1997/04/26 13:31
kundalini-l-d Digest V97 #196
kundalini-l-d Digest Volume 97 : Issue 196
Today's Topics: Re: SIdhha Yoga etc.
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 1997 15:28:50 -0600 From: "Marco Antonio Galvan Ph.D"
To: "Nothing Is" , Subject: Re: SIdhha Yoga etc.
Message-Id: Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_01BC5256.8A4B7F80"
Please check in: http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/SYDA-Yoga
>From an302429ATnospamanon.penet.fi
AN OPEN LETTER ABOUT SIDDHA YOGA
This letter is from a group of people who have left Siddha Yoga and
who were, at one time, very deeply involved with its activities. For most of us, it was Lis Harris' November, 1994 article in The New
Yorker that helped us to acknowledge that SYDA and its leaders are quite different from what they claim to be and what they appear to be.
Many of us had known the facts in Harris' article to be true for years, and had ignored or denied them. We had invested our faith and
trust, our idealism, and our time, energy and money, in Siddha Yoga. We had devoted ourselves and made Siddha Yoga our life. For this
reason, facing the facts about SYDA has been and continues to be a painful process. We break our silence now because we believe that
Siddha Yoga is deceiving its participants and we hope, in this letter, to explain how this is so.
We came to Siddha Yoga because we wished to enrich our spiritual
lives. At first, some of us had extraordinary meditation experiences; others felt they had found at long last a community of understanding
seekers. As we got more involved, we came to believe that Gurumayi and Muktananda had valid claims to "full enlightenment," "perfection,"
and "sainthood". In fact, we believed them to be living deities. With the awakening of the kundalini through shaktipat, we felt that we
had reached the final stage of human evolution before divine perfection. All we had to do is love, believe in, and worship the
guru, no matter what, and enlightenment would be ours.
Our faith in these concepts led us to make Siddha Yoga the most important part of our lives. Yet, as we drew closer to the guru, we
discovered that both Muktananda and Gurumayi had private personalities that were in sharp contrast to their public personas. We soon learned
that our status as "disciples," our being "close to the Guru," depended on how well we could learn to keep the secrets we came to
know, and how skillful we could be at whitewashing and damage control. At great cost to our own integrity, we learned to ignore or derail the
natural flow of our thoughts and feelings -- so that we could reconcile to ourselves and others the discrepancies between the gurus'
claims to perfection and their actual behavior. Time and again we were told -- whether by swamis, hand picked lay teachers, or Ram
Butler's Correspondence Course -- that "surrender" was the path of a true disciple; that "gossip" would only lead us to destruction. This
meant subordinating our thoughts, feelings and subjective experience in favor of a supposedly greater truth and higher purpose,represented
by the guru. We know now that we were selling ourselves short.
We are no longer willing to give others control of our reality. We were frightened at first when we began to question and doubt; we
feared we would lose everything if we didn't keep suppressing our thoughts and feelings, if we didn't blindly obey. But we have found
exactly the opposite to be true: by finally telling the truth to ourselves and to others, we are regaining the precious freedom we had
lost.
We are aware that most people who are inspired by the outer beauty of Siddha Yoga and its practices and teachings will find it hard to
believe what we have witnessed. It is not our intention here to attempt to explain the apparent benevolence at the surface layer of
Siddha Yoga. The authors of this letter have spent a great deal of time beneath the public facade, and we have seen a more complete
picture of the secret Siddha Yoga and the double life of its leaders than most people ever see. We believe the corruption at SYDA should
be exposed, even though a former SYDA trustee once stated in a staff meeting, in ominous tones, that critics of Siddha Yoga who make public
allegations of misconduct will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Clearly, it is worth a great deal of money to SYDA to try to
hide the facts.
