posted by Mukilan Murugasan
I rarely visit temples. “We must visit a
temple on your birthday,” my wife
Kalyani had emphatically insisted during our last visit to Seattle in the US “to seek blessings on your birthday,” August 27, 2009, that marked my 70th summer.
Nithyananda Vedic Temple at
Seattle, US
The Nithyananda Vedic Temple, the very first time that I heard that name, at Redmond in Seattle, the Boeing city, was the nearest temple that my daughter-in-law Manjula identified. She and our youngest son Gaurang who live in Kirkland, drove us there a little after 6 p.m. in his Toyota Prius, along with our eldest son Gaurav who had joined us. Gaurang had taken delivery of the car a couple of days earlier. Gaurang says he is an atheist, Gaurav
visits temples on festivals, after checking out their menu for the day! The tall Indian lady volunteer who greeted us as we walked in said it was one of the four vedic temples established by Paramahamsa Nithyananda, for “bringing vedic wisdom to life.” Learning that we were from Bangalore, she said she had just returned after a few weeks at the ashram at Bidadi near Bangalore.
The photograph of the youngish, smiling swami beamed on those who came in. His yellow headgear however looked oversized on his short physique. The building in whose ground floor flat the temple is housed is in the prime business district. A board “Nithyananda Vedic Centre” proclaimed the hallowed purpose of its activities at the entrance. The front sit-out was the reception, which led to a fairly large room.
A large hall doubled as the walk-through sanctum sanctorum. A fair, handsome man, the main priest, was performing and overseeing the rituals, assisted by younger volunteer trainees. The fragrance of burning incense, mangalarathi performed with lighted camphor on a flat brass handle, “thirtha,” “kumkum” and petals of flowers offered as prasad, and such other appurtenants, and devotees including some foreigners, gave the set-up the aura of a holy place worth the visit. The exit leads the visitor to a small room in which on a table small quantities of prasadam were placed in leaf cups. A board advised visitors “Minimum donation $ 1.00.”
Tried and tested path of ‘merchants of religion’ and
spiritual leaders
Several well-meaning volunteers, mostly women, were trying to enlist enrolment for the residential retreat the Swamiji was conducting during his visit from India, a few weeks hence. The donation of $ 6,000 included accommodation and food. It was clear as daylight that he was following the tried and tested path of other merchants of religion and spiritual “leaders”. His following was swelling to the extent that he was finding it impossible to respond to the emails seeking blessings or healing. In an advisory to his followers he asked those seeking blessings or healing to pray to Varadamoorthi between 7 and 7.20 p.m. every day. Gaurang entered his email id in the register kept for the purpose and we left thereafter.
Currency stolen from Swami found to be counterfeit notes
Some time after our return to India, I asked a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, known for his wit and humour, if he had heard of Swami Nithyananda. “I have not only heard of him, but have also visited his ashram near Bidadi,” he replied. “He was not there when I visited, but the hospitality was good!” he chuckled. Then he expressed his anguish. “How they exploit gullible people…” This was a good three months before the video showing Nithyananda and a Tamil actress in action hit the TV channels. The video would have surely given him a much higher score than the earlier hit record he claims to have had on Youtube and Google! Besides his sexapades,a report talks of his expertise in counterfeiting, as some hapless fellow who stole the notes discovered!
Contrary to his promise,
Nithyananda vanished
Swami Nithyananda had emphatically stated that after the present Kumbh, he would come to the Bidadi Ashram on March 18, but has vanished. The police have filed seven charges including rape and unnatural sex, devotees and others wait.
Godmen are having bad “stars” these days, from the film world or from the sky!
Shiv Dwivedi running a sex den
Barely educated 39-year-old Shiv Dwivedi started in Delhi as a security guard and moved onto become a massage parlour employee. Caught more than once for running a sex racket and theft, he transformed himself as Ichhadhari Sant Swami Bhimanandji Maharaj Chitrakootwale. He is now cooling his heels behind bars. His ashram doubled as a sex den for high end clients! It is not correct to say that only such one-man missions are vulnerable to such abuse.
Contradictory stands adopted by
Udipi Shiroor Math
In the highly orthodox Madhwa citadel of orthodoxy, Swami Lakshmivara Theertha of Udipi’s Shiroor Math continues to wear the saffron, and was chosen again as Paryaya Swamiji for the third time, even after his alleged 15-year affair with a woman became public knowledge!
The Udupi based math did not permit another Swami, though he was elected as head of the paryaya a couple of years ago, to touch the idol of Krishna, because he had crossed the oceans! Before this, when Vidya Bhushana Swamiji realised that he had fallen in love with the daughter of a devotee, and decided to marry her, the Madhwa math rose in revolt against him. He quit the order and continues to command respect for his integrity. His bhajan programmes are packed and CDs sell like hot cakes.
Jain godmen vying with each other to create record in number of rape cases
Two Jaipur-based Jain munis were alleged to be comparing scores on who had raped more female devotees. When a devotee went to the police, the junior muni committed suicide. Another Jain muni elsewhere, known for raising a tiger on a vegetarian diet, allegedly routinely sexually abused two Jain sadhvis, making them pregnant repeatedly and forcing them to undergo abortion. The hue and cry that followed such reports was short-lived. Money power ensured that the disquiet was soon buried rather than the guilty muni being kicked out.
Woman witnessing sexual misdeed of a priest murdered
Then there is the murder of a Christian nun by a man and woman belonging to the clergy in Kerala, because she caught them having sex. All efforts were made to hush up the case until a no nonsense CBI officer again investigated the case some time ago.
Numerous stories of scandals do not come to light
For every shameful instance that comes to light, there are hundreds that do not. So why do people flock to godmen, or for that matter godwomen? I feel the spiritual solace they dish out is only a façade. The real reason is the hope entertained by “devotees” (at times themselves scoundrels) that their real or imaginary problems will be solved by getting on the right side of such people.
(Courtesy: The New Indian Expre ss
- 29-3-2010
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