Nithyanand's ashram under scanner

Controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda has come again under the scanner. Questions are being raised over the safety of 42 children holed up in a school run illegally by the controversial godman. Now serious concerns are being raised after rights activist were denied access when they went to check on the welfare of the kids

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

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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

 

Nithy CD Controversy Once again

மீண்டும் கிளம்புது நித்தி "சிடி' விவகாரம்

பதிவு செய்த நாள் : செப்டம்பர் 08,2013,00:34 IST

சென்னை : நித்தியானந்தா சாமியார் தொடர்பான, "சிடி' குறித்து, ஒளிபரப்பு உள்ளடக்க புகாரை விசாரிக்கும் கவுன்சில் (பி.சி.சி.சி.,) அளித்த தீர்ப்பை எதிர்த்து, மேல்முறையீடு செய்யப் போவதாக, முன்னாள் சீடர் லெனின் கருப்பன் கூறியுள்ளார். "நித்தி - நடிகை ரஞ்சிதா தொடர்பான, "சிடி'யை ஒளிபரப்பிய, தனியார் "டிவி' சேனல், மன்னிப்புக் கோர வேண்டும்; அந்த, "சிடி' போலியாக சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டது' என, பி.சி.சி.சி., உத்தரவிட்டது. இந்த உத்தரவு முறையான விசாரணையின்றி அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது, என, குற்றம் சாட்டும், லெனின் கருப்பன் கூறியதாவது: நித்தி - ரஞ்சிதா தொடர்பான, "சிடி'யை, தொலைக்காட்சிகள் தொடர்ந்து வெளியிடுவதால், பெண்கள், இளைஞர்களின் மனநிலை பாதிக்கப்படுகிறது. எனவே, இந்த, "சிடி'யை ஒளிபரப்ப தடை விதிக்க வேண்டும் என, வழக்கு தொடரப்பட்டது. வழக்கை விசாரித்த, கர்நாடக ஐகோர்ட், "சிடி' ஒளிபரப்புக்கு தடை விதித்தது. இத்தடைக்குப் பின், தனியார் தொலைகாட்சி ஒன்று, நித்தி - ரஞ்சிதா தொடர்பான, "சிடி'யை ஒளிபரப்பியது. கோர்ட் உத்தரவை மீறி, ஒளிபரப்பியது தொடர்பாக, ஐகோர்ட்டில் முறையிட்டனர். இம்முறையீட்டை விசாரித்த ஐகோர்ட், இதுகுறித்து, பி.சி.சி.சி., முடிவு செய்ய பரிந்துரைத்தது.

மனுவை விசாரித்த, பி.சி.சி.சி., கோர்ட் உத்தரவை மீறியதற்கான, நடவடிக்கையை எடுப்பதோடு, "சிடி' போலியாக சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டது என, கூறியுள்ளது. நித்தியானந்தா தொடர்பான வழக்கு விசாரணையில் உள்ளது. மேலும், "சிடி' சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டதல்ல; உண்மையானது என, டில்லி மாநில தடய அறிவியல் ஆய்வகம் அறிவித்துள்ளது. இந்நிலையில், "சிடி' தொடர்பான விசாரணையை முறையாக செய்யாமல், பி.சி.சி.சி., வெளியிட்டுள்ள உத்தரவு, குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு சாதகமாக அமைந்துள்ளது. எனவே, இந்த உத்தரவை எதிர்த்து மேல் முறையீடு செய்ய உள்ளேன். இவ்வாறு, லெனின் கருப்பன் கூறினார்.

http://www.dinamalar.com/news_detail.asp?id=798381


Summary:

BCCC (Broadcast Content Complaints Council) has issued an order regarding the Nithyananda scandal CD. The order questioned the authenticity of the video. The case against Nithyananda is currently pending in court, and the forensic report from FSL Delhi finds the video to be authentic. Under the circumstance, it is very unfortunate and I will be appealing to the BCCC reconsider this order, says Lenin Karuppan.

Recent Developments in Nithyananda Case

In a press meet today, Lenin addressed the media in Chennai to discuss the recent developments in the Nithyananda Case. See below for videos of the press meet and a brief summary of its content.