What we present here is what we know to be true. It is our hope that those who read this will be open to hearing the truth, and to making
an informed choice about their participation. These are some of the secrets that we can no longer, in good conscience, keep in silence:
- Through the years, there has been extensive sexual abuse and
exploitation of young women, often minors, perpetrated by Muktananda, and later by George Afif. Hundreds of women were seduced, sexually
harassed and abused in the ashram by these men. Many of the women involved look back on the experience as a traumatic violation. Some
women sought help from swamis, staff or from Gurumayi herself. They were told that they had brought their mistreatment upon themselves and
to be silent and tell no one. Thus, when ashram staff and swamis are not officially denying that such things ever happened, they switch
stories and claim that Muktananda's sexual activities had a divine purpose. With Afif, they simply blame his victims. We emphatically
reject this denial. And we reject the justification, on the basis of tantric scripture or on any other basis, of this grotesque abuse of
power which exploits and degrades women.
- Muktananda's mastery of the abuse of power is an enduring legacy. For years after his death, it was not just Gurumayi but also George
Afif -- a man who in 1983 pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of statutory rape -- who ran SYDA. We even witnessed Gurumayi taking
orders from him. Afif's compulsive lust for young girls and women, his taste for the world's most expensive clothes and objects, and his
cruelty to those who cross him, is well known to many. What is his power over Gurumayi that his notorious behavior in the ashram was
condoned and unchecked for so many years? Afif himself was recently heard to say that he expects to return to Gurumayi's side eventually.
The party line at SYDA is that such a reunion is out of the question. But the history between Afif and Gurumayi is not being acknowledged
openly or honestly. When that is the case, history has a way of repeating itself.
- At Afif's and Gurumayi's command, staff members - or the local
devotees they organize - have travelled all over the world since the late '80s to follow her brother, Nityananda, and to physically attack,
harass and threaten him at every opportunity. The swamis and staff who routinely deny this are simply lying. A devotee therapist in one
city was persuaded by SYDA leaders, with Gurumayi's blessings, to hire a professional thug to harass and threaten Nityananda when he came to
their city for a public speaking engagement. Devotees who display their loyalty by joining in these attacks elicit praise, gratitude and
special attention from Gurumayi. It is notable that these attacks have ceased, at least in the U.S., since they were exposed in the New
Yorker article.
- Many courses and many of the public talks given in the ashram were dictated mostly by George Afif, but also by Gurumayi, into earphones
worn by the speakers. These include the Fire Courses, No Ego Courses, Month Long Courses, and numerous Intensives. Many of these courses
included verbally abusive assaults on participants, which sometimes included the public disclosure of confidential information they had
written in personal letters to Gurumayi. Afif had access to this information because he routinely read personal mail addressed to
Gurumayi.
- There are hidden video cameras in various places around the ashram. Many guest rooms and public areas are bugged, with hidden microphones
picking up the conversation while Gurumayi and her assistants listen in. These areas include the Amrit, the Global Communications Office,
the Meditation Hall, the Programming Office, public in-house telephone areas, and reception desks. In addition tothis surveillance by
microphones and cameras, the ashram staff know they can gain favor with Gurumayi by reporting any and all gossip to her at once, whether
about visitors or about each other.
- Ashram policies and attitudes discriminate against homosexuals. At Gurumayi's insistence, same sex couples who are known to be lovers are
not allowed to be housed together in ashram rooms, although every effort is made to conceal this policy from those it affects. While
Gurumayi surrounds herself with many gay and lesbian staff members, she encourages them in various ways to conceal and disavow their
orientation. Gurumayi also insisted, starting in 1991, that every gay and lesbian Hatha Yoga teacher in SYDA Ashrams and Centers be fired by
the local managers and steering committees. They were instructed tomake up some excuse but by no means to reveal that the teachers were
being fired because of their sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians are routinely excluded from many positions and activities in Siddha
Yoga institutions, unless they happen to be wealthy and influential
(continued from "About SYDA Yoga Part 1")
- The ashram staff is overworked and mistreated. Endless days and nights of work are required of ashramites for barely any pay or
benefits; crowded, substandard living conditions with no privacy are typical; and sudden banishments of people who worked hard and served
faithfully for years are common. A number of these people who were thrown out of the ashram by Gurumayi were then told by her that they
owe her thousands of dollars for their time with her. Sadly, there are people who are sending her the money she has demanded.
