாதம் ரூ.10 லட்சம் வரை வருமானம் கிடைக்கிறது.

இந்த 33 ஆண்டுகளில் இதுவரை பல நூறு கோடி வருமானத்தைப் பெற்றுள்ளார். மதுரை மாவட்ட நீதிமன்ற அனுமதி பெறாமல் சொத்துகளை வாங்கவோ, விற்கவோ கூடாது என தடை உத்தரவு உள்ளது. அதையும் மீறி கோவையில் ரூ.55 லட்சத்துக்கு அருணகிரி நாதர் என்ற பெயரில் ஆதீனம் சொத்து வாங்கியுள்ளார்.

மதுரை மத்திய கூட்டுறவு வங்கியில் 26-10-2012 அன்று ஒரே நாளில் இரு தவணையாக வைஷ்ணவி னீ50 லட்சம் எடுத்துள்ளார். அதிலும் மோசடி நடந்துள்ளது. இதனால், அருணகிரி நாதரை மடாதிபதி பதவியிலிருந்து நீக்கக் கோரி அறநிலையத்துறை ஆணையரிடம் புகார் கொடுத்தேன். மனு மீது விசாரணை நடந்து வருகிறது. எனவே, இவர்கள் மீது உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும். இவ்வாறு மனுவில் கூறியுள்ளார். மனு குறித்து துணை கமிஷனர் தமிழ்ச்சந்திரன் விசாரிக்க போலீஸ் கமிஷனர் சஞ்சய் மாத்தூர் உத்தரவிட்டார்.
http://www.dinakaran.com/News_Detail.asp?Nid=69565

Madurai Law college students protest outside Aatheenam mutt Students of the Madurai Law College, alleging that the Madurai Aatheenam Mutt is being held under the control of Vaishnavi and family, were involved in protests outside the mutt. This created tensions in the locality, following which police were posted in large numbers to prevent mishap. There have been interesting news and hot controversy ever since the announcement that Nithyananda would be nominated as the junior Aatheenam of the Maduari aatheenam mutt. Nithyananda was removed from the post, after the mutt received flak from various organizations condemning the nomination. Meanwhile, protests have broken out alleging that the mutt is held under the control of Vaishnavi and family. A complaint of the allegation has been registered with the Madurai commissioner’s office by the Hindu People’s party. Following the complaint, the students demanding for the mutt be taken over and run by the government were involved in siege and protest outside the mutt. This created heightened tensions in the locality. Following the agitations, the police were posted in huge numbers considering the safety of the mutt. http://sathiyam.tv/english/featured/madurai-law-college-students-protest-outside-aatheenam-mutt

Nithyananda Video - BCCC to issue revised order against Star Vijay

New Delhi, September 10, 2013

Fresh order soon against TV channel

The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has withdrawn its order asking a channel to apologise to actress Ranjitha Menon and conveyed to the channel that no apology scroll needs to be run until a revised order is passed.

The BCCC had earlier issued the order following a complaint from the actress that the channel had telecast a programme that had shown her in bad light.

The BCCC, a self-regulatory body of television channels, after receiving a submission from STAR Vijay channel has told it that “our earlier order stands withdrawn and you need not air the said apology scroll from 12 noon on September 9.”

The body, headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah, said fresh directions for airing the apology scroll would be communicated to them soon “through the revised order.”

The actress had complained against the broadcast of certain video clips in a programme titled ‘Nadanthadu Enna–Kutramum Pinnaniyum’ (what happened--crime and background) telecast on March 21 last year by STAR Vijay.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had forwarded the complaint to the BCCC. — PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/bccc-to-issue-revised-order-against-star-vijay/article5110915.ece


Related article: Recent Developments in Nithyananda Case
http://standupfordharma.blogspot.com/2013/09/recent-developments-in-nithyananda-case.html

The Hold - The psychology of how godmen come to contol the minds of millions of devotees

PTI

No dearth of godmen: Asaram Bapu after his arrest for sexual assault on a minor

godmen

Debarshi Dasgupta
How Devotees Are Brainwashed Into Fandom

• Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person
• Control the physical and social environment; control the devotee’s time
• Keep the person unaware of what’s going on & how he is being changed step by step
• Manipulate rewards, punishments and experiences to check the expression of the person’s former identity
• Manipulate rewards, punishments and experiences to promote conformity
• Set a closed system of logic, a hierarchy permitting no feedback, with top-down orders