 

I thank all the media for coming here today. In a democracy you are rightly called as the fourth pillar. You have been playing a vital role in exposing many scandals - economic, political, social - and safeguarding the common man.

A few days ago news was published that a popular TV channel has been ordered by BCCC - a voluntary regulatory body controlling media, to apologize for telecasting “morphed video” of Nithyananda. As whistle blower in the case against Nithyananda, I submitted the original video to the police. I have personal knowledge of it and if I don’t speak now, the truth will be distorted.

I believe the BCCC was not presented with all facts and evidence. Hence I have appealed to BCCC to kindly look into this matter along with available evidence including Forensic Reports of the original video. The Council can also directly contact FSL Delhi or Karnataka CID for further details regarding the charge sheet and evidences. If required, I am also willing to appear before the Council and provide all necessary information and documents. It is unfortunate that the BCCC order can be misused by Nithyananda and his team for false propaganda. Already the news circulating in the past few days is misleading the public into believing that the video is morphed, which is far from the truth. As the case is still pending in Karnataka court, this could seriously distort the truth and even misguide the Hon’ble court. If Nithyananda is really innocent, I challenge him to prove it in a trial without any further delays.

NITHYANANDA VIDEO IS AUTHENTIC: 3 independent sources/experts have confirmed that video is NOT edited, NOT morphed and NOT altered in anyway– (1) the best forensic lab in India, Forensic Science Lab (FSL), Delhi by Govt. of India, (click here to see the FSL report) (2) Independent Forensic Expert from USA, a former senior special agent, worked for US Army Criminal Investigation Command & US Air Force Special Investigations, and testified in numerous courts in USA (click here to see USA forensic report) (3) Another nationally renowned, legendary  forensic expert with more than 50 years experience and has solved many major crimes – Padma Bushan Prof. Dr. Chandra Sekharan (click here for Dr. Chandra Sekharan's view). Refer links for the forensic reports.

AUDIO CONFESSION ABOUT THE VIDEO: Nithyananda himself pleaded with me to remain silent about the video and confessed that “its consensual sex between two adults and it is not legally wrong”. Interestingly, it means at that time he was an adult and not a 6-year old, as subsequently claimed! An audio recording of this confession is also part of the evidence in the Charge Sheet (click her to see audio recording transcription from the Charge Sheet). It is no wonder that Nithyananda has been stalling the voice test and his medical test for the past 3 years.

LATEST CLAIMS OF IMPOTENCE: Recently he claimed (in his website) that a doctor in USA has certified him to be impotent. Nithyananda has not visited USA in past 3 years! Clearly the doctor in USA did not conduct any tests on Nithyananda in USA. His statements are purely based on some reports given to him by Nithyananda, claiming it to be his test. But whose blood test report was actually sent?? And if you believe these test reports and doctor certificates, then why has he been avoiding for 3 years the simple medical test ordered by the Karnataka court? What is he afraid of?

HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION: After the charge sheet, several false cases against me the whisltblower, the victims and also targeting other key witnesses. Review the Timeline, it is clear every single case is filed in retaliation, either directly by Nithyananda or indirectly thru his blind followers. Cases are also filed against more than 50 media & even social activists who raised their voice against him. The Courts and legal process is being abused to threaten and intimidate everyone into silence. Responsible media is doing great work by continuing to expose the fraud in public interest.

MISUSING HINDUISM, BLOT ON REAL HINDU SAINTS: He claims to be a great Hindu saint working for the revival of Hinduism. Isn’t it surprising there are many complaints of “land grab” against him in Tamil Nadu, filed by ordinary Hindus? He claims he is establishing Hindu temples across the world. Everyone has seen how he destroyed his own Hindu temple in his Tiruvannamalai ashram, after receiving HR&CE notice. Suddenly a holy temple became “just a warehouse for stone statues” - the same stone statues for which daily puja, abishekam, arati, etc, was performed, and collected lakhs in donations from innocent trusting Hindus! Is this the conduct of a real Hindu saint? Or is he misusing Hinduism to communalize the issues? As Narendra Modiji said very aptly, it is nothing but a blot on Hinduism.