- Many of Gurumayi's staff suffer from depression, eating disorders,
addictions, and other serious emotional disturbances. Gurumayi has been quietly sending numerous staff members and devotees to therapists
and long-term treatment facilities. What is not acknowledged is that long-term exposure to the unhealthy dependency of ashram life and to
the relentless emotional and physical demands Gurumayi makes of her staff plays a major role in their ill health. Ashramites usually
ascribe this to the never-ending purification process they believe they must experience in order to better serve their guru.
- Gurumayi has sent many ashramites to therapists who are devotees.
Some of these therapists violate their professional ethics and the confidentiality of their patients by reporting the contents of these
sessions to Gurumayi, at her request. Some of us have witnessed Gurumayi, on numerous occasions, laughing derisively with these
therapists at the clinical material being presented.
- Gurumayi claims to be a renunciate. We did amazing mental gymnastics to overlook or rationalize her expensive taste in jewels,
silks and hats; her need to be associated with people of wealth, power and high social status; and her need for whatever she touches to be
the finest and most expensive of its kind in the world. We even overlooked the plastic surgery she had to improve the appearance of
her cheekbones and jawline. Much of the luxury surrounding Gurumayi is donated by devotees who quickly learn that expensive gifts can buy
Gurumayi's attention, or at least get a staff member assigned to pay attention to them.
- The project to rebuild Lake Nityananda in the South Fallsburg
ashram, which was masterminded by George Afif, has proven to be a fiscal and public relations fiasco for SYDA. They need more money than
ever now because they must pay enormous fines for the extensive environmental damage the project caused in Sullivan County, N.Y. SYDA
must also deal with a half-million dollar lawsuit from the construction company they contracted with, which was later told by
SYDA that they would not be paid for the work they had done. Making convenient use of Afif's "disappearance," they justify their refusal
to pay by claiming that Afif was never authorized to hire them in the first place. This is just one of the many ways that SYDA is not
honest about its financial dealings.
- Mixed messages are ubiquitous in Siddha Yoga in the disguise of spiritual truths. "Respect, love and honor the Self," but remember:
you owe everything to the guru, you can call nothing your own, only the guru matters, and you are nothing without her. "The Guru is a
perfect mirror," so remember: any complaint, criticism or question you have is simply a reflection of your own impurity. Though of course,
the Self is pure, and you are the Self, you're just not pure enough, yet. These and many other crazy-making messages create mind-numbing
states that teach people not to trust their own truth.
The above points, just some of the aspects of Siddha Yoga we deplore, begin to suggest the pervasive exploitation, manipulation and
disempowerment of devotees that we wish to address. This is what we consider to be the real corruption in Siddha Yoga. Even if Gurumayi
were perfected or enlightened, which is certainly not the case, her "mission" would never justify the secret deception and cruelty at the
core of her ashram. If we close our eyes and ears and mouths to this deception and cruelty; if we retreat to an idealized, magical realm of
consciousness and refuse to see and hear those who have been abused and betrayed; if we keep saying "that wasn't my experience," "it
didn't happen to me," and "I've never been involved at that level"; or perhaps worst of all, "I know about these things, but I have found a
way to accept them;" then we ourselves are perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
It is painful to realize now how we were seduced, step by step, into
sacrificing our truth, our values, our morals, our reality, and our very sense of self to protect and defend Muktananda and Gurumayi.
They preyed on our longing and our vulnerability and we tried to mold ourselves to be what they required of us. We thought if we just
chanted more Guru Gitas, gave more money, did more seva, slept less, ate less, smiled more, took one more Intensive, dressed this way
instead of that way, dyed our hair, grew it back natural, cut it all off, gave the right gift, told the right joke, did the right trick;
then maybe the guru would grace us with her approval and validate our existence. When we finally caught our breath, we were amazed to
discover how many lies we had told, how Siddha Yoga had taught us to let fear, shame and guilt run our lives.