***

If you for some reason decide to surrender in devotion to Swami Nithyananda, the following anecdote is likely to be part of your initial lessons. It’s one he keeps recounting to the multitudes at his ashram in Bidadi, near Bangalore, curious and eager to have his wisdom rub off on them: A professor happens to visit a Zen master. While the master quietly serves tea, the professor blabbers on about Zen. The master keeps filling the visitor’s cup till it started overflowing. The professor blurts out, “It’s full! No more will go in!” “This is you,” the master says. “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Become empty first. This is one of Nit­hya­nanda’s first commandments. It’s also probably one of the most essential. As devotees drop their critical defences, he fills them with his worldview, his aura to transform them into loyal followers. This model of indoctrination is not unique to Nithyananda. Across India, for that matter elsewhere, one of the first sermons that godmen will drill into devotees is, outsource the thinking to the guru while devotees free their minds in pursuit of the blissful feeling of spirituality. As Bhargavi Hemmige, a research scholar at Mysore University who spent some time at Nithyananda’s ashram out of academic curiosity, recollects, “He kept telling us not to use our minds. It’s a monkey that misleads, he told us.”

Others who have gone through the cycle of recrimination and defence include Satya Sai Baba, the late Osho, and Baba Ramdev

What else but complete control over the mind can explain the ineluctable hold India’s godmen have over their devotees? So much so, grievous accusations of colossal financial transgressions, rape and child abuse, even murder do not seem to diminish their faith. On the contrary, in the case of Asaram Bapu, a godman mired in controversy and recently arrested by Rajasthan police on charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, they seem to shore up their belief in defiance.

“For devotees, it isn’t a matter of right or wrong. It’s about protecting the one who protects them. That’s all that matters to them.”Indira Sharma, President, Indian Psychiatric Society

As Asaram evaded imminent arrest, throngs of his followers gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to push for his release and sounded the battle-cry from a makeshift stage. “Our fight will go on until the conspiracists give up trying to tarnish Bapu’s image. We should send a clear message by amassing at the next satsang in such large numbers that there should be no place left for us to sit,” said one, to loud roars of approval from the crowd. “Our victory is certain. Only then will we leave,” exclaimed another devotee. “I have not eaten a thing in 48 hours, but gurudev is giving me the strength to go on and I can for another five days.” At Jantar Mantar, they spend most of their time chanting ‘Hari Om’; in other places, Asaram’s devotees have blocked roads and railway tracks and even assaulted media personnel. Godmen and controversies have been bedfellows for long in India but this poses no threat to their cult appeal (see box for some of our flourishing gurus and the controversies associated with them). At the Jantar Mantar demonstration, an Asaram devotee from Himachal Pradesh began to tell Outlook of his indebtedness. “Even if Lord Shiva himself appears and tells me not to believe in Bapu, I will tell him I cannot give up. I know what I have gained from him. He has saved me from committing suicide. So, even if he kills off the entire world, Bapu will still be god for me. It’s another matter that he will not do something like this,” he says, before he’s whisked away by other followers angry with the media. Asked what was so special about Asaram, Akanksha Bhatnagar, a 20-year-old mca student from Delhi, gushes with a twinkle in her eyes, “You will realise when you come to one of his sermons. I have no words to express.” For his devotees, Bapu is akin a body of water—you can thrash him as much as you want, there will be a few splashes, but nothing that will affect him. “I am sure he will come out shining even brighter after this episode,” Bhatnagar adds. Ask devotees of other godmen, like Sai Baba, Ramdev, Jayendra Saraswati or Nirankari Baba, and you are likely to get the same mix of uncritical reverence that borders on irrationality.