I assure you that I have no vested interest, but I act only in public interest, as I am myself an ardent devotee of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. I have great respect for genuine sanyasis, great saints and gnanis like Ramana, Ramakrishna, Swamy Vivekananda, whose lives were open book which inspires millions all over the world.

I pray that the Governments should take strong and swift action to bring out the truth. First and foremost tax-free status given should be withdrawn with effect from March 2010 till he is proved innocent by a court of law and absolved of all criminal complaints. Next the finances, largely contributed by innocent trusting public, should be managed by a govt. or court appointed panel of trustees and not allowed to be misused by him.

I appeal to media to continue to support truth so that public can be alerted and saved from becoming victims of fraud in the name of Hinduism.

Satyameva Jayate

Additional Links

1. Forensic Science Lab (FSL) Report authenticating Nithyananda video to be unaltered unedited, not morphed and authentic: 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/165997226/Nithyananda-Video-Authentic-Forensic-Lab-Report

2. USA forensic report confirming Nithyananda video is authentic, NO MORPHING:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/165998003/USA-Forensic-Report-Confirms-NithyanandaVideo-Authentic

3. Dr. Chandra Sekharan's view of Nithyananda video:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/166009267/Edward-Primeau-Report-on-Nithyananda-Tape-Farfetched-DrChandrasekharan

4. Nithyananda's Audio Confession to whistleblower Lenin:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/166485759/Audio-Record-of-Nithyananda-s-Confession

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

586 Views

 (1)

(2)

Ichadhari Baba

1%

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

Nithyananda disciples land-grabbing in Trichy, Tamil Nadu - TV9 News

[Translation]

Bidadi Nithyananda Swami’s disciples attempted to forcibly land-grab in Trichy (Tamil Nadu), however their attempt was unsuccessful. In Tamil Nadu, an ex-devotee had donated to Nithyananda 2 acres land in the village of Navalur  Kottapattu near Trichy. Nithyananda and his disciples tried to forcibly “land-grab” the property. But the land is disputed property since there is a case* pending in court re. the ownership of the land. However, yesterday Nithyananda disciples, more than 50 of them, tried to tried forcibly occupy the land. They tried to throw out the land owners from there, however the land owner refused to leave. 

Angry with the land owners, Nithyananda disciple Ms. Jhansi Rani filed a false complaint of molestation against the land owner. Based on Nithyananda disciple’s complaint, the police took the land owners into custody. 

The local villagers of Navalur  Kottapattu were outraged by these developments and stormed the local police station at Trichy. The villagers protested angrily against the harassment and false case against the landowners. When the protests became very strong the police released the land owners from custody. 

The land owners spoke after being released and said, “The property is currently being disputed in court. Acting against the court’s instructions Nithyananda’s disciples tried to forcibly grab the land , instead of waiting for the dispute to be resolved by the court. Nithyananda and his disciples are constantly harassing us and are now misusing the police also by filing such false cases.”

* - Brief background: The land owner and his entire family was deeply devoted to Nithyananda for several years, one of the family member was even a brahmachari of the Nithyananda ashram for many years. The family therefore deeply trusted Nithyananda as a genuine spiritual master and had donated the land in good faith. But after the truth about Nithyananda was exposed, the land owner and his family felt shocked & betrayed by the lies, deception and fraud, lost their faith in Nithyananda. Thereafter they left his mission and asked for the property donated in good faith to be returned. Nithyananda, the so-called “Avatar” and “Paramahamsa”, however refused to return the land, thereby forcing the land owner (ex-devotee) to approach the court for return of the property. 

This is not the first time such untoward incidents have happened, a similar attempt to landgrab and false police complaints to harass the land owners was also done in 2012, by Nithyananda and his disciples.

Similar to this case in Trichy, other ex-donors who donated to Nithyananda in good faith in Salem, Rajapalayam, Hyderabad, and even in USA, are facing similar harassment and false cases because they asked Nithyananda to return the fraudulently obtained gifts!

Nithyananda's Secret camp at Karaikudi TN !!!