We no longer need to betray our own integrity, trying to get love from
a guru whose love is tainted by her need to control and exploit others. After many years, we've learned that our healthiest response
to Siddha Yoga has been to leave it. We now know it is not in Gurumayi's or anyone else's power to grant enlightenment. Grace is in
each of us to do that for ourselves, each in our own way.
Had the climate for telling the truth existed in the ashram, perhaps this letter would not have to be written. But Gurumayi and her swamis
are not telling the truth about sexual abuse, about the harassment of Nityananda, and about many other matters. It is sad to witness senior
members of the Siddha Yoga community lying. While we recognize the importance of examining the weaknesses in ourselves that led us to
become entrapped, this in no way diminishes the fact that Siddha Yoga is fraudulent at the core.
As we continue to free ourselves of Siddha Yoga, we are getting back
in touch with a fuller range of our feelings. This has been difficult, because we worked so hard to limit ourselves only to the
narrow range of feelings considered acceptable on the "spiritual path." We are becoming reunited with our intellect, which we were
encouraged to still, focus and numb out of existence, at least in part so as to blind ourselves to the deception and hypocrisy we found in
the ashram.
We are learning again what it means to have free time, to have friends, to play, to be intimate with others. We are learning again
what it feels like to take pride in our work, our creativity, our families, our selves, and our spiritual growth, without having to pay
what are virtually extortion fees for the guru's "protection." We are free of the guilty need to "owe it all to the guru."
This is an anonymous letter because SYDA, represented by its powerful
law firms and supported by the personal fortunes of numerous wealthy devotees, can harass its critics not only with expensive lawsuits, but
have in the past violently assaulted their critics and attempted to discredit them with malicious lies. They demonstrate a belief they
hold in common with other totalitarian systems: that their agenda justifies any kind of behavior, no matter how destructive.
We have learned that we can speak no criticism of the guru without
istantly being shunned, avoided and labeled mentally unbalanced by those who remain loyal to SYDA. We are hurt, angry and sad about
this. We mourn the loss of friends and family we still care deeply for. We hope they will someday allow themselves to know the truth
about Siddha Yoga, and that they will cease to allow themselves to be deceived and silenced.
Sincerely,
Some People Who Have Left Siddha Yoga
P.S. This letter is an independent publication which is not sponsored by
any organization (including the one listed below), or any group or person associated with any other teacher or guru. Information and support about
abuse in religious groups is available through The Cult Awareness Network (C.A.N.), (312) 267-7777, 2421 W. Pratt Blvd., Ste. 1173, Chicago, IL
60645.
AN OPEN LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM SWAMI ABHAYANANDA TO MUKTANANDA
(An exact, unedited transcription of the original, then well-known letter
circulated by Swami Abhayananda in the Baba days, ca. 1981.)
Dear Muktananda,
The time has come, I feel, to make a testament for you and for all my friends in Siddha Yoga:
The events which led up to my leaving Siddha Yoga began in South
Fallsburg in the summer of 1980 when I was called to the nearby house of a lady devotee of yours who told me of a teenage girl who had
confided in her that you, Muktananda, had called her into your apartments, had asked her to disrobe, and had taken liberties with her
on the pretext of examining her virginity. I was, of course shocked; but thought to myself: "The girl must be lying! But even if she's
not, there must be some good reason behind it. He's a Siddha--he can do whatever he likes." I did not investigate further; I did not talk
to the girl. The incident ended.
The lady then returned to her home in Europe, and shortly after Swami Tejomayananda mysteriously vanished. You learned from an informant
that the lady was talking about the young girl's story, and you suspected her involvement in the Swami's disappearance. It was then
that you began your campaign to discredit the lady as well as the Swami so that no one would listen to what they might say. The Swami,
you told me; was a "turd" who left only because he needed a woman, and the lady, you told me, was a dope-smuggler, a spy, a sex maniac who
had given birth to twins, proving that she had had sexual intercourse with a number of men consecutively.