Bad press Women protesting against Asaram Bapu. (Photograph by PTI)

“Swami Nityananda kept asking devotees not to use their minds. He kept telling us that. He said the mind is a monkey that misleads.”Bhargavi Hemmige, Researcher, Mysore University

How is it that godmen manage to win such unquestioning submission? Interviews with devotees, some of whom have fallen out with their gurus, detail an elaborate spiel that gurus have in place to control a devotee’s free thinking capabilities. The initial assault on independent thinking often comes with sleep deprivation: devotees are often allowed no more than four hours of sleep. What is thought of as a part of the frugal character of ashram life actually undercuts a devotee’s critical thinking. This is combined with a heavy work schedule and unreasonable deadlines that overwhelm a person’s routine. “This just doesn’t leave any time for you to sit and reflect. And the moment you do, you fall asleep,” says Anushka Gopal (name changed on request), a Bangalore-based woman who spent five years at the ashram of a popular south Indian guru but chose to walk out after his sexual misconduct was caught on tape. Another cog in the brainwashing machinery is a pseudonym that goes on to become the ‘real’ identity of the person. The change is subtle but its long-term impact is drastic when it comes to erasing a devotee’s past. This is demonstrated effectively in the case of 35-year-old hotel management guru Santosh, now known as Shantimayananda after “great healing and transformation”. His parents unsuccessfully petitioned the Karnataka High Court to have him come back from Nithyananda’s ashram in Bidadi, where he has been living for six years now. “He has no concern for his mother and father, he simply thinks Nithyananda is god,” says Munnur Krishnamurthy, his distraught father.

“As publications in-charge for the guru, I once went to Tamil Nadu and bought and burnt several copies of a magazine that spoke against him.”Lenin Karuppan, Whistleblower on Swami Nithyananda

The next stage is to have older devotees perpetuate the guru’s aura and suppress an acolyte’s individuality. What the group believes is what you should believe, they are told. Meanwhile, the guru does his bit by instilling the ideal of gurubhakti and the fear of gurudroha. “He kept brainwashing devotees by saying all sins can be forgiven—but not guru­droha,” says Hemmige. To add more enigma to their aura, several of them even take to dressing as gods—Nithyananda often pretends to be Shiva-like and Asaram and Kripaluji takes on a Krishna-like get-up. Prabir Ghosh, a noted rationalist from Calcutta who claims to have taken on several hundreds of godmen, says all of them inevitably make claims of possessing some supernatural power—another important component in their marketing strategy. Rationalists argue that what is merely a placebo effect is often touted as a miraculous cure. One devotee at Jantar Mantar said Asaram cured her mother of breast cancer. Devotees also seek to protect their belief (and thus self-interest) by perpetuating the guru’s cult and refusing to buy into accusations of wrongdoings. “For them it’s not an issue of right or wrong,” says Indira Sharma, president of the Indian Psychiatric Society. “It’s as basic as protecting the one who protects you. It’s all what matters to them.”

Photograph by Reuters, From Outlook 16 September 2013

Many followers come from a religious background, exposed to a reverential following of gurus. Then there are some hapless souls who submit to faith afresh. But the well-oiled machinery at ashrams is powerful enough to work on the minds of those with advanced degrees in science (who often possess a fine streak of credulity)  or  even without any of the circumstantial or emotional baggage that makes some people prone to unquestioning submission to a strong guru figure. “To the more sceptical devotees, the guru would say don’t believe what he says. When we realised he was not trying to sell us  his ideas, we became more receptive,” says Gopal, who studied at top engineering institutions in India and the US. “All this while, I had no idea I was being subjected to psychological slavery. It’s a kind of mind trickery,” she adds. It took her six months to realise her guru could be wrong. The revelation of the sex tapes was what finally led her to walk out of the ashram.

“The disciple longs to merge into a powerful, wise, perfect self-object—the guru. The guru is great. Partaking of his power, I am great too.”Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar, Scholar who has studied godmen