You learned that I was on friendly terms with this lady and her
family, and so you enlisted me in your harassment and defamation campaign, calling me in Chicago sometimes twice a week to instruct me
to call this lady collect and tell her that "Baba is very powerful," that she should be careful of what she says because you had spies
everywhere who were watching her every move. You became maniacal, Muktananda, whenever you spoke of her. You pressed me to soak her for
all the money I could get out of her, which I declined to do, and finally you urged me to insult her and sever our relationship, which I
did to your apparent satisfaction.
Still, I knew too much. I also had to be made to look like an incompetent fool who could be easily discredited, should I begin to
speak about these things. So, in January of this year, I was sent to live in a two-bedroom apartment with three working girls in Oklahoma
City with no explanation. Nonetheless, I went unquestioningly, established an ashram there, and kept at going despite your apparent
disinterest and frequent insults. Then, on Sunday, June 7, the "rumors" finally reached me.
Two well-respected, long-time devotees of yours came to visit me at
the ashram, and told me some very astonishing stories which they had heard by phone from some ex-devotees of yours in Oakland, California.
According to their caller: you, Muktananda, sent two men, Shreepati and Joe Don Looney, to Oakland at the time you returned from
California to New York, to harass and threaten two young couples there who had recently withdrawn from your service. They were told by your
men to stop talking about your escapades with young girls in your bedroom or they would be "taken care of." The couples then went to
the District Attorney in Oakland and filed a statement of complaint. They also hired a lawyer who informed you that if you did not cease
harassing these people, a suit would be filed. The couples then received further threats of disfigurement before your two men left
town.
This was the "gossip" I listened to on that Sunday in June. I told friends that I could not believe all these accusations without proof.
I requested them to arrange for their Oakland informant to contact me; I wanted to hear these rumors from their source.
The following day I received a call from a person in Oakland whom I
had known very well since our early days together in Ganeshpuri. He told me very convincingly that all these previously mentioned events
had actually occurred: There were scores of stories, he said, from a number of girls, reputable and well-known to me, who reported having
been led into your quarters and sexually enjoyed by you, Muktananda, in the name of Tantra initiation. He and his friends had spoken of
these things and had subsequently been visited, harassed, and threatened by your men.
I was in a quandary. What was I to do? I could not share this with
anyone, and I knew what your response would be if I were to ask you about it. My only real choice seemed to be to investigate these
stories for myself. So I decided to take a vacation, go to Oakland and enquire further in an attempt to determine the truth of the
matter.
I withdrew from the ashram funds the back pay and clothing allowance owed to me, and bought a ticket to Oakland. I visited and stayed with
the people who had supposedly been threatened. I listened to their accounts of numerous girls whom I had known over the years who had
reported to them their stories of sexual service to you, and heard for myself from one girl who described her own experience of sexual
intercourse with you. I also heard from others who corroborated the stories of harassment and threats from your two men. After thorough
questioning, I could not help feeling that their stories were true. I could not help feeling that there was too much agreement, too much
outrage, and too many people saying the same to imagine that they were all making this up.
The capper to all this came when finally I heard from Swami
Tejomayananda. He had known about your "sex leela," as he called it, from 1977. You discovered that he knew about it, and thereafter
relegated him to a background position from which it was apparent that he was no longer in favor. This way, he could easily be accused of
"sour grapes" if ever he said anything. Still he remained--though sullenly, until he learned of your attempted seduction of his teenage
daughter; then, he left in the middle of the night in silent outrage.
Previously, I had found it possible to rationalize most of your behavior, Muktananda, and to simply suspend judgement on the
remainder. But I could find no way to rationalize such deceit, such duplicity, as you have apparently practiced on your faithful disciples
over the years. I could find no way to make it fit my conception of "human perfection." I believe that when a Guru begins to lose sight
of moral values--whether because of senility, madness, illness, or whatever reason--, and regards others as objects to manipulate and use
for his own ends, and when he begins to resort to threats of violence to hide the lie of his personal life, it is a disciple's DUTY to leave
that Guru. It is therefore with much regret and deep anguish that I feel forced to terminate my discipleship to you. May God protect and
guide you.
Sincerely,
Stan Trout aka Swami Abhayananda
SEVEN INDISPENSABLE SYDA DOCUMENTS: FOUR HARD-COPY SOURCES AND THREE AOL POSTS.
HARD-COPY SOURCE #1. Harris, Lis. "O Guru, Guru, Guru." The New
Yorker, November 14, 1994.
Incipit: "The spiritual movement known as SYDA boasts a glittering clientele and a multimillion-dollar Catskills retreat. But behind all
the serenity lie some uncomfortable, ill-kept secrets--and a less than blissful struggle about succession."
Summary: A meticulously researched account which includes recent
allegations as well as a convenient review of old allegations.
HARD-COPY SOURCE #2. "I was ABDUCTED," in The Illustrated Weekly of India:
March 16-22, 1986.
Incipit: "In a sensational interview after his escape from Hawaii,
Swami Nityananda reveals how he was forced to abdicate and abducted from the country by Ganeshpuri's gang of foreign devotees."
HARD-COPY SOURCE #3. Rodarmor, William. "The Secret Life of Swami
Muktananda." CoEvolution Quarterly, Winter 1983.
Published abstract: "The last few years of Swami Muktananda's life saw a proliferation of abuses which are only now coming to light. William
Rodarmor spent months interviewing former and current followers for this article. CoEvolution Quarterly independently contacted his major
sources and confirmed the authenticity of their quotes and allegations."
HARD-COPY SOURCE #4. Hard copies of related documents are available
from Cult Awareness Network (C.A.N.), (312) 267-7777, 2421 W. Pratt Blvd., Ste. 1173, Chicago, IL 60645.
AOL POST #1. Subj: About SYDA Yoga (parts 1-5) 95-08-02
Incipit: "This letter is from a group of people who have left Siddha
Yoga and who were, at one time, very deeply involved with its activities . . ."
Summary: Contains numerous new allegations against SYDA with some
discussion of their profoundly negative effects on a group of disciples.
AOL POST #2. Subj: From the archives (parts 1-6) 95-08-04
Incipit: "AN OPEN LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM SWAMI ABHAYANANDA TO
MUKTANANDA"
Summary: An account of the sexual misconduct, harassment, and "maniacal" behavior that a SYDA swami discovered in his
investigations.
AOL POST #3. Subj: Bombshell news re lineage 95-07-21
Incipit: "Nityananda (Gurumayi's brother) has just been named the new Mahamandaleshwar; he is the head of the lineage now."
Summary: The persecuted and scandalously deposed former co-leader of
SYDA is now recognized as Muktananda's chief disciple by the Indian religious community.
---------- > From: Nothing Is
> To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com > Subject: SIdhha Yoga etc.
> Date: Viernes 25 de Abril de 1997 1:22 PM >
> > Yesterday I signed up to take my first intensive through SYDA w/
> Gurumayi etc. I'm looking forward to this, so I was reading the Siddha > yoga FAQ and I became a bit concerned when I came to the end seeing the
> controversy about the passing of the lineage back in 1982 with > SYDA...Could anyone shed some light on this....?
> > thanks, Nothing IS
> Attachment Converted: "C:\SLIP\EUDORA\kundali3"
DISCLAIMER!
Home | Archive Index | Search the archives | Subscribe
K. List FAQ | Kundalini FAQs | Signs and Symptoms | Awakening Experiences | K. list Polls | Member Essays | Meditations | List Topics | Art Gallery | Cybrary | Sitemap | Email the moderators.
symbol.