There is also the obvious influence that money power can bring for these gurus. Lenin Karuppan, who is now acknowledged as the whistleblower who leaked the sex tapes that allegedly feature Nithyananda and a Tamil film actress, recounts how he himself once helped snuff out dissent as the publications-in-charge for the guru. When Nakkeeran published an article that the guru deemed unfit for the public, he rushed to Tamil Nadu, and along with Nithyananda’s followers, he bought about a lakh copies and burnt them. But even he has words of praise for Nithyananda’s “mesmerising oratorical skills and knowledge of Hindu religious texts”.  Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar, a Goa-based scholar who has studied godmen in India, says devotees often attribute exaggerated positive qualities to their guru—unlike adults in a mature love relationship, who are in touch with their partner’s realistic qualities and failings­. “They deny unwanted characteristics that cause a ‘split’ in the mind. The disciple longs to merge into a good and powerful, wise and perfect self-object­—which is the guru. In other words, the guru is great, and thus, participating in his power, I am great too,” she elaborates. “The violent outbreaks by stern believers in support of their guru, as we have seen in Asaram’s case, are linked to this: accepting that the idealised self-object has failed means also accepting one’s own failure, which might lead to a disintegration of the self, which needs to be fought off by denying any (countering) facts and better knowledge.”
It’s not difficult to imagine that perhaps it is this systematic domination of the mind of the devotee that lay behind a poster at a Jantar Mantar that read, “Nigorey bhi kah rahey yeh baat, bapuji hai paak saaf (Even the most stubborn proclaim that Bapu (Asaram) is squeaky clean).”

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?287714

Fifty shades of godmen

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Asaram Bapu's arrest on the charge of raping a minor girl is the latest in a series of sex scandals involving India's sadhus and godmen. V. Kumara Swamy and Sonia Sarkar on why gurus often get away with their sexcapades

• 

Asaram Bapu has never shied away from talking about sex. There are YouTube videos that show him dispensing sex advice to his devotees. "Don't have sex during amavasya, purnima, Shivaratri or Holi. A child conceived on these days will be born handicapped," he warns. "Even if a child is not conceived, intercourse on this day will lead to impotence and the man could face several other problems," he adds helpfully.

But lest his devotees should despair, he tells them that there is also a right time to do it. "If a child is conceived between 12.30 and 2.30 during the day, he or she will go on to become a very intelligent person."

There's more. A booklet meant for his followers says that masturbation or homosexuality in men leads to wastage of energy, thus making them physically and mentally weak.
Unfortunately, the man who gave out such "valuable" sex advice is now embroiled in an unsavoury sex case — arrested by the Jodhpur police for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl in his ashram.
Of course, this isn't the first time criminal charges have been levelled at Asaram Bapu. In 2008, two young boys died in his ashram in Motera in Gujarat. But his trusted lieutenants say the charges against him are all fabricated.

"There has been a conspiracy to malign him for many years," says Asaram Bapu's media manager Sunil Wankhede. According to him, Asaram doesn't have any sexual desires as he is not a "common man". "He is a sant (saint). And saints don't have sexual desires," he asserts.

Though gurus or godmen in India have huge followings and are usually considered holy and utterly blameless, allegations of sexual misconduct and depravity on their part crop up with regularity.

Take Swami Nithyananda of the Dhyanapeeta Charitable Trust in Bidadi, near Bangalore. In 2010, local television channels aired footage that showed the swami in a compromising position with a Tamil actress. The same year, Aarthi Rao, a former follower of Swami Nithyananda, filed a complaint with the criminal investigation department, Bangalore, alleging sexual harassment by him.

Nithyananda was arrested but freed in 53 days. The case is now before the court.
"In India, godmen wield a lot of power over their devotees, which is a heady feeling. They have the money power and influence. So they begin to believe they can get away with anything," says Rao.
Rao, an engineering graduate of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and a software engineer, joined Swami Nithyananda's ashram and even changed her name to Ma Nithyananda Premeshwari Mayi.

• SEX AND THE SWAMI: Asaram Bapu
  Nithyananda
  Illustration: Onkarnath Bhattacharya
  

She also signed a "non-disclosure agreement" that had a clause saying that the existence of such an agreement could not be revealed to anybody. It went on to state that the programme could involve tantric secrets associated with male and female ecstasy, nudity, access to visual images, graphic visual depictions, and descriptions of nudity and sexual activity.

Followers being sworn to secrecy is a common practice of godmen. In 2006, Vikas Joshi alias Swami Vikasanand was arrested with more than 60 CDs full of sleaze material. An influential guru in the Jabalpur area, he was with three women, one of them a teenager, when he was picked up from a city hotel.

"He had told the women who were close to him that any revelation of their sexual activities could have adverse consequences for their families or themselves," says a Madhya Pradesh police official who investigated the case.

Called "Saahab" by his followers, Vikasanand used to give pravachans (sayings) and bless his devotees wearing Ray-Ban glasses. "He claimed that he had tantric powers to cure every human misery. And his devotees, many of them well-educated, believed that," recalls the official.
Though most of his women followers refused to testify in court, Vikasanand was convicted by a Jabalpur fast track court in 2010 and is now in jail.

In another case involving Delhi-based Shreemurath Dwivedi alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale, six women, including two airhostesses, were arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket from his ashram.

So why do so many "godmen" get embroiled in sex scandals?

Experts say that it is the blind faith of their devotees that enables these "gurus" to influence them. "We Indians are great believers in miracles and feel that somebody can get us out of our miseries. This is the prime reason we fall for these godmen," says Prabir Ghosh, general secretary, Science and Rationalists' Association of India, Calcutta.

Sociologist Dipankar Gupta agrees that godmen prey upon the vulnerability of their followers, especially women. "Once the women are drawn in, it is easy for these godmen to force themselves upon them," he says. But he adds that sometimes, these sexual relationships are "consensual".
Naturally, the devotees dismiss all such allegations. Wankhede, for one, claims that Asaram Bapu never had sexual desires even when he was young. He also insists that Asaram's ashram is absolutely safe for women. "Men and women don't even sit together here," he says.

Then why did Asaram call the 15-year-old girl to his room? "Don't fathers meet their daughters?" he retorts. "To him, all younger women are his daughters and older women his mothers."

Asaram's devotees are equally insistent that the guru has been falsely accused. Take Rukmini Devi, who has come all the way from Kurukshetra in Haryana to pick up ayurvedic medicines for her ailing husband from Asaram's sprawling ashram on Vande Mataram Marg in Delhi's ridge reserve forest. She says all allegations against her beloved "Bapuji" are baseless. "Bapuji has been trapped by his enemies who are jealous of his popularity," says Devi.

Experts say, however, the belief that so-called godmen are above sexual impulses is totally false. "Their sexual desire is no less than that of an ordinary man," says andrologist Sudhakar Krishnamurti.
Others say that so many incidents of rape or sexual assault by godmen happen because they deprive themselves of a natural sex life. "Since they don't engage in self-stimulation or masturbation, they are left with no alternative but to molest or rape women to satisfy their sexual urge," says Mumbai-based sexologist Prakash Kothari.

Not only that, many godmen visit andrologists to deal with their sexual problems. Krishnamurti, who is also a member of the Sexual Health Committee, World Health Organization, says that the most common problem with godmen is erectile dysfunction. He also says that many come to him wanting to know how they can "perform better" with multiple partners.

Kothari asserts that some of these godmen also take drugs to enhance their sexual prowess. "Many of them confess that they want drugs to be able to perform better at sex," he says.
Shantum Seth, who had once accused a godman (who died a few years ago) of indulging in sexual misconduct, says that there is nothing wrong with them having a sexual urge, but that they should have a responsible sexual life. "Godmen should set an example by behaving responsibly as there are millions who follow them," Seth asserts.

Some godmen get away with their unpleasant acts simply because they enjoy political clout. "With the support of politicians, these godmen get a space to play. That's the irony," says sociologist Gupta.
It will be interesting to see if Asaram Bapu's case grinds on and fades into irrelevance. But one thing is certain, as long as these "holy" men enjoy the blind faith of thousands of followers, it will always be easy for them to indulge in unholy practices.

Scandal sheet

2013, Sehore (MP)
Mahendra Giri alias Tunnu Baba,65, arrested on charges of raping a 24-year-old woman.

2013, Jodhpur
Asaram Bapu arrested on charges of rape.

2010, Delhi
Shreemurath Dwivedi alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale arrested for running a prostitution racket from his ashram.

2010, Bangalore
Swami Nithyananda arrested on charges of sexual abuse.

2009, Chennai
Kanchipuram Devanathan of Machaesa Perumal temple accused of sexually exploiting devotees. Arrested.

2006, Jabalpur
Vikas Joshi alias Swami Vikasanand arrested for sexual abuse of young girls and making obscene films. Serving jail sentence.

2005, Junagadh
Priest of Swaminarayan temple Bhaktiswarup and three others arrested for role in alleged sex scandal.

1994, Tiruchirapalli
Swami Premananda sentenced to life imprisonment for rape of 13 inmates of ashram and a murder.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130908/jsp/7days/17325237.jsp

 

Nityananda sleaze CD genuine: CID

PTI  Bangalore,

The video footage showing arrested self-styled godman Nityananda Swami in a compromising position with a Tamil actress is "genuine", a top CID official said on Thursday.

"The video footage is genuine. It is untampered and there is no indication of alteration in the video. As far as image comparison is concerned, that is still to be done," CID's Deputy IGP Charan Reddy told PTI.

Asked about efforts to trace the actress, Reddy said, "She is not an accused in this case. She will definitely come. When she comes, we will examine her."

The CD was sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory Hyderabad for analysis where it was found to be authentic, he said.

The case was entrusted to CID for investigation after the scandal broke out in March when some TV channels aired the purported video footage.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court reserved its order for Friday on a bail plea by Nityananda, arrested on criminal charges, including rape, from Solan in Himachal Pradesh on April 21.

Public Prosecutor Satish R. Girji told the court that the investigation was complete and since there was no material on record, they did not require Nityananda's further custody.

Justice Subhash B. Adi then reserved orders for Friday.

The Madras High Court had stayed all criminal proceedings against Nityananda pending before a court at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu where a private complaint has been filed against the self-styled godman.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/nityananda-sleaze-cd-genuine-cid/1/101034.html

Swami Nityananda's sleaze CD is genuine: CID

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/Swami-Nityanandas-sleaze-CD-is-genuine-CID/videoshow/6033736.cms

Fraudulent spiritual guru (god man)

Vote: Fraudulent spiritual guru

• India
• Spiritual Gurus

on Aug 26, 2013 , 11:27 am

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Swamy Nithyananda

86%

Bikram Choudhury

1%

Dera Sacha Sauda

4%

Nirmal Baba

8%

http://ww.itimes.com/poll/vote-fraudulent-spiritual-guru/result

http://ww.itimes.com/poll/vote-fraudulent-spiritual-guru

Women Complaint Against Swami Nithyananda

NITHYANANDA FACES FRESH COMPLAINT OF FRAUD AND RACKETEERING IN USA

1 more complaint has been filed against Nithyananda in USA for FRAUD AND DECEIT, RACKETEERING, CIVIL CONSPIRACY and UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES, cheating the US government and donors by misusing the charitable, tax-exempt 501(c) status. The complaint (Case no. EDCV13-363-JGB, filed on 27^th Feb 2013 at the US District Court, Central District of California) has been filed by several ex-donors against Nithyananda, his secretaries and his organizations, allege that Nithyananda and his secretaries blatantly misrepresented Nithyananda as a Brahmachari, sanyasi living a simple life, and misrepresented the organizations as charitable institutions benefitting the society and extracted crores of rupees from them. But in reality Nithyananda’s intentions were to cheat the public, devotees and the US government by misusing his position as the leader of these organizations and charitable tax-exempt (501(c)) status of his organizations to privately benefit from it (refer pg 50 of complaint). The ex-donors have demanded the return of around $800,000 (around Rs. 4.5 crores) collected from them through fraud and deceit. However, the court could award 3 times that amount (almost Rs. 14 crores) as compensation, if the racketeering charges are confirmed in a trial.

The defendants named in the complaint are: (i) Nithyananda (Accused 1 in India), (ii) Gopal Reddy Sheelum @ Nithya Bhaktananda (Accused 2 in India) – already declared FRAUD by US Court in July 2012 in another case 5:11-CV-01304 SVW (SPx), Popatlal Savla vs Nithyananda Foundation (iii) Siva Vallabhaneni @ Nithya Sachitananda (Accused 3 in India), (iv) Nithyananda Foundation – also declared FRAUD by US Court in July 2012 in case no. 5:11-CV-01304 SVW (SPx), Popatlal Savla vs Nithyananda Foundation, (v) Life Bliss Foundation in Montclair (Los Angeles), California (vi) Nithyananda Dhyanapaatem Temple and Cultural Center (NDTCC) in Montclair (Los Angeles), California and (vii) Dhyanapeetam Charitable Trust in Bidadi, India

In July 2012, in the same California court, a jury reviewed all evidence and found Nithyananda Foundation and Gopal Reddy Sheelum guilty of committing fraud against another ex-donor Mr. Popatlal Savla and ordered them to return the $1.5 Million (~ Rs 8 crore) that was fraudulently obtained from him (see link below for judgment from that case). But the details of the allegations (which are explained below) and evidence presented in this latest complaint shockingly exposes well planned efforts and criminal intent of Nithyananda and his secretaries Gopal Reddy Sheelum (@Bhaktananda, A2) and Siva Vallabhaneni (@ Sachitananda, A3) to cheat the public and government.

The allegations in the complaint and other sections of interest are briefly explained below:

·  Fraud and Deceit (Refer complaint, Pg 17, 25, 28, 29, 37, 39-40, 47, 50-51)

Publicly and privately Nithyananda over emphasized that he lived a very simple life and he was a Brahmachari Sanyasi (Pg 17). He intentionally misrepresented his organizations as charitable tax-exempt (501(c) status) institutions exclusively for charitable activities for the benefit of the society. But in fact it was benefitting Nithyananda his secretaries, and other individuals, as large amounts collected in US were transferred to Nithyananda’s bank account. (Pg 28, 37)

· Nithyananda confessed about Sex with many and video being authentic: (refer Pg 25)

Nithynanda personally confessed to donors in March 2010 about video being true (not morphed as he alleged later), that he had sex with many persons, that the sex-contract (i.e. NDA or  Non-Disclosure Agreements) were being used for many years (atleast since 2005). Nithyananda also admitted that he misrepresented his organization as being charitable entities, because most of the money collected in USA through his organizations was sent to Nithyananda. (Refer Pg 25 for more details). Nithyananda and his secretaries have also confirmed about existence of the NDA (Non-Diclosure Agreement, better known as “sex contract”).  (refer Pg 40)

· Financial fraud by Nithyananda organizations: (refer Pg 28, 29, 47)

Nithyananda organization cannot account for more than $2 million, they have no records of how they spent $3.6 million!!! Based on evidence in previous trial (in Popatlal Savla vs. Nithyananda Foundation), an expert testified that Nithyananda entities have 2 sets of books, and worst of all, the books (financial records) were cooked to make $2 million profit turn into $2 million loss. More details in pg 28,29, 47

· Civil Conspiracy (refer Pg 29-33)

Nithyananda and his secretaries have elaborately planned to destroy evidence and strip all the assets of entities in Nithyananda organizations, to avoid paying if they face lawsuits. Nithyananda and his secretaries specifically discussed that many people have expressed about sexual abuse incidents happening to them, and so they were concerned about potential lawsuits. (Pg 31). Details of plans and email discussions are in pg 29-33 & Exhibit F

·  Racketeering (pg 16)

Nithyananda and his secretaries Gopal (Bhaktananda) and Siva (Sachitananda) operated the assets of the charitable organizations as their own personal ATM and piggy bank. Large sums of money moved from USA to India through Nithyananda’s brother’s company called “Nithyananda Import Export”.

While Nithyananda claims to have no connections whatsoever with Nithyananda Foundation or his other organizations, the complaint infact goes to say that Nithyananda controlled the organizations to such a great degree that Nithyananda and his Organizations are one and the same, there is no separation between them (Refer pg 13-15)

This latest complaint against Nithyananda, which is similar to a class action lawsuit, was filed by 6 ex-donors on 28^th Feb 2013. Interestingly, around the same time 3 years ago (on 2^nd Mar 2010), truth about Nithyananda came to light!

Links to related documents:

FRAUD complaint against Nithyananda by ex-donors in Feb 2013 in California, USA:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/133256203/New-Complaint-of-FRAUD-and-RACKETEERING-against-Nithyananda-in-USA-Feb-2013

FRAUD Verdict against Nithyananda by California Court:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/133252348/Nithyananda-Foundation-Fraud-Verdict-July-2012

FRAUD complaint against Nithyananda’s secretary and organization by Popatlal Savla, in California, USA

http://www.scribd.com/doc/133258147/FRAUD-complaint-against-Nithyananda-by-Ex-donor-Popatlal-Savla-Extracts

Complaint copy can also be obtained from the court website at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/records where  “Public Access to Court’s Electronic Records” are at: http://www.pacer.gov/findcase.html

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